Front PageNational News

AfDB gives Malawi K13 billion sector budget support

 

The African Development Bank (AfDB) board of directors today approved a sector budget support grant worth $30 million (about K13.5 billion) to Malawi to support basic social services of health and education.

The resources, in form of a ring-fenced sector budget support, will help preserve the gains Malawi has made in expanding access to basic services, according to the bank’s statement released yesterday.goodal_budget

Finance, Economic Planning and Development Minister Goodall Gondwe was all smiles, today in the capital Lilongwe, describing the gesture by AfDB as a “positive development.”

Gondwe told Nation Online: “And we have the EU, the World Bank in the country who are looking at what we have done so far in the Public Financial Management [PFM]. We hope that they too will do the same but not for this financial year but the 2015/16 financial year,” said Gondwe in telephone interview.

AfDB is among Malawi’s major development partners who suspended budget aid to Malawi in November 2013 following revelation of Cashgate at Capital Hill.

Following the scandal, donors—who operated under a defunct grouping called Common Approach to Budget Support (Cabs)—withheld resources worth $150 million towards the 2013/14 national budget.

**Read more about this developing story in The Nation tomorrow.

Related Articles

Back to top button