BLANTYRE, 9 June 2008 (IRIN) - Another year, another budget crisis in Malawi, with the opposition once again flexing its muscles by threatening to block the passing of the treasury vote.
It is the fourth consecutive year the tactic has been used. At risk once more are government spending programmes, including its subsidised fertiliser scheme, intended to shore up production by small-scale farmers.
President Bingu wa Mutharika has given legislators until 20 June, the end of the financial year, to pass the budget. "If they don't, I will continue governing up to next year [the date for general elections]," he told a public rally in the commercial capital, Blantyre, on Saturday.
Billy Banda, executive director of Malawi Watch, a human rights advocacy group, has warned that any postponement in passing the budget would delay the government's purchase of inputs needed by farmers before the start of the planting season.
"Rejecting the budget means rejecting innocent people who have nothing to do with party politics. All they are waiting for is to be ensured of a cheap bag of fertiliser. Malawians must wake up and tell these politicians off if we are to produce [a surplus]," he remarked.
Malawi's agriculture has turned a corner since 2005, when drought left close to five million people in need of food aid. Last year Malawi managed to produce a maize surplus of over 1 million tonnes. Several analysts point to cheap fertiliser as key to that success, and this year finance minister Goodall Gondwe wants to spend US$8 million on the subsidy programme.
Budget brinkmanship dates to 2005 when Mutharika dumped his political sponsor, the then ruling United Democratic Front (UDF), to form his own Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after winning general elections earlier that year.
With the support of 60 former UDF colleagues who crossed the floor contravening Section 65 of the constitution, Mutharika formed a minority government pledging to root out corruption. The annual blocking of the budget has been the opposition's revenge.
The UDF and Malawi Congress Party insist that the renegade MPs need a fresh mandate to be seated; the DPP argues that holding 60 by-elections would be a waste of money with national polls around the corner.
Bakili Muluzi, UDF national chairman and former president of Malawi, has accused the government of ignoring the constitution. Muluzi, under house arrest on treason charges since last month, has urged MPs not to give into government intimidation. Several retired and serving army and police officers have also been arrested this year and released on bail.
Appeals to reason
Church leaders, led by Roman Catholic Archbishop Tarcizious Ziyaye, are mediating between the government and the opposition, but their efforts have not generated much optimism in the media: 'Mediation meet stalls', 'Opposition, govt stick to their guns' and 'Clergy want house to adjourn' have been some of the recent headlines.
Andrew Kumbatira, head of the civil society Malawi Economic Justice Network, said media speculation was only worsening the climate. "It is wrong to start predicting that the MPs will not pass the budget because that is not the picture at hand ... I am so optimistic this budget will be approved much easier than was the case last year."
According to Undule Mwakasungura, executive director of the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, a political solution must be found involving party leaders, "because they literally tell MPs what to do once they are in the National Assembly - all this at the expense of the poor."
The budget logjam could also impact on the 2009 elections, which Muluzi - who in 1994 became Malawi's first democratically elected president, but has been forced to fight corruption allegations - intends to contest.
"Elections can only be free and fair if preparations are done in ample time. For instance, there will need to be civic education throughout Malawi and that cannot be done in just a few weeks. It will need months," said Malawi Watch's Banda.
Monday, 9 June 2008
South Africa: Country, Malawi to Discuss Bilateral Trade
Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad will attend a two-day session of the South Africa/Malawi Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) this week to strengthen bilateral programmes of cooperation with Malawi.
Mr Pahad with his Malawian counterpart, Deputy Minister Henri Mumba will co-chair the first session of the JCC.
This is within the context of South Africa's priority to strengthen bilateral political, economic and trade relations with Malawi and consolidate the Southern African Development Community (SADC) developmental agenda.
The session will start on Tuesday and end on Wednesday.
The South Africa's "Global Economic Strategy" places great importance on it engagement with countries in Africa and SADC in particular, as it is believed that the country's economy is inextricably linked with those of other SADC members.
In this regard, both countries regard the establishment of this JCC vital to strengthen relations and to create an environment for a more focused and well coordinated engagement in the areas of trade, tourism, mining, sports, culture, technology, health and agriculture.
