MALAWI LOCAL GOVERNMENT

ACCOUNTABILITY AND

PERFORMANCE

THIRD QUARTERLY REPORT FISCAL YEAR 2018

(April 2018 to June 2018)

Prepared by DAI.

MALAWI LOCAL GOVERNMENT

ACCOUNTABILITY AND PERFORMANCE (LGAP)

Quarterly Report

Third Quarter - Fiscal Year 2018

(April 2018 – June 2018)

Program Title: Malawi Local Government Accountability and

Performance (LGAP)

Contract Number: AID-OAA-I-14-00061/AID-612-TO-16-00004

Sponsoring USAID Office: USAID/Malawi

Contractor: DAI

Date of Publication: July 31, 2018

On the cover: Process Facilitator, Mavuto Kapyepye, breaking the ice ahead of

the Balaka Team-building sessions.

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CONTENTS

Acronyms and Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................. 2

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 4

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY AND PERFORMANCE PROGRAM

(LGAP) ............................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Key Project Achievements in Quarter 3 ........................................................................................................... 7

PART I – ACHIEVEMENTS IN KEY RESULT AREAS .............................................................................................. 8

Result Area 1: Increasing Local Government Performance and Transparency ................................... 8

Sub-Result 1.1: District development planning, budgeting and implementation processes improved 8

Sub-Result 1.2. Accountability, public financial management and oversight of public expenditures improved ............................................................................................................................................... 8

Sub-Result 1.3: Capacity of Councilors to Serve as Effective Representatives Improved .................... 13

Sub-Result 1.4: Own-Source Revenue and Local Economic Development Increased .......................... 17

Sub-Result 1.5: USAID activities better integrated in district planning and budgeting ...................... 23

Result Area 2: Demand for Accountable Government Strengthened at the Local Level ............... 24

Sub-Result 2.1: “Citizen Participation in Local Government Planning and Policy Development Increased. ............................................................................................................................................ 25

Sub-Result 2.2: Social Accountability and Transparency of Public Expenditure Management and Service Delivery Improved ................................................................................................................... 31

Sub-Result 2.3 Integration .................................................................................................................. 33

Result Area 3: Decentralization Policy Environment and Systems Improved – Policy Interface... 34

Sub-Result 3.1: Select Policies and Legal Reforms Related to Decentralization Supported ................ 35

Sub-Result 3.3 Human resources and key management systems improved ...................................... 39

Part II: Relevant Activities by Sector ............................................................................................................... 43

Education ............................................................................................................................................................ 44

Health .................................................................................................................................................................. 46

Service Delivery-Agriculture and Natural Resources .............................................................................. 48

ANNEXES: ..................................................................................................................................................................... 57

Annex 1: Regional Quarterly Report from Balaka Office ....................................................................... 57

Annex 2: Quarterly Report for Blantyre (Blantyre and Mulanje) ......................................................... 67

Annex 3: Quarterly Report for Kasungu (Kasungu and M’mbelwa) .................................................... 73

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ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

ADC Area Development Committee

AEC Area Executive Committee

CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy

CDF Constituency Development Fund COP Chief of Party

COR USAID Contracting Officer’s Representative

CPS Citizen Perception Survey

CBO Community-Based Organization

CLA Collaborative Learning and Adaptive

CSO Civil Society Organization

DADO District Agriculture Development Officer

DC District Commissioner

DCOP Deputy Chief of Party

DDB District Data Bank

DDP District Development Plans

DDPF District Development Planning Framework

DDPS District Development Planning System

DEC District Executive Committee

DEM District Education Manager

DHO District Health Officer

DHRMD Department of Human Resource Management and Development

DNCC District Nutrition Coordinating Committee

DMECC District Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinating Committee

DOF Director of Finance

DPD Director of Planning and Development

EPAs Extension Planning Areas

EP&D Department of Economic Planning and Development

EWs Establishment Warrants

FISP Fertilizer Input Subsidy Program

FY Fiscal Year

GIS Geographical Information System

GOM Government of Malawi

GUC Grants under Contract

HACs Health Advisory Committee HR Human Resources

HRM Human Resources Management

HRMIS Human Resources Management Information Systems

HAS Health Assistant Surveillance

ICT Information and Communications Technology

IFMIS Information Finance Management Integrated System

LAPA Local Authority Performance Assessment

LASCOM Local Authority Service Commission

LDF Local Development Fund

LGA Local Government Accountability

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LGSC Local Government Service Committee

MALGA Malawi Local Government Association

M&E Monitoring and Evaluation

ME&L Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning

MGDS111 Malawi Growth and Development Strategy 111

MISA Media Institute of Southern Africa

MLGRD Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development

MP Member of Parliament

MSCE Malawi School Certificate of Education

NAO National Audit Office

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

NICE National Initiative for Civic Education

NORC National Opinion Research Center

NLGFC National Local Government Finance Committee

OPC Office of the President and Cabinet ORT Other Recurrent Transactions

PAC Public Affairs Committee

PEA Political Economy Analysis

PFM Public Financial Management

PMEP Performance Management and Evaluation Plan

PIRS Performance Indicator Reference Sheet

PTA Parent-Teacher Association

SDGs Sustainable Development Goals

SEP Social Economic Profile

SMS Short Message Service

STTA Short-Term Technical Assistance

TAMIS Technical Administrative Management Information System

TD-PFMA Technical Director for Public Financial Management and Accountability

TORS Terms of Reference

USAID United States Agency for International Development

VDC Village Development Committee

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report presents progress made on the Local Government Accountability and Performance

Program (LGAP) as planned in the Annual Work Plan 2017 – 2018 for the second quarter. It

highlights activities conducted towards the outcomes and outputs, as well as towards achieving

the targets. The report tabulates challenges and lessons learned that might inform program

priorities and makes recommendations for the program to achieve its objectives.

During this third quarter, LGAP accomplished the following major milestones: under Result Area

1, the project focused on increasing the use of the Information Finance Management Integrated

System (IFMIS) system. In Zomba district, it was noted that the Accounts Assistants had

difficulties in loading of budgets, receiving of funding, funds allocation, and use of speed-keys. To

address this issue, National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) and LGAP facilitated

an in-house refresher training for all the accounts staffs. After the training, the Accountant and

the Assistant Accountant continued mentoring the Accounts Assistants with the above tasks.

One of the key outcomes included records transacted off IFMIS were updated in IFMIS and the

bank accounts were prepared in readiness for bank reconciliations exercises.

Under Result Area 2, LGAP selected CSOs to implement the Grants under Contracts (GuCs),

following a rigorous identification and training process of the CSOs listed below:

No. Successful Organizations Districts

1 CCJP Lilongwe

2 CA &EFD Lilongwe

3 CYECE Lilongwe

4 NAYORG Balaka

5 Chinansi Balaka

6 Development Concept, Machinga

7 NANES Machinga

8 Bwalo Initiative Zomba

9 REFORD Mulanje

10 DCT Blantyre

11 GHO Kasungu

12 CCJP Mzuzu

13 YAS Mzuzu

Quarter four will see an aggressive pace of improving the functionality of the lower level

structures in the districts by the CSOs.

Within this quarter, LGAP supported the MLGRD through technical back stopping and capacity

building in formulation of local policies commonly known as By-laws. Specifically, Article 22 of

the Local Government Act assigns responsibilities to local governments such as roads, parks,

libraries and other cultural facilities, drinking water, wastewater and public health (food

inspection, slaughterhouses), markets, and emergency services such as ambulances and fire

brigades.

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For effective execution of these functions, the councils should have local policies or by-laws to

guide local level management and regulation. LGAP supported seven (7) Councils – Balaka,

Blantyre, Kasungu, Machinga, Mulanje, Mzimba and Zomba – to draft their by-laws, and will work

with Lilongwe beginning in the last quarter of this year.

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY AND PERFORMANCE

PROGRAM (LGAP)

LGAP is a five-year (2016 -2021) United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

funded activity designed to support the Government of Malawi (GoM) and facilitate the

implementation of decentralization and improved local governance. LGAP deliberately targets

agencies and institutions responsible for improving local governance to provide institutional

support; non-state actors to ensure citizen voice, participation and visibility; and the policy

environment to create the space for interaction where there may be gaps. The implementation

of the project is synchronized with other major GoM reforms, namely:

1. Public service reforms – focusing on making the civil service more efficient and

accountable;

2. Decentralization policy – with particular attention on completing the implementation of the twenty year (20) old process. The high points being the administrative (the devolution

of human resources) and fiscal decentralization (efficiently funding the functions that have

been transferred to the local governments); and

3. Public Financial Management (PFM) in the Councils is a permanent feature in the efforts

of the GoM to improve service delivery and hence the policy environment for PFM is an

ongoing one.

LGAP is implemented in eight districts. These are the six districts which have been selected by

the GoM as the pilots for the Public Sector Reforms (M’mbelwa, Kasungu, Zomba, Mulanje,

Lilongwe Rural, and Blantyre) plus the two districts of Balaka and Machinga, which are priority

districts for USAID, in line with the Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS).

Uniquely, USAID/Malawi has, in line with its new focus on district-led development, slated LGAP

as the vehicle to improved sectoral coordination and service delivery through integration with

democracy and governance concepts of accountability, representation, and policy reform. As a

result, LGAP possesses a significant integration component – building synergies with USAID

sector supporting implementing partners.

OVERALL OBJECTIVE

The overall objective of the LGAP is “to support local government to effectively, efficiently and

democratically fulfill its mandate of providing public services and representing citizen interests.”

PROGRAM STRATEGY

To achieve the objectives, LGAP supports the District Councils to improve their systems

(functionality and service delivery coordination and management), while supporting civil society

and communities to hold the District Councils accountable to delivery as anticipated through

participatory planning and budgeting processes. To remove potential bottlenecks to the ability of

District Councils to meet expectation of the communities, LGAP invests in supporting the

Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) and other central government

institutions such as the NLGFC, Ministry of Economic Planning and Development (EP&D), Local

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Government Service Commission and Malawi Local Government Association (MALGA), to

improve the policy and regulatory framework for local governance and effective decentralization.

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KEY PROJECT ACHIEVEMENTS IN QUARTER 3

This report is divided into three parts. Part I discusses achievements and activities by result

area. Part II lists results attribution by sector, and Part III describes progress against the results

framework. The report details the activities and accomplishments by result area and notes any

challenges and lastly discussed achievement against planned indicators.

In this quarter, the differing dynamics and trajectories of each of the districts has become most

obvious. As such, this quarterly report attaches the reports of each of the regional offices as

Annexes to effectively share some nitty gritty details of what is happening in the districts.

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PART I – ACHIEVEMENTS IN KEY

RESULT AREAS RESULT AREA 1: INCREASING LOCAL GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE AND

TRANSPARENCY

Result 1 Indicator Performance

No Indicator Target Actual

R1.1 Own-source revenue as a percentage of total district budget 9.4% 6.1%

R1.2 % of district budget entities’ publishing budgets, audits, and reports to share

budget performance(Custom)

100% 30%

R1.3 # of sub national entities receiving USG assistance demonstrating improved

performance(Custom)

3 -

R1.4 # of consensus building forums (multi-party, civil/security sector, and/or

civil/political) held with USG Assistance(DR.3.1-1)

20

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R1.5 # of entities receiving capacity building assistance during the reporting

period(Custom)

2304

2305

R1.6 # of technical activities jointly designed with cross sector partners(Custom) 38 26

SUB-RESULT 1.1: DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT PLANNING, BUDGETING

AND IMPLEMENTATION PROCESSES IMPROVED 1.1.1. Support towards District Development Planning Process

In the period under review, LGAP worked with the eight districts to complete the Social

Economic Profile (SEPs) and District Development Plans (DDPs). All Districts have fully approved

the planning instruments and submitted to LGAP for support with professional editing and

packaging. It is anticipated that by August 2018, a major launching and marketing event will be

held to maximize utility of the plans. The SEPs and DDPs are a significant Key Performance

Indicator (KPI) in the Local Authority Performance Assessment (LAPA), meaning that when the

LAPA is administered in about 8 to 10 months, all LGAP Districts will score full points.

SUB-RESULT 1.2. ACCOUNTABILITY, PUBLIC FINANCIAL

MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT OF PUBLIC EXPENDITURES

IMPROVED LGAP continues to carry out its objective of ensuring transparency and accountability for public

funds through several interventions. LGAP efforts aim at strengthening the Council’s Finance

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Directorates staff to carry out strong accounting and public procurement practices; enhancing

the role of oversight agencies such as the Service Committee on Finance, and robust monitoring

by the NLGFC and NAO (National Audit Office). In this respect, the following activities were

undertaken:

1.2.1 Provision of technical support and mentorship in production of IFMIS Monthly and Quarterly

Financial Reports

According to NLGFC, District Councils are required to produce monthly financial returns before

the fifth of every month, providing an overview of how the council has used the resources

generated within that period. The deadlines for submission of reports were arrived at on the

basis that District Councils use IFMIS for both processing and production of financial reports.

The use of IFMIS should speed up the processing of financial transactions and production of

reports. Before the reports are submitted to NLGFC, the Council Finance Directorate should

generate the report and pass it on to Council Management for discussion and adoption. If the

Management at Council level is satisfied, the Controlling Officer signs off on the report and

submits it to Council Finance and Audit Committee and NLGFC, as well as posts it in public

places.

However, in practice, the process of reporting has not been smooth for many Councils. Most

district Councils do not fully utilize the IFMIS for processing financial transactions due to several

issues including capacity gaps, inadequate skills, hardware challenges, and a general preference to

keep manual records which allow for a lower accountability threshold. LGAP support is therefore

tailored to address the specific issues in the target districts. LGAP has continuously provided

technical support through mentorship and handholding the heads of finance staff to increase the

use of IFMIS which will be demonstrated through the production of automated financial reports.

In this quarter, LGAP together with NLGFC followed up with the Council Accounts officers to

monitor their use of IFMIS. In Zomba district, it was noted that the Accounts Assistants

experienced difficulty in loading of budgets, receiving of funding, funds allocation, and use of

speed-keys. To address this issue, NLGFC and LGAP facilitated an in-house refresher training for

all the accounts staffs. After the training, the Accountant and the Assistant Accountant continued

mentoring the Accounts Assistants in the above tasks, which made the activity very successful.

One of the key outcomes was that the records transacted off IFMIS were updated in IFMIS and

the bank accounts were prepared in readiness for bank reconciliations exercise.

An assessment of Mulanje and Blantyre District Councils noted that both districts have

satisfactorily improved from a period with all manual transactions to a period with full utilization

of IFMIS, enabling them to be among the Councils that provide timely reports. The two Councils’

reports are being submitted to NLGFC before the fifth of every month as evidenced by the dates

stamped on the copies submitted by the councils.

In Machinga, a new Chief Accountant was redeployed to the Council. LGAP held meetings with

the Chief Accountant to provide a brief on the progress to date at Machinga District Council in

finance department as regards the preparation of bank reconciliations and draft final accounts for

audit. LGAP collaborated with the NLGFC Desk Officer for the district for the briefing and

emphasized that the Chief Accountant should assist in preparing all bank reconciliations in IFMIS

after observing that transactions were being done outside the system.

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In Lilongwe, LGAP held several engagement meetings with a new Director of Finance (DOF)

recently redeployed from Kasungu. During the sessions, the DOF acknowledged enormous

challenges facing the Council due to its vastness and capacity constraints. It was also noted that

the backlog of transactions processed outside IFMIS would likely delay the pace of progress in

cleaning the system. LGAP intends to continue supporting the processes and continuously

encourage positive PFM reforms at the Council including assigning clear roles, responsibilities,

and segregation of duties within the finance directorate.

For Kasungu and M’mbelwa districts, the new LGAP PFM Specialist reported during the quarter

and went on to support the two Councils. In M’mbelwa, an assessment on the functionality of

IFMIS was commissioned because the system has been down for some time. The assessment

established that M’mbelwa District Council has a Local Area Network (LAN) which was installed

in 2008 prior to the establishment of the IFMIS application. The LANs installed did not follow

internationally accepted LAN cabling standards and has exceeded its life span of 4 years; thus it

is subject to signal transmission loss. Considering that GoM is implementing decentralization and

other ICT improvement initiatives, it will be imperative for the ICT systems in the Councils to

interface with government-wide software application systems to allow automation of GoM

transactions. Such systems include Central

Government IFMIS, Human Resources

Management Information System (HRMIS) and

Government Wide Area Network (GWAN)

emailing system. The assessment concluded with

a recommendation to upgrade the LANs and

ICT setup at the Council to facilitate use of

IFMIS. The Council has requested LGAP to help

in this matter and the issue is under

consideration.

In Zomba district, LGAP continued its focus on

conducting bank reconciliations to update the

council reports. The DOF, Principal Accountant,

Accountant, Assistant Accountant and Accounts

Assistants participated and concluded that:

• Accounts clerks were not processing

transactions in IFMIS because they were shy to ask their colleagues where they had challenges,

• DOF and management entertained the payments that were done outside IFMIS and no

action was taken on those that were not following the recommended procedures in

accounting.

It was pleasing to note that the officers at the council are very committed to the exercise and by

30th June 2018, all the bank accounts were up-to-date and reconciled.

1.2.2 Strengthening the Internal Audit function at Council Level

During the reporting quarter, LGAP team of Public Finance Management Specialists held a joint

coaching and mentoring exercise targeting Mulanje district with the aim of generating lessons on

It was pleasing to note that,

following the meeting with Mulanje

District Audit Committee, the

Council’s draft management letter

has shown improvement in most

areas with the amount of missing

payment vouchers drastically

reducing from over 100 million

kwacha to less than 9 million

kwacha in the year 2016/17.

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how to address issues raised in management letters from Internal and External Auditors. The

team held meetings with the District Council Audit Management Committee and assisted in

responding to and addressing issues raised in audit management letters for the years ending 2013-

14 and 2014-15. The sessions were organized to take advantage of the external auditors who

were in the district on other business. The joint meetings established that the following common

issues affect the councils:

a. The quality of financial statements indicated that councils do not comply with International

Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) because they have not been trained or

exposed to these standards.

b. District council staff have not been provided clear guidelines on how to prepare “Final

Accounts for Local Councils.”

c. The current Local Government Finance Management and Accounting Manual is outdated

such that it does not provide adequate guidance. The Central Government uses Cash

accounting whilst councils use a combination of cash and accrual accounting system. This

brings in some inconsistencies in preparation of final accounts by the councils.

d. The councils (Inventory register) are not maintaining fixed Assets Registers. The inability

of councils to valuate assets and maintain correct records affects Bank Balances and is

queried during audits.

e. There is generally poor record keeping (filing system) or management

f. Councils do not manage their procurement and stores well.

