The high court of Malawi has thrown out former president Bakili Muluzi's bail application. Muluzi was placed under house arrest on Sunday on treason charges.
He's denied allegations that he connived with security chiefs to overthrow President Bingu wa Mutharika.
Muluzi's lawyers say the former President should be granted bail because his client has been under house arrest for more than 48 hours without any charge.
Police arrested Muluzi at Lilongwe airport upon arrival from a visit to Britain on May 25 and escorted him to his residence in Blantyre. Police also searched his property. This comes a week after 12 other people were charged with treason.
Muluzi was president of Malawi from 1994 until 2004. He was a successor of Hastings Kamuzu Banda, who ruled Malawi for more than 30 years, from 1961 to 1994.
Friday, 30 May 2008
Carbon Credits Could Fund Development
An initiative to improve the health, wealth and environment of Malawians is being driven by a proposal to trade in carbon credits.
The concept is to trade carbon credits earned by curbing the effects of climate change through mechanisms established under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, to cover the cost of improving the lives and health of vulnerable communities in the world's poorest continent, which is also the least responsible for producing the greenhouse gases contributing to climate change.
"We believe what we are trying to do will work well, although it might take a few years to see large-scale results. This methodology is different to the traditional approach to development aid, as it is output- rather than input-orientated," Malawi-based Conor Fox, one of two men behind the venture, told IRIN.
"Almost every country in Africa is signed up to Kyoto. We decided to set up our operation in Malawi in February [2008] because it is one of the continent's least developed countries, which makes it one of the most vulnerable to climate change," Fox said.
According to a 2003 report by Malawi's National Energy Plan, the landlocked country, with a population of about 12 million, derives 93 percent of its energy needs from wood. As a consequence, the National Forestry Plan estimates that about 2.8 percent of the remaining woodland is being lost annually.
Reducing Malawi's reliance on wood as a source of energy would not only lower the levels of CO2 entering the atmosphere, but also prevent rivers from becoming silted up, soil erosion, and other negative environmental impacts such as the seasonal drying of water courses and flash flooding.
Fox and his UK-based partner, John O'Connor, who is managing the commercialisation of the enterprises, have launched two projects to reduce wood consumption.
Tobacco industry
The first aims to heighten efficiency in the country's largest export business, tobacco farming, by improving the technology smallholder farmers use to flue-cure the leaves in barns, which is usually done by means of wood-fired furnaces.
Updating this with technology developed by biomass energy consultant Peter Scott, a Canadian who has developed an affordable and efficient wood-burning furnace, the amount of wood required to cure a kilogram of tobacco has been reduced from a ratio of 15:1 to 2.5:1.
Even out in the field, farmers using one of our older model furnaces burn 50 percent less wood than the traditional method of curing, and the quality of their tobacco is better, so they spend less money on wood and get a better price for their tobacco
"Even out in the field, farmers using one of our older model furnaces burn 50 percent less wood than the traditional method of curing, and the quality of their tobacco is better, so they spend less money on wood and get a better price for their tobacco," Scott told IRIN.
Tests are being carried out to measure the difference in CO2 emissions between the new method, known as a 'Rocket Barn', and the old method. Scott said if he could get 5,000 of his 'Rocket Barn' curing systems established it would reduce the annual carbon emissions by Malawi's tobacco industry by about 100,000 tonnes.
"The potential for large-scale reductions is huge, as tobacco is grown throughout the region by large- and small-scale tobacco farmers. If we can roll out in a number of countries we can have a very positive effect," Fox said.
The second project aims to mass-produce ceramic stoves for cooking.
In 2001 the National Forestry Plan reported that household cooking and heating by means of traditional open fires accounted for about 82 percent of wood consumption in Malawi, as 97 percent of the population have no access to electricity at home.
The company owned by Fox intends to build on the initial work done by the Irish non-governmental organisation (NGO), Cara Malawi, which helped women in Kaphuka village, about 65km south of the capital, Lilongwe, make their own improved ceramic stoves.