In this way, bilateral relations will move to a higher footing and is expected to yield greater benefits for both countries, the department said in a statement.
The JCC will plan and implement bilateral programmes of cooperation while undertaking studies and surveys in the fields of common interest, including:
* Agriculture and livestock;
* Trade, industry, mining and tourism;
* Monetary and financial arrangements;
* Development of transportation and communication facilities, roads and other infrastructure of the two countries;
* Joint development and utilisation of natural and energy resources;
* Health, education and development and utilisation of human resources; Institutional development; and
* Nature conservation and other environmental matters of common concern.
In 2007, Malawi was South Africa's 10th largest export destination in Africa, seventh in the SADC region and ranked eighth with regard to imports from Africa, seventh in the SADC region.
Departments which will be participating in the JCC include the Department of Agriculture, Arts and Culture, Home Affairs, Science and Technology, Transport, Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Trade and Industry, Minerals and Energy, Defense, Social Development and Health.
Mr Pahad with his Malawian counterpart, Deputy Minister Henri Mumba will co-chair the first session of the JCC.
This is within the context of South Africa's priority to strengthen bilateral political, economic and trade relations with Malawi and consolidate the Southern African Development Community (SADC) developmental agenda.
The session will start on Tuesday and end on Wednesday.
The South Africa's "Global Economic Strategy" places great importance on it engagement with countries in Africa and SADC in particular, as it is believed that the country's economy is inextricably linked with those of other SADC members.
In this regard, both countries regard the establishment of this JCC vital to strengthen relations and to create an environment for a more focused and well coordinated engagement in the areas of trade, tourism, mining, sports, culture, technology, health and agriculture.
In this way, bilateral relations will move to a higher footing and is expected to yield greater benefits for both countries, the department said in a statement.
The JCC will plan and implement bilateral programmes of cooperation while undertaking studies and surveys in the fields of common interest, including:
* Agriculture and livestock;
* Trade, industry, mining and tourism;
* Monetary and financial arrangements;
* Development of transportation and communication facilities, roads and other infrastructure of the two countries;
* Joint development and utilisation of natural and energy resources;
* Health, education and development and utilisation of human resources; Institutional development; and
* Nature conservation and other environmental matters of common concern.
In 2007, Malawi was South Africa's 10th largest export destination in Africa, seventh in the SADC region and ranked eighth with regard to imports from Africa, seventh in the SADC region.
Departments which will be participating in the JCC include the Department of Agriculture, Arts and Culture, Home Affairs, Science and Technology, Transport, Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Trade and Industry, Minerals and Energy, Defense, Social Development and Health.
World Bank helps Malawi to cushion rising food prices
The World Bank has announced plans to help Malawi cushion the impact of soaring food prices by equipping it with risk management tools.
“Under the arrangement we also intend to use Malawi as a model as we intend to bring in issues of livestock insurance for smallholder farmers in all developing countries,” said a World Bank official in Malawi.
A statement released by the bank's President Robert Zoellick also testifies to this arrangement.
Malawi's Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe described the World Bank's decision as an honour for Malawi.
“We have been chosen over other countries in the world to be the first to manage the valuable scheme which should prove invaluable in days of climatic change,” intoned Gondwe.
This has come about as World Bank's board of directors is working on an initiative to hedge against skyrocketing prices to provide risk management tools to poor countries faced by drought and other catastrophes in the face high food prices, which has affected a number of countries.
Zoellick said his bank intends to “deploy index-related hedges and insurance products to protect poor farmers and countries from weather and supply shocks.”
Malawi is expected to enter into discussions with the World Bank's board before the end of this month, which will allow it to use the bank's proposal to use it as an intermediary to access weather derivatives.
“Under the arrangement, if it is found that the country's weather conditions have impaired crop production, the insurance company would pay the Malawi Government an agreed amount that would help the country purchase food to alleviate the effects of bad weather,” explained Gondwe.
The finance minister, who presented Malawi's 2008/09 national budget in parliament last Friday and which also touches the issue of soaring food prices, said if the scheme works in Malawi, the World Bank would use it elsewhere in the world.
