While the European Union (EU) has wanted a conclusion to the economic partnership agreements (EPAs) as soon as possible, the Malawian government has been staving off a deal.
The deadline for EPAs at the end of last year passed without Malawi signing -- in contrast to other African states such as Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and the members of the Southern African Customs Union, excluding South Africa.
The Malawi government indicated that it was taking its time considering the implications of the EPAs, for fear of getting bound to an agreement that might not be good for the nation. The EPAs are deals aimed at liberalising trade between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.
Secretary for Trade Newby Kumwembe told IPS last month that Malawi does not want to rush into signing an agreement without exhausting all channels of consultation within the government hierarchy.
"The EPA is not a temporary agreement. This is something that Malawi is going to live with for a very long time. We cannot therefore rush to make a decision that might make us have regrets at a later stage," cautioned Kumwembe.
For such "an important trade agreement", the trade ministry, which has been directly involved in the trade negotiations, needs to go through all its bureaucratic channels which meant consulting the whole state machinery.
Kumwembe mentioned the country's foreign affairs ministry and the cabinet as some of the important groups that have to scrutinise and recommend on whether the country should sign an EPA or not.
"You don't negotiate for a raw deal. We want to sign an agreement that has no loopholes and that's why we want to have conclusive consultations," added Kumwembe.
Malawi government consultations can take "very long" and no timeframe has been set for a decision to be made. "It may take some time before we, as a country, know for sure what we're going to do on the EPA," said Kumwembe.
At the beginning of this month Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika said at a press conference that he will not allow Malawi to sign the EPA because it will not benefit Malawians. Instead, it is expected to be harmful to the country.
Mutharika went as far as to accuse the EU of "imperialism".
He was critical of the EU's stance that EPA signatories will be assisted with money from the European Development Fund (EDF).
"This is imperialism by the EU which we must fight against because the EDF funding has nothing to do with EPA conditionalities. They are doing this in order to punish those that who are not signing their agreements. Now, if the agreement is so good, why do they have to force people to sign?" asked Mutharika.
The government's decision could mean that it is bowing to the pressure mounted by 10 of the country's most influential non-governmental (NGOs). They have been protesting against the signing of the EPA in its current form since early last year.
In April 2007 five civil society organisations wrote to EU president Angela Merkel, arguing that the EPAs will prevent Malawi and other poor countries to protect their domestic industries with tariffs and other means.
The Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN), consisting of NGOs advocating economic justice, is one of the organisations that have been against the signing of the EPAs.
MEJN executive director Andrew Kumbatira told IPS that, "the government should not sign this trade agreement in its current form. Critical issues of development and supply side constraints have not been addressed to Malawi's satisfaction".
He said Malawi would need a capital injection of up to 5.7 billion euros to counter the supply-side constraints and other adjustment costs if it were to benefit from the proposed EPA trading framework.
Without the resources, Malawi would be fully exposed to the shocks that take place in the commodities markets from time to time.
Kumbatira also said the EU wants to tie Malawians into an agreement that reduces the country's policy space to consider other and more profitable economic agreements with other regions.
"Asia is an upcoming major economic power which might potentially be a better alternative for Malawi," said Kumbatira. He was worried that Malawi was being asked, under the EPAs, to liberalise 80 percent of all its trade with the EU.
"This means that the Malawian market will be put in direct competition with the European market. This will be very unfair for our small country as we are just an emerging economy. The EPAs could easily destroy the great potential to grow we have."
Interestingly, Malawi's parliamentary committee on trade had already approved the signing of the interim EPA on trade in goods. The temporary deal is aimed at averting disruption of trade between African countries and the EU, following the expiry of the Cotonou Agreement at the end of last year.
The signing of the EPAs was initially slated for the end of last year but ministers from the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region, of which Malawi is part, said at the ESA-European Commission ministerial negotiating meeting in Brussels in November last year that it was not practical to do so.
Kumbatira said at the Brussels meeting African leaders called for more work in the negotiations until they can be reviewed.
"Through the African Union, African leaders underlined the importance of trade and development cooperation to the partnership they share with the EU.
"They stated that now more than ever, Africa needs economic partnerships that will see its people grow in economic power, and living standards commensurate to their dignity as human beings," said Kumbatira.
