Dowa district council is today hosting Mwanza district council which is on a learning visit to Dowa.

Amongst others, Mwanza council expects to appreciate implementation of projects and service delivery in relation to the Local Assembly Performance Assessment (LAPA) by Dowa district council.

The Mwanza team has been led by District Commissioner Dr Martha Margreta Sineta and has been welcomed by Dowa DC Stallichi Mwambiwa.

Mwambiwa applauded Mwanza district council for the visit, but said this should actually be regarded as an exchange of ideas visit as both councils will benefit from each other by sharing experiences.

In his remarks, Mwambiwa said for every institution to succeed, there must be teamwork.

From both sides, the meeting has attracted the participation of councillors, heads of sectors and other technocrats.

Dowa district council recently scooped position one in the Local Authority Performance Assessment (LAPA) under the Governance to Enable Service Delivery Project a $100m dollar Malawi Government Performance Based Project funded by the World Bank.

Director of Communications for State residencies Kent Mphepo, says District Information Officers should bring information to the nation, as they are key to citizen engagement through promotion, packaging and sharing of information, interventions and projects currently taking place in the local authorities.

The remarks were made during an Interface on Local Authority Communications for District Information Officers that took place in Lilongwe.

“District Information Officers are key in informing the nation about successful projects currently taking place in communities. You are the government’s eyes, ears and nose. We expect you to inform all stakeholders about these successes taking place at local level,” said Mphepo.

He added that the DIOs are key to ensuring that communities are continuously engaged and informed on interventions, projects and success stories among others in their local authorities.

And in his remarks, Director of Information in the Ministry of Information and Digitalization, Mr Chikumbutso Mtumodzi said government’s commitment to ensuring that communication is placed at the top of the pyramid of the government development agenda is paramount.

“Gathering, processing and promoting developments throughout the local authorities is the very essence of what government is all about. This is why this interface is very important to this country,” Said Mtumodzi.
The interface is the first in a series of such interfaces planned for local authorities to ensure effective and impact communications at local level.

World Bank Country Director for Malawi, Hugh Riddell scheduled Tuesday as his day to appreciate some activities which are being implemented through Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project in Karonga District.

He first visited Timoti Hot Spot which is under Climate Smart Public Works Programme, where he appreciated some of the interventions which the community is undertaking to conserve the environment for their sustainable livelihoods.
Riddell said he was excited to note high community participation and pledged that the bank would consider extending the program in various areas across the country for long-lasting impact on people’s livelihood.

The World Bank Country Manager also witnessed first hand the e-payment of wages for participants in the project which is financed by World Bank and Social Protection- Multi Donor Trust Fund through the National Local Government Finance Committee.

Some of the interventions include, gully management, river bank protection and natural tree regeneration among others

The World Bank says it is ready to provide rapid financial aid in response to extreme climate-related weather shocks. The sentiments were said by Chipo Msowoya, the Senior Social Protection Specialist at the World Bank during a one-day dynamic orientation session for the Scalable Safety Nets task force, in Mzuzu.

Mr. Msowoya said the session would also provide the delegates with an opportunity to reflect on the remarkable achievements made since the scalable inception in 2020.

‘This gathering is not only a platform to celebrate successes but also an opportunity to share valuable insights and lessons on implementing the scalable component of Social Support for
Resilient Livelihoods Project (SSRLP)’, said Msowoya.

Msowoya also acknowledged the importance of enhancing social protection delivery systems, including the Malawi Unified Beneficiary Registry, electronic payment systems, and grievance redress mechanisms, which play a crucial role in ensuring the effectiveness of scalable safety nets.

The training brought together participants from various government departments, such as the Department of Disaster Management Affairs, Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services, NLGFC, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Ministry of Gender, and Ministry of Agriculture, among others.

The Scalable Safety Nets initiative is designed to expand the Social Cash Transfer program, in the form of essential support to impoverished and vulnerable households during extreme weather-
related disasters.

It was initially piloted in Blantyre, Ntcheu, and Thyolo, supporting over 74,638 households, which is a significant milestone, representing 25% of the project’s ambitious target of 300,000 households.

Inthe 2021/22 season, the program disbursed MK5.6 billion, granting each beneficiary MK25,000 per month for three months.
The Senior Social Protection Specialist said the program has now extended to three more districts—Karonga, Chiradzulu, and Nkhotakota—where an estimated 116,357 households will
receive assistance, pushing the total number of supported households to 190,995, accounting for 64% of the project’s ultimate goal.

