Malawi's infamous coffin makers are rumoured to be pretty unfriendly. Nosy visitors who have not come to shop are said to face the risk of being pelted with bricks or stones, though in reality they are more likely to be greeted by friendly faces.
The coffin makers' workshops spread out alongside a wide street near the newly created Capital area of Lilongwe, which also houses the mausoleum of the former president, Kamuzu Banda.
And again, first impressions differ vastly from reality.
Hopes where high when President Banda instigated Malawian independence from Britain in 1966, but the hopes were soon dashed as he quickly turned his back on the idea of democracy and instead declared himself "President for Life".
It took 27 years before President Banda was eventually forced from power, in 1993.
A dying business
Malawi's current head of state, President Bingu wa Mutharika, was elected in 2004 with a mandate to drag the impoverished East African country into the 20th century - never mind the current millennium.
His main task was to stop the spread of HIV/Aids, which had claimed hundreds of thousands of lives - including President Mutharika's own brother.
Statistics are very unreliable here, but somewhere between 15% and 30% of the country has the virus. Others die of diseases that could be cured by a tablet in the West, such as malaria, tuberculosis or malnutrition.
This bleak prognosis means the Malawian people do not live long. Few expect to see their 40th birthday.
For many local carpenters, though, being surrounded by death is good for business.
On Lubani Road, almost half of the 60 or so stalls on either side of the street make and sell coffins to an eager market. Coffin Row as it has become known, is Malawi's macabre equivalent of Silicon Valley, with impoverished carpenters instead of geeky tech experts in California.
Hendrik has been plying his trade here for almost 5 years. From crude pine he fashions a respectable coffin with a glossy laminate veneer and polished handles - all for the princely sum of Kw20,000 ($140; £70).
That is a good living here, considering that more than 60% of the population lives on less than $1 a day - the United Nation's definition of absolute poverty.
And yet, he is worried. Business is down.
Healthy solutions
Three years ago, the entire street made and sold funeral caskets, staying open 24 hours a day to meet this awful demand. Today the carpenters complain that they each sell only about 10 a week. Many of them have switched trades into making furniture or repairing metal.
Passing on ceremony
Chicken are passed on to help more people help themselves
Much of the credit for that lies with the new government's health programme, which is tackling Aids with anti retro-viral drugs and an awareness campaign.
The programme is working. A recent World Bank report says the number of people dying from Aids is on its way down in many African states, including Rwanda, Zambia and Malawi.
And it is not just health programmes that are turning the situation around. The government and foreign aid groups are also creating new ways to wean poor Malawians off hand-outs and make them more self-reliant.
In Kaphuka, a village about 2 hours south-east of Lilongwe, an innovative livestock scheme has been set up by a charity called Cara Malawi.
Instead of simply handing out food, selected women in the village are given live goats or chickens, which provide milk and eggs.
After a year or so, those inhabitants hand over one of the animals' offspring to a neighbour, who can then fend for themselves in a "pay-it-forward" manner.
Though these schemes are innovative and provide a practical way of allowing extraordinarily poor villagers to help themselves, Malawi has a long way to go before it even reaches the levels of life expectancy and wealth enjoyed by most other African countries.
There are 20 doctors per million people here, compared with about 3,000 in wealthier Western countries.
And informing people about how to protect themselves from Aids is still not easy. Malawians refuse to refer to the problem directly, preferring instead to call it the "slimming disease".
But a good start has been made and the latest World Bank statistics seem to show that Lilongwe's coffin-makers are being driven out of business.
Tuesday, 3 July 2007
Malawi parliament adjourns after chaos erupts among MPs
APA-Lilongwe (Malawi) Amid acrimony, the Malawi parliament sitting in Lilongwe adjourned Tuesday indefinitely following opposition leader John Tembo’s demands to deliberate on political issues first before scrutinising the country’s 2007/08 budget.
Tembo, who is leader of the opposition in parliament and president of his Malawi Congress Party (MCP), said he and fellow opposition MPs were not in a position to respond to the budget until matters of Section 65 were sorted out.
The so-called matters of Section 65 emanates from a part of the constitution that calls for the declaration of vacant seats for MPs who defect from the party that sponsored them into parliament to the government side in a move the section describes as “crossing the floor.”
Several MPs who allegedly crossed the floor to support government in the House, last Thursday obtained an injunction to restrain the Speaker of Parliament Louis Chimango from declaring their seats vacant.
