Malawi has always relied on paper registration for voters, but electoral authorities say that has not worked so well.
“We used to have a lot of problems in the past with the passports and driver’s licenses used for registration. Photographs may fall off or names may get misspelled,” said Yahaya Mmadi, a member of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC).
But the country’s recently unveiled biometric system, being put in place before the 2019 general elections, will be “100 percent correct”, he said.
A woman casts her vote in 2014 general election in Machinga District
The system relies on unique markers such as fingerprints.
It has another advantage, according to Mmadi: “It is faster, so people will spend less time on registration than when passports and driver’s licences had to be verified and checked.”
MEC wants to see the national ID card—which uses biometric data and is issued by the National Registration Bureau (NRB)—as the only acceptable document for voter registration.
There’s one problem: Only about nine million of 16 million Malawians have registered for the national ID card.
Plan of action
Mmadi said the electoral commission is working on that.
“What is going to happen is that we will go out with members of NRB to the registration centres,” he said. “Those without registration cards will actually be advised to go and get registered with the NRB.”
Some voting rights groups are concerned about the change.
Steve Duwa, chairman of the Malawi National Electoral Support Network, said he expected a legal challenge to the new system.
“The law, as it stands now, allows different forms of identification apart from the national ID,” Duwa said.
The electoral commission promotes biometric voter registration “as easier to implement” and therefore would love as much as possible for the prospective voters to only use the national ID.
“But the question is: What will happen to the law?” asks Duwa.
The commission already has asked the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to amend the law so that the national ID will be the only document used to identify eligible voters.
Malawi is expected to start the voter registration campaign next month.
A few weekends ago, I strolled out of my nest to see a barber at Chigoneka’s small market square in Lilongwe’s Area 47 Sector 2.
As usual I went full throttle, mocking the barber about his team’s misery on the local football scene.
As the hairdresser paid his usually exaggerated attention to my intermittent hair, a shabby looking girl appeared like lightning by the barbershop’s door.
She smiled, unsolicited, to reveal her yellowing teeth while running her left hand against her thick and oily short shrub of hair.
Her bony and trembling right hand was stretched in front of her in the direction of the barber.
Trembling like a reed by the fiery flowing river, she did so little to attend to her running nose.
With her eyes threatening to pop out any minute, she was the sight of a once beautiful girl now reeling under a seemingly strong spell of psychological nature.
‘Man, auzeBig Man atitchule kenakake [Man, tell the Big Man to help with any little amount he can],’ the girl said.
With her words flew out a cloud of a tobacco-dominated disgusting odour.
Before the barber could utter a word, the girl invited herself in and sat on a wooden bench that ran the length of the barbershop.
The whine of the hair clipper seemed to burrow deep into the girl’s veins, sending her coiling like a disturbed caterpillar, before she burst into a command:
‘Amwene, simunga thimitseko chometeracho? Chikundisokosa! [Barber, can’t you turn that clipper off? It’s burrowing into my nerves!].’
The barber turned the clipper off.
My eye’s and the barber’s met, only to be interrupted by the girl’s actions.
She was now up and smiling at posters on the wall. She seemed to have remembered the stars in the pictures from a meeting they might have had somewhere along her dreamy psychological trance.
‘Mafana dyerera awa! [monied kids!],’ she said of the football players she saw in one of the sports magazine pages plastered on the wall.
She took a deep breath and with it seemed to sink her mind. She sat down on the bench and clamped her head between her knees, breaking into tears.
‘Komano nkhondoyo ikatha asilikali ambiri abwerera [but when the battle is over, many soldiers shall return],’ she said, to the bewilderment of the barber and I.
‘Mudzanditenge. Ndatopa ndi fodya ndima drugs! [Come pick me up, I’m tired of smoking and doing drugs!]’ She said as she stormed out of the barber shop.
She turned a corner and she was out of our sight.
The barber and I were left dumbfounded.
‘Koma ana awa akudzionongeranji? [why are these kids wasting themselves?]’ the barber wanted to know.
I had no answer.
There is a war sweeping over the youth, dragging them to the telling depths of substance abuse. It is a war our society has chosen to fight with inaction.
In the corner of my mind, I imagined the war in the girl’s mind. I saw evil soldiers stamping their feet against her part of brain responsible for rational thought.
I longed to see a day when her psychological war would be over. I longed to see our society pick up our armoury to confront this problem head on. n
For Edna Paundi, 35, a new maternity wing at Mwanga Health Centre in Phalombe does not only boost prospects for safe motherhood, but also restores women’s dignity.
Living about two kilometres (km) from the clinic, she has seen several women from her village and faraway areas delivering on the way to the health centre. Some women and newborns have died due to complications associated with childbirths. The survivors include those who gave birth as children looked on.
Paundi delivered her only child at the health centre in 2000.
Looking back, she says the old maternity room was congested—too small for a health facility which serves 15 villages in Phalombe East with a population of over 33 000.
Almost 50 babies a month are born at the facility.
A woman in the foreground of the new maternity unit
However, it had only nine beds, with two in the labour ward.
She explained: “I birthed my baby on the floor because the two beds were occupied. It was by grace that the newborn and I survived the conditions which made many pregnant women reluctant to wait at the health centre.
“A feeling was widespread that it was better to wait at home and go to the clinic when the baby was due.”
Risky past
According to Paundi, the delays left some on a perilous path as they were prone to go into labour before reaching the health facility.
Despite the opening of the new maternity wing, Traditional Authority (T/A) Jenela is concerned that health facilities in his area are far apart and lack guardian shelters.
“I urge fellow traditional leaders to encourage women to deliver at health facilities. Now that we have a bigger maternity ward, women should go to the hospital in good time to avoid delivering on the way,” he says.
Delivering at a health facility, with the assistance of skilled health workers, reduces maternal complications and deaths.
To promote safe motherhood, some chiefs in Phalombe have adopted by-laws that make women who deliver at home liable to pay K5 000 and a goat.
More women are being served with maximum privacy and respect in the maternity unit constructed by Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) in partnership with Christian Health Association of Malawi (Cham).
A gift from Norway
The Norwegian Development Agency, through the Norwegian Embassy, funded the project to improve maternal health.
Mwanga Health Centre, which is run by the Catholic Archdiocese of Blantyre, has been serving the remote community since 1967.
District health officer Ketwin Kondowe says the state-of-the-art equipment in the maternity wing will drastically reduce neonatal and maternal deaths.
“We recorded four maternal deaths in the district last financial year. From last July to now, 12 maternal deaths were recorded. This is way too high, but we are increasing our capacity to address this challenge,” he says.
Far apart
Kondowe reckons constructing three health facilities in the district, which currently has no district hospital, will ensure every pregnant woman gets adequate care.
The district has only two public health centres and three owned by Cham.
“There is an average spacing of 22km between these health facilities,” he says.
Phalombe District Hospital is still under construction.
Ministry of Health director of finance Chimwemwe Chimbalu-Banda acknowledges that Malawi continues to face challenges in the promotion of safe motherhood due to long distance to clinics, shortage of trained health workers and underfunding.
Due to lack of financial resources, Malawi is far from attaining the Abuja Declaration which requires health facilities to be situated no more than 8km apart.
With about 489 babies surviving per 100 000 live births, the burning questions remains: Why are the rest of babies dying? What can be done to stop these preventable deaths?
