Feedback Mechanisms in Malawi Key challenges and way forward

1
Feedback Mechanisms in MalawiKey challenges
and way forward

• Ministry of Finance and Development Planning
• MALAWI

2
Feedback mechanisms in Malawi

• Joint Review of the MGDS
• Sector reviews
• Common Approach to General Budget Support (CABS)
• Other mechanisms
• General challenges and way forward

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Joint reviews Government -DPs

• MGDS Annual Review
• Up to now four reviews have been conducted
• Providing opportunity for Government and DPs to
  review progress on implementation of sector plans
  and MGDS indicators, budget performance, and aid
  effectiveness targets
• Reviews within sectors
• Forum for negotiation, policy dialogue, and
  agreement of plans among Government and its DPs
  at sector level
• Assessing performance on how targets on core
  sector outputs are achieved
• Participation of DPs, but also CSOs and private
  sector

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The reviews as input into policy and
decision-making

• MGDS reviews major input into budget planning
  process
• Prerequisite- timeliness of the reviews
• Policy dialogue between Budget and Planning
  Divisions in MoFDP and OPC to address key issues
  from the review should atke place before the
  start of the budget process
• The reviews on the basis of SWGs provide
  important opportunity for dialogue between
  Government, CSOs, the private sector, and the DPs
  for better planning, budgeting and implementation
  of agreed sector plans
• The reviews act as mutual accountability and
  management for results mechanism

5
CABS mechanism

• Joint framework for budget support cooperation
  between Government and CABS DPs
• Bi-annuals reviews are conducted
• High quality of discourse and high level of
  representation of both Government and CABS DPs
• Incentive for adherence to the underlying
  principles of the CABS partnership ( both
  economic and non-economic)
• Pre-CABS review meetings successful innovation in
  the CABS review process
• Participated by government representatives, CABS
  DPs, other DPs (observers), parliamentarians,
  CSOs, and private sector representatives

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Other Mechanisms

• Other dialogue structures with development
  stakeholders include Group on Financial and
  Economic Management (GFEM), SWGs and High Level
  Forum
• These structures have been strengthened and have
  important influence on policy making
• Government also insures wider consultations with
  stakeholders on key policy decisions
• To reach the wider public, government publishes
  and disseminates several aid effectiveness
  reports such as Aid Atlas, Monitoring Reports for
  Donor Funded Projects, Annual Debt and Aid
  Report, e.t.c.

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Challenges

• The overall organization and operationalization
  of sectors (SWGs) to carry out reviews
• Capacity for ME in sectors and management of
  monitoring and reporting on progress
• Availability of baseline data and problems in
  setting of targets
• Budget performance challenges
• Reaching aid effectiveness targets on donor
  harmonization and use of country systems
• Inter- and intra-governmental coordination
• Weak coordination within the sectors themeselves
• Funding issues resource constraints for
  strengthening and conducting ME

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General Challenges

• Inadequate appreciation of PD and aid
  effectiveness agenda by important stakeholders
• Little knowledge of the aid effectiveness and
  development effectiveness agenda results in
  little participation of some stakeholders in
  implementation process
• Frequent changes of senior staff both in Govt and
  Donor offices has derailed progress in most
  cases.
• Some donor headquarter requirements and
  procedures provide little flexibility for
  effecting change in donor behaviour to meet aid
  effectiveness targets
• Harmonization, joint analytical work, alignment
  with country procedures and use of country
  systems remain challenging principles

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Way forward

• Addressing capacity constraints in government
  requires support from DPs
• Wider dissemination about aid and development
  effectiveness to parliamentarians, CSOs, private
  sector, line ministries, district level official
  and wider public
• Ensures greater awareness at all levels and
  empowers all stakeholders to participate in the
  change agenda
• High level economic and political leadership to
  reform.
• developed a PFEM Reform Programme,
• implemented budget reforms (MTEF),
• Strengthened aid information management systems,
• committed to building capacity for results based
  management.

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• THANK YOU!