Reporters Without Borders today condemned charges laid against Mike Chipalasa, of the privately-owned Daily Times, and its managing editor, James Mphande, for "publishing false news likely to lead to a breach of public order".
The charges relate to an article carried by the paper on 14 January which included remarks by opposition leader, John Tembo, that the government had "brought foreign experts into the country so that the 2009 elections will go in favour of the [ruling] Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)" .
"It appears that this entire case is just a bid by the government to intimidate and silence journalists who quote the opposition", the worldwide press freedom organisation said.
"We urge the authorities and Malawi's justice system to halt these proceedings against our colleagues, whose work is not just to report comments which are favourable to the government."
Police arrested Chipalasa on 2 February and questioned him for several hours about the article quoting the opposition leader. He was released on bail on 3 February. Head of the criminal investigation department, Davie Nyongo, said that James Mphande, whose by-line was also on the article, was also being sought for questioning.
Both journalists have been charged and Chipalasa has been summoned to appear in court on 15 February. He faces up to six months in prison.
Reporters Without Borders defends imprisoned journalists and press freedom throughout the world. It has nine national sections (Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland). It has representatives in Bangkok, London, New York, Tokyo and Washington. And it has more than 120 correspondents worldwide.
Saturday, 9 February 2008
Malawi's abortion laws 'should be liberalised'
[ABUJA] A research paper on abortion has called for the liberalisation of abortion laws in Malawi, which deny elective abortions and the prioritisation of emergency healthcare for post-abortion complications.
Mayamiko Gama, a programme assistant from Malawi's Family Planning Research Centre, presented the research last week (3 February) at the biannual African Conference on Sexual Health and Rights in Abuja, Nigeria.
The study, carried out in four Malawian districts, used a quantitative questionnaire and checklist, 16 qualitative focus-group discussions with young people aged 10 to 24, and interviews with community and religious leaders, health workers and traditional healers.
The results indicate that abortion cases are highest among single adolescents (aged 15–19) and that complications from unsafe abortions in school-age girls account for between 16 and 40 per cent of admissions to gynaecological wards in public hospitals in Malawi.
Traditional and religious leaders consider abortion to be a sin and, although they acknowledge that it takes place in private, felt there were no grounds for legalising it.
"Most abortions in Malawi are not safe, leading to complications such as haemorrhage, infection, infertility and death," said Gama. Overdosing on drugs such as quinine, drinking powdered soaps and using herbs from traditional healers were cited as the most common methods of illegal abortion in Malawi.
"They seek abortions because they are unable to afford the child, or out of fear of having to drop out of school –– although the laws have been changed recently to allow a girl to continue with her education," said Gama. Other reasons include peer pressure, concerns about losing a partner, fear of excommunication from the Church, and demand by parents.
The study, conducted in June 2007, recommends increased dissemination of contraception information to avoid the need for abortion, as well as promotion of discussion, at all levels of society, about abortion in Malawi to encourage liberalisation of the abortion law.
Adolescents seeking post-abortion hospital care should be treated as an emergency to prevent unnecessary complication and death, says the study. Gama pointed out that hospital is a last resort for many girls because of the social stigma of having undergone an abortion.
Malawi: Strike Update
Yesterday the union and G4S met and the company increased its wage offer to an increase of 15%, just a shade over the "official" inflation rate, but still under the rate of inflation as determined by NGOs operating in Malawi.
The union did not accept this, but the parties are resuming their discussions today. There are hopes that there will be additional progress so that a job action can be avoided.
The low wages the company is paying in Malawi should continue to shock all of us. The Malawian Centre for Social Concern (CFSC) reports that commodity prices continue to go up there. In an interview on Saturday CFSC Research Officer Chrissie Kafundu said "...(A)ccording to our research the cost of the minimum food requirements for an average family of six living in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Zomba has risen to over K20,000 (a month). ” In its statement on the basic needs basket for January, CFSC says "129 K per day is only enough to buy two 50 kg bags of maize and milling them."
“Whether it is a domestic servant or a guard, their families need at least K673.50 per day to cover food alone,” reads part of the statement. Guards employeed by G4S earn a mimum wage rate of 127.09 per day (about $1), 3,300 per month.