The MPs obtained the injunction against the Speaker following a 15 June Supreme Court of Appeal ruling that Section 65, which the government had maintained was unconstitutional, was indeed valid.
"We are requesting government through the Attorney General to vacate the injunction against the Speaker to allow him act accordingly," Tembo, a longtime aid of the late dictator President Kamuzu Banda, said.
"The injunction must be withdrawn to get rid of all strangers. This will allow only bona fide members to continue with the proceedings," he said.
Tembo observed that members of opposition took the budget very seriously but could not allow it to be passed with members who are victims of Section 65.
He called for the implementation of the court’s ruling on Section 65 and a commitment from government that legislators supporting it should withdraw the court injunction against the Speaker restraining him from acting on opposition demands to declare defectors’ seats vacant.
But leader of government business in parliament, Henry Chimunthu Banda, argued that the injunction was not from government but from individual legislators led by Yunus Mussa, a newly appointed deputy minister who got elected to parliament on the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF)’s ticket.
Banda appealed to the House to proceed with government business, wondering what would happen if the court ruling took more than a month or two to be sorted out.
Banda’s appeal fell on Tembo’s deaf ears, leaving Speaker Chimango with no choice but to end the acrimonious debate by abruptly adjourning the proceedings sine die.
Tembo’s MCP has lost three MPs, who were later appointed ministers, to the government side.
This may explain his bitterness with the government of President Bingu wa Mutharika’s failure to let the Speaker make a ruling on the defectors.
Tembo, who is leader of the opposition in parliament and president of his Malawi Congress Party (MCP), said he and fellow opposition MPs were not in a position to respond to the budget until matters of Section 65 were sorted out.
The so-called matters of Section 65 emanates from a part of the constitution that calls for the declaration of vacant seats for MPs who defect from the party that sponsored them into parliament to the government side in a move the section describes as “crossing the floor.”
Several MPs who allegedly crossed the floor to support government in the House, last Thursday obtained an injunction to restrain the Speaker of Parliament Louis Chimango from declaring their seats vacant.
The MPs obtained the injunction against the Speaker following a 15 June Supreme Court of Appeal ruling that Section 65, which the government had maintained was unconstitutional, was indeed valid.
"We are requesting government through the Attorney General to vacate the injunction against the Speaker to allow him act accordingly," Tembo, a longtime aid of the late dictator President Kamuzu Banda, said.
"The injunction must be withdrawn to get rid of all strangers. This will allow only bona fide members to continue with the proceedings," he said.
Tembo observed that members of opposition took the budget very seriously but could not allow it to be passed with members who are victims of Section 65.
He called for the implementation of the court’s ruling on Section 65 and a commitment from government that legislators supporting it should withdraw the court injunction against the Speaker restraining him from acting on opposition demands to declare defectors’ seats vacant.
But leader of government business in parliament, Henry Chimunthu Banda, argued that the injunction was not from government but from individual legislators led by Yunus Mussa, a newly appointed deputy minister who got elected to parliament on the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF)’s ticket.
Banda appealed to the House to proceed with government business, wondering what would happen if the court ruling took more than a month or two to be sorted out.
Banda’s appeal fell on Tembo’s deaf ears, leaving Speaker Chimango with no choice but to end the acrimonious debate by abruptly adjourning the proceedings sine die.
Tembo’s MCP has lost three MPs, who were later appointed ministers, to the government side.
This may explain his bitterness with the government of President Bingu wa Mutharika’s failure to let the Speaker make a ruling on the defectors.
Namibia: Kanalelo to Lead Warriors
BRAVE Warriors assistant coach Ronnie Kanalelo will lead the national side to Malawi for a friendly international match on Thursday, after it emerged that head coach Ben Bamfuchile, cannot make it due to illness.
The Namibian Sport confirmed yesterday that Bamfuchile would be staying home on instruction from his doctor due to persistent tension in his stomach.
"Ronnie will be leading the team to Malawi because I am not able to make it due to illness," said Bamfuchile.
Namibia is expected to play against Malawi in a warm-up friendly match on Thursday as part of their preparations ahead of the Cosafa Castle Cup in Botswana at the end of this month.
The team will mostly consist of local-based players, as the foreign internationals will be rested for the Botswana match.
Kanalelo and Brian Isaacks are the two assistant coaches to Bamfuchile and were appointed by the Namibia Football Association (NFA) to help Bamfuchile find a winning combination.
Kanalelo has in the past been criticised by football fans that claim that he seemed to be more in charge of the team than the head coach.