In addition to these issues, through an interface meeting with the Council’s External Auditors,

AMG Global, the auditors highlighted the following issues:

a. Leadership (mainly DCs and DOFs) changes frequently and no one takes responsibility of

the previous issues that were done by the predecessor

b. Governance – Internal audit structure is incomplete or does not exist and the

independence is questionable. There is no training for the Internal Auditors.

c. Procurement – suspected corruption and fraud on most procurements that happen at the

council. Familiarity threats are suspected.

d. Internal control deficiencies on IFMIS.

e. There is need to define if the councils are using the IPSAS or GAAP.

f. Noncompliance in procurement of goods or services with the list of suppliers from Office

of the Director of Public Procurement (ODPP).

g. Policies defined in the manual are not followed.

h. Debtors – advances for staff do not have an age analysis, reconciliations, bad debts, no

predictable policies to inform consequences of non-payment.

i. Creditors – Non-application of the accounting standards.

j. Cash and bank – transferred and removed former council officials are still signatories for

the council bank accounts even though they long left the councils.

k. Bank reconciliations are not prepared or reviewed.

l. PAYE not paid to MRA on monthly basis and have arrears which are not recognized in

the financial statements and are not reconciled.

m. Salary arrears not disclosed and there is no reconciliation of arrears.

n. Deposits appearing in the financial statements: The audit did not understand what that

figure stands for.

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o. Opening balances are not clear at all,

meaning available balances are distorted.

Following the meetings, LGAP is engaging

the Councils on an ongoing basis to provide

technical assistance to remedy the deficiencies.

1.2.3 Implementation of Mentorship Plans of

Council finance and accounting personnel in

financial management

During the second quarter, it was reported

that LGAP supported the development of

Mentorship Plans for Council personnel

which specified the knowledge and skill gaps

as well as learning goals. In this third

quarter, LGAP scaled up the

implementation of the mentorship plan.

The mentorship sessions targeted several

officers in line with their job description and

expected roles. For instance, in Blantyre, to

promote use of procurement module in the

IFMIS, the mentorship support targeted the

Procurement Officer. The officer learned the steps and guidelines required to complete

processing of manual transactions using IFMIS. Similarly, the trainings targeted the Transport

Officer and Stores Officer with the aim of introducing the individuals to IFMIS modules based on

their areas of expertise to kick-start the use of the modules.

In Mulanje, the mentorship targeted the District Procurement Officer, Stores Officer, and

Transport Officer with the intention to operationalize IFMIS modules in procurement, stores,

and fleet management. The training sessions will ensure that management get reliable reports for

decision-making and will improve the internal control environment for the councils thereby

contributing to council’s improved performance.

In Balaka, the Procurement Officer requested LGAP provide mentorship support on the

preparation of Annual Procurement Plan. This activity was a follow-up on the training LGAP

conducted last quarter for the procurement officers. LGAP supports the mentoring process

which includes: extracting items and figures from the consolidated budget for the council;

soliciting specific items or services to procure from sector heads; and coming up with the annual

procurement plan following the template that was shared by the Office of the Director of

Procurement and Disposal of Assets (ODPDA). The mentorship continues until the completion

and submission of full annual procurement plan. Balaka Office embarked on engaging the sectors

heads like District Health Officer (DHO), District Education Manager (DEM) and District

Agriculture and Development Officer (DADO) in ascertaining their understanding of the financial

reports extracted from IFMIS and their use in decision making. The engagement was in response

to the call from the sector heads that the council does not share the financial reports to the head

“I am a teacher by profession and I do not

know much about Financial Management,

when we had the Accountant at DEMs

office, I was relying on his advice but he was

transferred by Accountant General without

replacement” - the DEM for Balaka District

Council Mr. David Nselebo commented.

“This is the first time am seeing the IFMIS

report since I came here 3 years ago” -

added Mr. David Nselebo.

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of sectors. There is a big gap between the Finance team and the Sector heads in financial matters

understanding. The IFMIS financial reports as of 30 April 2018 were shared with the DEM. LGAP

will conduct coaching sessions with the key sector heads like DHO, DEM and DADO so that

they know how to interpret financial reports and inform them in decision making.

It has also been noted that the use of IFMIS by Internal Auditors is a challenge, as most of them have not been trained on how to use the system. This compromises their role, as they cannot to

pick up issues or audit transactions in the system. To address this, LGAP is coaching and

mentoring Blantyre internal auditor on how to use the IFMIS during internal audit function. This

involves coaching on use of filters and chart of accounts to extract account schedules; how to

notice that transactions are not entering IFMIS; and how to notice over expenditures or inter

borrowing. During the sessions, the Internal Auditor detected that someone had deliberately

increased the expenditure budget for health in the year 2016-17 to allow transaction to pass in

the IFMIS under such budget line item. The issue is being investigated and there is a likelihood

that some of the health sector funds were misused in Blantyre District. It is expected that the

report will be submitted to management and Finance and Audit committee for decision-making

and action on the findings.

1.2.4 Conducting mentorship session for members of finance and audit committees

From January to March 2018, LGAP organized orientation sessions for Councilors with a focus

on helping them understand financial reports that the Finance teams prepare to support decision-

making processes on budget and management issues. In this reporting period, LGAP paid

attention to targeted mentorship sessions for Finance and Audit Committee of the Council to

ensure that they apply the knowledge and skills in day-to-day deliberations. The Finance and Audit

Committees in M’mbelwa and Kasungu districts were the first to benefit.

SUB-RESULT 1.3: CAPACITY OF COUNCILORS TO SERVE AS EFFECTIVE

REPRESENTATIVES IMPROVED A functional council is a product of multiple factors, key being the effectiveness of its service

committees, because Councils conduct their business through the Service Committees. The

Service Committees submit their recommendations to the Full Council for consideration. In this

regard, efficient and effective operations of Councils largely depend on the extent to which

Council Service Committees execute their responsibilities as stipulated in their respective Orders

of References and Delegations.

1.3.1: Orientation of Lilongwe District Council (LDC) Human Resource Service Committee on the Orders

of References, Delegations and Committee Servicing Processes

Orders of Reference and Delegation guide the members of various service committees on their

tasks and the extent of their mandates. In the period under review, LGAP oriented 19 members

- 13 Councilors (12 male and one female), five Secretariats (three female and two male) of the

Lilongwe Human Resource Service Committee and one MLGRD official (one male) on the Orders

of References and Delegations for HRM Committee. The orientation included the HR Committee

members, targeting Chairpersons of other service committees because of the bearing that HR

has across all sectors.

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Figure 1: Councilor Kesias Mataya laboring a point on the challenges of limited

time allocated to the HR Service committee meetings.

Orientations also included council/committee servicing processes and other key HR functions in

the Council. The members were exposed to the Superannuation Scheme, Conditions of

Services/Regulations, Council Fixed Establishment, HRM Policy Guidelines, Human Resources

Administration (recruitment, promotion, postings, disciplinary among others) with regard to

higher grades in the Council; and the roles of the Full Council, MLGRD, LGSC and NLGFC as

they relate to the Orders of References. The orientation clarified several ambiguities on the role

of the committee, including:

- The relationship between the HRM Committee and other service Committees,

particularly, the Finance Committee. Human resource matters which have substantial

financial implications should be communicated to the Finance Committee after the HRM

Committee’s decision for either information or further consideration as the case may

require.

- All matters of HR must have the Committee’s blessings before the Secretariat takes any

further action.

- Prior to any Council or Committee meeting, members of the Council are required to

receive a Notice (invitation) of the meeting which includes the agenda. The Notice should

be in line with the time frame as specified in the LDC’s Standing Orders, and be complete

with submissions and agenda papers for the meeting which include the following:

i. Minutes of previous meeting

ii. Action sheets - showing status of decisions made in the previous meeting

iii. Detailed reports / information on every element on the agenda paper

iv. Any other supporting documentation on reports (if available)

v. Committee reports (for Full Council)

vi. Minutes of committee meetings from which item (v) is drawn (for Full Council).

To continue to make progress toward the functionality of the HR Service Committee, LGAP will

provide technical support to:

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i. Orienting heads of sectors and other staff on key human resource issues - heads of sectors

do not have clear information on issues of recruitment, job postings, disciplinary actions,

promotions, and training and development of staff under the current configuration.

ii. Orientation of Heads of Sectors on Committee Servicing Process - the understanding on

the Committee servicing process was noted as lacking among sector heads and key staff

in the LDC.

iii. Consolidate a component of committee servicing in all orientations for all service

committees - across all service committees’ orientations on Orders of References to

other Council Committees, it is imperative to include a component of Committee

Servicing Process.

1.3.2: Team building exercises facilitated for Balaka and Zomba district council

LGAP supported Balaka and Zomba district councils on team building exercise upon request for

their management including all Councilors. Some of the key dynamics established by the diagnosis across councils included:

• Competition for functional space between district secretariats and Councilors. The

Secretariats were used to operating without having to account to elected representatives;

• Inadequate awareness on distinguishing the roles and responsibilities among Councilors

and Secretariats;

• Political positioning among the elected representatives ushered on various party tickets.

This was largely a political battle between the ruling party and the opposition. This was

more visible among service committees where in some cases, positions on issues would

be based on political orientation rather than substance or merit; and

• Weak coordination between the secretariats and the sectors at district level. This has

affected efficiency and effectiveness on the optimum utilization of resources at council

level.

The technical arm of the councils has, therefore, largely not been politically supervised, monitored, and guided. Functions of the council such as oversight of financial management,

development planning, and management in the jurisdiction of councils was left to technocrats in

councils. The team building exercise for Balaka was from 12 to 13 April 2018 and targeted

Secretariat members and Councilors. In Zomba, the exercise was from 10 to 11 May 2018 and

targeted Secretariat members and Councilors. Selected Area Development Council (ADC)

chairpersons and junior support staff in Zomba were included in the exercise to provide a wider

spectrum of building the council team.

16

Councils envisioned a

council establishment of

their dreams and

identified what they

(individually and

collectively) needed to

do to achieve it.

Together they worked

through how they can

achieve their dream

council, and identified

obstacles in relationships

and in the institution.

Then they developed solutions “what do we need to change” if we are going

to achieve the district of our dreams? An example of

the Balaka process yielded the picture below:

Selected sticky matters clarified during the

district council team building include:

- Clarification on staff employment issues

o How seconded and direct

employees get paid (source of

their pay).

o Career path for all staff in light of

harmonized council establishment

and HR devolution.

o Direct staff not confronting HR

department on HR/welfare issues

but going straight to HR service

committee.

- Limited council resources

o How to prioritize expenditures

against limited resources

o Pre-budget consultations are key

to a cost effective, realistic budget

that meaningfully supports

implementation of council

operations.

- Popularize grievance procedures for all to

follow in presenting issues.

Figure 3: Participants identified bottlenecks as being mostly about the inability of the Secretariat and the elected officials to pull in the same direction

Figure2: Process Facilitator, Mavuto

Kapyepye, breaking the ice ahead of the Balaka

team Building sessions.

17

SUB-RESULT 1.4: OWN-SOURCE REVENUE AND LOCAL ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT INCREASED Building on momentum from the last quarter, LGAP continued implementation of activities to

expand the base of locally sourced revenue, with a continued focus on market revenues as part of the impact evaluation. In the period, both “top-down” and “bottom-up” interventions were

implemented.

• Infrastructure projects in bottom up markets to jump-start renewed trust of the council’s

ability to deliver services to markets, thereby increasing willingness to pay local taxes. To

date, LGAP has shared the final list of projects and the socio-environmental assessment

has started and is expected to end in mid-July. The market shed sizes agreed will be

10x15m.

• mHub rolled out the SMS grievance reporting system and monthly revenue reporting

system and it will continue into this next quarter. In the reporting period, the following

has been achieved:

o A 67% response rate by local councils to market vendor reports, representing a

rise from 7% achieved in the first quarter.

o A 76% increase in the number of market vendor reports from 39 in the first

quarter to a cumulative total of 108 reports during this quarter.

o A 26% action rate from local councils on citizen reports representing an increase

from 0% on reports requiring short to medium term action in the first quarter.

18

Table 1: Market vendor reports, responses and action rates per district for June as at 25 June 2018

No. District Short Code All Reports Responses Percentage

Response Rate

Short to Medium

Term Reports

Percentage

resolved 1 Lilongwe LL 3 2 66% 0 0

%

2 Blantyre BT 1 1 100% 1 100%

3 Balaka BLK 1 1 100% 0 0%

4 Kasungu KU 7 4 57% 3 42%

5 Mulanje MJ 2 1 50% 0 0%

6 Machinga MHG 2 1 50% 0 0%

7 Zomba ZA 0 0 0% - -

8 M’mbelwa MB 4 1 25% 0 0%

Total Reports 20 11 55% 4 25%

N.B: Short to medium term reports refer to those reports that can be resolved in the short to medium term, which is from a day up to two months.

19

Figure 1: Graph on Market vendor reports and responses per district for June as at

25 June 2018

• Airtel Mobile Money platform for direct remission of daily revenue to councils: To date

all the councils and markets now use the mobile money platform. The key challenges

included the delays in transferring of funds from e-value to council accounts, which has

since been resolved.

• Continue regular vendor counting to establish a metric for the tax base against which

revenue collectors should collect taxes: The vendor counting data has been used to set

targets every month for each council and markets. To avoid some resistance to targets, a

joint vendor counting was organized for some councils and has since stabilized.

• Performance incentives: During the quarter, the incentives piece was launched at Mitundu

market in Lilongwe and has since rolled out to other district councils and markets. Each

market that attains the targets is given a prize.

i. Vendor counting

The vendor counting has been a continuous activity. However, LGAP received feedback from

some councils of dissatisfaction with the counting process completed by the vendor counters.

This delayed the incentives piece of intervention, and in response, Joint Vendor Counting market

visits in all top-down markets. The field visit team comprised of the Council's Revenue Supervisor,

Revenue Collector, Market Committee Chairperson, LGAP Impact Evaluation Coordinator and

the LGAP Field Officers doing their routine vendor-counting job on a market day. The objective

was to observe the vendor counting process, point out the errors together, provide solutions,

and validate the whole process. The activity proved important because it was discovered that

most of the miscounting suspicions were due to the traditional behavior of ticket collections used

by ticket sellers that made them lose out on some revenue. The important findings were that

markets e.g. Nkando and Chitakale, had challenges of political interference in revenue collections

that could not be solved by the Revenue Supervisors on the ground. The findings were shared

with the responsible Council’s Finance people to ensure management solved the challenges.

20

ii) Construction

Quarter: April-June, 2018

Strategic Goal Provision of Market Infrastructure in LGAP’s 8 Districts

Project: LGAP

Planned Activities Accomplishments Plans for next Quarter

• Present an Infrastructure update for

all 8 District Councils and the

Ministry of Local Government

• Infrastructure update presented by IS to district

councils through meetings with District task force.

Lilongwe and Zomba cancelled the meeting, thus

the Impact Evaluation coordinators presented the

update to these districts.

• The District Council and Market committees were updated on the revision to the provision of

infrastructure projects with reference to budget

one market shed per district.

• Continue presenting infrastructure updates for all

8 District Councils and the Ministry of Local

Government

• Finalize the review and selection of projects.

• Ensure A&E firms complete their

preliminary work by April 2018: site

assessment data, drawings in

AutoCAD and PDF formats, reports

and tender documents in WORD

format

• Site assessment report and preliminary designs

submitted. Nevertheless, A&E firms asked to revise

the Market Shed design to ensure it is within the

budget of $25,000 for all construction cost.

• Ensure A&E firms provide their final deliverables:

construction drawings and technical specifications

in AutoCAD and PDF formats, reports and

tender documents in WORD format.

• Acquire site assessment report from

A&E firms

• Site assessment report delivered highlighting

specific site conditions, issues and proposition on

solutions wherever required.

• Collect the market sketch maps for

the remaining districts of M’mbelwa,

Blantyre, Balaka and Machinga

• All sketch maps developed and forwarded to A&E

firms for use in final drawings

• Ensure that copies of market sketch maps are

provided to the DPW’s office in the districts from

the lands department.

• Collect land conveyance forms for

the remaining districts in

coordination with IE coordinators

• Land conveyance forms for Blantyre, Mulanje and

Kasungu developed and signed but are missing from

the District Council’s archives, thus there is a need

for the exercise to be redone in with the aid of IE

coordinators.

• Acquire remaining land conveyance forms before

the start of construction.

21

• Submission of the Environmental and

Social Management Plans for each

district for submission to the EAD

• Environmental consultancy services acquired and

expected to visit all 64 markets for assessment and

production of the subsequent ESMPs

• Production of Environmental and Social

Management Plans for each district and ready for

submission to the EAD for approval.

• Send drawings to the Ministry of

Transport and Public Works,

buildings department for independent

review and approval

• Drawings sent to District council for

approval

• Not yet done as the drawings are still in the

preliminary stage for reviews and modifications.

• Send drawings to the Ministry of Transport and

Public Works, buildings department for

independent review and approval.

• Drawings to be sent to District council for review

and acceptance before submission for approvals.

• Engage with DPWs on the assistance

of supervising the upcoming

construction phase

• An approach made and the DPWs are willing to

assist with supervision but only on occasional basis

due to other council commitments. Furthermore,

as a client they can only make site proposals but

not architectural instructions.

• Discuss and agree with DPWs on supervision

schedule and reporting lines for construction

works

• Include district water resources officers in

borehole drilling supervision.

• Get feedback from Ministry of

Transport and Public Works on DAI

sub contract template for

Construction Firms

• Collect further information on

performance bonds from local

financial institutions and contractors

• Despite several communications, no feedback has

come from the ministry. Consequently, review of

the subcontract to be done in-house.

• Several stakeholders in the construction consulted

and the common practice is the provision of

performance security usually at the rate of 10% of

the total construction cost. This contrasts with

DAI policy which requires a performance bond that

covers the whole cost of construction (100%)

• Push for acquisition construction performance

bond deviation to conform to the local

construction market conditions.

• Review DAI construction work

subcontract and translate it to the

local context

• Start preparation of other required

documents (QA & QC plan, Health

and Safety plan etc.)

• In progress to ensure it is added to the RFPs /

tender documents.

• Facilitate a bid conference with prospective

contractors to review subcontract and other

requirements such as QC and H&S plan.

22

• Procurement of Construction

services: send out RFPS, receipt of

proposals, selection of contractors,

Pre-contract meeting and contract

signing

• Not yet done since the activity is dependent on the

finalization of ongoing activities such as finalization

of technical drawings, review and translation of

subcontract to local context, final selection of

projects per site etc.

• Procurement of Construction services: send out

RFPs, receipt of proposals, selection of

contractors, Pre-contract meeting and contract

signing

• Conduct Hydrogeology assessment in sites

requesting a borehole to determine the

availability of ground water before deploying

drillers.

• Facilitate pre-contract meeting with contractors,

DC, market committees and other stakeholders

to define roles for the construction phase

• Construction work progresses in all sites.

• Acquisition of assistance in terms of monitoring

the projects (temporary employment of

infrastructural officers) and the regular

supervision of construction works to ensure

quality assurance.

23

Challenges/issues:

• Delays in the provision of deliverables by A&E consultants due to the tight budget for projects, which

facilitated several revisions to designs to ensure that quality is not compromised, thus negatively affecting

the project schedule.

• The uncertainty in the selection and allocation of projects to markets affected other activities such as the

delay in the deployment of environmental consultants to produce the ESMPs reflecting the true nature of

the situation on the ground. Furthermore, the hydrogeological assessment is dependent on the final

allocation of borehole projects.

• Significant variations in the DAI policy and the local construction practices such as the requirement of

100% project cost performance bond against the provision of performance guarantees/security by local

banks, which is normally equivalent to 10% of the project cost. Moreover, DAI’s policy against the

provision of advance payment to contractors against the common practice of clients providing a 20%

advance payment to local contractors.

