National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) was established by the constitution of the republic of Malawi (Section 149 of 1994) to ensure transparency, accountability, reporting and good governance of public funds in Local Authorities (LAs).

NLGFC also mobilizes financial resources for other recurrent transactions and development from government and development partners for allocation and disbursement to LAs. The National Local Government Finance Committee is mandated to facilitate fiscal decentralization, financial management and local development in local governments.

NLGFC is implementing Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme (CS-EPWP) in 28 Local Authorities in Malawi.

The focus of the CS-EPWP is on integrated watershed management (IWM) covering sub-projects such as land resource conservation, afforestation, environment and road infrastructure as well as sustainable livelihoods.

In relation to livelihoods, the focus will be on technical assistance and training in sustainable livelihood activities which will be provided to households through a strategic linkage to the Community Savings and Investment Promotion Programme (COMSIP). This will enable participating households to diversify their income and acquire productive assets.

CS-EPWP targets ultra-poor households with labour in all 28 districts in Malawi. The programme is expected to reach a total of 520, 000 households from 2022 to 2027.

CS-EPWP has been deliberately designed to achieve the dual objective of strengthening household resilience to shocks and creating durable community assets.

The following are the guiding principles for implementation of the CS-EPWP:

1. Fair and transparent beneficiary selection: Participants will be selected from the UBR into the Mthandizi MIS with an effective appeal mechanism to address inclusion and exclusion errors. The selected list of participants will be further verified and vetted by the community.
2. Timely and predictable transfers: Beneficiaries will work for 12 days in a month and will be paid after two months. Transfers are timely and predictable; wages are paid within 2 weeks after completion of 24 days’ work.
3. Productive safety net: The CS-EPWP is a productive safety net, which means that it not only includes a commitment to provide a safety net that protects food consumption and household assets but it is also expected to address some of the underlying causes of food insecurity and contribute to economic growth in its own right. The productive element comes from the infrastructure and improved natural resources base created through the CS-EPWP and from the multiplier effects of the cash transfers on the local economy.