When asked about the role of Kanalelo, the NFA said that Bamfuchile was the head coach and that Kanalelo had all the right to shout instructions, as he was the assistant coach.
NFA acting secretary-general Barry Rukoro at the time said that Kanalelo was in fact not a goalkeeper coach, but was on equal footing as Isaacks who was previously considered to be the second in command after Bamfuchile.
Kanalelo, generally a short tempered character, has alongside Bamfuchile and Isaacks vowed to ensure the success of the team and refuses to be distracted by the criticisms of demanding football fans.
So far, Bamfuchile has won only three matches from a total of 11 he has managed since his appointment early last year.
Bamfuchile beat Malawi (3-2) in a Cosafa Cup in July last year and his next victory was over Ethiopia (1-0) in an Nations Cup qualifier in October last year.
His third victory with the Warriors was against Libya (1-0) last month, also in an African Nations Cup qualifier.
He only has one draw against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (1-1) also played last month.
The losses he recorded were against Seychelles in July last year (2-4 on penalties after a 1-all draw), South Africa in a friendly international in August last year (1-0) and against DRC in a Nations Cup qualifier in September last year (3-2).
The next defeat was against Libya in a Nations Cup match in October last year (2-0).
He also fell against Zimbabwe in an international friendly in November last year (3-2) as well as Botswana in another international friendly in February this year (1-0).
He also lost against his native country Zambia (2-1) in another international friendly in May.
Despite a poor record in international friendlies, Bamfuchile earlier indicated that he was determined to build a team, which will bring results in future.
His record in the Nations Cup is better than the friendly matches, while he still needs to prove himself in the Cosafa Cup.
In his short stint with the Warriors, Bamfuchile has received praise in some quarters for his winning formula against Libya and for containing DRC in the absence of a lethal striker.
He also came under fire due to his inability to find a striker, while some senior players who left the team partly blamed his technical staff for failing to take responsibility when the team loses.
For now, Bamfuchile's main task is to qualify for the 2008 African Nations Cup in Ghana, while he is also expected to reach the last stages of the Cosafa Castle Cup.
He will dearly hope that DRC loses at home against Libya in their last Group match and at the same time ensure that Namibia beat Ethiopia.
The next matches in the continental event will only be in September, but at that time, Bamfuchile will be expected to assemble some of the finest players, as the domestic league would be expected to start in August already.
The Namibian Sport confirmed yesterday that Bamfuchile would be staying home on instruction from his doctor due to persistent tension in his stomach.
"Ronnie will be leading the team to Malawi because I am not able to make it due to illness," said Bamfuchile.
Namibia is expected to play against Malawi in a warm-up friendly match on Thursday as part of their preparations ahead of the Cosafa Castle Cup in Botswana at the end of this month.
The team will mostly consist of local-based players, as the foreign internationals will be rested for the Botswana match.
Kanalelo and Brian Isaacks are the two assistant coaches to Bamfuchile and were appointed by the Namibia Football Association (NFA) to help Bamfuchile find a winning combination.
Kanalelo has in the past been criticised by football fans that claim that he seemed to be more in charge of the team than the head coach.
When asked about the role of Kanalelo, the NFA said that Bamfuchile was the head coach and that Kanalelo had all the right to shout instructions, as he was the assistant coach.
NFA acting secretary-general Barry Rukoro at the time said that Kanalelo was in fact not a goalkeeper coach, but was on equal footing as Isaacks who was previously considered to be the second in command after Bamfuchile.
Kanalelo, generally a short tempered character, has alongside Bamfuchile and Isaacks vowed to ensure the success of the team and refuses to be distracted by the criticisms of demanding football fans.
So far, Bamfuchile has won only three matches from a total of 11 he has managed since his appointment early last year.
Bamfuchile beat Malawi (3-2) in a Cosafa Cup in July last year and his next victory was over Ethiopia (1-0) in an Nations Cup qualifier in October last year.
His third victory with the Warriors was against Libya (1-0) last month, also in an African Nations Cup qualifier.
He only has one draw against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (1-1) also played last month.
The losses he recorded were against Seychelles in July last year (2-4 on penalties after a 1-all draw), South Africa in a friendly international in August last year (1-0) and against DRC in a Nations Cup qualifier in September last year (3-2).
The next defeat was against Libya in a Nations Cup match in October last year (2-0).
He also fell against Zimbabwe in an international friendly in November last year (3-2) as well as Botswana in another international friendly in February this year (1-0).
