Bandar Seri Begawan - A Year 5 class, 5S, of International School of Brunei (ISB) held a fair to raise funds for a clinic in Malawi on June 26.
5S managed to raise B$611 from the endeavour, which will be used by the Malawian clinic in the fight against malaria. The funds will also be used in the final stages of construction of a primary school yet to be completed.
The Republic of Malawi is a democratic, densely populated country located in southeastern Africa, which is heavily dependent on agriculture. Malawi has repeatedly been affected by famines since 2002, and thus, international aid missions are regularly sent to the region. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
Saturday, 30 June 2007
Bishops Warn Political Crisis a Threat to National Stability
The Catholic bishops of Malawi are concerned that the political crisis pitting the ruling party against the opposition could seriously destabilize the country.
The bishops' warning came as Parliament was set to open today against the backdrop of a Supreme Court ruling that empowered House Speaker, Louis Chimango, to expel defecting lawmakers.
The decision, if implemented, would drastically reduce the strength of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has received 60 defectors to increase its tally to 80. The opposition dominates the House, with about 110 seats.
In a statement, the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) acknowledged the Supreme Court ruling as a "positive development", saying it promoted and consolidated the respect for the rule of law and the spirit of constitutionalism that are among the key pillars of good governance.
However, they said uncertainty, fear of the future and tension had gripped the country in the aftermath of the ruling.
"Issues like calling for by-elections, the resignation of the President, impeachment of the President and his vice, the impeachment of the Speaker of Parliament, if implemented, will wipe out all the gains that have been realized through our maturing democracy."
The bishops said heeding these calls would "derail all arms of government from their development agenda and adversely affect the gains achieved by the debt cancellation and the economy of our country." Last year, Malawi had its foreign debt cancelled by multilateral donors.
The bishops warned that in the event of by-elections and impeachments, the Legislature and the Executive would "shift their focus from economic and developmental policies to matters of politicking and survival to the detriment of the poor masses.
The Supreme Court ruling is the climax of a tense standoff between President Mutharika and the opposition since he came to power three years ago. It all began when Mutharika left the United Democratic Front (UDF), on whose ticket he was elected in 2004, to form his own party, the DPP.
The UDF hit back with an impeachment charge, accusing Mutharika of using USD300,000 of public money to launch his party. Mutharika survived impeachment after the Constitutional Court blocked the move.
"Realizing that when elephants fight, it is the grass on the ground that suffers, we want to reiterate that the tension and the uncertainty arising from this scenario would lead to the suffering of all Malawians who remain the primary right holders for all development and economic policies as in any democratic country," the bishops said.
Encouraging the spirit of dialogue instead of confrontation, the bishops wondered whether it made any sense for the country to use funds saved through debt cancellation, the impeachment processes or by-elections at the expense of pro-poor expenditure areas like education, health, food security and HIV/AIDS.
They called for "sobriety" in the current debate and inclusion of all citizens of Malawi in finding the way forward.
The bishops' warning came as Parliament was set to open today against the backdrop of a Supreme Court ruling that empowered House Speaker, Louis Chimango, to expel defecting lawmakers.
The decision, if implemented, would drastically reduce the strength of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has received 60 defectors to increase its tally to 80. The opposition dominates the House, with about 110 seats.
In a statement, the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) acknowledged the Supreme Court ruling as a "positive development", saying it promoted and consolidated the respect for the rule of law and the spirit of constitutionalism that are among the key pillars of good governance.
However, they said uncertainty, fear of the future and tension had gripped the country in the aftermath of the ruling.
"Issues like calling for by-elections, the resignation of the President, impeachment of the President and his vice, the impeachment of the Speaker of Parliament, if implemented, will wipe out all the gains that have been realized through our maturing democracy."
The bishops said heeding these calls would "derail all arms of government from their development agenda and adversely affect the gains achieved by the debt cancellation and the economy of our country." Last year, Malawi had its foreign debt cancelled by multilateral donors.
The bishops warned that in the event of by-elections and impeachments, the Legislature and the Executive would "shift their focus from economic and developmental policies to matters of politicking and survival to the detriment of the poor masses.
