Standing by the fish pond under Kajikasuku Fisheries Project at Lura, about 300 metres by the now under-construction Livingstonia Road in Traditional Authority Mwalweni in Rumphi, one is greeted by a stunning beauty from a combination of indigenous and exotic trees that surround the site.

The cool soft wind that produces a whistling sound as it whips through the pine trees is what any visitor would love to feel if they are on a relaxing mode.

Besides pine trees, there are also indigenous species which are dominated by the Masuku (Uapaca kirkiana) type. The two species combine with several others to produce the beauty one is likely to enjoy.

With the fish pond surrounding looking well cared for, what quickly comes to mind is that the place is intended for a recreation site rather than fish production.

It is this village forest that prompted the idea among community members to have a fish production project.

This was on the understanding that the village forest, acting as a catchment area, would assist in water conservation in the fish ponds to be constructed.

“We started with an afforestation project to conserve the trees, and then officials from the Fisheries Department advised us to construct a fish pond.”

“They saw the viability of the proposed fish project, especially with the presence of trees around. It was also a need by the community in this area to produce fish from the constructed pond,” says Kajikasuku Fisheries Project Secretary, Khumbo Harawa.

Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF) 4 Public Works Programme, supported the construction of the fish pond which started with 21 people.

They plan to turn their fortunes and surprise many. To sustain the project, members used the money accrued from a first catch to buy feed for the fish.

What is interesting is that the project’s beneficiaries have quickly identified a different potential the fish production initiative could offer other than just fish production, which they would like to exploit. They have improved the scenery and plan to harness resources through allowing private use for a few of the scenic place.

The National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) says Local Authorities’ Management Information System Officers (MISOs) need to be the agents of change if Councils are to fully utilize the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS).

NLGFC Director of Corporate Services, Charles Liwonga said these remarks during an IFMIS training which was organized for all Council MISOs recently.

Liwonga said IFMIS was procured by the government to provide a robust Financial Management System in Local Authorities after noting lapses in financial management and reporting. However, most councils are yet to adopt comprehensive use of IFMIS in managing their financial resources.

"The IFMIS was introduced to ensure that there is efficiency and effectiveness in the management of financial resources whether locally generated or finances from the central government and development partners. It is Surprising to note that councils are deliberately ignoring the systems and are transacting outside IFMIS. We cannot hold on to the archaic ways, doing business as usual, we need to keep up to speed with the changes,” said Liwonga.

He added that as the system managers, MISOs have a responsibility to advise and ensure that they provide the councils with all the desired support for them to migrate to using IFMIS.

“With the introduction of a number of ICT systems, your work is expanding. This is why we feel the need to provide these refresher trainings to ensure that we are up to date with the developments and emerging issues because you can only provide the desired support services if you are conversant with the issues,” he continued.

IFMIS is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tool for Councils to use in Financial Management and Reporting under the policy guidance of the Accountant General.

The NLGFC says all preparatory work for the roll out of the the World Bank funded Social Support Resilient Livelihoods Project (SSRLP), is on track.

NLGFC Director of Infrastructure and Economic Development, Engineer Paul Chipeta says the roll out is expected in July, 2020. Chipeta says what remains is for the Government to fulfill effectiveness

conditions.

“After the project was passed in the parliament, we have been working on fulfilling two conditions; setting up a Project Steering Committee and developing the Project Implementation Manual (PIM). All these have been done and we are waiting for the Government to comment on the draft PIM and move to the next steps,” .

With funding from the World Bank, the SSRLP is expected to be implemented for a period of five yearsrunning from July 2020 to June 2025. The Programme will be implemented in 14 Councils; Chitipa, Karonga, Rumphi, Nkhatabay, Kasungu, Nkhotakota, Dowa, Ntchisi, Lilongwe, Dedza, Blantyre,Chiradzulu, Balaka and Phalombe.

The SSRLP is a successor of the Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF) IV and is based on a strong vision of reform, working towards improved coordination and emphasis on consolidation and sustainability.

The Objective of SSRLP is to improve resilience among the poor and vulnerable population and strengthen the national platform for safety nets in Malawi. It supports the Malawi National Social Support Program II (MNSSP) and is entirely devised around the MNSSPII strategy and Implementation Plan.