"We feel there is also great potential here, as the improved ceramic stove design is made from local materials using local skills; that reduces wood consumption by about 50 percent, and reduces the exposure of women and children to indoor air pollution," Fox said.
National health statistics show that around 12,000 Malawians, many of them children, die each year from respiratory problems directly attributed to the smoke produced by cooking on indoor traditional fires, and the new technology would also reduce respiratory illnesses.
Any interventions rolled out by Fox and O'Connor have to complement and be consistent with the government's National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), which is aimed at increasing Malawi's resilience in the face of a changing climate.
To ensure that this occurs, those who roll out interventions have to secure a letter of support from the Department of Environmental Affairs, which is the national focal point for Kyoto's clean development mechanisms and the NAPA.
"So one of the really important things is to build a relationship of trust with the government, and particularly the Department of Environmental Affairs, if this is to become successful," Fox said. "This is a risky business, as it is a relatively new concept that requires great sensitivity to everyone involved."
Managing carbon credits
It would mean that finance, channelled via the carbon-credit system, is secured on the back of verifiable results of carbon emission reductions, rather than being provided before any positive results have been achieved.
The development programme's ability to reduce carbon emissions can be measured by Gold Standard, a Switzerland-based non-profit organisation established in 2006 to guarantee environmental and development integrity, after the scrutinising the results.
Every tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) stopped from entering the earth's atmosphere under the Gold Standard measurement system earns the project one credit. This credit can then be sold to countries, companies, individuals and organisations that overproduce CO2, to offset the fines they can incur under the Kyoto Protocol.
"Unless we can scientifically prove our programmes reduce emissions into the atmosphere, and are of benefit to the host country in terms of sustainable development, we cannot earn the carbon credits we need to fund the programmes' large-scale rollout," Fox said. "If we have the credits to sell, then you know we are reducing emissions through our development programmes."
Kyoto's provisions allow industrial countries to meet part of their treaty obligations by financing projects in developing countries that achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Many northern hemisphere countries have already exceeded the greenhouse gas emission levels they set when they agreed to the treaty because of their heavy reliance on fossil fuels. A way of reducing this figure to meet targets in the short term, besides pro-actively reducing greenhouse gas emissions, is to purchase carbon credits from other countries or companies who have made verifiable greenhouse gas reductions.
The concept is to trade carbon credits earned by curbing the effects of climate change through mechanisms established under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, to cover the cost of improving the lives and health of vulnerable communities in the world's poorest continent, which is also the least responsible for producing the greenhouse gases contributing to climate change.
"We believe what we are trying to do will work well, although it might take a few years to see large-scale results. This methodology is different to the traditional approach to development aid, as it is output- rather than input-orientated," Malawi-based Conor Fox, one of two men behind the venture, told IRIN.
"Almost every country in Africa is signed up to Kyoto. We decided to set up our operation in Malawi in February [2008] because it is one of the continent's least developed countries, which makes it one of the most vulnerable to climate change," Fox said.
According to a 2003 report by Malawi's National Energy Plan, the landlocked country, with a population of about 12 million, derives 93 percent of its energy needs from wood. As a consequence, the National Forestry Plan estimates that about 2.8 percent of the remaining woodland is being lost annually.
Reducing Malawi's reliance on wood as a source of energy would not only lower the levels of CO2 entering the atmosphere, but also prevent rivers from becoming silted up, soil erosion, and other negative environmental impacts such as the seasonal drying of water courses and flash flooding.
Fox and his UK-based partner, John O'Connor, who is managing the commercialisation of the enterprises, have launched two projects to reduce wood consumption.
Tobacco industry
The first aims to heighten efficiency in the country's largest export business, tobacco farming, by improving the technology smallholder farmers use to flue-cure the leaves in barns, which is usually done by means of wood-fired furnaces.
Updating this with technology developed by biomass energy consultant Peter Scott, a Canadian who has developed an affordable and efficient wood-burning furnace, the amount of wood required to cure a kilogram of tobacco has been reduced from a ratio of 15:1 to 2.5:1.
