Malawi, one of the world’s most impoverished countries, has unveiled an economic blueprint to accelerate growth and reduce poverty
with a focus on improving the agricultural industry.
"The national economic policy will set Malawi on a growth path and eventually enable the country to break out of the poverty trap," said President Bingu wa Mutharika in a speech aired live on state radio.
He said the policy, titled Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS), would also aim to attain growth rates of six percent per year in the coming years.
"What we want is fast growth to reduce poverty...our country is not poor, poverty is in our minds as we have abundant resources which can be turned into new wealth," Mutharika said.
World Bank representative in the country Nkhwima Nthara, said the country’s agriculture industry "needs to be more productive, develop its infrastructure and have skilled people" for growth to take place.
He said "strong growth was achievable," but Malawi lacked the skilled manpower to attain it.
The World Bank, one of the main sponsors of Malawi’s economic reforms, wants the economy to grow by at least six percent a year to create jobs and wealth.
About 65 percent of Malawi’s population of 12 million still live below poverty line and on less than a dollar a day.
Donors, bankrolling 80 percent of the country’s development programme, have in the past fingered graft as a major cause of Malawi’s endemic poverty, especially rampant during the decade-long rule of former president Bakili Muluzi.
Mutharika, hand-picked by Muluzi to succeed him, is the country’s third president since the introduction of democratic reforms in 1994, and pledged to bring economic stability to the country with an annual per capita income of 210 US dollars.
Malawi is also battling HIV and Aids which has affected around 14 percent of the population.There are about 80,000 Aids-related deaths every year.
Wednesday 25 July 2007
Malawi launching development blueprint Wednesday
Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika is launching his much-touted development blueprint called Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MDGS) in the capital Lilongwe on Wednesday.
The development blueprint is an effort to create wealth through sustainable economic growth and infrastructure development in the country, according to the president.
Mutharika wants to change Malawi from being a consumer into a producer in the mould of Asian tiger states of Malaysia and Taiwan.
Speaking to APA on Wednesday in Lilongwe, his Economic Planning and Development Minister Ted Kalebe said the MDGS is expected to transform Malawi from being a mainly importing and consuming state into a predominantly manufacturing and exporting country.
Kalebe added that the strategy also expects to increase Malawi’s an annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate from six per cent to nine per cent.
"If the MGDS is well implemented, it will help Malawi transform its economy, thereby attracting more investors — and at the same time improving the people\’s living standards,\" he said.
To generate immediate economic benefits, the minister said, the MGDS places emphasis on the six key priority areas of development.
These are agriculture and food security, irrigation and water, transport infrastructure development, energy generation and supply, integrated rural development and prevention and implementation of malnutrition disorders, and HIV/Aids.
The development blueprint is an effort to create wealth through sustainable economic growth and infrastructure development in the country, according to the president.
Mutharika wants to change Malawi from being a consumer into a producer in the mould of Asian tiger states of Malaysia and Taiwan.
Speaking to APA on Wednesday in Lilongwe, his Economic Planning and Development Minister Ted Kalebe said the MDGS is expected to transform Malawi from being a mainly importing and consuming state into a predominantly manufacturing and exporting country.
Kalebe added that the strategy also expects to increase Malawi’s an annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate from six per cent to nine per cent.
"If the MGDS is well implemented, it will help Malawi transform its economy, thereby attracting more investors — and at the same time improving the people\’s living standards,\" he said.
To generate immediate economic benefits, the minister said, the MGDS places emphasis on the six key priority areas of development.
These are agriculture and food security, irrigation and water, transport infrastructure development, energy generation and supply, integrated rural development and prevention and implementation of malnutrition disorders, and HIV/Aids.
Budget Vote Delay Might Affect Food Security
Donors and development agencies are worried that the political standoff in Malawi, which has led to the indefinite suspension of the vote on the 2007/08 budget, might set back recovery in the agriculture sector after the 2005 drought.
The budget vote was suspended on 24 July after opposition parties - the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), who hold the majority of seats in parliament - refused to debate the budget until a standoff over the defection of their members to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), led by President Bingu wa Mutharika, had been resolved. The government is currently being funded from a monthly skeleton budget.