The project has four main components; Improving Social and Economic Inclusion, Strengthening Harmonised Delivery System, Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening Support and Contingent Emergency Support.

SSRLP will have a greater focus on Social Cash Transfer Program (SCTP) as an anchor programme and enhanced livelihoods support in a sustainable manner.

The project will also test the ability of the SCTP to scale-up in response to weatherrelated disasters.

The Urban Development Division at the NLGFC is thrilled with developments especially the Luchenza bus depot. Coordinator of the division, Engineer Joy Pankomera told the NLGFC Newsletter that phase one had ended.

“The first phase is complete which comprised of construction of the Luchenza bus waiting shelter, ablution block, boundary wall with gates, bus bay (gravel finish) and drainage system. The next phase shall involve paving the bus drive way” says Pankomera.

He says this is a carryover project from previous years which was substantially delayed due to land issues. Pankomera says what is more –pleasing is that the first phase has all been funded by the Government of the republic of Malawi.

Asked to comment on what the open challenge fund is, Pankomera says it is, “a funding mechanism for accessing resources co funded by the Government of Malawi and Development Partners to support socio-economic infrastructure and planning projects in all Councils”.

He says funding is accessed through a Call for Proposals in which all Councils are eligible to compete.

The coordinator says the current programme design had envisaged that MK250 million would be funded each financial year by Malawi Government as counterpart funds for implementation of socio-economic projects in all Councils.

The project, which began in January 2017 is expected to close in December 2020.

Pankomera says the design of such projects is meant to contribute to increasing employment and income in rural areas of Malawi along selected value chains, especially for poorer sections of the population.

Established in 2012 under the Local Economic Development (LED) project, the Mangochi Business Support Unit (BSU) continues to be cherished by Community Savings and Investment Promotion (COMSIP) groups.

Mr Zimba, the District Community Development Officer for Mangochi District Councils says the BSU is a one stop centre for providing business advisory services in areas of agribusiness, community development and trade to savings and investment groups in Mangochi.

In bid to increase household income levels to the ultra-poor Malawians and help them graduate from poverty, beneficiaries of MASAF IV in Public Works Programme (PWP) and Social Cash Transfers (SCT) under the NLGFC were receiving cash transfers and were encouraged to form savings and investment groups.

Community Savings and Investment Promotion (COMSIP) mobilised beneficiaries of PWP and SCT into groups to provide for its linkage to the Livelihoods and skills development component of MASAF IV.

The idea behind the COMSIP groups was to instil the savings and investment culture among Malawians. BSU supports these groups through many business advisory services since the onset of the group formation.

In his remarks, the Agribusiness officer, Kondwani Nyengo said that BSU takes a networked approach of combining expertise in trade, agribusiness and community development in order to provide comprehensive business advisory and development services at the Local Council and communities.

“As BSU, our areas of focus in general, is to provide business advisory services to groups in business community, distilling best practice among the business community, capacity building , market linkages and helping business groups to have access to finance”

Speaking to this Newsletter,  NLGFC’s Enterprise Development Specialist, Mirriam Saiwa says, it is the expectation of the NLGFC to see savings and investment groups running smoothly with support in areas of financial literacy, business management, record keeping, agribusiness, nutrition, health and sanitation. Saiwa says the progressive evidence based social economic transformation of the project is impressive.

In total, Mangochi Business Support Unit benefits 120 savings and investment groups.

The World Bank group has approved the 100 million 5 year GESD project. According to Anne Kabagambe Executive Director of Executive Board of Directors of the International Development Association (IDA), the approval was made on April 30, 2020 on an absence-of-objection basis in credit in the amount of US$100 million to the Republic of Malawi for a Malawi Governance to Enable Service Delivery Project.

The GESD project development objective is to “strengthen Local Authorities’ institutional performance, responsiveness to citizens and management of resources for service delivery”.

The project will finance performance-based grants to the 28 District Local Authorities to deliver priority development projects that enhance service delivery. The results-based approach will incentivize effective and accountable performance of Local Authorities with a focus on three core functions:

• Delivery of quality development projects that are responsive to local needs;
• Accountable management of public financial resources; and
• Effective management of frontline service delivery staff.

