MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - Fitch Ratings affirmed The Republic of Malawi's ratings, saying the country is entering its third consecutive year of strong growth and continues to reduce domestic debt and reform public finances.
The agency noted that the economy grew strongly in 2006 and 2007, as maize production benefited from benign weather and the government's large-scale fertiliser subsidy.
'The economy is expected to grow by 7 pct in 2008. Confidence is improving outside the agricultural sector and growth is set to outperform its recent average,' it added.
The African nation's long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings (IDR) were affirmed at 'B-' with a stable outlook. Fitch also affirmed Malawi's country ceiling at 'B-' and the short-term foreign currency IDR at 'B'.
Thursday, 27 March 2008
Namibia/Malawi: Flames Humble Brave Warriors
Windhoek
The Brave Warriors' fairytale dominance over Malawi finally came to an end when the Malawian Flames sent their Namibian counterparts packing with their tails firmly stuck between their legs in an international friendly at Windhoek's Independence Stadium last night.
The game started at a frantic pace with both sets of players looking for an early opener, but it was the visitors who played more as a unit, with Ajax Cape Town's lanky striker Russell Mwafulirwa causing all sorts of trouble for the ineffective Namibian rearguard with his aerial power.
The visitors took the lead slightly against the run of play when the enterprising Atusaye Nyondo caught Athiel Mbaha in no man's land with a ferocious pile driver from outside the penalty box on the half hour mark.
The goal seemed to inject the much-needed effect into the Malawians, who immediately took charge of the midfield battle with some slick movements in the middle of the park, where Robert N'gambi and Noel Mkandawire proved a thorn in the flesh of the hosts.
Namibia conceded a free-kick on the edge of the penalty box and Douglas Chirambo let fly with a harmless looking shot past the bemused Namibian wall, beating the flatfooted Mbaha for goal number two with three minutes left on the clock before the changeover.
A clearly irritated Namibian coach Arie Schans hauled off debutant defender Dylan Mieze and striker Tara Katupose, and introduced Chris Katjiukua and Jerome Louis in a desperate effort to score some face-saving goals.
The move almost paid dividends with Louis troubling the Malawian defence with some darting runs down the right wing, but his co strikers failed to react to his cleverly executed deliveries into inviting positions.
Pint-sized midfield-cum-striker Muna Katupose, probably Namibia's best player on the night, played a neat one/two with Bradley "Asprilla" Wermann and the final pass landed in the path of Tulongeni Tuyeni.
The Civics' midfielder needed no second invitation and let loose with a thunderous grass cutter that landed neatly in the bottom right hand corner of the net, beating the experienced Swadick Sanudi hands down in the Malawian goal to half the deficit - eight minutes into the second half.
Namibia threw more bodies upfront in search of the elusive equalizer, but it was the visitors who regained their two-goal lead when Hellings Mwakasungula leaped above a hesitant Namibian defence to head the ball past the hapless Mbaha from another set piece.
With the writing already on the wall - Schans demonstrated his annoyance with his number one goal tender in no uncertain terms by replacing him with African Stars and National Under-20 goalkeeper Maxmillian Mbaeva.
The lanky youngster quickly established himself as the instant Messiah of the out-of-sorts Brave Warriors - saving the nation from further blushes when he bravely dived at the feet of Mwafulirwa to deny the Ajax Cape Town's striker a sure goal after the Malawian had intercepted a poor back header from debutant defender Steven Goaxab.
Minutes later, Mbaeva was called into action again when he made a point blank save from Nyondo, in the dying minutes of the game.
At the other end, substitute Jerome Louis turned his marker with some great skill and placed a neat square ball across the face of the Malawian goalmouth but his co-strikers reacted slowly - allowing the ball to go into touch.
The Namibian bench brought on SKW's mercurial midfielder Marco van Wyk and Orlando Pirates protégé Eusebio Fredericks in place of Muna Katupose and Jamu "Congo" Ngatjizeko, but the changes had very little effect on the outcome of the match.
The visitors finished the stronger of the two teams as they passed the ball around with ease - making their Namibian counterparts look like a bunch of schoolboys.
In his post-match interview, Namibian coach Arie Schans pulled no punches and said if he had the material on the bench, he would have replaced the entire team during the 90 minutes of play because the players were totally out of depth and did not play according to instructions.