The DPP welcomed 60 defectors into its fold, bringing its tally of members in parliament to 80, but last month Malawi's Supreme Court granted powers to the Speaker of Parliament to expel defecting lawmakers, a decision that would affect the strength of the ruling party. The opposition has about 110 seats, the largest bloc in parliament.
News reports said Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe had expressed concern that the government would not be able to buy fertiliser for distribution on time. A successful fertiliser subsidy programme has been cited as the one of the main reasons for the recovery of Malawi's agricultural sector after a drought in 2005 left almost five million people in need of food aid.
"If the fertiliser subsidy programme is disrupted, the gains made in the past three years could be eroded," Sam Chimwaza, country representative of the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET), told IRIN. "The donor community is very concerned."
Shenard Mazengera, advocacy manager of the UK-based development agency, Oxfam, said although fertiliser distribution only began in December, "as huge quantities are involved, orders have to be placed in advance ... If the procurement of the fertiliser is not approved, it means there might a delay."
Malawi's food shortage in 2005 was compounded by the late delivery of fertilisers and seed.
The deadline for approval of the budget was originally set for 30 June. "We have a week's time and the issue might be resolved," said Hetherwick Ntaba, DPP spokesman and a member of the cabinet. "The cabinet and government officials are meeting to look for a solution."
Mutharika has spent almost three conflict-ridden years in power, at the centre of a tense standoff with the opposition that has stalled the functioning of the house and delayed the approval of bills.
The political crisis began when Mutharika left the UDF, shortly after it had sponsored him in the 2004 general elections, to form his own political organisation, the DPP. The UDF hit back with an impeachment charge, accusing Mutharika of using US$300,000 of public money to launch the DPP.
The political confrontation at the height of a food security crisis in Malawi in 2005 even aroused the donor community's concern. Donors wrote to opposition political leaders, voicing their anxiety over the impeachment proceedings while the country was experiencing a "serious and prolonged food crisis".
The budget vote was suspended on 24 July after opposition parties - the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), who hold the majority of seats in parliament - refused to debate the budget until a standoff over the defection of their members to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), led by President Bingu wa Mutharika, had been resolved. The government is currently being funded from a monthly skeleton budget.
The DPP welcomed 60 defectors into its fold, bringing its tally of members in parliament to 80, but last month Malawi's Supreme Court granted powers to the Speaker of Parliament to expel defecting lawmakers, a decision that would affect the strength of the ruling party. The opposition has about 110 seats, the largest bloc in parliament.
News reports said Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe had expressed concern that the government would not be able to buy fertiliser for distribution on time. A successful fertiliser subsidy programme has been cited as the one of the main reasons for the recovery of Malawi's agricultural sector after a drought in 2005 left almost five million people in need of food aid.
"If the fertiliser subsidy programme is disrupted, the gains made in the past three years could be eroded," Sam Chimwaza, country representative of the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET), told IRIN. "The donor community is very concerned."
Shenard Mazengera, advocacy manager of the UK-based development agency, Oxfam, said although fertiliser distribution only began in December, "as huge quantities are involved, orders have to be placed in advance ... If the procurement of the fertiliser is not approved, it means there might a delay."
Malawi's food shortage in 2005 was compounded by the late delivery of fertilisers and seed.
The deadline for approval of the budget was originally set for 30 June. "We have a week's time and the issue might be resolved," said Hetherwick Ntaba, DPP spokesman and a member of the cabinet. "The cabinet and government officials are meeting to look for a solution."
Mutharika has spent almost three conflict-ridden years in power, at the centre of a tense standoff with the opposition that has stalled the functioning of the house and delayed the approval of bills.
The political crisis began when Mutharika left the UDF, shortly after it had sponsored him in the 2004 general elections, to form his own political organisation, the DPP. The UDF hit back with an impeachment charge, accusing Mutharika of using US$300,000 of public money to launch the DPP.
The political confrontation at the height of a food security crisis in Malawi in 2005 even aroused the donor community's concern. Donors wrote to opposition political leaders, voicing their anxiety over the impeachment proceedings while the country was experiencing a "serious and prolonged food crisis".
