BLANTYRE - Former colonial power Britain urged Malawi on Thursday to ensure next year's general election does not trigger the kind of violence that followed recent disputed polls in Zimbabwe and Kenya.
After pledging eight million dollars to help fund joint parliamentary and presidential elections due in May 2009, British high commissioner Richard Wildash said ‘bad elections’ could undermine the foundations of democracy.
‘Nothing can so thoroughly undermine democracy as bad elections,’ said Wildash.
Citing last December's vote in Kenya, where some 1,500 people were killed after the disputed re-election of President Mwai Kibaki, Wildash said the deadly dangers of a poorly-conducted poll were clear to see.
‘The people's confidence in national processes and institutions was damaged, including belief in the transfer of power by peaceful means,’ he said.
He said Zimbabwe was also ‘experiencing this pain,’ adding that widespread violence, torture and murder had ‘compounded the economic suffering and despair that followed the consistent and often brutal erosion of fundamental rights.’
Zimbabwe is due to hold a run-off election on June 27 after a first round in March which saw opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai officially fall short of an outright majority over veteran President Robert Mugabe.
Tsvangirai, who is only taking part in the poll under protest after insisting he won more than 50 percent first time round, says more than 60 of his supporters have been killed by pro-Mugabe militias since the first round.
‘Elections go to the heart of what democracy is all about ... They are the moment when people decide their future and say what they want,’ Wildash added.
Malawi has trebled its budget for the 2009 poll to avoid a repeat of a fiasco in 2004 elections in which voters' roll figures were inflated.
The southern African nation has recently been rocked by a power struggle between President Bingu wa Mutharika and his predecessor Bakili Muluzi who was arrested last month over accusations he was involved in a coup plot, although no charges have been brought.
Muluzi has been chosen as the Malawi opposition's candidate in next year's presidential poll although he is constitutionally prohibited from running again after previously serving two terms.
Thursday, 12 June 2008
Shehata confident of Malawi win
Egypt coach Hassan Shehata is confident the Pharoahs will get a result against Malawi on Saturday, despite their limited options up front.
Emad Meteb and Mohamed Fadl have been ruled out of the World Cup qualifier due to injury, while Zamalek frontman Amr Zaki is also doubtful due to knee problems.
Shehata told Filigoal: "We have players capable of deputising for Meteb and the other injured strikers."
Harras Al-Hodoud forward Ahmed Eid, who scored Egypt's winner against DR Congo earlier this month, is expected to partner Zaki, if the Wigan target can shrug off a knee problem.
Shehata, who led Egypt to back-to-back Nations Cup titles, has also expressed his confidence that the Pharoahs can shake off their poor form away from home.
Egypt are renowned for their stuttering displays against Africa's minnows on the road.
"A win over Malawi is important because it would lift us through to the next phase of the qualifiers," Shehata said.
Egypt are on top of Group 12 with six points from two matches after overcoming DR Congo and Djibouti.
Concert to help Malawi widows
The students of Ticia Marra's Studio will present a benefit concert at 7 p.m. Friday for the Malawi Widows Fund.
The north country has a connection with Malawi, a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, due to visits there by members of Watertown's First Presbyterian Church. Last summer, members of the Malawi Youth Choir toured the north country for several weeks.
In Malawi, widows are persecuted by in-laws who take their property and money. Mrs. Marra said many of her students are involved in First Presbyterian Church and are active in the plight of Malawians.
This is only the second benefit concert organized by Mrs. Marra. Her students performed the first one shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, Islamic terror attacks.
"I want to teach my students that art can make a difference," Mrs. Marra said.
The concert of Broadway, classical and pop music will be held at First Presbyterian Church, 403 Washington St. A Powerpoint presentation on the Widow's Fund will be given during intermission. Donations will be welcomed
The north country has a connection with Malawi, a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, due to visits there by members of Watertown's First Presbyterian Church. Last summer, members of the Malawi Youth Choir toured the north country for several weeks.