"In tonight's match the players repeated the same mistakes committed in Ghana against Morocco, and the sooner we rectify these mistakes the better, because we cannot afford to put up a performance like this when we play against Zimbabwe in the qualifiers for the African Champions Cup in due course."
His Malawian counterpart, Stephen Constantine, praised his young brigade and said their intention was very clear from the time they left Malawi - to win the match at all costs.
"Look, I'm not bothered by the fact that Namibia fielded a second string team entirely composed of local based players as opposed to our team, which boasted seven foreign based players - we came here to win and that objective has been achieved tonight."
The Brave Warriors' fairytale dominance over Malawi finally came to an end when the Malawian Flames sent their Namibian counterparts packing with their tails firmly stuck between their legs in an international friendly at Windhoek's Independence Stadium last night.
The game started at a frantic pace with both sets of players looking for an early opener, but it was the visitors who played more as a unit, with Ajax Cape Town's lanky striker Russell Mwafulirwa causing all sorts of trouble for the ineffective Namibian rearguard with his aerial power.
The visitors took the lead slightly against the run of play when the enterprising Atusaye Nyondo caught Athiel Mbaha in no man's land with a ferocious pile driver from outside the penalty box on the half hour mark.
The goal seemed to inject the much-needed effect into the Malawians, who immediately took charge of the midfield battle with some slick movements in the middle of the park, where Robert N'gambi and Noel Mkandawire proved a thorn in the flesh of the hosts.
Namibia conceded a free-kick on the edge of the penalty box and Douglas Chirambo let fly with a harmless looking shot past the bemused Namibian wall, beating the flatfooted Mbaha for goal number two with three minutes left on the clock before the changeover.
A clearly irritated Namibian coach Arie Schans hauled off debutant defender Dylan Mieze and striker Tara Katupose, and introduced Chris Katjiukua and Jerome Louis in a desperate effort to score some face-saving goals.
The move almost paid dividends with Louis troubling the Malawian defence with some darting runs down the right wing, but his co strikers failed to react to his cleverly executed deliveries into inviting positions.
Pint-sized midfield-cum-striker Muna Katupose, probably Namibia's best player on the night, played a neat one/two with Bradley "Asprilla" Wermann and the final pass landed in the path of Tulongeni Tuyeni.
The Civics' midfielder needed no second invitation and let loose with a thunderous grass cutter that landed neatly in the bottom right hand corner of the net, beating the experienced Swadick Sanudi hands down in the Malawian goal to half the deficit - eight minutes into the second half.
Namibia threw more bodies upfront in search of the elusive equalizer, but it was the visitors who regained their two-goal lead when Hellings Mwakasungula leaped above a hesitant Namibian defence to head the ball past the hapless Mbaha from another set piece.
With the writing already on the wall - Schans demonstrated his annoyance with his number one goal tender in no uncertain terms by replacing him with African Stars and National Under-20 goalkeeper Maxmillian Mbaeva.
The lanky youngster quickly established himself as the instant Messiah of the out-of-sorts Brave Warriors - saving the nation from further blushes when he bravely dived at the feet of Mwafulirwa to deny the Ajax Cape Town's striker a sure goal after the Malawian had intercepted a poor back header from debutant defender Steven Goaxab.
Minutes later, Mbaeva was called into action again when he made a point blank save from Nyondo, in the dying minutes of the game.
At the other end, substitute Jerome Louis turned his marker with some great skill and placed a neat square ball across the face of the Malawian goalmouth but his co-strikers reacted slowly - allowing the ball to go into touch.
The Namibian bench brought on SKW's mercurial midfielder Marco van Wyk and Orlando Pirates protégé Eusebio Fredericks in place of Muna Katupose and Jamu "Congo" Ngatjizeko, but the changes had very little effect on the outcome of the match.
The visitors finished the stronger of the two teams as they passed the ball around with ease - making their Namibian counterparts look like a bunch of schoolboys.
In his post-match interview, Namibian coach Arie Schans pulled no punches and said if he had the material on the bench, he would have replaced the entire team during the 90 minutes of play because the players were totally out of depth and did not play according to instructions.
"In tonight's match the players repeated the same mistakes committed in Ghana against Morocco, and the sooner we rectify these mistakes the better, because we cannot afford to put up a performance like this when we play against Zimbabwe in the qualifiers for the African Champions Cup in due course."
His Malawian counterpart, Stephen Constantine, praised his young brigade and said their intention was very clear from the time they left Malawi - to win the match at all costs.