Even out in the field, farmers using one of our older model furnaces burn 50 percent less wood than the traditional method of curing, and the quality of their tobacco is better, so they spend less money on wood and get a better price for their tobacco
"Even out in the field, farmers using one of our older model furnaces burn 50 percent less wood than the traditional method of curing, and the quality of their tobacco is better, so they spend less money on wood and get a better price for their tobacco," Scott told IRIN.
Tests are being carried out to measure the difference in CO2 emissions between the new method, known as a 'Rocket Barn', and the old method. Scott said if he could get 5,000 of his 'Rocket Barn' curing systems established it would reduce the annual carbon emissions by Malawi's tobacco industry by about 100,000 tonnes.
"The potential for large-scale reductions is huge, as tobacco is grown throughout the region by large- and small-scale tobacco farmers. If we can roll out in a number of countries we can have a very positive effect," Fox said.
The second project aims to mass-produce ceramic stoves for cooking.
In 2001 the National Forestry Plan reported that household cooking and heating by means of traditional open fires accounted for about 82 percent of wood consumption in Malawi, as 97 percent of the population have no access to electricity at home.
The company owned by Fox intends to build on the initial work done by the Irish non-governmental organisation (NGO), Cara Malawi, which helped women in Kaphuka village, about 65km south of the capital, Lilongwe, make their own improved ceramic stoves.
"We feel there is also great potential here, as the improved ceramic stove design is made from local materials using local skills; that reduces wood consumption by about 50 percent, and reduces the exposure of women and children to indoor air pollution," Fox said.
National health statistics show that around 12,000 Malawians, many of them children, die each year from respiratory problems directly attributed to the smoke produced by cooking on indoor traditional fires, and the new technology would also reduce respiratory illnesses.
Any interventions rolled out by Fox and O'Connor have to complement and be consistent with the government's National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), which is aimed at increasing Malawi's resilience in the face of a changing climate.
To ensure that this occurs, those who roll out interventions have to secure a letter of support from the Department of Environmental Affairs, which is the national focal point for Kyoto's clean development mechanisms and the NAPA.
"So one of the really important things is to build a relationship of trust with the government, and particularly the Department of Environmental Affairs, if this is to become successful," Fox said. "This is a risky business, as it is a relatively new concept that requires great sensitivity to everyone involved."
Managing carbon credits
It would mean that finance, channelled via the carbon-credit system, is secured on the back of verifiable results of carbon emission reductions, rather than being provided before any positive results have been achieved.
The development programme's ability to reduce carbon emissions can be measured by Gold Standard, a Switzerland-based non-profit organisation established in 2006 to guarantee environmental and development integrity, after the scrutinising the results.
Every tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) stopped from entering the earth's atmosphere under the Gold Standard measurement system earns the project one credit. This credit can then be sold to countries, companies, individuals and organisations that overproduce CO2, to offset the fines they can incur under the Kyoto Protocol.
"Unless we can scientifically prove our programmes reduce emissions into the atmosphere, and are of benefit to the host country in terms of sustainable development, we cannot earn the carbon credits we need to fund the programmes' large-scale rollout," Fox said. "If we have the credits to sell, then you know we are reducing emissions through our development programmes."
Kyoto's provisions allow industrial countries to meet part of their treaty obligations by financing projects in developing countries that achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Many northern hemisphere countries have already exceeded the greenhouse gas emission levels they set when they agreed to the treaty because of their heavy reliance on fossil fuels. A way of reducing this figure to meet targets in the short term, besides pro-actively reducing greenhouse gas emissions, is to purchase carbon credits from other countries or companies who have made verifiable greenhouse gas reductions.
China to finance Malawi sports and leisure development
The government of the People's Republic of China is to finance the construction of a sports complex, an international conference centre, a university complex and a five-star hotel in Malawi.
China's Deputy Minister of Commerce, Gao Hucheng, says the Chinese government will finance these projects in addition ongoing projects that were being backrolled by the Taiwanese government before Malawi severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of the mainland in December last year.
