Blantyre - A millionaire Malawian lawmaker who killed a pedestrian in a hit-and-run accident escaped prison but was handed a $4 000 (about R28 000) fine, a court official said on Friday.
Mark Katsonga Phiri was found guilty at Lilongwe magistrates court on three counts in relation to the crash last month, including reckless driving and failing to stop at the scene of the accident.
The accident occurred when Katsonga, a real estate and transport tycoon, was driving on the country's main highway in Dedza district, 85 kilometres (55 miles) from the administrative capital Lilongwe.
Katsonga told the court he did not stop after the accident because he feared being lynched by local people - a common practice in Malawi.
Friday, 30 November 2007
Government Intensifies Campaign Against Child Labour
A government plan to more than double the number of Malawi's child protection officers will not resolve the twin problems of child labour and trafficking, because the root causes lie in areas beyond the reach of monitoring and enforcing legislation, civil rights groups say.
Government is intent on increasing the number of child protection officers from 400 to 1,000 to monitor trafficking and child labour in communities, but rights groups maintain that the country does not have adequate anti-trafficking legislation on its books to allow effective prosecution of such cases.
In 2005 the Malawi government, with funding from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), trained an initial batch of 400 child protection officers. Penson Kilembe, director of child development affairs in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, told IRIN that they had been responsible for about half the reported child labour and trafficking cases.
"Their contribution towards combating child labour and human trafficking has been overwhelming. They work as frontline officers and report any suspicious cases of human trafficking to labour officers and social welfare officers in their respective districts throughout Malawi," Kilembe said.
The officers are deployed in all 193 constituencies represented in the national assembly, and are trained to recognise child labour and trafficking activities.
"Each constituency has four child protection officers, but they are hardly enough. With funding from the National Aids Commission (NAC), we will be training additional officers," Kilembe said.
The Child Care, Protection and Justice Bill, which defines child trafficking and sets a penalty of life imprisonment for convicted traffickers, was approved by the cabinet and is expected to be tabled in parliament soon. The Malawi Law Commission was also "fine-tuning" comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation, Kilembe said.
Poverty
Billy Banda, executive director of Malawi Watch, a non-governmental organisation advocating human rights and good economic governance, said it was difficult to rely on legislation to combat trafficking without tackling poverty, the root cause of child exploitation, in a country where more than 70 percent of the 12 million population live on US$2 a day or less.
While recognising the efforts by government and its development partners to combat human trafficking and child labour, Banda said, "Increasing the number of child protection officers without dealing with what drives thousands of our children into exploitative labour will not solve the problem. These children are compelled to work in estates because of poverty and, to a large extent, because they either have one or no parent at all."
According to UNAIDS, about 14.1 percent of people aged between 15 and 49 are infected with HIV/AIDS. Banda said the HIV/AIDS pandemic had resulted in more than one million AIDS orphans, leading to the creation of child-headed and one-parent households.
Trafficking victims, both adults and children, are lured by fraudulent job offers into situations of forced labour and commercial sex exploitation
"We need to help these children obtain educational scholarships, stipends and life skills if they are to remain in school and grow up into responsible citizens," Banda said.
Maxwell Matewere, executive director of Eye of the Child, an NGO whose activities are directed by the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child, said there was a need to increase the cash input to poor families and provide food supplements in schools.
"We need to make primary education compulsory, enforce the employment act, compensate victims, and regulate culture practice by documenting proper guidelines, which should discourage children from seeking work ... [so that they] go to school," he said.
"We need to do more in protecting children from domestic labour: we need to enact the bill on National Registration, the bill on Tenancy, the bill on Child Care, Protection and Justice, and we also need to enact the Penal Code Amendments Bill, which are pending in parliament for the past three to four years, he pointed out.
"All these are important tools if we are to win the battle against child labour. We also need to establish a children's fund, which could help to finance the full implementation of the national plan of action on orphans and other vulnerable children," Matewere said.
Malawi is a signatory to numerous conventions against child labour and has ratified the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of a Child, the 1973 International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 138 (setting a minimum working age of 18), and the 1999 ILO Convention 182 (outlawing child labour).
Government is intent on increasing the number of child protection officers from 400 to 1,000 to monitor trafficking and child labour in communities, but rights groups maintain that the country does not have adequate anti-trafficking legislation on its books to allow effective prosecution of such cases.
In 2005 the Malawi government, with funding from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), trained an initial batch of 400 child protection officers. Penson Kilembe, director of child development affairs in the Ministry of Women and Child Development, told IRIN that they had been responsible for about half the reported child labour and trafficking cases.
"Their contribution towards combating child labour and human trafficking has been overwhelming. They work as frontline officers and report any suspicious cases of human trafficking to labour officers and social welfare officers in their respective districts throughout Malawi," Kilembe said.
The officers are deployed in all 193 constituencies represented in the national assembly, and are trained to recognise child labour and trafficking activities.
"Each constituency has four child protection officers, but they are hardly enough. With funding from the National Aids Commission (NAC), we will be training additional officers," Kilembe said.
The Child Care, Protection and Justice Bill, which defines child trafficking and sets a penalty of life imprisonment for convicted traffickers, was approved by the cabinet and is expected to be tabled in parliament soon. The Malawi Law Commission was also "fine-tuning" comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation, Kilembe said.
Poverty
Billy Banda, executive director of Malawi Watch, a non-governmental organisation advocating human rights and good economic governance, said it was difficult to rely on legislation to combat trafficking without tackling poverty, the root cause of child exploitation, in a country where more than 70 percent of the 12 million population live on US$2 a day or less.
