This year has been an important one for CoST Malawi. After successfully launching the CoST Disclosure Portal for Public Infrastructure Projects in 2017, the assurance process undertaken by the programme in 2019 has provided an opportunity to understand procuring entities’ attitudes towards CoST disclosure tools and standards.

Today, as CoST Malawi publishes their latest assurance report as part of #AssuranceWeek2019, we can see a noticeable, positive change towards data disclosure and information sharing. Disclosure rates are still not optimal, with the average rate of data disclosure in line with the CoST Infrastructure Data Standard being 29%. However, this has little to do with a lack of cooperation or resistance and more to do with procuring entities learning to adjust to electronic systems and implement internal measures to respond to disclosure requests.

CoST Malawi’s assurance report focusses on 13 projects across a wide range of sectors, including roads, energy, health and education. Funded by the Malawi Government and external donors (such as the African Development Bank and the Arab Fund for Development), the projects are located in different regions of the country, providing a diverse and wide-ranging scope for analysis.

Question mark over competition in the roads sector

The insight provided by the road projects in the report are especially notable in terms of tender and contract awards. Three out of four projects managed by the Malawi Roads Authority were awarded to just one contractor, Mota Engil, a locally registered international contractor. This was also an issue reported by CoST Malawi in previous assurance reports in 2016 and 2017, and highlights the need to determine why one contractor dominates the road sector. If it is a question of lack of capacity on the part of local contractors, necessary interventions may need to be put in place by the Malawi Roads Authority to level the playing field.

Time and cost overruns come to light

The report also highlights that time and cost overruns are a key problem at the project implementation stage, with inadequate preparation being the main cause. The report’s recommendations therefore call on procuring entities to improve planning and supervision capacity.

CoST Malawi’s assurance report shows that a culture of transparency is gaining strength throughout the country, and as technical capacity catches up with the positive change in the attitude seen from procuring entities, tangible results are more likely to materialise. As such, the recommendations include encouraging procuring entities to take the step of disclosing data voluntarily on institutional websites and the Disclosure Portal. As Malawi continues making strides towards better infrastructure governance, this will be essential to reduce the logistical challenges and shortcomings which exist around project documentation.

Useful links

CoST Malawi website 
CoST Assurance 
Assurance Week 2019: Telling the story of public infrastructure through data