{Donors in Malawi have announced the suspension of the 2013/2014 budget support until the country’s current mess in financial management is sorted out.}
Chairperson for the Common Approach to Budgetary Supports (CABS) , a group of donors who pool their budget support resources together, Sara Sanyahumbi, made the announcement here during the opening of the CABS First Review Meeting for the 2013/2014 fiscal year.
Ms Sanyahumbi, who is also Head for the Department for International Development (DfID) in the country, said the Capitol Hill plunder where public funds and resources were looted by public servants had seriously dented the confidence in the Malawi government’s financial management system.
“We will not be able to resume support through government systems until we have a clear assurance, independently verified, that our resources are all being used for their intended purpose,” said Ms Sanyahumbi.
She said the donor community would continue to offer necessary support on the financial plunder, which the media dubbed Cashgate Scandal, to help the Malawi government of Joyce Banda (pictured) get to the root of the fraud and corruption in public service.
Meanwhile, the donor community has mobilised independent investigator, a forensic audit team and support to strengthen the Integrated Financial Management Information System through which the scrupulous public servants drained the state’s funds.
“Now is the time for the Government to take the initiative, take the action that is needed to address the weaknesses in the systems and make sure that the year 2013 goes down in history as the year that Malawi turned a corner and became a beacon in the region for strong, clean and accountable budgetary and financial management.”
Up to 41 per cent of Malawi’s 2013/2014 Budget is expected to be footed by the donor community. (Xinhua)
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