Call for unity
Chimbalu-Banda calls for concerted efforts, saying government alone cannot manage to change the situation.
Cham head of programmes Dr Titha Dzowela sees the figure reducing more with improved partnership between government and stakeholders in the health sector.
Cham runs 40 percent of health facilities in the country and trains health care workers.
It also provides HIV and Aids services on a special agreement with government which also allows women and newborns to access free services in selected Cham health facilities.
NCA country director Havard Hovdhaugen said since 2016, Norway has constructed eight out of the nine maternity units it planned to construct to reduce challenges slowing maternal health in Malawi.
NCA has pumped K1.5 billion in constructing maternity units, staff houses and sourcing medical equipment.
The fact that secondary school teachers are teaching without appropriate tools shows how government is impinging on young Malawians’ right to quality education.
This signifies political incompetence resulting into perpetual deterioration of education standards in the country.
Lack of political will, therefore, is deforming instead of reforming the education system.
It is worrisome that the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has rolled out a new academic calendar without providing books for the new curriculum.
Form Three students are learning without textbooks, showing lack of preparation and planning by the ministry. This social injustice will affect students’ performance for many years.
Secondary school is a pathway to the university. Without timely provision of teaching and learning aids, students will be poorly baked.
The country’s socio-economic growth hinges on well-educated citizens. Quality education should start from both primary and secondary school.
It is undeniable that since the restoration of multiparty democracy in 1993, education standards are on the wane. We have unstable curriculum. What irks us the most is that the curriculum itself leaves a lot to be desired. It does not instill morals as was the case in Kamuzu Banda’s regime.
Then, a Standard Eight pupil knew much more than her equal in the present-day system. The pupil could demonstrate morals, think logically and speak fluent English.
Some ended up taking jobs. Today, a Form Four student cannot speak coherent English for three minutes.
We have problems with our curriculum development specialists. Why do we have no stable curriculum? Why is our content not enough to prepare our pupils’ minds to think and be responsible citizenry?
What is lacking in Malawi’s education curriculum as a whole? Is the philosophy of education in the country fashioned to help students make independent decisions.
The curriculum must be framed to enable individuals work for themselves or others and earn a living.
In the present level of civilisation, most tasks require relevant education and skills.
Education should enable individuals to contribute to further knowledge and progress.
We want to produce students who will not just master stuff found in books written by others, but to write their own books.
They must not just make use of mechanical devices invented by others, but invent their own.
A good curriculum must prepare students for livelihood of research and development, inventiveness and innovation.
Education curriculum must be developed to sponsor good citizenship. We need people who would put the common good of others and their country above everything else.
We thought the Public Service Reform Commission was a significant tool for government to run government affairs in a business unusual manner.
Barely three years after this was launched, indicators show that the tool was sheer propaganda.
The reforms are marred by failure, massive looting of public funds in central government, parastatals, local councils and various government ministries and departments.
The reform agenda has not even changed the education system in the country.
For instance, teachers stay three months without pay. Promotions in the Ministry of Education remain unattainable. Teachers’ housing scheme remains a far-fetched dream. Learning and teaching aids are not available on demand just as is the case with drugs in hospitals.
It is disheartening that government seems blind to multiple problems crippling the education sector amid the touted reform agenda.
While the politician is deliberately annihilating the public education system, their children are offered highest education standards abroad or in private high schools.
Painfully, a helpless parent suffers silently having toiled all day to raise tuition fees for the school-going children whose education is deforming instead of reforming.
The taxpayers in general are being milked to the last line to feed the elite.
Please, match the new curriculum with all necessary supplies, including books and teaching aids. n
On this Friday, the hour was approaching midnight in the lakeshore district of Mangochi. Club 700 is a hive of entertainment. As usual, the atmosphere is warm and the streets are busy with bicycle taxi operators ferrying people around the area.
Inside the club, imbibers of all ages are moving up and down. Those who enjoy dancing are on the dance floor. On the decks, disc jockey (DJ) Imran Cassim looks absorbed in the hit playing.
His list of hits include some by Tekno, Diamond Platinumz featuring Harmonize, Jah Prayzah, Martse and Lucius Banda.
The crew behind Mahempe dance move
However, dominating the airwaves on the night is Mahempe, a song done by a four-member group from Botswana. Interestingly, the hit stirred a debate at the club with some saying the song, which stormed the music industry last year, has bad lyrics.
“This song has bad lyrics and it’s full of insults. I don’t like it. I can’t watch at home. We need songs that foster change in various aspect of the society. What’s Mahempe?” wondered one reveller, Clement Bwanausi.
“I look at the art in the song as a great thing, but I am not comfortable with the language. It’s high time Malawians stop dancing to foul songs”.
Another patron, Martin Nyondo, seems to defend the song: “For entertainment reasons, the track is pretty good. It is also enjoying airplay on most reputable radio stations and that tells you it passed the test!”.
However, broadcaster Raymond Sekeni, who trades as Fraternal in the entertainment industry, says: “The current music is just the beat. It’s difficult to pay attention to details in the song. It’s not a script where you check spelling and grammar. Sometimes the demand by listeners influences some errors.”
“Sometimes the growing hype of the song matters most. Our value expectation in music is to deliver joy and satisfaction to our audiences. We had similar songs which received heavy rotations in radio stations like Kakabalika by K-Millian, Iskaba, Jacuzzi by Wizyboy that are played without a meaning.”
There were reactions from players in the arts industry, and various social media platforms regarding the song in the recent past with others calling it a master-piece while some quarters think it has to be banned on radio stations.
Musician Kwatha Chitanda also known as General KC of Bola Kunthazi fame says Mahempe is a great composition, but language is a barrier.
Says the artist: “We have a long list of songs whose meanings we completely miss because we either don’t listen to lyrics properly or we just take the song at face value, ignoring any origins or intent of the artist”.
The group’s lead singer, Motlabaseo popularly known as Mahempe, who lives in Gaborone, Botswana, says Mahempe is a joke.
“It’s all about a shirt, ‘kopela mahempe’ meaning tighten up your shirt. I’m grateful that this song is making waves in Malawi and it has given us an impression of coming for performances,” said the singer.
Also commenting on the meaning, Botswana national, Mivavo Mokento, who did a controversial track Mbupuje whose version Joseph Tembo adopted years back, said the song is a dance move and its meaning is ‘wearing a shirt’.
Mokento adds: “Nothing is big with the song, it was done by Motlabaseo. In brief, he is a producer, songwriter and performer. He is based in Gaborone. I am happy to hear of his strides in Malawi “.
Botswana news site www.mmegi online wrote: “The group truly endeared itself on the music scene with their hit song in 2015, a song which has new dance craze”.
“The artist came up with this genre called Mosakaso, so Mahempe is a dance move where in the song one ‘wears a shirt,” the publication rests it all.
Perhaps this is enough to say ‘music is universal’ and Mahempe is a song that does not mean what you think. n
Good people, barbing is a thankless job. Barbers do more than just slashing your thatch.
The hair stylists handle heads of varying shapes and sizes, straightening not-so-straight skulls and making shabby ones look kempt.
Their prescribed haircuts sometimes make dunderheads look wise, the old appear younger and passive brains seem sharper.
Theirs is not the art of deception though.
They beautify people and some smile all the way to public events where they are least identified, applauded for their ineptitude but their stunning looks.
