The Malawi threshold program targeted the policy areas measured by two MCC eligibility indicators, Control of Corruption and Fiscal Policy.
When Malawi was selected as eligible for the Threshold Program in 2004, it did not meet MCC’s Compact eligibility criteria in the Ruling Justly category, failing the Control of Corruption indicator. While Malawi did meet MCC’s Compact eligibility criteria in the Economic Freedom category, it did not pass two indicators – Credit Rating and Fiscal Policy. The Government of Malawi (GOM) proposed a threshold program focusing on reducing public corruption with an emphasis on improving fiscal management to address both areas of deficiency.
The Malawi threshold program was comprised of four components, or projects. The program was designed to fight corruption using a multi-pronged approach of reducing opportunities for corruption and strengthening the governments’s ability to manage and monitor its finances.
Malawi Threshold Program Implementation
The Malawi threshold program agreement was signed in September 2005; the program officially concluded in September 2008. As the program administer, USAID managed day-to-day program operations and oversaw the program implementers: Casals & Associates, State University of New York, the United States Treasury Office of Technical Assistance (OTA), the United States Department of Justice International Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) and the Department of Justice Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training (OPDAT).
The Threshold Program worked with more than 12 separate government entities, the Malawi National Assembly, and a wide range of civil society organizations, universities, and local media.
Program Achievements
The Malawi threshold program was largely implemented as planned, and the majority of outputs were met. The threshold program established a large number of institutions or institutional arrangements that have proved sustainable. The threshold program was also instrumental in passage of two pieces of legislation: the Anti-Money-Laundering law and the plea bargaining provisions under the recently-enacted Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code.
Malawi is now Compact eligible and has partnered with MCC on a five-year Compact.