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Public expenditure tracking is key

The National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice Trust) is conducting public expenditure tracking (PET) review meetings targeting ADCs, ward councillors, chiefs, CSOs, the media and other key stakeholders in selected districts across the country. Significant findings have emerged. Our staff writer MOSES MICHAEL-PHIRI caught up with the Trust’s Mulanje-based civic education and governance expert BONIFACE PHIRI to shed more light on this initiative. Excerpts:

Phiri: Access to expenditure information gives citizens power to hold duty-bearers to account

Q

. Nice Trust has been conducting PET review meetings in Mulanje and other districts, please share with us some outcomes of these exercises?

A

. Well, the PET review activities we are steering have helped to identify a lot of inefficiencies and suspected corruption in the transfer of public resources in our district councils in general. Through these meetings with our target groups such as village development committees (VDCs), area development committees (ADCs), fellow civil society organisations (CSO)s, community-based organisations (CBOs), school management committees (SMCs), ward councillors, traditional leaders, council officials and other key stakeholders we have identified and tried to address problems and weaknesses in public expenditure, transfer and service delivery systems as well as exposing corruption and spotting the precise location of different forms of public funds outflows in sectors such as health, education and construction.

The PET review activities being conducted are generating motivations for local councils to be cautious in their financial management systems, which are vital to increase public financial transparency and shrink the probabilities for corruptive practices.

Q. What bottlenecks and challenges were unearthed during the meetings?

A

. One good example is constant deficient budget provisions. For instance, it has been noted that unsatisfactory policy precedence is given to some sectors such as water, sanitation and hygiene (Wash) in certain districts. In addition to that, there are very weak links between plans and budgets, which compromises project implementation and execution of important initiatives.

Secondly, we have noted continued inefficient and ineffective spending owing to delayed disbursements, leakages and waste, low impact services, or investing in capital projects at the expense of recurrent and operational requirements.

Thirdly, getting access to significant financial reports and accounts is still a major challenge and, in some instances, accurate expenditure or transfer records do not exist, neither are they made available to the citizens.

Fourthly, most ADCs and project management committees (PMCs) are not adequately orientated on their roles and responsibilities, financial management, and the corresponding rules and regulations. In many cases, ADCs are not following due processes.

But the good news is that traditional leaders and ADC members are pledging to work hand-in-glove with CSOs such as Nice to monitor expenditure of funds at the council. In the same vein, SMCs and Parents and Teachers’ Associations guaranteed to insist on clear funding plans and check expenditure at different school institutions under their watch. But, this commitment is sadly not being recognised and encouraged.

Q. What lessons have been learnt from these exercises?

A

. Quite a number of lessons have been learnt. We have learnt that access to expenditure information gives citizens the aptitude to engage local councils on issues of public spending and fashions an enticement for governments to be cautious in their financial management practices. We have also learnt that doing so increases public financial transparency and creates the much-needed trust.

Councils which do not properly follow guidelines for allocation of resources, project implementation, monitoring, and supervision create a void which enables politicians, especially MPs and ward councillors, to identify projects and find means and ways to allocate resources, to areas where they have strong political support, leaving the resources more vulnerable to corruption.

Nice has also noted clashes between local councils planning priorities versus political obligation, owing to continued conflicts between ward councillors and MPs in project selection in certain such key districts as Mulanje and Mangochi.

Due to this scenario, procedures used to select projects based on local planning priorities are circumvented because these two politicians often select projects to satisfy their respective electorates.

Q. Whats recommendations have you made to the councils?

A

. Strong recommendations were and are still being made such as adherence to  provisions associated with projects monitoring and that these are made available to all stakeholders as well as solidifying and galvanising existing monitoring and governance structures; need for distinct monitoring and evaluation reporting calendar  to ensure that issues related to nonconformity, futile implementation, and lack of transparency addressed in time; provision of proper trainings to ADCs and PMCs members before signing project contracts and when actual works and ensure that  councils are involving governance structures such as citizen forums (CFs) to facilitate the planning and implementation processes through capacity building, social mobilization and other technical strategies.

In the same vein, we have always recommended that these CFs need additional support to what Nice is doing in such areas as budget literacy, analysis, and procurement monitoring.

Q. What can be done to make these PETs more impactful?

A

. There is need to explore more prospects for institutionalisation of PETs. This can be in such ways as allowing and empowering some government departments or citizen-oriented governance structures and/or CSOs to carry out regular PETs in all departments at local councils. This can be done at least twice in a financial year  

The other area worth considering to make PETs more impactful is tackling narrow capabilities of critical governance structures. PETs, also, need to be buttressed with substantial amounts of funding so that they are carried out effectively and satisfactorily.

Q. Your last word?

A

. Another area that renders PETs ineffective is restricted devolved decision-making authority by local councils. To say the fact, the much-touted decentralisation falls far off to be satisfactorily achieved. Much control rests in the hands of central government and local councils are simply robots pandering to whims of the remote control at Capital Hill.

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