I write to inform you that you have been such a loyal friend, often uninvited guest to my fates. Your love is unexplainable in time of destitution, hunger, disease you stay by my side.

Staying by my side, it does not mean you help, but you only watch me suffer and chase away everyone who comes to give me support. Therefore, I have no friends but you.

Poverty my friend, why you chase people around me? Oh I guess you are jealous of them, they could come with shelter, clothes and foods for me while you always with nothing.

I remember my mum used to hate you, every advice she gave me was to work hard in class so that I might overcome you.

“Education my son is the key to success,” mum used to say.

Are you an opposite of Success? Sorry for asking you some foolish questions is just today I try to be frank with you. I fail most of time to recall when we met, but I guess is through my parents or rather my country. It’s just I do not know you much despite being my best friend.

Yes it’s through my parent; my mum gave up on me as she admitted not to afford to pay school fees. The school fees she claimed to be a ‘key to success. Therefore, she left me with no key to success. As my father did not even try as the failure was his nature. Then bursaries and charities worked for my education until I got Bachelor’s degree, the claimed key.

Well, sometimes I think you were introduced into my life through my beloved country. Yes born in this country is again a curse, your grandmother.  Poor governance, corruption, nepotism and irresponsible leaders are just forming a cloud that gives evil rain which showers unceasingly on me.

As ‘ikakuwona litsiro sikata’ this evil rain has really seen the heap of my impurities, dirties and infirmities, it has indeed seen you by my side.

I wish my mum could be alive now, I could definitely challenge her that the ‘claimed key’ is no more working in this country to overcome you, it seems you have become resistant to it. Leaders are just toasting up and down with this claimed key, playing with it as if it’s their pocket zip, they zip up and down when they want to do any selfish move. It’s really useless now.

Poverty my friend, with your jealous heart, you have put me in this awkward situation. No employer no me personally so that I cannot be employed.  You then have made the ‘claimed key to be useless as incompetent labours are the ones getting health position in companies. Therefore, the country continues to be on low developing pace.

Therefore, poverty my friend, may you leave me alone, this country too so that I may think peacefully of another key to overcome you, to honour a soul of my mum.

Your best friend, poor man.

The vast majority of smallholder farmers in Malawi are food insecure and dependent on rain-fed agriculture. To respond to this challenge, IFAD in partnership with the World Bank is supporting the government of Malawi to rehabilitate and construct irrigation schemes to address the challenges of low productivity and increase profitability of Malawi’s agriculture sector.

Malawi’s agriculture sector relies primarily on maize and relies on mono-cropping practices resulting in  underemployment during the dry season.  Low production and productivity and lack of diversification in farming systems has led to persistent food insecurity, poor dietary intake, poverty and undernutrition.

IFAD funded irrigation systems in Malawi have helped farmers to adopt improved technologies such as irrigation farming, crop diversification and use of improved seeds and fertilizers. This has led to an increase in household income and improved access to different food varieties leading to a diversified diet. 

Irrigation, Rural Livelihoods and Agricultural Development Programme (IRLADP)
An independent impact assessment survey assessed that the IFAD-funded Rural Livelihoods and Agricultural Development Project (IRLADP) had positive impact on the lives of beneficiaries and reduced the proportion of poor households by 21%, increased agricultural productivity by 68% and improved household incomes by 50%.

The survey observed that 37% of the income was spent on food thus contributing to the wellbeing of previously food insecure and poor households.

System of Rice Intensification (SRI)  – Growing more with less
The Systems of Rice Intensification (SRI) is an innovative agricultural practice to improve food sufficiency at household level and respond to the growing demand for food and the ever increasing scarcity of natural resources such as land and water.

In Malawi, SRI is being championed by the IFAD-funded Irrigation Rural Livelihoods and Agricultural Development (IRLAD) Project. The IRLAD project trained over 5,000 farmers in irrigation schemes to adopt SRI technology as a way of ensuring optimum utilization of the irrigation schemes and improve yield using less farm inputs.

According to rice farmers who have adopted the SRI technology, there are six principles that the farmers must follow for SRI to be successful. The principles include:

• transplanting rice seedlings at a much younger age
• plant single seedling per hill instead of a handful of seedlings at each hill
• space plants wide apart
• plant in a square pattern of (23×23) cm
• use intermittent water application to create wet and dry soil conditions instead of the conventional continuous flood irrigation
• use of conno-weeder –  an instrument used for weeding. Conno weeder promotes aeration in the soil as it cuts rice roots which in turn induces the development of new tillers around a particular hill. Farmers who used conoweeders during 2013/2014 rainy season counted 45 to 60 tillers from one seedling instead of 4 to 7 tillers.

“We did not believe that one seedling could produce over 45 to 60 seedlings from a single seedling planted, our friends thought we were going back  at night  to the fields and planting some seedlings”, explained Mr  G.Njala of Likangala Complex irrigation scheme in Zomba and Mr Alhaji Chale of Lifuwu irrigation scheme.

