By Dean Chisambo
Minister of Local Government and Urban Development Ben Phiri has commended the World Bank and District Commissioners for their commitment on the ground, which has enabled Malawi to register an above 90% success rate in project implementation – unprecedented in the country.
Phiri made the remarks during the 2026 Annual Fiscal Decentralization Forum held in Lilongwe on Friday.
He also hailed the councils for qualifying audits, saying 26 out of 36 councils have performed very well and 22 councils are progressing together.
“When you have a quality score of 80% that is a distinction, and an average performance of our councils is a successful story,” said Phiri.
He noted that across different projects such as schools, hospitals, and bridges, councils are scoring 80% overall under Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD).
The Minister later expressed confidence that councils will perform well in Constituency Development Fund (CDF) projects as they have done under GESD, which is measured on a performance-based approach. He said they will deliver to Malawians what they deserve.
Phiri warned that government will not condone a laissez-faire attitude and poor performance, whether by male or female officers, because Malawians expect change, development, and better living standards, but civil servants have let them down.
“We need performance in government. You will be surprised when civil servants leave government and go to work with the World Bank, IMF, or any private companies – their culture and performance change completely. We cannot afford a lazy attitude. If you are male or female, you will be moved out of the system,” Phiri said.
In her remarks, GESD Senior Public Sector Specialist and Task Team Leader Eva Melis said GESD has been a significant success, with over 700 projects implemented and 90% of them already completed.
She said they are delighted and satisfied to see investment at the local level, including more schools, market places, health centres, bridges, and roads.
Melis added that they are also happy to see the introduction of GESD’s performance-based approach, which has strengthened institutional capacity across districts and enabled districts to continue performing better.
