Malawi’s problems need efficiency—Dictus

Malawi is facing a complex political, social and economic situation which calls for efficient ways to address the challenges, UNDP resident representative Richard Dictus said on Tuesday.

He was speaking during the opening ceremony of the Implementation Partners Review Meeting at Crossroads in Lilongwe.

Said Dictus: “The political, social and economic circumstances we are facing are very complex and it is important that UNDP at this moment, probably more than ever, finds the most effective and efficient ways and means of supporting Malawi.”

He said in a situation of acute resource scarcity Malawi is facing now, the efficiency and effectiveness of expenditure have to be at the forefront of the thinking by all UN and government controlling officers.

UNDP has embarked on three new initiatives: the human rights project, the democracy consolidation programme phase IV, and the disaster risk management project which have been approved and their implementation is underway.

“I am pleased to see that the objectives and strategies of UNDP-supported projects are clearly linked to MDGS II. Through the new projects, we are looking for accelerating the MDGs achievements by 2015 and going beyond 2015,” said Dictus.

Director of debt and aid in the Ministry of Finance Peter Simbani appealed to those who have development programmes in Malawi to urgently implement the same for the benefit of Malawians.

“We are very happy with the implementation of UN programmes in the country. The UN family has agreed to dispense resources in a common approach. Beyond 2015, Malawi will still implement the MDGs to reduce poverty,” said Simbani.