36799 262 Poverty Reduction, Economic Management and Social Policy May 2006 Findings reports on ongoing operational, economic, and sector work carried out by the World Bank and its member governments in the Africa Region. It is published periodically by the Operations Results and Learning Unit on behalf of the Region. The views expressed in Findings are those of the author/s and should not be attributed to the World Bank Group. Malawi: Public Works Programme - Conditional Cash Transfers as an Emergency Response to a National Food Shortage The 2004/2005 Drought on the lines of an emergency drought relief programme leverag- In the 2004/2005 growing sea- ing the flexibilities of the MASAF son, Malawi experienced a drought approach. The PWP-CCT was de- which affected farm produce and signed along the lines of MASAF 3 subsequently led to country-wide Local Authority Managed Projects food shortages. This followed an- (LAMPs), a conventional Public other drought which occurred in Works Programme which MASAF the 2001/2002 growing season, fol- has been implementing for the past lowed by poor rainfall patterns in 10 years. Under LAMPS beneficia- all the subsequent years. The ries are paid a wage which is 20% Malawi Vulnerability Assessment lower than the market wage; the Committee (MVAC) estimated that local leadership, with assistance close to 4.2 million people would from the Local Authorities ( LAs ) need food assistance in the 2005/ selected beneficiaries; only one 2006 growing season. Out of these, person per household was eligible 2.6 million were deemed to be at to work under the program. The highest risk. Conditional Cash Transfer of Due to the food shortage, the MK1,000 was to be made on the Malawi Government, through the basis that a beneficiary worked on Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF) a public works programme for 10 project, implemented a Public days. Beneficiaries were to work Works Programme ­ Conditional for 8 hours per day at MK100.00 per Cash Transfers (PWP-CCT) over day so as to enable them, after the months October-December working on the program for ten 2005. The PWP-CCT was a days, to buy a subsidized 50 Kg bag programme within the existing of maize and one 50 Kg bag of fer- MASAF 3 project whose aim was to tilizer. transfer cash income to vulnerable MASAF allocated US$ 12.1 mil- households to enable them buy food lion to the LAs to meet the cost of Findings and agricultural inputs for the the program - 80% of the funds 2005/2006 growing season. were earmarked for wages, 18% for works and 2% for administrative The PWP-CCT program expenses. The program planned to benefit 565,281 direct beneficia- The design of the PWP-CCT was ries or 3.1 million people includ- ing indirect beneficiaries1. This tural Office was incorporated un- was distributed to the rural areas, would cover 73.8% of the 4.2 mil- der the program to strengthen the acquired and used the Govern- lion population at risk and 119% verification system. Special secu- ment-sponsored fertilizer coupons. (3.1 million/2.6 million) of the rity arrangements were made to population worst hit by food short- minimize the risk of transferring Issues and lessons learnt age. wages to beneficiaries. IEC campaign The PWP-CCT was preceded by an intensive Information, Educa- Types of Projects In all LAs, beneficiaries, local, re- tion and Communication ( IEC ) ligious and political leaders were While most of the PWP-CCT campaign targeting beneficiaries, well aware of the PWP-CCT pro- projects were on road construction, traditional, religious and political gram and its procedures. LA staff there were some projects on agri- leaders. LA staff were also targeted were also very conversant with the culture and food security (e.g. irri- as implementers of the design, principles and procedures gation and compost manure mak- programme. The messages com- of the PWP-CCT. This is attributed ing); environment (e.g. land con- municated focused on the design to the excellent IEC campaign servation, dam rehabilitation, af- principles, objectives and imple- mounted by MASAF just prior to forestation, agroforestry and water mentation arrangements of the and during the implementation hyacinth removal) and; water sup- PWP-CCT, as well as the condition- period. IEC preceding implementa- ply (e.g. gravity fed schemes). ality of the program. The campaign tion is therefore a critical success mainly used radio, the medium Supervision factor for such a program. recommended by a listernership MASAF sent supervision teams survey as being the most acces- to each LA to monitor and support Number of beneficiaries per sible to the communities. the implementation of the PWP- project CCT. These teams supplemented The average number of benefi- Implementation the LA supervision arrangements ciaries per project was 250 and this already in place under the Local was too large a number to be man- Resource Management Authority Managed Projects aged within a period of ten days. The total resources available to (LAMPs). In some LAs, the beneficiaries the program were US$12.1 million were split into groups and this cre- and these were allocated to all the Results ated two problems. First, some ben- Districts based on the population eficiaries in immediate need of By the end of January 2006, most at risk due to food shortage cash assistance had to wait till MASAF had successfully disbursed as estimated by the Malawi Vul- their turn came and second, some US$12.1 