“My friends thought I was crazy when I planted one seedling per hill” says Mrs Chisi, “but when they saw an impressive crop a few days later, they insisted to know the secret behind all this” she explained with pride.
“This season, because of using SRI practices, I expect to harvest  nine bags of 50 kg each on a 0.1 ha plot (4,500 kgs /ha) where previously I used to harvest four bags of 50 kgs each ( 2,500 kgs /ha)”, she said. She further said that with the proceedings from rice sales, she hopes to buy a bicycle so that she can move around more easily and save some money to build a house next year after harvesting and selling her produce. 
PRIDE: The way forward

Considering that increase in income and access to food do not guarantee good nutrition, IRLADP’s  successes will be replicated in the IFAD-funded Programme for Rural Irrigation Development (PRIDE).

The main thrust of PRIDE is to upgrade irrigation schemes to enable smallholder farmers move from low value to high value crops. The implementation of PRIDE aims to improve the livelihood of beneficiaries, get them out of poverty and provide them good nutritional status.

In view of building and scaling-up the IRLADP’s positive impact, PRIDE is committed to address nutrition concerns from design through implementation and the project activities will focus on:

• ensuring dietary diversity
• addressing women workload
• mounting nutrition awareness campaigns
• sensitizing on food processing, storage and utilisation
• collaborating with other development partners for maximizing impact and generating synergies in agriculture for nutrition programs.

As a nutrition expert, I am confident that a nutrition-sensitive PRIDE will show how sound investment in  agriculture and crop diversification leads to good nutrition.

A health expert has disclosed that over 2,000 young people are admitted for mental disorders every year at Zomba Mental Hospital as a result of suffering from different forms of depression.

A psychiatric clinical officer at Zomba Mental Hospital Henry Kawiya said the institution registers at least 6 to 7 cases of mental disorders every day.

The health specialist made a presentation on Monday in Lilongwe at the start of a three day workshop on “interactive communication strategy for addressing the challenges of depression among youths” in the country.

The Communication Strategy is expected to raise general mental health literacy among young people in understanding depression, its symptoms and how to get help if needed.

Kawiya attributed the “alarming levels” to what he said is failure by some nurses and clinicians to diagnose symptoms of the disease amongst patients at early stages

“ Most cases of depression are missed by nurses in the hospitals, many patients who are suffering from depression end up being given LA as if they are suffering from Malaria or in some instances being advised to take strong pain killers to treat body pains, when in real sense the person is depressed “

“The wards at Zomba Mental Hospital are congested with young people between the ages of 15- 25 who are suffering from different forms of depression ranging from, anxiety, mood disorders, psychotic disorders as well as substance use.

Executive Director of Farm Radio International Rex Chapota whose organisation is coordinating the project, said the programme seeks to develop and evaluate a new model for improving mental health and social well-being of young people affected by depression in the country. – Reported by Ntchindi Meki

On International Mother Earth Day, VSO volunteer Marije contributes a blog about her experiences in Malawi, climate change, and how we can begin to tackle this international issue within the communities it is affecting now.

My name is Marije, a Dutch ecologist and VSO volunteer working as climate change coordinator in the Nsanje district of Malawi. One of the poorest areas in one of the 20 poorest countries in the world. You can imagine, I’m living no life of luxury down here.

There is a lot of discussion about the existence of climate change. But the fact is that a lot of countries are suffering from a changing climate and consequential erratic weather. Unfortunately the countries that suffer the most are often also the poorest. Malawi is one of these countries. A country struggling with a history of political difficulties, a devaluation of the currency, an AIDS epidemic  and which now also needs to deal with bush fires, dry spells and flash floods.

The effects of extreme weather in Malawi are huge. Flash floods wash away crops, roads, houses and people. They also bring waterborne diseases like cholera and other health issues. Flooding isolates villages from hospitals and trading centres, prohibiting adequate measures to cope with these problems. On the other hand, there are dry-spells which also destroy crops, make clean drinking water scarce and cause bush fires. The bush fires cause erosion, which in turn aggravates flash floods during the wet season. It is a downward spiral, causing poverty and all its accompanying problems like child deaths, malnutrition, HIV and AIDS and illiteracy.

Climate change has a huge influence on the living circumstances and ongoing poverty in many countries. And it is quite hard to deal with this because of the complex nature of the problem. The only sustainable solutions are long term and demand a lot of commitment. Climate change is such an important and hot topic in Malawi daily life and politics. It’s way more important than back home in Europe.  Different from the rich western world, the big question in Malawi is not if climate change is real. They are way beyond that. They’re asking the question how to deal with it. How are we and our people going to survive this? How do we get out of this poverty, while nature keeps on destroying our livelihood?

While I’m in Malawi, I’m one of many trying to give an answer to these questions. One thing foremost is clear to all of us: the need to cooperate with local communities. Discuss together why this is happening and what can be done. With only limited money and resources available. The WATERS-project I’m working on is trying to achieve this. Giving local people the opportunity to learn about cause and effect in the long term, and how they can prevent problems by using their own surroundings and the eco-system. It will take a long while to get there. But people are eager to learn. They have to. In the meanwhile the rich and industrialised countries continue to bicker about the existence of climate change, merchandising carbon dioxide and calculating how to keep making money on fossil fuels.