A barber’s handicraft distinguishes even presidents of questionable mental stability.
Think about United States president Donald Trump, the self-styled stable genius whose carefully trimmed thatch would never be mistaken for that of any of his 44 predecessors if he was stuck in the thick of humanity.
This is what a haircut can do to politicians without much to distinguish them.
A distinct haircut is to a crowd puller what a logo is to a business firm determined to portray a unique identity in a race for clients’ attention.
Call it branding. Artists call it swag. It is their identity and what people say about them because the first impression is almost everything.
This is why rapper Tay Grin and his afro-pop contemporary Dan Lu will stop at nothing when it comes to hairdos.
Celebrities will leave nothing to chance—re-inventing mo-hawks retired English soccer star David Beckham clichéd as early as the 2002 Fifa World Cup in Korea and Japan when a fluent Brazilian side wowed with their explosive destroyers at play in three Rs: Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.
Talking about hairdos, some Malawians cannot wait to see Tay Grin stand shoulder to shoulder with President Peter Mutharika whose barber deserves more thanks for giving him a somewhat youthful look.
Ambatiyimilirambo mbuya!
It is reported that musician Tay Grin is vying to become Mutharika’s deputy in the Centre.
Politics is a game of numbers—the number of votes one brings, not the count of haircuts one sports per year.
The major curse of Malawi’s democracy is not the inundation of artists in politics, but that most of them join ‘the dirty game’ to flaunt their haircuts instead of the brain power beneath their hairdo.
Any political party can grab an artist to tout its agenda and garner votes, but Malawians ought to be more serious when electing their leaders.
Ignore the fame and dime, playing some music plus changing haircuts is not equal to the leadership Malawians deserve.
Talking about hair art, the President’s barber deserves more credit for trimming the near-octogenarian’s age to a teen-ish something.
The 79-year-old looks much younger than he really is.
Proponents of former first lady Callista Mutharika’s assertion that he is too old to seek re-election sometime last week were taken aback by his way of showing he is actually too young to handover to youthful Vice-President Saulos Chilima.
From out of the blue, the President challenged his critics by throwing his head into a court of public opinion, asking: “Does my hair look grey? Do I look too old to keep ruling?”
One’s grey hair does not say anything about age and its numbing effect.
Anyone with money can pay a barber and buy chemicals to conceal hairy signs of the times.
Some Don Dada in this country has more grey hair than any Mutharika in power, yet he is much younger and more energetic. In fact, he still plays football with the get-up-and-go that earned him the captain’s armband of University of Malawi Football Club (UFC) in the Super League.
Malawi’s poetry has recently appreciated new dimensions which have left many debating on what poetry entails. In this interview, Our Reporter Brian Itai, engages longtime poet, who is also registrar of the University of Malawi, Benedicto Okomaatani Malunga.
Malaunga: Instead of progressing we are retrogressing
Q
: What is your definition of poetry as an art?
A
: To me, poetry is an art form which expresses deeply felt emotions and thoughts laconically in a language that is tremendously profound and is, therefore, able to make familiar things unfamiliar and vice-versa, while eschewing the conventions of normal grammar.
Before I advance my definition of what Chinyanja poetry is, I would like to pomp out that anyone wanting to see how the definition I am about to offer at work should take time to read the late E.J. Chadza’s Ntchito ya Pakamwa and Timphunzitsane Chichewa; J.W.D. Gwengwe’s Ndakatulo’ and Timpunza Mvula’s Akoma Akagonera. In the books I have cited, one can read genuine Chinyanja poetry written in conformity with what constitutes patterns of poetry.
Beyond this, Sitima’s book Mtondo goes to great length to unravel what vernacular poetry is. I have had to state the foregoing because anybody who wants to write sound poetry needs to acquaint himself/herself with the works of masters in this literacy realm.
Q
: What do you make of the current form of poetry that has gained popularity in Malawi?
A
: Although we have witnessed massive production of Chinyanja poetry, not all of it can be arguably called poetry. Actually, if one took it to justify why what they churn out should be called poetry I do not think that they would be in a position to give a convincing response. Actually, when the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation was the only radio station in this country with very exacting standards as to what would be aired as poetry most of the cheap stuff we are being bombarded with nowadays would not have been featured. In short, if the brutal truth is to be said, we now have more quantity than quality in as far as Chinyanja poetry is concerned. This should be a source of worry to our nation because instead of progressing in this regard we are retrogressing.
Q
: In your view, where is the current crop of poets getting it wrong and what do they need to do to improve?
A
: One has to be careful by avoiding overgeneralisations. Hence, my answer will be provided in several parts. The first one is that some radio producers handling poetry programmes are not stringent with their standards to the extent that almost anything that comes their way is aired as poetry. The challenge with this is that those listening if they are not discerning will tend to think that for as long as it has been aired, it must be poetry. Additionally, if the listeners are those that want to become poets they begin to believe that writing poetry is easy because they have seen that anything goes. The result of this is that more substandard poetry is produced and aired. Worse still, when such writers are confronted by seasoned consumers of poetry who tell them they have gotten it wrong, they defend themselves by saying that if their works were indeed poor, how come they were aired and liked by their uncritical audience.
The poetry that resonates with the definition I have advanced earlier requires a deep mastery of one’s language. Against the background of poor education standards, it is not easy to achieve such projection unless one is committed and dedicated to the perfection of one’s art.
I get the impression that most current writers are just after fame/popularity without critically considering whether what is making them popular is credible and appropriate in the eyes of literary critics who analyse poetic works.
Q
: Should we consider the resultant material we are consuming as by-products of modernisation of the poetry science?
A
A: Contrary to what you have said, nobody can cheat me that what we are getting as half-baked poems is a by-product of modernisation.
Not at all. In my view, what we are experiencing is fastardisation of authentic Chinyanja verse. The rhyming which some amateur poets are obsessed with that it jars the mind is not an innovation worth celebrating in a Bantu language where words end with one of the vowels a, e, i, o, u. In English, rhyme is decorative device because words do not end with vowels but with consonants. Hence, there is greater latitude in the exercise of coming up with both musical and meaningful rhyming patterns. Real Chinyanja poetry is a free verse which thrives on deliberate and systematic violation of grammatical rules for purposes of firmness and lyricism. n
A recent study by the World Bank on infrastructure development in Sub-Saharan Africa has shown that Malawi is one f the countries in the region lagging on infrastructure development.
According to the May 2018 report, Malawi is the weakest performer in electricity access and on public investment management.
The report notes that there is a positive and significant relationship between public investment management and the efficiency of public investment observing that relative to the international norm, some countries are clearly underperforming —which is the case of Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Mozambique, Malawi, among others,” read the report in part.
“Infrastructure is viewed as a crucial ingredient to foster growth and productivity. Amid the post–global financial crisis slowdown, Sub-Saharan Africa is in dire need to continue the growth momentum it experienced during the period of the Africa Rising narrative.
“There is room for improving the efficiency of public infrastructure spending (that is, the quality of public investment management systems and procurement methods), which, in turn, may increase the output multiplier of investment spending,” reads the report in part.
The development comes in the wake of the National Transport Master Plan launch which seeks to guide the sustainable development of a multi-modal transport sector for the next 20 years.
