Dutch agency ceases funding Malawi group

The Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development Aid (Cordaid), a Dutch funding agency, has decided to directly end its financial aid to a Malawian organisation called Women’s Voice due to mismanagement of its funds, APA learnt here Wednesday.

Cordiaid Manager Monique Lagro said on Wednesday in Lilongwe that the decision to cease relations with Cordaid was based on the findings of the special investigation audit which uncovered the anomalies.

“The findings of audit revealed irregularities that clearly point at mismanagement and malversation of funds by the organisation,” she said.

She added that Cordaid, through the Women’s Voice, funded projects in several districts of the country to enable women and girls to claim and defend their property and inheritance rights, while freeing them from gender-based violence as a means of mitigating the HIV/Aids impact.

“We hope that women and girls in these areas will continue to claim and defend their rights, and we ask them to connect with other professional organisations in order to accomplish this,” she advised.

Cordaid has been supporting Women’s Voice projects in 1999.