Blantyre — Government through the Ministry of Finance is developing a new Development Cooperation Strategy (DCS) that will guide the effectiveness of the implementation of the development agenda for the country.

Director for Debt and Aid in the Ministry of Finance, Peter Simbani said at a Regional Consultation Workshop on the strategy in Blantyre on Tuesday that the DCS will be the framework that will guide how government collaborates with its development partners and other stakeholders. He said the main objective of the DCS will be to improve the quality of development cooperation by ensuring that development partners and other stakeholders align their support to national priorities, institutions and systems.

According to Simbani, the DCS is a follow up to the Development Assistance Strategy (DAS) which was in place between 2006 and 2011.

"Upon its expiry in 2011, the DAS was subjected to a review that was conducted in 2012 which, among other things, revealed that it was an important tool as it significantly improved the relationship between government and its development partners," said Simbani adding that it also improved the coordination, management and monitoring of development assistance.

In conjunction with the development partners, government has since established a task force with representation from civil society, development partners, private sector and the academia.

He said the consultation workshops are aimed at soliciting stakeholders' input into the new strategy which is expected to be in place by December this year.

Similar workshops will also be held in Zomba, Mzuzu and Lilongwe.