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Public administration in reverse gear—report

The latest Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) shows that Malawi’s public administration has deteriorated for the past 10 years between 2014 and 2023.

It relates to how the country is managing civil registration, tax and revenue mobilisation, budgetary and financial management as well as public perception of easiness to obtain an identity document (ID), a matter highly contentious currently.

Mkhutche: Malawians are facing problems

Overall governance score has improved over the last decade (2014-2023) and has done so at an accelerated pace over the most recent five years (2019-2023).

Malawi’s ranking has remained 19th in 2014 and 2023, while the score has slightly improved to 55.2 points from 54.0 in 2014.

The report reads in part: “Malawi has improved in three out of the four IIAG categories since 2014, namely security and rule of law, participation, rights and inclusion and human development.

“However, it has deteriorated in foundations for economic opportunity, driven by decline in the sub-category public administration. Malawi’s indicators’ final scores in 2023 range from 5.9 [Access to Energy] to 100.0 [Absence of Forced Migration]”

Other areas that have worsened include access to energy, public perception of economic opportunities, social protection and lived poverty, infrastructure, transport network and education completion.

The country performed well on laws on violence against women, absence of armed conflict, impartiality of the judicial system, rural representation and participation control of non-communicable diseases, and public perception of female leadership.

Reacting to the report, socio-political pundit Wonderful Mkhutche said Malawians continue to face problems to access public services, including civil registration,  and here has been little action towards rectifying the challenges.

He said September 16 2025 General Elections present an opportunity for many Malawians to access national IDs, emphasising that what citizens have to get from their government has to go beyond the need for them to vote.

Published since 2007, the IIAG assesses governance performance in each African country over the latest available 10-year period.

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