Nkhatabay Mpamba legislator Jacob Mtambalika told Parliament that Malawi squanders billions in development assistance because ministries and organizations lack specialized personnel to execute donor-funded initiatives before financing expires and returns to lenders. The lawmaker cited World Bank commitments exceeding $3 billion that remain largely unspent due to reliance on part-time civil servants managing major programs alongside regular government duties, creating accountability gaps and implementation delays.
Mtambalika proposed creating dedicated implementation units staffed by full-time experts assigned to individual financiers such as the African Development Bank and Arab funds, arguing that current absorption failures represent lost foreign exchange opportunities. He warned that unused donor capital leaves the country without generating economic benefits, emphasizing that technical capacity rather than funding availability constrains infrastructure and development progress across government and NGO-managed projects.
Mtambalika proposed creating dedicated implementation units staffed by full-time experts assigned to individual financiers such as the African Development Bank and Arab funds, arguing that current absorption failures represent lost foreign exchange opportunities. He warned that unused donor capital leaves the country without generating economic benefits, emphasizing that technical capacity rather than funding availability constrains infrastructure and development progress across government and NGO-managed projects.