million to all 28 district nerability Assessment Committee beneficiaries were expected to assemblies - a total of 1,838 (MVAC). MASAF prepared special work in November when the rains projects were spread across project implementation and finan- would have started, which denied Malawi's three regions. These cial management guidelines them a chance to get cash when projects directly benefited 504, 012 which were provided to all the Dis- they needed it the most. It is im- individuals, which translates to tricts, all of which opened special portant to identify enough projects 89.2% of the set target of 565,281 PWP-CCT Bank Accounts into that can be completed in the allocated people. As per the design, after the which resources for wages and time so as to enable all eligible ben- PWP-CCT was over, beneficiaries works were deposited. The District eficiaries to work as soon as possible would get cash transfers under ex- Administration costs amounting to so as to access the needed cash im- isting LAMP projects, thus raising 2% of total PWP-CCT costs were mediately. the number of beneficiaries above deposited in the normal MASAF the 504,012 facilitated by existing District Operational Costs Bank LAMP projects. Beneficiaries used Beneficiaries and Gender Account. Apart from the standard their wages to buy food and seed. An attractive CCT program could cheque-signing arrangement un- Most PWP-CCT beneficiaries were der the LAMPs, an additional sig- targeted and once the fertilizer natory from the District Agricul- 1. There are 5.5 people per household potentially lead to gender differen- was however noted during imple- References: tials. In Machinga and Likoma mentation that the lack of tools Dzimadzi, C, Chinsinga, B (2004); LAs, there were more female than hindered work progress and that The Listenership, Readership, male beneficiaries; in Lilongwe projects where tools were not ad- Viewership survey of the Malawi Local Assembly, it was observed equate started late and had fewer Social Action Fund (MASAF) De- that in instances where females beneficiaries. Future programs of velopment Communication Prod- were selected, the work was actu- this nature need an adequate num- ucts ally done by males from their ber of tools at the very beginning. household - which makes it likely Government of Malawi (2004), that these males also decided on Malawi Economic Growth Strat- Payment of Wages how the money earned was used. egy Volume II At the beginning of the PWP- An analysis of the PWP-CCT Impact Government of Malawi; Office of the CCT, there were fears that LAs Survey data will reveal if there President, and Cabinet (2003); would not be able to make on-time were any gender differentials re- MASAF III/CEDP Operational wage payments to the beneficia- sulting from targeting criteria. Manual ries. In all LAs, LA Management disbursed the money on time, un- Government of Malawi (2002); Projects Supervision like in the conventional MASAF Malawi Poverty Reduction Strat- egy Paper There was lack of adequate su- Public Works Programme where pervision in some PWP-CCT payments are late and occasion- Lenneiye, M (2003); Integrating projects. The PWP-CCT projects ally payments are made to ghost MDGs into the Malawi Social Ac- coincided with the distribution by workers. This lesson learnt is that tion Fund; Findings, (233) government extension workers of LAs have the capacity to pay emer- Malawi Vulnerability Assessment vouchers/coupons for subsidized gency PWP - CCT beneficiaries on Committee (2005); Provisional fertilizer. Lack of supervision was time. Results of the Harvest Outcome attributed to this situation as also In conclusion, The Malawi Social Analysis to the non-availability of transport/ Action Fund, together with LAs in Nakhumwa, T.O (2006). Evaluation vehicles in some LAs. During the Malawi, has demonstrated that a of the 2005 Fertiliser Subsidy PWP-CCT, LAs summoned staff PWP-CCT arrangement can be an Program in Malawi from across all sectors to take su- effective response tool to a national pervision responsibilities in vari- food shortage. Various lessons ous projects. Robust supervision ar- have been learnt from the design This article was written by rangements should be in place prior and implementation of the PWP- Boniface Kalanda, Director of Moni- to implementation as supervision is CCT. The overall lesson learnt is toring and Learning and Charles certainly important for such a that, where there is a common Mandala, Director of Research and programme to succeed. purpose, a clear goal and with ad- Training at the Malawi Social Ac- Projects Tools equate funding, Local Authorities tion Fund (MASAF), and Joseph The initial design of the PWP-CCT can effectively and efficiently de- Magwira, Chief Executive Officer was to use 18% of the money for liver large interventions at com- of the Zomba Municipality in works and tools. This was changed munity level. Malawi. in some LAs and as result the 18% was converted to wages so that * Note: This brief is not based on a more people could benefit. In such systematic study of the impact of the LAs, it was expected that benefi- PWP-CCT. There will be a formal ciaries would either use their own evaluation of the impact and it is ex- tools or that the LAs would source pected that more lessons will be tools from completed projects. It learnt after the impact survey data is analysed. These will include les- sons on health- and education-re- lated behaviors among beneficiaries.