MALAWI: MCC THRESHOLD SUCCESS STORIES

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SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/S ELIZABETH PELLETREAU
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USTR FOR F LIZER
MCC FOR MALIK CHAKA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EAID PGOV MI
SUBJECT: MALAWI: MCC THRESHOLD SUCCESS STORIES


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1. Summary: The 20.92 million USD Millennium Challenge Threshold
Program in Malawi has achieved its goals using targeted projects
across multiple sectors to combat corruption. The most recent
milestone was the establishment of an internal affairs unit at the
Malawi Police Service after an 18-month long training program to
tackle corruption within the service. This follows the Threshold
Program's successful efforts to restart the Media Council of Malawi,
after five years of inactivity, to build journalistic
professionalism and ethics. The legislative strengthening component
of the Threshold Program assisted the National Assembly in providing
initial salary support and training for seven new clerks. The
Government of Malawi subsequently assumed the responsibility of
paying these salaries six months ahead of schedule, thus
demonstrating a commitment to sustaining a robust oversight capacity
in the National Assembly. End Summary.

Internal Affairs Unit Stands Up
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2. The International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance
Program's (ICITAP) 18-month program to help the Malawi Police
Service (MPS) develop an internal affairs manual and create an
internal affairs unit culminated on October 10 with the appointment
of Deputy Commissioner of Police Pike Mpahaka as the first commander
of the newly formed body. The primary mission of the unit is to
investigate allegations of misconduct allegedly committed by members
of the police. The internal affairs unit commander is directly
responsible to the Inspector General of the Police (IGP).


3. The program began in early July 2006, with meetings between
ICITAP and the IGP in which the MPS indicated a strong interest in
starting an internal affairs unit. ICITAP and the MPS first
developed an internal affairs manual and then implemented a series
of training programs based on needs identified jointly by MPS and
ICITAP. Training focused on a variety of topics, including officer
conduct, the development of policies and procedures, and
capacity-building in internal affairs investigations. The program
was designed for sustainability through "train-the-trainer"
components. Strong leadership in the MPS combined with USG
assistance is making a vital contribution in the fight against
corruption in Malawi.

Media Council Restarts
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4. The Media Council of Malawi was first established in November
1996, but dissolved in 2002 due to lack of local ownership and
fiscal mismanagement. With support from MCC, Casals & Associates
(C&A) initiated a consultative process to facilitate the
establishment of a Media Council. In order to broaden the donor
base, C&A also enlisted financial support from the British High
Commission to fund the consultative process that included focus
group meetings with the stakeholders. These discussions led to a
widely attended stakeholders meeting funded by MCC, to identify
common goals and strengths, and to agree on a common platform for
the resuscitation of the Media Council. As a result of these
efforts, the Media Council was re-established in February 2007.


5. Media practitioners agreed to resuscitate the Media Council
to provide a code of ethics regulated by a professional body. The
goal of the organization is to guide the way for proprietors of
media institutions, publishers, broadcasters and others to maintain
the highest standards of professional conduct in executing their
duties. The newly revived Media Council of Malawi is now positioned
to play a leading role in nurturing and promoting professionalism in
this sector. C&A is now working closely with the Media Council on a
plan to ensure sustainability once the TCP ends.

National Assembly Committee System Grows Stronger
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6. The State University of New York (SUNY),with support from
MCC, is working to strengthen the Committee Department of the Malawi
National Assembly so that it can effectively provide balanced
oversight of the executive branch of government. The project
initially committed to pay the salary for three committee clerks for
approximately 20 months to support committee work in budget
analysis, finance and economic matters. Given the high number of
functioning committees, SUNY and the National Assembly agreed that
more were needed to make a significant impact. Following
consultations among key stakeholders, SUNY agreed to salary support
for seven clerks, ensuring that each committee would have its own
dedicated clerk.


7. The government of Malawi (GOM) approved the creation of the
seven new committee clerk positions effective August, 2007. They
also agreed to assume the salary costs for these positions at that
time, well ahead of the original agreement to assume the costs at

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the end of the MCC Threshold Program. For the first time since the
demise of the single-party era in 1994, all of the committees in the
National Assembly were able to meet. In part, this is due to the
availability of clerks to service these meetings. The Committee
Department is now able to plan its work on a quarterly basis and
reports are being produced in a timely manner for tabling and
adoption in the House.

Targeted Programs Increasing Capacity
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8. Comment: Through its targeted, multi-sector approach, the
MCC Threshold Program in Malawi is achieving successes in building
capacity to fight corruption and increasing financial oversight.
The response of Malawian leaders and other stakeholders has been
uniformly positive. Threshold Program projects also appear to be
sustainable due to the use of the "train-the-trainer" approach, and
focusing on government and other stakeholder financial buy-in to
promote future funding and sustainability.

EASTHAM