• With a tight timeframe and the intention on having 64 sites running construction works concurrently,

there is need for construction oriented technical assistance at the district and site level, hence the

requirement to acquire temporary services of at least two infrastructural officers to be based at regional

offices and construction supervisors to be based on site for close monitoring.

SUB-RESULT 1.5: USAID ACTIVITIES BETTER INTEGRATED IN DISTRICT

PLANNING AND BUDGETING

1.5.1: National Integration Forum – District Planning and Project Implementation

On 12 April 2018, LGAP hosted a USAID Implementing Partners Integration Forum. The

national session focused on reviewing partner inputs into the District Development Planning

(DDP) process and to give representatives from the districts the opportunity to provide

feedback to IPs on how to support the implementation of their plans. This was the first session

where representatives from the councils (District Planning Directors for Blantyre and

M’mbelwa) had the opportunity to provide feedback directly to partners through such a forum.

24

RESULT AREA 2: DEMAND FOR ACCOUNTABLE GOVERNMENT

STRENGTHENED AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

Result 2 Indicator Performance

Indicator Target Actual

% of households in focus districts that understand roles of districts, ADCs, and

VDCs(CDCS)

45.0% -

# of citizens who participate in participatory planning processes(custom) 161000 1107

# of mechanisms for external oversight of public resource use supported by USG

assistance(DR.2.4-2)

16 35

# of individuals receiving voter education through USG-assisted programs(DR.3.2-4) 783000 0

# of individuals receiving civic education through USG-assisted programs(DR.3.2-5) 787000 1589733

# of human rights organizations trained and supported(DR.4.2-1) 115 115

# of civil society organizations (CSOs) receiving USG assistance engaged in advocacy

interventions (DR.4.2-2)

115 115

# of beneficiaries reached through joint cross-sector activities. 384 188

Malawi’s political and social life is characterized by repressed citizen-state relations. This legacy

has undermined incentives for citizen advocacy for government accountability and collective

action. The compounding problems of informal state captured by patronage networks, poverty

and poor education undermine citizen empowerment to hold government accountable. The

preceding two quarters, LGAP has implemented activities to bridge these gaps, which raised

several issues and called for answers from duty bearers. Activities planned for this quarter aimed

to deepen gains from previous quarters and to provide an opportunity for duty bearers to engage

citizens through various programs.

25

SUB-RESULT 2.1: “CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL

GOVERNMENT PLANNING AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT

INCREASED.

2.1.1: Production and Airing of Community Radio Programs

To follow gains from community engagement activities, LGAP planned to engage community

radios to develop radio programs aimed at addressing some issues carried over from community

meetings, as well as providing general information to the public for their active participation in

district council affairs. LGAP used various communication methods such radios, TVs, IEC

materials, and town hall meetings to do so.

The media - such as radio, television, new media and printed materials - acts as bridge between

policy makers and citizens and plays a critical role in providing space and platforms to receive and

disseminate information on target audiences at various levels of society. The media also helps

provide the required visibility of activities and stakeholders, such as the donors and government, to amplify collaboration and coordination in program implementation. It serves as a viable social

accountability platform for deepening and increasing transparency and accountability in

governance, allowing citizens to freely hold duty bearers accountable for their decisions and

actions. The media gives space for dialogue and healthy debates, offering citizens opportunity to

select information they require and make informed choices on issues of concern.

To this effect, LGAP provided training and orientation to community radios on how to follow up

on district-specific activities and how to present other programs of interest to LGAP in a way

that the listeners fully understand them. The following community radios participated in the

program:

Radio Station Area of operation

YONEKO FM, Zomba, Machinga, Balaka

Radio Maria, Zomba, Machinga, Balaka

MIJ Radio Blantyre, Mulanje, Zomba

Radio Tigabane Mzimba North

Mzimba Radio Mzimba

Maziko Radio Kasungu, Lilongwe

The community radios were asked to produce five programs (arranged sequentially) on the

following topics:

• Decentralization Policy and Legal Framework in Malawi.

• Funding Mechanisms: CDF, LDF, DDF

• Integration of sectors in Local Governance

• Social Accountability in Local Governance

• District Specific Issues (emanating from Town Halls)

26

Fig 4: Participants to the orientation session for radio stations pose for a group photo in Lilongwe

2.1.2: Citizen Perception Survey (CPS) of Zili Pati? Program

In this quarter, GEOpoll conducted a citizen perception

survey. According to the results, the Zilipati Zamphamvu Ku

Anthu Radio Program managed to exceed the target of

reaching 750,000 people and reached I million plus people

extrapolating from the data presented. According to the

survey, MBC and Zodiak – two main stations used to air the

Zilipati Program – recorded listenership rates of 36% and

41% respectively. For this reason, LGAP will continue using

radios as a means of communication, discussion of topical issues and dissemination of information.

Community radios operating in various LGAP districts will supplement the two main stations.

According to CPS2, MIJ FM has the highest listenership (27%) followed by YONECO (24%), Mzati

(10%), Radio Maria (8%), Maziko (5%) and Mzimba (3%). Other indicators incorporated in the

survey remained more or less the same.

3.5 million – the number

of Malawians in LGAP Districts who have heard the Zili Pati program

27

Figure 5: Radio station listenership of Zili Pati of survey respondents who had listened to Zili Pati?

Figure 6: Television station viewership of Zili Pati of survey respondents who had watched Zili Pati

2.1.3: Jingles on Decentralization and Market Fee Collection

Jingles have a unique advantage of leaving an indelible mark on the listener’s mind because they

tend to sing along the music that carries the message. To ensure that messages leave a lasting

impact on the audiences and further enhance the visibility of the LGAP activity and

decentralization project, 10 radio jingles have been developed focusing on “decentralization” as

a broad theme and “market fee collection” as a component of Impact Evaluation. The jingle

messages on market fee collections are tailored for the 64 markets in the eight LGAP district

councils to encourage vendors to see the need for remitting market fees and taxes, and spur

development in their market and surrounding areas. Language, as a key aspect of message

delivery, helps ensure relevance and comprehension of messages based on audience

demographic factors. The 10 jingles are in five major languages spoken in Malawi (English,

Chichewa, Chilhomwe, Chiyao, and Chitumbuka) and will be aired for two months (June-July

2018) on the six radio stations namely, Tigabane, Mzimba, Maziko, Radio Maria, Yoneco and

44%

16%

32%

9%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

MBC TV Times TV Zodiak TV Other

Viewership by Television Station

36%41%

10%

3% 5%8%

24%27%

10%

3%

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%

Zili Pati Listenership by Radio Station

28

MIJ. As a communication principle, radio stations will air jingles based on the dominant

languages in their geographical and broadcasting reach to ensure that messages relate to the

audience tastes, needs, and culture. For example, Radio Maria and Yoneco will primarily air

jingles in Chiyao language as a dominant language in the Eastern Region of Malawi where the

radio stations are located. The same applies to Mzimba and Tigabane which will air Chitumbuka

jingles as a key language of the northern region of Malawi; while MIJ will air Chichewa and

Chilhomwe as widely spoken language for southern region; and Maziko Radio will air Chichewa

jingles, as a dominant language for the central region. For both MIJ and Maziko, English jingles

will be used to reach out to opinion makers and policy makers in national stratum.

2.1.4: Success story publication in local newspapers

Newspapers tend to reach the elite urban dwellers who are mostly policy makers, opinion

makers, donors, and government officials who are key stakeholders in policy and legal reform

processes. As a strategy, LGAP endeavored during this reporting period to reach out to this

cadre of audiences by publishing two success stories as feature articles in the country’s high

circulating daily, The Nation newspaper. One on 24th April titled “Harnessing the power of

radio,” which featured the strong partnership LGAP has with community radio stations by

focusing on Maziko Radio Station of Lilongwe. In the same daily, LGAP published a second

feature article on 28th May 2018 titled: “Town hall Meetings for Change”, which dwelt on town

hall meetings as a viable social accountability approach in enhancing transparency and

accountability in local governance. The two feature articles aimed to persuade readers to adopt

the approach other communities use to promote social service delivery and scale it to all

corners of the country where LGAP may not have a physical presence. The features articles

also tried to impress upon policy makers and other implementing partners to begin using the

radio as a potent tool for holding duty bearers accountable and ensure that town hall meetings

become an alternative approach to creating space for citizens to have their voices heard in

development planning and execution.

2.1.5: International Day Commemorations: World Press Freedom Day

LGAP participated in the 2018 World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) under the theme ‘Keeping

Power in Check: Media, Justice, and the Rule of Law,’ to cast the spotlight on the role of a free

and independent media in promoting justice, rule of law, transparency and accountability. The

Malawi Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA Malawi) hosted the 2018

celebrations to provide a unique opportunity for multi-stakeholders to reflect on the state of

freedom of expression including media freedom and access to information, as the country gears

up for the second Tripartite Elections in on 21 May 2019. The theme of the celebrations was in

accord with LGAP’s broad mandate of supporting decentralization through, in part, the media known as the ‘fourth estate’ and ambassador that has the capacity to promote a transparent,

accountable and responsive local government. Critically, LGAP took part in the freedom march

by displaying two tailor-made placards that had two messages hinging on centrality of social

accountability in governance: “Empowered Media Key for Transparency and Accountability in

Local Governance” and “Keep Power in Check by Supporting Decentralization.” With the fast-

paced digital and technological development taking shape in modern times, LGAP used its

growing social media base of Twitter and Facebook accounts to disseminate key messages on

the role of the media in promoting transparency and accountability within the framework of the

Social Accountability theme as vital piece of the LGAP activity. Use of social media ensured that

29

messages on decentralization and local governance reached a wide, varied audience to

encourage them to participate and engage duty bearers on local governance for improved

service delivery.

2.1.6: Video on Life of a Councilor in Malawi and CDF Documentary for Zomba and Machinga district

councils

LGAP produced a video on the life of a councilor in Malawi as an outreach strategy and shared

it with a US audience in May 2018 during the visit of the LGAP’s COP to the DAI Home Office.

The video documented the challenges and opportunities ward Councilors face to become

effective representatives of the rural people sitting at the lower rungs of society. The video also

highlighted the impact the LGAP capacity building trainings has on Councilors in transforming

them to be better and effective watchdogs in the performance of local governments and

improvement of quality service provision to the grassroots.

In response to the request of Machinga and Zomba District Councils to document success

stories on Constituency Development Fund (CDF) implementation, LGAP started to identify

and film CDF projects in selected areas, highlighting the successes, lessons, and opportunities the projects can provide in the implementation of micro projects in local governance, financed

by the public at an annual allocation of MWK23 million per each of the 193 constituencies in

Malawi. The CDF documentary looks at the key lessons and opportunities district councils can

leverage through implementation and showcases a clear success story of how citizen

participation in local project implementation can transform rural communities through the

prudent use of public funds and evenly distribute development projects across Malawi. At a

macro level, there is increased urgency for transparency and accountability in the use of public

resources, and the CDF documentary provides a basis and springboard for showing the

importance of effective and efficient use of public money in local governance to improve service

delivery on the ground, citing some selected successful projects. The CDF documentary is

intended to be screened in the two district councils to provide learning points for the elected

officials. The documentary will also be aired on selected national television stations to

disseminate positive stories emanating from the CDF for other districts to learn from and scale.

2.1.7: Media coverage on key programmatic events/meetings.

The media, as a bridge between the policy makers and the citizens, plays a cardinal role in

providing a space to receive and disseminate information for target audiences across society.

Besides, the media provides the unmatched and necessary visibility of activities and

stakeholders, such as the donors and government. To ensure that lessons are continuously

incubated and shared to audiences and amplify the LGAP’s impactful activities, the

Communication Unit covered key programmatic activities and functions. Notably, the team

supported media coverage of an Impact Evaluation function at Mitundu Market in Lilongwe in

May 2018, marking the first market to achieve a monthly target of revenue collection among

the 64 markets across the eight LGAP districts. The news stories for the function were

published in The Nation newspaper, Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC)’s Television and

Radio platforms, Zodiak Broadcasting Station, and Times Media’s Television and Radio Stations.

2.1.7: Social media as a tool for enhancing mass visibility of activities

30

As a way of reaching out to both Malawi and the US audiences, especially those connected to

the digital platform, LGAP continues to update both its Twitter and Facebook pages with crisp

and relevant information on key programmatic activities of merging issues and the video as a

tool for communicating. For example, LGAP uploaded a video on “The Life of a Councilor in

Malawi” focusing on Councilor Alick Lungu of Njuyu Ward in Mzimba. The councilor told a

story of how the LGAP’s bottom-up capacity building coaching sessions for Elected Officials and

District Secretariat Staff in the eight LGAP districts are helping empower Councilors to

become effective leaders in providing checks and balances in the operations of District

Councils.

2.1.8: Weekly Updates to USAID and staff

As a documentation tool and component of external and internal communications, the

Communication Unit continued to consistently provide succinct and relevant weekly report to

USAID, DAI Home Office, and LGAP staff. In the period under review, the weekly reports

centered on key programmatic areas of LGAP, such as the launch of the LAPA, Public Financial

Management and Accountability, Impact Evaluations, Infrastructure Development for Markets,

formulation of by-laws and HR Procedures/Policies for some Councils, town hall meetings as a

social accountability vehicle for reaching voiles communities, team-building sessions for

Councils, among others.

2.1.9: Strengthening transparency and Access to Information through public posting of Information

In the preceding quarter, LGAP procured 112 bulletin boards as a way of strengthening access to

information through public posting. The notice boards will be displayed both at the district

council headquarters as demanded by law and at Area Development Committee (ADC)

headquarters to increase access to council information for communities. So far, bulletin boards

have been distributed to the whole of Lilongwe district and plans are under way to cover the rest

of the districts.

The activity is consistent with Sub-Result 2.2: social accountability and transparency of public

expenditure management and service delivery improved. It is envisaged that the notice boards

would display such information as financial reports, audit reports, project beneficiary lists and

information on procurements among others. The notice boards will be instrumental in promoting

expenditure tracking which LGAP is in the process of implementing through CSOs. Some of the

boards have already been supplied to designated places.

31

SUB-RESULT 2.2: SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY OF

PUBLIC EXPENDITURE MANAGEMENT AND SERVICE DELIVERY

IMPROVED

2.2.1. Provision of grants to CSOs

The quarter also planned to support social accountability activities implemented by selected

CSOs, through provision of grants. Grants under Contract (GUC) falls under key result area 2,

demand for accountable government strengthened at the local level. LGAP intends to work with local NGOs, CBOs and other CSOs to strengthen citizens’ demand for accountable government.

Following a call for proposals to the CSOs, which had already been released and responded to,

in line with the LGAP GUC Manual, the team conducted a pre-award assessment for each

organization as recommended by the Grants Evaluation Committee. The assessment was

primarily to confirm that the potential sub-grantee can meet basic requirement for record

keeping, documentation and reporting, and that adequate internal controls are in place. The due

diligence checklist for DAI recipients (Appendix 1) was used to carry out the assessment.

As an outcome of the pre-award assessment survey, LGAP decides for each organization

whether:

• The grantee is considered responsible and the application will move to the next step of

the process.

• The grantee has been deemed medium risk and remedial action needs to be incorporated

into the grants document.

• The grantee has been deemed high risk and the applications will be denied.

2.2.2. Review of re-submitted proposals

After a successful working session on proposal re-alignment held in March at Hippo where four

themes were generated and each CSO selected two themes to focus on, the seventeen

shortlisted CSOs re-submitted their proposals to LGAP for review. The proposal review focused

on the following parameters:

• Governance

The focus on governance considered how the CSO is administered, its risk management

processes, and its ability to comply with legislation. Primary policies and procedures were

also assessed, including those covering conflict of interests. On this parameter, all the 17

CSOs passed the assessment.

• Financial capacity

The financial focus included assessing the financial position and stability of the organization

and its capability to effectively and efficiently manage the proposed level of LGAP support.

The assessment included such issues as internal controls, fund control, and accounting

system and audit. There were variations among the CSOs with some having sound

management capabilities while others were moderately able to manage the funds,

nonetheless, the minimum requirements for effective financial management was met by all

the CSOs, so that at least five CSOs require mentoring and close monitoring to ensure

that they are on top of financial management issues.

32

• Operational capacity

The operational capacity focused on whether the organization has the resources and

systems in place to deliver the proposed outcomes. The assessment revealed that all 17

shortlisted CSOs had correct systems in place to facilitate the delivery of the proposed

activities in the grant.

• Value for money and results

The organization’s approach to value for money

and its ability to measure and report the results of

LGAP grant was assessed. For LGAP, this

component is required before money can be

disbursed to demonstrate accountability and

transparency in the development sector and ensure

the effective use of public funds. The findings on this

parameter was used primarily to assess the capacity

of CSOs to effectively manage the grants and

identify areas of good practice and potential risks

that may require specific provisions to be built into

LGAP’s grant agreements or memorandums of

understanding with an organization. Of the 17

CSOs assessed, 13 of them qualified for the funding

whereas the other four were found to be lacking

and a decision to fund them might be risky.

2.2.3. Budget Negotiation exercise

The budget negotiation process is one of the important processes carried out before issuing any

grants to the CSOs. This process helped LGAP to see to it that project funds will not be abused

by CSOs through huge expenditures on administration rather than programs. In addition, LGAP

utilized this platform to emphasize to the CSOs that USAID finances under this grant cannot be

used for procurement of equipment and office supplies like laptops. In addition, the basis for cost

allocation across different projects was also discussed during such meetings.

The Grants team conducted a series of budget negotiation meetings and responsibility

determination for shortlisted CSOs. This follows a technical and financial review of the proposals

recently submitted by 17 shortlisted CSOs after the re-alignment of proposals workshop, which

took place from 20th-23rd March 2018. It is also envisaged that the budget negotiation process

would assist the CSOs to adjust their administration costs to ensure that they stay within the

ratio of 20% administration and 80% programs as required by the grant program. By this time,

some of the CSOs had already surpassed the 20% administration costs based on the budget they

submitted earlier. In addition, the process facilitated communication of uniform rates for similar

budget items. Furthermore, these consultations provided LGAP the opportunity to discuss

proposed activities with CSOs to help the CSOs critically analyze the activities in line with

achievement of proposed outcomes. The successful CSOs are committed to make a difference

in the lives of a common person on the ground through LGAP funding. With tailor made

mentoring in project management and continuous monitoring and evaluation of their

performance, the demand for accountable government will be strengthened at local level. This

No. Successful

Organizations

Districts

1 CCJP Lilongwe

2 CA &EFD Lilongwe

3 CYECE Lilongwe

4 NAYORG Balaka

5 Chinansi Balaka

6 Development Concept, Machinga

7 NANES Machinga

8 Bwalo Initiative Zomba

9 REFORD Mulanje

10 DCT Blantyre

11 GHO Kasungu

12 CCJP Mzuzu

13 YAS Mzuzu

33

commitment will be closely supervised by the PMs in the LGAP regional offices – all CSOs were

visited and formally introduced to the regional offices.

