The Council for Non-governmental Organizations in Malawi (Congoma) says it is important for community members to know their roles in procurement of materials for developmental projects.
Executive Director for Congoma Ronald Mtonga said this on Friday in Lilongwe during dissemination of results from phase one of the public procurement monitoring system in the districts of Balaka, Rumphi and Lilongwe.
The Civic Participation in Public Procurement project is supported by the European Union through Tilitonse Foundation.
Speaking with Malawi24, Mtonga said that they selected those districts due to gaps that have been noticed in monitoring public procurement in the districts.
He added that results of the first phase results conducted by different Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) show that monitoring of public procurement is affected by political interference, inadequate record keeping and lack of capacity.
“We involved civil society organizations because they have different structures in both in urban and rural areas considering that this work cannot be done by government alone. We are also assured that these messages and information will reach ordinary Malawians in rural communities because CSOs are everywhere across the country,” he explained.
In his remarks, Chief Professional Development Officer for Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Peter Makanga asked authorities not to be over defensive when reports are pointing fingers at them but to take a step and find out if the information is genuine.
On his part, Village Headman Sosola of Balaka complained that developmental projects that are being implemented in his district are not of their interests and that those deployed to do the works do not come from their districts.
