Malawi's memorials to late first lady raise eyebrows

Malawi has pulled out the stops to mourn its late first lady, mounting a multimillion-dollar memorial roadshow that critics say is a political ploy by her embattled husband, President Bingu wa Mutharika.
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Ethel Mutharika, 63, died last week after a long struggle with cancer and the government quickly declared a month of official mourning for a woman well known for her charity work with orphans.

Since then, however, the government's memorial plans have grown into what many regard as an extravaganza at odds with Malawi's status as one of the poorest countries in the world.

"(The president) is getting a lot of sympathy and he is using this to garner more support, especially in the regions where he is not as popular," said a senior member of the United Democratic Front (UDF), which wa Mutharika abandoned after he won the presidency on its ticket in 2004.

Another senior UDF member told Reuters the president's new popularity makes it difficult for the party to oppose him.

"It is working for him that's why as UDF, I don't think we will go ahead to boycott the 2007/08 national budget," the UDF official said.

Both UDF members asked for anonymity.

Some political analysts think wa Mutharika, who has fought incessant battles as the leader of a precarious minority government, is treading on dangerous ground both politically and economically.

"This is an occasion that cannot be dismissed, it is the first time such a thing has happened in Malawi and therefore no precedent set," Rafiq Hajat, executive director of the local Institute for Policy Interaction, told Reuters.

"But the president has to be mindful of the political ramifications of moving the remains of the First Lady around."

CAMPAIGNING FROM THE GRAVE

A South African jet has been hired to fly Ethel Mutharika's body around the country so it can be put on view for mourners in the country's three major cities.

Special commemorative cloth, similar to that used in many African political campaigns but this time bearing Mutharika's portrait, has been distributed for free.

Most government offices are closed, auctions for the country's main export earner, tobacco, have been postponed, and Malawi's state broadcasters have been working overtime to cover the various memorial services.

Workers are busy paving a new road to the president's rural farm, which will be the site of a new tomb for the first lady which planners say has been designed to last for 200 years.

The farm itself meanwhile is being refurbished for what officials expect will be an influx of dignitaries ahead of the formal burial on Saturday.

Few are willing to talk publicly about the government's funerary splurge. But sources in Treasury told Reuters the cost is running over at more than 2 billion kwacha (over US$10 million), which is under a government account being called State Funeral Expenses for the First Lady.

"We cannot disclose the exact cost of all this. This will be revealed at a later date," chairman of the funeral arrangements committee Davies Katsonga, who is also minister in the President's office, told a local daily this week.

OUT OF STEP WITH TRADITION

The government has already gone on record saying that contributions from well-wishers are being used to meet some of the expenses. Over 50 million kwacha has been realised it says.

But this clearly will not cover all the costs, which include the South African transport jet and a contract with Portugal's Mota-Engil construction firm to build the new mausoleum.

Malawi Economic Network for Economic Justice (MEJN), a local economic watchdog, said it was concerned about the cost of the memorial in a country where 65 percent of the people live below the world poverty line of $1 per day.

"We are all mourning the loss but at the end of the day, government has to let the nation know how much was spent on the funeral," MEJN Executive Director Mavuto Bamusi told Reuters.

A well-known government critic, Tom Likambale, said the parade of memorials was at odds with both Malawi's economic situation and its cultural traditions, which demand dignity and respect for the dead.

"Culturally in Malawi, people travel to pay their respects. A dead body does not travel so that it can receive respects," Likambale said.