More information about the WATERS-project can be found on my website: www.bynatureadvies.nl

Read VSO’s position paper on climate change

Almost a year after Joyce Banda rolled into office as Malawi’s first female president, analysts and activists are asking whether she is doing a better job than her predecessor and former boss, the late Bingu Wa Mutharika.

Banda who went into the office with promises of good governance and economic prosperity seems to have done well in devotion to human rights and the rule of law but her marks have not been so high on the economy.

Some observers say that although Wa Mutharika – who died in office in April last year – was veering towards autocracy near the end of his tenure, the standard of living was generally better even for poor peasants, who make up eight out of every ten citizens of the country.

Anthony Kasunda of the National Media for Southern Africa (Namisa) which clashed repeatedly with state agents under Wa Mutharika says there is a very fine line between the two presidents in terms of policy.

“What we see is the continuation of policies pursued by the previous government. What has changed is the rhetoric from political players,” he said.

The toning down in rhetoric has encouraged political dissent and closer media scrutiny of the ruling elites leading to a marked decline in political malfeasance and greater respect for people’s rights.

“From that perspective, president Banda has brought change but when you look at the economy, one is tempted to think during the Wa Mutharika time, things were better.

“So it is difficult to say this one is better because both presidents have strengths and weaknesses,” he said.

Social and political development

Lilongwe resident Eliya Njewa agrees that Banda has not made any new economic, social or political changes, but insists she should be credited with tightening fiscal management and ending the profligacy of the Wa Mutharika era.

Malawi ranks among the least developed countries in the world with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $14.5bn and is heavily dependent on tobacco exports for its sustenance.

The majority of the country’s 15 million people who live in rural economic backwaters and survive on less than $1 a day had hoped for a huge jump in their fortunes under Banda.

Banda promised to erase poverty by reviving the economy and stabilising social and political development.

Kasunda sniggered at suggestions that the Economic Recovery Plan (ERP) would help crank the choking economy back into life, arguing the much-vaunted farm input subsidy programme had only taken on 100 new beneficiaries while the social cash transfer programme was initiated by Wa Mutharika.

But Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) Executive Director Undule Mwakasungura lauded Banda for “bringing political sanity which was very poor in the past”.

“She has opened up democratic space for all to play regardless of which political party or any background they are coming from,” he said.

Mwakasungura refused to blame Banda for the floundering economy, saying she inherited a creaky system that would take a while to repair.

“Malawians should give the Joyce Banda administration enough time to reform the social, political and economic platform of the country…let her continue with the Economic Recovery Plan, more tangible results will be registered in the next few years if not then the critical voices can come out,” he said.

Rising cost of living

While a gamut of reforms were swiftly cobbled together and acted upon when Banda came into office, Mwakasungura said it would be too early to start writing the political obituary of the 63-year-old former secretary.

Banda’s adoption of a human rights culture and willingness to appease the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by putting the Bretton Woods Institution’s prescribed economic reforms back on track have endeared her to western donors, thus unlocking much needed foreign currency.

But this has come at a high price to the majority of Malawians who now struggle to cope with the continuous rise in the cost of food, especially bread and the staple maize meal.

Early this year, protests rocked the country, owing to the rising cost of living and plummeting approval ratings of Banda, who has tenaciously followed the prescripts of a $156m three-year IMF programme approved in July 2012.

The IMF told Banda to de-peg the Malawian kwacha from the dollar and scrap fuel subsidies and price controls.

“The IMF reforms are rejected by most Malawians, who see them as externally imposed by an IMF taking advantage of Malawi’s economic vulnerability and weak leadership in order to justify its own legitimacy at the expense of the poor,” said John Kapito, of the Consumers’ Association of Malawi.

Sharp decline in economic indicators

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislature member Kondwani Nankhumwa has no kind words for Banda insisting Malawians are economically and socially worse off under the mother of five’s watch than they were under Wa Mutharika.

“The economy is fragile; the reforms which have been introduced including the ERP have brought poverty to Malawians,” he said.

He said there has been a sharp decline in economic indicators since last year when the economy grew by 1.8%, the lowest Malawi has achieved since attaining independence from Britain in 1963 and is this year expected to grow by 5%, a far cry from the Wa Mutharika years.

Interest rates have jumped from at least 13% before Banda became president to 25% while inflation is now at 36.4% less than half its value in April 2012. Also, the local currency (Kwacha) is now trading at MK400 to one United States Dollar compared to MK167 in early 2012.

Nankhumwa said Banda had also presided over a slump in staple food reserves across the country, leasing to widespread hunger.

“This administration is worse; it has failed and needs to be changed.”

But Njewa was more cautious, saying: “It’s hard to conclude whether or not JB [Joyce Banda] is better than her predecessor Mutharika, after less than a year in power. We will have to wait for the next five years to make a fair comparison.” – News24

nriching crops by adding a naturally-occurring soil mineral to fertilisers could potentially help to reduce disease and premature death in the African country of Malawi, researchers have said.

An international study led by academics at The University of Nottingham has shown that dietary deficiency of the mineral selenium – which plays a vital role in keeping the immune system healthy and fighting illness – is likely to be endemic among the Malawi population.