The Plan seeks to reduce transport costs and prices across all modes, improve the safety of transport infrastructure and services and enhanced and sustainable passenger and freight transport systems.
Government will continue with its efforts aimed at increasing the reliability and security of power supply and efficient utilization. Government has plans to improve and expand electricity generation capacity, power transmission and distribution systems, according to the 2018 Fiscal and Monetary Policy Statement.
The time frame for the completion of Kamuzu Stadium renovations in Blantyre is still unclear.
Sports Ministry spokesperson Christina Mkutumula and stadium manager Ambilike Mwaungulu on Friday said work is still in progress and they cannot tell when the facility will be ready.
New turf being installed at Kamuzu Stadium
“There is nothing so far to report on the progress of the renovations and we cannot tell when the works will be completed at present,” Mkutumula said.
According to Mwaungulu, the completion of the new artificial turf installation awaits the purchase of adhesives for the surface and rubber, which will be applied on the turf to improve its grip.
ACT Global offered government the Xtreme Turf DX60 artificial turf at $499 520 (about K360 million) last year but installation was delayed due to rainy season.
“The installation of the turf has halted because we have run out of glue and the rubber is not yet in. These materials are on their way and the works will be completed. However, it is difficult to say when everything will be in place because there are a few areas that need to be worked on,” he said.
The stadium has been closed for over a year after it was condemned by the world soccer governing body Fifa due to cracked terraces and a worn-out playing surface.
Meanwhile, a recent visit at the stadium by Weekend Nation showed that a new artificial turf has been laid on the pitch, the stands have been repainted and a new entrance tunnel has been erected. There have also been some works on the toilets and the perimeter fence.
In a typical case of one man’s meat is another ones poison, players in the honey industry claim that the continued rainfall is good for their business as it will mean more honey harvested.
This growing season has been characterised by erratic rainfall, fall army worms and in some instances prolonged dry spells.
Bee keepers like these are smiling
However as farmers were expecting the rains will stop so that they can harvest the little their fields produced, there was no ceasing as more rains continued to fall across the country leading to floods in some areas.
The situation forced farmers to harvest crops like maize which had not fully dried to avoid further losses.
While the farmers were complaining, two of the country’s big players in the honey industry, African Honey and Food Products as well as Northern Honey Processors say they will have more honey.
Director for African Honey and Food Products Fredrick Matress disclosed in an interview that they will harvest 25,000 tons this year up from 15,000 in 2017.
“Rains have been favourable this year and whenever there are good rains we harvest a lot of honey. We are working with farmers in Nkhata Bay, Lilongwe, Rumphi, Chitipa, Karonga, and districts in the central region. In the cooperatives we deal with there are 1800 farmers but during peak periods we work with 2,500 farmers,” said Matress.
Matress said more rains do not only mean more flowers but enough water for the bees to use in their colonies.
On the decision by South Africa to stop purchasing honey from Malawi due to a disease known as Varra mites, Matress said being the biggest market in the region it could have been better if a solution was found fast.
Varroa mites are external parasites that attack honey bees and brood. They suck the blood from both adults and developing brood, especially drone brood and this weakens and shortens the bees life according to Mattress.
“We are losing quite a lot because some informal traders find their way with honey into South Africa but if the market was formalized the benefits could have been huge. South Africa wants honey that is radiated but as at now we are not radiating it,” he added.
Northern honey processors Director Lumbani Nhlema concurred with Matress that there will be more honey this year compared to last season.
“Last year we produced seven tons and this year we hope to harvest between seven and 10 tons. This is mainly due to the favourable weather despite that we have also increased the number of colonies and hives,” said Nhlema.
On Varroa mites Nhlema said African bees are very resilient and the decision by South Africa to stop buying Malawian honey is affecting expansion of the sector.
Doing volunteer work can be challenging but also a rewarding experience. Such has been the case for Josephine Breton, a Scottish volunteer teacher at M’buka C.C.A.P. private school in Lilongwe. In this interview she shares her experiences with Samuel Chunga.
Ms. Josephine Breton, what circumstances made you to arrive at this school and how long have you been here in Malawi?
For many years I had planned to do volunteer work in a developing country. When I retired from my teaching post in Scotland, this dream became a possibility. My friends at my church, St, Kane’s, New Deer, suggested I should apply to M’buka CCAP. Our two churches are twinned. My programme was built on this already positive relationship.
I arrived in Malawi in January, 2014 and returned to the United Kingdom (UK) in December 2015. After one year at home, I came back to Malawi in January, 2017. The plan is to remain until December this year. Mulungu akalola (God willing).
Please share your personal and professional background. How does the background make you pursue a mission to a remote area in a country you had not known so well before in your life?
I was born in Karachi, Pakistan, where my parents were living and working. So foreign travel is in my genes! I studied Music and English at Glasgow University. I continued to work as a Music Therapist in psychiatric hospitals and schools for disabled and disadvantaged children in Glasgow. In 1994, I moved to Aberdeenshire to work as a music specialist teacher in the government schools. I spent a year on exchange in Northern Canada (1997-1998). I have been privileged to travel to many countries as a tourist and on short-term volunteer programmes. I always saw this as a preparation for longer-term voluntary work abroad.
We know that in the initial days and months, it was not so easy for you as you tried to settle down, especially as a teacher. Some of your own pupils cried and were frightened stiff to be so close to a white person (“Mzungu”). How frustrating was that, initially?
It was a challenge at first to be living in Malawi and working in the classrooms. But I was welcomed, supported, trained and guided by my loving hosts, school and church staff. This was no easy task for them and I am eternally grateful!.
But it was not long before even the most frightened, or skeptic, pupils realised that you meant no harm! What charm offensive did you apply? And was this your hardest test in your long teaching profession?
We gradually became accustomed to each other, most particularly the language. We are now at least understanding each other’s English better. My Chichewa is still pathetically weak. I am seldom in the classrooms alone. My role here is to assist the teachers. I can be quite relaxed with the children while the teachers take on the major responsibilities of class control and exam success. My work in Scotland was more challenging. The children at M’buka are easily delighted. There is a culture in Malawi of obedience and respect for elders, which makes life easier for me!
Now, almost every pupil loves being with, or around, you! Why do you think there is now this love-and-scramble for Josephine? What psychological and other lessons have you learnt about being relevant to a foreign society?
It seems to be the nature of children in Malawi to be generally affectionate. Some are less eager to interact, which is fine! At M’buka, there is the spirit of Christian love. This ethos is maintained by our head teacher (Yowasi Nkhoma) in the school and our Abusa (Reverend David Zembeni) in the church. By God’s grace, both leaders demonstrate personal caring attitudes to individuals, despite dealing with such vast numbers. This spirit cascades down to us workers and the children.
I am always treated very politely. Everyone seems to be interested to hear how we do things in Scotland, even if these ideas are not always suitable for M’buka.
We feel the love and appreciation is mutual, when we note that you gladly decided to extend your Malawi service at M’buka to this year. What makes you committed to working in a remote area, away from your home in Scotland?
You are right! I felt bereaved when I returned to UK in December, 2015. I also felt the two years had passed very quickly and, if God allowed, I would be able to contribute something once again by returning to M’buka. I am blessed with very loving and faithful friends and family in UK who maintain contact and support wherever I am. By God’s grace, they are keeping healthy. I am not getting any younger but, fortunately, the managers here at M’buka accept my considerably slower pace.