The Supreme Court ruling is the climax of a tense standoff between President Mutharika and the opposition since he came to power three years ago. It all began when Mutharika left the United Democratic Front (UDF), on whose ticket he was elected in 2004, to form his own party, the DPP.
The UDF hit back with an impeachment charge, accusing Mutharika of using USD300,000 of public money to launch his party. Mutharika survived impeachment after the Constitutional Court blocked the move.
"Realizing that when elephants fight, it is the grass on the ground that suffers, we want to reiterate that the tension and the uncertainty arising from this scenario would lead to the suffering of all Malawians who remain the primary right holders for all development and economic policies as in any democratic country," the bishops said.
Encouraging the spirit of dialogue instead of confrontation, the bishops wondered whether it made any sense for the country to use funds saved through debt cancellation, the impeachment processes or by-elections at the expense of pro-poor expenditure areas like education, health, food security and HIV/AIDS.
They called for "sobriety" in the current debate and inclusion of all citizens of Malawi in finding the way forward.
Teacher from Malawi learns about global health at Rice
A teacher trainer from the African country Malawi has spent the past month at Rice University learning about bioengineering and global health so she can educate high school teachers in her homeland about new treatments for and ways to prevent AIDS, cancer and heart disease.
Panji Chamdimba was one of 12 teachers who enrolled in the teacher professional development workshop on bioengineering and world health in June. The workshop, offered through the Department of Bioengineering's Beyond Traditional Borders (BTB), is taught by a multidisciplinary team of Rice experts and guest lecturers.
Participants attended clinical rotations at hospitals in the Texas Medical Center and visited bioengineering labs at Rice to see research in action.
"This workshop describes how multidisciplinary bioengineering is," said Emma Johns '07, program assistant. "The field requires the coordination and integration of everything from nanotechnology and optical imaging techniques to surgical procedures and biochemistry, and these technologies have to be applied to the social and cultural context in which they will be used."
The latter was particularly appealing to Chamdimba.
"It is interesting to learn about the about the technologies available to cure or reduce the burden of diseases like malaria, AIDS, cancer and heart disease," she said, "But when you are fighting a disease, it is not only the science that is important, but also the social aspects."
Chamdimba was encouraged to see that bioengineers think about how their research will work in parts of the world that do not have all the modern conveniences of developed countries. "You can develop a very good technology, but you have to consider the people who are intended to benefit from the research and what their lives are like so they will actually use what you develop."
The workshop covers the health problems faced by different age groups in both the developed and developing world, global health challenges, the cost of health care and the development of technology to solve health-care problems.
Chamdimba found out about the course through a colleague who knows Rebecca Richards-Kortum, the Stanley C. Moore Professor and chair of the Department of Bioengineering. Richards-Kortum is principal investigator for Rice's BTB Initiative, which is funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
"The immediate plans are for me to teach what I've learned here to my student teachers as well as to science teachers who are already teaching in high schools in Malawi," Chamdimba said. "But I am also interested in seeing if we can get the University of Malawi to begin offering a degree in bioengineering with Rice's help."
In addition to Chamdimba, 11 teachers from the Houston area and five high school students attended the summer workshop.
Panji Chamdimba was one of 12 teachers who enrolled in the teacher professional development workshop on bioengineering and world health in June. The workshop, offered through the Department of Bioengineering's Beyond Traditional Borders (BTB), is taught by a multidisciplinary team of Rice experts and guest lecturers.
Participants attended clinical rotations at hospitals in the Texas Medical Center and visited bioengineering labs at Rice to see research in action.
"This workshop describes how multidisciplinary bioengineering is," said Emma Johns '07, program assistant. "The field requires the coordination and integration of everything from nanotechnology and optical imaging techniques to surgical procedures and biochemistry, and these technologies have to be applied to the social and cultural context in which they will be used."
The latter was particularly appealing to Chamdimba.
"It is interesting to learn about the about the technologies available to cure or reduce the burden of diseases like malaria, AIDS, cancer and heart disease," she said, "But when you are fighting a disease, it is not only the science that is important, but also the social aspects."
Chamdimba was encouraged to see that bioengineers think about how their research will work in parts of the world that do not have all the modern conveniences of developed countries. "You can develop a very good technology, but you have to consider the people who are intended to benefit from the research and what their lives are like so they will actually use what you develop."
