Government-by-Government Assessments: Malawi
During the review period, the government made its executive budget proposal, end-of-year reports publicly available online within a reasonable period of time. The enacted budget was delayed because it was an election year. While information on most debt obligations was publicly available, information on state-owned enterprise debt was not. Publicly available budget documents provided a substantially complete picture of the government’s planned expenditures and revenue streams, including natural resource revenues. The information in the budget was generally considered reliable. The supreme audit institution meets international standards of independence and its audit of the government’s annual financial accounts was published within a reasonable period of time. While the criteria and procedures by which the national government awards contracts or licenses for natural resource extraction were specified in law and regulation, the government did not appear to follow applicable laws in practice. Basic information on natural resource extraction awards was publicly available. Malawi’s fiscal transparency would be improved by:
* disclosing all state-owned enterprise debt; and
* ensuring procedures for awarding natural resource extraction contracts are followed in practice.
Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs
