Abstract
This report presents findings and recommendations of a study that was conducted to assess the impacts of the 2013 Public Works Programme (PWP) on the livelihoods of beneficiaries. The study was conducted in three villages within TA Mponda in Mangochi District in Malawi, Southern Africa. PWP is a pro-poor labour intensive intervention which the Government of Malawi has been implementing since 2005 to improve the livelihoods of the poor. The focus of the study was on perceptions and attitudes of stakeholders towards the effects of PWP’s impacts on livelihoods.
The study took a qualitative approach and drew a largely purposive sample of women and men among beneficiaries, CSO and traditional leaders among interested groups and government officials among implementers in focus group discussions and in-depth interviews.
The study established that PWP was a very important programme whose short-tern benefits were appreciated by beneficiaries. There was inadequate knowledge about PWP objectives among beneficiaries and implementers were not aware of the NSSP which reduced programme success. The recruitment criteria were well understood by stakeholders but communities were not able to define a poor household which may have resulted into inclusion errors. More women than men were participating and held leadership positions but it was not clear if this was a result of gender mainstreaming as men were reportedly shunning the programme. The programme neither helped in asset creation nor engagement in savings by beneficiaries. In general, beneficiaries perceived the benefits from PWP as short-lived.
Based on the findings, the study recommended that there should be information flow on policies and guidelines affecting PWP at all levels, wages should be in line with prevailing cost of living, communities should be trained on savings mobilization to enhance impact sustainability and PWP wages be complimented with assets like livestock for improved beneficiary resilience to shocks and risks.