While recognising the efforts by government and its development partners to combat human trafficking and child labour, Banda said, "Increasing the number of child protection officers without dealing with what drives thousands of our children into exploitative labour will not solve the problem. These children are compelled to work in estates because of poverty and, to a large extent, because they either have one or no parent at all."
According to UNAIDS, about 14.1 percent of people aged between 15 and 49 are infected with HIV/AIDS. Banda said the HIV/AIDS pandemic had resulted in more than one million AIDS orphans, leading to the creation of child-headed and one-parent households.
Trafficking victims, both adults and children, are lured by fraudulent job offers into situations of forced labour and commercial sex exploitation
"We need to help these children obtain educational scholarships, stipends and life skills if they are to remain in school and grow up into responsible citizens," Banda said.
Maxwell Matewere, executive director of Eye of the Child, an NGO whose activities are directed by the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child, said there was a need to increase the cash input to poor families and provide food supplements in schools.
"We need to make primary education compulsory, enforce the employment act, compensate victims, and regulate culture practice by documenting proper guidelines, which should discourage children from seeking work ... [so that they] go to school," he said.
"We need to do more in protecting children from domestic labour: we need to enact the bill on National Registration, the bill on Tenancy, the bill on Child Care, Protection and Justice, and we also need to enact the Penal Code Amendments Bill, which are pending in parliament for the past three to four years, he pointed out.
"All these are important tools if we are to win the battle against child labour. We also need to establish a children's fund, which could help to finance the full implementation of the national plan of action on orphans and other vulnerable children," Matewere said.
Malawi is a signatory to numerous conventions against child labour and has ratified the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of a Child, the 1973 International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 138 (setting a minimum working age of 18), and the 1999 ILO Convention 182 (outlawing child labour).
Malawi, Multichoice Africa to promote education standards
The Malawi government has partnered with Multichoice Africa, a South Africa-based digital satellite television broadcaster, to provide free school TV subscriptions and TV sets to the country’s secondary schools, Multichoice Director for Corporate Affairs in Africa, Caroline Creasy, said in Lilongwe on Friday.
Creasy said that the programme would enhance spread of information, communication and technology, thereby promoting education in Malawi.
« Students will have visuals of what they will be learning in class which will make easy understanding between teachers and the pupils, » she said.
Creasy said the package will have informative programmes in English, history, geography, mathematics and biology through the DSTV programmes of Discovery, Mindset, Animal Planet, National Planet, National Geographic and History among others.
She said Multichoice has earmarked 20 Malawi secondary schools to kick-start the programme, which is being implemented in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries of Namibia, Zambia, Botswana and in Nigeria where it has produced good results, she said.
Deputy Minister for Education, Olive Masanza, said the programme was one way of promoting education in the country. « The project will facilitate the curricular content of our secondary schools, » she added.
Creasy said that the programme would enhance spread of information, communication and technology, thereby promoting education in Malawi.
« Students will have visuals of what they will be learning in class which will make easy understanding between teachers and the pupils, » she said.
Creasy said the package will have informative programmes in English, history, geography, mathematics and biology through the DSTV programmes of Discovery, Mindset, Animal Planet, National Planet, National Geographic and History among others.
She said Multichoice has earmarked 20 Malawi secondary schools to kick-start the programme, which is being implemented in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries of Namibia, Zambia, Botswana and in Nigeria where it has produced good results, she said.
Deputy Minister for Education, Olive Masanza, said the programme was one way of promoting education in the country. « The project will facilitate the curricular content of our secondary schools, » she added.
Elephant translocation project in Malawi
In June 2008 fifthy elephants will be captured in the Liwonde National Park, an area of only 550 km2 that supports in excess of 700 elephants. Liwonde is an active tourism area and the elephants are habituated to vehicles, people and boats.
Another twenty or more elephants will be captured from the Mangochi area - free-ranging elephants on settled community land to the west of Lake Malawi. In a continuous struggle for survival these animals have been known to clash with and kill villagers protecting their food source. Many of these animals carry gunshot wounds. Some have had the tips of their trunks amputated by snares.
During July/August 2006 already seventy African elephants were translocated into the Majete Wildlife Reserve in the Lower Shire Valley of Malawi. This was the culmination of a wildlife recovery programme for Majete carried out by African Parks (Majete) Limited that to date has seen close to 1100 animals of nine different species re-established. Majete supported an elephant population of about 300 animals as recently as 1987. Heavy poaching wiped out the entire population by 1992.
The African Parks Foundation put together another unique adventure expedition. The elephant translocation experience will help to raise funds for the monitoring of the translocated elephants and future translocation projects for the Majete Wildlife Reserve.
Zimbabwe: GMB Receives 67 000 Tonnes of Maize From Malawi
The Grain Marketing Board has received 67 000 tonnes of maize from Malawi, to ease food shortages in the country.
In an interview with the Herald Business, Norton GMB depot manager Mr Masauso Kampata said the tonnage received would be distributed to most parts of the country, which have been affected by last year's drought. "Our mandate is to ensure that areas which received little rainfall last year get as much food as possible as we seek to ensure that food security at household level is achieved," he said.
Part of the maize will be distributed in Matabeleland North and South and Masvingo. Food imports have helped ease food shortages particularly in areas in which little rains fell in the 2006/07 farming season. Mr Kampata said people should not panic since the Government had come up with strategies to ensure that there was enough food for the nation, and that no one would starve.