They found that most Malawi soils cannot supply enough selenium for adequate human nutrition and, in a paper published today in the journal Scientific Reports, they call for further investigation into the benefits and costs of using selenium-enriched fertilisers and other strategies to boost levels within the country’s food.

Leading the study was Dr Martin Broadley, of the University’s School of Biosciences, he said: “Selenium is a naturally occurring mineral of fundamental importance to human health, with critical roles in immunity. People with low dietary selenium intakes are at increased risk of suffering from a variety of diseases. Most soils in Malawi have extremely low levels of the selenium available to plant roots and so selenium is not transferred into crops in sufficient amounts for optimal human health. We urgently need to assess strategies to address this problem in Malawi and the wider Southern African region in the context of wider mineral malnutrition (for example, iron, zinc and iodine deficiencies), often referred to as the ‘hidden hunger’.”

The study examined the diet and the resulting nutritional status of a total of 120 otherwise healthy women aged between 18 and 50 years old living in villages in Zombwe in the north of Malawi and Mikalango in the south.

Research assistants from Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Ministry of Health in Malawi, spent time in the homes of the volunteers collecting duplicate samples of what they ate and drank over a 24 hour period, and blood and urine samples were also taken. The samples collected were sent back to the UK to be analysed for their levels of selenium.

The findings showed that the natural acidity levels of the soil in the two regions – in other words how acid or alkaline the soil was – had a huge impact on the selenium levels of the inhabitants, as had been predicted from a previous study. Selenium intake was eight times higher in villages with more alkaline rich soils in Mikalango than those from villages in Zombwe where the soil was acidic.

Similarly the women of the Zombwe region had less than half the levels of selenium in their blood and about one-third of the levels of selenium in their urine than that of their Mikalango counterparts.

Due to a current lack of information, the researchers are not yet able to estimate the impact of selenium deficiency on the whole of the population of Malawi or the wider region using frameworks devised by bodies such as the World Health Organization. However, similar frameworks are already in place for deficiencies of other minerals such as zinc which the authors estimate carries an annual economic burden of -70 million in Malawi alone.

The low levels of selenium in most soils in Malawi indicate that policies to tackle selenium deficiency in Southern Africa should still be considered, say the researchers.

Dr Broadley added: “It is of course feasible for people to diversity their diets to increase the consumption of other selenium-rich foods such as meat, poultry, fish and eggs but this is particularly challenging for people who are living in developing countries on an extremely low income. The Malawi diet is dominated by a single staple crop, in this case, maize, which is often used to make a thick porridge type dish called nsima which is often eaten with a vegetable-based relish.”

The researchers recommend that further research is needed into the benefits and costs of introducing a programme to enrich nitrogen-based soil fertilisers – used relatively widely in maize cultivation in Malawi – with selenium as a way of increasing the levels of the mineral in maize. A precedent for this has already been set in other countries such as Finland, where supplemented fertilisers have successfully increased the selenium concentrations in Finnish foods and diets since the mid 1980s.

About 57 in every 100 Malawians live in grass thatched houses some 49 years after independence, a study has revealed.

This statistic does not reveal what percentage of these houses leak, which is is the major concern apart from the fact the grass house structures tend to be temporary requiring rethatching every few years.

This is according to the Welfare Monitoring Survey 2011 conducted between September 2011 and February 2012 by the Agriculture Statistics Division of the National Statistical Office (NSO).

This is despite the country registering five years of robust economic growth averaging above seven percent between 2005 to 2010 a development that forced the previous regime to change the national flag to a full sun arguing that the country had been transformed beyond recognition.

The study, whose results were released in September 2012, was based on a random sample that covered 14,000 households drawn from all the districts of the country.

Housing and shelter, according to the report, are important indicators when it comes to assessing living conditions of a population.

“The most common material used by households for roofing their dwellings was grass, 57 percent, 42 percent of the households used iron sheets as roofing material.

“Further, 62 percent of households in the rural areas used grass for thatching, and eight percent of the households in urban areas used similar material. In addition, 90 percent of the urban households used iron sheets for roofing, and 37 percent of the rural households used the same material for roofing their dwellings,” read results of the survey.

In terms of floor material, the study showed that 64 percent of the main dwelling units were of smoothed mud and 34 percent were of smooth cement.

“Three quarters of urban households were made of smoothed cement and a third of the rural households were made of the same. Further, 68 percent of rural households were made of smoothed mud and 18 percent of urban households were made of similar material,” read the results.

It further said mud bricks and burned bricks were the most common materials used for walls by households, 28 percent and 54 percent respectively.

“Compacted earth was used by 12 percent of the households and one percent used grass. Urban households more often used burnt bricks as building material (61 percent) compared to rural households (54 percent),” reads the report.

The study further showed that 17 percent of households have no access to improved drinking water sources.

The improved drinking water sources, according to NSO, refer to piped water, tube well/borehole, a protected dug well, or protected spring.

Delegates to the conference jointly organised by The Malawi Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of Malawi and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on November 2 and 3, 2012 observed that high levels of growth since the mid-2000s have had little impact on the overall poverty rate in the country.