The workshop covers the health problems faced by different age groups in both the developed and developing world, global health challenges, the cost of health care and the development of technology to solve health-care problems.
Chamdimba found out about the course through a colleague who knows Rebecca Richards-Kortum, the Stanley C. Moore Professor and chair of the Department of Bioengineering. Richards-Kortum is principal investigator for Rice's BTB Initiative, which is funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
"The immediate plans are for me to teach what I've learned here to my student teachers as well as to science teachers who are already teaching in high schools in Malawi," Chamdimba said. "But I am also interested in seeing if we can get the University of Malawi to begin offering a degree in bioengineering with Rice's help."
In addition to Chamdimba, 11 teachers from the Houston area and five high school students attended the summer workshop.
DEVELOPMENT: When Education Is Not So Sweet
BRUSSELS, Jun 29 (IPS) - A major Belgian retail firm has been accused of misleading its customers by implying that its sales of Malawian sugar will benefit education projects in that country.
Colruyt, a supermarket chain operating in Belgium and France, sells sugar and several other food and drink items from poor countries as part of a range of products called 'Collibri for Education'. The company states that 5 percent of the price of Collibri food and 3 percent of non-food products (not including value added tax) go to schooling projects run by non-governmental organisations.
But Brian Bowler, the Malawian ambassador to the European Union, said that Colruyt is "hoodwinking the public."
Bowler said that he has repeatedly asked for appointments with Jef Colruyt, the company's chairman, and for data proving that it is paying out all the donations it promised to make. Colruyt refused to give him those details or to arrange that he can see its chairman, he added.
"This is a scandal," he told IPS. "I don't know if it's illegal but I do know it's immoral. They should be able to give information about what they are doing with this brand but they cannot furnish us with that."
Bowler described as "very cunning" the phrasing used in the packaging for Collibri sugar, which carries the brand name Chikwawa and depicts a smiling man carrying cane.
"It more or less suggests that 5 percent from a particular sale will go to the country of origin," he said, though acknowledging that the commitment is not explicit.
The packaging also states that the cultivation and production of sugarcane plays an essential role in the Malawian economy. Among the other products bearing the Collibri logo of a bird are orange juice from Costa Rica and honey from Mexico.
Although Collibri does not carry a 'fair trade' logo or use the words 'fair trade' on its packaging, Bowler alleged that Colruyt is trying to exploit the growing consumer interest in Europe in buying goods produced in a socially responsible way. "This kind of thing could discredit fair trade," said Bowler.
Spokespersons for Colruyt, which recently reported that its revenues for the 2006-07 financial year exceeded 5 billion euros (6.7 billion dollars), did not return numerous calls from IPS.
However, a website promoting Collibri says that a "definite amount" from the sale of each product concerned goes to schooling projects in poor countries.
The website says that almost 152,000 euro (205,000 dollars) from Collibri sales was donated to education products between October 2005 and October 2006. The projects said to have benefited were in Tanzania, Indonesia, Benin, South Africa and Colombia.
No projects in Malawi are listed among the beneficiaries. However, Colruyt is known to have made arrangements for giving a sum of 15,000 euros (20,000 dollars) to Likulezi, an AIDS project in Malawi.
This project was suggested as one worthy of support by Trócaire, an Irish aid agency which has experience of working in Malawi. Seán Farrell, a fundraising coordinator with Trócaire, said that he had never heard of Colruyt before the question of a donation arose and that he had simply recommended Likulezi after being contacted by Broederlijk Delen, the Belgian Catholic aid agency.
The website says, too, that Colruyt endeavours to make sure that Collibri goods have been produced in a way that respects the rights of workers, ensures that money is paid up front to growers, and limits the impact on the environment.
Such principles are similar to those adopted by the international fair trade movement.
Anja Osterhaus from the organisation Fair Trade Advocacy said she was concerned that some companies could be "trying to use the interest of consumers in ethical purchasing" for their own commercial gain.
The proliferation of products on supermarket shelves that claim to adhere to high social or ecological standards is sowing confusion, she noted.
"Fair trade is about ensuring fair conditions of production," she told IPS. "It's not aid. But for consumers it is not easy to draw that distinction."