SUB-RESULT 2.3 USAID SUPPORT IS BETTER INTEGRATED IN

SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

2.3.1: Citizen Perception Survey (CPS) Data & Results

In May 2018, LGAP conducted its second-annual CPS to assess the way citizens feel about

government service delivery in their respective councils. LGAP is preparing a full report which

will be available in the first part of next quarter. Meanwhile, abbreviated results are included

below. Like last year’s survey, the survey targeted over 10,000 households across LGAP

districts. This year the survey achieved margin of error of (+/-) 2.75%, and a confidence level of

95%, giving the survey strong statistical power in assessing results. In addition, like last year,

LGAP supplemented the survey’s final results with post-stratification weighting, to align with

government population statistics and account for the inherent bias in a household-level phone

survey given the prevalence rates of phones in Malawi. Generally, the survey showed marginal

improvement in a few areas of interest to LGAP and its USAID Implementing Partners. It

showed significant improvement in service delivery, especially with respect to the availability of

medicines in health facilities, possibly attributable to USAID’s Global Health Supply Chain

(GHSC) program. While district analysis of the dataset is ongoing, it is important to note a

significant shift in the data for Balaka, which may be driving many of the shifts across the data.

The overall results are as follows:

Satisfaction Area 2017 2018 Difference

Local Development Planning 17.91% 17.96% -0.05

Councilor consultation of citizens 30.97% 38.00% +7.03*

Council responsiveness to community needs 29.86% 35.43% +5.57*

Quality of projects 36.08% 36.71% +0.63

Council financial spending 31.12% 31.54% +0.42

Transparency/Information Availability 36.53% 37.11% +0.58

Service Delivery – Health, Availability of Medicines 37.76% 54.99% +17.23*

Service Delivery – Health, Work of the Health Advisory Committee 55.78% 63.31%

+7.53*

Service Delivery – Education, Satisfaction with Teacher Availability 68.42% 75.33%

+6.91*

Service Delivery – Education, Satisfaction with Teaching Materials 47.98% 55.65%

+7.67*

Service Delivery – Education, Satisfaction with Parent Teacher Association

73.96% 76.92% +2.96*

Service Delivery – Agriculture, Satisfaction with Ag Extension

Services 66.55% 70.48%

+3.93*

*Denotes results that are statistically significant

In the last quarter of the year, LGAP will focus on disseminating the results through various

mechanisms including, to the councils at the district and national levels, to other partners

through the integration forums, and perhaps through the Zili Pati program.

34

RESULT AREA 3: DECENTRALIZATION POLICY ENVIRONMENT AND

SYSTEMS IMPROVED – POLICY INTERFACE

Result Area 3 Indicator Performance

No. Performance Indicator FY 2018

Target

FY2018 Q1

Actual R3.1

Number of policies to devolve authority to district

governments being implemented with USG assistance

(Custom)

54 44

R3.2 Number of sectoral budgets being managed by district

governments (Custom) 10 17

R3.3 Number of policies regulations, and/or administrative

procedures in stages of development as result of USG

assistance (CDCS)

54 48

R3.4 Number of district with completed annual performance

assessments (Custom) 8 35

R3.5 Number of integration or cross cutting forums, joint work

planning activities, sector/technical working groups held with

USG assistance (Custom)

In this quarter, LGAP supported the MLGRD and programs on local governments towards

consolidating, scaling up, deepening and strengthening the policy and regulatory environment for

decentralization. While designing strategies to enhance functionality of local governments and

sub-district structure, attention was also towards ensuring that the MLGRD steers the

implementation of the decentralization reform based on National Decentralization Program and

related policy and reform agenda.

Within the quarter, LGAP supported MLGRD to ensure enhanced cooperation and coordination

for the promotion and implementation of the decentralization policy within and between the

national and local levels as well with other national institutions supporting the decentralization

agenda through high-level meetings and dialogue sessions. Additionally, at the national level, LGAP steered the process to enhance local governments’ functionality through formulating and

reviewing by-laws and facilitating team building and change management sessions for local

governments’ officials and the elected.

LGAP also commenced processes to support strengthening of the Inspectorate function of the

MLGRD. Inspection in local government entails undertaking independent systematic verification

of adherence to established legal and policy frameworks, regulations, guidelines, procedures and

rules to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in local government operations, and providing

technical support to remedy areas of weakness. Support to the MLGRD also centered on the

formulation of the Decentralization Road map, which is critical analysis of achievements,

challenges, and prospects for decentralization in Malawi since 1998.

In the quarter, LGAP also extended support to various institutions established by government to

manage decentralization and address issues to ensure smooth implementation of and progress

towards achieving the objectives the Decentralization Policy. These include the Local

35

Government Service Commission (LASCOM) and Local Government Association of Malawi

(MALGA). Below is a detailed account of the KRA 3 processes and interventions supported:

SUB-RESULT 3.1: SELECT POLICIES AND LEGAL REFORMS

RELATED TO DECENTRALIZATION SUPPORTED 3.1.1 PROVISION OF QUALITY ASSURANCE IN ENSURING THAT COUNCILS ARE

ADHERING TO STANDARDS

a) Strengthening the Inspectorate Function of the MLGRD

In this quarter, LGAP continued to support the MLGRD in its mandate to ensure councils adhere

to standards, specifically strengthening the inspectorate function in the Ministry. The support will

help activate the inspectorate function of the ministry, common services, and its affiliates to

promote adherence to the requirements of the LGA policies and guidelines and encourage best

practice, accountability, and transparency in local government through institutionalized

inspectorate visits supervising, advising, and guiding the Local Government Councils. The

inspectorate function entails undertaking systematic verification of adherence to legal and policy

frameworks, regulations, guidelines, procedures, and rules to ensure efficiency in the operations

of local governments and providing technical support to remedy areas of weakness.

This process stalled after the lead consultant withdrew because of ill health. Meanwhile LGAP in

collaboration with MLGRD identified two profiles for a possible replacement. This intervention

comes at a right time when the Department for Human Resource Management and Development

is preparing to conduct a functional review for the ministry. In the long term, the Inspectorate

function should also anchor, in the spirit of devolution, a learning and sharing platform of devolved

sectors such as health and education that conduct regular inspection, assessment, and audit in

Local Government.

b) Support to By-Laws formulation

Within this quarter, LGAP supported the MLGRD provide technical back stopping and capacity

building in formulation of local policies commonly known as By-laws in line with the provision of

the Local Government Act, 1998 which recognizes the local governments as the highest policy

making institution at the district level. The Councils have the responsibility of planning and

implementing development activities in their areas of jurisdiction. Creation and mandate of local

governments is enshrined in the Republican Constitution, which mandates them with the

responsibility for the representation and welfare of the people in their jurisdiction, and promotion

of infrastructural and economic development through the formulation and execution of local

development plans and budgets.

Specifically, Article 22 of the Local Government Act assigns responsibilities to local governments

such as roads, parks, libraries and other cultural facilities, drinking water, wastewater and public

health (food inspection, slaughterhouses), markets, and emergency services such as ambulances

and fire brigades.

For effective execution of these functions, the councils should have local policies or by-laws to

guide local level management and regulation. LGAP supported seven (7) Councils to draft their

by-laws (Balaka, Blantyre, Kasungu, Machinga, Mulanje, Mzimba and Zomba).

36

3.1.2 STRENGTHEN COORDINATION OF DECENTRALIZATION ACROSS THE GOM

a) Joint Technical Review Meeting for District Commissioners and Chief Executives

During the quarter, LGAP provided financial and technical support for the 2018 Joint Technical

Review Meeting for District Commissioners and Chief Executives. The theme of the meeting in

Blantyre from 6th to 8th June 2018, was “Public Finance Management Key to Effective Local

Service Delivery.”

The Joint Technical Review meeting brought together participation of District Commissioners,

Ministry of Local Government, Devolved Sectors, Private Sectors, NAO and Development

Partners

Various stakeholders, including District Commissioners, presented selected issues and position

papers followed by breakaway sessions and reporting or feedback sessions. Generally, concerns

raised through presentations revolved around mismanagement and abuse of funds by councils as

follows:

• Major concern is that most Councils still do not respond to Audit Queries with impunity.

Sixty-nine per cent of the Councils did not respond to the last audit queries, even those

that responded did not do a proper work but only for compliance in most cases. On the

other hand, the audit reports are largely below acceptable standards.

• Councils are abusing funds for devolved sectors channeled through a pool account

• Most of the recommendations made by the Internal Auditors are not acted upon and

oftentimes there is no direct feedback from management.

• There is need for more punitive actions for those that flout guidelines and procedures for

the administration of development funds such as CDF, LDF and DDF. Citizen’s awareness

on their role is paramount.

• There is a need for improved horizontal, vertical accountability mechanisms and

procedures for internal control and monitoring by District, for reporting, inspection and

audit by central government, and for ensuring transparency amongst local communities.

The accounting systems and capacity (skills and numbers) need strengthening.

Generally, the Joint Technical Review Meeting for District Commissioners and Chief Executives

provided a platform for:

• Reviewing the performance of the Councils and receiving progress reports from key

stakeholders involved in decentralization, public finance management, and local

development with the aim of enhancing functionality of councils especially in the area of

PFM

• Enhanced understanding of public finance management challenges facing local authorities

• Common understanding and agreed way forward and road map on possible technical

backstopping to enhance councils’ performance in PFM

The Joint Technical meeting was the first space for sectors with devolved financial resources to

local governments to engage the Ministry of Local Government and Controlling Officers on the

issue of abuse of sectoral funds in the pool account. The Ministry of Health called for better

budget control / drug management and oversight from the controlling officers whereas the

Ministry of Education lamented abuse of teaching and learning materials funds. Reportedly in one

37

district approximately MWK36 million for teaching and learning materials has been abused in the

quarter.

The Joint Technical meeting also helped highlight threats to policy coherence arising from unclear

intergovernmental relations and reporting lines. It was shared that policy coherence is affected

by dual accountability in local governance structures. Technical and financial lines of management

are separated as Sector Heads report to both their mother ministries for technical matters, and

the MLGRD for administrative matters. This dual accountability structure threatens to undermine

coherence of decision-making and budget allocations. There is also a problem of coherence

between local level priorities and the national level policy framework since priorities identified at

the local level through district development planning process are frequently sidelined to give way

to national level priorities sought for political benefit.

b) Decentralization Policy review; formulation of Decentralization Roadmap

In this quarter, LGAP continued supporting the MLGRD in elaborating the Decentralization

Timeline and Roadmap to produce strategic responses to current and future challenges for

decentralization and local governance in Malawi. It will bring together numerous stakeholders in

decentralization and give them an opportunity to examine, reflect, and discuss. This includes (i)

recollecting memories of hopes and expectations; (ii) examining progress made; (iii) identifying

major challenges; and (iv) envisioning the future of decentralization and local governance over

the next decade.

The exercise assessed the following Decentralization components and thematic areas during in

refection meetings to interrogate progress in decentralization implementation:

• Legal and Regulatory Framework for Decentralization

• Sector Devolution

• Institutional Development and Capacity Building

• Fiscal Devolution and Financial Management

• Local Development Planning and Financing Mechanisms

• Stakeholder Involvement and Community Participation and engagement

(Women and Youth)

c) Human Resource Devolution

Additionally to assess the levels of political will and leadership in driving decentralization agenda,

meetings were also held with the Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet

(OPC), Councilors and 32 MPs from the Parliamentary Committee for Local Government and

sectoral committees such as health, education, and agriculture. The meetings provided an

opportunity for the said committees to interrogate the progress and challenges in the

implementation of decentralization. Additionally, the consultations provided very important

feedback to catalyze the full realization of devolution in Malawi. Among other proposals,

observations, and recommendations were:

• Generally limited political drive and ownership of the reform. Parliamentarians

concurred that there is need to create a unit or structure to steer the decentralization

38

program. It is envisaged that this would be in form of a decentralization secretariat,

inter-ministerial technical committee or a strengthened reforms unit within the OPC

• There is no shared understanding and unity of purpose about decentralization as Malawi

Government way of doing business among the political leadership and various

committees of Parliament, so parliamentary committees drive in different directions

depending on political and personal interest with no clear oversight and demand over the

implementation of decentralization from Parliament.

The meeting with the Chief Secretary and the Parliamentarians were first meetings with policy

makers and as such provided a needed entry point for future engagements.

3.1.3 Support Key Policy and Legislative Reforms

Submission of advocacy issues to Cabinet

Within this quarter, LGAP supported the MLGRD with two major policy advocacy and

engagement initiatives namely, technical support in preparation of the Cabinet Paper and

submission of donor’s Position Paper on status of Public Finance Management at the Joint

Technical Review Meeting for District Commissioners. The submissions requested policy and

legislation considerations on various reforms necessary to ensure effective implementation

decentralization and functionality of local governments. Some of the issues raised in the papers

included the following:

• They should address transparency in local government administration and the

establishment of mechanisms to measure their performance in fulfilling their mandate.

Although required by laws and regulations, local governments are only occasionally

audited. One of the reasons for this gap in the accountability of local government

administration is the spreading out of responsibility for verification between the NLGFC,

the National Audit Bureau, and the MLGRD’s Accounting Service Department.

• Local governments continue to rely heavily on central government transfer, which at times

are not predictable. To ensure local governments’ financial autonomy, new taxes and

levies should be created, notably on developed and undeveloped property. Legislation

should be revisited on property rating and levies to allow rural councils to have rating

authority. Other taxes should include tolls and mineral revenue sharing mechanisms.

Additionally, an in-depth reform of the tax system to increase involvement in this fiscal

chain and thereby improve the tax base and collection of taxes and levies.

• Need to increase Annual Budget allocations to local government sector, recognizing that

this tier of government has the mandate to deliver services and, is increasingly taking over

functions and responsibilities that sometimes are unfunded.

• The 2010 Local Government revision helped erode some of the powers of a democratic

local government. Therefore, a defined legislative framework should ensure local

39

government has appropriate powers in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and

decentralization

SUB-RESULT 3.2: PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

IMPROVED LGAP continues to collaborate with NLGFC in supporting the development and roll out of

decentralized systems for public finance management.

During the quarter, the key policy decision to merge the NLGFC and Local Development Fund

(LDF) came into effect on 1st April, 2018. This merger followed a review that was sanctioned to

study and develop a harmonized and cost effective structural setup to enhance their efficiency

and effectiveness. There have been observations by various stakeholders on apparent duplications

in roles and responsibilities between the two institutions since they are responsible for

coordinating the transfer of financial resources to Local Authorities. Despite the implementation

of the merger, several issues were yet to be clarified as they still stand separate as in old form.

These issues include the physical location of the new institution; merging of the budget;

development of strategic focus areas; and operation modalities. LGAP has been engaging in

discussions to clearly understand the issues and identify entry points to assist in strengthening

the new institution.

LGAP continues to engage the Financial Management Analysts whose function to support the

Councils largely remains the same. NLGFC conducts quarterly monitoring and evaluation visits

to Councils to identify finance issues for Councils redress. NLGFC shares these reports with

LGAP so that mentorship to Councils should be addressing specific issues to improve PFM.

NLGFC and LGAP also continues to jointly execute certain assignments. For instance, there was

a joint support visit to Machinga and Mulanje districts to assist the Council with bank

reconciliations and use of IFMIS for reporting.

SUB-RESULT 3.3: HUMAN RESOURCES AND KEY MANAGEMENT

SYSTEMS IMPROVED a) HR Guidelines for Local Authorities

LGAP continued supporting the MLGRD to coordinate implementation of HR devolution.

Despite the considerable progress made, the involvement of multiple players in the process has

created challenges including varying differences in approaches, methodology, and context. It is

critical that MLGRD address these issues to have common ground and understanding to achieve

effectiveness and uniformity. A number of initiatives and processes have been set in motion,

including the development of supportive or complementary policies and guidelines. With the

requirement that selected sectoral institutions should devolve their functions to Local Authorities

by 2004, arrangements have been made to facilitate the effective discharge of the functions under

one integrated institutional structure. The devolution of functions has also necessitated the

release of operational budgets and staff performing the relevant functions. To this end, LGAP has

40

supported the MLGRD to formulate Human Resource Guidelines for Local Authorities. These

conditions are formulated to help employees and their managers understand the core

philosophies and values under devolved system of government and they should coordinate and

operate within that context. The conditions of service for council staff will also help employees

understand their rights and obligations as employees. The guidelines cover among other topics

the following areas:

1. Human Resource Planning and succession planning;

2. Recruitment, selection and placement;

3. Induction, Training and Development;

4. Performance Management;

5. Management and HR Auditing Services and

6. Conditions of service;

As institutional integration and HR devolution is a new phenomenon at local level, this has

brought about anxieties and uncertainties among staff especially from the devolved sectors. These

guidelines therefore seek to clarify areas that have been unclear and clarify interrelationships

among various institutions dealing with human resource management and development issues

affecting Council employees. The Guidelines will also serve as a checklist for line ministries,

central agencies, MLGRD, Councils, and other stakeholders.

b) Local Government Staff Terms and Conditions of Service

With adoption of decentralization policy in 1998, a lot of strides have been made in sector, fiscal

and HR devolution, establishment of institutional and legal frameworks to support

decentralization process, and quality improvement of service delivery standards. One of priority

areas under decentralization reforms is complete devolution of HR. Devolving HR to councils

has made steady progress despite numerous coordination and management challenges associated

with institutional integration at local level. To address coordination and management challenges,

the MLGRD developed Terms and Conditions of Service for local governments in 2016. Local

Governments were encouraged to adopt these conditions to suit their specific situations.

These Terms and Conditions of Service embody the fundamental conditions of service and the

basic rights, duties and obligations of all employees serving in the Council. The Terms and

Conditions of Service represent the broad principles of Human Resource Management (HRM)

policy for the employing administration of the Council as stipulated in Section 24 (3) of the Local

Government Act, 1998. To this end, LGAP has supported the MLGRD and LASCOM to guide

Kasungu District Council to adopt the conditions of service for council staff. These conditions

help employees and their managers understand the core philosophies and values under devolved

system of government and expectations to coordinate and operate within that context. The

conditions of service for council staff will also help employees understand their rights and

obligations as employees.

c) Headcount for Local Government Staff

41

As support continues for HR devolution, LGAP supported LASCOM to conduct Headcount for

Council staff. Despite significant progress in the development and review of HR Management

System (HRMS) there are challenges, such as high vacancy rates in Councils, the need to urgently

fill critical positions, inadequate trained/skilled/experienced HR, knowledge and capacity gaps in

HRMIS and payroll management, and a generally weak HRMS. Most notable however, is the lack

of reliable data on staffing in local governments, resulting from new ad hoc transfers and

recruitment that has created additional bodies not reflected in the Establishment Warrants

(EWs). Lack of reliable information on vacancies and excess bodies at local level create difficulties

supporting integration and rationalization of staff at local level. Therefore, LGAP supported

LASCOM to conduct headcount local government staff to map out number of employees in both

establishment and non-establishment as well as assess levels of vacancies and excess bodies in the

councils. This will go a long way towards staff rationalization and integration as well as

development of recruitment and redeployment plans for the councils. It is also expected to

provide true figures managed by councils by deleting those that are no longer working in the

districts from the local payroll.