As you teach English and Music at M’buka School, what do you note as challenges and surprises, or breakthroughs, among the pupils, in particular, and in the education system, in general (in Malawi)?
The major improvement at M’buka has been the increased staffing level. This means that if teachers are absent, classes are not left unattended. Simultaneously, staff attendance and punctuality have improved dramatically. My mantra is “check for understanding”. There is no point in teaching “at” children. The pupils must be engaged in their own learning by asking questions, discovering why they are making mistakes and learning from their mistakes.
Teachers and learners are responding enthusiastically to the new literacy programme (Chichewa and English) which the government has introduced for Standars 1 to 4. Teachers attended training courses in the holidays and have returned highly motivated and using new techniques. The language used in this programme is more child-friendly.
Some of the Scottish assistance has targeted women at M’buka CCAP Church. What has happened and how significant is this assistance in needy families in the area?
A faithful, determined group of ladies regularly attends the sewing group. Among their number is a trained tailor. This has not yet developed into a business venture, which is the goal.
How did you feel when the Honourable first Scottish Parliamentarian Colin Cameron last year visited M’buka CCAP School and church, bound in a relationship with St. Keane Church in Scotland?
My pleasure at Colin Cameron’s visit was primarily seeing the joy of the M’buka people. For them, a visit from one of Malawi’s national figures was enormously significant. His presence reminded us of the strong historic links between Malawi and Scotland, which are continuing to this day.
What has been your most exciting experience in Malawi?
Very kind M’buka friends have taken me on several trips to the Northern Region. I have admired the beauty of your country. I have enjoyed the Lake and Liwonde National Park with visitors from UK. It is always a particular privilege to visit home villages and to be invited to people’s houses. I love any interaction (in my extremely poor Chichewa) with market vendors, and with my fellow members of the Chigwirizano (Women’s Guild). I have been blessed to experience life changing spiritual highs when worshipping at M’buka CCAP.
Two years ago, local hip hop star Gwamba—real name Duncan Zgambo—announced his allegiance to start serving God which subsequently led to his switch from doing secular music to gospel music.
It was a move which was met with a lot of cynicism; many thought he would not last a week in the service of the Lord and doing gospel music and some thought it was the end of him musically.
Gwamba (R) performs with Kelly Kay at the recent Nyasa Music Awards
And yet some saw the hand and allure of his brother in-law’s riches Prophet Shepherd Bushiri all over his decision, and they said he could not manage to sustain the demands of being a born-again Christian and a gospel musician on that premise.
Today, the 27-year-old looks set to confound the cynics who had almost written him off as he is still hard at it, producing chart bursting songs, party favourites and raking in numerous awards as a gospel artist.
In an interview, Gwamba says: “There is always a time when one has to make big decisions and choices guided by special wisdom. And that turning point was my time. Music is not just music, it is God’s given talent.
“The same God who gave me this talent guided me and it is him who is also helping me sustain myself as a gospel musician. And so far, it has been great and fulfilling feeling serving his name through the talent he gave me.”
So far he has released one gospel album, Jesus is my Boss which had the club favourite Zidzakhala Better and he has recently released an EP tilted In Advance, which is riding on the wave of the hit song Mbama.
He has continued to thrive, and his collaboration with long-time close allay Kelly Kay on the single Hello Mr Yesu proved that gospel or secular, Gwamba is a musician with a special artistic finesse, who knows what he does.
“God is leading me through. He cannot lead me astray so I will survive, survive and survive until he decides otherwise. I am sailing through and I cannot feel any storm,” he says.
Perhaps his association with God has brought another dimension about him that we did not know until now. His charity work adventures have also revealed the philanthropist which lay in him all this while.
He has reached out to underprivileged children from many areas, notably at one orphanage—Pashello Charitable Trust—in Chikwawa, street children registered under the Chisomo Chidren’s Club in Lilongwe, setting up a youth football trophy in Ntcheu and a netball trophy in Area 18 Lilongwe.
“This mission is about doing God’s work. Not just by doing music but by serving God’s people in many other ways,” he says.
The artist is also currently running the Mbama challenge dance competition which focuses on promoting raw and young talent by giving them the platform to show the world their dancing skills.
The ultimate winner in the competition will walk away with K250 000 plus a chance to perform live with the artist and featuring in one of his music videos.
Kelly Kay has worked with Gwamba of old and the current version and he says the difference in character between Gwamba who did secular and gospel music is discernible.
“You can actually differentiate between the places that he loved hanging out in before. It is no longer the same. But one thing has remained constant about him, he still loves to work with his friends and always aims for the best when he embarks on a project.
“He has always been humble. As such, working with him is very easy. He gives you all the freedom to fuse in your ideas according to your abilities and that is probably his greatest strength as an artist,” he says.
His manager Timothy Ntilosanje says Gwamba has remained true to the values that made him and catapulted him into fame, his belief for hard work and discipline, which he trusts have helped kept him afloat all this while.
“There is no denying that the guy is super talented. When he went into gospel music what changed was just the content of his lyrics not his style or skill. His work ethic is second to none which compliments his in-born talent,” he said.
There is always a time when even a hardworking seemingly indefatigable charcoal man must sit down and rest against a tree and doze off. There is always a time when a hardworking and seemingly tireless caring mother must sit down, pluck the breast out of her lactating child, rest against a mud wall and doze off. There is always a time when an apparently wise chief must sit down, consult his counsellors on the way forward. Once in a long while.
Much as thalasina butterflies will fly long distances and form indecipherable shapes decorating the skies, they must come one day and perch, giving the lucky tree a bright new colour and a blessing.
Our tribal sages from Utonga and the Republic of the Lower States showed us a sign two seasons ago and foretold the day, the time, and the place where the thalasinas will perch. It is a once in century event.
Professor Abiti Joyce Befu, MG 66 and MEGA-1; Alhajj Mufti Jean-LePoisson, SC (RTD); Nganga Maigwaigwa, PSC (RTD); and Mzee Mandela, the Most Paramount Native Authority (MPNA), and I, the Mohashoi, are here in BCA Hills, Limbe, Blantyre to witness the predicted flypast and perching of the fluttering thalasinas.
Some witnesses have travelled long distances. They have travelled from Chinguwa, Unyemba, Msuli, Thowolu, Chendera, Chivumu, and Benga. Others have come from nearby places. The purpose is the same, to watch the thalasinas land and perch.
They are all here to witness your landing and perching. Your mum, dad, uncles, aunties, grannies, grandpas, cousins, nieces, sisters, and bothers are all here to give you the rousing landing.
So, smile girl for this is your day. People are here to see those shinny teeth. Flutter in your wedding dress and show them what distinguishes thalasinas from common butterflies. Walk determinedly and slowly. People are here to see the hemline of your dress and screen of your veil.
Walk in your stilettoes and show the world that high heels are for the tall and confident thalasinas. Kneel before your Holy pastor, take the vow and confidently get the full blessing.
With confidence put that ring on his finger to cement your lifetime relationship. Then wait for the ululation and applause.
The Kaipas will ululate and wake up the people of the Republic of Lower Shire. The Kaitanos will applaud and their applause will echoes among the people of Thyolo. The people of Utonga will smile and ululate waking up the spirit of Chinguwa and Ulandawiza. They will ululate, for from this day a new ambassadorial relationship among the Tonga, Lhomwe and Sena has been established.