One civil society organisation in Malawi has pointed out that in Malawi's budget statement, the government mentions how Malawi will gain from the World food price hikes if it continues to export food materials.
The Centre for Social Concern says over the last 12 months, average price of food in the world market has gone up by 56%, with the price of rice rising by 96%.
“We therefore see a lot of challenge for Malawi achieving this trade benefit. This will work only if trade policies at the international market are re-examined to accommodate poor countries like Malawi,” Centre for Social Concern's Social Conditions Research Program Officer Chrissie Kafundu.
“Under the arrangement we also intend to use Malawi as a model as we intend to bring in issues of livestock insurance for smallholder farmers in all developing countries,” said a World Bank official in Malawi.
A statement released by the bank's President Robert Zoellick also testifies to this arrangement.
Malawi's Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe described the World Bank's decision as an honour for Malawi.
“We have been chosen over other countries in the world to be the first to manage the valuable scheme which should prove invaluable in days of climatic change,” intoned Gondwe.
This has come about as World Bank's board of directors is working on an initiative to hedge against skyrocketing prices to provide risk management tools to poor countries faced by drought and other catastrophes in the face high food prices, which has affected a number of countries.
Zoellick said his bank intends to “deploy index-related hedges and insurance products to protect poor farmers and countries from weather and supply shocks.”
Malawi is expected to enter into discussions with the World Bank's board before the end of this month, which will allow it to use the bank's proposal to use it as an intermediary to access weather derivatives.
“Under the arrangement, if it is found that the country's weather conditions have impaired crop production, the insurance company would pay the Malawi Government an agreed amount that would help the country purchase food to alleviate the effects of bad weather,” explained Gondwe.
The finance minister, who presented Malawi's 2008/09 national budget in parliament last Friday and which also touches the issue of soaring food prices, said if the scheme works in Malawi, the World Bank would use it elsewhere in the world.
One civil society organisation in Malawi has pointed out that in Malawi's budget statement, the government mentions how Malawi will gain from the World food price hikes if it continues to export food materials.
The Centre for Social Concern says over the last 12 months, average price of food in the world market has gone up by 56%, with the price of rice rising by 96%.
“We therefore see a lot of challenge for Malawi achieving this trade benefit. This will work only if trade policies at the international market are re-examined to accommodate poor countries like Malawi,” Centre for Social Concern's Social Conditions Research Program Officer Chrissie Kafundu.
Too many fishermen cause stocks to dwindle in giant Lake Malawi
Saidi Afida rows his dugout canoe back to the beach on the shores of Lake Malawi with a worried face.
"Things have really changed," says Afida, in between selling his catch to a group of women at Senga Bay beach in central Malawi.
"Just five years ago I came back from fishing with a full canoe every day. Now it's barely half full," he says.
Afida, 33, knows the the cause of the problem, but he can't do anything about it.
"There are too many of us fishing in this lake. Everybody has become a fisherman and we all fish from the shallow waters."
The 22,490 square kilometer Lake Malawi, bordered by Tanzania and Mozambique, covers a third of the country and is Africa's third largest pool of fresh water.
Home to more than 500 species of fish, it plays a crucial nutritional role by providing for over 60 percent of national protein requirements.
It also is a key source of employment in one of Africa's most impoverished nations. While an estimated 40,000 people fish its waters, many more derive their livelihoods indirectly through industries such as fish processing and boat repairs.
Alexander Bulirani, director of fisheries in the ministry of agriculture and food security, says the number of fishermen had increased by 124 percent in the last decade but denies that stocks are running low.
"The lake still has substantial amount of fish in deep waters" which ordinary fishermen cannot reach without motorised boats.
He said recent research had shown the existence of deep-water offshore fish stocks estimated at a maximum sustainable yield of about 33,000 tonnes per year.
Despite the more than doubling of the size of the fleet, fish production is currently at 50,000 tonnes per annum, down from a peak of 75,000 tonnes in the 1980s.
In order to help fishermen get access to stocks in deep waters, the government has teamed up with the African Development Bank to provide credit to acquire equipment such as outboard engines, fishing nets and drying racks.
