Mzimba scoring high on transparency due to budget advocacy

Mzimba District Council has seen a tremendous improvement on budget transparency and dissemination as people are being made aware of district funding.

This was disclosed recently during the district health budget advocacy council meeting which was organized under MamaYe Malawi’s Health Budget Advocacy.

Making his presentation to the councillors, District Commissioner, District Health Officer and other stakeholders, Councillor Hastings Chivundu, said the district is now able to post budget information on public notice boards so that people are able to see how much funds have beenallocated to different sections.

Making the budget open to the public support initiated by MamaYe Malawi has been able to inform people in the district of the available resources the council receives from the government.

said Councillor Chivundu.

As compared to the previous assessment conducted in May 2016, the district has made positive strides in supportive governance structures and budget dissemination as both district health office and council secretariat have taken corrective steps in addressing the identified gaps. One notable step included engaging NGOs and CSOs in health sector to improve coordination.

Mzimba District Commissioner Thomas Chirwa, commended MamaYe Malawi for the work it is doing in the district. Mr. Chirwa referred to the work MamaYe has done in the past of exposing the challenges the district was facing in maternal health.

The District Commissioner further attributed the success of the Mother’s Day Fun Run to MamaYe’s efforts and reporting which triggered a response from the general public to assist the district with equipment during the 2016 Mother’s Day Fun Run.

The district will work on some short falls as highlighted on the scorecards to improve on the health services. We will also embark on wider consultations by involving the village structures and make budgets open and participatory.

promised Mr. Thomas Chirwa, District Commissioner for Mzimba.

In his speech, MamaYe Malawi Country Director Mathias Chatuluka commended the district for its improvement in budget supportive governance systems and budget information sharing with the public. He further called upon the district and its stakeholders to continue working hard to see more positive changes and improve in maternal and child health care.

MamaYe Malawi is carrying out health budget advocacy assessments in the districts of Mzimba, Rumphi and Nkhata Bay in order to promote accountability and transparency in budget consultation process.

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