The National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) has introduced a Project Management Information System (PMIS) for Local Authorities (LAs), an innovation that will improve LAs’ project management drive.

The PMIS will help manage projects funded by Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) and District Development Fund (DDF). The tool has been developed to replace the existing Excel monitoring tool and is able to track physical progress of projects from start to completion.

Speaking during the PMIS training of Directors of Public Works, Management Information System Officers and District Liaison Officers in Mzuzu, the GESD Project Coordinator, Mr Charles Chunga said the system is beneficial in that it automates reports and can easily be accessed by councils and NLGFC.

Chunga also said the PMIS provides real-time access to data; as Councils enter data and the dpw approves it, becoming visible to NLGFC.

It can also generate consolidated Excel reports. Stakeholders can also view projects on a dashboard which you can filter by financial year, funding source, project type, sector etc, and instant access to project progress on theground.

‘May l therefore urge all councils to embrace the PMIS in the implementation of GESD and DDF projects’, Chunga said.

‘The PMIS utilization for reporting by LAs will also be used as a trigger in the Local Authorities Performance Assessment (LAPA) for the 2022/23 fiscal year’, said Chunga. 

In addition, Chunga also said that councils not using PMIS will not get the 40% Performance Based Grant funds remaining for the 2022/23 Financial Year.

In its design, the PMIS has a public portal which provides access to information on all projects funded by the District Development Fund and the Governance to Enable Service Delivery project.