They observed that although poverty has fallen significantly in urban areas, it has risen in the rural areas where most of the population lives.

Commissioner of Statistics Charles Machinjili says the WMS 2011 is the sixth of a series that started in 2005 and is part of the concerted effort by NSO to provide relevant information for monitoring the welfare status of the people of Malawi.

“The survey is designed to collect the minimum amount of information necessary for the identification and classification of vulnerable groups of households within the society.

“It is the latest in a series of instruments that have been developed to provide policy-makers with household and community level information for policy formulation and evaluation,” said Machinjili.

In 2000 rich and developing countries made a declaration to work together, under the umbrella of the United Nations, to reduce the incidence of global poverty by half by the year 2015.

This ambitious agenda was all the more relevant to Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world which at the time had over 50% of its population living in abject poverty (i.e. on less than a dollar per head a day).

The country fully embraced the global alliance of the 21st century against poverty, which resonated well with our own Vision 2020, and came up with country-specific agenda for achieving the enlisted eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Goal number one is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, number two is to achieve universal primary education and number three is to promote gender equality and empower women. Goal number four is to reduce child mortality and goal five is improve maternal health.

Goal six is to combat HIV and Aids, malaria and other diseases, goal seven is to ensure environmental sustainability and goal eight is to develop global partnership for development.

All along, we have worked towards achieving these goals which, collectively in their negative form, define the poverty that we are fighting against.

At no point were we closer to achieving the poverty reduction dream than between 2006 and 11 when the economy was growing at over 7.5 percent. This happened under the watch of the late president Bingu wa Mutharika.

Ironically, the same President deliberately changed course after the 2009 elections and brought the economic growth to a halt, thanks to the bad governance that Mutharika adopted to achieve his dream of turning democratic Malawi into a Mutharika dynasty.

When the former President suddenly died of heart attack in April this year and Mrs Joyce Banda took over the leadership, the only change that occurred was to reverse the zero-deficit budget, float the kwacha and relax the controls on the foreign exchange market in order to win back the support of the International Monetary Fund and other donors.

I get an impression that even our government was thinking much the same way as some workers in the public sector who went on strike some months ago, demanding pay hikes ranging from 50 to 113 percent.

These disgruntled employees—and it seems to me the JB administration as well–probably innocently, thought donors would simply reward the JB administration’s bold reversal of the economic policy with lots of dollars in aid which could then be used to hike salaries and make the listening government shine as a star.

The President on several occasions responded to growing criticism against her love for globe-trotting by citing donor pledges she courted while in foreign capitals. It was as if she needed to travel to grow the economy with donor aid!

Now the chicks have come home to roost: the kwacha, left alone, tripped soon after devaluation and is now rolling faster by the day down the cliff. Fuel prices have trebled within the past six months and there is no sign of letting. Some people are predicting that come first quarter of 2013, fuel will cost K1 000 a litre. Should that happen, the whole monthly salary of a public secondary school teacher—a graduate with a degree—will fetch just slightly more than one full tank of petrol for a Toyota Corolla 1.6 with a 45-litre tank!

Way back in the 1970s, my secondary school English teacher was the face of the middle class, driving a Corolla every day of the month with ease. I worked hard in class because I wanted to be like him, teaching in secondary school, living comfortably in a big, clean and furnished house. I still remember the Wrangler jeans that used to define his casual weekend wear. He was my role model, a real source of inspiration.

Today, some 40 years later, when politicians have come and gone, enriching themselves at our expense while promising us poverty reduction and improved standards of living, a secondary school teacher may not even be able to run a Corolla even if it were given to him or her free as a Christmas gift, really?

Well, this, more than official records which, experience has shown, are easily doctored to suit the political interests of those in power, should serve as an indicator of how badly Malawi has performed in the global agenda of reducing poverty by half by 2015.

By the way, that target is only three years away!

“I can even say that about 500 people share a borehole here,” said Group Village Headman Kanyenda of Kanyenda Village in the southern part of Ntchisi District.

He was outlining some development hurdles people of his area are facing during a meeting with the area’s Member of Parliament. Water scarcity was top of his list.

In a later interview, Kanyenda stood by his claims and said that he has thirteen chiefs under him, that is almost thirteen villages and yet, he said, they all share one bore hole.

“We have Kakumba River as the nearest water source but it only has water during the rainy season,” said Kanyenda.

sked if he is aware of the development, MP for the area who is also Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Ulemu Chilapondwa said he was aware of the problem and said he was trying to try to address the problem.

“Most of these boreholes were dug in 2007 under the Integrated Water Development Programme. Most of them are now defunct and most of them were shallow and thus dried up, I am looking at the issue to see what can be done,” said Chilapondwa.

Amid rough economic times in Malawi, the International Monetary Fund on Monday pleaded for patience from Malawians to give the economic recovery plan a chance.

The plan is an 18 month initiative the southern African country has put in place to cushion its citizens from the effects of recent economic reforms that the Joyce Banda administration implemented including the devaluation of its currency by 49 %.