He urged farmers to deliver surplus maize to their nearest GMB depots. Recently, former GMB acting chief executive officer Retired Colonel Samuel Muvuti said some farmers were still holding on to their maize harvest, adding: "Our logistics team is working closely with farmers to ensure that maize is delivered in time. "From examinations that we have carried out so far, some farmers, especially in areas like Mashonaland Central, East, West and Manicaland, are still delivering their maize."
GMB is working closely with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to reduce the deficit of maize to about 260 000 tonnes. Zimbabwe requires at least 1,8 million tonnes of maize annually, a figure that has been difficult to achieve during the past seven years due to recurrent droughts and reduced productivity on farms.
In an interview with the Herald Business, Norton GMB depot manager Mr Masauso Kampata said the tonnage received would be distributed to most parts of the country, which have been affected by last year's drought. "Our mandate is to ensure that areas which received little rainfall last year get as much food as possible as we seek to ensure that food security at household level is achieved," he said.
Part of the maize will be distributed in Matabeleland North and South and Masvingo. Food imports have helped ease food shortages particularly in areas in which little rains fell in the 2006/07 farming season. Mr Kampata said people should not panic since the Government had come up with strategies to ensure that there was enough food for the nation, and that no one would starve.
He urged farmers to deliver surplus maize to their nearest GMB depots. Recently, former GMB acting chief executive officer Retired Colonel Samuel Muvuti said some farmers were still holding on to their maize harvest, adding: "Our logistics team is working closely with farmers to ensure that maize is delivered in time. "From examinations that we have carried out so far, some farmers, especially in areas like Mashonaland Central, East, West and Manicaland, are still delivering their maize."
GMB is working closely with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to reduce the deficit of maize to about 260 000 tonnes. Zimbabwe requires at least 1,8 million tonnes of maize annually, a figure that has been difficult to achieve during the past seven years due to recurrent droughts and reduced productivity on farms.
Malawi hotel chain unveils $32m expansion plan
Malawi’s biggest hotel chain, Sunbird Hotels, has unveiled a $32-million redevelopment and expansion programme for its hotels and resorts across the country, in a bid to attract some of the overseas visitors that are to come to South Africa for the 2010 soccer World Cup.
Sunbird Hotels board member Geoffrey Chipungu says that the group, which is listed on the Malawi Stock Exchange, will use both its own resources and debt to finance the programme.
Sunbird is 69,96% owned by the Malawi government through its development arm, the Malawi Development Corporation, with the other shareholders being the Commonwealth Development Corporation (8%) and British investor Noel Hayes (16,04%).
The hotel group owns Malawi’s biggest hotels, including the Capital and Lilongwe hotels, in the capital city of Lilongwe; Mount Soche hotel, in Blantyre; Ku Chawe hotel, in Zomba; Nkopola Lodge, in the lakeshore district of Mangochi; and Livingstonia Beach and Mzuzu hotels, in the country’s northern region.
“In order for the hotels to compete effectively, a redevelopment plan for each hotel and resort is being developed,” says Chipungu.
Sunbird CEO Connie Msiska comments that the hotel group is already engaged in talks with several banks to finance the redevelopment plan.
“With the 2010 World Cup coming to Africa, Sunbird is doing satisfactory work to make sure that it attracts more people to Malawi during this great sporting event,” says Msiska.
He says that the group intends to embark on major components of the programme, which will be funded by bank loans, in 2008, but minor works, being financed using proceeds from the stock market, have already started.
Sunbird Hotels, which used to contract foreign firms to manage its hotels, took over the management of its hotels in 2005, after parting ways with French manager Le’ Meridien.
The local management team has over the past two years seen a turnaround in the company’s fortunes, with profits soaring by 100%.
The Malawi government has also embarked on the rehabilitation of stadiums, with the main focus being on Blantyre’s Kamuzu stadium, which is the biggest in the country, in order to attract foreign teams to Malawi to prepare for the 2010 soccer World Cup.
Sunbird Hotels board member Geoffrey Chipungu says that the group, which is listed on the Malawi Stock Exchange, will use both its own resources and debt to finance the programme.
Sunbird is 69,96% owned by the Malawi government through its development arm, the Malawi Development Corporation, with the other shareholders being the Commonwealth Development Corporation (8%) and British investor Noel Hayes (16,04%).
The hotel group owns Malawi’s biggest hotels, including the Capital and Lilongwe hotels, in the capital city of Lilongwe; Mount Soche hotel, in Blantyre; Ku Chawe hotel, in Zomba; Nkopola Lodge, in the lakeshore district of Mangochi; and Livingstonia Beach and Mzuzu hotels, in the country’s northern region.
“In order for the hotels to compete effectively, a redevelopment plan for each hotel and resort is being developed,” says Chipungu.
Sunbird CEO Connie Msiska comments that the hotel group is already engaged in talks with several banks to finance the redevelopment plan.
“With the 2010 World Cup coming to Africa, Sunbird is doing satisfactory work to make sure that it attracts more people to Malawi during this great sporting event,” says Msiska.
He says that the group intends to embark on major components of the programme, which will be funded by bank loans, in 2008, but minor works, being financed using proceeds from the stock market, have already started.
Sunbird Hotels, which used to contract foreign firms to manage its hotels, took over the management of its hotels in 2005, after parting ways with French manager Le’ Meridien.
The local management team has over the past two years seen a turnaround in the company’s fortunes, with profits soaring by 100%.
The Malawi government has also embarked on the rehabilitation of stadiums, with the main focus being on Blantyre’s Kamuzu stadium, which is the biggest in the country, in order to attract foreign teams to Malawi to prepare for the 2010 soccer World Cup.