A report released earlier this year by an international development committee in the British parliament noted that there is an increasing number of 'ethical' initiatives being undertaken by both companies and non-governmental bodies, only some of which are independently verified.
In the Netherlands, for example, the Utz brand commands 25-30 percent of the coffee market. Although the company does not pay growers premium prices, it purports to have comparable aims to the fair trade movement.
Starbucks, meanwhile, has developed an in-house 'ethical sourcing' scheme known as CAFE (coffee and farmer equity). The scheme does not involve the paying of guaranteed prices or a social premium but Starbucks has boasted of paying above the world market price for coffee.
The largest banana companies have also begun carrying Rainforest Alliance labels in recent years in a bid to convince consumers that the fruit has been grown in an environmentally sustainable manner.
The British parliament report was favourable towards a call made by the European Parliament last year that an EU-wide regulation be introduced guaranteeing that consumers can have easily comprehensible information about 'ethical' products.
"The rise in ethical labels demonstrates that both retailers and consumers are interested in ethical sourcing," said the report. "It is important that fair trade organisations do not assume they have a monopoly on this, although fair trade can be said to represent a gold standard in terms of trading relations with producers. With many different schemes pursuing different objectives, it is vital that consumers are given the correct information in order to make informed choices." (END/2007)
Colruyt, a supermarket chain operating in Belgium and France, sells sugar and several other food and drink items from poor countries as part of a range of products called 'Collibri for Education'. The company states that 5 percent of the price of Collibri food and 3 percent of non-food products (not including value added tax) go to schooling projects run by non-governmental organisations.
But Brian Bowler, the Malawian ambassador to the European Union, said that Colruyt is "hoodwinking the public."
Bowler said that he has repeatedly asked for appointments with Jef Colruyt, the company's chairman, and for data proving that it is paying out all the donations it promised to make. Colruyt refused to give him those details or to arrange that he can see its chairman, he added.
"This is a scandal," he told IPS. "I don't know if it's illegal but I do know it's immoral. They should be able to give information about what they are doing with this brand but they cannot furnish us with that."
Bowler described as "very cunning" the phrasing used in the packaging for Collibri sugar, which carries the brand name Chikwawa and depicts a smiling man carrying cane.
"It more or less suggests that 5 percent from a particular sale will go to the country of origin," he said, though acknowledging that the commitment is not explicit.
The packaging also states that the cultivation and production of sugarcane plays an essential role in the Malawian economy. Among the other products bearing the Collibri logo of a bird are orange juice from Costa Rica and honey from Mexico.
Although Collibri does not carry a 'fair trade' logo or use the words 'fair trade' on its packaging, Bowler alleged that Colruyt is trying to exploit the growing consumer interest in Europe in buying goods produced in a socially responsible way. "This kind of thing could discredit fair trade," said Bowler.
Spokespersons for Colruyt, which recently reported that its revenues for the 2006-07 financial year exceeded 5 billion euros (6.7 billion dollars), did not return numerous calls from IPS.
However, a website promoting Collibri says that a "definite amount" from the sale of each product concerned goes to schooling projects in poor countries.
The website says that almost 152,000 euro (205,000 dollars) from Collibri sales was donated to education products between October 2005 and October 2006. The projects said to have benefited were in Tanzania, Indonesia, Benin, South Africa and Colombia.
No projects in Malawi are listed among the beneficiaries. However, Colruyt is known to have made arrangements for giving a sum of 15,000 euros (20,000 dollars) to Likulezi, an AIDS project in Malawi.
This project was suggested as one worthy of support by Trócaire, an Irish aid agency which has experience of working in Malawi. Seán Farrell, a fundraising coordinator with Trócaire, said that he had never heard of Colruyt before the question of a donation arose and that he had simply recommended Likulezi after being contacted by Broederlijk Delen, the Belgian Catholic aid agency.
The website says, too, that Colruyt endeavours to make sure that Collibri goods have been produced in a way that respects the rights of workers, ensures that money is paid up front to growers, and limits the impact on the environment.
Such principles are similar to those adopted by the international fair trade movement.
Anja Osterhaus from the organisation Fair Trade Advocacy said she was concerned that some companies could be "trying to use the interest of consumers in ethical purchasing" for their own commercial gain.
