Malawi has enough maize stocks to last up until the next harvesting season, the Board Chairman for the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA), Ken Kandodo said Friday.
Briefing the press in Blantyre, Kandodo said the NFRA has over 60 000 metric tonnes of maize in its reserve stocks to be released only in times of crisis.
He parried media reports that the country's stocks have run out of maize due to its exportation to Zimbabwe.
"The contract which the country signed to supply maize to Zimbabwe can not betray our duty to the citizens of this country. Much as we appreciate the importance of this exercise, we would like to enlighten people in the country that the exported maize is taken from the 1.3 million metric tonnes surplus of 2007," he explained.
Government in March this year signed a contract to supply 400 000 Metric tonnes of maize to Zimbabwe.
Since the beginning of the exercise in April, 272,000 metric tonnes of maize have been exported to Zimbabwe as at December 20, 2007 marking the end of the first phase.
Kandodo said NFRA is taking caution of the situation that may erupt if the exercise was not being properly handled and is still making further securitization and consultations before venturing into the last phase of the agreement, which is expected to end on November 10, 2008.US$ 120 million (about MK17 billion) is expected to be generated by the end of the contract.
"We have a big responsibility in implementing government efforts to ensure the nation was food secure and it becomes disturbing when we read in the papers that all our maize is being exported," he said.
The Chairman added, "I would therefore urge you media practitioners to make proper research before jumping to conclusions on issues that have a human impact.
The General Manager for NFRA, Edward Sawerengera explained that maize exportation has motivated farmers to grow more maize as the price on the market has been stabilized.
"Without exporting, maize price could have dropped to below K8 per kilogram, as we all know the higher the supply the lower the demand, therefore the lower the price. This could have a great effect on farmers for they could not manage to raise money equivalent to what they spent during the growing process," he said.
Sawerengera cited Larger Grain Borer (LGB) as a greatest challenge during the exercise, as over 30 percent (300 000 tonnes) of the maize that was proposed for export were destroyed.
Monday, 24 December 2007
Government proposes mandatory HIV test for pregnant women
Malawi's government is planning to table a controversial bill in Parliament which would require pregnant women to undergo HIV testing. The move is aimed at reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, but opponents of the proposed bill argue it would violate women's rights.
Malawi's current policy is to routinely test the approximately 500,000 pregnant women who attend antenatal clinics annually, unless they specifically ask not to be. However, according to Dr Mary Shawa, principal secretary for nutrition and HIV/AIDS, by October 2007 only about 162,000 pregnant mothers had been tested for HIV; 13 percent of them were positive.
Without intervention, the risk of an HIV-positive pregnant woman passing on the virus to her baby is between 30 percent and 35 percent, according to health specialists. Miriam Chipimo, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS manager for UNICEF Malawi, told IRIN/PlusNews that only slightly more than half of the 19,120 pregnant women who tested positive for HIV in Malawi in 2006 received preventative treatment.
Malawi recently switched from a single dose nevirapine regimen to the more effective and WHO-recommended triple combination of antiretroviral therapy drugs to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, however Chipimo noted that only 28 percent of the 544 clinics that provide maternal services in Malawi were offering PMTCT (prevention of mother-to-child) services by September this year. The government hopes to roll out the programme to all clinics by the end of 2008.
Shawa said that a law requiring pregnant women to test for HIV would only be put in place after consulting with all stakeholders on the issue.
The government has already surveyed Malawians from throughout the country to determine their views on mandatory testing. According to Shawa, many respondents were opposed to the idea, but she could not provide details.
"The bill will be discussed at cabinet level and then we will be telling the nation everything about the findings," she said.
Izeduwa Derex-Briggs, HIV/AIDS specialist with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said if the law was passed, it would infringe on the rights of Malawian women. "Such a law would be discriminatory. Why should it target women and not men?" she said.
Seodi White, national coordinator for Women and Law in Southern Africa (Wilsa), a group that advocates for women's rights and empowerment, said the proposed bill was unfortunate and retrogressive as it implied women were to blame for transmitting the disease.
"The bill is stigmatising women and Malawi cannot afford to pass such a bill into a law," White said.
Aaron Sangala, Malawi's deputy minister of women and child development, said that government would debate the human rights issues surrounding HIV testing when the bill was tabled in parliament early in 2008.
