By Rebecca Chimjeka Matemba:
Development partners have set new guidelines for daily subsistence, fuel and transport allowances (DSA) for events and missions.
The maximum cash allowance is now at K 60,000 for accommodation, K8,000 for lunch, and K 9,500 for dinner. These guidelines replace earlier agreements and apply from December 20, 2024.
United Nations Resident Coordinator Rebecca Adda- Donto has confirmed the developments.
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“The guidelines were necessitated to promote harmonisation and consistency in the application of daily subsistence allowances (DSA), fuel, and transport allowances for events and missions financed by development partners.
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“These measures aim to standardise practices across different organisations, reduce discrepancies in allowance policies, and foster greater accountability in the use of donor funds,” Adda- Donto said
According to a circular, the guidelines aim to minimise financial incentives for organising and participating in allowance-generating activities, which can sometimes supplement an individual’s salary.
Secretary to Treasury, Betchani Tchereni, in an interview, said he has not seen the circular.
In the guidelines, donors have said the government should bear allowance costs for its officials’ participation in events and missions to ensure demand-driven events.
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The guidelines emphasise the importance of avoiding overdependence on meetings and DSAs, avoiding offsite retreats and travel to exotic locations, and using a flat DSA rate instead of a tiered structure.
The guidelines aim to align with Malawi’s Public Service Reform initiative, focusing on reducing financial incentives that drive unnecessary allowance-based activities while promoting sustainability and transparency.
The Delegation of the European Union to Malawi, Germany, Iceland, Ireland and the Royal Norwegian Embassies and the American government also agreed to the guidelines. Among other things, development partners will be scrutinising work plans to ensure allowances do not drive event decisions.
“Avoid offsite locations unless necessary, especially exotic or lakeshore destinations,” reads the guidelines.
The development partners call on the government to adopt a flat rate system to ensure fairness and avoid salary top-ups.
It says events should be held in locations where most participants reside to reduce costs. It says abuse such as double-dipping or claiming unearned allowances is considered fraud and reportable.
Last year, the government approved new allowances according to grade. For example, officers in the highest grade are receiving K25,000 meal allowance per day, while the lowest will receive K10,000 per day.
Subsistence allowance for civil servants travelling within Malawi on duty is K120,000 for the highest grade, and K30,000 for the lowest grade.
The government also approved allowance increments for civil servants travelling outside Malawi on duty. The circular had indicated that the revised allowances should be implemented within the 2024-2025 approved budget allocation since the government will not provide additional funds to carter for any increase in expenditure arising from the revision of subsistence allowances.
