Aaron Batten, Economist, Debt and Aid Division, Ministry of Finance, Malawi

1. Aid Information Management in Practise – Malawi Experiences Aaron Batten Economist, Debt and Aid Division Ministry of Finance, Malawi ICGFM Winter Conference 6 December 2010

2. Background to Malawi’s Aid Environment Challenges of Aid for Effective PFM Malawi’s Approach to Aid Information Management How is Malawi’s Aid Information Management Improving PFM Role of International Aid Transparency Initiatives vs. Country Level Aid Information Management Systems Next steps for Malawi Overview

3. Malawi is heavily dependant on foreign aid 12% of GDP, 40% of Budget, 80% Development Budget Aid delivery is highly fragmented 28 Bilateral & Multilateral Donors + Emerging donors In 2009/10FY 452 active projects: 25 use Government’s Consolidated Account at RBM 90 implemented with Line Ministries and use RBM project accounts 140 implemented with Line Ministries using commercial bank accounts 150+ implemented with various NGOs Background to Malawi AIMS

4. How do you translate information from disparate donors and activities into a common budgeting framework? How best can donor information be used to inform domestic sector planning efforts? Which donor activities should be included in the Budget process, and what information do you need to be able to make these distinctions? How can Government best manage aid flows that are not included in the budget? Challenges for Effective PFM

5. In 2008, Malawi moved from an ad-hoc aid information system to a formal system of information exchange between MoF and all its donor partners Information stored and analysed through web based Aid Management Platform (AMP) System now collects information on all aid financed activities in Malawi and is updated on a monthly basis Malawi’s Aid Information Management System

6. What information to collect? -Unique AMP ID -Status -Use of Budget Systems -Sectors -Geographic Location -Description -Executing Agencies -Implementing Agencies -Key Activity Dates -Type of Assistance -Aid Modalities

7. Management of both on and off budget funds Government now tracks disbursements both to On-Budget funds and for projects which circumvent Government systems For some large donors (USAID, Japan) this can comprise 100% of their assistance Full list of activities greatly improves sector planning efforts Information allows production of Extra-Budgetary Addendum to the official Budget documents Allows off-budget funds to still be approved by Parliament How has Malawi AIMS Reform improved PFM?

8. Translation of donor information into a common budget format Centralised AIMS means all aid projects (on and off budget) can be allocated to domestic sectors, MGDS Themes, Budget Votes Rather than having donors allocate projects to sectors (or arbitrarily by Government), system uses Implementing Partners as a consistent allocation rule How has Malawi AIMS Reform improved PFM?

9. IATI aims to develop a set of international standards for the way donors report information about aid spending. Donors commit to an aid information reporting cycle Recipients access all donor information through a single web-portal Reduce the burden of information collection from recipient countries Improve projection and commitment information Provide aid information to a wide audience outside of planning and finance ministries International Aid Transparency Initiatives & Country Level AIMS

10. By removing the responsibility of aid information collection from aid recipients donors can: ‘Information Dependency’ can reduce demand for effective AIMS at country level Provide less frequent information exchange and reduce institutional connections between donor and recipient Introduce a common information format that may not be applicable to the dynamic information needs of recipient countries International Aid Transparency Initiatives & Country Level AIMS

11. Basic Principle: Domestic ownership and demand for quality aid information is the key for using AIMS to improve PFM International aid transparency initiatives are useful but should focus on strengthening country level exchange Without a link to the budgeting process, AIMS will work in parallel to the national budget planning, potentially undermining the accountability cycle. Strengthening International Initiatives

12. Lack of multiyear forecasts from donors limits ability to produce MTEF (40% funding unknown) Exclusion of NGO’s funded from international sources limits sector planning information Aid disbursements should be linked to project monitoring and output based budgeting efforts Create direct link for AMP information to enter into Government’s Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) This work is being undertaken by Budget Division... Next Steps for Malawi AIMS