Malawi joined the Open Government Partnership in 2013. This ‘reflects Malawi’s commitment to improve and strengthen is democracy and good governance’ according to the National Action Plan (2016-2018). The first plan has been developed three years after the initial government declaration was made in 2013 by the then Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ephraim Chiume.
The OGP, launched in 2011 by governments from Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States,
aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
Today there in total 69 OGP countries with over 2,250 commitments.
Malawi’s National Action Plan contains five commitments:
- Freedom of Information
- Citizen Participation
- National Integrity System and Fight Against Corruption
- Public Sector Reforms and Public Service Delivery
- Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
See below for commitments made by the Government to implementing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) with the main objective as
to ensure transparency and accountability in the collection and management of revenue from the extractive industry sector and natural resources in Malawi.
Commitment 5 on the EITI will likely be realised, hopefully with the intended impact, given the support from the highest office and the progress made to date. As with all initiatives on transparency and accountability, however, its effectiveness lies with the duty bearers who can implement the process, take on board recommendations and make the necessary changes.
| Name and number of the Commitment: No 5: Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative-(EITI) | |||||
| Lead implementing agency | Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development | ||||
| Name of responsible person
from implementing agency |
Secretary to the Treasury- Dr Mangani | ||||
| Title, Department | Revenue Division | ||||
| [email protected] | |||||
| Phone | +265 1 789 355 | ||||
| Other
actors involved |
Government | Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Office of the President and Cabinet-(OPC, Malawi Revenue Authority-(MRA),and Reserve Bank of Malawi and other government, ministries and agencies | |||
| CSOs, private
Sector, Reserve Bank of Malawi and Multi-stakeholder Group |
Citizens for Justice-(CFJ), Action Aid, Council for Non-Governmental Organizations of Malawi- (CONGOMA). Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace-(CCJP), Institute for Policy Interaction-(IPI), Foundation for Community Support Services-(FOCUS), Paladin Energy Ltd, Mkango Resources Limited and Globe Metals Ltd, Shayona Cement Limited, [Bwanje Cement], and Malawi Chamber of Industry and Commerce | ||||
| Status quo or problem/issue
to be addressed |
Improving transparency and accountability and following the money from the extractive industry-(Mining, Oil and Gas) sector | ||||
| Main Objective | To ensure transparency and accountability in the collection and management of revenue from the extractive industry sector and natural resources in Malawi | ||||
| Brief Description of
Commitment (140 character limit) |
The extractive industry sector and natural resources has been associated with a curse instead of a blessing for a lot of African countries and thus partly because of lack of transparency in the sector. To make sure that revenue from the industry contributes to sustainable development, there is need for a tool that tracks revenue collection and where such revenue goes. EITI is such a tool as it provides information to different stakeholders and citizens. Availability of information on revenue transparency will help citizens appreciate how much money the government receives from the sector and how that money contributes to national budget and translating to service delivery. | ||||
| OGP challenge addressed
by the commitment |
Open contracts and revenue transparency in the extractive industry sector | ||||
| Briefly describe the
intended results of the commitment and how it will either make government more open or improve government through more openness. |
Make all rules and regulations for natural resource licenses and concessions available in a public database. This will also involve harmonizing with other laws like the taxation Act, freedom of information and Reviewing of the mineral legislation
Publish timely, comprehensive reports on oil, gas and mining operations, including detailed revenue and contracts which government has entered with the industry. |
||||
| Verifiable and measurable milestones to
fulfill the commitment |
New or ongoing commitment | Start Date: | End Date: | ||
| Establishment of the Multi-stake holder Grouping | Already done | ||||
| Submission of EITI application | Submitted in July, 2015 | ||||
| Establishing the EITI secretariat | On-going | October, 2015 | |||
| Recruitment of staff to work at the secretariat
|
On-going
|
October, 2015
|
|||
The National Action Plan can be downloaded here. The Point of Contact for OGP in Malawi is Wezi Kayira the Principal Secretary for Good Governance Unit in the Office of the President and Cabinet.