He also lost against his native country Zambia (2-1) in another international friendly in May.
Despite a poor record in international friendlies, Bamfuchile earlier indicated that he was determined to build a team, which will bring results in future.
His record in the Nations Cup is better than the friendly matches, while he still needs to prove himself in the Cosafa Cup.
In his short stint with the Warriors, Bamfuchile has received praise in some quarters for his winning formula against Libya and for containing DRC in the absence of a lethal striker.
He also came under fire due to his inability to find a striker, while some senior players who left the team partly blamed his technical staff for failing to take responsibility when the team loses.
For now, Bamfuchile's main task is to qualify for the 2008 African Nations Cup in Ghana, while he is also expected to reach the last stages of the Cosafa Castle Cup.
He will dearly hope that DRC loses at home against Libya in their last Group match and at the same time ensure that Namibia beat Ethiopia.
The next matches in the continental event will only be in September, but at that time, Bamfuchile will be expected to assemble some of the finest players, as the domestic league would be expected to start in August already.
Malawi launches its latest database on human development
APA-Lilongwe (Malawi) Malawi’s National Statistical Office and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday in Lilongwe launched MASEDA 3.0, a computer programme said to contain the latest and most comprehensive database on human development in the country.
Malawi Socio-Economic Database (MASEDA) is designed as a fundamental tool to promote evidence-based planning of development efforts, according to the two offices.
Speaking during the launch, the UN Resident Coordinator here, Michael Keating, said that MASEDA allows one to have a common understanding of the performance and impact of development investment.
Keating said the opportunities that MASEDA 3.0 presented like management of development is impossible without measurement tools.
“Our role is to support the government track progress of meeting Millennium Development Goals in Malawi, prioritise development investment by region and sector, and raise and allocate funds in a coordinated fashion to maximise results,” the diplomat added
MASEDA 3.0 software organizes data by sector or geographic area and presents this in different formats – maps, graphs and tables.
The mapping facility can produce 28 individual district maps showing boundaries of traditional authorities (or chiefs) within each district map.
The software contains over 600 socio-economic indicators, which can measure progress of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS), the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and sector-specific targets.
Keating said the software was developed to enable government departments, development organisations, civil society, research and academic institutions to access uniform information for coordinated national development efforts.
Keating commended National Statistical Office for its commitment and hard work in developing the database.
According to National Statistics Office Commissioner Charles Machinjili, his office developed the first version of the programme in 2001 with 147 key indicators, and launched a second version in November 2004.
He said MASEDA is based on DevInfo software, which has been adopted globally by the UN as the format for national indicator databases.
Machinjili added that this week marks the halfway point between adoption of Millennium Development Goals in 2000 and the target date 2015.
The 2007 UN Millennium Development Goals Report shows that sub-Saharan Africa is not on track to achieve the MDGs, but reaffirms that the goals can still be achieved with the right combination of policies, resources and global partnership.
"Policymakers and development planners at national, district and local level can use MASEDA to ensure policy formulation is in response to the real picture on the ground and therefore determine the sectors and regions that require increased investment, and accelerate progress to meet the Goals," he said.
Malawi Socio-Economic Database (MASEDA) is designed as a fundamental tool to promote evidence-based planning of development efforts, according to the two offices.
Speaking during the launch, the UN Resident Coordinator here, Michael Keating, said that MASEDA allows one to have a common understanding of the performance and impact of development investment.
Keating said the opportunities that MASEDA 3.0 presented like management of development is impossible without measurement tools.
“Our role is to support the government track progress of meeting Millennium Development Goals in Malawi, prioritise development investment by region and sector, and raise and allocate funds in a coordinated fashion to maximise results,” the diplomat added
MASEDA 3.0 software organizes data by sector or geographic area and presents this in different formats – maps, graphs and tables.
The mapping facility can produce 28 individual district maps showing boundaries of traditional authorities (or chiefs) within each district map.
The software contains over 600 socio-economic indicators, which can measure progress of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS), the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and sector-specific targets.
Keating said the software was developed to enable government departments, development organisations, civil society, research and academic institutions to access uniform information for coordinated national development efforts.
Keating commended National Statistical Office for its commitment and hard work in developing the database.
According to National Statistics Office Commissioner Charles Machinjili, his office developed the first version of the programme in 2001 with 147 key indicators, and launched a second version in November 2004.
He said MASEDA is based on DevInfo software, which has been adopted globally by the UN as the format for national indicator databases.