Go yee and live happily and peacefully man for these are the foundations of a fruitful and progressive family. They say behind every successful there is a woman because men often get good advice from their spouses. But don’t believe them.
Don’t believe them at all because women don’t have to be behind anybody. Our sages, of whom many are here, say success is bestowed on united and hard-working families. Experience taught them.
Those who plan together succeed together. Those who save, invest in the future of their children and their own. There is no other magic. Those who accept that by marrying, they have attained adulthood and independence succeed.
External advice is good. At times. But take every piece of advice seriously for our Chewa and Tonga sages already warned, respectively; “Banja ndi anthu awiri, wachitatu ndi kapasule” or “nthengwa mbanthu wawi. You are the best advisors and teachers of each other.
Congratulations Sandram Kaipah, for on your shoulders the thalasinas have landed and perched. Congratulations Mr and Mrs Kaipah.
Clubs that fail to pay players for two consecutive months face the risk of players terminating their contracts as Federation of International Football Associations (Fifa) has amended its regulations to give footballers more freedom.
According to a communique Fifa has circulated to its member associations, including the Football Association of Malawi (FAM), the amended Regulations and Status of Player Transfers will come into force on June 1 this year.
Fifa’s new rule will benefit players
Key among the amendment is Article 14 which has been changed to give players freedom to terminate a contract and find another club if not paid for two months.
The Fifa communication reads: “In particular, Article 14 of the regulations has been amended to include a new paragraph concerning abusing situations where the stance of the party is intended to force the counterpart to change the terms of the contract.”
“Art. 14 b now includes outstanding salaries (2+ months).” It adds.
The new amendments through Article 17 demands that the club compensates players who terminate the contracts over salary nonpayment.
“…if the player has in the meantime found a new club prior to the Fifa decision. However, “Additional Compensation” (3 to 6 monthly salaries) is owed by the club if the breach is due to overdue payables,” Fifa says.
FAM transfer matching systems manager Casper Jangale said the amendments will push clubs to honour players salaries as agreed in their contracts.
“Clubs will fear running the risk of losing most of their players for free while the season is in progress. So, the rules are good for players,” he said.
Azam Tigers chairperson Sydney Chikoti said the amendments will bring sanity to local football as clubs will be forced to operate within the bounds of their means.
“We have seen the so called big clubs signing players from small ones by promising them astronomical salaries which they fail to honour. With the new rules they will be afraid of making empty promises for fear of losing them if they are not paid, “ he said.
Silver Strikers general secretary Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda also welcomed the amendments, saying some clubs treat players badly.
“We will now see players being paid on time or the clubs face the consequences. We are in full support of these amendments,” he said.
The Football Players Association (FPA) general secretary Ernest Mangani said the new rules will ensure players of financial stability.
“This is a very important provision. Players will enjoy contracts that give them job security; hence, motivating them to apply themselves fully to their game. Apart from that teams will enjoy good conduct from employees,” he said.
To fully understand Fifa and contractual rules and application, Mangani urged footballers to join the association.
“The important thing is for players to become members of FPA so that they are given regular advice by the FPA on provisions in their contracts before signing and after signing. Our players need consistent civic education so that there is sanity in the football industry,” he said.
What is happening in the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) where senior members have drawn daggers at each other regarding the holding of a convention could also happen in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
MCP has not been able to hold a convention after its embattled secretary general Gustav Kaliwo obtained an injunction for the indaba. The party suspended Kaliwo alongside its vice-president Richard Msowoya, first deputy secretary general James Chatonda Kaunda and director of international relations Tony Kandiero.
This week, the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) reinstated the three including its expelled publicity secretary Jessie Kabwila to their respective positions. At the time of writing this article, Kaliwo said he was not aware of the reinstatement stressing that there was need to first resolve outstanding issues. These issues could be folder for discussion on another day.
What is clear though is that the party still has a lot of groundwork to do to make all its members sit around the same table and work in unison. Suffice to say such a move is important in view of the forthcoming elections which are only 12 months away. More so if the party sees itself as a government-in-waiting. Time is not on its side.
What has rocked MCP could also happen in the DPP. The party now has two factions. One group wants President Peter Mutharika to be the party’s torch bearer in next year’s elections while the other is in favour of vice-president Saulos Chilima. While APM has openly declared his candidature for the presidency, Chilima has not said anything.
But for APM to get the mandate of the party to stand as its presidential candidate, DPP needs to hold a convention to endorse him. So far, the party has said it would hold a convention although it has not set a date for the all-important function.
During the previous elections, DPP held its indaba on April 13 2013. But deep into May, nobody in DPP is talking about when the party will hold a convention. Of course, the party’s spokesperson, Francis Katsaila has downplayed the time factor saying it is not a concern because “we have always been preparing for the elections. A convention is, therefore, just a constitutional requirement. Otherwise the mandate of office bearers elected in the last conference is still intact.” But this is not entirely true. Katsaila would do well to read his party’s constitution which in Section 10 states what is supposed to happen. All it states is that members can be re-elected.
What is known is that the party’s National Governing Council (NGC) is yet to meet to chart the way forward. There are, however, hushed tones among the party’s politburo to do so if what the party’s secretary general Greselder Jeffrey in a telephone conversion with Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Kondwani Nankhumwa which has gone viral on social media is anything to go by. In the conversation, Jeffrey is calling for an urgent NGC to sort out the mess. It should be everyone’s guess that one such issue is the matter about the convention.
Article 10 (1) of the DPP Constitution states that the NGC shall be the governing body of the party. It further states that the members of the NGC shall be elected at the National Political Conference (NPC) for a period of five years. DPP held its last NPC in 2013. According to Article 10, the NPC is also mandated to endorse all interim appointments. There are many such appointments in the DPP NGC.
This is the axe the pro-Chilima faction could wield to delay the DPP convention if the party will not seal all loopholes or if the party is not accommodative of dissenting views.
The point I am making is that it is absolutely important that DPP should tread carefully to avoid the embarrassment that has rocked MCP and the Alliance for Democracy (Aford). Problems the two parties are facing arise from the different manner in which their members interpret their respective constitutions. n
Allow me to begin by welcoming amayi back home. Takulandirani amayi. The Warm Heart of Africa is as good as you left it or should I say just as bad? Nothing has changed except increased load-shedding.
People are still suffering, the economy remains in bad shape, businesses are shrinking, jobs are scarce and there are no drugs in hospitals among others. But wait a minute amai, this is not what you will hear at Capital Hill or from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members. To them everything is just fine.
You should not be surprised by this. Even when you were in power, you hardly listened to us and lived in denial. We were your enemies for telling you the truth, but I am sure after the May 2014 Tripartite Elections, you regretted ignoring us entirely. That is politics and you share the blame with the people that surrounded you.
We are faced by the same phenomenon with the DPP. Now its supporters are so arrogant and powerful than their president. That the National Assembly is a sacrosanct office is news to them. They have all the energies to disturb Parliament proceedings. Not only that, they have the power to block legally elected members of Parliament from accessing Parliament building. Don’t even mention the press’s immunity, the cadets have grown muscles to harass journalists on duty and no one can arrest them.