The proliferation of products on supermarket shelves that claim to adhere to high social or ecological standards is sowing confusion, she noted.
"Fair trade is about ensuring fair conditions of production," she told IPS. "It's not aid. But for consumers it is not easy to draw that distinction."
A report released earlier this year by an international development committee in the British parliament noted that there is an increasing number of 'ethical' initiatives being undertaken by both companies and non-governmental bodies, only some of which are independently verified.
In the Netherlands, for example, the Utz brand commands 25-30 percent of the coffee market. Although the company does not pay growers premium prices, it purports to have comparable aims to the fair trade movement.
Starbucks, meanwhile, has developed an in-house 'ethical sourcing' scheme known as CAFE (coffee and farmer equity). The scheme does not involve the paying of guaranteed prices or a social premium but Starbucks has boasted of paying above the world market price for coffee.
The largest banana companies have also begun carrying Rainforest Alliance labels in recent years in a bid to convince consumers that the fruit has been grown in an environmentally sustainable manner.
The British parliament report was favourable towards a call made by the European Parliament last year that an EU-wide regulation be introduced guaranteeing that consumers can have easily comprehensible information about 'ethical' products.
"The rise in ethical labels demonstrates that both retailers and consumers are interested in ethical sourcing," said the report. "It is important that fair trade organisations do not assume they have a monopoly on this, although fair trade can be said to represent a gold standard in terms of trading relations with producers. With many different schemes pursuing different objectives, it is vital that consumers are given the correct information in order to make informed choices." (END/2007)
CHIRADZULU, Malawi (AFP) - The 36-year-old from the central Chiradzulu region is far from alone in her sense of shame, with more than two out of every five people in Malawi unable to read or write.
And according to Charles Mkunga, deputy chief of a state-financed National Adult Literacy Centre, failure to reverse the situation will only lock the impoverished southeastern African nation into further poverty.
"Malawi is doomed as the country cannot develop with so many illiterate people," says Mkunga.
"With the new era of information technology, it is a must that we have a literate nation if we are to develop."
Official figures show that only 57.5 percent of the 12 million-strong population are classified as literate.
That lags the literacy rates in nearby countries, where some 80 percent of Zimbabweans can read and write, while Zambia and Tanzania are both above the 70 percent mark.
The bleak situation in Malawi is largely a result of faltering past literacy programmes and the educational system, which despite its expansion, sees 70 percent of pupils drop out of primary school.
Mkunga pinpoints a lack of political will to bankroll government projects designed to push literacy levels to higher levels as the main culprit.
State funding towards literacy programmes has "greatly diminished" in the past decade and now accounts for only three percent of the national budget, he told AFP.
"We have been unable to teach more than three million adults how to read and write in the past decade due to insufficient resources and funds," he said.
Limbani Nsapato, coordinator of a donor-funded non-government organisation which fights for increased education funding, agreed that the government had not placed a high enough priority on education.
Nsapato's Civil Society Coalition for Quality Basic Education, which represents 67 NGOs in the education sector, has been urging the government to double the amount of money it spends on schooling.
"The current level of 13 percent is far off what is needed to reduce levels of illiteracy by 50 percent before 2015," Nsapato said.
"The government is not serious in making literacy a priority ... there is no political will," he said.
"About five million Malawian children and adults are illiterate. It is a dangerous situation which must be corrected speedily."
The ministry of women and child development, which spearheads literacy programmes, denied that there was a lack of political will.
"You cannot say, and it's not fair to say, there is no political will. It is the same government that has trained 10,000 literacy instructors spread throughout the country," ministry spokesman Cyrus Jeke said.
However the spokesman admitted that the government had a battle on its hands to persuade pupils to stay in school.
"The most disturbing trend is school drop-outs," he added.
Thirteen years have passed since the then president Bakili Muluzi introduced free primary schooling, which led to an immediate doubling of enrollment levels to 3.2 million pupils.
Most pupils however drop out before completing four years of primary school, which education experts say is the minimum time needed to acquire basic literacy.
Only around a quarter of pupils complete eight years of primary school, with many youngsters needed to become breadwinners long before the end of childhood.