Chaos deepens at Malawi Parliament
Malawi's budget session of Parliament has been suspended indefinitely again putting in limbo the 2007/2008 fiscal budget.
Hell-broke loose when ruling party MPs asked deputy Speaker Jones Chingola to call for a vote on whether the budget should take precedence over issues surrounding Section 65 of the Constitution which regulates defection of MPs.
Government proposed a secret ballot but the opposition, which dominates the 193-member House, opted for a "roll-call" vote. The opposition triumphed.
Chingola announced that 83 MPs had voted "no" while 71 had voted "yes". Three MPs abstained while 21 were absent.
This, according to Chingola, meant that the budget could not be discussed.
Therefore, leader of Government Business in Parliament Henry Chimunthu Banda suggested that since the main aim of the session was the budget then Parliament be suspended indefinitely.
But the opposition insisted issues surrounding the anti-defection laws be discussed.
There was no agreement since both sides wanted to be heard at the same time, forcing the deputy Speaker to suspend proceedings indefinitely amid the cacophony.
Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe described the scenario as the "worst crisis" in Malawi's history.
"Nothing can move, we are hamstrung, I don't know how we will run affairs of state," he said,
The 2007/08 budget, which was supposed to be effective 1 July, has been dogged by controversy.
It was first suspended following the death of the First Lady Ethel Mutharika on 30 May. When it resumed on 28 June, opposition MPs insisted MPs who defected to President Bingu wa Mutharika's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from the opposition be expelled first before the budget is discussed.
This led to a further indefinite suspension.
On 15 June the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that MPs that left their parties to join others in parliament after an election should be deemed to have "crossed the floor" and must lose their seats in Parliament.
This will greatly affect the Mutharika administration since he founded the DPP after quitting the former ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) which sponsored his candidature during the 2004 elections.
All but five MPs of the DPP either resigned from their parties or joined the party after being elected as independents.
President Mutharika on Sunday warned that should the opposition insist on blocking the budget he would evoke emergency powers, dismiss Parliament and rule by decree until fresh elections are held.
According to law, the president can dismiss Parliament but must call fresh parliamentary elections within 60 days.
Hell-broke loose when ruling party MPs asked deputy Speaker Jones Chingola to call for a vote on whether the budget should take precedence over issues surrounding Section 65 of the Constitution which regulates defection of MPs.
Government proposed a secret ballot but the opposition, which dominates the 193-member House, opted for a "roll-call" vote. The opposition triumphed.
Chingola announced that 83 MPs had voted "no" while 71 had voted "yes". Three MPs abstained while 21 were absent.
This, according to Chingola, meant that the budget could not be discussed.
Therefore, leader of Government Business in Parliament Henry Chimunthu Banda suggested that since the main aim of the session was the budget then Parliament be suspended indefinitely.
But the opposition insisted issues surrounding the anti-defection laws be discussed.
There was no agreement since both sides wanted to be heard at the same time, forcing the deputy Speaker to suspend proceedings indefinitely amid the cacophony.
Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe described the scenario as the "worst crisis" in Malawi's history.
"Nothing can move, we are hamstrung, I don't know how we will run affairs of state," he said,
The 2007/08 budget, which was supposed to be effective 1 July, has been dogged by controversy.
It was first suspended following the death of the First Lady Ethel Mutharika on 30 May. When it resumed on 28 June, opposition MPs insisted MPs who defected to President Bingu wa Mutharika's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from the opposition be expelled first before the budget is discussed.
This led to a further indefinite suspension.
On 15 June the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that MPs that left their parties to join others in parliament after an election should be deemed to have "crossed the floor" and must lose their seats in Parliament.
This will greatly affect the Mutharika administration since he founded the DPP after quitting the former ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) which sponsored his candidature during the 2004 elections.
All but five MPs of the DPP either resigned from their parties or joined the party after being elected as independents.
President Mutharika on Sunday warned that should the opposition insist on blocking the budget he would evoke emergency powers, dismiss Parliament and rule by decree until fresh elections are held.
According to law, the president can dismiss Parliament but must call fresh parliamentary elections within 60 days.
Malawi budget vote suspended, political row deepens
Debate on Malawi's 2007/08 budget has been indefinitely suspended in a deepening political standoff between the southern African nation's president and the opposition-controlled parliament.
