By Sheminah Nkhoma

Lilongwe, December 20, Mana: Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) has urged Members of Parliament ( MPs) to consider citizenry benefits when passing the budget in parliament .

Speaking during mid-term 2024/2025 budget review report meeting in Lilongwe, Oxfam Governance Manager, Mac Pherson Mdalla, said  appropriate expenditure is crucial to ensuring that Malawians get the best services from government agencies.

He said,  MPs  should make sure that government is spending funds approved in the mid- term budget review appropriately.

“ As a country we know we are facing economic challenges  including  climate change  which  has affected the country but it is important for MPs  to ensure that government officers are following financial management principles in their expenditure,” said Mdalla.

Chairperson for parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee, Gladys Gada, said that as MPs they are committed to strengthening oversight role on the budget.

“As MPs we  have been challenged to look at the revenue side of the budget and to  see if there are any problems in the budget so that we are able to solve them,” said Gada.

The CSOs  group consists of Oxfam, Economics Association of Malawi(ECAMA), Malawi Economic Justice Network(MEJN), Youth and Society(Yas) Center for Social Accountability and Transparency (CSAT) and Civil Society Agriculture Network (Cisanet).