Malawi is one of the world's poorest countries where 60 percent of the people live below the poverty line of one dollar a day and per capita gross domestic product is around 210 dollars (155 euros) per year.
"Seventy percent of pupils do not complete the primary school circle and drop out because of several factors, including poverty," said Nsapato.
He believes the only real solution is to make primary school compulsory for all ages.
"There should be legal provisions to make free primary school compulsory. It will be one strategy to improve literacy and the government will be compelled to spend more on education," Nsapato added.
And according to Charles Mkunga, deputy chief of a state-financed National Adult Literacy Centre, failure to reverse the situation will only lock the impoverished southeastern African nation into further poverty.
"Malawi is doomed as the country cannot develop with so many illiterate people," says Mkunga.
"With the new era of information technology, it is a must that we have a literate nation if we are to develop."
Official figures show that only 57.5 percent of the 12 million-strong population are classified as literate.
That lags the literacy rates in nearby countries, where some 80 percent of Zimbabweans can read and write, while Zambia and Tanzania are both above the 70 percent mark.
The bleak situation in Malawi is largely a result of faltering past literacy programmes and the educational system, which despite its expansion, sees 70 percent of pupils drop out of primary school.
Mkunga pinpoints a lack of political will to bankroll government projects designed to push literacy levels to higher levels as the main culprit.
State funding towards literacy programmes has "greatly diminished" in the past decade and now accounts for only three percent of the national budget, he told AFP.
"We have been unable to teach more than three million adults how to read and write in the past decade due to insufficient resources and funds," he said.
Limbani Nsapato, coordinator of a donor-funded non-government organisation which fights for increased education funding, agreed that the government had not placed a high enough priority on education.
Nsapato's Civil Society Coalition for Quality Basic Education, which represents 67 NGOs in the education sector, has been urging the government to double the amount of money it spends on schooling.
"The current level of 13 percent is far off what is needed to reduce levels of illiteracy by 50 percent before 2015," Nsapato said.
"The government is not serious in making literacy a priority ... there is no political will," he said.
"About five million Malawian children and adults are illiterate. It is a dangerous situation which must be corrected speedily."
The ministry of women and child development, which spearheads literacy programmes, denied that there was a lack of political will.
"You cannot say, and it's not fair to say, there is no political will. It is the same government that has trained 10,000 literacy instructors spread throughout the country," ministry spokesman Cyrus Jeke said.
However the spokesman admitted that the government had a battle on its hands to persuade pupils to stay in school.
"The most disturbing trend is school drop-outs," he added.
Thirteen years have passed since the then president Bakili Muluzi introduced free primary schooling, which led to an immediate doubling of enrollment levels to 3.2 million pupils.
Most pupils however drop out before completing four years of primary school, which education experts say is the minimum time needed to acquire basic literacy.
Only around a quarter of pupils complete eight years of primary school, with many youngsters needed to become breadwinners long before the end of childhood.
Malawi is one of the world's poorest countries where 60 percent of the people live below the poverty line of one dollar a day and per capita gross domestic product is around 210 dollars (155 euros) per year.
"Seventy percent of pupils do not complete the primary school circle and drop out because of several factors, including poverty," said Nsapato.
He believes the only real solution is to make primary school compulsory for all ages.
"There should be legal provisions to make free primary school compulsory. It will be one strategy to improve literacy and the government will be compelled to spend more on education," Nsapato added.
Malawi lawmakers return to House after mourning first lady
APA-Blantyre (Malawi) Malawi’s lawmakers return to parliament on Friday in Lilongwe, a month after joining the rest of the nation in mourning the death of first lady Ethel Mutharika who died on 28 May in the capital of cancer. Deliberations were immediately postponed following her death, and the government declared a month long mourning period, which culminated in Mutharika’s burial on 9 June in the southern district of Thyolo. The lawmakers return to a divided House, following the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal’s ruling two weeks ago that President Bingu wa Mutharika’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s MPs were defectors, and therefore should return to the parties that sponsored them into parliament during elections of 2004.
Most of the 70 MPs in question, including President Mutharika himself, were elected under the banner of the former ruling United Democratic Front of former leader Bakili Muluzi.