The United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Malawi Congress Party on Tuesday refused to debate the government's $1.2 billion budget until a dispute over the poaching of its members by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was resolved.
The boycott forced the speaker of Malawi's National Assembly to call suspend the session and prompted a sharp rebuke from the government of President Bingu wa Mutharika, who bolted from the UDF and formed the DPP after winning the 2004 election.
More than three dozen members of parliament have crossed the floor to the DPP. Some are now ministers in wa Mutharika's cabinet and could be forced to resign if the opposition wins its battle to strip them of their seats.
The government is currently being funded through a monthly skeleton budget.
"Their demands are ridiculous. How can they say that they are going to allow us to spend on the month-to-month basis until the speaker removes the ministers? I need a cash flow and a budget to borrow from donors," Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe said.
"We only have a week in which to spend the 11 billion kwacha which the same parliament approved. I need to buy fertilizer, but all this is not working now," said Gondwe, who is expected to request another temporary budget authorisation for August.
The deadline for passage of the budget was originally set for June 30, but the vote was delayed by the death of first lady Ethel wa Mutharika in May.
The impoverished African country has faced political upheaval since Bingu wa Mutharika fell out with his UDF colleagues after targeting officials in an anti-corruption campaign.
His establishment of the DPP in 2005 and successful attempts to lure UDF and MCP members to the new party prompted calls for his impeachment from the opposition, which has accused him of disenfranchising Malawians who voted for the UDF and MCP.
Malawi's top court upheld a ruling last month preventing the breakaway DPP members from taking their seats, but a court injunction prohibited the speaker of parliament from taking action against those who had crossed the floor.
Should its members lose their seats, wa Mutharika's party could be left with as few as five MPs in Malawi's 193-seat parliament.
The United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Malawi Congress Party on Tuesday refused to debate the government's $1.2 billion budget until a dispute over the poaching of its members by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was resolved.
The boycott forced the speaker of Malawi's National Assembly to call suspend the session and prompted a sharp rebuke from the government of President Bingu wa Mutharika, who bolted from the UDF and formed the DPP after winning the 2004 election.
More than three dozen members of parliament have crossed the floor to the DPP. Some are now ministers in wa Mutharika's cabinet and could be forced to resign if the opposition wins its battle to strip them of their seats.
The government is currently being funded through a monthly skeleton budget.
"Their demands are ridiculous. How can they say that they are going to allow us to spend on the month-to-month basis until the speaker removes the ministers? I need a cash flow and a budget to borrow from donors," Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe said.
"We only have a week in which to spend the 11 billion kwacha which the same parliament approved. I need to buy fertilizer, but all this is not working now," said Gondwe, who is expected to request another temporary budget authorisation for August.
The deadline for passage of the budget was originally set for June 30, but the vote was delayed by the death of first lady Ethel wa Mutharika in May.
The impoverished African country has faced political upheaval since Bingu wa Mutharika fell out with his UDF colleagues after targeting officials in an anti-corruption campaign.
His establishment of the DPP in 2005 and successful attempts to lure UDF and MCP members to the new party prompted calls for his impeachment from the opposition, which has accused him of disenfranchising Malawians who voted for the UDF and MCP.
Malawi's top court upheld a ruling last month preventing the breakaway DPP members from taking their seats, but a court injunction prohibited the speaker of parliament from taking action against those who had crossed the floor.
Should its members lose their seats, wa Mutharika's party could be left with as few as five MPs in Malawi's 193-seat parliament.
Disagreement over agenda forces Malawi parliament to adjourn indefinitely
The Malawi parliament was adjourned on Tuesday in Lilongwe following failure by government and the opposition sides to agree on the way forward in their discussions.
The government wanted to discuss the 2007/08 national budget before any other matters before the House.
But the opposition, who are in the majority, refused this, saying they wanted Section 65 of the constitution which calls for the dismissals of MPs who defected from their parties to government side after the 2004 elections.
After acrimonious discussions, during which the MPs failed to compromise, the House was adjourned indefinitely.
The development has put the 2007/08 national budget in limbo once again, leaving the government to figure out its next move to overcome the impasse.