Moses Banda, chief fisheries research officer, said the project seeks to give credit to 7,000 fishing communities in four districts along the lakeshore, including Mangochi in southern Malawi, where most of the Chambo is caught.
Bankrolled to the tune of 183 million kwacha (130,000 US dollars), the main aim of the project is to improve household incomes in a country where half of the 13 million citizens live on less than a dollar a day.
Nevertheless, many fishermen fear their industry is doomed without a clear recognition that stocks are finite and that the best chance of preserving stocks in the long-term is to make alternative employment more attractive.
"Will the fish last in this lake? What will our children feed and rely on?" says Iman Saidi.
The 24-year-old has opted for a life as a fishermen even though he had wanted to become a teacher.
"I thought I could become a teacher for a change, but with no jobs, I need to feed my family of two," he said.
Sandalamu Katembo, 70, who retired two decades ago, says there are no job opportunities in this small fishing town on the lake's southwestern shores.
"Young men go to school but they end up taking up fishing as their career. Why go to school then?" he asks.
Daulos Mauambeta, executive director of the leading environmental group, Wildlife Society of Malawi (WSM), says the only solution to halting overfishing is to stop the "open policy" which allows anybody with a licence to "fish as long as they want."
"Malawi needs to establish a quota system. We have this major weakness which allows anybody to fish the whole year. Fish is free here," he told AFP.
Mauambeta said the fishing industry lacks the capacity to monitor and enforce its own regulations.
"There are no guards to monitor the sizes and volumes of catch. In other countries, that's very strict."
The WSM chief also suggests that fishermen must be taught conservation.
"Fishermen are business people, not conservation people. We need to breed a culture that they need to conserve fish to sustain their business."
"Things have really changed," says Afida, in between selling his catch to a group of women at Senga Bay beach in central Malawi.
"Just five years ago I came back from fishing with a full canoe every day. Now it's barely half full," he says.
Afida, 33, knows the the cause of the problem, but he can't do anything about it.
"There are too many of us fishing in this lake. Everybody has become a fisherman and we all fish from the shallow waters."
The 22,490 square kilometer Lake Malawi, bordered by Tanzania and Mozambique, covers a third of the country and is Africa's third largest pool of fresh water.
Home to more than 500 species of fish, it plays a crucial nutritional role by providing for over 60 percent of national protein requirements.
It also is a key source of employment in one of Africa's most impoverished nations. While an estimated 40,000 people fish its waters, many more derive their livelihoods indirectly through industries such as fish processing and boat repairs.
Alexander Bulirani, director of fisheries in the ministry of agriculture and food security, says the number of fishermen had increased by 124 percent in the last decade but denies that stocks are running low.
"The lake still has substantial amount of fish in deep waters" which ordinary fishermen cannot reach without motorised boats.
He said recent research had shown the existence of deep-water offshore fish stocks estimated at a maximum sustainable yield of about 33,000 tonnes per year.
Despite the more than doubling of the size of the fleet, fish production is currently at 50,000 tonnes per annum, down from a peak of 75,000 tonnes in the 1980s.
In order to help fishermen get access to stocks in deep waters, the government has teamed up with the African Development Bank to provide credit to acquire equipment such as outboard engines, fishing nets and drying racks.
Moses Banda, chief fisheries research officer, said the project seeks to give credit to 7,000 fishing communities in four districts along the lakeshore, including Mangochi in southern Malawi, where most of the Chambo is caught.
Bankrolled to the tune of 183 million kwacha (130,000 US dollars), the main aim of the project is to improve household incomes in a country where half of the 13 million citizens live on less than a dollar a day.
Nevertheless, many fishermen fear their industry is doomed without a clear recognition that stocks are finite and that the best chance of preserving stocks in the long-term is to make alternative employment more attractive.
"Will the fish last in this lake? What will our children feed and rely on?" says Iman Saidi.
The 24-year-old has opted for a life as a fishermen even though he had wanted to become a teacher.
"I thought I could become a teacher for a change, but with no jobs, I need to feed my family of two," he said.
Sandalamu Katembo, 70, who retired two decades ago, says there are no job opportunities in this small fishing town on the lake's southwestern shores.
"Young men go to school but they end up taking up fishing as their career. Why go to school then?" he asks.
