IDI’s CADRE Project advances in Malawi to strengthen collaboration between SAIs and CSOs and improve public financial management with partners at the country level

Following this July’s launch of the CADRE Project in Malawi, the implementing partners— INTOSAI Development Initiative (IDI), the National Audit Office of Malawi (NAO), and Transparency International Malawi—under the umbrella of the African Institute of Corporate Citizenship (AICC), have now signed a statement of commitment to enhance collaboration between Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). Aimed at improving public financial management (PFM) at the country level, this multi-stakeholder project is now well underway.

On 29 August, representatives from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the French Embassy in Pretoria, IDI, NAO, Transparency International Secretariat, and AICC met as part of the CADRE Project Steering Committee to discuss upcoming activities that could strengthen the engagement between SAIs and CSOs in Malawi and to approve a consolidated work plan for the project going forward.

At the same time, participants from CSOs in Malawi, the National Audit Office, and cooperating partners GIZ, the Norwegian Embassy, and the European Union took part in a Knowledge Sharing Workshop. This event served as a platform for dialogue and learning, focusing on identifying opportunities to enhane collaboration among key stakeholders involved in PFM processes.

Topics covered included: the power of collaboration in improving PFM, the mandate and types of audits performed by the NAO, the roles and operations of CSOs, an overview of the PFM environment, and the legal framework governing these collaborations. The participants also learned about existing challenges to collaboration and explored strategies to achieve more sustainable and impactful partnerships between SAIs and CSOs.

The CADRE Project, funded by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, continues to play a vital role in fostering dialogue, action, and collaboration to strengthen public financial management in Malawi. Stay tuned for more project updates later this year.