The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional window of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, approved on 9 October 2013,a grant amounting to UA 2.98 million (about US$ 4.6 million), to finance the Public Finance Management (PFM) Institutional Support Project in Malawi. The grant will support the Government of Malawi in implementing its five-year Public Finance and Economic Management Reform Program (PFEMRP).

The PFEMRP, designed by the Government with support from Development Partners including the Bank, aims at strengthening capacity to scale up the pace of public finance reforms in the country, in a coordinated approach. The AfDB project will support the efforts of the Government in deepening PFM reforms by providing targeted support to procurement and revenue components of the PFEMRP.

The project's broad development objective is to support the Government of Malawi to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth through improved tax administration and procurement systems. The specific objectives are to strengthen capacity in revenue administration with a focus on increasing revenue collection and improving customs service delivery, and to enhance value for money, transparency and accountability in the use of public resources through public procurement reform.

The three-year project will contribute to strenghtening capacity of key institutions including the Malawi Revenue Authority, the Office of the Director of Public procurement, and the Malawi Institute of Procurement and Supply. By promoting transparency in public procurement, revenue and customs administration, the project will make a significant contribution towards combating corruption.