MOFA denies Malawi to sever ties with Taiwan
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday refuted a Malawian media report that the African nation will sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan to establish official relations with China.
According to Malawi newspaper "Nyasa Times" in a report dated December 22, the Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika has sanctioned severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of the China.
The report quoted sources from the Malawi cabinet, who disclosed that two senior cabinet ministers, Minister of Presidential and Parliamentary Affairs Davis Katsonga and Minister of Energy and Mining Henry Chimunthu Banda, accompanied by two senor officials from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, are planning to fly to Beijing on December 24 via Bangkok to sign a Memorandum of Understanding, which will to pave way for the establishment of diplomatic missions between the two countries.
In reaction to the report, MOFA spokesperson Phoebe Yeh said that her ministry was aware of the report but said that Malawi officials have denied that the African nation will sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Yeh said, however, the MOFA had indeed learned from sources that the Chinese government had intended to send an "astronomical figure" to Malawi in attempting to draw the country to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing.
Yeh added that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Tzu-pao was currently in Malawi to communicate with his Malawian counterparts to better understand the political situation in the country and to make sure diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Malawi will remain stable.
The Republic of Malawi, formerly known as Nyasaland, is a country in southeastern Africa which had established official diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1966.
Foreign Minister James Huang was previously invited to the nation in July to join its 42nd Independence Day Celebration, a move which showed that the two countries were in good relations then.
Taiwan has diplomatic ties with a total of 24 countries worldwide, mostly in Central America and Africa.
According to Malawi newspaper "Nyasa Times" in a report dated December 22, the Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika has sanctioned severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of the China.
The report quoted sources from the Malawi cabinet, who disclosed that two senior cabinet ministers, Minister of Presidential and Parliamentary Affairs Davis Katsonga and Minister of Energy and Mining Henry Chimunthu Banda, accompanied by two senor officials from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, are planning to fly to Beijing on December 24 via Bangkok to sign a Memorandum of Understanding, which will to pave way for the establishment of diplomatic missions between the two countries.
In reaction to the report, MOFA spokesperson Phoebe Yeh said that her ministry was aware of the report but said that Malawi officials have denied that the African nation will sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Yeh said, however, the MOFA had indeed learned from sources that the Chinese government had intended to send an "astronomical figure" to Malawi in attempting to draw the country to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing.
Yeh added that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Tzu-pao was currently in Malawi to communicate with his Malawian counterparts to better understand the political situation in the country and to make sure diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Malawi will remain stable.
The Republic of Malawi, formerly known as Nyasaland, is a country in southeastern Africa which had established official diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1966.
Foreign Minister James Huang was previously invited to the nation in July to join its 42nd Independence Day Celebration, a move which showed that the two countries were in good relations then.
Taiwan has diplomatic ties with a total of 24 countries worldwide, mostly in Central America and Africa.
Taiwan worried about Malawi's plan to switch
Taipei (dpa) - Taiwan admitted Monday it is making a last-ditch effort to prevent the African nation of Malawi from switching diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China.
"China is using astronomical figures to sabotage our ties with Malawi, and we are closely monitoring developments," Acting Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Foebe Yeh told a new conference.
"But when we checked with Malawi's ambassador to Taiwan, Thengo Maloya, he said Malawi's ties with Taiwan have not changed," she added.
Yeh said Taiwan has sent Deputy Minister Yang Tzu-pao to Malawi to try to save ties.
On December 21, the Malawian newspaper Nyasa Times reported that President Bingu wa Mutharika had approved recognizing China, and two Cabinet ministers, Minister of Presidential and Parliamentary Affairs Davis Katsonga and Minister of Energy and Mining Henry Chimunthu Banda, accompanied by two Foreign Ministry officials, were to fly to Beijing via Bangkok Monday.
They will sign a memorandum of understanding to prepare for fully launching diplomatic ties, the paper said.
If Malawi recognizes China, it must cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan because although Taiwan accepts dual recognition, China rejects it because Beijing sees Taiwan as its breakaway province and bars its allies from having formal ties with Taipei.
Malawi is one of the 24 countries which recognize Taiwan. China is wooing these countries to drop Taipei and recognize Beijing.