3.3.1: Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the Local Authorities

In March 2018, LGAP started supporting the development of the Monitoring and Evaluation

(M&E) plan for Local Authorities. Through a consultative process, LGAP identified three key

strategic issues regarding the state of the M&E in the councils. These are 1) weak coordination

M&E at national and district levels, 2) lack of functional integrated district databank and 3) weak

data demand and information use. As such, the main objective of the M&E Plan is to “enhance

integration and utilization of accurate and timely strategic information for evidence based decision making

in the local authorities.” The specific objectives of the M&E are:

a) To strengthen coordination of Local Authorities M&E systems

b) To improve routine socioeconomic data collection, management and quality

c) To enhance use of socioeconomic development information & knowledge management

d) To strengthen local authorities’ financial monitoring, budget and expenditure analysis

e) To provide a basis for the allocation and use of resources as well as for selecting projects

to enter into the Annual Investment Plan.

The M&E framework main thrust is the expanded data flow linking VDCs (Village Development Committees) and ADCs to enhance data use and use of dashboards to ensure increased uptake

of information by the political arm of the local authorities. A list of strategic information needs

have been developed as a package for each audience especially the service committees and ADCs

and VDCs.

3.3.2: LAPA baseline

Local Authorities overall Performance by Level

In March 2018, LGAP in collaboration with the MLGRD started the LAPA baseline assessment

by external assessment team in all the 35 councils. The LAPA was undertaken to establish baseline

score values for each LA that will be compared year-on-year. The key preliminary findings are

that out of the 11 key performance areas only:

42

• The majority of the district councils require improvement in the performances with 20

(71 percent) of these attaining an average score of one.

• Only three district councils namely, Kasungu, Dowa and Karonga, attained average score

of two on the Likert scale representing 18 percent of the district councils.

• There were also district councils that had unacceptable average scores of zero.

Level Color code/Dash board Description of standards

0

Five (18%) LA are non-performing based on expected

indicators or regulatory requirements or established norms

and standards. Performance is of the lowest quality. This is

unacceptable performance

1

Twenty (71%) LA are non-performing based on expected

indicators or regulatory requirements or established norms

and standards but some few systems and systems are

functioning but not to the expected levels. Needs

improvement

2

Three (11%) LA are performing based on expected indicators

or regulatory requirements or established norms and

standards. Most systems in place and are functioning but not

to the expected levels. This is average performance. Silver

standard

3

None of the LA are fully performing based on expected

indicators or regulatory requirements or established norms

and standards. All systems in place and are functioning but

not to the expected levels. Gold standard

4

None of the LAs is fully performing based on expected

indicators or regulatory requirements or established norms

and standards. All systems in place and are functioning but

not to the expected levels and the LA has exceeded set

standards, including electronic and digital systems to promote

performance, transparency and accountability. Platinum LA.

Local Authorities overall performance by each Key Performance Areas

A further analysis of the Key Performance Areas (KPA) reveals that out of 11 key performance

areas only three key performance areas have an average score of three on the Likert chart

namely, health, agriculture, and public works. The KPA with lowest average score is commerce

and trade with below 1 average score, followed by, development and planning; governance and

main streaming (24%); finance and procurement; human resource management; gender and

community (31%); and education. These require improvement. This implies that district councils

are underperforming in their core key performance areas.

43

The implications of these findings are that the poor governance in the councils will likely impact

good finance and procurement practices. Human resources will likely affect sustained provision

of quality services to the citizens in long term. Similarly, the lack of designated commerce and

trade functions is likely to affect council’s locally generated revenues growth that will affect the

provision of services to their citizens.

SUB-RESULT 3.4: USAID SECTORAL SUPPORT FOR POLICY REFORMS

COORDINATED, REINFORCING DECENTRALIZATION

(Progress detailed below in Integration Section)

RESULT AREA 4: PUBLIC SERVICE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

IMPROVED AND IMPLEMENTED

On May 21 2018, negotiations and discussions on the Public Service Reform activity concluded

with the signing of the modification between USAID and DAI. Mr. Beenwell Banda assumed his

position as Technical Director for the activity. H was immediately co-opted into the

amendment processes and drafting of the:

i. Malawi Public Service Act, 1994,

ii. Malawi Public Service Regulations

iii. Employment Act, 2000

iv. Malawi Public Service Commission; and

v. Malawi Public Service Commission Regulations

The statutes are currently undergoing review and there are additional policies and procedures

that would benefit from revision to bring them more in line with performance management

best practice. This effort immediately presented the possible opportunity to address some of

the challenges of disconnect between the reforms at the national level and those in-line with

the decentralization policy framework.

0

1

2

3

4Development Planning

Human ResourcesDevelopment &

Management

Financial & ProcurementManagement

Governance

Public Works

Health & Environment

Agriculture & NaturalResources

Education

Commerce & Trade

Mainstreaming KeyCrosscutting Issues

Spider Chart for all District council KPA's based on LAPA 0-4 scale

44

In the fourth quarter, Mr. Banda who is already co-located with the Chief Director of the PSR

Unit in the office of the Chief Secretary will focus on consulting and defining the extent and

type of support that can catalyze the full extent of the activity, particularly looking at sub-

results:

4.1 Policy and Performance Management Evaluation System Reforms; and

4.2 Institutional Capacity Building

RESULT AREA 5: PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT RELATED TO HUMAN

RESOURCES IMPROVED

Similarly, under this KRA Mr. Banda should be able to provide direction and strategy on how to

focus interventions to address the issues pertaining to this area its sub-results:

5.1 Strengthening Accountability and Policy Making

During the last quarter, LGAP will invite stakeholders to strategic thinking sessions to fully take

advantage of the thinking in these most important interventions;

PART II: INTEGRATION & RELEVANT

ACTIVITIES BY SECTOR Sector support in this quarter primarily took the form of the following activities: support to the

DDPs (as detailed in section 1.1 of this report), support to LASCOM through the headcount

and staff rationalization exercises. The most significant and impactful activity though was the

results of the Local Authorities Performance Assessment (LAPA) across all 35 LAs in Malawi.

Below are the results and comparisons of the eight LGAP districts.

EDUCATION A) In this quarter, MLGRD fully approved the LAPA, paving the way for LGAP to support

the national rollout of the assessment (as detailed above in Result Area 3). For the

education sector, this will mean a clearer understanding of the ability of councils to

manage decentralized functions in the education sector. The LAPA will assess the

presence of education sector plans and guidelines, the capacity of the education

management team, and impact results the council can use to measure against their

investments in the education sector. Below we further detail the performance standards

applicable to the education sector, through the LAPA:

45

The results above show that the performance of the majority of the district councils (57 percent)

was below average. However, among the councils whose performance was above average,

Rumphi was the highest with a score of 67 percent closely followed by Nkhata bay, Neno,

M’mbelwa, and Chitipa all with 63 percent score. Factors influencing performance include:

• Involvement of development partners (e.g. GIZ; World Vision; Action Aid; WFP and

Mary’s Meals [ECDs and school feeding positively impacting on enrolment as well as

survival rates]).

• Availability of good systems – e.g. District Education Plan

• DEM generally highly qualified and well-motivated

• Some of the notable challenges include shortage of teachers (high teacher pupil ratios

(1:120 against standard of 1:60. In some cases, the ratio was as high as 1:147.

• High repetition rates

• Shortage of teachers’ houses is another notable challenge

• School improvement grant not being used for intended purpose

There are six performance standards for education as listed below:

Performance

Standard 5D.1

The district council has approved education sector plans and guidelines that

guide quality delivery & monitoring standards for education in line the NESP

Performance

Standard 5D.2

The district council has established community and district based structures

and processes that facilitate effective education delivery in the district

Performance

Standard 5D.3

The district council has demonstrated capacity for improved technical and

supportive education systems in the district (availability, access, quality)

Performance

Standard 5D.4

The district council has demonstrated capacity for improved coverage and

delivery of education services in the district

46

Performance

Standard 5D.5

The district council has demonstrated effectiveness in delivery of education

support services in the district

Performance

Standard 5D.6

The district council has demonstrated progressive change/impact in delivery

of education services in the district

B) District Education Committee

Taking the lead from USAID ONSE, LGAP approached the MERIT project to gauge their

interest in undertaking similar activities for the district education committees. In the coming

quarter, MERIT and LGAP will work together to map a process for developing or reviving

previously existing guidelines for education committees in the councils, leading to a standard

guideline in consultation with MLGRD and Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology

(MoEST) to form the basis of council service committee trainings for the education sector.

HEALTH A) Support to District Health and Environment Committee

Together with ONSE, LGAP supported the development of guidelines for the Health and

Environment Committees (HEC). The process began with ONSE sharing results of its health

facilities survey with the Balaka District Health Management Team (DHMT) and HEC. During

this session, ONSE noted that while the DHMT was generally prepared to review the results,

members of the HEC did not have the necessary capacity to review the reports. Additionally,

the HEC, while constituted, did not hold regular meetings, had not adopted a formal terms of

reference, and did not have guidelines as the functionality of the HEC. Similar exercises were

held in Nkhata Bay and Mchinji, where LGAP staff were also asked to present on the

functionality of the district councils vis-à-vis councilors. Taken together, these consultations

have informed ONSE’s development of the HEC committee guidelines, which are now to be

reviewed at the national level. Once fully adopted, ONSE will work with LGAP to develop a

training package which will allow all HECs to fully appreciate their oversight role in monitoring

District Health Management Teams.

A major achievement was made in the LAPA, with the following benchmark being established:

Health and environment focused on the district council’s demonstrable capacity to deliver quality

health services to its people in line with national set standards as stipulated in the National Health Sector Strategic Plan. The figure below highlights the results obtained:

47

The majority of the District Councils 61 % performed above average with the highest being

Lilongwe, Mwanza and Salima which all obtained 86 %. Some of the factors to which the general

good performance in the health sector can be attributed include:

• Development partner support: Involvement of development partners (e.g. GIZ, MSH,

Global Fund, Action Aid among others) in the health sector system development has

improved the management of information at the districts as well as building the capacity

of staff.

• Availability of highly qualified and motivated personnel: The DHOs generally are

highly qualified and well-motivated. High capacity levels in health – data management,

environment (DEHO), DHO, Nurses – due to the regulatory frameworks that focus on

the professionals involved in health. The health sector in general is one of the sectors

where the professions are formally regulated, with well-recognized professional bodies

that work hand-in-hand with employers. It is therefore rare to find those who are not

qualified in the health sector professions being employed to perform such duties,

particularly at district levels.

• Good record management with ICT: Availability of DHIS2 helped in terms of better

performance.

Performance

Standard 5B.1

The district council has approved health plans and guidelines that guide

quality delivery & monitoring standards for health services in line the

National Health Sector Strategic Plan and the Malawi Community Health

Strategy, 2017-2022

Performance

Standard 5B.2

The district council has established community and district based structures

and processes that facilitate effective health delivery in the district

4675

6121

71

46

82

29

75

36

93

435061

4664

86

75

4

54

57

54

75

29

21

86 71

21

0

20

40

60

80

100

BalakaBlantyre

Chikwawa

Chiradzulu

Chitipa

Dedza

Dowa

Karonga

Kasungu

Likoma

Lilongwe

Machinga

MangochiMchinji

MmbelwaMulanje

Mwanza

Neno

Nkhatabay

Nkhotakota

Nsanje

Ntcheu

Ntchisi

Phalombe

Rumphi

Salima

ThyoloZomba

SD: Health

48

Performance

Standard 5B.3

The district council has demonstrated capacity for improved technical and

supportive health systems in the district (availability, access, quality and

safety of health systems). Indicators to be measured are: 1) % TB treatment

success rate; 2) % ART retention rate (12 months); 3) Outpatient service

utilization (OPD visits per 1,000 population); 4) % Children with diarrhea

receiving oral rehydration solution (ORS); 5) % Vitamin A supplementation

coverage (6-59 month); 6) % Use of Insecticide treated nets (ITN); 7) %

Postpartum care coverage; 8) % Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) coverage; 9)

% HIV-positive TB patients on ART during TB treatment; 10) % Second line

treatment coverage among MDRTB cases;

Performance

Standard 5B.4

The district council has demonstrated capacity for improved coverage and

delivery of EHP services in the district. Indicators to be monitored are: 1) %

Antenatal care coverage − at least four visits, 2) % of births attended by

skilled health personnel, 3) % of pregnant women who start antenatal during

the first trimester, 4) % Modern contraceptive prevalence rate (all women),

5) % Demand for family planning satisfied with modern methods (all women);

6) % Intermittent preventive therapy for malaria during pregnancy (IPTp); 7)

% ART coverage among known HIV-infected pregnant women; 8) % of HIV+

pregnant women who are on ART at the end of their pregnancy, 9) % of

both Penta III coverage and 10) Proportion of 1 year-old children immunized

against measles

Performance

Standard 5B.5

The district council has demonstrated investment for improved delivery of

health services in the district. Indicators to be monitored are: 1) % EHP

Coverage; 2) % of health facilities with stock-outs of tracer medicines; 3) %

of population living within 8 km of a health facility; 4) Health worker density

and distribution; 5) % Completeness of reporting by facilities; 6) % households with access to improved water source; 7) % of households with

access to improved sanitation; 8) % client satisfaction with health services

Performance

Standard 5B.6

The district council has demonstrated capacity for improved community

health service delivery in the district in line with the National Community

Health Strategy, 2017-2022

Performance

Standard 5B.7

The district council has demonstrated progressive change/impact in health

status in the district (use annual proxy figures from the DHO. NSO results

can be used as a check when they come out after 5 years)

SERVICE DELIVERY-AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES Agriculture and natural resources services delivery was assessed mainly focusing on systems and

plans, district and local level structures, technical support and improvement in the areas of crops,

livestock, fisheries and forestry. The general performance on this indicator is as presented in

Figure below:

49

In general, the performance of most district councils on this KPA was above average, with most

councils scoring more than 50%. Specifically, 54 percent performed above average - the highest

being M’mbelwa, which obtained 78 percent score as the best, closely followed up by Dowa at

75 percent. This good performance is attributed to the following factors:

• Highly educated and motivated District Agriculture Development Officer (DADO).

• Involvement of development partners (e.g. WFP, Illovo Sugar, Shire Valley Transformation Program, World Vision International, Goal, Action Aid) among others) in the

implementation of programs such as social cash transfers

The performance standards under this Key Performance Area (KPA) included the following:

Performance

Standard 5C.1

The district council has approved district agricultural development and food

security plans and guidelines that guide quality delivery & monitoring standards for

agricultural development, food security and natural resources management in the

district

Performance Standard 5C.2

The district council has established community and district based structures and processes that facilitate effective agricultural services delivery in the district

Performance

Standard 5C.3

The district council has demonstrated capacity for improved agriculture

development and natural resources technical support systems in the district

(availability, access, quality and safety of extension delivery systems)

Performance

Standard 5C.4

The district council demonstrated capacity for improved crop production in the

district

Performance

Standard 5C.5

The district council demonstrated capacity for improved livestock production in

the district

Performance

Standard 5C.6

The district council demonstrated capacity for improved fisheries and aquaculture

production in the district

Performance

Standard 5C.7

The district council demonstrated capacity for improved forestry management in

the district

69 6634

59

66

9

75

38

69

53

59

444469

7853

5969

34

31

50

56

31

63

38

3150

44

0

20

40

60

80

BalakaBlantyre

ChikwawaChiradzulu

Chitipa

Dedza

Dowa

Karonga

Kasungu

Likoma

Lilongwe

MachingaMangochi

MchinjiMmbelwa

MulanjeMwanzaNeno

Nkhatabay

Nkhotakota

Nsanje

Ntcheu

Ntchisi

Phalombe

Rumphi

SalimaThyolo

Zomba

SD: Agric

50

Performance

Standard 5C.8

The district council demonstrated progressive change/impact in agriculture

development and natural resources management in the district

51

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

STTA in the Reporting Period:

From April 2018 to June 2018, LGAP retained the services of the following STTA to support key programmatic deliverables and

operations.

Short-Term Technical Assistance

Dr Asiyatu Chiweza Examining the original objectives and goals for embarking on decentralization in Malawi, progress made;

identifying major challenges; and Envisioning the future of decentralization the next decade.

Dr Milton Kutengule Providing advice to LGAP and input into planning on the project support required in strengthening the

district planning system. Providing the frameworks defining the Chapters and Sections for DDPs. Supporting

the DDP Consultants and District Teams to properly align the DDPs to the national and international

development frameworks. Supporting the harmonization of the DDPS with national and sectoral programs,

and national policies and programs.

Nick Shawa Developing and customizing the M&E plan with data collection & analysis, data source, model M&E

framework, use of information strategies, data flows at different levels, councils & reporting templates;

Preparing and presenting an M&E plan development process report highlighting delivery process, results

achieved, stakeholders’ satisfaction with workshop process, main conclusions and recommendations for

future activities; and Conducting validation meetings.

Dr Henry Chingaipe Reviewing the Ministry’s (to include the affiliate institutions – NLGFC & LGSC) Mission, Vision, Purpose and

Functions in view of supervisory role it is mandated to play in relation to the local governments; Reviewing

the other existing monitoring and inspection mechanisms at the MLGRD, NLGFC and LGSC; Profile areas

requiring inspectorate at local level; Establish appropriate systems to support efficient and effective

implementation of the inspectorate function.

Proposing options for implementation using the current staffing and coordination from Directorate of Local

Government Services. Designing a Compliance and performance Inspection manual with associated tools

and checklists. Train / Orient MLGRD, NLGFC and LGSC personnel on the Manual. Support the trained

personnel carry out practical inspection on selected Local Authorities, produce reports and identify key

strengths and gaps in the performance of LGs Backstop the initial inspections of Local Authorities and review

emerging issues

Prof Mustafa Hussein Evaluating the performance of the Local Authorities using the approved MLGRD LAPA tool and user guide.

Assessing and score each Local Authority in the following Key Performance Areas: Development planning,

52

Human Resource Planning and Management, Financial and Procurement Management, Governance, Citizens

Engagement, Health, Education, Public works, Agriculture, Gender and community services.

Dr K. Lweya Undertake training of the Local Authorities for using LAPA tool and use guide. Reviewing existing national

level LA related performance information to triangulate with LA reports. In collaboration with MLGRD,

conducting external reviews in the thirty-five Local Authorities. Conducting field validation of the LAPA

scored where necessary in the Las. Discuss external assessment findings with the LA and agree on consensus

score.

Dr M. Sikwese Undertake training of the Local Authorities for using LAPA tool and use guide. Reviewing existing national

level LA related performance information to triangulate with LA reports. In collaboration with MLGRD,

conducting external reviews in the thirty-five Local Authorities. Conducting field validation of the LAPA

scored where necessary in the Las. Discuss external assessment findings with the LA and agree on

consensus score.

Arthur Chibwana Undertake training of the Local Authorities for using LAPA tool and use guide. Reviewing existing national

level LA related performance information to triangulate with LA reports. In collaboration with MLGRD,

conducting external reviews in the thirty-five Local Authorities. Conducting field validation of the LAPA

scored where necessary in the LAs. Discuss external assessment findings with the LA and agree on

consensus score.

Dickens Chiyani Undertake training of the Local Authorities for using LAPA tool and use guide. Reviewing existing national

level LA related performance information to triangulate with LA reports. In collaboration with MLGRD,

conducting external reviews in the thirty-five Local Authorities. Conducting field validation of the LAPA

scored where necessary in the Las. Discuss external assessment findings with the LA and agree on

consensus score.