This took place after the Asian economic giant had reportedly dangled $6-billion in development aid for the impoverished Southern African country.
Consequently, the Taiwanese government abandoned all the projects it had been financing in Malawi, including the construction of the $45-million Karonga–Chitipa road, in the northern region of the country, and the construction of a Parliamentary complex in the capital, Lilongwe.
"The government of the People's Republic of China is ready to finance the projects that were abandoned by the Taiwanese in addition to the new projects," says Hucheng, who recently led a 46-member Chinese delegation to Malawi. Its main objective was to explore for investment opportunities in the African country.
Hucheng says China is currently seeking a contractor for the Karonga–Chitipa road project, which a Taiwanese contractor abandoned in its preliminary phase.
The government of China announced earlier this year that it would hire a contractor from within the Southern African Development Community region to build the Karonga–Chitipa road project because it would take a long time for a Chinese contractor to mobilise and ship equipment to Malawi.
Engineers from China have already inspected the project and concluded that it would be completed in two years; the Taiwanese who had planned to implement the project in four years.
"We are aware of the importance of completing this important road project, and we are working to ensure that work resumes as soon as possible," says Hucheng.
With regard to the Parliamentary complex, Hucheng says Chinese designers are inspecting the structure abandoned by the Taiwanese and that the process to identify a new contractor is at an advanced stage.
Currently, Malawi's Parliamentary secretariat is housed in a rented building, while Parliamentary sessions are held at the New State House, in Lilongwe, which is the official residence of President Bingu wa Mutharika.
China has pledged to finance all projects abandoned by the Taiwanese and other new projects, including components of the $6-billion Shire-Zambezi waterway.
China's Deputy Minister of Commerce, Gao Hucheng, says the Chinese government will finance these projects in addition ongoing projects that were being backrolled by the Taiwanese government before Malawi severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of the mainland in December last year.
This took place after the Asian economic giant had reportedly dangled $6-billion in development aid for the impoverished Southern African country.
Consequently, the Taiwanese government abandoned all the projects it had been financing in Malawi, including the construction of the $45-million Karonga–Chitipa road, in the northern region of the country, and the construction of a Parliamentary complex in the capital, Lilongwe.
"The government of the People's Republic of China is ready to finance the projects that were abandoned by the Taiwanese in addition to the new projects," says Hucheng, who recently led a 46-member Chinese delegation to Malawi. Its main objective was to explore for investment opportunities in the African country.
Hucheng says China is currently seeking a contractor for the Karonga–Chitipa road project, which a Taiwanese contractor abandoned in its preliminary phase.
The government of China announced earlier this year that it would hire a contractor from within the Southern African Development Community region to build the Karonga–Chitipa road project because it would take a long time for a Chinese contractor to mobilise and ship equipment to Malawi.
Engineers from China have already inspected the project and concluded that it would be completed in two years; the Taiwanese who had planned to implement the project in four years.
"We are aware of the importance of completing this important road project, and we are working to ensure that work resumes as soon as possible," says Hucheng.
With regard to the Parliamentary complex, Hucheng says Chinese designers are inspecting the structure abandoned by the Taiwanese and that the process to identify a new contractor is at an advanced stage.
Currently, Malawi's Parliamentary secretariat is housed in a rented building, while Parliamentary sessions are held at the New State House, in Lilongwe, which is the official residence of President Bingu wa Mutharika.
China has pledged to finance all projects abandoned by the Taiwanese and other new projects, including components of the $6-billion Shire-Zambezi waterway.
World Bank Launches $1.2 Billion Fast-Track Facility for Food Crisis
The World Bank Group announced today it would support global efforts to overcome the global food crisis with a new $1.2 billion rapid financing facility to address immediate needs, including $200 million in grants targeted at the vulnerable in the world's poorest countries.
Announcing several measures to address immediate to longer-term food challenges, the World Bank Group said it would boost its overall support for global agriculture and food to $6 billion next year up from $4 billion, and would launch risk management tools, and crop insurance to protect poor countries and small-holders.
