Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation Joseph Mwanamvekha has described the newly launched Social Protection Financing Strategy as a decisive shift towards sustainable means of supporting the vulnerable.
The minister, speaking at the launch on Friday in Lilongwe, said the strategy marks a decisive shift from fragmented, donor-dependent programmes to a coordinated, lifecycle-based approach under the National Social Protection Policy 2024–29.
Mwanamvekha said the strategy, which provides a framework on domestic resource mobilisation, is a timely intervention as most of the donors may not provide their support beyond 2030.
He said: “Social protection is not just a cost, it is an investment in human capital. Programmes such as social cash transfer, public works programme and school meals directly reduce poverty, improve nutrition and keep children in school.
“In the long-term, these interventions enhance productivity, reduce inequality, and contribute to a more stable and prosperous economy.”
Mwanamvekha acknowledged progress made by government, noting that within the past year, Malawi increased its contribution to the social cash transfer programme and now it directly finances five districts, up from one.
Among others, the strategy proposes fuel levy restructuring, efficient mining revenue management and pension compliance as key areas that could strengthen domestic resource mobilisation towards social protection.
Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare Mary Navicha said the strategy is critical to ensuring sustainability of programmes such as social cash transfer and public works programme which support millions of people.
“The donor dependency is unsustainable and poses an existential threat to millions of Malawians who rely on programmes such as social cash transfer and public works programme,” he said, adding that recent global funding cuts have already reduced coverage.
World Bank country manager Abdu Muwonge said if well implemented, the strategy can provide a platform to identify opportunities for financing social protection programmes in a sustainable manner.
He advised the government to improve efficiency and avoid tax waivers that could limit financing of social protection budgets at a time climate change and other factors increase the need for social protection initiatives.
“There is need to identify opportunities where instead of having waivers or exemptions in certain categories of taxes, those could better be opportunities that can go towards financing of social protection,” said Muwonge..
The second volume of the Malawi Journal of Politics and Public Affairs noted that Malawi’s social cash transfer programme is no longer being run on government terms and timelines as 95 percent is supported by donors.
Titled ‘Beyond the transaction: The political economy of donor-government collaboration in Malawi’s social cash transfer programme’, argued that because development partners provide 95 percent of funding, they have acquired outsized leverage over how the programme is designed and delivered.
The Malawi Government’s contribution has averaged just five percent since 2016/17 financial year.
The World Bank provides 36 percent of funding, Germany 27 percent, the European Union 23 percent, Irish Aid seven percent and Unicef one percent for technical support.
According to the study, this imbalance allows donors to set the pace of implementation, determine targeting approaches and influence policy decisions.