In Malawi, widows are persecuted by in-laws who take their property and money. Mrs. Marra said many of her students are involved in First Presbyterian Church and are active in the plight of Malawians.
This is only the second benefit concert organized by Mrs. Marra. Her students performed the first one shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, Islamic terror attacks.
"I want to teach my students that art can make a difference," Mrs. Marra said.
The concert of Broadway, classical and pop music will be held at First Presbyterian Church, 403 Washington St. A Powerpoint presentation on the Widow's Fund will be given during intermission. Donations will be welcomed
Teacher heading to Malawi
A local substitute teacher will be spending her summer holidays working in one of the poorest nations in the world.
Alyssa Martin is leaving June 21 to spend 12 weeks in Mwaya, Malawi, Africa to teach in a school that has more than 800 students and only six teachers.
"It's something I've always wanted to do," Martin said. She and her friend, Tiffany Young have joined with the charity Ripple Africa to work in Mwaya until the end of August. They'll be staying in the Ripple Africa camp on Mwaya beach off the coast of Lake Malawi.
Along with teaching in the classroom, Martin and Young will be helping out with other programs the charity's involved in. "We'll be right in the classroom teaching as well as doing other things for the charity, like HIV awareness and other projects," Martin said.
Currently one in three people are living with HIV or AIDS and 54 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line in Malawi. The average life expectancy is 36-years-old.
Martin and Young raised more than $7,000 for the trip and won't be paid for any of the time they spend there. Martin said she hopes by going people will realize that Africa isn't as terrible as everyone believes and more people will want to help these organizations.
Ripple Africa is a charity based out of England. It funds various programs in Mwaya including school construction, health clinics and forestry projects. Only local Malawians are employed by the charity to ensure all the money raised is going directly to the community.
After spending some preparation time in England, Martin and Young will go to Africa at the beginning of July and will be there until the end of the summer.
Alyssa Martin is leaving June 21 to spend 12 weeks in Mwaya, Malawi, Africa to teach in a school that has more than 800 students and only six teachers.
"It's something I've always wanted to do," Martin said. She and her friend, Tiffany Young have joined with the charity Ripple Africa to work in Mwaya until the end of August. They'll be staying in the Ripple Africa camp on Mwaya beach off the coast of Lake Malawi.
Along with teaching in the classroom, Martin and Young will be helping out with other programs the charity's involved in. "We'll be right in the classroom teaching as well as doing other things for the charity, like HIV awareness and other projects," Martin said.
Currently one in three people are living with HIV or AIDS and 54 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line in Malawi. The average life expectancy is 36-years-old.
Martin and Young raised more than $7,000 for the trip and won't be paid for any of the time they spend there. Martin said she hopes by going people will realize that Africa isn't as terrible as everyone believes and more people will want to help these organizations.
Ripple Africa is a charity based out of England. It funds various programs in Mwaya including school construction, health clinics and forestry projects. Only local Malawians are employed by the charity to ensure all the money raised is going directly to the community.
After spending some preparation time in England, Martin and Young will go to Africa at the beginning of July and will be there until the end of the summer.
Radio Station Harassed By Regulatory Body
The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has summoned Joy Radio Limited, owned by former President Bakili Muluzi, and the state broadcasters Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) and Television Malawi (TVM) for breaching the Broadcasting Services Code of Conduct.
A letter to Joy Radio dated 30 May 2008 and signed by MACRA Director General Allexon Chiwaya, lists five charges against the station. The letter further states that Joy Radio's reports relating to government and the president are "not truthful, accurate and objective, contrary to the requirements of Section 3(1) of the Broadcasting Services Code of Conduct".
"You have used your private (commercial) sound broadcasting licence predominantly for the advancement of the political views and agenda of the United Democratic Front and Dr. Bakili Muluzi, as opposed to doing so for the making of profit and the advancement of the financial interests of the owners of Joy Radio Limited, contrary to the purpose and interest of the licence," reads the letter, in part.