The project will further finance reforms and capacity to strengthen the role of the central government in:

• Implementing an effective and transparent fiscal decentralization system;
• Closing the publicfinancial accountability loop through audit;
• Filling critical human resource gaps in Local Authorities; and
• Providing effective policy guidance, capacity building and oversight to Local Authorities.

Speaking to the NLGFC Newsletter Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Hon. Joseph Mwanamvekha welcomed the approval saying it is another mark of confidence by the World Bank in Financial policies championed by the Government of His Excellency the President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika.  

Mwanamvekha said Government will make sure that the objectives of the project are realised.  

The GESD project will be implemented by the NLGFC in all 28 Local Councils.

Mr. Thomas Chirwa was born on 1st February 1964. He comes from Jaji Village in Traditional Authority Kaluluma in Kasungu North. He was married with five children, 2 boys and 3 girls.

Mr Thomas Chirwa started working in government in the Ministry of Education as a primary school teacher from 1983 to 1990 and as a secondary School teacher after upgrading from 1996 to 2004.

He then joined Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in 2004 and his first duty station was Kasungu District Council where he worked as Director of Administration and later as Acting District Commissioner.

Late Thomas Chirwa also worked as District Commissioner in Mangohi District Council from 2007 to 2013 and as Chief Executive Officer for Mzuzu City from 2013 to 2015.

He has finally served as District Commissioner in M’mbelwa District Council from 2015 to 2020.

He died on 29th April 2020 in the afternoon at Mwaiwathu Private Hospital.

He had Masters Degree in Human Resource Management. Late Thomas Chirwa was best known to bea hard working and patriotic citizen of this country.

He gave all his time in impeccable service for his nation.One of the finest DC's Malawi has ever had.

May His Soul Rest in Everlasting Peace!

The country’s major fish source, Lake Malawi, extends to Karonga District, but not all areas in the district access fish from the lake. This is because some areas are distant from the country’s biggest water body.

Group Village Head Mwandosha area where Mkungwi Fish farmers have their fish ponds in Traditional Authority Kyungu is one such place which is about 15 to 20 kilometres west of the central business district. The fish project began when some community members in the area decided to beat this fish access disadvantage by establishing fish ponds so that they have the fish on  their door step.

“We wanted to know how to raise fish, so we started the project with one fish pond,” says Mkungwi Fish Farmers Secretary, Leston Mwandosha.

“With the K10, 000 that we contributed, we bought 330 fingerlings,” he explains.

Mwandosha says through MASAF 4 Public Works Programme, two fish ponds were dug with 80 people involved in the work. They were receiving K7200 each in a 24 day work cycle.

Another fish pond was added in 2017. The fish harvest is done every six months and that each harvest earns the farmers about over K100, 000 per a fish pond.

“We use the money from the fish proceeds for buying feed for the fish, the other part is shared among individual farmers in the project, while the other part is invested in the village bank,” he says,‘what we want now is direct market. That would be a game changer’.

The aim of having a village bank (which others call Bank Mkhonde), is to let the money grow by borrowing it to members on interest. “Pond fisheries is cheap, as lake fishing favours boat owners because with the dwindling fish population in the lake, one has to go deep away from mainland to find fish,” explains Karonga District Fisheries Technical Assistant, Richard Kamanga.

He says it is exciting that Mkungwi Fish farmers are planning to have their third fish pond completed with money from sale of their fish.

As one way of ensuring high quality of proposed sub projects in the ten  EPWP selected districts, a team from NLGFC and other relevant government departments is on the ground to verify and appraise some selected sub projects.

In the pictures, officers from  NLGFC and  Nkhotakota district council were in T/A Mwasambo, Nkhotakota  appreciating the proposed  sub projects in  Kasangadzi and Thanga micro-catchments.

Among other things, the team wants to find out if the proposed sub projects have potential to create visible and quality assets that will contribute to land resources conservation and  improved livelihoods of communities in the catchments.

EPWP is a programme under the extended phase of Malawi Social Action Fund  IV project. EPWP will replace the regular Public Works programme. EPWP interventions relates to climate smart land, water and natural resources management and environmental conservation.