It includes the rolling out of public works where villagers are paid for piece works that mainly involve clearing bushes along the roads so that they have money to buy basic necessities.

IMF Resident Representative to Malawi Mrs. Ruby Randal exclusively told Zodiak Online that the reforms which the Joyce Banda administration undertook need to bring the much desired results.

Since the devaluation following pressures from IMF and other institutions prices of basic commodities have skyrocketed impacting negatively on a country the majority fail to raise one dollar a day.

“It’s important to keep in mind what the country was facing when the policy measures were being implemented and the situation could have been much worse in the absence of these corrective measures,” said Mrs. Randal.

“Adjustments take time, it’s not reasonable to expect that all problems in the foreign exchange market would have been immediately resolved. You have to keep in mind that these problems took years to develop.”

The IMF boss also denied reports that the money laundering body is remote controlling Malawi by imposing policies without looking at the possible repercussions.

Mrs. Randal also commended the 30 % cut in salaries of President Joyce Banda and her vice Khumbo Ckachali, saying this displays commitment that the leaders are in the front taking austerity measures.

Opposition politicians and experts have asked President Joyce Banda to initiate more cuts on over-expenditure apart from the symbolic 30 per cent presidential pay cut if the agriculture-powered economy is to bounce back following two years of economic turmoil.

Vice President Khumbo Kachali on Friday said he and the President had “voluntarily cut our salaries by 30 percent with immediate effect as part of our support to the current austerity measures”.

Kachali announced this when he launched the country’s economic recovery programme in Lilongwe.

The President is estimated to earn K1.3 million per month, and this means she will now take home just over K900, 000. The Vice president earns about K1 million, and he will get home with K700,000.

Banda, who took power in April following the sudden death of president Bingu wa Mutharika, enherited a battered economy and has launched a number of reforms to win back international donors, including an economic strategy to deal with current challenges of economic governance and help stabilise the economy.

Donors, who support 40 percent of the development budget, have been pressuring Lilongwe to cut unnecessary expenditure.

But the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, John Tembo, said he welcomed the move although he added that “more need to be done to put the economy back on its footing.

“I am sure they have taken everything into consideration to improve the economy,” he said.

Political analyst and Law professor at Chancellor College, Edge Kanyongolo, said the symbolic cutting of the presidential pay cheque is a “very welcome development…this shows that they have started to realise that there are serious problems facing the country,” said Kanyongolo.

Kanyongolo said the government needs to announce other austerity measures as soon as possible.

Former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesperson Nicholas Dausi said the cuts could have carried weight if the executive declared their assets first.

“This could have given Malawians a semblance of financial discipline and moral obligation. Now that they have amassed wealth, they are economically fluid, they are making this announcement. This does not make any economic sense,” said Dausi, who was a deputy minister in the Bingu wa Mutharika administration.

He said the government need to initiate cuts on foreign and local travels for both the President, the Vice-President and the cabinet, reduce the travel allowances for cabinet ministers from K80, 000 per night back to K25, 000 per night.

“What they have done is taking one pace forward and two paces backwards,” said Dausi.

The UN Resident Coordinator Richard Dictus said: “It is a bit early to reflect on the ERP as a whole as we have not had the time to digest it.

“The fact that the ERP and the MGDSII have now been launched is most welcome – it sets a clear direction, shows leadership and seriousness about addressing the pressures that the country and its people are facing.”

Dictus said given the current difficult economic situation, “having a government come out with a considered and consulted response sends definitely the right signal.

“Having the President and Vice -President taking the lead in show-casing austerity in leadership by reducing their own salaries is to be lauded and raises hopes that more is to come. Overall, I have a very positive impression and I am looking forward to the public debate that will follow.” Dictus said.

Donors, who support 40 percent of the development budget, have been pressuring Lilongwe to cut expenditure

The Irish Ambassador to Malawi Mrs. Liz Higgins has urged the southern African country to quickly appoint a new Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau-ACB to ensure continued support to the Bureau.

Mrs Higgins said Thursday when Malawi and Ireland signed a 250 million Euros funding directed to the anti graft body, towards monitoring of this year’s Farm Input Subsidy Programme-FISP.

“We would like to see the ACB director being appointed as soon as possible,” she said in an interview with Zodiak Online.

Mrs. Higgins said her government would still withhold a sum of a 100 thousand Euros meant for the implementation of a corruption perception survey until the ACB has a new director.

Mrs Higgins said despite having confidence in the anti-graft body, they would still closely monitor every penny, so that it is used effectively.

“There are two parts to the funding and the second part is for the corruption perception survey of about 100 million Euros. We would not release this until next year and before we release that we would like to see the director of ACB appointed,” she said.

She said her government would still support the monitoring of the Farm Input Subsidy Programme-FISP- against corrupt practises.

Finance Minister Dr Ken Lipenga conceded that there is indeed need for an immediate appointment of a new ACB boss but said that cannot happen overnight.

“I agree that we need leadership at the ACB, we will appoint a new director. But we have to agree that there are process to be followed and these things do take time,” said Lipenga.

In June this year Britain’s Department for International Development-DfID-suspended its support to the ACB, citing the absence of the director at the bureau as main reason.