In response, in a 4 June letter to MACRA, Joy Radio's lawyer, Ralph Kasambara, argues that the letter to his client is too general, and asks MACRA to be more specific. Kasambara says his client charges customers for their services and that Muluzi and the United Democratic Front (UDF) are paying customers of his client's.
According to Joy Radio's manager Peter Chisale, MACRA is merely looking for an excuse to close the station.
MACRA Public Relations Manager Zadziko Mankhambo said MBC and TVM had also been summoned, based on complaints from the public and MACRA's monitoring unit, which noticed the breach of the Broadcasting Services Code of Conduct by the two institutions in some of their programmes.
The summons to Joy Radio comes amid declarations by Information and Civic Education Minister Patricia Kaliati that the station is "political" in its conduct and that MACRA should withdraw its licence.
This is not the first time Joy Radio has clashed with MACRA. In early 2007, the station challenged the composition of the MACRA board, arguing, among other things, that some of the appointed members lacked qualifications, expertise and experience in the field of telecommunications and broadcasting. Subsequently, on 13 July 2007 High Court Judge Frank Kapanda ruled for the dissolution of the MACRA board, as then comprised. On 29 October 2007 Joy Television, a sister company to Joy Radio and linked to former president Bakili Muluzi, was prohibited from broadcasting by MACRA, which argued that the station's licence had expired.
MBC and TVM, on the other hand, have been accused of promoting the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) party's propaganda and of continually castigating the opposition. In 2007, the opposition-dominated Parliament denied the two institutions funding from the national budget, citing "biased reporting towards government and DPP" as one of the reasons. The main opposition Malawi Congress Party has also threatened that in 2008, MBC and TVM will not be funded.
On 2 June 2008, MCP Spokesperson on Parliamentary Affairs Ishmael Chafukira said his party hoped that, having been denied funding in 2007, the MBC and TVM would endeavour to improve, but that, instead, the practices of the two broadcasters have deteriorated and, therefore, they do not deserve support from the national budget.
A letter to Joy Radio dated 30 May 2008 and signed by MACRA Director General Allexon Chiwaya, lists five charges against the station. The letter further states that Joy Radio's reports relating to government and the president are "not truthful, accurate and objective, contrary to the requirements of Section 3(1) of the Broadcasting Services Code of Conduct".
"You have used your private (commercial) sound broadcasting licence predominantly for the advancement of the political views and agenda of the United Democratic Front and Dr. Bakili Muluzi, as opposed to doing so for the making of profit and the advancement of the financial interests of the owners of Joy Radio Limited, contrary to the purpose and interest of the licence," reads the letter, in part.
In response, in a 4 June letter to MACRA, Joy Radio's lawyer, Ralph Kasambara, argues that the letter to his client is too general, and asks MACRA to be more specific. Kasambara says his client charges customers for their services and that Muluzi and the United Democratic Front (UDF) are paying customers of his client's.
According to Joy Radio's manager Peter Chisale, MACRA is merely looking for an excuse to close the station.
MACRA Public Relations Manager Zadziko Mankhambo said MBC and TVM had also been summoned, based on complaints from the public and MACRA's monitoring unit, which noticed the breach of the Broadcasting Services Code of Conduct by the two institutions in some of their programmes.
The summons to Joy Radio comes amid declarations by Information and Civic Education Minister Patricia Kaliati that the station is "political" in its conduct and that MACRA should withdraw its licence.
This is not the first time Joy Radio has clashed with MACRA. In early 2007, the station challenged the composition of the MACRA board, arguing, among other things, that some of the appointed members lacked qualifications, expertise and experience in the field of telecommunications and broadcasting. Subsequently, on 13 July 2007 High Court Judge Frank Kapanda ruled for the dissolution of the MACRA board, as then comprised. On 29 October 2007 Joy Television, a sister company to Joy Radio and linked to former president Bakili Muluzi, was prohibited from broadcasting by MACRA, which argued that the station's licence had expired.
