Per discussion on other topics here is a story about donor AID and LONG TERM SOLUTIONS - abre take note. When we do get charity - Aid we should use it to bring about long term solutions as well a the immediate .

When Malawi Becomes a Model for Europe ... the Story of Masaf's Successes

Email This Page

Print This Page

The Chronicle Newspaper (Lilongwe)

ANALYSIS
August 25, 2005
Posted to the web August 25, 2005

Pilirani Phiri
Lilongwe

It might have once been a political bone of contention between former President Bakili Muluzi who claimed he was the initiator of the programme, and former Agriculture Minister Aleke Banda who also claims responsibility for the Wold Bank funded concept.

But the fact is that the Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF) has proved to be a success story, the jewel in Malawi's crown of glory, not only here at home, but also on the international scene.

MASAF has since increased the number of Malawians accessing and participating in the development of the social infrastructure by 25 per cent, translating into 3.2 million of the total population.

Just recently a 14 - member delegation from Tajikistan, a central Asian country, visited Malawi to see for themselves the MASAF success story.

The delegation said the visit would help their poverty-rocked country to successfully implement a similar programme that Tajikistan is running called the National Social Investment Fund of Tajikistan (NSIFT). "Worldwide people are hailing Malawi for her implementation of MASAF projects and we are sure that by visiting Malawi, we will learn from your experiences to help us to also successfully run our NSIFT," said the fund's Executive Director, Sherali Zardov in an interview on August 10.

Established in 1995 with World Bank finances to the tune of US$56 million, MASAF has lived up to its objective of improving access to the utilisation of social economic services.

The project, according to the recently launched MASAF website is a people's fund for community empowerment and has been running in three phases since its inception in 1995. "The project aims at empowering individuals, households, communities, and their development partners in the implementation of measures which can assist them in skills associated with health, education, sanitation, water, transportation, energy, and food security," says the website.

The first MASAF phase, having been started in 1995 wound up in 1999 while the second phase started in 1999 to 2003. The current phase, which commenced in 2003, is expected to wind up in 2015.

MASAF 1 had two components, the social infrastructure development that involved the construction and rehabilitation of schools, teachers' houses etc, and the economic infrastructure to boost productive capacities and create employment for the poor.

The two components were achieved through three operational components: the Community Sub-Projects (CSP), the Public Works Component (PWP) and the Poverty Monitoring Support Facility (PMSF).

The CSP component accounted for 71 percent of the funds under MASAF 1, which provided financial and technical resources for programs targeted at the poor by funding the creation of community assets. "It also provided a new approach to community development by providing an opportunity for communities to effectively participate in the identification, preparation and implementation of their own development projects in collaboration with government agencies, NGOs, and private institutions," reads the website.

PWP accounted for 27 per cent of the financial resources and was designated to transfer income, through the creation of employment opportunities by funding labour intensive public works.

Although the PMSF component accounted for only 2 per cent of the financial resources and was managed by the National Economic Council (NEC), it supported the all important poverty reduction policies.

Under the CSP, K554 million was spent on Education Projects that included the building of 2,146 class rooms, 735 schools, 854 teachers' houses, 4,478 latrines, 45 administration blocks and the supply of 56,445 school desks.

The CSP also provided health centres to the tune of K64.5 million and water projects that cost K262 million. The component also implemented the construction of about 120 bridges, 5 community halls and 8 postal agencies.

Under the PWP, MASAF used K436 million to construct roads equivalent to 5,063 kilometres, built 252 bridges, and employed 12,096,000 people, among other achievements.

Then came MASAF 2 and this was designed to contribute towards poverty reduction within the context of the Poverty Reduction Framework.

MASAF 2 had an institutional setup, which included an Empowerment Unit (MU) that had five directorates comprising the CSP, PWP, Sponsored Sub Projects (SSP), Finance and Administration.

Under MASAF 2, the CSP component accounted for US$40.36 million that represented 62.6 per cent of the IDA funding under MASAF 2.

The component aimed at contributing towards the attainment of the MASAF 2 development objectives.

The PWP in MASAF 2 accounted for US$13.28 million of IDA funding, representing 20.6 per cent. "The Programme was implemented as a 'safety net scheme' financing labour intensive public works. The goal was to transfer cash incomes to the targeted poor individuals and households in urban and rural areas," says MASAF.

Under this component US$6 million was received from the Emergency Drought Recovery Project for relief related work. "In addition, parallel funding from the Government of Malawi amounting to K113 million was made available to implement the Relief Cash for Work Programme (RCWP) and US$11.25 million from the Department For International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom," reads the website.

The SSP accounted for US$3.34 of IDA funding representing 5.2 per cent.

The SSP aimed at strengthening the capacities of vulnerable and marginalized persons.

The MASAF website indicates that MASAF 2 achieved some of its objectives, especially that of transferring cash incomes to poor individuals and creating social economic infrastructure through the implementation of the 374 sub-projects. "There was considerable progress in assisting the Vulnerable and Marginalized groups. A total of 384 projects were funded. The sub-projects benefited 252,686 vulnerable and marginalized persons," it says.

Additionally, financial assistance allocated to people increased by 7.6 per cent between 1998 and 2002. "Per capita income percentage increase between 1998 and 2002 was 7.6 per cent," says the website.

The MASAF 2 project also saw the number of people living below the poverty line (a dollar a day) decline by 1.3 per cent.

Currently, MASAF 3 - which was established before the decentralisation policy was introduced, is in progress and working more closely with local communities at district and assembly levels.

It also has five components that include the Community Development Projects (CDPs), SSPs, Community Savings and Investment Promotion (COMSIP), Transparency and Accountability Promotion and Institutional Development (ID).

Having been so highly recommended internationally in the manner it has implemented its projects so successfully, it is time for MASAF to gear for greater recognition. Seen as a model for greater citizen participation and mobilization, MASAF cannot let its success slip in the name of complacency or sit on its laurels.

The eyes of the world will continue to focus on this rare phenomenon and Malawi can now effectively be in the limelight for something positive. This is the way to go!