Aileen Andries Providing supplementary support and follow up training to the LGAP team in the areas of HR, Finance,

Operations, and Procurement. Leading the LGAP team’s follow up, investigation, and preparation of

response to the most recent internal file audit to ensure the project’s compliance with USAID and DAI

policies and procedures. Delivering any necessary training and orientation to new staff, specifically on the

finance team and brush-up training as needed to existing staff. Providing consultation and support on all HR

and finance matters for the project.

Theresa Hurt Supporting the LGAP Infrastructure Specialist and LGAP team to review, document, and finalize LGAP

infrastructure processes and procedures, including local project selection and feasibility considerations;

subcontracting for preliminary and final engineering designs plus construction oversight; infrastructure

53

design management; environmental compliance support; and preparation for construction subcontracting

and eventual construction management.

Allan Chinula Reviewing the Public Service Act and to formulate the harmonized public service architecture called

the Malawi Public Service Commission and its enabling legislative framework (the Public Service

Commission Act) and develop Public Service Commission Regulations.

Mzati Mbeko Reviewing the Public Service Act and to formulate the harmonized public service architecture called the

Malawi Public Service Commission and its enabling legislative framework (the Public Service Commission

Act) and develop Public Service Commission Regulations

Listone Musopole Reviewing the Public Service Act and to formulate the harmonized public service architecture called the

Malawi Public Service Commission and its enabling legislative framework (the Public Service Commission

Act) and develop Public Service Commission Regulations

Isabello Mndolo Reviewing the Public Service Act and to formulate the harmonized public service architecture called the

Malawi Public Service Commission and its enabling legislative framework (the Public Service Commission

Act) and develop Public Service Commission Regulations

Carmen Nicole

Aspinall

Supporting the LGAP technical team in drafting, editing, and proofreading technical documents, quarterly reports, success stories, and other reports and materials to the level of native English-speakers.

Ensuring that all LGAP/DAI documents meet publication quality standards under the advisement of the Chief

of Party (COP).

54

STAFFING

Recruitment efforts continued to be a main project priority during this reporting period. During

the period, the following positions fell vacant and were advertised:

1. Local Government Manager

2. Institutional Development Coordinator (Kasungu) 3. Integration Coordinator (Kasungu)

While the following positions were vacant during the beginning of the period and were filled:

1. Public Financial Management Specialist (Kasungu)

2. Integration Coordinator (Balaka)

3. Technical Director- Public Sector Reforms

Table 8: DAI/LGAP Project Staff Members

# Name Post

1 Virginia Chitanda Chief of Party

2 Jeremy Keeton Technical Director Integration

3 Alfred Kamphonje Deputy Chief of Party

4 Brenda Kacheche Institutional Capacity Specialist

5 Phaniso Kalua Technical Director PFM

6 Chiliritso Gwaza Administrative Officer

7 Addien Katawa Information Technology Officer

8 Chisomo Milazi Administrative Assistant

9 Macwilliam

Shumba

Driver

10 Chrissy Maleyi Office Assistant

11 Ernest Mlenga M&E Specialist

12 Aaron Luhanga District Program Manager

(Balaka, Machinga and Zomba)

13 Mabvuto

Mkandawire

Local Government Manager

14 Tapson Ndundu ME&L Director

15 Winston Khamula Decentralization Manager

16 Bright Saka District Coordination Assistant –

Kasungu

17 Mtende Msendama District Coordination Assistant –

Balaka

55

# Name Post

18 Jimmy Kwangwani Integration Coordinator –

Blantyre

19 Elton Edward Program Manager - Blantyre

20 Dieckens Binali Grants Associate

21 Michael Mwachilale Public Finance Management

Specialist – Balaka

22 Dennis

Chikunkhuzeni

Public Finance Management

Specialist – Blantyre

23 Christina

Nyambalo

Communication and Outreach

Specialist

25 Chifundo Kasonga Project Driver – HO

26 Davie Simale Project Driver – Balaka

27 Benjamin Phiri Project Driver - Kasungu

28 Edwin Msewa Social Accountability Manager

29 Victor Lowe Project Driver – HO

30 Abby Masikamu Project Driver - Blantyre

31 Hentry Mwale Institutional Development

Coordinator – BLK

32 Jessie Njikho District Coordination Assistant-

Blantyre

33 Gerald Mmelo Project Driver-HO

34 Frank Zoto Program Manager –Kasungu and

M’mbelwa

35 Alfred Kaliwo Infrastructure Specialist

36 Frank Chikamba Finance Specialist

37 David Ng’onamo Procurement Specialist

38 Alice Makhambera Public Finance Management

Specialist- Lilongwe

39 Mike Chipalasa Communications Officer

40 Georgina Dakalira Receptionist/Administrative

Clerk

41 Kumbukani Kaduya Project Accountant 2

42 Chimwemwe

Mwatengele

Procurement & Logistics

Assistant

43 Clement Nyirenda Public Finance Management

Specialist-Kasungu

44 Sydney

Mwakaswaya

Institutional Development

Coordinator

56

# Name Post

45 Justice Mpinga Project Accountant

46 Effie Bvutula Integration Coordinator

47 Beenwell Banda TD- Public Service Reforms

57

ANNEXES:

ANNEX 1: REGIONAL QUARTERLY REPORT FROM BALAKA OFFICE

1.0 Status of Interventions/Activities Planned in the Quarter

The following are activities that were planned in the quarter and the table below give a brief

on what has been implemented.

In summary, the following activities were implemented in the quarter:

• Approval of DDP for Machinga (Development Committee meeting and Full Council

meetings)

• Support Coordination and Collaboration meeting on M&E in Machinga

• Mentor Assistant Accountants on Bank Reconciliations

• Impact Evaluation Activities

• Team Building for Zomba and Balaka District Councils

• Development of By-laws for Balaka and Machinga District Councils

The activities below are yet to be conducted by the end of the quarter

• Approval of DDP for Machinga (Development and Full Council meetings slated for 13

and 14th June 2018

• Development of By-laws for Zomba District Council slated for 27th to 29th June, n2018

2.1 Activities Conducted in Quarter 3 (April to June 2018)

2.1.1 Multi Stakeholder Conference and Approval for DDP for Balaka District

Council

In April 2018, LGAP support Balaka District Council to facilitate District Multi-Stakeholder

conference during the District Development process. The conference was conducted to solicit

input from wider stakeholders on the five-year District Development Plan covering 2017 - 2022

period. This support was part of the process in development of Village Action Plans (VAPS) that

LGAP supported in its targeted districts. It contributes to functionality of the councils to improve

planning, budgeting and implementation. The support will accord communities opportunity to

follow-up with district council on development initiatives as prioritized through Village Action

Plans.

According to Balaka DC, Rodrick Mateauma “the conference provides an opportunity for input and

platform for our key stakeholders to contributed in the district development planning process,” he said,

adding, “this forum brings us together in the path of development. I urge you all stakeholders to support

the council in implementation of the plan.”’

The conference attracted 115 participants coming from Private Sector, Traditional and Religious

leaders, CSOs, Women and Youth Groups. Representing CSOs, Russell Kapalamula from United

Purpose, employed the council secretariat to continuously summon CSOs working the districts

to submitting of quarterly reports on the activities that they are implementing. ‘I want our council

to be proactive in engaging us by submitting periodic reports. That will be one way of coordinating efforts

in implementation of the district development plan,’ he said.

58

Stakeholders Resolutions during the Conference: Participants highlighted the need for

the plan to outline meaningful strategies to engage youth and women in economic

empowerment and governance, and how to manage refuse disposal. The table below briefly

outline commitments made by stakeholders in DDP implementation.

Stakeholder Commitment to DDP Implementation

Religious

Leaders

1. Participating and monitoring progress of the development initiatives

taking place in the district to ensure that they are in line with DDP.

2. Promote transparency and accountability in the way the development

activities will be undertaken in the district and in their religious

groupings.

3. Empower communities to actively participate in development programs.

4. Raise awareness among followers in order for them to resist and report

corruption among government officials.

5. Take part in dissemination of the DDP, once it is printed, in order to

empower followers to know and take part in the development projects

and programs

Councilors

(Elected

Officials)

1. Holding public meetings in their respective wards in order to raise

community awareness about the DDP.

2. Resource mobilization for development initiatives from various donors,

CDF, LDF and DDF.

3. Conducting monitoring visits to various development sites, markets, and

other revenue generating sites to ensure that they are in line with the

DDP.

4. Participating in various development activities in their wards, in order to

promote transparency and accountability in development works.

5. Working together with their MPs in order to ensure consensus in the way CDF, DDF and LDF will be used.

CSOs/NGOs 1. Will continue to support relevant development programs and ensure

that new programs are in line with the DDP.

Figure 4 - Group Discussions. Part of the participants discussing points for successful DDP implementation.

59

2. Develop proposals in order to source funds, provide technical support,

and provide equipment and assets to help in the implementation of

DDP.

3. Lobby support for Social Accountability activities and programs to

ensure adherence to the DDP.

4. Advocate for change of policies and also promote community

sensitization on the same

Traditional

Leaders

1. Ensuring that development initiatives that are coming to their areas are

in line with the VAPs as well as the DDP.

2. Conducting monitoring visits to development sites.

3. Encouraging subjects to take part in development programs in their

areas.

4. Ensure coordination and collaboration of development partners

operating in their areas to avoid duplication and accelerate

implementation of the DDP

The above, demonstrate noticeable changes on how previous DDPs were implemented in the

district. It was observed that in past key stakeholders were not fully engaged in forums to

solicit their input and commitment.

After the conference, the district council facilitated meetings of District Development

committee and Full Council that approved the five-year District Development Plan.

2.1.2 Team Building Support to Balaka and Zomba District Councils

Support for Team Building Process in Balaka District Council took place from 12th -13 April 2018,

whilst in Zomba District Council was conducted from 10th -11th May 2018. The Team Building

sessions followed requests which Balaka and Zomba District Councils’ Management made to

LGAP that they needed tailor-made team building sessions to improve relationships between

elected leaders, council management and sector heads.

The main objective of the Team Building Process was to build strong working relationships and

teams that will improve performance and functionality of the district councils. Organizational

Development Consultant, Mr. Mavuto Kapyepye, facilitated the team building sessions and it ran

for two days.

To meet the needs of participants, needs assessment was conducted. The Consultant visited

Balaka and Zomba District Councils to assess and capture team and relationship issues as well as

systems, attitudes, practices and competence levels. The assessment involved one-to-one

discussion with respective District Commissioners, Directors, Heads of Sectors and Councilors,

who are major players in the transaction of business at council level.

A total of 54 participants attended the Team Building workshop in Zomba. These included 16

Councilors, 17 Heads and Representatives of Sectors, 10 Traditional Authorities, and 10 ADC

Chairpersons and 4 Directors led by the DC. In Balaka, a total of 37 participants attended the

Team Building workshop. These included 8 Councilors, 23 Heads and Representatives of Sectors,

and 6 Representative of the Secretariat.

60

During the workshop, the Consultant presented findings of the consultations he had with the

district council players in order for the concerned parties to validate and own them. It emerged,

during the session, that there are contested situations bordering on power. In the middle of

facilitating the process, the consultant delivered small lectures on key topics on team building on

a case by-case basis to address relationship issues and to enhance awareness and capacity of

participants on key areas of local government. When relationship issues were resolved, the

session took place in a more peaceful environment. Accordingly, stakeholders from various

backgrounds and sectors examined their relationship dynamics more deeply in order to discover

their existing strengths and weaknesses including attitudes, behaviorbehaviors and competences

impacting on relationships in order to ensure peaceful coexistence.

Team building process fit well in the broader strategy of decentralization in Malawi because it

provided a rare interface forum where elected and appointed Council officials deliberated on

their roles and responsibilities, weaknesses and strengths to ensure functional local government.

It also increased participation in local government planning and policy. In the long term, the

sessions provided a platform that will ensure that social accountability, public financial

management and service delivery are improved.

The main challenge encountered during implementation of this activity is that, in Balaka District,

some participants like the DC and the DoF did not attend a morning session of day two of the

workshop due to other duty commitments. However, the workshop went ahead as scheduled

because the Secretariat sent other representatives.

While for Zomba, it was so encouraging because the DC and Directors participated fully during

the three days of the workshop. This was so because we learned from the challenges we

encountered in Balaka District, as such, LGAP lobbied the Zomba DC to attend the workshop

in its entirety in order to encourage teamwork. The DC showed commitment on such an exercise

because he saw the value of the activity.

To ensure that there is continuity, Balaka and Zomba District Councils’ Teams, developed action

plans to follow through in improving relationships among the various components of the district

council system. To ensure that the actions plans do not become just another “paper show”,

participants proposed review sessions to monitor progress of the action plans and ensure

accountability on the part of all parties involved in effecting change in their district councils. These

review sessions will help in understanding what is working well including capturing success stories

and challenges being faced.

2.1.3 Support to Development of By-Laws for Balaka and Machinga District

Councils

Support for By-Laws Formulation Process in Machinga District Council took place from May 15-

17, 2018 while in Balaka District Council it took place from May 28-30, 2018. The formulation of

By-Laws followed requests which Machinga and Balaka District Councils made to LGAP

Management. The councils indicated the need for tailor-made policies and by-laws to effectively

manage and regulate infrastructural and economic development, and to assist the council to

create order and to facilitate smooth running of affairs in different sectors.

The main objective of By-Laws Formulation Process was to support Machinga and Balaka District

Councils to formulate guidelines and local policies for the management of various sectors under

61

their jurisdiction. The by-laws are expected to deal with problems and opportunities related to

the development and management of services and development.

The By-Law Formulation sessions was facilitated by Legal Consultant, Mr. Hugo Mlewa, Uchizi

Chinula, Sarai Chisala and Representative from MOLGRD Mr. Douglas Mkweta. The objectives

of the conference were met as targeted stakeholders, including Traditional Leaders, Sector Heads, Councilors and Representative of ADCs and Special Interest groups from various

backgrounds attended the three-day workshop. They consulted widely and conducted situation

analysis, problem identification, problem definition, solution identification and SWOT analysis for

their district councils.

In Balaka District Council, a total of 52 participants contributed to the formulation of By-Laws.

These included the DC and 4 Directors from the Secretariat, 17 Heads of Sectors, 8

Councilors, 11 TAs, 11ADC Chairpersons and 3Special Interest Group Representatives.

The following table presents some of the key issues which participants agreed as needing By-

Laws formulation:

No Thematic Area Bylaw Objective

1 Finance, Industry trade &

Business licensing

To curb markets and vending, low revenue collection,

street vending, proliferation of undesignated markets and

hawkers, proliferation of unregistered businesses.

2 Education and Early Childhood Development

To curb informal establishment of ECD’s, Poor Infrastructure, Poor quality of service provided by the

available ECDs, Inadequate monitoring and enforcement

of standards (qualifications of teachers.

3 HR and Child labor To curb increased cases of Child Labor

4 Community Development,

Adult literacy and HIV and

AIDS

To curb high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, and high adult

illiteracy levels

5 Public Works Public Works: To curb substandard and unfinished

infrastructure, In adequate infrastructures

6 Agriculture To mitigate prolonged dry spells, Increased Pests and

diseases, Low adoption to new agriculture technologies,

Grazing of animals in non- designated areas, unregulated

animal rearing, High cost of farm inputs, Soil erosion and

land degradation

7 Mining To curb Sand and Quarry mining in undesignated places

8 Forestry To curb Charcoal Production, wanton cutting down of

trees in protected areas and along river banks,

uncontrolled bush fires, Encroachment in protected

areas

9 Environment Curb Water Pollution, Air Pollution, Loss of biodiversity

and Poor Waste management

62

10 Healthcare To reduce spread of communicable diseases, maternal

and child mortality, poor human settlement and poor

sanitation,

One of the ways forward in this support is to draft the by-laws for the respective councils and

roll out further consultations with various groups in the district for their input. One of the

challenges encountered in implementation of this activity is the limitation of time. Participants

noted that 3 days were not enough for such an important exercise. This because the process

combined the sensitization of By-laws and deliberations on areas of concern and how to address

it. Normally, sensitization is treated as an independent activity that allows participants to

appreciate what are by-laws and how are they important in functionality of district councils.

2.1.4 Support on Public Finance Management

There are a number of PFM support that LGAP provided to district council in the period under

review. The support took a mentorship approach as follows:

Activity 1 – Coaching and mentorship in IFMIS usage – Zomba District Council

Following the trainings that were conducted on IFMIS in Lilongwe in September 2017, LGAP

together with NLGFC made follow up with the accounts officers in Zomba District Council on

how they were using IFMIS. The Accounts Assistants were having difficulties in loading of budgets,

receiving of funding, funds allocation and use of speed-keys. Immediately we agreed to conduct

an in-house refresher training for all the accounts staffs which was facilitated by NLGFC Financial

Analyst supported by LGAP PFM Specialist. After the training, the Accountant and the Assistant

Accountant were mentoring the Accounts Assistants in doing the tasks mentioned above, which

made the activity very successful. One of the key outcomes was that the records transacted off

IFMIS were updated in IFMIS and the bank accounts are ready for bank reconciliations exercise.

Activity 2 – Bank reconciliations – Zomba District Council

Balaka office through PFM Specialist focused on conducting bank reconciliations. This is under

Sub-Result 1.2 Accountability, PFM, and oversight of public expenditures improved in LGAP. The

exercise earmarked Zomba District Council. It involved the DOF , Principal Accountant,

Accountant, Assistant Accountant and Accounts Assistants. The exercise observed the following

key issues: Accounts Clerks were not processing transactions in IFMIS because they were shy to

ask fellow friends where they had challenges, DOF and management entertained the payments

that were done outside IFMIS and no action were taken on those that were not following the

recommended procedures in accounting. It is pleasing to note that the officers at the council are

very committed to the exercise and by the 30 June 2018 all the bank accounts will be well up to

date and reconciled.

Activity 3 – Mentorship of Procurement Officer – Balaka District Council

Mentorship and coaching are the key activities that PFM Specialists have embarked on this

quarter. The Procurement Officer for Balaka District Councils requested LGAP to mentor him

on preparation of annual procurement plan. This activity was a follow up on the training, which

LGAP conducted last quarter for the procurement officers. This is under Sub-Result 1.2

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Accountability, PFM, and oversight of public expenditures improved in LGAP. PFM utilized eight

hours in mentoring the officer in the following: extracting items and figures from the consolidated

budget for the council, soliciting specific items or services to procure from sector heads and

coming up with the annual procurement plan following the template that was shared by the Office

of the Director of Procurement and Disposal of Assets (ODPDA). This will continue for the

coming days up until the full annual procurement plan is completed and submitted. Machinga

District Council has requested for the similar support from the Procurement Officer which will

be conducted shortly.

