By Kingsley Jassi:
Stakeholders’ role in tracking resources allocated for national development and public service delivery in the national budget has come under a spotlight, with commentators saying a passive approach is encouraging pilferages and derailing growth.
This was observed at the 2026-27 National Budget Implementation, Tracking and Oversight Forum yesterday in Lilongwe.
The meeting brought together legislators, civil society organisations and members from the academia, and was hosted by Misa Malawi, in partnership with Parliament and the Africa Institute for Development Policy (Afidep).
It was disclosed compliance of Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) is seriously breached as Parliament is not furnished with necessary documents pursuant to the Act.
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According to budget and finance committee chairperson, Sosten Gwengwe, these include quarterly revenue performance reports, public debt plans, quarterly debt reports and contingency funds reports.
“Our Public Finance Management Act is one of the best in the region but we need to make good use of it to strengthen transparency and accountability of the budget,” he said.
Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman expressed worry over the weak oversight systems vowing to help empower the legislative arm of government to be more effective as a custodian of the accountability function.
Misa Malawi Chairperson Golden Matonga appealed for access to information by the media and public as an opportunity to ensure public scrutiny of fiscal policy.
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A presentation by Winford Masanjala listed available instruments that can be used by legislators in their tracking of resources and budget implementation in line with national priorities.
Afidep Executive Director Eliya Zulu said the event was aimed at assessing the alignment of the 2026-27 National Budget with development priorities.
