Defining Chipata-Mchinji Rail

TRANSPORT infrastructure plays an important role as a catalyst in regional economic development because it helps trade among the neighboring countries.

Zambia, just like many other countries in the region boasts of rich and abundant natural resources.

These large deposits of mineral wealth are of no economical value if they cannot be transported to the market just like huge agricultural potential areas cannot be exploited if they are inaccessible.

It is a well known fact that trade enhances development and fosters economic growth for many developing countries.

Adverse transport cost can have an impact on trade efficiency and it is for this reason that Regional Economic Communities (RECs) such as Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) are promoting infrastructure development as the only means of cementing regional integrations.

The official launch of the Chipata-Mchinji rail line by the Zambian Republican President Levy Mwanawasa together with his Malawian Counterpart Bingu Wa Mutharika on August 24, 2007 was a new dawn for regional economic integration for Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.

Initially, the Chipata-Mchinji rail line was suppose to have been officially launched by the three head of states from Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique who were also invited to grace the Kulamba ceremony of the Chewa speaking people from the three countries in Katete.

But, the Mozambique leader Armando Emilio Guebuza could not be present at the ceremony as he only managed to fly direct to Katete the following day for the traditional ceremony.

However, the Mozambique officials including the Zambian High Commissioner to that country George Chulumanda were present to witness the colorful official launch of the Mult Million US dollar project that had been turned into a white elephant for 25 years.

The officials from the three neigbouring countries were happy with the official launch of the rail line because it brought great hope to the growth of trade in the region.

Once completed, the three neigbouring countries are expected to further explore their abundant natural resources and compete favorably on the international trade market

HISTORY OF THE CHIPATA-MCHINJI RAIL LINE

The Chipata-Mchinji rail line was conceived in 1982 as a bilateral project between Zambia and Malawi.

The purpose of the project was to connect Zambia via Malawi to the port of Nacala in Mozambique.

The Government of Malawi with the assistance of the Canadian Government completed their portion of the rail line in 1984, which was within the earlier stipulated agreement by the two governments that the project be completed within the time frame of two years.

However, the Zambian government was not able to complete the construction of the rail line on time due to inadequate resources.

Only a stretch of 3.5 from Chipata towards the Mchinji border post was laid on the Zambian side.

But by the time the project was revitalize in 2006 it was discovered that the quality and size of the rail line that was erected on the Zambian side when the project had first started in 1982 was not compatible with the modern standards and it was removed.

Speaking during the official launch of the Chipata-Mchinji rail line, President Mwanawasa apologised to both the Governments of Malawi and Mozambique for any inconveniences delay on the Zambian part may have caused on the project.

"In an effort to complete the railway line, my administration has decided to construct the railway line on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis. To this end the government signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with the private sectors to construct the railway line on BOT basis." President Mwanawasa explained.

The President said unfortunately all the studies which were carried out by the private sectors indicated that the project was not viable unless the Zambian Government contributed funds and material towards the project.

In Some cases the private investors requested the government to contribute almost 80 percent of the project cost.

It was against this background that the present Government in 2006 decided to have the railway line constructed using its own resources because the private sector could not raise the necessary capital required to complete the railway line.

Malawi to double free AIDS drugs coverage by 2010

AIDS-blighted Malawi wants to more than double the number of people receiving free anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs to 245,000 by 2010, Health Minister Marjorie Ngaunje said on Friday.

"With currently 115,000 people on ARVs, the government aims at increasing this number to 245,000 by the year 2010," Ngaunje told a conference of donors and health experts.

Though it is still a taboo subject in the conservative landlocked country, some 930,000 Malawians are living with HIV or AIDS where the prevalence rate is 14 percent, according to UNAIDS and official figures.

The conference, organised by international medical and humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), is to discuss how to deal with acute shortages of health workers.

Representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, the main sponsors of the country's economic reforms, are also attending the one-day meeting.

Saying HIV and AIDS were a major public health problem in the southern African nation, Ngaunje said: "approximately 170,000 Malawians are believed to be in urgent need of ARVs today."

She said the scale-up programme had been hit by "a persistent crisis over the past decade which is largely caused by acute shortage of professional health workers in the public health sector."

Ngaunje said the poor southern African country, with funding from the Global Fund against AIDS, malaria and tuberclosis, had recruited 5,000 health surveillance health assistants to increae access to treatment and to compensate for professional health workers.