"China is using astronomical figures to sabotage our ties with Malawi, and we are closely monitoring developments," Acting Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Foebe Yeh told a new conference.
"But when we checked with Malawi's ambassador to Taiwan, Thengo Maloya, he said Malawi's ties with Taiwan have not changed," she added.
Yeh said Taiwan has sent Deputy Minister Yang Tzu-pao to Malawi to try to save ties.
On December 21, the Malawian newspaper Nyasa Times reported that President Bingu wa Mutharika had approved recognizing China, and two Cabinet ministers, Minister of Presidential and Parliamentary Affairs Davis Katsonga and Minister of Energy and Mining Henry Chimunthu Banda, accompanied by two Foreign Ministry officials, were to fly to Beijing via Bangkok Monday.
They will sign a memorandum of understanding to prepare for fully launching diplomatic ties, the paper said.
If Malawi recognizes China, it must cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan because although Taiwan accepts dual recognition, China rejects it because Beijing sees Taiwan as its breakaway province and bars its allies from having formal ties with Taipei.
Malawi is one of the 24 countries which recognize Taiwan. China is wooing these countries to drop Taipei and recognize Beijing.
Taiwan moves to save relations with Malawi
Taiwan sent officials to Malawi and summoned its ambassador to save diplomatic relations amid reports arch-rival China was aggressively courting the southern African nation, a government spokeswoman said on Monday.
China, which has seen self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, wants to isolate the island internationally and pressure it into unification by making diplomatic allies switch ties to Beijing.
Taiwan's allies, which the island leadership sees as key to its legitimacy against China, have dwindled to 24, mostly small countries in poor regions, compared to China's 170.
The island's foreign ministry sent two officials to Malawi late last week and on Monday met with the nation's ambassador in Taipei because of news reports in the 13.6 million-population African country that two government ministers had visited China, foreign ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh told a news conference.
One official was the energy minister, Yeh said, citing the news reports. China has been aggressively seeking partnerships in Africa in recent years to extract natural resources and meet energy needs at home.
Reports also said Malawi and China were poised to sign an agreement on establishing formal ties, which would effectively break 41 years of relations with Taiwan. Malawi had never had diplomatic relations with China before.
Malawi officials have reassured Taiwan, Yeh said.
"We will be paying close attention," she said. "China wants to win over Taiwan's diplomatic relations.
"Are there any resources in Malawi?" Yeh said. "You'd need to dig to find out. Resources in Africa are going to be finished off. This move is to destroy Taiwan's relations." (Reporting by Ralph Jennings; Editing by Jerry Norton)
China, which has seen self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, wants to isolate the island internationally and pressure it into unification by making diplomatic allies switch ties to Beijing.
Taiwan's allies, which the island leadership sees as key to its legitimacy against China, have dwindled to 24, mostly small countries in poor regions, compared to China's 170.
The island's foreign ministry sent two officials to Malawi late last week and on Monday met with the nation's ambassador in Taipei because of news reports in the 13.6 million-population African country that two government ministers had visited China, foreign ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh told a news conference.
One official was the energy minister, Yeh said, citing the news reports. China has been aggressively seeking partnerships in Africa in recent years to extract natural resources and meet energy needs at home.
Reports also said Malawi and China were poised to sign an agreement on establishing formal ties, which would effectively break 41 years of relations with Taiwan. Malawi had never had diplomatic relations with China before.
Malawi officials have reassured Taiwan, Yeh said.
"We will be paying close attention," she said. "China wants to win over Taiwan's diplomatic relations.
"Are there any resources in Malawi?" Yeh said. "You'd need to dig to find out. Resources in Africa are going to be finished off. This move is to destroy Taiwan's relations." (Reporting by Ralph Jennings; Editing by Jerry Norton)
Alternative source of income may help to protect forest
The improved Forest Management for Sustainable livelihoods programme (IFMSLP) could be one of the ways to enhance sustainable development and management of forests, secure equitable access to forest resources for rural communities, address issues of deforestation and threats posed by climate change risks.
Our reporter Gerald Kitabu cites cases of the programme as carried out in twelve districts in Malawi, from which Tanzania could borrow a leaf.