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Malawi worried by armed robbery
Malawian Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have expressed worry over an increased spate of armed robberies, at least three of them being carried out with toy guns.
Malawi is mainly a peaceful country that, just in the recent past, people would be seen flocking to wherever they heard gun sounds -forcing reknowed national creatitive artists into joking that Malawians would one day run to their own death as they seemed to be addicted to guns. But that has since changed since the advent of multiparty politics, as the country has unprecedendently witnessed an increase in gun vilence and armed robberies.
Residents of Manja -a township in Malawi's commercial city, Blantrye, in Southern Malawi, last week had a rude awakening when some of their community members went shopping at one of the townships popular supermarkets, belonging to the wife of former Sports Minister Jaffarie Mussa. Suspected armed robbers took seige of the shop and, for almost two hours, robbed -apparently using a phoney AK47 and pistol- all those who patronised the shop before rocking them in a toilet.
In another incident in the same district, an armed robbery was foiled when, after being forced to sleep on their stomachs at a popular night club, one of the intoxicated patrons just stood up and asked the 'robber' to kill him or it was he who would kill the suspected robber. The robber took to his heels, because incidentally the gun was also a toy.
According to Blantyre Police Public Relations Officer, Elizabeth Divala, police are still investigating the incidents, but CSOs have called for more action.
Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) Executive Director, Undule Mwakasungula, said yesterday the current spate of armed violence was an indication that things were going out of hand.
He said it was high time for government to support the Armed Trade Treaty Agreement (ATT) if the problem was to be solved, noting that threatened citizens could not contribute significantly towards national development.
"Let the Malawi Police Service intensify security, especially as we nearer the 2009 elections so that we do not experience a scenario like that of Kenya, when the opposition refused to accept the results of the elections and thus spurred the country into unnecessary chaos and deaths.
"It is also important to join international efforts in this area by supporting the ATT," said Mwakasungula.
An ATT is a proposed agreement aimed at monitoring the flow of arms from the manufacturer to the buyer, to avoid arms from being used to violate human rights, especially in war zones. It follows a United Nations General Assembly meeting in December 2006 when 153 member states agreed on the need to form an ammicable arms trade treaty as part of international efforts to reduce cases of arms falling in wrong hands.
People's Federation for National Peace and Development (Pefenap) Executive Director, Edward Chaka expressed disappointment over increased cases of armed robberies, especially with toy guns, saying the trend showed that robbers were beginning to take the law into their own hands, thus threatening national security.
"Just recently, some armed robbers came to my home. Luckly a Police patrol vehicle was passing by and there was a mouse-cut chase, which shows that these people are losing fear, the police are somehow doing something. Instead of just condemning, we must join hands with them but, otherwise, I am also disappointed with these incidents," said Chaka, whose organisation is a member of the National Focal on Arms, a police and CSOs network aimed at curbing arms proliferatio.
Malawi is mainly a peaceful country that, just in the recent past, people would be seen flocking to wherever they heard gun sounds -forcing reknowed national creatitive artists into joking that Malawians would one day run to their own death as they seemed to be addicted to guns. But that has since changed since the advent of multiparty politics, as the country has unprecedendently witnessed an increase in gun vilence and armed robberies.
Residents of Manja -a township in Malawi's commercial city, Blantrye, in Southern Malawi, last week had a rude awakening when some of their community members went shopping at one of the townships popular supermarkets, belonging to the wife of former Sports Minister Jaffarie Mussa. Suspected armed robbers took seige of the shop and, for almost two hours, robbed -apparently using a phoney AK47 and pistol- all those who patronised the shop before rocking them in a toilet.
In another incident in the same district, an armed robbery was foiled when, after being forced to sleep on their stomachs at a popular night club, one of the intoxicated patrons just stood up and asked the 'robber' to kill him or it was he who would kill the suspected robber. The robber took to his heels, because incidentally the gun was also a toy.
According to Blantyre Police Public Relations Officer, Elizabeth Divala, police are still investigating the incidents, but CSOs have called for more action.
Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) Executive Director, Undule Mwakasungula, said yesterday the current spate of armed violence was an indication that things were going out of hand.
