Assessing Malawi

1
Assessing Malawi?

• Presented by Rafiq Hajat
• Institute for Policy Interaction
• Blantyre - Malawi

2
MALAWI CHALLENGES

• Economic
• Amongst 6 poorest countries in the World
• High rates of illiteracy/poverty/HIV
• Governance
• Fledgling democracy institutionally driven
  without a commensurate culture of democracy,
  constitutionalism etc.

3
Governance Assessment Initiatives

• MGDS From Vision 2020 to Poverty Reduction
  Strategy (PRSP) to Malawi Growth Development
  Strategy (MGDS)
  
• PAF Impact of Paris Declaration on donor
  support in Malawi - CABS.
  
• MCCTCP doin it the American way with score
  cards and all yall.
  
• APRM an AU approach to governance issues -
  homegrown African relevance.

4
MONITORING EVALUATION

• Structure
• who does what, when, how?
• Follow the national Monitoring Evaluation
  Master Plan developed by MEPD for APRM?
  
• Challenges
• lack of co-ordination, cooperation and
  communication within line Ministries as well as
  between GoM and NSAs that may be able to provide
  essential support.
• Lack of capacity in MEPD
• Lack of resources allocated for the purpose

5
Overarching Challenges

• Complexity of Governance vs basic needs
• Harmonisation of various assessment exercises
• Harmonisation of Donor initiatives as per the
  Paris Declaration?
  
• Continuity of commitment
• Political Culture
• Neopatrimonialism
• Weak Political parties
• Usage of state machinery to further partisan
  interests
  
• Fragile democratic institutions
• Fragmented undercapacitated civil society

6
GOVERNANCE INDICATORS IN MGDS THE MISSING LINKS

• Public Participation
• inculcation of democratic culture to meet halfway
  with institutional democracy
  
• Inclusion of stakeholders in policy legislative
  formulation.
  
• Rule of Law
• adherence to Constitution,
• Prorogation - hybridising governmental systems to
  suit short term vested interests,
  
• Corporate governance
• The accountability of state owned companies to
  the ultimate stakeholders
  
• Blind privatisation of essential utilities at
  values below cost

7
Other Missing Links

• Using rights based approach to budgeting as an
  input. The outputs/outcomes can then be monitored
  accordingly
  
• Elections look at electoral systems as well as
  campaign style these can be directly linked to
  the style of leadership that then prevails
  
• Corruption is sometimes directly caused by FDI
  the case of mining in Malawi
  

8
RECOMMENDATIONS

• Strike a balance between democratic economic
  governance it should not be one at the expense
  of tother.
  
• Drawing from the various data sources HDI, WB,
  FH, BTI, MCC etc etc.. and harmonising into one,
  comprehensive exercise with total support
  
• Use data and reports effectively to generate real
  differences

9
Conclusion
ROUSSEAU said that The Price of democracy is
eternal vigilance Is vigilance, in itself, enou
gh to preserve, consolidate and foster a healthy
democracy? Mere observance without preventive act
ion is worse than blissful ignorance. It is
aiding and abetting the commission of a crime!