"Look, I'm not bothered by the fact that Namibia fielded a second string team entirely composed of local based players as opposed to our team, which boasted seven foreign based players - we came here to win and that objective has been achieved tonight."
Easter in Malawi: a religion of sacrifice and celebration
On Easter Sunday, I woke up early to attend the English mass at the local Catholic church here in Zomba, Malawi. The mass was beautiful - a true celebration of the resurrection of Christ.
Although I missed being with my family at Easter, I was thankful that I was able to spend Easter in a Catholic church that knew how to celebrate. At home, I would have had to sit through the drone of organ music and a congregation that barely participates, and I would have left the service feeling as though I had just attended a funeral rather than commemorated the resurrection of the Lord.
But here in Africa, I was surrounded by joy. The worshippers sang the same songs that would have been sung at home, but they sang them and meant them. Smiles radiated from everyone's face as energetic alleluias resounded throughout the simple church, bouncing off the tin roof and echoing back into the roomful of rich African voices. The popular hymn How Great Thou Art generated so much enthusiasm and dancing that I hoped it would continue forever.
Halfway through the service, I noticed a familiar-looking face a few aisles ahead of me. It was Evelyn, a woman we had recently hired to work in our house two mornings a week.
Like most Malawians, Evelyn has a rough life. Her husband, a police officer, was arrested right before Christmas for stealing and reselling gasoline. He is now serving a five-year prison sentence, which means he can no longer support his wife and five children. They are currently living in subsidized police living quarters, but because Evelyn's husband is no longer an active member of the force, they are being evicted at the end of this month.
Evelyn has no idea where she will take her children or how she will pay the rent. To make matters worse, her house was robbed recently. Three men entered her home and took everything: her cooking pot and large spoon, her seven plates and seven cups, a rusty knife, her grass mat that she and her children sleep on at night, and their two blankets. The thieves also took all of her savings - the equivalent of $13.
During the mass, my eyes were on Evelyn, who was sharing in the celebrations just as much as everyone else: Evelyn, who, to an outsider, seems to have so little to celebrate in her life marked with suffering, poverty and setbacks.
And I realized that her story was probably common to most of the people in that church that morning. We were a church of suffering, of poverty, of hunger, of AIDS, of unemployment and of abandonment. But, more importantly, we were a church of hope.
Often have I heard that religion is the opiate of the masses, a meaningless concept that people grasp at in their moments of weakness. In some cases I am tempted to agree. But all I could think of that morning was the incredible strength and courage it must take Evelyn to dare to hope and believe in a God whom many would say has forsaken her.
I wonder if it is precisely because of her suffering that she is able to celebrate. If Jesus hadn't been crucified, he couldn't have risen. Perhaps it takes the experience of suffering to fully appreciate the joy of the resurrection.
In no way am I trying to romanticize poverty. It is a form of violence inflicted by one group of people on another, sometimes knowingly but often not. But I can't help but notice that the church of the poor seems to grasp the Christian values of service, solidarity, sacrifice and celebration much better than the church of the rich.
For instance, I am reminded of my part-time job in high school as a receptionist at a Kingston church. During my time there, it became common for people to sit on the steps and beg for money as worshippers entered on Sunday mornings. Shortly after this began, I got many phone calls from irate parishioners who felt the church steps were no place for these "undesirables." I found it ironic, because those were certainly the people Jesus would have associated with had he been there at that moment. And it made the job of "feeding the hungry" and "giving drink to the thirsty" so much easier, since the hungry were right on the doorstep. I recall thinking that if what those complainers represented was Catholicism, I wanted no part of it.
In contrast, the faith of the church in Malawi is contagious. It is real and it is alive. Not once during my seven months in Malawi have I seen a Malawian turn his back on the uncomfortable sight of a brother or sister in need. Malawians seem to give cheerfully, even when what they have is not enough to meet their own needs.
It is this ability to sacrifice even when it hurts, to rise up despite the odds, to celebrate amidst pain, and to find hope in the ashes of despair that seems to characterize the Malawian people. It also, to me, seems to be the essence of the Easter message.
- Kingston native Melanie Murphy is working for a non-governmental organization in the African nation of Malawi.
Although I missed being with my family at Easter, I was thankful that I was able to spend Easter in a Catholic church that knew how to celebrate. At home, I would have had to sit through the drone of organ music and a congregation that barely participates, and I would have left the service feeling as though I had just attended a funeral rather than commemorated the resurrection of the Lord.
