Parliamentary Support Program FY 2023 Annual Report

The Program provides technical support to selected committees and caucuses, offers cross-institutional coordination between Parliament and Statutory Oversight Institutions, and integrates Social and Behavioral Science (SBS) research and insights to identify behaviors and psychological, social, and situational barriers that prevent stakeholders from leading reform. In the first year of implementation, the Democracy International (DI)-led Program implemented activities across the three purpose areas, building towards the six project results. To implement the project, DI partnered with Democracy Works Foundation (DWF), Global Partners Governance (GPG), and local organizations such as Youth and Society (YAS) and the Center for Social Accountability and Transparency (CSAT). The Program implemented various activities in the fourth quarter of FY 2023, including the production of studies on political party caucuses, processing of oversight agency reports, training of youth activities in the Central and Northern regions, MP public forum in Zomba, establishing partnership with Governance for Solutions (GfS), convening the National Anti-Corruption Strategy II (NACS II) Governing Structures, and convening the first Governing Structures Coordination Meeting on the implementation of NACS II. Key achievements of the Program include the adoption of elections reforms package by Parliament, including eight amendments negotiated with the Legal Affairs Committee. The Program also provided research and analysis support to 71 MPs from five committee clusters during annual state budget deliberations, resulting in five direct questions and five direct answers from MPs. Additionally, the Program held a public hearing on the proposed state budget, attended by 120 participants, including MPs, ministry officials, civil society activists, and representatives from the United Nations and the international community. The Program also developed and submitted a Communications Strategy for the Parliament of Malawi (2023-2027) and established a joint action plan between the Legal Affairs Committee and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). Furthermore, the Program initiated a national dialogue on the separation of powers and trained 44 journalists and 85 youth civil society activists on the functioning of Parliament. The Program also contributed to the approval of a motion to revise the school uniform policy, which was initiated at a Program-supported community meeting in the rural constituency of Zomba-Thondwe. Additionally, the Program convened the first Governing Structures Coordination Meeting on the implementation of NACS II, involving 12 strategy pillars, and facilitated field monitoring led by the Legal Affairs Committee in nine districts, resulting in an official report submitted to the Parliament of Malawi. The Program also submitted to Parliament the Resource Mobilization Strategy for the implementation of the Parliament of Malawi's 2021-2026 Strategic Plan. Overall, the Program has made significant progress in implementing its activities and achieving its key results, with a focus on strengthening Malawi's democratic governance and supporting the Parliament of Malawi to fulfill its legislative, oversight, and representative functions.