Activity 4 – Mentorship on interpretation of financial reports – Balaka District Key Sector Heads

Balaka Office embarked on an activity of engaging the sectors heads like DHO, DEM and District

Agriculture and Development Officer (DADO) in ascertaining whether they understand the

financial reports that are extracted from IFMIS and if they use them in decision making. This

activity is under Sub-Result 1.2 Accountability, PFM, and oversight of public expenditures

improved in LGAP. The PFM Specialist engaged them in response to the call from the sector

heads that the council do not share the financial reports to the head of sectors. “I am a teacher

by profession and I do not know much about Financial Management, when we had the Accountant at

DEMs office, I was relying on his advises but he was transferred by Accountant General without

replacement,” the DEM for Balaka District Council Mr David Nselebo commented. There is a big

gap between the Finance team and the Sector heads in financial matters understanding. The IFMIS

financial reports as at 30 April 2018 were shared with the DEM. “This is the first time am seeing

the IFMIS report since I came here 3 years ago” said Mr David Nselebo. LGAP will conduct coaching

sessions with the key sectors heads like DHO, DEM and DADO so that they know how to

interpret financial reports and make use of them in decision-making.

Activity 5 – Technical support on IFMIS usage – Machinga District Council

LGAP PFM for Balaka Office conducted a meeting the new Chief Accountant for Machinga

District Council. The objective was to brief each other on the progress that has been made so

far at Machinga District Council in finance department as regards to preparation of bank

reconciliations and preparation of Draft final accounts for audit. The NLGFC desk officer for the

district who came for the M&E visit joined us. The key outcome for the meeting was that all the

bank reconciliations that were done off IFMIS should done in IFMSI so that sharing of IFMIS

reports should be easy.

2.1.5 Support to enhancing M& E Collaboration and Coordination between

District Council and CSOs/NGOs in Machinga

In the quarter, LGAP supported an interface meeting between District Council devolved sectors

and CSOs/NGOs operating in the district. The meeting was conducted on May 24, 2018 at Hippo

Lodge.

The activity aimed at setting a plan on the expected roles and responsibilities of various players

in implementation of Results Based M&E system and to enhance accountability and transparency

in the district.

The meeting targeted CSOs, NGOs and Government sectors as they are expected to periodically

submit reports to district council on their program deliveries. This intervention will strengthen

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district reporting mechanisms and contribute to the district M&E framework. The meeting

offered opportunity to key stakeholders to be oriented on the framework indicators for tracking

purposes.

A total of 52 participants attended the meeting and included representatives from District

Council and Machinga CSO Network which included, GOAL (PaMawa), MSH (ONSE), Emmanuel

International (NJIRA), World Vision, FPAM, FAWEMA, Angaliba, and Action AID.

The meeting discussed the following gaps, which is contributing to a weak M&E reporting systems:

Non-reporting of both government sectors and CSOs ,Reporting not output based, Problems in data

management at district level, Absence of MOU between District Council and CSOs on operational

framework, Some NGOs not registered by District Council, No coordination in monitoring of activities,

Non-use of District Advisory Teams (DATs) in monitoring of activities, Some CSOs using parallel local

structures in implementation, No standardized reporting tool, Project log-frames not shared to District

Council and Untrained local governance structures and underutilization of local structures i.e. ADC and

VDC and non-functional District Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (DMEC).

At the end of the meeting, the district councils and CSOs/NGOs agreed to move forward as

below to address challenges currently being encountered.

• All CSOs and government sectors to share progress report quarterly to District Council through

planning office-M&E Unit

• Standardized or harmonized reporting tool to be used by CSOs and government sectors in

the quarterly reporting. Reporting tool will be shared to all stakeholders by Monday, 28th May,

2018

• CSOs to use DATs in monitoring and evaluation of projects and programs activities

• Reporting has to be output-based following project log-frames

• CSO to support District Council in capacitating local governance structures through trainings

• Need to institute scheduled joint monitoring of activities using DATs

• All CSO to share finer details of their impact areas indicating TA, GVHs and Villages,

submission of information is by 8th June, 2018 by 15th June, 2018

• CSOs and government sectors to report to DEC, Service Committees and Full Council on

project and program progress status.

• District Council to initiate signing of MOU with CSOs-To follow up with DC on current progress

status. Feedback to be provided to all CSOs by Monday, 28th May, 2018

It was emphasized that devolved sectors, CSOs/ NGOS must share their quarterly reports with

the district Council through the M&E unit in the office of DPD. This would assist the council to

be updated on programs that are being implemented in the district and contribute to

‘The meeting will foster our working relationship between the council and Civil Society organizations that

are complimenting governments efforts,’ - Morson Magombo, Senior Economist and Acting Director of

Planning and Development

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improvements in LAPA scores and reporting on national development goals e.g. MGDS 111. The

meeting also discussed the roles and responsibilities of District Monitoring and Evaluation

Committee (DMEC) and the need for the committee to be functional. It will be the role of LGAP

to follow up on resolutions of the meeting ensuring that action points are implemented.

3.1 Understanding of dynamics in play in targeted Districts

The following are dynamics that LGAP has capitalized to continue engaging the councils

Balaka District

• District Leadership (DC) talks but does not act accordingly

• Chief Accountant is very good in terms of bringing in internal controls but not usually available at

the district offices.

• Assistant DOF has limited skills in PFM and he is not willing to learn.

• From Chief Accountant to Accounts Assistant, there is a big gap because there is no Accountant

to do the accounting work.

• Accounts Assistants are good in Accounting skills but they lack leadership in Finance.

• Transfer of Accountant – DEM without replacement and absence of Accountant at DHO affects the council operations a lot.

What should be done or what is LGAP doing

1) LGAP is capitalizing in the new Chief Accountant to make things happen and will focus

on the Accounts Assistants in conducting mentorships and coaching so that they learn

the skills that are supposed to be done by the Accountant or Assistant Accountants.

2) Secondly, we have started engaging the sector heads like DEM, DHO and DADO on

PFM matters. We would like to equip them with basic knowledge of financial

management which will empower them in mounting pressure on the Accounts

department (DOF) like on: demanding and sharing of monthly reports, bank

reconciliations and involving them in approval processes.

3) Thirdly, PFM specialist have taken an active role in supporting the Education, Health

and Agriculture sectors in Financial reporting and analysis with the absence of the

Accountants in those sectors.

4) LGAP should lobby for Accountants posting to the council from LASCOM.

Machinga district dynamics

• The district leadership (District Commissioner) does what he talks in most cases – walks the

talk

• Transfer of Chief Accountant have slowed down some gains that were registered

• Principal Accountant - DEM and Accountant – DHO exists but are not fully utilized by the Chief

Accountant at Secretariat level

• Accounts Assistants are limited in PFM skills unlike Balaka but they have better leadership in

Finance

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What should be done or what is LGAP doing?

1) The existence of the key positions in finance at the council gives an edge to LGAP to

do better on PFM interventions. LGAP will ensure that the Principal Accountant- DEM

and Accountant – DHO are incorporated in the secretariat main functions in

accounting so that we achieve more through them. 2) Secondly, we have started engaging the sector heads like DEM, DHO and DADO on

PFM matters. We would like to equip them with basic knowledge of financial

management which will empower them in mounting pressure on the Accounts

department (DOF) like on; demanding and sharing of monthly reports, bank

reconciliations and involving them in approval processes.

3) Thirdly, LGAP will mentor the Assistant Accounts with skills on IFMIS usage.

Zomba District

• District Leadership (DC) is good, what he talks is what he does.

• DoF talks but doesn’t walk his talk

• All important positions like DoF, Principal Accountant, Accountant and Assistant Accountant are

all filled.

• The council or DoF does not use sector Accountants on other activities except sector transactions.

• The team has good skills but they lack good leadership of the department

What should be done or what is LGAP doing

1) LGAP is capitalizing on the Controlling Officer in making the finance team respond to

calls of PFM interventions.

2) The existence of the key positions in finance at the council gives an age to LGAP to

do better on PFM interventions. LGAP will ensure that the Principal Accountant- DEM

and Accountant – DHO are incorporated in the secretariat main functions in

accounting so that we achieve more through them.

3) Secondly, we have started engaging the sector heads like DEM, DHO and DADO on

PFM matters. We would like to equip them with basic knowledge of financial

management which will empower them in mounting pressure on the Accounts

department (DOF) like on demanding and sharing of monthly reports, bank

reconciliations and involving them in approval processes.

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ANNEX 2: QUARTERLY REPORT FOR BLANTYRE (BLANTYRE AND

MULANJE)

This report presents progress made on the Local Government Accountability and Performance

Program (LGAP) as planned in the Annual Work Plan for Blantyre and Mulanje.

The program has three Key Result Areas, which are further explained and guided by targeted

sub-result areas, as follows:

Result 1: Local government performance and transparency increased – supply side.

1.1.1: District development planning, budgeting, and implementation processes improved;

i. By-Law Formulation for Blantyre and Mulanje District Councils

According to Malawi Local Government Act 1998, Councils have the mandate to formulate By-

laws for promotion, prevention and suppression of activities within its Jurisdiction. Blantyre

District Council has By-laws which are however outdated hence the need to be updated. The by-

laws are crucial for the functioning of the Council especially with the current public service reform

areas the Council would like to address. There was a representation of CSOs in Thematic Groups

like Blantyre Synod, Save the Children. Save the Children is in Agriculture and is implementing

USAID funded UBALE in Blantyre District while One Community, USAID funded, participated in

the By-Laws consultative meetings in Mulanje and preliminary By-Law Formulation. The Deputy

Director for the MLGRD, Mr. Douglas Mkweta. Facilitated the preliminary process.

Development of by-laws are part of policy reforms intended to help councils serve the people

better and have a full mandate and is in line with LGAP Result 3, Decentralization Environment

Systems Improved and Sub-result Area 3.1. Select policies and legal reforms related to

decentralization supported.

The by-laws formulation orientations for Blantyre District Council took place between 23rd and

27 April 2018 at Heritage hotel. The aim of the meeting is to orient the Blantyre District council

officials on the formulation of local policy for the management of various sectors in the area

under their jurisdiction. A total of 34 people 24 males and 10 females attended the meeting. This

is an activity following up on the recommendations made in Mangochi during the Blantyre District

Council training to formulate by-laws for the council. The council chairperson Mr. Tambula said

in January the Councilors together with Chiefs and their VDCs met at the ADC level where they

formulated by-laws. This will ensure ownership once the whole process is done and the laws are

taken back to the villages for implementation. The training involved doing a SWOT analysis for

all the sectors in the Blantyre District Council. Their biggest strength however was the adequate

skilled human resource available in the district, availability of rivers, which provide water supply

for irrigation and decentralized powers to manage payroll and discipline staff. Their weaknesses

as a council are mainly inadequate operational staff to provide quality services, poor planning

leading to poor quality of infrastructures and poor sanitation, lack of skilled local artisans and

poor enforcement of by-laws. They described their opportunities as availability of funding services

from UNDP, World Bank, UNICEF etc., community participation in development work and

availability of development structures for service delivery e.g. VDCs and ADCs. Their biggest

threats are inadequate financial base, climate change and political interference in council activities.

One of the challenges encountered in the meeting is time.

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For Mulanje District, the process followed the following tasks:

Multi-stakeholder Consultative Meeting:

The Multi-stakeholder consultative gathering comprised of Sector Heads from Agriculture,

Education, Health, Water, Lands, Forestry, Fisheries, Environmental Health, Police, Immigration,

Trade, Labor, Community Development, Social Welfare, Women and Disability Affairs, Judiciary,

Environment. Also in attendance were Traditional Leaders, CSOs, USAID Implementing Partner

One Community, Tea Estates leadership, representatives of several Interest Groups, Youth

Representatives, Councilors and Captains of Business, Market Committees representatives and

ADCs representatives. The gathering identified Areas that need By-laws and elected a Task

Committee to be responsible for the development of the By-Laws. In education, the Council

particularly intends to develop by-laws to address challenges in school dropouts, early marriages,

learners found in video show rooms during school session, opening a bar close to a school,

teenage pregnancies. In agriculture, the council hopes the by-laws will address issues of poor

regulation of market fees collection, bush fires, poaching, vandalism, wildfires and influx of

unregistered buyers. In enhancing Council revenue, the Council intends to develop by-laws that

will address issues of vendors claiming ownership of market premises and denying paying fees,

fraudulent conduct of ticket sellers, and non-collection of revenue from investors operating

within council’s jurisdiction. Some areas include lack of proper market demarcations, charging

market fees per vendor rather than space occupied, businesses operating without council

knowledge and no license, failure of council to provide basic services to vendors. District

Commissioner for Mulanje District, Mr. Charles Makanga expressed his dissatisfaction with

implementing activities without regulation and added that the Council is “… facing a great

challenge in regulating behavior of the people in the districts due to lack of by-laws. When we have the

by-laws, Mulanje District Council will be able to deliver its services properly”.

Task Force Committee:

The Task Force Committee started to be oriented on the processes of the development of the

By-Laws. The Task Force is working in the following Thematic Area:

• Nutrition, HIV/AIDS

• Agriculture and Natural Resources

• Health and Environment

• Education

• Development Planning (Child protection, NGO citizens relationships,

• Security

• Finance

ii. Meetings with LGAP Technical Committees for Blantyre and Mulanje Districts

In line with the terms of agreement, the purpose of the District Technical Team on LGAP is to

provide a strategic platform for coordinated planning, implementation, monitoring, dialogue, and

agreement of plans and undertakings related to LGAP activities. Another aim of the Technical

Committee meeting is to provide advice and guidance to the LGAP Team in order to facilitate

effective coordination, implementation and monitoring of activities. LGAP Blantyre Office

facilitated meeting with the two District Councils for the meetings. With the above goal, the 3rd

and 4th Quarter proposed work-plans were discussed, amended and adopted by the Technical

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Committee for the respective districts. The Blantyre District Council representation included

the Director of Planning and Development (DPD), DADO, DOF, M&E Officer, DEMISO, CSO

chairperson. LGAP team also attended the meeting. LGAP presented the project overview,

progress and proposed work plan covering all three-result areas. The meeting started with a

presentation by the LGAP program manager Mr. Elton Edward on the overview of LGAP. This

served as a reminder to the LGAP district technical team as they reflected on the activities so

that they are in line with LGAPs areas of interest. This was followed by the presentation on the

TORs of the committee by the DPD for Blantyre district council Mr. Francis Matewere. He

commended the team to the task ahead as he led them through the terms of references citing

that they have to operate as a subcommittee of DEC and closely work with the LGAP technical

team. He stressed that this was their opportunity to understand what LGAP is all about so that

they can get the necessary support from them unlike the past year when they demanded some

activities that are outside the LGAPs key result areas. He also emphasized that the purpose of

the District technical team it to provide a strategic platform for coordinated planning,

implementation, monitoring of plans and undertakings related to the LGAP activities. He added

that as a team they will be meeting quarterly to plan, review and report to DEC.

The activities that were proposed by the council that were not initially in the work plan:

• Printing of VAPs so that the NGOs can access them in the villages and know the areas of

focus in terms of development in every village

• Review strategic plan of the council which expired in 2016. This means reviewing the

vision, mission, objectives and implementation plan of the council which gives direction to

the council. The strategic plan is a moral obligation of what the council is supposed to

provide. In addition, all sectors and CSOs have to develop strategic plans

• Development of M&E framework

• Support the council to review their performance from the M&E perspective

• Train all the ADCs and support them from the elections so that they are democratic

• Orient the whole finance team not just chief accountant

• Support the categorization of assets and give proper codes because as a council they are

assessed on this and they fall short

• Support the policies based on reporting so that they have a standard reporting procedure

and asset management policy. The DOF asked LGAP to lobby for this with the

government on behalf of the council so that they are efficient in terms of service delivery

• Orientation of IFMIS to the non-finance managers

iv. Support for budget approval for Mulanje District Council

LGAP supported Mulanje District Full Council budget approval meeting that took place on 5 April

2018 in Mulanje District. 86 people, which included 69 males and 17 females, attended the

meeting. In attendance were Members of Parliament, Chiefs, Councilors, representatives of

interest groups, secretariat heads of departments and other stakeholders and included the

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Honorable Kondwani Nankhumwa who

is also a member of the Mulanje District Council. The Council Chairperson chaired the meeting,

the service committee chairs presented budgets overviews from their respective committees and

the chair of the finance and audit committee presented the consolidated budget. After presenting

the budget for approval, the flow was open for questions by the members and of particular

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interest was on the increase in local revenue projections by 29% when the current performance

is below 50%, in his response the finance chair said that the committee has set up new tax rates,

which will boost local revenue generation. LGAP supported the Council’s budget process starting

from participatory budget processes that took place in March 2018. This activity is under KRA

1.1.1: District development planning, budgeting, and implementation processes improved.

V. Technical Support to Mulanje District Executive Committee (DEC)

LGAP Blantyre took part in the DEC meeting for Mulanje District on 31 May 2018. As Malawi is

implementing decentralization program, the district councils are at the center of coordination

and service delivery. To achieve this through devolution, the council coordinate work and

programs of all devolved sectors, NGOs and institutions at district level. The DEC acts as the

coordinating arm at district level. Blantyre LGAP therefore, supported Mulanje District Council

in the DEC meeting. A number of organizations including ADRA Malawi, Mulanje Mountain

Conservation Trust (MMCT) and DAPP also supported the meeting. As a take home message,

the Mulanje District Council intends to strengthen reporting and coordination in implementation

amongst all stakeholders, government or NGOs. As an action point, the Council, from July,

intends to devise reporting back sessions to the DEC from sector heads to report on all

interventions the sectors implement, through government funds and activities from other

stakeholders. The Council wants the sectors to provide updates of activities carried out

throughout the year. These updates would include planned activities, actual activities carried out,

monitoring visits as well as challenges and successes. The sectors would also need to highlight

partnerships established during the period. This new development is against a background where

only non-governmental organizations (NGOs) report or present to the DEC while the sectors

do not. This has come at the right time when LGAP is facilitating the development of the M&E

Framework that is supposed to track all implemented activities contributing to the Council’s

indicators, and overall, the national indicators. Another opportunity for LGAP to explore would be a plan by the Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust to implement an Integrated Management

Plan for Mulanje Mountain, which will involve many sectors in the implementation, notably lands,

forestry, tourism, water, wildlife. The DEC expressed reservations, that the plan does not give a

clear indication on the role of Council secretariat in the integrated plan or the role of community

structures. LGAP feels there is still further room for further discussions on how best to integrate

the management plan, starting from the grassroots to the Council.

vi. Monitoring IFMIS and HRMIS performance

Under HR and Key Management Systems Improved, LGAP Blantyre office monitored the use of

Human Resource Management Information Systems (HRMIS), which was facilitated by

Directorate of Human Resources Department (DHRMD) after 12 months of handholding. As of now, the officers are able to produce reports on GP5A, GAO, and deduction analysis, pay point

analysis, leave grants and salaries arrears. For example, Blantyre District Council has 5961

employees on the payroll and they are just remaining with Forestry, Water and Irrigation. With

regard to Integrated Management Information System (IFMIS), most of the Accounts personnel

which we invested on are able to do budget uploading, making allocations, booking funding,

creating credit memos, performing bank reconciliations, making requisitions, making payment

vouchers, making LPOs. With this performance, the following are the barriers for their full

functionality of IFMIS like Mapping of Financial Reports.

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I) Provision of technical support and mentorship in production of IFMIS Monthly and

Quarterly Financial Reports

Councils are required to produce monthly financial returns before the fifth of every month

providing an overview of how the council has used the resources generated within that period.