“As we go into the Rome meeting next week, it is crucial that we focus on specific action. Along with our partners, these initiatives will help address the immediate danger of hunger and malnutrition for the two billion people struggling to survive in the face of rising food prices, and contribute to a longer-term solution that must involve many countries and institutions,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick.
Grants for Djibouti ($5 million), Haiti ($10 million), and Liberia ($10 million) are being approved today. Over the coming month, the World Bank expects to provide grant support to Togo, Yemen and Tajikistan. These countries have been identified as high priority based on rapid needs assessments undertaken in the field with the World Food Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Rapid needs assessments have now been completed in more than 25 countries, with another 15 ongoing.
The $1.2 billion facility, which is designed to address immediate needs, supports safety net programs such as food for work, conditional cash transfers, and school feeding programs for the most vulnerable. It provides support for food production – this year and beyond - by supplying seeds and fertilizer, improving irrigation for small-scale farmers, and providing budget support to offset tariff reductions for food and other unexpected costs.
As part of the new facility the World Bank is also establishing a Multi-Donor Trust Fund to facilitate policy and operational co-ordination among donors, and leverage financial support for the rapid delivery of seeds and fertilizer to small farmers for the upcoming planting season.
The new rapid response facility stands alongside other efforts by the World Bank Group to address the global food crisis. The World Bank Board of Executive Directors is considering initiatives to provide risk management tools to poor countries faced by drought and other catastrophes.
“We’re working with our Board to deploy index-related hedges and insurance products to protect poor farmers and countries from weather and supply shocks,” said Zoellick.
Under a proposal being discussed by the Bank’s Board in June, Malawi could be the first of several countries to use the World Bank as an intermediary to access weather derivatives. Should Malawi suffer a drought, then it would be protected against a rise in the price of imported maize. IFC, the World Bank Group member that promotes private sector investment, is proposing to support crop and livestock insurance for small-holders in developing countries.
Announcing several measures to address immediate to longer-term food challenges, the World Bank Group said it would boost its overall support for global agriculture and food to $6 billion next year up from $4 billion, and would launch risk management tools, and crop insurance to protect poor countries and small-holders.
“As we go into the Rome meeting next week, it is crucial that we focus on specific action. Along with our partners, these initiatives will help address the immediate danger of hunger and malnutrition for the two billion people struggling to survive in the face of rising food prices, and contribute to a longer-term solution that must involve many countries and institutions,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick.
Grants for Djibouti ($5 million), Haiti ($10 million), and Liberia ($10 million) are being approved today. Over the coming month, the World Bank expects to provide grant support to Togo, Yemen and Tajikistan. These countries have been identified as high priority based on rapid needs assessments undertaken in the field with the World Food Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Rapid needs assessments have now been completed in more than 25 countries, with another 15 ongoing.
The $1.2 billion facility, which is designed to address immediate needs, supports safety net programs such as food for work, conditional cash transfers, and school feeding programs for the most vulnerable. It provides support for food production – this year and beyond - by supplying seeds and fertilizer, improving irrigation for small-scale farmers, and providing budget support to offset tariff reductions for food and other unexpected costs.
As part of the new facility the World Bank is also establishing a Multi-Donor Trust Fund to facilitate policy and operational co-ordination among donors, and leverage financial support for the rapid delivery of seeds and fertilizer to small farmers for the upcoming planting season.
The new rapid response facility stands alongside other efforts by the World Bank Group to address the global food crisis. The World Bank Board of Executive Directors is considering initiatives to provide risk management tools to poor countries faced by drought and other catastrophes.
“We’re working with our Board to deploy index-related hedges and insurance products to protect poor farmers and countries from weather and supply shocks,” said Zoellick.
Under a proposal being discussed by the Bank’s Board in June, Malawi could be the first of several countries to use the World Bank as an intermediary to access weather derivatives. Should Malawi suffer a drought, then it would be protected against a rise in the price of imported maize. IFC, the World Bank Group member that promotes private sector investment, is proposing to support crop and livestock insurance for small-holders in developing countries.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
