In the fourth quarter of 2012, the Revenue Development Foundation (RDF), a non-profit consultancy that supports governments in efficiently managing and increasing domestic revenue, launched a programme in Malawi. It will assist the Malawian central government in the administration of natural resources and related revenue. This is being run with Malawi’s Ministry of Finance in cooperation with the German Development Agency GIZ (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit).
RDF’s areas of intervention and targets for the programme in Malawi are still being developed. One strategic objective is to “Enhance Revenues and Efficiency of Natural Resource Administration”. So far, the programme has found that Malawi has received USD 1 million from issuing licences.
The RDF is currently working on Malawi’s Integrated Government Repository to publish data from the Mining Cadastre Administration System (MCAS) and the Oil Concessions Administration System (OCAS), which are newly installed in the Department of Mines and Ministry of Natural Resources.
The online platform will allow users to acquire information on licences applied and awarded to companies (date, status, location, revenue and royalties paid with receipt number so can be audited, tax and customs data) in order to allow government to enforce compliance and attract more foreign investment.
A more in-depth description of the RDF’s activities on the ground in Malawi with the Department of Mines as well as the Mineral Rights Section can be found on their blog.
The online repository is currently only accessible for government staff and stakeholders as the database is not yet completed and is likely to only go live in a year. Nevertheless, the video embedded below, narrated by Aasmund Andersen the RDF’s Founder and Managing Director, provides a brief overview.
For further information about Mineral Cadastre Systems, consult RDF’s position paper “RD Position Paper: Assessing Different Minerals Cadastre Systems” (August 2011).
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Thanks and congratulations. Looks full of opportunities for governance focused stakeholders. Can I ask if/how it is aligned with systems in other countries and whether there will be training for civil society when it is made public?
Hi Alan - this system is most established in Sierra Leone and used in Sierra Leone’s EITI reporting; you can take a look at the Government of Sierra Leone Online Repository which is open to the public here: http://sierraleone.revenuesystems.org/login/auth. In Malawi, development of a cadastre system is being reviewed at present. Civil society are engaged during the set up of such as system, but industry stakeholders seem to be the most common users of the open data system. Read more here: http://eiti.org/blog/eiti-and-public-administration-efficiency.
Thanks. Good to know that Malawian civil society are engaged. It will be interesting to see how these systems all work together when civil society starts working globally on this. Hopefully the formats etc will be workable.