MBC and TVM, on the other hand, have been accused of promoting the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) party's propaganda and of continually castigating the opposition. In 2007, the opposition-dominated Parliament denied the two institutions funding from the national budget, citing "biased reporting towards government and DPP" as one of the reasons. The main opposition Malawi Congress Party has also threatened that in 2008, MBC and TVM will not be funded.
On 2 June 2008, MCP Spokesperson on Parliamentary Affairs Ishmael Chafukira said his party hoped that, having been denied funding in 2007, the MBC and TVM would endeavour to improve, but that, instead, the practices of the two broadcasters have deteriorated and, therefore, they do not deserve support from the national budget.
South Africa apologises to Malawi over xenophobic attacks
Blantyre, Malawi - South Africa has formerly apologised to Malawi for the recent wave of xenophobic attacks on African migrants that left more than 60 pe r sons dead, five of them Malawians.
"Our relationship historically has been there. We are conscious that if it was n ot for Malawians who came to work in the South African mines, we would not have h ad the foundation to make our economy such a strong one," said the South African
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Aziz Pahad, who is currently visiting Malawi..
Pahad was speaking on the sidelines of the signing ceremony of the Joint Commiss ion of Co-operation between Malawi and South Africa.
He said his government regretted the xenophobic attacks that saw South Africans in the poor informal settlements of Johannes, Cape Town and Durban turn against b rother Africans whom they accuse of stealing their jobs.
Said Pahad: "The vast majority of people have condemned these actions. President Thabo Mbeki has not only called it a shame but has also strongly condemned it a n d called in the army to help the police to deal with this act."
He said what was clear was that a few criminals perpetrated the attacks while th e majority of South Africans had condemned them.
He said once the situation was normalised South Africa would assist Malawians an d other Africans to legally return and work in South Africa in peace.
Hundreds of lowly-educated Malawians trek to South Africa every year to pick up informal jobs shunned by indigenous South African for their low wages.
Most South African informal employers prefer foreigners because they take any wa ge without complaints.
Meanwhile, Malawians fleeing South Africa have asked their government to conside r giving the 'starter-pack' cash to help them resettle back in Malawi since most of them abandoned all the property they had accumulated over the years when the a ttacks began.
However, the Minister of Women and Child Development, Honourable Anna Kachikho, said government had no such plans.
She, however, said government would make sure all of them reached their various homes.
On the Joint Commission of Co-operation between Malawi and South Africa, Malawi' s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Henri Mumba said the agreement would ensure th a t development activities taking place in the two countries were important to the i r economic growth.
The Joint Commission, among other things, deals with issues of bilateral importa nce to the two countries, particularly in the area of trade, investment, tourism , health and agriculture.
Mumba said South Africa would benefit from Malawi in the areas of food security and HIV/AIDS.
"We believe that South Africa being a more advanced country than Malawi, we shou ld benefit a lot from the technological advances that the country has made," he s aid.
"Of course there are things as well that Malawi can be able to share with South Africa especially in the agriculture and health sectors - especially in the mana g ement of HIV/AIDS.
"Our relationship historically has been there. We are conscious that if it was n ot for Malawians who came to work in the South African mines, we would not have h ad the foundation to make our economy such a strong one," said the South African
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Aziz Pahad, who is currently visiting Malawi..
Pahad was speaking on the sidelines of the signing ceremony of the Joint Commiss ion of Co-operation between Malawi and South Africa.
He said his government regretted the xenophobic attacks that saw South Africans in the poor informal settlements of Johannes, Cape Town and Durban turn against b rother Africans whom they accuse of stealing their jobs.
Said Pahad: "The vast majority of people have condemned these actions. President Thabo Mbeki has not only called it a shame but has also strongly condemned it a n d called in the army to help the police to deal with this act."
He said what was clear was that a few criminals perpetrated the attacks while th e majority of South Africans had condemned them.
He said once the situation was normalised South Africa would assist Malawians an d other Africans to legally return and work in South Africa in peace.
Hundreds of lowly-educated Malawians trek to South Africa every year to pick up informal jobs shunned by indigenous South African for their low wages.