He said it was high time for government to support the Armed Trade Treaty Agreement (ATT) if the problem was to be solved, noting that threatened citizens could not contribute significantly towards national development.
"Let the Malawi Police Service intensify security, especially as we nearer the 2009 elections so that we do not experience a scenario like that of Kenya, when the opposition refused to accept the results of the elections and thus spurred the country into unnecessary chaos and deaths.
"It is also important to join international efforts in this area by supporting the ATT," said Mwakasungula.
An ATT is a proposed agreement aimed at monitoring the flow of arms from the manufacturer to the buyer, to avoid arms from being used to violate human rights, especially in war zones. It follows a United Nations General Assembly meeting in December 2006 when 153 member states agreed on the need to form an ammicable arms trade treaty as part of international efforts to reduce cases of arms falling in wrong hands.
People's Federation for National Peace and Development (Pefenap) Executive Director, Edward Chaka expressed disappointment over increased cases of armed robberies, especially with toy guns, saying the trend showed that robbers were beginning to take the law into their own hands, thus threatening national security.
"Just recently, some armed robbers came to my home. Luckly a Police patrol vehicle was passing by and there was a mouse-cut chase, which shows that these people are losing fear, the police are somehow doing something. Instead of just condemning, we must join hands with them but, otherwise, I am also disappointed with these incidents," said Chaka, whose organisation is a member of the National Focal on Arms, a police and CSOs network aimed at curbing arms proliferatio.
Ex-president Muluzi eyes comeback in Malawi
Malawi's former president Bakili Muluzi is to seek his party's endorsement as its candidate in next year's national elections at a convention here on Thursday, a senior party official said.
"So far we have two candidates who will compete at the convention ... Muluzi and the country's vice president Cassim Chilumpha," Humphrey Mvula, a spokesman of the former ruling United Democratic Front, told AFP.
Mvula said up to 2,000 delegates drawn from all 28 districts of the impoverished southern African nation will be entitled to vote for Chilumpha or Muluzi, who holds the influential position of party chairman.
"This will be a big leadership and popularity test," Mvula, dubbed the "chief strategist" for Muluzi, said.
Chilumpha, who became vice president after competing as a running mate to President Bingu wa Mutharika in the 2004 presidential polls, has been under house arrest since May 2006 for allegedly plotting to kill the president by hiring South African hitmen.
He and businessman Yusuf Matumula have been charged with treason and conspiracy to commit murder and their trial is due to begin next month.
Muluzi was head of state from 1994 to 2004 and reluctantly handed over power to his chosen successor Mutharika.
The former president, who wrested power from dictator Kamuzu Banda in the country's first democratic elections, failed in a bid to amend the constitution to allow him to stand for a third term before the 2004 polls.
Assessment of an undergraduate psychiatry course in an African setting
International reports recommend the improvement in the amount and quality of training for mental health workers in low and middle income countries. The Scotland-Malawi Mental Health Education Project (SMMHEP) has been established to support the teaching of psychiatry to medical students in the University of Malawi.
While anecdotally supportive medical educational initiatives appear of value, little quantitative evidence exists to demonstrate whether such initiatives can deliver comparable educational standards. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of an undergraduate psychiatry course given by UK psychiatrists in Malawi by studying University of Malawi and Edinburgh University medical students' performance on an MCQ examination paper.
Methods: An undergraduate psychiatry course followed by an MCQ exam was delivered by the SMMHEP to 57 Malawi medical students.
This same MCQ exam was given to 71 Edinburgh University medical students who subsequently sat their own Edinburgh University examination.
Results: There were no significant differences between Edinburgh students' performance on the Malawi exam and their own Edinburgh University exam.
(p=0.65). This would suggest that the Malawi exam is a comparable standard to the Edinburgh exam.
Malawi students marks ranged from 52.4%-84.6%. Importantly 84.4% of Malawi students scored above 60% on their exam which would equate to a hypothetical pass by UK university standards.
Conclusion: The support of an undergraduate course in an African setting by high income country specialists can attain a high percentage pass rate by UK standards.
Although didactic teaching has been surpassed by more novel educational methods, in resource poor countries it remains an effective and cost effective method of gaining an important educational standard.
