Malawi’s housing project is looking up.Approximately 800, 000 households are to benefit from the second supplementary financing in the Strengthening Safety Nets Systems Project-MASAF IV.
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The development was launched in Lilongwe Monday where Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Mr. Goodal Gondwe signed the financing contract of US 70 million (around K51 billion) which is supported by the International Development Association of the World Bank (IDA).
In his statement after the official signing of the agreement, Gondwe clarified that part of the financial support is intended to scale up the Public Works Programme to achieve an additional 225 thousand house units through an emergency component.
Gondwe said; “It will in addition aid in scaling up the Social Cash Transfer Programme to 9 districts getting more than 120,000 households.
“You may wish to be informed that the Social Cash Transfer Programme would have reached 100 percent coverage of the districts in the country.”
The Strengthening Safety Nets Systems Project is among the World Bank’s priority policies intended to assist Malawi to recuperate from exterior shocks effects by the unfavorable effects of the drought and floods that hit the nation in the 2014-2015 growing season according World Bank’s Vice-President for Africa, Makhtar Diop who represented the World Bank at the agreement signing.
The funding includes a grant of US 47.7 million (about MK35 billion) a loan of US$ 22.3 million (about MK16 billion).
The news of World Bank coming back to give financial support to Malawi has made the state’s leader Peter Mutharika to be pleased and to be grateful for the support that the nation has been receiving through the bank.
The sentiments were made during a meeting that Mutharika had at Kamuzu palace in Lilongwe with a World Bank delegation led by vice president for World Bank in Africa Makhtar Diop.
Mutharika commended the development as it will bail out Malawi from shortages in budgets that the nation has been having following donor pull out of support in 2013.
Mutharika also highly praised the support from the bank stating that the nation has profited a lot from the aid and grants given to Malawi.