But to hear President Bingu wa Mutharika comment on this impasse three days ago, he said his government could do without parliament approving the expenditure.
At a rally in the capital Lilongwe on Sunday, Mutharika urged the opposition MPs to pass the budget.
The president has yet to react to Tuesday’s development, which in the past was blamed on former President Bakili Muluzi and opposition Malawi Congress Party leader John Tembo.
Tembo is on record as saying that discussion of the Section 65 comes first, and not the national budget, in parliament.
Muluzi’s opposition MPs in the House have supported Tembo’s stand
The government wanted to discuss the 2007/08 national budget before any other matters before the House.
But the opposition, who are in the majority, refused this, saying they wanted Section 65 of the constitution which calls for the dismissals of MPs who defected from their parties to government side after the 2004 elections.
After acrimonious discussions, during which the MPs failed to compromise, the House was adjourned indefinitely.
The development has put the 2007/08 national budget in limbo once again, leaving the government to figure out its next move to overcome the impasse.
But to hear President Bingu wa Mutharika comment on this impasse three days ago, he said his government could do without parliament approving the expenditure.
At a rally in the capital Lilongwe on Sunday, Mutharika urged the opposition MPs to pass the budget.
The president has yet to react to Tuesday’s development, which in the past was blamed on former President Bakili Muluzi and opposition Malawi Congress Party leader John Tembo.
Tembo is on record as saying that discussion of the Section 65 comes first, and not the national budget, in parliament.
Muluzi’s opposition MPs in the House have supported Tembo’s stand
Trends in road traffic crashes, casualties and fatalities in Malawi.
Journal Article
Trends in road traffic crashes, casualties and fatalities in Malawi.
Olukoga A. Trop Doct 2007; 37(1): 24-8.
Correspondence: unavailable
Affiliation: Policy Practice, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. aolukoga@yahoo.com
DOI: 10.1258/004947507779951871 What is this?
(Copyright © 2007, Royal Society of Medicine)
There were 58,858 road traffic crashes, 39,111 casualties and 8,504 fatalities reported in Malawi between 1987 and 1995. This represented a 31% increase in the number of road traffic crashes, 42% increase in the number of casualties and 105% increase in the number of fatalities during the study period. The number of licensed vehicles in Malawi increased by 88%, from 43,762 to 82,218, and the number of road traffic crashes per 1000 vehicles decreased by 30% during the same period, from 118.9 to 82.9. The number of casualties per 1000 vehicles decreased by 30%, from 73.5 to 55.6, but the number of fatalities per 10,000 vehicles increased only slightly by about 12%, from 126.8 to 138.7. Despite a 34% increase in the population of Malawi from 8 million to 10.7 million between 1987 and 1995, only minimal changes were reported in both the number of road traffic crashes per 10,000 population and the casualties per 10,000 population. But the number of road traffic fatalities per 100,000 population increased by 55%, from 6.9 to 10.7.
Trends in road traffic crashes, casualties and fatalities in Malawi.
Olukoga A. Trop Doct 2007; 37(1): 24-8.
Correspondence: unavailable
Affiliation: Policy Practice, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. aolukoga@yahoo.com
DOI: 10.1258/004947507779951871 What is this?
(Copyright © 2007, Royal Society of Medicine)
There were 58,858 road traffic crashes, 39,111 casualties and 8,504 fatalities reported in Malawi between 1987 and 1995. This represented a 31% increase in the number of road traffic crashes, 42% increase in the number of casualties and 105% increase in the number of fatalities during the study period. The number of licensed vehicles in Malawi increased by 88%, from 43,762 to 82,218, and the number of road traffic crashes per 1000 vehicles decreased by 30% during the same period, from 118.9 to 82.9. The number of casualties per 1000 vehicles decreased by 30%, from 73.5 to 55.6, but the number of fatalities per 10,000 vehicles increased only slightly by about 12%, from 126.8 to 138.7. Despite a 34% increase in the population of Malawi from 8 million to 10.7 million between 1987 and 1995, only minimal changes were reported in both the number of road traffic crashes per 10,000 population and the casualties per 10,000 population. But the number of road traffic fatalities per 100,000 population increased by 55%, from 6.9 to 10.7.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