Cultural Practices, Perception Key Factors in Malawi’s AIDS Epidemic
LILONGWE, MALAWI, November 29, 2007 —One cannot dispute that levels of HIV/AIDS awareness in Malawi are very high. Almost 100 percent of those sampled in the Ministry of Health’s 2000 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) reported that they had heard about AIDS.
But, whether this awareness translates to behavioral change that can lead to containing the epidemic is another question. The question has caused the National Aids Commission (NAC) to investigate what is fuelling the epidemic in Malawi despite the excellent levels of awareness.
Although Malawi saw a decline in prevalence rates from about 18 percent in 1997 to 14 percent in 2005, the numbers still are relatively high for sub-Saharan Africa. Other countries with rates above 14 percent include Swaziland, Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.
According to the 2006 Poverty and Vulnerability Assessment (PVA) done jointly by the World Bank and Malawi’s National Statistics Office, AIDS is the leading cause of death among people aged 20-49 years. Malawi’s life expectancy has dropped to 37 years due to the virus. It is estimated that without the epidemic life expectancy would be 55.
Research findings on HIV/AIDS in Malawi presented at the Annual Review Conference for the National Response to HIV/AIDS in October 2007 point at several factors that drive the epidemic in Malawi. Topping the list: multiple and concurrent partners, perceptions on infection, inconsistent condom use, and cultural practices.
“Multiple and concurrent partnerships is the key driver,” according toBlacksonMatatiyo, a research officer at NAC.
The proportion of men who have other sexual partners is higher than that of women, according to the PVA 2006 report. As a result, prevalence rates are higher among women (13 percent) compared to men (9 percent). The PVA further observes that the gender differential is starker for young adults: prevalence was more than four times as high in females as males aged 15-24 in 2004.
“There is therefore a need to target men on mutual faithfulness,” Matatiyo said.
Research by Pakachere Health and Development Communications -- a multimedia organization whose goal is to prevent the spread of HIV in Malawi -- finds several reasons for people’s indulgence in multiple partnerships. Among them are lack of sexual satisfaction by one partner, alcohol and drug abuse, availability of disposable income, and peer pressure.
Perceptions about Infection
Perceptions about the risk of infection also are fuelling the epidemic.
“Many people do not think they could possibly be infected by HIV or any sexually transmitted disease,” says Alfred Chirwa, the World Bank’s Health Specialist in Malawi. “This results in people engaging in risky sexual behaviour thereby unknowingly infecting others or getting infected. Instead of depending on perception, it is best to get tested. Testing is what Malawi is focusing on now.”
According to the PVA, “in the absence of actual testing, peoples’ subjective evaluations of their HIV status are different from reality, i.e. some overestimate and others underestimate their risk of infection.
“Of the men who were infected,” the report said, “71 percent stated that they had zero or low likelihood of being infected. Among the infected women, 45 percent stated that they had zero or low likelihood of being infected. On the other hand most of those who indicated that they had a high chance of being infected were actually not infected (91 percent of the men and 87 percent of the women.)”
Advocacy for HIV counseling and testing (CT) has intensified over the years. More testing centers have been established, but the biggest annual drive is through the National Voluntary HIV Testing and Counselling (HTC) weeks coordinated by NAC and the Ministry of Health. The number of people tested during HTC week 2007 hit 186,631, double the figure for 2006. Of those tested, 8.4 percent were positive.
Low and Inconsistent Condom Use
A major advocacy message in Malawi, just like in many other countries, is ABC – Abstain, Be faithful, Condomise! Malawians high levels of knowledge about HIV/AIDS contrasts starkly with their extremely low levels of condom use.
In a 2004 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) five percent of men aged 15-49 years reported to have bought sex in the 12 months prior to the survey. Only 43 percent used condoms during their most recent purchase.
The PVA observes that low condom use can partly be explained by the fact that condoms are associated with promiscuous behavior, and anecdotal evidence suggests that Malawians are generally unwilling to be seen buying them. This low level of condom usage may also be further explained by the perceptions on infection and unwillingness to get tested.
Cultural Practices
Great efforts are being directed toward addressing cultural practices that also facilitate the spread of the virus. Common in Malawi are initiation ceremonies.
“Adolescents who have been initiated or circumcised are more likely to be sexually experienced and active compared to those who are not,” said Matatiyo. “ What does this say about information given during initiation ceremonies? Can these initiation ceremonies be transformed to provide an opportunity for imparting HIV/AIDS information?”
With more awareness some communities are abandoning elements of their cultural practices that are likely to perpetuate HIV infection. However, NAC reports that some practices that are being discouraged and have seemingly stopped have actually not been abandoned but have gone underground. Among these is the use of sexual intercourse for cleansing against perceived evil. NAC recommends that more anthropological research should be done on such practices, more common in the southern region of the country, which has the highest HIV prevalence rate compared to the other two regions.
Fighting the Spread
Statistics indicate that only about 115,000 people with advanced HIV infection have ever received Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART). According to NAC, there are 146 health facilities in Malawi that provide the therapy. While ART drugs are usually available, shortages are being experienced in drugs for opportunistic infections.
The World Bank has been providing support to Malawi for HIV/AIDS since 2003, and will continue through its 4th Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for 2007-2010. In the 4 th CAS, the World Bank plans to assist in decreasing vulnerability to HIV/AIDS at the household level. The Bank strategy will focus on the translation of awareness of HIV/AIDS into changes in behaviour, access to prevention and treatment, and supporting the involvement of other stakeholders such as civil society and community based organisations.
