Minister hails disaster accountability tool

Minister of Information and Communications Technology Shadric Namalomba says the Accountability to the Affected Population (AAP) strategy 2025-2030 will help enhance communication and promote accountability and transparency during disasters.

Speaking on Monday during the launch in Dowa District, he said the tool was in line with the country’s long-term development strategy, Malawi 2063, which seeks to transform Malawi into “an inclusively wealthy, self-reliant, individualised upper middle-income country”.

Namalomba said the strategy seeks to strengthen two-way communication between duty-bearers and communities and promote accountability and transparency in service delivery.

He said: “This is a strategy that advocates for inclusivity, particularly during disasters as it provides guidance to leaders and community members to ensure that there is communication and feedback in times of disasters.

“The affected communities have a responsibility to ensure that they know that what they are getting from duty-bearers and donors is exactly what they need and also to report any bias, segregation and corruption in the process.”

Namalomba also said duty-bearers have a responsibility to ensuring that they help affected community members during disasters.

In his contribution, YouthNet and Counselling Organisation executive director Macbain Mkandawire said he was excited that the strategy also provides for capacity building of stakeholders to respond to issues through various reporting mechanisms.

“We hope that at the end of the day, accountability and transparency to the affected population will be upheld to promote effective delivery of services,” he said.

Malawi Red Cross Society fundraising and partnership coordinator Roster Kufandiko said they have been working with communities for long but lack of clear strategy affected operations.

“Today, we are happy to see government launching the strategy. This will help us work effectively with communities affected by disasters,” he said.

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