Malawi, with a population of 12 million, has 150 doctors on the state payroll, according to a recent figure by the health ministry.

La Niña puts country on flood alert

Malawi's Department of Meteorological Services predicts that the development of a weak La Niña phenomenon in the eastern Pacific Ocean could lead to flooding across the greater part of the country.

Donald Kamdonyo, director of Meteorological Services, said the appearance of La Niña, which occurs when cooler water wells up to the surface of the eastern central Pacific Ocean, was associated with above normal rainfall over southern Africa. There "is a chance of weak La Niña episode developing over the Pacific Ocean during the 2007/ 2008 rainfall season".

Climate models indicate that in the last quarter of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008, Malawi has a 35 percent chance of above average rainfall, a 40 percent chance of normal rainfall and a 25 percent chance of receiving below average rainfall.

Kamdonyo told IRIN the forecast was based on statistical models using scientifically established relationships between rainfall over southern Africa and sea surface temperatures of the world's oceans.

He said: "We cannot directly attribute this to global warming or climate change because we are... in a situation where we have already experienced changes in climate."

Disaster preparedness

Lilian Ng'oma, Malawi's commissioner for relief and disaster preparedness, a government department mandated to oversee humanitarian aid to the victims of natural disasters, said flood-prone areas of the country would be visited and people advised about what actions to take in the event of flooding, such as evacuating their homes and moving to higher ground.

"We are targeting pupils in different schools in this campaign, who will in turn pass on the message to their parents on the effects and dangers of floods," she said.

Farmers in flood-prone areas have resisted moving to higher ground on previous occasions because the land is not as fertile. "We will ask them to move temporarily and not permanently," said Ng'oma.

The relief and disaster department was also coordinating its work with other government departments to achieve a more effective, nationwide response. The principal secretary in the Ministry of Water Development and Irrigation, Andrina Mchiela, said plans were already being made "for the provision of clean water and sinking of boreholes in affected areas", should flooding occur.

Geoffrey Luhanga, controller of agriculture services in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, said farmers in flood-prone areas would have to replant seeds if there was flooding, and they were already being advised to do so. Southern Malawi is prone to annual flooding during the rainy season, especially along the River Shire, which flows from Malawi into Mozambique and is a tributary of the River Zambezi.

In January 2007 about 8,000 families in the Chikwawa District were displaced after around 400 villages were flooded along the upper reaches of the River Shire. A further 116 villages were flooded, destroying about 2,600 houses in nearby Nsanje District, through which the River Shire also flows.

Bobbies who rode to Paris set for well earned arrest

PARISIANS could be forgiven for stopping and staring as a troop of Scottish police cycled through the city to the sound of drums.

The Lothians officers received a heroes' welcome when they arrived in the French capital after an epic 220-mile charity bike ride. They made the journey to raise £14,000 to help a hospital in Malawi and build a home for Aids orphans in Kenya.

Organisers said the Auld Alliance Cycle ride was so successful they now hope to make it an annual event.

They have persuaded dozens of French and Belgian police to take part next year, and hope as many as 200 cyclists could take to the roads in future.

Allan Prentice, the Lothian and Borders force's head of finance, came up with the idea to raise funds for Malawi Ekendeni Hospital and Nyambani Aids Orphans in Kenya.

Their arrival attracted international attention and was broadcast on Australian radio.

Mr Prentice said: "We were treated like royalty when we arrived on the Champs Elysees.

"When we arrived in Paris we were met by the director of the police and two motorcyclists. We started in a procession and were joined by 30 more officers. They even had a police band playing for us.

"We were handing out gifts of shortbread and cases of Scottish & Newcastle beer to people along the way.

"Next year we want to bring the gendarmes over to Scotland, and they can cycle back with us. We'll also be bringing our own Lothian and Borders pipe band."

They were greeted on their arrival in the French capital by the Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoë and the French police, after attending several civic receptions in France and Belgium along the way.

Twenty officers and staff from the force, as well as colleagues from Fife and Strathclyde, completed the 220-mile journey.

The cyclists made their journey from the Scottish Parliament to Paris via Belgium - using the Rosyth to Zeebrugge ferry - in four days.

The group were seen off on September 25 by dignitaries including former Lothian and Borders Chief Constable Paddy Tomkins. Andy Kerr MSP joined them on the first leg of the trip to Dunfermline.