Christmas fund-raising cheer for Malawi street children at The Electric Mouse
The Electric Mouse opened its doors last year with a charity weekend for Trócaire, when customers helped to raise €7,000 to help Nicaraguan street children and has since held fund-raising events for other charities including Mayo-Roscommon hospice and the Special Olympics. Meanwhile, over in England, its Comedy Club brothers have been raising money for Step (helping young adults with learning disabilities) and for BBC Children in Need – most recently donating profits from a club held last week (Nov 14).
This spirit of helping children and young adults continues this Christmas, when the venue hosts a fund-raising event for the Umoza Street Children Programme run by Venture Malawi in association with The Order of St John of God.
The fund-raising event in The Electric Mouse is being organised by Dublin-based Fiona Forkan, who’s working independently as part of a group of 12 to raise money for the charity. The group’s target is to raise €60,000 by January.
Fiona’s aim with this event is to raise sufficient funds to meet a self-imposed personal target of €5,500: “Having heard of the Venture Malawi project, I just wanted to get involved and help”. Fiona has been involved with the St. John of God doing volunteer work with intellectually disabled people in the past, and has family ties in The Order of St. John of God, namely her uncle Br Donatus Forkan OH, the Prior General of the Order, and her brother Damian Forkan Co-ordinator of Volunteers, St. John of God Menni Services.
All Moines raised by Fiona will be channelled directly to Malawi and spent specifically with a group of 61 Umoza street children, helping to provide education, school supplies, clothing and meals.
Tickets for this very special event are €10, and are available in advance direct from the venue or via Ticketmaster (+ booking fee). Entry includes a BBQ, music by Rust (excellent, danceable and upbeat), a raffle with spot prizes, and a few surprises too.
Fiona’s sourcing the raffle prizes – so all ideas for more from any interested parties are welcome. Please just contact Fiona direct at forkanfiona@hotmail.com Meanwhile, The Electric Mouse is providing the venue and all food and entertainment. All proceeds will go direct to the programme.
This spirit of helping children and young adults continues this Christmas, when the venue hosts a fund-raising event for the Umoza Street Children Programme run by Venture Malawi in association with The Order of St John of God.
The fund-raising event in The Electric Mouse is being organised by Dublin-based Fiona Forkan, who’s working independently as part of a group of 12 to raise money for the charity. The group’s target is to raise €60,000 by January.
Fiona’s aim with this event is to raise sufficient funds to meet a self-imposed personal target of €5,500: “Having heard of the Venture Malawi project, I just wanted to get involved and help”. Fiona has been involved with the St. John of God doing volunteer work with intellectually disabled people in the past, and has family ties in The Order of St. John of God, namely her uncle Br Donatus Forkan OH, the Prior General of the Order, and her brother Damian Forkan Co-ordinator of Volunteers, St. John of God Menni Services.
All Moines raised by Fiona will be channelled directly to Malawi and spent specifically with a group of 61 Umoza street children, helping to provide education, school supplies, clothing and meals.
Tickets for this very special event are €10, and are available in advance direct from the venue or via Ticketmaster (+ booking fee). Entry includes a BBQ, music by Rust (excellent, danceable and upbeat), a raffle with spot prizes, and a few surprises too.
Fiona’s sourcing the raffle prizes – so all ideas for more from any interested parties are welcome. Please just contact Fiona direct at forkanfiona@hotmail.com Meanwhile, The Electric Mouse is providing the venue and all food and entertainment. All proceeds will go direct to the programme.
Malawi president's brother is de facto second-in-command
President Bingu wa Mutharika is running the government machinery in Malawi together with his brother, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, who has commandeered the operations of the government as a de facto vice president, government insiders have complained.
The President’s brother was not elected by the people of Malawi to any position.
He is a professor of International Economic Law, International Law and Comparative Constitutional Law at GeorgeWashingtonUniversity in the US but has been recalled by his brother to "assist" him in running the show in the Southern African country.
A. Peter Mutharika has thus taken a sabbatical from his usual teaching duties and is Malawi's de-facto and sneaky Vice President.
"Peter Mutharika is now working as a vice president. He has all the powers to order a cabinet minister. Some of us are meant to brief him before meeting the Head of State," a source, who did not want to be identified, said.
"What is happening in the administration of Mutharika is fiefdom. State House has been turned into a family circus," he disclosed.
Peter was seen at the airport inspecting a guard of honour of the Malawi Defence Force recently when President Mutharika left the country, meaning the authority of power was handed to him.
In the meantime, the real Vice President of Malawi, Dr. Cassim Chilumpha, languishes under house arrest on charges of Treason, trumped up by President Mutharika to keep the duly elected Vice President away from the levers of power.
Constitutional analysts agree that under the laws of Malawi, the President is "wrong" to give state authority to the unelected brother. All agree that the President's brother is acting illegally as an "adviser on legal and political matters."
Those close to the President believe that his brother was brought on board upon the advice of doctors who were concerned about the failing health of the septuagenarian, widowed president himself.
Yet, Mutharika has two political advisors; ruling party secretary general Hetherwick Ntaba and his deputy Francis Mphepo operating on tax payer’s money.
The Attorney General, Jane Ansah, is also an official legal advisor to the President. Chief Secretaryto the office of president and cabinet, Bright Msaka, is also a legal expert.
Mutharika has been a subject of prostate cancer rumours. His wife, Ethel, died this year of cancer.
