Public Financial Management for PRSP - Deutsches Institut für ...
Public Financial Management for PRSP - Deutsches Institut für ...
Public Financial Management for PRSP - Deutsches Institut für ...
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<strong>Public</strong> <strong>Financial</strong> <strong>Management</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>PRSP</strong> Implementation in Malawi<br />
should there<strong>for</strong>e rely more on domestic procurement in order to allow local<br />
authorities to acquire equipment and technologies that are locally available.<br />
Reduced salary gap between the public sector and private entities or<br />
donor organisations <strong>for</strong> middle-level staff<br />
High staff turnover in Malawian government and oversight institutions both<br />
at central and local level is an important factor that hampers the PFM process.<br />
This is partly due to relatively low salaries <strong>for</strong> middle-level staff. There<strong>for</strong>e,<br />
it is important to reduce the salary gap between the public sector and employees<br />
working <strong>for</strong> the private sector or donor organisations in order to attract<br />
and retain qualified employees in the public sector. The GoM should continue<br />
to implement the Civil Service Pay and Employment Re<strong>for</strong>m to render middle-level<br />
positions in public institutions more attractive <strong>for</strong> qualified personnel.<br />
Reduced payment of allowances and their trans<strong>for</strong>mation into a fixed<br />
component of civil servants´ salaries<br />
The payment of allowances <strong>for</strong> the attendance of workshops and meetings is<br />
a common way to top up salaries in Malawi’s civil service. Allowances were<br />
initially intended to improve the per<strong>for</strong>mance of civil servants, but in fact this<br />
system creates perverse incentives and delivers an opaque salary scheme.<br />
There<strong>for</strong>e, the government should consider raising salaries by fixed sums and<br />
in exchange reducing allowances to a refund of the actual cost of transport<br />
and catering. Donors should support this policy and avoid creating adverse<br />
incentives by paying high allowances <strong>for</strong> workshop attendance.<br />
Better incentives <strong>for</strong> civil servants to work in remote areas<br />
The GoM faces serious difficulties to attract qualified staff <strong>for</strong> jobs in remote<br />
districts, where living and working conditions are poor. There<strong>for</strong>e, it is necessary<br />
to create more and better incentives <strong>for</strong> civil servants to work in these<br />
districts (e.g. salary top-up <strong>for</strong> remote areas or other compensatory measures)<br />
in order to compensate <strong>for</strong> less attractive living conditions.<br />
German Development <strong>Institut</strong>e 147