Daulos Mauambeta, executive director of the leading environmental group, Wildlife Society of Malawi (WSM), says the only solution to halting overfishing is to stop the "open policy" which allows anybody with a licence to "fish as long as they want."
"Malawi needs to establish a quota system. We have this major weakness which allows anybody to fish the whole year. Fish is free here," he told AFP.
Mauambeta said the fishing industry lacks the capacity to monitor and enforce its own regulations.
"There are no guards to monitor the sizes and volumes of catch. In other countries, that's very strict."
The WSM chief also suggests that fishermen must be taught conservation.
"Fishermen are business people, not conservation people. We need to breed a culture that they need to conserve fish to sustain their business."
Ramblings: Homage to My Greatest Coach
In January I started teaching again with the beginning of a new Malawian school year. A year into teaching I am much more comfortable in my role as a teacher, and see it as the greatest impact I am making in Mwazisi. Teaching provides a connection to the younger members of the community, and is a great opportunity to begin encouraging environmental stewardship for the future leaders. A lot of my students are orphans, so in addition to encouraging environmental values I also try to serve as a role model to encourage some of the qualities I think are valuable in a person like honesty, respect, and focused effort. In pushing these traits I realize that I am echoing the words I used to hear from my Dad growing up, and modeling my teaching style and classroom management in Mwazisi after so many years of observing my Dad coaching basketball.
When I arrived in Mwazisi last year I offered to help out at the secondary school during my spare time. The headmaster took that to mean I would be a full time teacher, and told me that I’d be taking over the Form one physical science class the following week. I began teaching by taking over for a class halfway through the school year in a subject that I haven’t even thought about since I was 16 years old. The additional combination of a language barrier with my Form ones, and the hormonal insanity of any 13 to 15 year old, made my first couple weeks of teaching feel like the third circle of hell.
I decided to stick with it when I realized what an incredible need for teachers there was at Mwazisi Community Day Secondary School (CDSS). Most of the other teachers only show up to teach about half of the time, and when they do show up they just sit under a mango tree while the class prefect copies the notes straight out of the teachers edition onto the crumbling chalkboard. A few of the teachers put a legitimate effort into their teaching, but most of them are burnt out and uninspired. I can’t say that I really blame them; teaching in Malawi is a daunting job, with over-crowded classes (58 students in my Form one class), and a complete lack of resources (my class doesn’t even have desks or chairs, but instead sit on planks and scrap wood from the half finished school block next door).
Over the remainder of the school year the students got more used to my teaching and my American English. As I saw that they understood the concepts I was teaching faster I was able to pick up the pace of my teaching and cover more material. They began to participate more and I became more creative in my teaching, improvising class experiments and demonstrations with whatever materials I could scrap together. In one instance I used the students themselves to represent atoms in different states of matter. One third of them acted as solid matter, squeezed together, just shifting their weight back and forth to represent the vibration of the molecules. Another third of the class represented liquids, and moved freely around the room weaving around the solids and passing each other. The last third were the gases, running from one side of the class to the other, colliding (while laughing) into anything in their way including each other. I’m sure the rest of the school was wondering what the crazy Azungu was up to in his class, but the students clearly enjoyed my break from conventional teaching and showed better and better efforts as the year went on. I was extremely proud to see the tremendous improvements the class as a whole showed on my final exam, and was really touched when I heard that at the end of the year the class had gone to the headmaster and asked if I could also teach their Form two Physical Science class.
While I looked forward to teaching my original class, I was not looking forward to starting from scratch with a whole new class of Form one students. I knew that the first few months would be a struggle so I decided to set the tone for the year early on, laying out my expectations for the class at the beginning hoping to start off on the right foot. I thought back to the teachers who had most impressed me and how they controlled our classes, while also inspiring us to give our best effort. But the more I thought about my past experiences, the more I realized that the best example I could imitate didn’t come from my classroom teachers. I realized that my greatest example for teaching is my Father as a basketball coach.