State House chief-of-staff, Charles Namondwe, a President's nephew could not immediately comment on whether Peter was on the State House pay roll.
A Minister who is comment-happy refused to comment on the story describing it as: "hot-charcoal, I can't handle it."
The President’s brother was not elected by the people of Malawi to any position.
He is a professor of International Economic Law, International Law and Comparative Constitutional Law at GeorgeWashingtonUniversity in the US but has been recalled by his brother to "assist" him in running the show in the Southern African country.
A. Peter Mutharika has thus taken a sabbatical from his usual teaching duties and is Malawi's de-facto and sneaky Vice President.
"Peter Mutharika is now working as a vice president. He has all the powers to order a cabinet minister. Some of us are meant to brief him before meeting the Head of State," a source, who did not want to be identified, said.
"What is happening in the administration of Mutharika is fiefdom. State House has been turned into a family circus," he disclosed.
Peter was seen at the airport inspecting a guard of honour of the Malawi Defence Force recently when President Mutharika left the country, meaning the authority of power was handed to him.
In the meantime, the real Vice President of Malawi, Dr. Cassim Chilumpha, languishes under house arrest on charges of Treason, trumped up by President Mutharika to keep the duly elected Vice President away from the levers of power.
Constitutional analysts agree that under the laws of Malawi, the President is "wrong" to give state authority to the unelected brother. All agree that the President's brother is acting illegally as an "adviser on legal and political matters."
Those close to the President believe that his brother was brought on board upon the advice of doctors who were concerned about the failing health of the septuagenarian, widowed president himself.
Yet, Mutharika has two political advisors; ruling party secretary general Hetherwick Ntaba and his deputy Francis Mphepo operating on tax payer’s money.
The Attorney General, Jane Ansah, is also an official legal advisor to the President. Chief Secretaryto the office of president and cabinet, Bright Msaka, is also a legal expert.
Mutharika has been a subject of prostate cancer rumours. His wife, Ethel, died this year of cancer.
State House chief-of-staff, Charles Namondwe, a President's nephew could not immediately comment on whether Peter was on the State House pay roll.
A Minister who is comment-happy refused to comment on the story describing it as: "hot-charcoal, I can't handle it."
Malawi’s non–compliance with human rights treaty reporting obligations
On 22nd October 2007, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights marked twenty years of promotion and protection of human rights in the continent. Although Malawi ratified the charter in 1989 and it has eight outstanding state party reports to write to the African Commission, and it is yet to submit its initial report, writes Levi Mvula.
The adoption of the first post – colonial constitution in 1995 brought jubilation to many Malawians. This was so because the new constitution established a democratic system of government and included a bill of rights. This was in contrast with the 1966 Constitution, which, despite stating that Malawi would recognize the rights protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, failed to include a comprehensive bill of rights. In this regard, it was difficult to understand how the state was going to achieve the fulfillment and protection of rights. Indeed for the first 23 years of its independence, Malawi did not sign up to any international human rights instruments and in practice, the government and its agents were responsible for widespread human rights violations against political or perceived opponents. However, the major turning point in Malawian constitutional history occurred in 1994, when the 1966 Constitution was replaced by a Constitution designed to create a more liberal political order. After a rigorous process of consultations, the constitution entered into force in May 1995. The new constitution, among other things included a bill of rights in chapter four that guarantees a wide range of justifiable human rights and also provided a framework in which the government can fully undertake its international obligations.
Despite the ‘gross violations of human rights occurring in the country’ during the one party state era, Malawi ratified most of the major relevant International and African human rights treaties. Such treaties include the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, ratified on 17 November 1989, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both ratified on 22nd December 1993. Malawi is also a state party to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women which it ratified on 22nd March 1987 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified on 2nd January 1991. Ratification or accession to these human rights instruments comes with certain obligations on the part of the ratifying state. Such obligations include giving effect to the provisions of the treaties at a national level through the process of domestication. One of the most important duties of state parties under international human rights law to these instruments is the submission of periodic reports to the treaty monitoring bodies on the steps they are undertaking to give effect to the rights contained in the treaties to their nationals.
Malawi has largely failed to discharge its reporting treaty obligations under the international treaties it is party to. To date, Malawi has only submitted some of the reports due under the CEDAW and CRC and none under the various other treaties the country signed without coercion including the reports to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights. In June 2004, the government made some efforts to redress the situation by submitting a report which combined the second, third, fourth and fifth periodic reports on the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The shadow report to this particular state report was prepared by Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), Women Lawyers in Southern Africa (WLSA) and National Association for Business Women (NABW). The reports were considered by the committee on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women during its 35th session from 15th May to 2nd June 2006. As required by the procedures of the committees, the committee of Elimination on all forms of Discrimination against Women made several recommendations such as appealing to the Malawi government to set a clear time frame for the adoption of the revised Citizenship Act, Immigration Act and the Wills and Inheritance Act and for the New Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Bill, designed to eliminate discrimination against women. On the CRC state party report, the committee had recommended, among other things, that Malawi harmonize the definition of the age of a child and requested it to consider raising the age of the child up from 16 to 18. Much time has passed since then but there is still no sign on the ground that the government is undertaking steps to implement the recommendations that were made by the committee.
Recently, it was revealed that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) which is responsible for the convention on elimination of racial discrimination announced that it was going to consider Malawi’s country situation in August 2007 in the absence of the state party report from the Malawi Government. The committee reached that decision after Malawi ignored several reminders to comply with its reporting obligations. It is embarrassing to learn that the committee has since decided to give Malawi more time until next June 2008 to submit the report. A recent enquiry on the responsible ministry, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, indicated that the process of preparation of the report had not started as of first week of October 2007 and one wonders if the exercise will be carried out at all.
