Malawi activists Monday accused President Bingu wa Mutharika for derailing the peace process between his government and the opposition in the country.
The activists are grouped under the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), a civil society organisation comprising of 70 nongovernmental organisations dealing with human rights and governance issues.
The activists accused Mutharika of snubbing dialogue with the opposition in the country despite several mediation efforts by HRCC members.
Advocacy Campaign on the 2007/2008 Budget Coordinator, Undule Mwakasungura, told journalists in Lilongwe that the president seemed to mistrust anybody to mediate on efforts to bring to an end to the country’s political impasse that led to the opposition refusing to discuss the budget.
"Although parliament has started deliberating on the national budget, the tension is still high in the country which needs the head of state to intervene by dialoguing with his opponents," he said.
Mwakasungura said his organisation met the president recently in order to facilitate efforts on dialogue but the Malawi leader did not seem to yield to reconciliatory efforts.
He added that they have also advised him against retribution and abusive words aimed at the opposition at his public meetings, which is detrimental to the process of reducing tension in the country.
He said the HRCC will also consult the opposition in the country to desist from castigating the leadership of President Mutharika.
Monday, 20 August 2007
Malawi donates 5 000 tonnes of maize to SD
MALAWIAN government has donated 5000 metric tonnes of maize to Swaziland. The news was delivered by His Majesty King Mswati III upon his return from attending the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of States summit.
His Majesty said Malawian President Bingo wa Mutharika made the pledge during the summit.
“We were not the only ones Malawi donated to, but the Basotho people also got same,” His Majesty said.
The King said though Swaziland and other countries were severely affected by drought in the past season, some countries such as Malawi had recorded bumper harvest.
He said the donation was made after SADC members states mourned the drought affecting some countries.
“The donation, however, would not go straight to Swaziland and Lesotho but would go via the World Food Programme,” His Majesty said.
Briefing journalists about the meetting, His Majesty said there was emphasis that all children should have access to primary education.
Gender imbalance was also talked about and it was said that women should not be overlooked at decision making. “All candidates have the challenge to see to it that they are involved in developing their countries in infrastructure and otherwise,” he said. The King said leaders said trade could not be improved without proper infrastructure.
His Majesty said in Zambia, he also received a good report of the the Swazi soldiers that went to form a SADC defence unit.
His Majesty said Malawian President Bingo wa Mutharika made the pledge during the summit.
“We were not the only ones Malawi donated to, but the Basotho people also got same,” His Majesty said.
The King said though Swaziland and other countries were severely affected by drought in the past season, some countries such as Malawi had recorded bumper harvest.
He said the donation was made after SADC members states mourned the drought affecting some countries.
“The donation, however, would not go straight to Swaziland and Lesotho but would go via the World Food Programme,” His Majesty said.
Briefing journalists about the meetting, His Majesty said there was emphasis that all children should have access to primary education.
Gender imbalance was also talked about and it was said that women should not be overlooked at decision making. “All candidates have the challenge to see to it that they are involved in developing their countries in infrastructure and otherwise,” he said. The King said leaders said trade could not be improved without proper infrastructure.
His Majesty said in Zambia, he also received a good report of the the Swazi soldiers that went to form a SADC defence unit.
Fish farms help families in Africa hit by AIDS
Tiny fish farms have helped 1,200 poor families hit by AIDS in Malawi to raise their incomes and improve their diets in a scheme being expanded to other African nations, a report showed on Monday.
About $90 can enable construction of a small rain-fed pond that can be stocked with juvenile fish costing $10. Once the fish grow and reproduce, the ponds produce food with far less back-breaking work than subsistence farming.
The project, run by the Malaysia-based WorldFish Center and targeted at families where some members have died from AIDS or are suffering from the epidemic, has doubled income for 1,200 families in Malawi and improved diets, WorldFish said.
"These small fish points offer tremendous benefits to struggling farming families in rural Africa whose many challenges have been greatly compounded by AIDS," Stephen Hall, director general of WorldFish, said in a statement.
Many families in the project were headed by widows or grandparents caring for orphans.
About one in five adults in Malawi, among the world's poorest nations, are infected with HIV/AIDS and tens of thousands of the 12.1 million population die every year from the disease. A cocktail of drugs can help control infection, but there is no vaccine and no cure.
WorldFish, a non-profit research group, said it was expanding the scheme to neighboring Mozambique and Zambia with a goal of reaching 26,000 households.
"We hope to reach this goal within 2 to 3 years. We have also received requests for information from as far as Nigeria," Daniel Jamu, the regional director for WorldFish in eastern and southern Africa, told Reuters.
WorldFish is backed by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and World Vision, an aid group.
Farmers are encouraged to use farm waste and crop by-products to feed their fish. In turn, the fish farms are twinned with a drive to get farmers to grow more vegetables, using pond sediment as fertilizer.
Jamu said that a small fish farm, covering about 200 square meters (yards) and stocked with fish such as tilapia, could produce 60 to 90 kg (130 to 190 lbs) of fish a year in rural Malawi where fish can sell in markets for $2 a kg.
About $90 can enable construction of a small rain-fed pond that can be stocked with juvenile fish costing $10. Once the fish grow and reproduce, the ponds produce food with far less back-breaking work than subsistence farming.
The project, run by the Malaysia-based WorldFish Center and targeted at families where some members have died from AIDS or are suffering from the epidemic, has doubled income for 1,200 families in Malawi and improved diets, WorldFish said.
"These small fish points offer tremendous benefits to struggling farming families in rural Africa whose many challenges have been greatly compounded by AIDS," Stephen Hall, director general of WorldFish, said in a statement.
Many families in the project were headed by widows or grandparents caring for orphans.
About one in five adults in Malawi, among the world's poorest nations, are infected with HIV/AIDS and tens of thousands of the 12.1 million population die every year from the disease. A cocktail of drugs can help control infection, but there is no vaccine and no cure.
WorldFish, a non-profit research group, said it was expanding the scheme to neighboring Mozambique and Zambia with a goal of reaching 26,000 households.
"We hope to reach this goal within 2 to 3 years. We have also received requests for information from as far as Nigeria," Daniel Jamu, the regional director for WorldFish in eastern and southern Africa, told Reuters.
WorldFish is backed by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and World Vision, an aid group.
Farmers are encouraged to use farm waste and crop by-products to feed their fish. In turn, the fish farms are twinned with a drive to get farmers to grow more vegetables, using pond sediment as fertilizer.
Jamu said that a small fish farm, covering about 200 square meters (yards) and stocked with fish such as tilapia, could produce 60 to 90 kg (130 to 190 lbs) of fish a year in rural Malawi where fish can sell in markets for $2 a kg.
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