The old adage that says ``your chicken will not be safe if your neighbour is hungry`` also applies to forests surrounded by hungry communities with no alternative sources of income.
In many parts of Africa, the influence of human activities on forests has grown at an unprecedented rate and sometimes the situation is worse in forests adjacent to communities that rely on forests as the only source of income.
Although some forest species sprout especially during rain seasons, large part of the resource would completely disappear from the world map due to continuing encroachment and harsh conditions resulting from climate change risks.
Hundreds and thousands of hectors are sent to the grave yard every year under the pretext of alternative source of income by the rural communities where as other scores of the community citing human development as a major cause.
In fact, many rural communities are ignorant of the resource despite its enormous short and long term fruits one is expected to harvest from it.
For example, being a key to development, forests support other important sectors such as economy and culture. It also provides construction materials such as timber, poles and logs.
It also protects soil, maintain hydrological balance, provide catchments and recycle atmospheric gases among other benefits. Despite such benefits yet most forest species are under big threat of disappearing on the world map due to human activities.
It is against this reason that the Malawi government in collaboration with the European Union early this year embarked on the programme known as The improved Forest Management for Sustainable livelihood , which will cost about 14.9 million Euros.
Like Tanzania, Malawi also experiences massive depletion of forests. At least twelve districts have so far been affected especially in rural areas where forest is the sole resource to most residents, they are Nsanje, Chikwawa, Zomba, Machinga and Ntcheu. Also in the list are Dedza, Ntchisi, Kasungu, Mzimba, Rumphi, Karonga and Chitipa.
Apart from agriculture as a source of income in Malawi, forests are being destroyed by rural communities that have no other source of income.
Such rural communities and small scale enterprises would opt felling down trees for fuel, search for new settlement or clear the land for farming activities.
The programme among other things aimed at diversifying the economy, creating alternative source of income and improving the conditions of adjacent communities to rescue the forests.
Interviewed, Deputy Director of Forestry in Malawi, Paulos Mwale, says the programme is carried out in twelve districts through a number of strategies and targets four major results which include, strengthening governance of key forest resources in forest sector.
This is done through promoting locals comprising district Assemblies, traditional leadership, community and civil society to work on common basis for access, benefit sharing, roles, rights and responsibilities.
The government also Promotes sustainable livelihood carried out within affected areas by supporting the forest dependent communities to build capacity in collaboration with other stakeholders.
In this case the government is constantly supporting small scale entrepreneurs and nurseries that promote forests in their respective communities.
The government also ensures that such rural community secures equitable access to forest resources through increasing the area under the sustainable forest management arrangement.
In this plan, the government is strengthening the capacity of community institutions in planning as well as co-managing state forests in partnership with the department of forestry.
However, the government supports forest based and forest related income generating strategies and individuals or communal afforestation programmes to eas the pressure on indigenous forests.
Strengthened communication and advocacy within and among stakeholder groups is another strategy by the Malawi government which devises ways of generating interest and providing essential information for decision making towards feasible options among the existing and potential forest based ``income generating activities``
The focus of the programme is to address and emphasize both protecting standing forests and replanting barren areas to re-green them.
Besides the benefits that the government and the communities are expected to derive from the programme, tackling issues of environmental degradation and climate change risks is one of the program`s agenda.
It is must therefore that sustainable forest management would need communities with environmental knowledge and alternative source of income to rescue forest cover in Africa which is estimated at 650 million hectors accounting for 21.8 percent of the land area and 16.8 percent of global forest cover.
Our reporter Gerald Kitabu cites cases of the programme as carried out in twelve districts in Malawi, from which Tanzania could borrow a leaf.
The old adage that says ``your chicken will not be safe if your neighbour is hungry`` also applies to forests surrounded by hungry communities with no alternative sources of income.
In many parts of Africa, the influence of human activities on forests has grown at an unprecedented rate and sometimes the situation is worse in forests adjacent to communities that rely on forests as the only source of income.
Although some forest species sprout especially during rain seasons, large part of the resource would completely disappear from the world map due to continuing encroachment and harsh conditions resulting from climate change risks.
Hundreds and thousands of hectors are sent to the grave yard every year under the pretext of alternative source of income by the rural communities where as other scores of the community citing human development as a major cause.