Council Management discusses the report, adopts it (for reflection and decision-making) and the Controlling Officer signs it off for submission to Council Finance and Audit Committee, NLGFC

as well as posted in public places. LGAP has continuously provided technical support through

mentorship and hand holding the heads of finance in trying to improve the situation and currently

for the past months there has been improvements in the production of financial reports with

Mulanje ranking first and Blantyre following. The two Councils’ reports have been submitted to

NLGFC before the fifth of every month as evidenced by the dates stamped on the copies

submitted by the councils. LGAP intends to continue the support through the PFM Specialist so

that this becomes routine and that councils can continue to do this on their own. Note that in

order to improve the quality of the reports, bank reconciliations are emphasized and currently

almost 95% of the bank accounts are current in terms of reconciliations.

ii. Building technical skills of Council finance and accounting personnel in financial

management through on job mentorship and cross learning.

LGAP started the implementation of the mentorship plan with Blantyre District where by IFMIS

manual extracts were provided and discussed with the Procurement Officer to provide guidelines

on the steps of IFMIS procurement modules. The PFM Specialist also had mentorship sessions

with the Transport Officer and the Stores Officer for Blantyre Council with the aim of introducing

the individuals to IFMIS based on their areas of expertise and kick-start the use of the modules.

The process aimed at ensuring maximum usage of IFMIS this is a continuous process and using

stand-alone IFMIS database on LGAP computer officers will be able to practice IFMIS without

fear of affecting the actual IFMIS database. The PFM Specialist also provided the same

interventions to Mulanje Council, targeting the Procurement Officer, Stores Officer, and

Transport Officer. LGAP intends to operationalize IFMIS modules in procurement, stores and

fleet management for the districts to ensure that management get reliable reports for decision

making and will improve the internal control environment for the councils there by contributing

to council improved performance in public finance management as per sub result 1.2. Currently

the procurement module is in use in both Districts the only challenge is that we need technical

assistance from techno brain so that they customize the IFMIS generated local purchase order to

the council manual local purchase order because the latter has less information.

1.2.1 Strengthening the Internal Audit function at council level

i) Provide coaching and mentorship in IFMIS to internal auditors

One of the key function of the internal auditor is to be able to use the IFMIS in his/her audit work

this has been a challenge as the internal auditors were not trained in IFMIS while the heads of

finances and most of the finance personnel have some knowledge in IFMIS. It is important that

the internal auditor has the necessary skills to pick and detect issues in the IFMIS. LGAP, through

PFM Blantyre, began coaching and mentoring Blantyre internal auditor Mrs Pamela Shawa on how

to use the IFMIS during internal audit function. Carefully selected materials were used, for

instance, on how to use filters and chart of accounts to extract account schedules, how to notice

that transactions are not entering IFMIS and how to notice over expenditures or inter borrowing.

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During the sessions she was able to detect that someone had deliberately increased the

expenditure budget for health in the year 2016-17 by an amount of 16 million to allow transaction

to pass in the IFMIS under such budget line item a thing only an expert in IFMIS can do, she is

using this information to investigate allegations that health sector funds were misused in Blantyre

District. She also noticed that the cash account showed an amount of up to 50 million meaning

that the cash chest should have had this amount as of that date which was not case, therefore

the need to further investigate and come up with a report to management and finance & audit

committee.

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ANNEX 3: QUARTERLY REPORT FOR KASUNGU (KASUNGU AND

M’MBELWA)

The report presents activities undertaken during the quarter and some challenges in the

implementation of some planned activities as a way of determining what needs to be done in the

next quarter.

1. Summary of the Main Results, Challenges and Mitigation Measures including

Lessons Learned

This section examines some results that the LGAP project has managed to achieve in the course

of implementing various activities in Kasungu and M’mbelwa district Councils. Some achievements

are as a direct result of activities implemented whilst others were a result of other corroborated

efforts such teamwork and buy-in sessions with council officials. The section also scrutinizes some

challenges faced by the team in the course of implementing the project in the two districts.

Mitigation factors are also suggested to curb the challenges. The section concludes by providing some lessons learned in the course of implementing the project.

1.1. Major Project Results/Achievements

During the quarter and indeed during the course of implementing the project, the Kasungu

regional office LGAP team has managed to achieve a number of results as expounded below:

• LGAP intervention have greatly improved networking and corroboration between LGAP staff

and Council Officials. When LGAP interventions were just starting, there was tension

amongst council officials on one hand and LGAP staff on the other hand because council

officials thought that the project was spying and policing on them. Their fear was that LGAP

as an advocacy project was going to start naming and shaming some officials who were not

discharging their duties as required. However, continuous networking and corroboration

measured has now resulted in both parties coexisting and doing business unusual. LGAP

officials/staff are no longer seen as police or spies but rather partners making sure that there

is functionality of district councils.

• The project has also greatly improved capacity of district Council Service Committees. One

of the issues affecting quality of elected Councilors in the councils is their ability to understand

and interpret policy documents. The entry point for someone to be elected a Councilor is

ability to read and write. This has in return ushered in councilors who found it very difficult

to understand and interpret policy documents. Poor orientation of councilors before the

project also did not help curb this problem. However, the coming in of LGAP project has

greatly build capacity of councilors in that they are now able to understand issues and

interpret policy documents. A good example is from M’mbelwa district council where the

Finance and Audit Committee refused to adopt a Finance report from the Council secretariat

because it was not IFMIS generated and that it had so many weaknesses. The committee

members were able to reach this decision because of the various interventions from LGAP

project in form of mentorship and training. They were even able to inform the DoF that LGAP

has built their capacity and moving forward, they will never accept any report which is not

IFIMIS generated and which will not speak to what LGAP project is trying to achieve.

• Capacity of LGAP district Staff members is enhanced: When the project was just starting, so

many project staff had capacity gaps even in understanding the direction of the project let

alone decentralization and local government issues. However, in the course of implementing

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the project, so many staff members have their capacity enhanced in different ways. For

example, Mr. Bright Saka (Program Assistant) observed that when he was joining LGAP, he

had limited facilitation skills but now he is amongst the best facilitators because the project

has managed to horn his skills. He also was quick to point out that he now understands issues

of decentralization and local government better than before joining LGAP. The adoption of

the capacity development strategy will add more value towards capacitation of both district

council officials and the project staff.

• The project interventions have also resulted in minimizing mismanagement of Council

resources. Prior to LGAP’s interventions in the district councils, mismanagement of council

resources were the order of the day because of lack/poor internal controls and lack of follow-

ups on the part of those in authority. For example in Kasungu district council, the recent

Audit by AMG Global revealed that the council is improving in ensuring that there is financial

prudence. This has been because of LGAP intentions which has changed the mind-set and

work ethics of some of the finance officers within the council as LGAP promotes business

unusual. The case of M’mbelwa district council where the Finance and Audit Service

committee refused to adopt a non-IFMIS generated report presented by the DoF is also an

indication that in the near future issues of mismanagement of council funds/resources by the

council officials’ will be reduced in all LGAP districts.

• Revenue collection in councils has improved/Increased: The project has also managed to

engage the councils in various ways including revenue collection. Prior to the project, the

councils were losing out on locally generated revenue because some revenue collectors were

cashing-in at the expense of the councils. Through the intervention of LGAP project, council revenues have gone up more than three fold. For example in Kasungu district council, at Bua

Market, the council was collecting MWK30, 000 every 2 Weeks before LGAP interventions.

Now, because of LGAP involvement, the same market is producing MWK78, 000 per day

which is a huge reap towards the right direction. The DC for the district is geared towards

ensuring that the council collects 100% of what needs to be collected in all markets. The DC

has further requested an investigative Audit to be conducted to ensure that the council is not

losing out on locally regenerated revenue.

To ensure that the process is smoothly conducted, Kasungu District Council is at the verge

of developing and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which will be signed by individual

revenue collectors after being given targets to be collected per day in their respective

markets. The council has also decided to replicate the same measures to other markets not

targeted by LGAP project because of the good fruits achieved in the LGAP identified markets.

On dealing with culprits, Kasungu district council so far has arrested one revenue collector

at Chinkhoma Market who is alleged to have embezzled MWK2, 000,000 and another revenue

collector at Check-Point Market who embezzled MWK1, 500, 000. This has also sent warning

messages to other revenue collectors who are now dedicated towards doing their job and

helping the council collect revenues.

• The project has built trust amongst various stakeholders in the two districts. In Kasungu

District Council, when the current council chairperson was campaigning to be voted in as the

chairperson for the council, he indicated that he would make sure that there is trust amongst

council secretariat staff and the elected officials including chiefs and other co-opted members

of the Full council as discoursed by LGAP project. He further vowed to make sure that

LGAP’s objectives were met. As a result of this, he was voted as chairperson of the council

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and now there is trust amongst various stakeholders. The DC is usually the Secretary when

the Full council is meeting and he has applauded the project for building trust amongst various

stakeholders which was not the case prior to LGAP interventions.

• Expenditure Tracking of Council resources is enhanced: Prior to LGAP interventions, there

was no tracking of expenditure in the councils. The job of expenditure tracking was only left

to few district CSOs. However, with the coming in of the project, the councilors are now

able to track progress/expenditure of council funds. For example in Kasungu district council,

the councilors warned the council secretariat that they will never approve or recommend

any expenditure for example buying of hospital Mattresses if the Full council doesn’t approve.

The coming in of CSOs (Grantees) will also ensure that issues of expenditure tracking within

the councils is done systematically which will also greatly reduce mismanagement of council

resources. The CSOs will also create a platform for community members to have their voices

held which also lead to the councils being responsive in service delivery.

• The project has also ensured the spirit of hard working and togetherness. Since LGAP offices

are within the councils, council offices benefit a lot from LGAP project resources such as

vehicle and sharing of utility cost which was not the case before. LGAP electricity Generators

installed in the councils has greatly assisted the council officials whose outputs were affected

due to frequent power cuts. The coming in of the Generators has ensured that council officials

spend more time in the offices whenever there are power-cuts which has resulted in

improved outputs/deliverables. This also has also greatly cemented the relationships between

council officials and LGAP project staff.

• Town Hall meetings have also brought government closer to the people. At first, there was

resistance from the council officials to participate in Town Hall Meetings because such forums

in the past were seen to castigate them. However, through LGAP interventions, the Town

Hall meetings have proven to be very effective and have developed trust between the duty

bearers and the rights holders. Because of these meetings, the people at grassroots now

understands problems faced by the councils on the other hand the councils also understands

what the people needs/wants. For example, it was very difficult for the community members

to understand the importance of paying Market fee at a Market where there is no Shed or

lavatories. This led to the councils collecting little revenue because of the issues of mistrust.

But people now, the venders understands the importance of paying market fees and the

councils have started collecting more than before and are also being responsive in providing

service delivery such as construction of Toilets and collection of Waste.

• The market infrastructure intervention will also greatly assist councils in collecting more

revenue and the vendors will be helped in that there will be sheds, water and Slabs in their

respective Markets. This will in turn build further trust amongst the venders/community and

the councils.

• Support rendered towards IFMIS will in the end assist the councils to generate better reports

and curb issues of Fraud. In the short term, this will create trust between councils and other

stakeholders including donors because the quality of reports will improve and this will

minimize issues of mistrust amongst various stakeholders.

• Support towards development of Terms and Condition of Service for Kasungu district council

is a milestone on its own. The importance of Terms and Condition of service cannot be

overemphasized. When approved, this will create a spirit of self-reliance amongst district

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councils and will ensure efficiency and transparency in the operationalization of council duties

and resources.

• Different mechanisms were put in place to enhance the integration agenda in both Kasungu and M’mbelwa district councils for example the introduction of google group as a

communication hub is vital for the project communication strategy. A google group was

formulated managed by LGAP integration coordinator, which USAID Implementing Partners

from both Kasungu and M’mbelwa as well as secretariat and sector heads were added for

easy communication, and sharing of information.

• Integration Forums with all USAID implementing partners, Council officials and sector heads

is also a milestone towards achieving LGAPs intended goal and objectives. During forum

meetings, it was noted that most partners do not report to the council since there was no

mechanisms to force compliance to report to councils. The coming in of LGAP has enforced

compliance towards reporting to the councils on the part of all USAID partners. So far,

Kasungu district council updated and signed the memorandum of understanding with CSOs,

USAID implementing partners towards achieving this objective.

• Involvement of USAID IPs in VAP, SEP and DDP development has greatly enhanced

corroboration amongst USAID partners at district level. Through efforts by LGAP, USAID

implementing partners were involved in the development of the Village Action Plans, for

example, in Kasungu; ONSE MERIT participated in the training of Area Executive Committee

members who in turn with the knowledge gained facilitated the formulation of the VAPs in

the VDCs. On the same note, LGAP has also ensured that different sectors were involved in

the process to author different chapters for the finalization of the DDP.

1.2. Challenges and Proposed Mitigation Measures

During the course of implementing the project, a number of challenges were encountered during

the quarter. The report outlines some challenges faced and provide mitigation measures to help

curb the challenges as outlined below:

• Approved work plans are not honored/followed by LGAP secretariat: At the beginning of

every quarter, regional offices are requested to develop quarterly work plans together with

various district stakeholders which are then approved by the Secretariat. However, it has

been noted that the secretariat does not honor these approved work plans but instead they

dictated new activities formulated by the Technical Team1.

To avoid the “red-Tape” or dictatorial inclinations on what activities to be undertake or not

by the secretariat, this report, therefore, recommends that program Managers should be part

of the Technical Team at the secretariat. This is vital for harnessing the work plans from the

districts together with Secretariat Technical Team members. Adherence to the approved

work plans by the Technical team is also vital for the achievement of intended results, as these

have input from various district stakeholders.

• Stakeholder’s views on LGAP project and Sustainability of the interventions: It was also noted

during the quarter that there is double standards when it comes to adherence and conformity

to policy issues, particularly, policy on administering of allowances to project stakeholders. It

1 Activities created by the Technical Team are prioritised than the approved activities on the work plan. The new activities do not have the approval of the district stakeholders such as council officials.

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was observed that some officials, for example officials from NLGFC are given a Lump sum of

MWK25, 000 whilst officials from other sectors are given dinner Allowance only. Another

Example given was the failure by an official from MoLGRD to attend By-laws formulation

exercise in Kasungu because he was told that he will be given dinner allowance of MWK5,

000 for three days and yet the same person was given a Lump sum of MWK25, 000 when a

similar exercise took place in M’mbelwa district council. The official in question opted to

attend other meetings where it is alluded that he was given a promising allowance.

This report is recommending that as a policy issue, it has to be applied across. The secretariat

should also organize a deliberate session to further inform the stakeholders in the districts

about the USAID policy on Allowances. There is also need to clarify to district stakeholders

as why other USAID projects in the districts are not following the policy in question and only

LGAP is doing this. This issue need to be attended to by the secretariat so that the project

should not end up losing some of its stakeholders who often opt to attend to other

issues/meetings as opposed to attending to LGAP supported interventions.

• Some stakeholder’s covers long Distance to attend LGAP facilitated activities and meetings.

During the quarter, it was also noted that some stakeholders travel long distances to attend

LGAP meetings. For example, during the Infrastructure Briefing meeting in M’mbelwa district

Council, coordinated by the Impact Evaluation Coordinator/specialist, it was noted that some

Market stakeholders covered more than from 200KMs from Edingeni to Ekwendeni and they

were expected to travel back on the same day which caused some challenges to LGAP staff

present during the briefing session and the stakeholders.

The report is recommending that since decentralization is about bringing the government

closer to the people, when planning, the project should also ensure that venues for its

activities are closer to the people. Secondly, activities/plans for the Impact Evaluation (IE) desk

should be shared with the district staff in advance to ensure coordination and proper planning

in future. This was the case because it was noted that IE activities are planned from the

secretariat and in most cases there is limited time for implementation and planning in the

districts.

• Lack of proper mechanism to consolidate project quick gains/achievement to-date. It was also

observed that the project has managed to achieve many results in its infant stage which are

not consolidated.

The M&E section/desk should consolidate quick gains/achievements that the project has

managed to achieve to-date. This could be through the development of the Result Tracker to

be used by district teams when conducting activities or during reporting.

• The project has managed to achieve many results in its infant stage due to different factors

including involvement of some district champions who are able to steer the processes. It is

important for the teams to identify district champions who will support the project and steer the process in the right direction. This can be done through a proper Stakeholders Mapping

Exercise of the various stakeholders that the project is working with in the districts.

• Lack of Proper strategy to coordinate LGAP’s Capacity interventions. The project has

capacitated both council officials as well as Project staff, particularly, by horning their skills.

This should be a continuous process by LGAP secretariat and district staff. Adoption of

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LGAP’s Capacity Development Strategy as a Tool will act as a means to an end in achieving

this.

• It was also noted during implementation of the project during the quarter that LGAP’s project

staff knowledge and understanding of issues and jargons used by LGAP project, vary from

officer to officer hence need for the M&E desk to develop minimum standards for the project.

1.3. Lessons Learned

During the quarter and indeed during the course of implementing the project, a number of lessons

have been drawn as indicated below:

• Council officials are very key in implementation of LGAP’s activities and achievement of

LGAP‘s project objectives and Goal. Sustainability of the LGAP interventions rests in involving

council Officials. During the quarter, LGAP Kasungu regional Office noted the importance of

involving council officials whenever planning and conducting activities in the two councils.

Non-involvement of council official not only leads to failure to implement activities but also

results in failure to receive support from the council officials which then can lead to failure to

achieve LGAP’s goal of ensuring that there is functionality of district councils.

• Coordination and corroboration amongst LGAP team members is key for the realization of

LGAPS objectives and project goal. During the quarter, the team members also realized the

importance of coordination and corroboration amongst the team members in order to achieve LGAP’s objectives. This process starts with planning together of activities as well as

execution of activities.

• Involvement of duty bearers such as chiefs and other champions is vital for the project to

achieve its intended objectives. For example, involvement of Senior Chief Kaomba of Kasungu,

Inkosi Ya Makosi M’mbelwa V and Inkosi Kampingo Sibande of Mzimba as members of the

Finance and Audit Committees for their respective councils has proven to be very effective.

• LGAP project has capacitated some of its staff members. Due to the holistic nature of the project, some members within LGAP team have their capacity, in terms of skills, horned for

example, Mr. Bright Saka who is the Program Assistant appreciates that before joining LGAP,

he had limited facilitation skills but in the course of being a member of LGAP team, his

facilitation skills have been horned and enhanced.

1.4. List of Proposed Champions for the Two districts 2

NAME Designation Council Name

1. Thomas Chirwa DC M’mbelwa

2. Inkosi Ya Makosi M’mbelwa V Paramount Chief M’mbelwa

3. Senior Chief Kaomba Senior Chief Kasungu

4. Inkosi Kampingo Sibande Chief M’mbelwa

5. Ms. Twambilire Mwafongo Ass. Accountant Kasungu

6. Yafeti Mandiza DoA M’mbelwa

2 This list comprise names of individuals/champions whom have directly assisted the LGAP project in attainment of various results and quick gains. It is suggested that continuous involvement of these individuals might lead to attainment of even greater results for the project.

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7. Thomas Mwafongo DoA Kasungu