Let me be frank here. We on the streets are not happy with the shameful acts by the DPP Cadets, particularly those who harassed Honourable Patricia Kaliati, interrupted the official opening of Budget Meeting and harassed Times Group journalist.
On this day, we on the streets had our small radios on and headphones plugged into our ears ready to follow the Budget Meeting at Parliament. We take the shameful scenes at the Parliament as a nuisance that should be condemned in strongest terms.
Yes, government, Parliament and other quarters of the society have condemned the occurrence, but, we on the streets feel this is not enough. Our major concern is lack of police action. Why have they not arrested anyone to date? Even the President is silent. Are we really safe in this country?
In our previous entry, we highlighted two critical issues which we think the DPP leadership ignored. We on the streets are so patriotic citizens and we don’t want any violence in this peaceful land, and therefore, we will not tire to remind them that Pro-Chilima campaign initiated by former first lady Callista Mutharika should not be played down.
We can see more divisions. The serious part of it is that the campaign has also shaken the once mighty Midnight Six camp. We can foresee more dirt in the near future. The probability of the campaign to degenerate into a revolution is getting higher by days and seems the party’s leadership is befuddled.
Imagine the party’s President Peter Mutharika now thinks it is the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) orchestrating chaos in DPP. This simply means they do not want to acknowledge that they have internal problems. This is suicidal to the party, but we are not affected. Our only plea is that the DPP cadets should restrict their fights in the party.
Our only solace is time. Soon, we will have our mouths loud open and our statement will be final. Rest well amai and join us watching this political movie.
The unanimous decision Parliament took this week that tough action be taken against a group of party thugs who disrupted the proceedings of Parliament last week must be applauded as a defence of the sanctity of the institution of Parliament.
Parliament is a colonial heritage, but so is the institution of the State. We have come to accept the State as a necessary means of organising society. As long as this holds, Parliament is a central pillar of the modern State and its sanctity must be defended.
In a constitutional democracy or a State founded upon respect for the rule of law, Parliament provides the main means by which State authority is legitimised. Composed of elected members from constituencies across the country, Parliament provides the main forum by which a cross-section of public opinion is mediated and factored into law and policy. No policy of government has legal validity and is ready for implementation unless and until it has been translated into law, debated and adopted by Parliament.
Parliament also plays a watchdog role, holding the executive branch accountable. As an elected branch of government, Parliament ensures that the government of the day does not abuse its electoral mandate, does not ride roughshod on the rights of individuals and the people, and provides input and feedback on policies and decisions made by the government.
For Parliament to fulfill its core and incidental functions, its deliberative processes must remain sacrosanct. Unlike other branches of government, Parliament is supposed to allow for absolute freedom of speech among its members. Freedom of speech is critical to the deliberative spirit of Parliament. To protect that freedom, Parliament is guaranteed the right to regulate its own procedure. This right is supposed to be exercised not to limit freedom of speech but to enhance and maximise it.
To underscore the significance of freedom of speech in Parliament, parliamentary proceedings cannot form the basis of defamation suits. Whatever is said by members of Parliament in parliamentary sessions and meetings is covered by this immunity.
In addition, members of Parliament are also immune from arrest while on the premises of Parliament or going to or leaving Parliament. It does not matter whether the crime was committed outside parliamentary premises or whether the crime had nothing to do with the execution of a parliamentary function. The immunity also means that no member of Parliament can be prevented from attending, traveling to or entering the premises of Parliament.
News reports of a group of party thugs disrupting proceedings of Parliament have thus rightly been received with horror and condemnation. So must reports of a group of party thugs preventing some members of Parliament from entering the august house be similarly condemned. The first group, assuming they were different, abused another key feature of parliamentary proceedings-that they are open to the general public. The second group sought to impose their worldview on a member of Parliament who is by law required to serve according to his or her conscience.
It is one thing for members of Parliament to behave in an unparliamentary manner: that is a choice made by members themselves in exercise of their parliamentary freedom. Parliament has procedures for enforcing discipline against its members so that the institutional integrity and deliberative spirit of the house is upheld. It is another thing for members of the public, whatever their credentials in matters related to criminality and violence, to violate the sanctity of Parliament and its members. This is an affront to parliament and the country as a whole. This is an offence that strikes at the heart of democracy.
We have not seen this display of disregard for the institution of Parliament before. It must not be allowed to happen again. This means, first and foremost, that Parliament must see to it that the resolution it took condemning these acts and calling for tough action is implemented. Secondly, law enforcement agencies must investigate this violation and prosecute all those involved. Thirdly, the implicated political parties must publicly condemn these acts and take disciplinary action against the culprits.
With respect to the third point, it is not a plausible explanation that the offending individuals are not card carrying members of the implicated party. We know that most political parties in Malawi do not have records of members in good standing. Party cadets are randomly marshalled for specific purposes irrespective of long-term party allegiance. What is required is that all parties must recognise and accept that they cannot deploy a group of people to violate the sanctity of Parliament. In this particular case, the implicated party has to cooperate with law enforcement agencies to ensure that whoever masterminded these offensive acts and the actual perpetrators thereof are dealt with in accordance with the law.
*Danwood Chirwa is Professor of Law, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Elias Kanyangale is ecstatic about his maize harvest. Balancing on a homemade ladder, the farmer retrieves cobs from a full granary, the bounty of this year’s good rains, which broke three years of drought in Malawi.
Kanyangale, 44, from Kalumbu village, part of the capital city Lilongwe, says his 5-tonne harvest of maize is double the previous year’s crop, and he has some soya beans too.
Kanyangale doubled his maize harvest to 100 bags of 50 kg this year
But he is still worried about his income.
“I am not sure I will get good prices for my crop. I planted more maize for home consumption and more soya beans for sale because the rains were good after the drought of last year, but if I do not get good prices, I will not have enough income to help my family,” he said.
Many of Malawi’s smallholder farmers who grow maize as a cash crop have diversified into legumes like soya and groundnuts, hoping for better market prices should one crop fail due to drought.
But faced with climate change, uncertain markets and government policies they see as unhelpful, many farmers feel ill-equipped to decide how much of which crop to plant and when.
Last year’s extreme weather, bringing both floods and drought, left many in a food fix.
Mwanamvekha: Government ready to issue export licenses
Acting on specialist advice to diversify away from maize, some farmers grew more tobacco and soya in 2016, based on expectations of favourable prices in 2017.
But a glut has frustrated them, depriving them of a ready market for their surplus soya beans.
Yet those who ignored the advice and stuck with maize are also in trouble because of a government ban on the export of maize grown for domestic consumption.
“I am not happy about the ban,” said Kanyangale, a member of the 1 500-member Nyanja Farmers’ Association. “If this is not lifted soon, I could (be forced to) sell my maize at giveaway prices to middlemen.”
“Growing maize is a must for me and low prices affect me greatly,” he added.
Help to adapt
Changing farming ways does not happen overnight, explained Peter Kaupa, a field officer with the National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (Nasfam) who works with the Nyanja group.
“This year farmers will grow more tobacco because the price is right, and might grow less maize and soya because of what they have seen this season,” Kaupa said.
Farmers used to mono-cropping are reluctant to change their practices, he added, and struggle to make prompt decisions in the face of climate extremes and the implications of government policy for crop marketing and exports.
Kaupa’s organization offers training on farm business practices, including cost-benefit analysis of which crops to grow and climate-smart agriculture to adapt to erratic weather.
