The Office of the Director of Procurement in the Government of Malawi has included the CoST disclosure requirements as part of a package of amendments to the Public Procurement Act. The amendments are currently being considered by the Minister of Justice and are likely to be put before Parliament in September.

The announcement was made last week at a CoST Malawi Policy Makers dinner in Lilongwe. The dinner was attended by 20 key officials within the Malawi Government including Rexie Chiluzi Permanent Secretary for Works and Transport and Cliff. K. Chinunda, Secretary of Projects and Programmes in the Office of the President along with Members of the CoST Malawi Multi-Stakeholder Group.

CoST Malawi MSG Chair, Joe Ching’ani said ‘the MSG is excited by the proposed amendments to the Procurement Act. It will lead to greater transparency within our construction sector and improve the quality of infrastructure for all Malawians. The dinner has also successfully raised the profile of the CoST Malawi programme within the Government.’

The Malawi Assurance Team is currently examining information from 31 projects from the roads, housing, energy and water sectors. The final report expected to be disclosed in August.