Machinjili added that this week marks the halfway point between adoption of Millennium Development Goals in 2000 and the target date 2015.
The 2007 UN Millennium Development Goals Report shows that sub-Saharan Africa is not on track to achieve the MDGs, but reaffirms that the goals can still be achieved with the right combination of policies, resources and global partnership.
"Policymakers and development planners at national, district and local level can use MASEDA to ensure policy formulation is in response to the real picture on the ground and therefore determine the sectors and regions that require increased investment, and accelerate progress to meet the Goals," he said.
Fans urged to pitch in for Malawi children
AROUND 1000 young footballers in one of Africa's poorest countries could soon be playing in strips from Edinburgh.
All clubs in the Capital are being urged to donate their old strips to a new campaign to help development in Malawi.
The city council has backed the campaign and posters are being put up in all Edinburgh Leisure facilities urging users to hand in team strips and replica shirts.
The move comes after former marketing manager Bob Stewart visited the country and saw first-hand the lack of resources for the Play Soccer Malawi project.
The non-profit project aims to help children aged five to 14 develop an interest in football while also learning about issues such as health and social development.
Dr Stewart, 54, is due to hand over the first batch of 80 strips in Malawi on Friday.
He said: "The conditions are terrible and they play in what is only a dust ground but what this project does is incredible. They had hardly any strips or equipment either.
"It's not just about football, they learn life skills, conflict resolution, and get important health and sport messages as well."
Dr Stewart first visited the country last year after Penicuik High School - where his wife Mary, 54, is principal guidance teacher - had struck up a partnership with a school in the small Malawi village of Tnyolo.
They were shocked that a pilot project had seen 1700 children sign up with only seven strips between them.
He collected 80 strips from city clubs, and a friend who works for Setanta Sports convinced Celtic to donate more than 80 kits.
But he decided to step up the campaign and wrote to the city council for assistance. All Edinburgh Leisure centres are now taking donations of strips and a target of 1000 has been set.
Dr Stewart says he is considering contacting the other councils in the Lothians and could even make it a national appeal.
Hutchison Vale donated five sets of strips from its various teams. Its secretary, Les Trotter, is also a founding member of Unite The Clubs.
He said: "We're going to supply them with strips every year now. It's a fantastic cause and I can't see any team not being willing to back it."
The city's sport leader, Councillor Deidre Brock, said: "In this country football is often treated as a matter of life and death, but in Malawi this can actually be a reality. The health education these children receive during these sessions really could save their lives."
All clubs in the Capital are being urged to donate their old strips to a new campaign to help development in Malawi.
The city council has backed the campaign and posters are being put up in all Edinburgh Leisure facilities urging users to hand in team strips and replica shirts.
The move comes after former marketing manager Bob Stewart visited the country and saw first-hand the lack of resources for the Play Soccer Malawi project.
The non-profit project aims to help children aged five to 14 develop an interest in football while also learning about issues such as health and social development.
Dr Stewart, 54, is due to hand over the first batch of 80 strips in Malawi on Friday.
He said: "The conditions are terrible and they play in what is only a dust ground but what this project does is incredible. They had hardly any strips or equipment either.
"It's not just about football, they learn life skills, conflict resolution, and get important health and sport messages as well."
Dr Stewart first visited the country last year after Penicuik High School - where his wife Mary, 54, is principal guidance teacher - had struck up a partnership with a school in the small Malawi village of Tnyolo.
They were shocked that a pilot project had seen 1700 children sign up with only seven strips between them.
He collected 80 strips from city clubs, and a friend who works for Setanta Sports convinced Celtic to donate more than 80 kits.
But he decided to step up the campaign and wrote to the city council for assistance. All Edinburgh Leisure centres are now taking donations of strips and a target of 1000 has been set.
Dr Stewart says he is considering contacting the other councils in the Lothians and could even make it a national appeal.
Hutchison Vale donated five sets of strips from its various teams. Its secretary, Les Trotter, is also a founding member of Unite The Clubs.
He said: "We're going to supply them with strips every year now. It's a fantastic cause and I can't see any team not being willing to back it."
The city's sport leader, Councillor Deidre Brock, said: "In this country football is often treated as a matter of life and death, but in Malawi this can actually be a reality. The health education these children receive during these sessions really could save their lives."
Political crisis a threat to Malawi stability, nation’s bishops warn
LILONGWE, Malawi (CISA) – 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 June 29 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.
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 June 29 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.
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.
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