But here in Africa, I was surrounded by joy. The worshippers sang the same songs that would have been sung at home, but they sang them and meant them. Smiles radiated from everyone's face as energetic alleluias resounded throughout the simple church, bouncing off the tin roof and echoing back into the roomful of rich African voices. The popular hymn How Great Thou Art generated so much enthusiasm and dancing that I hoped it would continue forever.
Halfway through the service, I noticed a familiar-looking face a few aisles ahead of me. It was Evelyn, a woman we had recently hired to work in our house two mornings a week.
Like most Malawians, Evelyn has a rough life. Her husband, a police officer, was arrested right before Christmas for stealing and reselling gasoline. He is now serving a five-year prison sentence, which means he can no longer support his wife and five children. They are currently living in subsidized police living quarters, but because Evelyn's husband is no longer an active member of the force, they are being evicted at the end of this month.
Evelyn has no idea where she will take her children or how she will pay the rent. To make matters worse, her house was robbed recently. Three men entered her home and took everything: her cooking pot and large spoon, her seven plates and seven cups, a rusty knife, her grass mat that she and her children sleep on at night, and their two blankets. The thieves also took all of her savings - the equivalent of $13.
During the mass, my eyes were on Evelyn, who was sharing in the celebrations just as much as everyone else: Evelyn, who, to an outsider, seems to have so little to celebrate in her life marked with suffering, poverty and setbacks.
And I realized that her story was probably common to most of the people in that church that morning. We were a church of suffering, of poverty, of hunger, of AIDS, of unemployment and of abandonment. But, more importantly, we were a church of hope.
Often have I heard that religion is the opiate of the masses, a meaningless concept that people grasp at in their moments of weakness. In some cases I am tempted to agree. But all I could think of that morning was the incredible strength and courage it must take Evelyn to dare to hope and believe in a God whom many would say has forsaken her.
I wonder if it is precisely because of her suffering that she is able to celebrate. If Jesus hadn't been crucified, he couldn't have risen. Perhaps it takes the experience of suffering to fully appreciate the joy of the resurrection.
In no way am I trying to romanticize poverty. It is a form of violence inflicted by one group of people on another, sometimes knowingly but often not. But I can't help but notice that the church of the poor seems to grasp the Christian values of service, solidarity, sacrifice and celebration much better than the church of the rich.
For instance, I am reminded of my part-time job in high school as a receptionist at a Kingston church. During my time there, it became common for people to sit on the steps and beg for money as worshippers entered on Sunday mornings. Shortly after this began, I got many phone calls from irate parishioners who felt the church steps were no place for these "undesirables." I found it ironic, because those were certainly the people Jesus would have associated with had he been there at that moment. And it made the job of "feeding the hungry" and "giving drink to the thirsty" so much easier, since the hungry were right on the doorstep. I recall thinking that if what those complainers represented was Catholicism, I wanted no part of it.
In contrast, the faith of the church in Malawi is contagious. It is real and it is alive. Not once during my seven months in Malawi have I seen a Malawian turn his back on the uncomfortable sight of a brother or sister in need. Malawians seem to give cheerfully, even when what they have is not enough to meet their own needs.
It is this ability to sacrifice even when it hurts, to rise up despite the odds, to celebrate amidst pain, and to find hope in the ashes of despair that seems to characterize the Malawian people. It also, to me, seems to be the essence of the Easter message.
- Kingston native Melanie Murphy is working for a non-governmental organization in the African nation of Malawi.
Namibian boxer at hospital after fight
Malawi's middleweight boxer Chimwemwe Chiotcha on Monday sent his Namibian opponent to the hospital after knocking him in the first round thereby setting the country's Beijing Olympics Games qualification on a high note.
According to media reports from Namibia, it is indicated that the Namibian was no match for Malawi’s boxer who went on to punish him for his clumsy techniques.
The Southern African country’s National Council of Sports Administration Manager Henry Meleka confirmed to the country’s local daily of the Daily Times that Chiotcha, who also represented Malawi at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne Australia and All Africa Games in Algeria last year, won the first fight in the first round.
“ Yes, indeed we got communication that our boxer Chimwemwe Chiotcha was victorious on Monday,” Meleka said.
He added that the Namibian boxer who he could not give his name was hospitalized soon after the fight.