The office of director at ACB fell vacant after the holder, Mr Alex Nampota, was fired by government and is now answering charges of abuse of office.

The World Bank, one of Malawi’s leading development partners, has justified the delay in budget support disbursement by other donors, saying it is in line with an agreed plan.

World Bank Country Manager to Malawi Miss Sandra Bloemencamp said in an interview there was a budget support plan for the 2012/13 financial year where it was envisaged for only World Bank and the African Development Bank-AfDB-to disburse budget support in the first quarter.

Only AfDB and the World Bank have provided Malawi with US $40 million and US$50 budget aid respectively within the first three months of this financial year.

Miss Bloemencamp said the other budget support would be coming in the subsequent months.

“There was budget support plan for the whole year. We are not there yet as US$165 million budget support is what was planned and we hope with the continuation of good programmes and so on, all that will be disbursed in the course of this year,” she said.

According to Miss Bloemencamp, expectations are high that all development partners would adhere to the set plans and pledges

She further projected a quick recovery for the country’s economy which has been in a mess for some years now.

The World Bank representative spoke highly of the recently initiated Economic Recovery Plan by the Malawi Government rating it as timely.

She, however, called for concerted efforts from all key players towards the recovery path.

“All institutions including the central bank, the banks, the government and donors, all need to support the programme. It’s quite a good programme and we need to support it,” she said.

The Malawi government last month introduced a new 18-month recovery plan with optimism that it would cushion the majority of the populace from the effects of some economic reforms the new government of President Joyce Banda adopted upon assuming power in April 2012.

The recovery plan, which includes cash-for-work and subsidies, has nonetheless been under fire from some analysts who say it is a replica of other blueprints that have failed to work before.—

German parliamentary State Secretary in the Development Ministry Gudrun Kopp was on Wednesday stunned by Malawi’s poverty levels after touring several villages in Dowa and Salima.

Kopp arrived in Malawi on Monday on a four-day official visit during which she met President Joyce Banda and civil society leaders, among others.

While in Traditional Authority Ndindi in Salima, Kopp nearly shed tears when she heard the story of Gogo Madelesi Filipo, 80, who looks after her three orphaned grandchildren. Filipo has been taking care of the grandchildren for the past 10 years after all their parents died.

She is one of the beneficiaries of a social cash transfer scheme the German Government is piloting in 20 districts in the country with the aim of pulling many Malawians out of poverty.

“I can’t explicitly say how long I have been receiving the money from [the German government] but the money is K2 000 (about $8) per month. My life and that of my grandchildren has changed since then,” said the octogenarian, who relies on subsistence farming for a living.

Filipo received a pack of necessities such as cooking oil, sugar and soap from Kopp.

Kopp said her government is moved by the poverty levels in Malawi.

“Having the first-hand experience of people in the country living in abject poverty has increased my government’s commitment towards helping Malawi alleviate poverty. It is for this reason that we have put in place 7 million euros towards a social cash transfer scheme in Malawi in which 28 000 households, which roughly translates to 100 000 people, will benefit. After some time, we will evaluate the progress and impact so far on Malawians,” she said.

“President Banda has a huge task ahead of her in as far as transforming Malawi’s poverty levels is concerned. As such she and her government need enough financial support,” added Kopp while fighting back tears.

The German official, who has since left the country, also visited Chiwamba Health Centre in Dowa where she pledged her government’s support towards Malawi’s health sector.

Malawi Government has advised the University of Malawi (Unima) to reduce State-sponsored students to 900 to enable the institution manage its subvention following a salary increment proposal.

The development comes in the wake of a 21 percent salary increment offer to Unima staff days after a directive made by the Department of Statutory Corporations that a 15 percent salary increment it earlier offered last week should not affect Unima’s activities.

However, latest communication from the Ministry of Education to Unima offers the 21 percent salary increment, on condition that intake of government-sponsored students be reduced to 900 from about 2000-plus students.

Ministry of Education PS John Bisika, in a letter to Unima vice-chancellor dated August 17 2012, says: “[Unima must] admit the other 900 students as non-residential students.”

Bisika also says students’ allowances will be increased by K7 000 to K40 000 in line with inflation.

Government’s offer of the 21 percent is an apparent effort to stop an impending industrial action and another strike currently underway.

Chancellor College (Chanco) lecturers last week declared dispute with Unima Council and gave Ministry of Labour a 21-day notice to resolve the matter or else they would take an industrial action while the Polytechnic lecturers are already on strike.

Both Chanco and the Polytechnic are demanding a 113 percent salary increment.

Wayforward

Polytechnic Academic Staff Committee on Welfare (Pascow) secretary general Gift Khangamwa in an interview on Monday confirmed receiving the 21 percent salary increment communication from the Unima Council.

But he said Pascow is meeting on Tuesday to discuss the offer in detail, arguing their demand was based on inflation and two devaluations of the kwacha by 10 percent last year and 49 percent this year.

Chancellor College Academic Staff Union (Ccasu) president Sunduzwayo Madise said his union had not received any communication yet from the Unima Council on the proposed salary increment.