In fact, many rural communities are ignorant of the resource despite its enormous short and long term fruits one is expected to harvest from it.
For example, being a key to development, forests support other important sectors such as economy and culture. It also provides construction materials such as timber, poles and logs.
It also protects soil, maintain hydrological balance, provide catchments and recycle atmospheric gases among other benefits. Despite such benefits yet most forest species are under big threat of disappearing on the world map due to human activities.
It is against this reason that the Malawi government in collaboration with the European Union early this year embarked on the programme known as The improved Forest Management for Sustainable livelihood , which will cost about 14.9 million Euros.
Like Tanzania, Malawi also experiences massive depletion of forests. At least twelve districts have so far been affected especially in rural areas where forest is the sole resource to most residents, they are Nsanje, Chikwawa, Zomba, Machinga and Ntcheu. Also in the list are Dedza, Ntchisi, Kasungu, Mzimba, Rumphi, Karonga and Chitipa.
Apart from agriculture as a source of income in Malawi, forests are being destroyed by rural communities that have no other source of income.
Such rural communities and small scale enterprises would opt felling down trees for fuel, search for new settlement or clear the land for farming activities.
The programme among other things aimed at diversifying the economy, creating alternative source of income and improving the conditions of adjacent communities to rescue the forests.
Interviewed, Deputy Director of Forestry in Malawi, Paulos Mwale, says the programme is carried out in twelve districts through a number of strategies and targets four major results which include, strengthening governance of key forest resources in forest sector.
This is done through promoting locals comprising district Assemblies, traditional leadership, community and civil society to work on common basis for access, benefit sharing, roles, rights and responsibilities.
The government also Promotes sustainable livelihood carried out within affected areas by supporting the forest dependent communities to build capacity in collaboration with other stakeholders.
In this case the government is constantly supporting small scale entrepreneurs and nurseries that promote forests in their respective communities.
The government also ensures that such rural community secures equitable access to forest resources through increasing the area under the sustainable forest management arrangement.
In this plan, the government is strengthening the capacity of community institutions in planning as well as co-managing state forests in partnership with the department of forestry.
However, the government supports forest based and forest related income generating strategies and individuals or communal afforestation programmes to eas the pressure on indigenous forests.
Strengthened communication and advocacy within and among stakeholder groups is another strategy by the Malawi government which devises ways of generating interest and providing essential information for decision making towards feasible options among the existing and potential forest based ``income generating activities``
The focus of the programme is to address and emphasize both protecting standing forests and replanting barren areas to re-green them.
Besides the benefits that the government and the communities are expected to derive from the programme, tackling issues of environmental degradation and climate change risks is one of the program`s agenda.
It is must therefore that sustainable forest management would need communities with environmental knowledge and alternative source of income to rescue forest cover in Africa which is estimated at 650 million hectors accounting for 21.8 percent of the land area and 16.8 percent of global forest cover.
Malawi May Break Diplomatic Ties With Taiwan, Switch to China
Malawi may sign a memorandum of understanding with China that could endanger the African nation's diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the island's foreign ministry said.
``We've heard China has offered an extremely high amount of money trying to win ties with Malawi, although when we checked with our Malawi counterparts they denied they will sever ties with us,'' Phoebe Yeh, a spokeswoman for Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a phone interview in Taipei today. ``We'll try all we can to keep the diplomatic ties.''
Two Malawian ministers are planning to fly to Beijing today to sign a memorandum of understanding with China that will pay way for the establishment of diplomatic missions by the two countries, the Taipei-based Taiwan News said today, citing a Dec. 22 report in Malawi's Nyasa Times newspaper.
Taiwan said on June 7 it would sever ties with Costa Rica, which has formally recognized China. Costa Rica was the eighth country to break ties with Taiwan since President Chen Shui-bian took office in May 2000, after Macedonia, Liberia, Dominica, Vanuatu, Grenada, Senegal and Chad. In April, the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia broke ties with China and recognized Taiwan.
Taiwan has been battling for recognition since it split with China at the end of a civil war in 1949. Most nations don't recognize the administration in Taipei and instead have diplomatic relations with China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory.
To contact the reporters on this story: James Peng in Taipei at jpeng7@bloomberg.net ;
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