The other members of the Malawi team at the tournament are Flyweight Charles Kamanula, featherweight Robert Kachiza, Lightweight Chrispin Moliati whereas another one Mussa Ajibu was diagnosed with Malaria.
The Olympic qualifiers in Namibia have attracted 168 boxers from 28 countries.
Malawi firm eyes Persian Gulf market
A Malawian company operating in the farm produce and transport sector has announced plans to open an office in the United Arab Emirates to extend its business on the Middle Eastern market.
Mulli Brothers Limited’s Operations Manager Joseph Khupe said on Thursday that the decision was made after the Southern African firm broke through the Arab market last month when they participated at the Dubai International Trade Fair.
“ The trade fair in Dubai offered us lucrative deals which will help the company to grow bigger”, he said.
Khupe said the branch would help boost and cement the market they had discovered during the fair and also market the warm heart of Africa’s products.
The Operations Manager said the Dubai Office would be entrusted with the responsibility to monitor the business trend for the company.
Meanwhile the company is in Egypt participating in the Cairo International Trade Fair which started on March 18 and winds up on Friday.
Malawi opposition divided
When general elections were far away, opposition blocks were speaking with one voice giving false hopes that they would go into elections as one front. They never run short of words of how easy they would remove President Bingu wa Mutharika.
The past three years Mutharika and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), opposition fronts marshaled by main block Malawi Congress Party (MCP) have been able to play hard and effective tackles on Mutharika leadership.
Dictating what should happen and what should not, taking advantage of their numerical advantages.
In the national assembly opposition have been winning when it comes to voting on bills. Despite being in different parties they have been working together, doing political activities together including holding mass rallies.
United Democratic Front (UDF) a party which sponsored Mutharika before he dumped on accusations of corruption, to form his DPP, has been foaming with vengeous in the the years.
Another heavy weight politician Gwanda Chakuamba who before 2004 elections was a big force in Malawi politics forced his party New Republican Party into joining forces with his former rivals in the opposition, to remove Mutharika come 2009 elections.
But with just 16 months things have changed.with everybody wanting to at least rule Malawi once in life time.
The foregoing according to political commentators makes Mutharika getting even stronger towards elections than was immediately after getting into office.
Recently, main opposition Malawi Congress Party president John Tembo held a number of mass rallies in the populous city of Blantyre but avoided talking anything about opposition unity ahead of the polls.
His speech was a total disappointment as he failed to clear mist regarding opposition coalition particularly with fellow opposition United Democratic Front (UDF).
Worse though he also avoided making any statements UDF chairman Bakili Muluzi, the former president who desires to bounce back to the country’s presidency after serving for ten years before Mutharika. Tembo failed to say anything about this man who has been considered his political bedfellow in the opposition.
Coincidentally the absence of UDF members or any other opposition party members his series of rallies, sent signals that all is not well in the opposition.
This rather confirmed a recent statement by Ishamel Chafukira member of MCP who said his party was determined to go solo in the next general election.
“If other parties are willing to enter into alliance they need to know that we are the main block and they are our subordinates, we will require all top positions,” he said.
Similarly when Muluzi arrived from his foreign trip at Chileka Airport two weeks ago Tembo despite being in Blantyre during that same time was absent to welcoming him.
Just days after Tembo’s rallies Muluzi has gone through the same places holding his rallies. This explains the absence of unity in Malawi opposition. And Gwanda Chakuamba instead of concentrated on the already existing political groups, he is busy in court fighting reinstatement of his party deregistered last year.
It is interpreted that Chakuamba who is much described as a political spent force is trying to create a negotiating bet. If he tolerates automatic death of his party, it would mean he would not be able to negotiate anything with fellow opposition.
Meanwhile political commentators have predicted that Mutharika has an upper hand over opposition which is replete with recycled politicians.
says he is independent of United Democratic Front (UDF) despite working together for 2009 general election. He also says the opposition parties working with UDF are forming a single block to represent the South and will compete with presidential candidates from other regions in the emotional elections coming on in 2009.
He said he has not joined the former ruling party and does not intend to join Chair Bakili Muluzi’s party because he has his own grouping which has independent ideology.
He said this during a public rally in Phalombe addressed by Muluzi last Sunday.
He disclosed that the idea behind their working relationship with the UDF is to support one candidate in the South to contest with other candidates from the other regions namely Central and North.