Most South African informal employers prefer foreigners because they take any wa ge without complaints.
Meanwhile, Malawians fleeing South Africa have asked their government to conside r giving the 'starter-pack' cash to help them resettle back in Malawi since most of them abandoned all the property they had accumulated over the years when the a ttacks began.
However, the Minister of Women and Child Development, Honourable Anna Kachikho, said government had no such plans.
She, however, said government would make sure all of them reached their various homes.
On the Joint Commission of Co-operation between Malawi and South Africa, Malawi' s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Henri Mumba said the agreement would ensure th a t development activities taking place in the two countries were important to the i r economic growth.
The Joint Commission, among other things, deals with issues of bilateral importa nce to the two countries, particularly in the area of trade, investment, tourism , health and agriculture.
Mumba said South Africa would benefit from Malawi in the areas of food security and HIV/AIDS.
"We believe that South Africa being a more advanced country than Malawi, we shou ld benefit a lot from the technological advances that the country has made," he s aid.
"Of course there are things as well that Malawi can be able to share with South Africa especially in the agriculture and health sectors - especially in the mana g ement of HIV/AIDS.
Meteb out of Malawi trip
CAIRO: Egypt's striking crisis has mounted after Emad Meteb pulled out of the squad facing Malawi in the World Cup qualifiers on Saturday.
The Ahly striker is still suffering from neck pain that prevented him from participating in Egypt's 4-0 win over Djibouti on Friday.
The Pharaohs have already lost Ismaili frontman Mohamed Fadl, who sustained an elbow injury during the Djibouti game.
There are also doubts over whether Wigan target Amr Zaki can play as he is suffering from knee problems.
It won’t be the first time the striker reports knee injury when playing on artificial turf.
Hassan Shehata will be short of attacking options upfront as Hamburg forward Mohamed Zidan is suspended by the Egyptian Football Association for faking injury.
The six-time African champions lead Group 12 with six points from two matches.
The Ahly striker is still suffering from neck pain that prevented him from participating in Egypt's 4-0 win over Djibouti on Friday.
The Pharaohs have already lost Ismaili frontman Mohamed Fadl, who sustained an elbow injury during the Djibouti game.
There are also doubts over whether Wigan target Amr Zaki can play as he is suffering from knee problems.
It won’t be the first time the striker reports knee injury when playing on artificial turf.
Hassan Shehata will be short of attacking options upfront as Hamburg forward Mohamed Zidan is suspended by the Egyptian Football Association for faking injury.
The six-time African champions lead Group 12 with six points from two matches.
Meteb out of Malawi trip
CAIRO: Egypt's striking crisis has mounted after Emad Meteb pulled out of the squad facing Malawi in the World Cup qualifiers on Saturday.
The Ahly striker is still suffering from neck pain that prevented him from participating in Egypt's 4-0 win over Djibouti on Friday.
The Pharaohs have already lost Ismaili frontman Mohamed Fadl, who sustained an elbow injury during the Djibouti game.
There are also doubts over whether Wigan target Amr Zaki can play as he is suffering from knee problems.
It won’t be the first time the striker reports knee injury when playing on artificial turf.
Hassan Shehata will be short of attacking options upfront as Hamburg forward Mohamed Zidan is suspended by the Egyptian Football Association for faking injury.
The six-time African champions lead Group 12 with six points from two matches.
The Ahly striker is still suffering from neck pain that prevented him from participating in Egypt's 4-0 win over Djibouti on Friday.
The Pharaohs have already lost Ismaili frontman Mohamed Fadl, who sustained an elbow injury during the Djibouti game.
There are also doubts over whether Wigan target Amr Zaki can play as he is suffering from knee problems.
It won’t be the first time the striker reports knee injury when playing on artificial turf.
Hassan Shehata will be short of attacking options upfront as Hamburg forward Mohamed Zidan is suspended by the Egyptian Football Association for faking injury.
The six-time African champions lead Group 12 with six points from two matches.
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