In the 2022/23 season, only Karonga district has triggered a pay-
out, with a substantial fund of MK1 billion set to be distributed to support 12,742 affected households, illustrating the program’s commitment to protecting vulnerable communities during climate-related weather shocks.

‘Together, the project seeks to enhance the livelihoods and resilience of both Social Cash Transfer Program (SCTP) and non-SCTP poor households when confronted with extreme climate-relatedweather shocks’, said Mosowoya.

SSRLP Tidzidalire #WorldBank

In an effort to improve the effectiveness of the Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme (CS-EPWP) and address the shortcomings of the previous cycle, the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) has initiated a comprehensive review of District Safety Net Plans (DSNPs) for 10 local councils (Karonga, Chitipa, Rumphi, Salima, Nkhotakota, Dowa, Nkhatabay, Likoma, Ntchisi and Lilongwe). The review aims to rectify gaps and ensure the successful implementation of CS-EPWP objectives.

Previously, the DSNPs were developed by 28 district councils using the Village Level Action Planning (VLAP) process. These plans consist of various sub-projects primarily focused on Land Resource Conservation and Forestry sectors, aligning with the goals of the CS-EPWP. However, a recent review of the first cycle of 2022/23 with 10 councils highlighted several deficiencies in the DSNPs and the overall process.

According to the Capacity Development Specialist at NLGFC, Robins Gausi, says that at the CS-EPWP review meeting, several key gaps were identified, raising concerns about the effectiveness and sustainability of the projects.

“one major issue was the insufficient number of sub-projects to cover the project period which is three years. Furthermore, environmental and social safety guard issues were not adequately screened and documented, posing potential risks to the projects and local communities. Another area of concern was the improper capture of sub-project sizes or coverage, leading to overstated project sizes. Enrollment of participants lacked systematic procedures, resulting in numerous duplicates and under-enrollment in most districts. Participants also had to travel long distances to project sites, which affected the efficiency of implementation,” he said.

Gausi added that the review will follow a bottom-up approach, recognizing the participation of relevant grassroots structures such as Village Development Committees (VDC), Village Natural Resource Management Committees (VNRMC), and Area Development Committees (ADC).

“The review will also prioritize the "Hotspot approach," ensuring that sub-projects within VLAPs address land and forest degradation issues identified in specific high-risk areas’” added Gausi.

The National Local Government Finance Committee anticipates that this review process will address previous cycle's deficiencies and strengthen the implementation of the CS-EPWP objectives. The revised DSNPs aim to create sustainable safety nets that effectively combat land and forest degradation issues while promoting the overall welfare of local communities

The World Bank says it is impressed with the positive impact the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project (SSRLP) is making to people in targeted areas across the country.

Visiting World Bank Regional Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa Victoria Kwakwa said this over the weekend in Doŵa when she visited some of the beneficiaries under the project’s Tovi micro catchment area.

She said: “I am impressed that the project is actually making a difference on a couple of fronts like climate resilient through climate-smart public works programme as we saw on the hill here in Tovi how the beneficiaries are conserving the ecosystem.”

Kwakwa added that the project aims at improving resilience among the poor and vulnerable population, an objective that she has witnessed in the district.

“You don’t want people just getting cash transfers, you want them to get the needs to build economic livelihoods, so we saw the economic inclusions component and the skills being provided to people to venture into various money-generating endeavours,” said Kwakwa.

Tovi micro catchment, which lies between two major trading centres, namely Chimwaza and Doŵa turn-off, is located in T/A Msakambewa and T/A Mkukula in Doŵa District.

By means of the project, people in the area are expected to benefit through the promotion of entrepreneurial skills, which include horticultural production, beekeeping, and mushroom production, among others.

Concurring with Kwakwa, the minister responsible for gender, community development, and social welfare, Jean Sendeza expressed satisfaction with how the project is positively impacting targeted beneficiaries.

“This programme is really helping our people, apart from the restoration of the forest, they [beneficiaries] are getting money through the social cash transfer whereby they are changing livelihoods in their households.

“So the message that I would want to convey to the public is that let’s all of us make sure that we are conserving our forests through cash transfer,” said Sendeza.

Meanwhile, one of the beneficiaries under the social cash transfer programme, a single mother, Magdalene Medisoni, has built a house and tended livestock while taking good care of her orphaned grandchildren.