But the clients are paying much more and the media has taken notice. As the Malawi Daily Times recently reported, "According to The Daily Times investigations G4S charges it clients K18, 834.45 (permonth) for a guard on a 12 hour shift....However despite netting so much money for the company the starting salary for a guard is K3200 per month (K8 per hour) and those with more experience get about K4000(K11 per hour)."
This is an astonishing ratio of wages to client costs, and if left unchanged is guaranteed to keep these guards in poverty indefinitely.
The union did not accept this, but the parties are resuming their discussions today. There are hopes that there will be additional progress so that a job action can be avoided.
The low wages the company is paying in Malawi should continue to shock all of us. The Malawian Centre for Social Concern (CFSC) reports that commodity prices continue to go up there. In an interview on Saturday CFSC Research Officer Chrissie Kafundu said "...(A)ccording to our research the cost of the minimum food requirements for an average family of six living in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Zomba has risen to over K20,000 (a month). ” In its statement on the basic needs basket for January, CFSC says "129 K per day is only enough to buy two 50 kg bags of maize and milling them."
“Whether it is a domestic servant or a guard, their families need at least K673.50 per day to cover food alone,” reads part of the statement. Guards employeed by G4S earn a mimum wage rate of 127.09 per day (about $1), 3,300 per month.
But the clients are paying much more and the media has taken notice. As the Malawi Daily Times recently reported, "According to The Daily Times investigations G4S charges it clients K18, 834.45 (permonth) for a guard on a 12 hour shift....However despite netting so much money for the company the starting salary for a guard is K3200 per month (K8 per hour) and those with more experience get about K4000(K11 per hour)."
This is an astonishing ratio of wages to client costs, and if left unchanged is guaranteed to keep these guards in poverty indefinitely.
No more begging for food aid: Malawi's Mutharika
Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika on Friday vowed he would never again "kneel down" for food aid with the southern African nation expecting a third maize bumper harvest in 2008.
"I will not, as your president, ever again kneel down in front of the donor communities to ask for maize. Please don't allow me to do that," Mutharika said when he opened an annual meeting of the newly-formed Farmers Union of Malawi.
In remarks broadcast live on state radio, Mutharika said: "We can ask for other assistance, but maize, for goodness sake, we can grow all the maize we want."
He said the country had vast valleys with the potential "to grow surplus maize." Maize is the staple food in Malawi, one of Africa's poorest countries.
"It's amazing the vast valleys which we can reclaim and grow all the food we want. Why do we suffer? We have valleys everywhere. Why do we Malawians have to suffer and ask for food somewhere else?"
Mutharika, who is also minister of agriculture, expressed optimism for this year's maize harvest, saying a crop and rainfall outlook had shown "we will also achieve a reasonable surplus this year."
Malawi, where food security is still a pressing issue, has been swamped with surplus maize from two bumper harvests since 2006, due to a popular subsidised fertiliser programme introduced by the Mutharika administration.
Malawi met its food needs in 2006 for the first time in seven years with a harvest of 2.2 million tons.
About 45 percent of Malawians live below the poverty line and on less than a dollar a day.
"I will not, as your president, ever again kneel down in front of the donor communities to ask for maize. Please don't allow me to do that," Mutharika said when he opened an annual meeting of the newly-formed Farmers Union of Malawi.
In remarks broadcast live on state radio, Mutharika said: "We can ask for other assistance, but maize, for goodness sake, we can grow all the maize we want."
He said the country had vast valleys with the potential "to grow surplus maize." Maize is the staple food in Malawi, one of Africa's poorest countries.
"It's amazing the vast valleys which we can reclaim and grow all the food we want. Why do we suffer? We have valleys everywhere. Why do we Malawians have to suffer and ask for food somewhere else?"
Mutharika, who is also minister of agriculture, expressed optimism for this year's maize harvest, saying a crop and rainfall outlook had shown "we will also achieve a reasonable surplus this year."
Malawi, where food security is still a pressing issue, has been swamped with surplus maize from two bumper harvests since 2006, due to a popular subsidised fertiliser programme introduced by the Mutharika administration.
Malawi met its food needs in 2006 for the first time in seven years with a harvest of 2.2 million tons.
About 45 percent of Malawians live below the poverty line and on less than a dollar a day.
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