LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The Civil Society Education Coalition (CSEC) alongside other education stakeholders has faulted the treasury for delaying disbursement of funds to education ministry saying the move is negatively affecting service delivery.
CSEC Executive Director, Benedicto Kondowe, made the sentiments on Thursday, March 7, 2024 in the capital Lilongwe when the coalition and other education stakeholders presented a budget analysis to cluster committees of Parliament.
Kondowe observed that most projects have stalled because resources are not being channeled directly to local authorities as per requirement in the decentralisation process.
He said an expenditure tracking CSEC conducted for the 2023/2024 education budget actually established that disbursement and utilization levels are very low.
CSEC therefore urged government to focus on improving disbursement and utilization of the MK900 billion budgetary allocation to the education sector in the 2024/2025 national budget.
“Our tracking, for instance, has shown that for primary education, only 64 percent of money is being disbursed and out of that utilization is exceeding 86 percent. The trend is the same for secondary as well as tertiary”, said Kondowe.
He adds, “The impression being made is that allocation is one thing since a budget is a mere aspiration. What is important is how much of what is allocated in the national budget is disbursed.
“It is not enough just to celebrate a huge allocation in the budget. What is important is how much is disbursed and utilized to make a difference that we all want to see.
Vice Chairperson for the parliament committee on education Ephraim Nayeja said legislators will intensify their oversight role to ensure that funds are disbursed in good time.
“As the legislature, we will, therefore, do a lot in monitoring and tracking of the expenditure of the MK900 billion education allocation. We will intensify our oversight role to ensure that the expenditure is done according to plans,” he said.
The CSEC budget analysis also recommends the devolvement of education’s development budget to local authorities, citing stagnation and abandonment of projects over centralized government system.
In the 2024-2025 proposed budget, the ministry of Education has been allocated with at least MK900 billion.
CSEC prepared and presented the budget analysis inconjunction with Oxfam Malawi, FAWEMA and GAYO, and other partners.