On 22nd October 2007, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights marked twenty years of promotion and protection of human rights in the continent. Although Malawi ratified the charter in 1989 and it has eight outstanding state party reports to write to the African Commission, and it is yet to submit its initial report. Sources from the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights indicate that Malawi is the one of the three states in the SADC region yet to report and one of the three will be presenting its maiden report this November 2007 when the African Commission hosts its 42nd session which will sit in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Michelle Hansungule, a Human rights professor at the University of Pretoria labeled states who are never bothered with treaty obligations such as submission of state reports like Malawi as permanent defaulters. Surprisingly, states that are being accused of massive human rights violations like Zimbabwe take the reporting obligation under the African Charter very seriously by submitting its state party reports. It is important to note that all neighbouring countries have been submitting their state party reports. Tanzania and Mozambique have been reporting to the African Commission though they still have outstanding reports whilst Zambia and Zimbabwe are amongst those states that submitted all their reports and no outstanding reports. The African Commission continues to urge member states of the African Union that have not yet submitted their reports like Malawi to submit their initial and periodic reports. Of great significance to Malawi is that we can combine all the overdue reports (eight) into a single report for submission to the African Commission.
Efforts to understand the cause of this non compliance with reporting obligations under various international instruments reveals very troubling excuses. According to the Malawi Human Rights Commission, the government has attributed its current failure to fulfill its treaty reporting obligations to the lack of human and material resources to fund the process of preparing the reports and subsequent submission of the reports. The issue of lack of human resource as one of the reasons for non – compliance with the treaty monitoring bodies of various treaties is difficult to understand. This is because there are several well qualified men and women in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs who have attended refresher courses on state party reporting and other important trainings. Besides, there are several men and women in the civil society and the academia that have the capacity to assist in the process of writing the state party report. After all, the state party report on CEDAW was done by various experts from the academia, civil society and government. It is important to note that the requirement is not necessarily that the Ministry should write the report on its own particularly where there is no enough capacity but that it should take a leading role in the report writing process.
On the other hand, it is widely rumoured that the government has finalized a state party report on the convention of the rights of the child. If this rumour is true, then the government through the ministry responsible should be applauded. I also hope that this will motivate us as a country to clear all the outstanding reports under various treaties. An appeal though to those responsible is that issues of reporting ought not to be secretive but rather open and it is my hope that the state will offer the civil society copies for them to shadow the report as encouraged by the human rights norms.
In conclusion, it is worthwhile to emphasize that submission of state party reports is very important in as far as promotion and protection of human rights is concerned. By ratifying the treaties, the country accepted to comply with the treaty obligations and it is frustrating that we are failing to do as is expected of us. Reporting needs to be taken seriously and there is need for political will since it is only the submission of these reports that can highlight the implementation of various human rights provisions as is required by these international human rights treaties since the international human rights law gives states near to total discretion to implement internationally recognized human rights within their own countries. All Malawians have noted that the situation of human rights in Malawi has tremendously improved since Malawians voted for politics of pluralism. Today, Malawians are enjoying rights that could have landed them in conflict with the law some fifteen years ago. The success stories of the human rights regime in Malawi need to be shared with other states after Malawians had lived 31 years under a regime that never recognized human rights and violated them. Reporting obligations also grant the independent experts on human rights the opportunity to offer recommendations, which may sometimes be referred to as General Comments or views on how states can ensure full realization of certain rights depending on the type of the treaty. This may well prove extremely beneficial to Malawi. It is thus wholly unheard of for Malawi to continue disregarding its reporting obligations, obligations it assumed voluntarily, as this paints an extremely depressing image of the government’s commitment to the promotion, protection and fulfillment of various human rights. The Attorney General as the chief government advisor can the nation service to remind the relevant authorities on the significance of the reporting obligations and assist where gaps exists.
The adoption of the first post – colonial constitution in 1995 brought jubilation to many Malawians. This was so because the new constitution established a democratic system of government and included a bill of rights. This was in contrast with the 1966 Constitution, which, despite stating that Malawi would recognize the rights protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, failed to include a comprehensive bill of rights. In this regard, it was difficult to understand how the state was going to achieve the fulfillment and protection of rights. Indeed for the first 23 years of its independence, Malawi did not sign up to any international human rights instruments and in practice, the government and its agents were responsible for widespread human rights violations against political or perceived opponents. However, the major turning point in Malawian constitutional history occurred in 1994, when the 1966 Constitution was replaced by a Constitution designed to create a more liberal political order. After a rigorous process of consultations, the constitution entered into force in May 1995. The new constitution, among other things included a bill of rights in chapter four that guarantees a wide range of justifiable human rights and also provided a framework in which the government can fully undertake its international obligations.
Despite the ‘gross violations of human rights occurring in the country’ during the one party state era, Malawi ratified most of the major relevant International and African human rights treaties. Such treaties include the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, ratified on 17 November 1989, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both ratified on 22nd December 1993. Malawi is also a state party to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women which it ratified on 22nd March 1987 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified on 2nd January 1991. Ratification or accession to these human rights instruments comes with certain obligations on the part of the ratifying state. Such obligations include giving effect to the provisions of the treaties at a national level through the process of domestication. One of the most important duties of state parties under international human rights law to these instruments is the submission of periodic reports to the treaty monitoring bodies on the steps they are undertaking to give effect to the rights contained in the treaties to their nationals.