When I arrived in Mwazisi last year I offered to help out at the secondary school during my spare time. The headmaster took that to mean I would be a full time teacher, and told me that I’d be taking over the Form one physical science class the following week. I began teaching by taking over for a class halfway through the school year in a subject that I haven’t even thought about since I was 16 years old. The additional combination of a language barrier with my Form ones, and the hormonal insanity of any 13 to 15 year old, made my first couple weeks of teaching feel like the third circle of hell.
I decided to stick with it when I realized what an incredible need for teachers there was at Mwazisi Community Day Secondary School (CDSS). Most of the other teachers only show up to teach about half of the time, and when they do show up they just sit under a mango tree while the class prefect copies the notes straight out of the teachers edition onto the crumbling chalkboard. A few of the teachers put a legitimate effort into their teaching, but most of them are burnt out and uninspired. I can’t say that I really blame them; teaching in Malawi is a daunting job, with over-crowded classes (58 students in my Form one class), and a complete lack of resources (my class doesn’t even have desks or chairs, but instead sit on planks and scrap wood from the half finished school block next door).
Over the remainder of the school year the students got more used to my teaching and my American English. As I saw that they understood the concepts I was teaching faster I was able to pick up the pace of my teaching and cover more material. They began to participate more and I became more creative in my teaching, improvising class experiments and demonstrations with whatever materials I could scrap together. In one instance I used the students themselves to represent atoms in different states of matter. One third of them acted as solid matter, squeezed together, just shifting their weight back and forth to represent the vibration of the molecules. Another third of the class represented liquids, and moved freely around the room weaving around the solids and passing each other. The last third were the gases, running from one side of the class to the other, colliding (while laughing) into anything in their way including each other. I’m sure the rest of the school was wondering what the crazy Azungu was up to in his class, but the students clearly enjoyed my break from conventional teaching and showed better and better efforts as the year went on. I was extremely proud to see the tremendous improvements the class as a whole showed on my final exam, and was really touched when I heard that at the end of the year the class had gone to the headmaster and asked if I could also teach their Form two Physical Science class.
While I looked forward to teaching my original class, I was not looking forward to starting from scratch with a whole new class of Form one students. I knew that the first few months would be a struggle so I decided to set the tone for the year early on, laying out my expectations for the class at the beginning hoping to start off on the right foot. I thought back to the teachers who had most impressed me and how they controlled our classes, while also inspiring us to give our best effort. But the more I thought about my past experiences, the more I realized that the best example I could imitate didn’t come from my classroom teachers. I realized that my greatest example for teaching is my Father as a basketball coach.
Malawi begins new census
Malawi on Sunday began its fifth census since its 1964 independence from Britain, a decade after the last head count was held in the AIDS-blighted and impoverished southern African nation.
The 18-million-dollar (12-million-euro) project will see some 13,000 workers collecting data for three weeks.
"This is an opportunity for everyone to have an influence on Malawi's development by being counted," Charles Machinjiri, commissioner for the national statistical office, told AFP.
Machinjiri said the preliminary results will be announced after three months, with full results in December.
The Malawi government, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Britain, Germany and Ireland are sponsoring the project.
Malawi conducted its last census in 1998 when the recorded population was 9.8 million.
The population is currently estimated at 12 million, three times the number established in the first census in 1966.
Malawi has been hard hit by AIDS. About 14 percent of the population is infected with the HIV virus, and the AIDS pandemic has cut life expectancy to 36.
The country is one of Africa's poorest, where half the population lives below the poverty line of one dollar a day.
The 18-million-dollar (12-million-euro) project will see some 13,000 workers collecting data for three weeks.
"This is an opportunity for everyone to have an influence on Malawi's development by being counted," Charles Machinjiri, commissioner for the national statistical office, told AFP.
Machinjiri said the preliminary results will be announced after three months, with full results in December.
The Malawi government, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Britain, Germany and Ireland are sponsoring the project.
Malawi conducted its last census in 1998 when the recorded population was 9.8 million.
The population is currently estimated at 12 million, three times the number established in the first census in 1966.
Malawi has been hard hit by AIDS. About 14 percent of the population is infected with the HIV virus, and the AIDS pandemic has cut life expectancy to 36.
The country is one of Africa's poorest, where half the population lives below the poverty line of one dollar a day.
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