News

The African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), in collaboration with the Malawi Parliament and the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA Malawi), held a National Budget Implementation, Tracking and Oversight Forum to ensure the 2026/27 budget translates into tangible development outcomes. The forum brought together Members of Parliament, senior government officials, development partners, civil society organisations, academia, and the media to reflect on how the 2026/27 Malawi National Budget can be more effectively implemented, monitored, and aligned with short, medium, and long-term national development priorities, including Malawi 2063. 

The Right Honourable Sameer Suleiman, Speaker of the Parliament of Malawi, who was the guest of honour, spoke of Parliament’s central role in ensuring accountability in public financial management and the importance of strengthening oversight systems that enable effective tracking of public expenditure. 

In his remarks, the Speaker emphasised the need for improved access to timely and reliable financial information to support parliamentary scrutiny of public spending. He noted that effective oversight requires strong collaboration between Parliament and key accountability institutions, including the Auditor General, to identify and address inefficiencies, misuse of resources, and implementation gaps. 

The Speaker made the case for strengthening institutional systems that enable Parliament to track budget performance against approved allocations, emphasising that adequate resources, data systems, and continuous stakeholder engagement must support oversight processes. 

Speaking at the forum, the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Budget Committee, Hon. Sosten Gwengwe, reiterated the importance of strengthening scrutiny across the entire budget cycle and called for greater inclusion of parliament at the pre-budget engagement stage. He noted that limited opportunities exist to make substantial changes to the budget once it reaches the approval stage, highlighting the need for earlier engagement to ensure budgets are realistic, responsive to national priorities, and structured to support implementation. 

Hon. Gwengwe emphasised that a systematic review of key public financial management documents, including annual budget estimates, quarterly budget performance reports, mid-year reviews, financial statements, and public debt reports, is essential to strengthen accountability and enhance parliament’s budget oversight role. 

Delivering opening remarks, AFIDEP’s Executive Director Dr Eliya Zulu underscored the importance of evidence-informed budget monitoring and accountability to ensure the limited public resources are resourcefully invested and used to generate the greatest possible development impact.