The project is expected to reach a total target of 405,000 ultra-poor and labour-constrained households per year with shock-responsive Social Cash Transfers (SCTP) in 18 districts and four City Councils of the country; 235,000 beneficiaries under contingency cash transfers, and support 590,000 ultra-poor households per year with labour in the Climate Smart- Enhanced Public Works Program (CS-EPWP) in all the 28 districts of the Country.

However, beneficiaries under the Tovi micro catchment area have singled out delays in payment of wages and lack of tools as major challenges constraining the smooth implementation of the project in the area.

The $490 million seven-year project, which is being financially supported by the World Bank and the Social Protection-Multi Donor Trust Fund (SP-MDTF), commenced in 2020 and will run up to 2027.

The project will also reach a maximum of 520,000 households by 2027 with livelihood support, and an enhanced focus will be given to women and youth to ensure increased participation.

Story Credits: Julius Mbewe

The National Local Government Finance Committee says it is important for radio communicators to be effective in telling the story of the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project (SSRLP), a component of the social protection programme in Malawi.

The remarks were made during the opening session of a recording of a series of dramedies targeting SSRLP participants, local authorities and the public through radio.

Speaking in Blantyre today during the pre-recording session of the dramedies, Jane Chidengu, E -Payment Specialist for the SSRLP, assured the session of continued support from the project because drama, ‘is a critical platform of sharing information between a project and its stakeholders and vice versa.

‘Radio is a top medium which has the widest reach and in Malawi, Pamajiga is one of the most, if not the most popular radio programs, ensuring that we are indeed reaching our audience at primary and secondary levels’.

‘We applaud your work in awareness and SSRLP promotion enhancement’, Chidengu said.

The week-long session organised by the NLGFC will lead to the generation of 780 minutes of content for airing on national and community radio platforms on all components of the SSRLP. The SSRLP is funded by the SSRLP – Multi-DonorTrust Fund.

The Malawi Social Registry, also popularly known as the Unified Beneficiary Registry, has attracted commendation from the World Bank for making impressive strides in registering households for consideration under different programs that government is reaching out to its people through targeting.

The remarks were made in Lilongwe during the recent technical support mission by the bank to the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project (SSRLP) where the UBR gets part of its funding for rolling out

‘It is pleasing to note that the Malawi Social Registry continues to gain prominence through striving to broaden user programs and increasing coverage across districts in terms of registered households’, said Task Team Leader for the SSRLP Chipo Msowoya.

‘More programs are gearing towards using the social registry as a source of information for targeting.  The team should now look forward beyond registration where issues of dynamic updates and institutionalization at national and local level are fully prioritized and explored’, he said.

In an interview with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Chief Economist Bessie Msusa agreed with the World Bank that the UBR in Malawi could be proud of the strides it has made so far  in registering over two and a half million people in 15 districts and more districts being targeted with data at 100% registration of households, making Malawi’s UBR at probably 65% in households registered which is  the second in Africa which is slightly higher.

The Social Registry continues to be rolled out in the country through registration of households to enable a broader User program for data.

In his remarks, SSRLP coordinator Paul Chipeta said the UBR management unit would quickly address several salient issues within the next few months, such as undertaking and reviewing its security and risk protocols as well as positioning itself to put in place mechanisms for dynamic updates to ensure updated household information which is very crucial to ensure effective targeting of households for different programs.

The SSRLP high level technical support mission by the World Bank has since wound up.  

The District Commissioner (DC) for Nkhotakota, Ben Tohno, has urged enumerators to collect high-quality Unified Beneficiary Registry (UBR) data. The UBR is a database of households that is used to identify and target beneficiaries for social protection programs such as the Social Cash Transfer and Climate Smart Public Works Program in Malawi.

During a meeting with enumerators, the DC emphasized the importance of following instructions in the data collection system if they are to collect quality data. He also sternly warned the enumerators against falsifying data by sitting under trees and cooking up UBR data collected from households.

The DC urged the enumerators to collect high-quality data that will help to get rid of inclusion and exclusion errors in targeting beneficiaries in social protection programmes in Malawi. He explained that the UBR is a crucial tool for ensuring that social protection programs reach those who need them the most, in particular the ultra-poor households.

The DC's message was well-received, and they have since promised to collect accurate and reliable data for the UBR.

A total of 130 enumerators are being trained and they are expected to data in Nkhotakota District for the next 45 days.

The UBR enumerator’s orientation is supported by the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project (SSRLP), a project funded by the World Bank, facilitated by the National Local Government Finance Committee and implemented in all the 28 Local Authorities in Malawi.