Mr Prentice added: "I had been given a brochure for a London to Paris cycle ride, and I thought, why not go from Scotland instead? I thought we should support Malawi, since it's a charity which is being promoted by the Scottish Executive.

"There's always been a very strong relationship between Scotland and France, so it seemed an appropriate thing to do. It was at quite short notice, but there was a very enthusiastic response. I hadn't done much cycling before, but we had two training weekends to prepare for it."

Save the (Celebrity) Children! African family adopts Britney's kids.

LOS ANGELES—A Malawi couple has completed adoption paperwork for Sean Preston Federline, 2, and Jayden James Federline, 1, after their mother, Britney Spears, lost custody of the children Monday.

It was Ms. Spears' inability to provide car seats that initially brought the plight of her children to the attention of the Malawi couple, who wish to remain anonymous, and who will be referred to here as Mr. and Mrs. M. But it was the widely circulated photograph of Ms. Spears' vagina that really drew their concern. "In our country, a good mother does not show her business to the press," Mrs. M said. "It is very bad luck." After Spears' "performance" at MTV's Video Music Awards, the adoptive couple knew they had to do something. "We could not allow innocent children to live under such horrific conditions anymore," they explained. "The Third World can no longer turn a blind eye to the tragedy affecting so many U.S. celebrity children."

Los Angeles, where the Federline children have been living, is one of the richest cities in the world, trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of depravity, narcissism, and veganism. Nearly 27 percent of the children in Los Angeles suffer the misfortune of having celebrity parents. Mr. and Mrs. M were stunned by the deplorable conditions these victims live in. Children are subject to verbal abuse via cell phone, and babies are dangled over balcony railings. "Fathers kill mothers, and then put out badly written books about it," Mr. M said. "And the names these children must bear," said Mrs. M. "Apple, Fifi Trixibell, Fuchsia, Moxie CrimeFighter, Pilot Inspektor, Sage Moonblood—what kind of future can these poor children have?"

And so they have circumvented the North American nation's adoption laws, which impose strict restrictions—including a law forbidding foreigners to remove from the country babies who have at least one legal parent.

The children's father, Kevin Federline, said, "I am the father of Sean Preston and Jayden James, who have been adopted. I am very happy because, as you can see, there is spiritual poverty in this village, and I know they will be very well looked after in Malawi. Peace out!"

But Mr. and Mrs. M are not content to save just two children. "After learning that there are thousands of biological celebrity 'orphans' in Hollywood, it is our wish to open up our hut and help them escape a life of extreme affluence, hardship, and in many cases, Scientology." And so they will set up a center in Los Angeles to facilitate the adoption of other celebrity children. Numerous couples have already come forward from Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Mongolia, North Korea, Vietnam, and other countries that can offer children a better life.

The response has been overwhelming. So far, couples have put in requests to adopt the offspring of O.J. Simpson, Anna Nicole Smith, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Michael Jackson, George and Laura Bush, and Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger. Inquiries have also been made about the Culkin kids, as well as Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and the Olsen twins, who clearly suffer from severe cases of malnutrition.

Floating pumps solve water-level fluctuation problems in Malawi

Local pump manufacturer Denorco has developed a pump application designed to overcome the problem of fluctuating water levels in Lake Malawi.

“We have installed and commissioned a number of our Tsunami axial flow pumps at the Illovo Dwangwa sugar mill, in Malawi. “These pumps are specifically engineered to lift large volumes of water from rivers and irrigation channels,” says Denorco export manager Richard Rudling.

The company had installed its Tsunami axial flow pump at the Illovo sugar mill in Dwangwa, Malawi, where fluctuating water levels had an adverse affect on the operation of the axial pump.

“At Dwangwa, water is sourced from Lake Malawi which has seasonal fluctuating water levels. “This was proving to be a problem as our pumps need to have a reasonably high net positive suction head (NPSH) available to operate effectively,” explains Rudling.

Kwembi Consulting’s Barado Farfan conceptualised the idea of floating the pumps on a barge on top of the lake’s surface to overcome the obstacle of fluctuating water levels that hamper the effective operation of the axial pump.

Farfan had followed the same procedure and work model at a previous sugar operation project, in Mozambique.

“With the pump moving up and down with the barge, it means that the available NPSH is always ideal for our pumps to operate,” says Rudling.

