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Stefan Leiderer et al.<br />

only with insufficient resources and missing concerted ef<strong>for</strong>ts (CABRI 2004,<br />

39). 37<br />

The MTEF was introduced as a pilot in four ministries (Education, Health,<br />

Agriculture, and <strong>Public</strong> Works) in financial year 1995/1996. Like in other<br />

African countries, the exercise was initiated by donors to improve mediumterm<br />

budget planning. Nevertheless, the MTEF was never operational as a<br />

rolling medium term planning tool in Malawi. If used at all, figures were<br />

rather adapted to the new estimates each year and the focus was only on the<br />

first year while the two outer years were neglected. Donors failed to create<br />

genuine government ownership <strong>for</strong> the instrument, but also failed to support<br />

its effective use, e.g. by changing from yearly pledges <strong>for</strong> financial aid to<br />

predictable medium-term commitments. Thus, the government does not appear<br />

to be genuinely committed to the MTEF, instead, it uses only a semifunctional<br />

version to satisfy donor requirements. 38<br />

6.4 Coordination<br />

6.4.1 Horizontal coordination at central level (MoF, MEPD,<br />

sectors)<br />

A remarkable feature of the institutional setup in Malawi is the distribution of<br />

key PFM responsibilities between two ministries, namely the Ministry of<br />

Finance (MoF) and the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development<br />

(MEPD). The MEPD is mainly responsible <strong>for</strong> the elaboration of strategic<br />

policies and plans, <strong>for</strong> example, the <strong>PRSP</strong> and short-term und medium-term<br />

development strategies, such as the <strong>Public</strong> Sector Investment Programme<br />

(PSIP). The MoF is mainly responsible <strong>for</strong> the allocation of resources, both<br />

<strong>for</strong> the recurrent and <strong>for</strong> the capital budget. Other joint responsibilities include<br />

macroeconomic <strong>for</strong>ecasting and the monitoring and evaluation of<br />

projects. There<strong>for</strong>e, strong coordination links are necessary between MoF<br />

and MEPD.<br />

37 Durevall / Erlandsson (2005, 17–21) provide a detailed historical account of the MTEF in<br />

Malawi.<br />

38 There is, <strong>for</strong> example, no clear link between the MTEF and the <strong>Public</strong> Sector Investment<br />

Programme (PSIP).<br />

110 German Development <strong>Institut</strong>e

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