This reflects that though currently the opposition seems working together in Parliament the gurus are separated on their agendas especially with Malawi Congress Party (MCP) whose President John Tembo already announced he would stand in 2009. In a great way Gwanda ruled out any alliance with the MCP.
“We are supporting one candidate in the South, our candidate will contest with other candidates from the other regions and he will emerge victors, our candidate is UDF chairman Bakili Muluzi,” he said.
Noel Mbowera a political analyst has said Bingu may have an edge taking into account the collapse of opposition unity in the country.
“The incumbent may have an upper hand, due his fair governance, he also has upper hand due to disunity of opposition, we are coming to terms that in Malawi, opposition cannot work as one, they differ in so many agendas,” he said.
The past three years Mutharika and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), opposition fronts marshaled by main block Malawi Congress Party (MCP) have been able to play hard and effective tackles on Mutharika leadership.
Dictating what should happen and what should not, taking advantage of their numerical advantages.
In the national assembly opposition have been winning when it comes to voting on bills. Despite being in different parties they have been working together, doing political activities together including holding mass rallies.
United Democratic Front (UDF) a party which sponsored Mutharika before he dumped on accusations of corruption, to form his DPP, has been foaming with vengeous in the the years.
Another heavy weight politician Gwanda Chakuamba who before 2004 elections was a big force in Malawi politics forced his party New Republican Party into joining forces with his former rivals in the opposition, to remove Mutharika come 2009 elections.
But with just 16 months things have changed.with everybody wanting to at least rule Malawi once in life time.
The foregoing according to political commentators makes Mutharika getting even stronger towards elections than was immediately after getting into office.
Recently, main opposition Malawi Congress Party president John Tembo held a number of mass rallies in the populous city of Blantyre but avoided talking anything about opposition unity ahead of the polls.
His speech was a total disappointment as he failed to clear mist regarding opposition coalition particularly with fellow opposition United Democratic Front (UDF).
Worse though he also avoided making any statements UDF chairman Bakili Muluzi, the former president who desires to bounce back to the country’s presidency after serving for ten years before Mutharika. Tembo failed to say anything about this man who has been considered his political bedfellow in the opposition.
Coincidentally the absence of UDF members or any other opposition party members his series of rallies, sent signals that all is not well in the opposition.
This rather confirmed a recent statement by Ishamel Chafukira member of MCP who said his party was determined to go solo in the next general election.
“If other parties are willing to enter into alliance they need to know that we are the main block and they are our subordinates, we will require all top positions,” he said.
Similarly when Muluzi arrived from his foreign trip at Chileka Airport two weeks ago Tembo despite being in Blantyre during that same time was absent to welcoming him.
Just days after Tembo’s rallies Muluzi has gone through the same places holding his rallies. This explains the absence of unity in Malawi opposition. And Gwanda Chakuamba instead of concentrated on the already existing political groups, he is busy in court fighting reinstatement of his party deregistered last year.
It is interpreted that Chakuamba who is much described as a political spent force is trying to create a negotiating bet. If he tolerates automatic death of his party, it would mean he would not be able to negotiate anything with fellow opposition.
Meanwhile political commentators have predicted that Mutharika has an upper hand over opposition which is replete with recycled politicians.
says he is independent of United Democratic Front (UDF) despite working together for 2009 general election. He also says the opposition parties working with UDF are forming a single block to represent the South and will compete with presidential candidates from other regions in the emotional elections coming on in 2009.
He said he has not joined the former ruling party and does not intend to join Chair Bakili Muluzi’s party because he has his own grouping which has independent ideology.
He said this during a public rally in Phalombe addressed by Muluzi last Sunday.
He disclosed that the idea behind their working relationship with the UDF is to support one candidate in the South to contest with other candidates from the other regions namely Central and North.
This reflects that though currently the opposition seems working together in Parliament the gurus are separated on their agendas especially with Malawi Congress Party (MCP) whose President John Tembo already announced he would stand in 2009. In a great way Gwanda ruled out any alliance with the MCP.
“We are supporting one candidate in the South, our candidate will contest with other candidates from the other regions and he will emerge victors, our candidate is UDF chairman Bakili Muluzi,” he said.
Noel Mbowera a political analyst has said Bingu may have an edge taking into account the collapse of opposition unity in the country.
“The incumbent may have an upper hand, due his fair governance, he also has upper hand due to disunity of opposition, we are coming to terms that in Malawi, opposition cannot work as one, they differ in so many agendas,” he said.
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