Nasfam’s initiative is part of a project promoted by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), an international institution based in the Netherlands, which aims to reach over 200 000 farmers in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
More than 50 000 smallholder farmers across five districts in Malawi will be shown how to access real-time climate information, obtain weather-based insurance, and use drought-tolerant crop varieties.
CTA project leader Olu Ajayi said it hopes to help smallholder farmers increase their yields during droughts.
“Our partner in Malawi, Nasfam, also addresses the marketing aspect of the value chain by facilitating opportunities for farmers to get the best price for their produce,” said Ajayi.
Maize maze
Alice Kachere, who also farms in Lilongwe, grew more maize than soya this year, fearing lower prices for the legume. Kachere hopes to sell her bumper harvest of 12.5 tonnes of maize and buy seed and equipment for next season.
Last year she planted tobacco but made a big loss and had to borrow money to prepare for this season. She too is anxious for the export ban to end so she can take advantage of trade with Kenya.
“I hear there is drought (in Kenya) and the prices we get will be high,” Kachere said. “I will be in trouble if the ban is not lifted.”
In May, Joseph Mwanamvekha, The Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development, said the government was ready to issue export licenses to traders who can prove they bought the maize for export and to farmers who have grown maize specifically to sell outside the country.
The government has not yet indicated when it will lift the ban on maize grown for home consumption, but the wait is affecting farmers who are anticipating better income from crop sales.
Malawi is projecting a bumper harvest of 3.2 million tonnes of maize this year, an increase of one-third over production in the 2015/16 season.
With an El Niño weather system forecast for this year, farmers would do well to brace for another drought by diversifying their crops, said Lluis Navarro, head of cooperation for the European Union in Malawi, which has invested in developing the southern African nation’s agriculture.
“Maize is a crop that is very sensitive to climate change,” said Navarro.
Malawi’s maize prices are the most volatile in the region, he said, making farmers reluctant to invest and produce a surplus they cannot be sure of selling.
At last check, Malawi was rated among the countries with the highest levels of corruption. Now, it might have taken a whole three day conference for some sectors in society to discuss what constitutes corruption, but the matter of fact is the vice exists.
The rampant looting that occurred in 2013 where it later transpired that it was deeply entrenched from as far back as 2009 has resulted in the country’s corruption rating becoming even worse.
Just imagine that in 2017, the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) rating as measured by Transparency International (TI) had plummeted to 122 from 110 in 2014.
Not that the rating was any better before Cashgate, but whatever efforts if any have been there to fight corruption in this country have come to nought.
It would take more than three days just to dissect what it is that has been going wrong, it is too much to count. But for sure, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) biting off more than it can chew comes to mind.
Just this week, ACB disclosed that it had received 67 files in connection to the K236 billion forensic audit covering the period 2009 to 2014. All this before the corruption cases following the K23 billion forensic audit are concluded.
Added to this, ACB is embarking on investigations into how the government planned to corruptly share K4 billion among some 86 members of Parliament (MPs) for voting favourably on the electoral reforms bills.
Apart from the 67 files and looking into the K4 billion mysterious deal, the same ACB is grappling with thwarting attempts by the former president Bakili Muluzi to escape prosecution, or at the very least delay the inevitable until kingdom come.
This is the same ACB that should be investigating the billions that former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika held in local and international banks amounting to K34.9 billion but also real estates which according to ACB investigations and information sourced from estate valuers is worth K37.2 billion.
It is this case that the Director of Public Officers Declarations is banking on to investigate unexplainable accumulation of wealth by public servants and possibly prosecute those who might have corruptly obtained money and property.
Much as many would like ACB to effectively fight corruption, investigate and prosecute those suspected to have fraudulently acquired money and property, this is not possible when the more work piles up on the ACB desk, the less investigators and prosecutors the office seems to have to tackle the work.
ACB is being too modest to claim that it tries its best to work to the maximum capacity with the limited number of staff, it’s just not possible.
The donors, the government and even ACB itself would like to ‘try its best’ but without investment and deliberate mechanisms to increase personnel, this remains a wish.
There is no point on embarking on investigations when years will go by before arrests and prosecution can be effected.
It should be unacceptable that corruption investigations involving ‘fat cats’ in the country get special attention and not those where a few millions were looted from the government purse.
The result of ignoring low level corruption is there for all to see: Cashgate. Government officials had the audacity to introduce recipients of government resources into the public finance system when they had delivered zero services.
The problem of turning a blind eye to corrupt activities eight years ago millions went into the accounts of mere clerks was the 2013 Cashgate when ordinary citizens would cash cheques worth billions knowing well ACB had no capacity to catch them.
If ACB had the capacity, the civil servants embroiled in the payroll fraud and the officials at Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development who shared allowances for over 1 000 days in a year would be in jail right now and the extent of Cashgate would not have been so shocking.
Government has admitted that delayed recovery of power generation will put constraints on the 2018 growth prospects, which has been projected at 4.5 percent.
According to the published 2018 Economic and Fiscal Policy Statement by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, this is on top of subdued growth anticipated from the agricultural sector which is slower that last year.
Gondwe: Agriculture did well
Government is, however, banking on non-agricultural economy, tobacco production, exports, and investment in infrastructure to drive growth.
“Agricultural growth is anticipated to be slower than last year due to the low crop yield, especially for maize following the effects of fall armyworm infestation and dry spells during the early part of the growing season. Growth prospects are also constrained by delayed recovery of power generation.
“It is however expected that tight monetary conditions and continuing disinflation on most non-food items will contain inflation into single digits up to the end of 2018 and beyond,” reads the statement in part.
Earlier, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Goodall Gondwe, was adamant on the country registering an economic growth of over 5 percent despite acknowledging the possible threat for the economy created by increasing power outages.
Kachaje: It will have an impact
Speaking in an interview in November, Gondwe said while nobody is denying that the power outage is having an effect on production, government is banking of agriculture which did well this year.
“The interesting thing is that because agriculture did particularly well this year, our growth rate is higher than what we expected it to be previously beyond the 5.5 percent and it seems agriculture did well besides the armyworms incident.
“And as the president has said a number of times, the reasons are also known because since independence, we have not been maintaining this equipment and therefore it has caught up with us and its retarding our production power and we are doing something about it,” said Gondwe, adding government has secured grants to ease the current electricity challenges by year end.
Immediate past president of the Economics Association of Malawi (Ecama) Henry Kachaje earlier said the power outages are going to negatively affect the private sector, especially the manufacturing industry, which will consequently slow down production and reduce revenue.
“As you are aware, we have already started experiencing running out of cement and other manufacturing products. So this is going to have an impact unless it is sorted out. Revenue collection like Lafarge will have a ripple effect on taxes government can collect from companies like Lafarge who are not able to manufacture to their capacity because of excessive load shedding,” he said.
Recently, immediate past president of the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) Karl Chokotho urged government to start looking at issues of energy serious; a situation he said is costing the economy.
“At the moment, businesses feel government is not taking the issue seriously, frustrations are there. Government has listed out plans but we need to move away from plans into implementation. We seem not to be moving as if we are in a crisis,” said Chokotho.
In his State of the Nation Address (Sona) last Friday, President Peter Mutharika said Malawi needs not less than 2 000 megawatts in order to serve its households, the manufacturing industry and serious mining.