But after President Mutharika ditched the UDF over what he called policy differences, he took along the MPs, some of who are ministers in his cabinet, to form the DPP.
The move was met by a two-year bitter court battle the UDF and other opposition parties waged against the DPP.
The conduct of poaching lawmakers to join the DPP is known as “crossing the floor,” and is unlawful in the country’s constitution under Section 65 of the document.
The Supreme Court, in a landmark decision, ruled that the MPs who had crossed the floor had done so illegally and their seats must be declared vacant.
The expectation on Friday was to see Speaker of Parliament Louis Chimango implement this ruling by declaring at least 70 seats of DPP MPs vacant, a move that would have left the DPP in the 193-member House virtually with a handful of MPs.
But 24 hours before the parliament met, UDF MP Yunus Mussa obtained a court injunction restraining Chimango from carrying out the decision.
No doubt, the injunction is a welcome relief for the Speaker, who will not have the pressure from the opposition to kick out the wayward MPs in the DPP camp from the House – at least for now.
Most of the 70 MPs in question, including President Mutharika himself, were elected under the banner of the former ruling United Democratic Front of former leader Bakili Muluzi.
But after President Mutharika ditched the UDF over what he called policy differences, he took along the MPs, some of who are ministers in his cabinet, to form the DPP.
The move was met by a two-year bitter court battle the UDF and other opposition parties waged against the DPP.
The conduct of poaching lawmakers to join the DPP is known as “crossing the floor,” and is unlawful in the country’s constitution under Section 65 of the document.
The Supreme Court, in a landmark decision, ruled that the MPs who had crossed the floor had done so illegally and their seats must be declared vacant.
The expectation on Friday was to see Speaker of Parliament Louis Chimango implement this ruling by declaring at least 70 seats of DPP MPs vacant, a move that would have left the DPP in the 193-member House virtually with a handful of MPs.
But 24 hours before the parliament met, UDF MP Yunus Mussa obtained a court injunction restraining Chimango from carrying out the decision.
No doubt, the injunction is a welcome relief for the Speaker, who will not have the pressure from the opposition to kick out the wayward MPs in the DPP camp from the House – at least for now.
41 MPs obtain court order to restrain Malawi parliament
APA-Lilongwe (Malawi) With only hours away from being chased out of parliament, 41 opposition members of the Malawi parliament who defected to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have obtained a court order restraining the House from declaring their seats vacant. Speaker of Parliament Louis Chimango was expected to declare the MPs’ seat vacant on Friday following a Supreme Court of Appeal decision that the lawmakers’ defection was illegal; therefore their seats should be declared vacant pending by-elections. Parliament, reconvening its session Friday after a month-long mourning of the late first lady Ethel Mutharika, is sitting to discuss the 2007/08 national budget.
Fearing their pending expulsion, former ruling United Democratic Front’s MP Yunus Mussa and 40 other former opposition MPs, successfully applied to the High Court for an order to stop the speaker from declaring their seats vacant.
High Court Judge Justice Singini granted them the injunction late on Thursday.
The move effectively stops Chimango from going ahead to declare the defectors’ seats as being vacant for now.
Singini’s injunction, however, is being challenged by opposition lawyers Ralph Kasambara and Kalekeni Kaphale of the UDF and Titus Mvalo representing the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
"We shall see each other in court today (Friday) because we are challenging the applications. What we want is the speaker to go ahead to declare the (defectors’) seats vacant,” Kasambara, a former Attorney General dismissed by President Mutharika last year, said.
Fearing their pending expulsion, former ruling United Democratic Front’s MP Yunus Mussa and 40 other former opposition MPs, successfully applied to the High Court for an order to stop the speaker from declaring their seats vacant.
High Court Judge Justice Singini granted them the injunction late on Thursday.
The move effectively stops Chimango from going ahead to declare the defectors’ seats as being vacant for now.
Singini’s injunction, however, is being challenged by opposition lawyers Ralph Kasambara and Kalekeni Kaphale of the UDF and Titus Mvalo representing the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
"We shall see each other in court today (Friday) because we are challenging the applications. What we want is the speaker to go ahead to declare the (defectors’) seats vacant,” Kasambara, a former Attorney General dismissed by President Mutharika last year, said.
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