Malawi has largely failed to discharge its reporting treaty obligations under the international treaties it is party to. To date, Malawi has only submitted some of the reports due under the CEDAW and CRC and none under the various other treaties the country signed without coercion including the reports to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights. In June 2004, the government made some efforts to redress the situation by submitting a report which combined the second, third, fourth and fifth periodic reports on the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The shadow report to this particular state report was prepared by Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), Women Lawyers in Southern Africa (WLSA) and National Association for Business Women (NABW). The reports were considered by the committee on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women during its 35th session from 15th May to 2nd June 2006. As required by the procedures of the committees, the committee of Elimination on all forms of Discrimination against Women made several recommendations such as appealing to the Malawi government to set a clear time frame for the adoption of the revised Citizenship Act, Immigration Act and the Wills and Inheritance Act and for the New Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Bill, designed to eliminate discrimination against women. On the CRC state party report, the committee had recommended, among other things, that Malawi harmonize the definition of the age of a child and requested it to consider raising the age of the child up from 16 to 18. Much time has passed since then but there is still no sign on the ground that the government is undertaking steps to implement the recommendations that were made by the committee.
Recently, it was revealed that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) which is responsible for the convention on elimination of racial discrimination announced that it was going to consider Malawi’s country situation in August 2007 in the absence of the state party report from the Malawi Government. The committee reached that decision after Malawi ignored several reminders to comply with its reporting obligations. It is embarrassing to learn that the committee has since decided to give Malawi more time until next June 2008 to submit the report. A recent enquiry on the responsible ministry, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, indicated that the process of preparation of the report had not started as of first week of October 2007 and one wonders if the exercise will be carried out at all.
On 22nd October 2007, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights marked twenty years of promotion and protection of human rights in the continent. Although Malawi ratified the charter in 1989 and it has eight outstanding state party reports to write to the African Commission, and it is yet to submit its initial report. Sources from the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights indicate that Malawi is the one of the three states in the SADC region yet to report and one of the three will be presenting its maiden report this November 2007 when the African Commission hosts its 42nd session which will sit in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Michelle Hansungule, a Human rights professor at the University of Pretoria labeled states who are never bothered with treaty obligations such as submission of state reports like Malawi as permanent defaulters. Surprisingly, states that are being accused of massive human rights violations like Zimbabwe take the reporting obligation under the African Charter very seriously by submitting its state party reports. It is important to note that all neighbouring countries have been submitting their state party reports. Tanzania and Mozambique have been reporting to the African Commission though they still have outstanding reports whilst Zambia and Zimbabwe are amongst those states that submitted all their reports and no outstanding reports. The African Commission continues to urge member states of the African Union that have not yet submitted their reports like Malawi to submit their initial and periodic reports. Of great significance to Malawi is that we can combine all the overdue reports (eight) into a single report for submission to the African Commission.
Efforts to understand the cause of this non compliance with reporting obligations under various international instruments reveals very troubling excuses. According to the Malawi Human Rights Commission, the government has attributed its current failure to fulfill its treaty reporting obligations to the lack of human and material resources to fund the process of preparing the reports and subsequent submission of the reports. The issue of lack of human resource as one of the reasons for non – compliance with the treaty monitoring bodies of various treaties is difficult to understand. This is because there are several well qualified men and women in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs who have attended refresher courses on state party reporting and other important trainings. Besides, there are several men and women in the civil society and the academia that have the capacity to assist in the process of writing the state party report. After all, the state party report on CEDAW was done by various experts from the academia, civil society and government. It is important to note that the requirement is not necessarily that the Ministry should write the report on its own particularly where there is no enough capacity but that it should take a leading role in the report writing process.
On the other hand, it is widely rumoured that the government has finalized a state party report on the convention of the rights of the child. If this rumour is true, then the government through the ministry responsible should be applauded. I also hope that this will motivate us as a country to clear all the outstanding reports under various treaties. An appeal though to those responsible is that issues of reporting ought not to be secretive but rather open and it is my hope that the state will offer the civil society copies for them to shadow the report as encouraged by the human rights norms.
In conclusion, it is worthwhile to emphasize that submission of state party reports is very important in as far as promotion and protection of human rights is concerned. By ratifying the treaties, the country accepted to comply with the treaty obligations and it is frustrating that we are failing to do as is expected of us. Reporting needs to be taken seriously and there is need for political will since it is only the submission of these reports that can highlight the implementation of various human rights provisions as is required by these international human rights treaties since the international human rights law gives states near to total discretion to implement internationally recognized human rights within their own countries. All Malawians have noted that the situation of human rights in Malawi has tremendously improved since Malawians voted for politics of pluralism. Today, Malawians are enjoying rights that could have landed them in conflict with the law some fifteen years ago. The success stories of the human rights regime in Malawi need to be shared with other states after Malawians had lived 31 years under a regime that never recognized human rights and violated them. Reporting obligations also grant the independent experts on human rights the opportunity to offer recommendations, which may sometimes be referred to as General Comments or views on how states can ensure full realization of certain rights depending on the type of the treaty. This may well prove extremely beneficial to Malawi. It is thus wholly unheard of for Malawi to continue disregarding its reporting obligations, obligations it assumed voluntarily, as this paints an extremely depressing image of the government’s commitment to the promotion, protection and fulfillment of various human rights. The Attorney General as the chief government advisor can the nation service to remind the relevant authorities on the significance of the reporting obligations and assist where gaps exists.
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