Author: Benjamin J Baig, Anna Beaglehole, Robert C Stewart, Leonie Boeing, Douglas H Blackwood, Johan Leuvennink and Felix Kauye
Credits/Source: BMC Medical Education 2008, 8:23
While anecdotally supportive medical educational initiatives appear of value, little quantitative evidence exists to demonstrate whether such initiatives can deliver comparable educational standards. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of an undergraduate psychiatry course given by UK psychiatrists in Malawi by studying University of Malawi and Edinburgh University medical students' performance on an MCQ examination paper.
Methods: An undergraduate psychiatry course followed by an MCQ exam was delivered by the SMMHEP to 57 Malawi medical students.
This same MCQ exam was given to 71 Edinburgh University medical students who subsequently sat their own Edinburgh University examination.
Results: There were no significant differences between Edinburgh students' performance on the Malawi exam and their own Edinburgh University exam.
(p=0.65). This would suggest that the Malawi exam is a comparable standard to the Edinburgh exam.
Malawi students marks ranged from 52.4%-84.6%. Importantly 84.4% of Malawi students scored above 60% on their exam which would equate to a hypothetical pass by UK university standards.
Conclusion: The support of an undergraduate course in an African setting by high income country specialists can attain a high percentage pass rate by UK standards.
Although didactic teaching has been surpassed by more novel educational methods, in resource poor countries it remains an effective and cost effective method of gaining an important educational standard.
Author: Benjamin J Baig, Anna Beaglehole, Robert C Stewart, Leonie Boeing, Douglas H Blackwood, Johan Leuvennink and Felix Kauye
Credits/Source: BMC Medical Education 2008, 8:23
Malawi suspends tobacco sales after price dispute
Malawi on Tuesday suspended domestic tobacco sales in major markets due to a price dispute that the finance minister said could undermine economic targets.
Industry regulators, the Tobacco Control Commission, said it froze sales in the Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu markets because of tensions between growers and merchants.
"It has the potential of hurting our economic projections for this calendar year," Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe told Reuters.
Industry officials blamed high prices for the troubles.
"These are the prices that are now hurting the markets because every farmer expects to sell their crop at prices recorded on the first day (of the season)," said Tim Kachitosi, spokesman for Auction Holdings Limited, the country's sole tobacco auctioneers.
"Every day this auction has the capacity of dealing with 10,000 bales of tobacco a day and suspension has meant that we have over 40,000 bales waiting to be sold and a congestion of trucks waiting to off load," he said.
In March, Malawi suspended a three-day-old tobacco auction after farmers withdrew their crop in protest against a drop in the market.
Prices were at record highs when the season opened last month. Farmers sold their crop at between $6 and $11 per kg -- much higher than the minimum $2.20 set by the government.
The government has forecast 8 percent growth this year, slightly higher than the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) projection of 7.7 percent economic expansion.
Tobacco accounts for about 15 percent of the economy of Malawi, one of the world's poorest nations, and about 60 percent of its foreign-currency earnings. The country is one of the world's top 10 producers of tobacco.
Industry regulators, the Tobacco Control Commission, said it froze sales in the Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu markets because of tensions between growers and merchants.
"It has the potential of hurting our economic projections for this calendar year," Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe told Reuters.
Industry officials blamed high prices for the troubles.
"These are the prices that are now hurting the markets because every farmer expects to sell their crop at prices recorded on the first day (of the season)," said Tim Kachitosi, spokesman for Auction Holdings Limited, the country's sole tobacco auctioneers.
"Every day this auction has the capacity of dealing with 10,000 bales of tobacco a day and suspension has meant that we have over 40,000 bales waiting to be sold and a congestion of trucks waiting to off load," he said.
In March, Malawi suspended a three-day-old tobacco auction after farmers withdrew their crop in protest against a drop in the market.
Prices were at record highs when the season opened last month. Farmers sold their crop at between $6 and $11 per kg -- much higher than the minimum $2.20 set by the government.
The government has forecast 8 percent growth this year, slightly higher than the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) projection of 7.7 percent economic expansion.
Tobacco accounts for about 15 percent of the economy of Malawi, one of the world's poorest nations, and about 60 percent of its foreign-currency earnings. The country is one of the world's top 10 producers of tobacco.
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