Parliament yesterday approved International Development Association (IDA) financing worth about $130 million (K229.5 billion) for local government service delivery and export financing, with lawmakers urging stronger accountability and oversight.
The package comprises a $50 million (K87.5 billion) grant for the Transforming High- Potential Resilient Value Chains (Thrive) Project and an $80 million (K142 billion) grant for the second phase of the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (Gesd 2.0) Project.
Presenting the Bills, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation Joseph Mwanamvekha said the Thrive Project seeks “to increase the
growth of certain targeted and qualifying firms operating in Malawi’s export value chains, by providing them with access to financing”.
The project will establish a Partial Credit Guarantee Fund to encourage lending to exporters, provide local and foreign currency lines of credit, performance-based grants and advisory services, and support reforms to strengthen export policy and climate-risk financing.
On Gesd 2.0, Mwanamvekha said the project aims “to strengthen efficiency in financial resource management and multi-level governance for improved service delivery at the local government level”.
The programme will provide performance-based grants to district and selected municipal councils, strengthen planning, procurement and financial management systems, build the capacity of local authorities and conduct regular citizen satisfaction assessments on public service delivery.
financial resource management. | Jacob Nankhonya
During the debate, Malawi Congress Party spokesperson Peter Dimba said governance reforms should be judged by improvements in people’s lives rather than administrative compliance.
“Malawi must move beyond measuring governance through administrative compliance alone. The true question is not whether institutions function
according to procedure. The real question is whether citizens experience better lives because those institutions function effectively,” he said.
Dimba proposed a citizen service delivery scorecard to publicly assess councils on outcomes such as timely completion of development projects, improved water and sanitation services, functioning health facilities, road maintenance and the speed of delivering public services.
“Citizens should judge institutions by outcomes. They should not judge them by organisation charts,” he said.
He also called for strengthening councils’ professional capacity, saying many still face shortages of planners, engineers, procurement specialists and financial management personnel.
“Parliament should not merely approve funding. It should annually evaluate whether governance reforms are translating into measurable development outcomes,” he said.
UTM Party spokesperson Felix Njawala welcomed the Thrive financing but urged government to closely supervise par ticipating financial institutions to ensure the resources reach eligible exporters and productive businesses.
Mzimba South legislator Khumbo Kachale said approval of the $80 million Gesd grant had strengthened government’s capacity to fulfil its pledge to increase the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocation to K5 billion.
“Malawi would not have secured this grant if it had failed to satisfy the standards and requirements set by the International Development Association,” he said.
Kachale urged the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to continue mobilising grant financing for development programmes.
But Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director and chairperson of the GESD Citizen Engagement Committee Willy Kambwandira cautioned that GESD 2.0 must avoid the governance weaknesses that affected its predecessor.
“Parliament’s approval of the $80 million GESD 2.0 programme is a significant opportunity, but it also comes against the sobering backdrop of audit findings exposing about K5 billion in suspected mismanagement under GESD 1.0 by some local councils,” he said.
Kambwandira warned that increasing funding without addressing governance weaknesses would undermine the programme’s objectives.
“Injecting more resources without fundamental ly strengthening accountability would simply reward weak governance,” he said.
He said Gesd 2.0 should go beyond financing systems and infrastructure by investing in citizen oversight.
“Gesd 2.0 must move beyond financing systems and infrastructure to make substantial investments in the demand side of governance by empowering citizens, civil society, the media and community oversight structures to hold councils accountable,” he said.
Kambwa ndira also urged government to shield implementation from political interference.
“Gov ernment must guarantee that Gesd 2.0 is implemented free from political interference, with resources allocated based on development priorities rather than partisan interests, and with zero tolerance for abuse of public funds,” he said.