“In fact, the application has been so successful that we have used it at various other sites in Africa,” adds Rudling.

“Over 40 of the Tsunami axial pumps have been sold to the Sugar Company of Malawi, which is owned by Illovo Sugar.

Says Illovo Sugar’s Andy Stew-art, says, “We have commissioned the new system, but not really run it for an extended period. “We have had excellent cooperation from both Denorco and its distributors here in Malawi, Stewarts & Lloyds.”

Tsunami axial flow pumps are commonly used in aquaculture and sport, backwash water from filters, water transfer from rivers, effluent recycling within sewage works and water harvesting. The axial pump is popular for its ability to move large volumes of water at relatively low heads and requires no major civil construction work for installation.

Axial flow pumps are manufactured with a flow rate of up to 2,6 m3/s. The head capabilities of the pump range from 100 m for the smaller pumps through to 40 m for the 600-mm pumps and 25 m for the 900-mm-diameter model.

SUNY Potsdam students to host toothbrush drive to help curb HIV in Malawi

The country of Malawi in sub-Saharan Africa is engulfed in an HIV crisis that is being worsened by the lack of proper dental care. To help combat this problem, the Potsdam AIDS Education Group (PAEG) will be holding three toothbrush drives for the citizens of Malawi on Tuesday, Oct. 23, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the SUNY Potsdam Barrington Student Union; Saturday, Oct. 27, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Potsdam Public Library and Saturday, Nov. 3, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. outside Giant Tiger on Outer Market Street.

SUNY Potsdam Peer AIDS Educators will staff these drives and there will be boxes to drop off toothbrushes. Toothbrushes must be individually contained and wrapped. Donors are asked to provide manual toothbrushes only. There is a need for both adult and child toothbrushes, and softer bristles would be better suited for those persons with sensitive gums.

Infected persons in sub-Saharan Africa currently account for 70 percent of the world’s AIDS cases, and in Malawi, the prevalence ranges between 13 and 30 percent of the population.

With more than 60 percent of Malawians living below the poverty line, the country’s health indicators are among the worst in the world. Its 10 to 14 million citizens have access to only between six and 10 practicing dentists, and poor dental hygiene is known to increase the risk of contracting HIV.

“Poor dental care, combined with malnutrition or other diseases can suppress the immune system and make a person more susceptible to HIV,” said Dr. Patricia Whelehan, professor of anthropology at SUNY Potsdam.

Dr. Whelehan, who initiated and heads PAEG, said inadequate dental care often leads to mouth sores, abscesses and caries, which can serve as gateways for HIV.

“If a mother is HIV-positive and is nursing a child who has mouth sores or infections, HIV can be transmitted to that child,” she pointed out. “In situations where people are poor and resources are scarce, toothbrushes may be shared, and if they are shared immediately after use and contain HIV-infected blood, that can be a source of transmission.”

Dr. Whelehan stresses, however, that this means of transmission is only a risk for people with existing dental problems. “The concern is with infected blood, not saliva,” she noted.

The toothbrush drive is an offshoot of the UNC Malawi Dental Project, the brainchild of Dr. Ronald Strauss, chair of the dental school at UNC-Chapel Hill. In 2004, Dr. Strauss initiated a program to send between four and six dental students to Malawi in the summer and during the summer of 2007, was able to have dental students do a residency rotation in Malawi. Dr. Strauss would like to establish a dental clinic in Malawi that is affiliated with UNC Dental School.

According to the project’s Web site, the UNC Malawi Dental Project educates Malawian school aged children about oral health and the HIV/AIDS epidemic and provides emergency, preventive and restorative care to infected persons. The team conducts screenings, provides fluoride treatment and distributes oral hygiene products such as toothpaste, floss and toothbrushes. All expenses for the project have been met through contributions and gifts of dental supplies.

Dr. Strauss said a lack of education is one of the chief reasons for the spread of disease within a population. “In dentistry, many teeth may be lost due to lack of knowledge about oral health and the process of decay. In the AIDS epidemic, many people are unaware of the risks for transmission and infection,” he said.

For more information about Dr. Strauss's project, please visit www.dent.unc.edu/student/orgs/Malawi/Info_files/malawiprojectproposal.doc. For more information about the PAEG Toothbrush Drive, please contact Dr. Whelehan at (315) 267-2048 or whelehpe@potsdam.edu.