Madise, however, admitted seeing communication between government and the Unima Council regarding the 21 percent salary increment offer, but said Council was yet to extend that communication to them.

Said Madise: “We will give our response after that communication is made to us. As it is, we cannot say much.”

Ccasu is on record as having said Unima management, at the last week’s consultative meeting, made no offer to the lecturers.

Comptroller of Statutory Corporations last week said salaries had been increased by 15 percent to all employees in the statutory corporations, including Unima.

But Chanco and the Polytechnic rejected the offer.

Mzuzu University (Mzuni) registrar Yonam Ngwira said they got the 21 percent increment communication from government, and being a percentage the lecturers at the Mzuni were demanding, he hoped everything is now water under the bridge.

Chancellor College Academic Staff Union (Ccasu), in reaction to last week’s communication from government that salaries had been increased by 15 percent to all employees in the statutory corporations ,including Unima, said the university management communicated nothing to the dons regarding the increment.

Ccasu president Sunduzwayo Madise said they had not been communicated to on the 15 percent or any offer by Unima management.

Said Madise: “When we met management, they had no offer for us. So, there is no offer on the table for us to start negotiations on.

“But even if we were, the question we have is on what economic parameter is the 15 percent based? We have an economic justification why we requested for an increase. Is the 15 percent backed by economic rationale, especially when it is touted as ‘a cost of living adjustment’ as well as to cater for annual notches?”

The Ccasu president said in any event, Unima made a special request for funding and the 15 percent increment does not address that request.

“It is strange that government wants to paint all parastatals with one brush. Clearly, each parastatal has its own unique set-up, problems and salary structure. The parastatals are also of differing national importance.

The Nation could not reach the Unima management to comment on the development on Sunday.

The Chanco lecturers on Thursday gave the Ministry of Labour 21 days to resolve the dispute or they would be left with no option but take an industrial action.

The Malawi Polytechnic, another constituent college of the Unima and Mzuzu University (Mzuni), are already on strike to press government to make the 113 and 21 percent adjustments, respectively.

Malawi Government has warned against careless statements as its experts and those from its northern neighbour Tanzania engage in a meeting to diplomatically resolve their border dispute.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ephraim Mganda Chiume said this in Mzuzu yesterday as he opened a meeting of the two countries’ experts seeking to hammer a lasting solution to the disagreements on their border.

“Let me state that it is very easy for the discussion to break down and lead in a stalemate because of careless statements. Let us avoid making statements that can undermine the process,” said Chiume as he wound up his speech.

“More importantly, let us remember that we are here representing the multitude of Malawians and Tanzanians out there who want an urgent resolution of this matter so that they can continue living peacefully.

“This is not an opportunity to score points or seek fame. Rather, we need to do what is legally right for our people.”

The minister’s statement comes at a time Tanzanian media reports, quoting officials there, indicated that the east African country was ready for war against its neighbour over the border issues.

Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete and his Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Bernard Membe, just like their Malawian counterparts Joyce Banda and Chiume, respectively, have indicated that the two countries will diplomatically resolve the matter in which Tanzania claims a 50 percent ownership of the northern part of the Lake Malawi.

“The people of Malawi and Tanzania have every confidence that this meeting will clear the misunderstanding on the border between our two countries once and for all,” said Chiume.

“We cannot keep on talking about the same issue for over 40 years. The two countries are full of expectation that an amicable solution can be found out of these discussions.”

During the meeting, held in camera, the experts from the two countries were expected to examine aspects “especially the legal issues” on the border and advise on the way forward.

The two sides were also expected to share documents and reach a consensus to be passed on to the ministerial meeting to be held in Lilongwe Friday.

Director of Surveys and Mapping in the Tanzania’s Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development Dr Selassie Mayunga said Chiume’s remarks offered the two parties’ guidance, stressing Tanzania expected “brotherly discussions.”

Tanzania’s High Commissioner to Malawi Patrick Tsere, Foreign Affairs Ministry Director of Legal Affairs Irene Kasyanju and Assistant Director in the Prime Minister’s office Yokobety Malisa were also among the Tanzanian delegation.

Malawi’s High Commissioner to Tanzania Flossie Gomile Chidyaonga, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Patrick Kabambe and Lands and Housing Principal Secretary Ivy Luhanga were some high profile individuals on the Malawian delegation.

Meanwhile, Membe, his Permanent Secretary John Haule, Minister of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development Anna Tibaijuka and Permanent Secretary Patrick Rutabanzibwa are expected to attend the ministerial meeting.

An 18-year-old man has been arrested in Mzuzu city, northern part of Malawi, for allegedly offering two children aged four and seven for sale at K900,000 in Rumphi district.
Nothern region police spokesperson Norah Chimwala identified the suspect as Rajab Phiri of Nsomba Village in Mangochi.

He has since been charged with the offence of child stealing.

Chimwala claimed Phiri offered the children to Richard Nyirenda at Chinyolo in Rumphi at an initial price of K1 million before settling for K900, 000.

The police however, did not give reasons why Phiri was selling the children.

Malawi prohibits all forms of trafficking through various laws, including the Employment Act and Articles 135 through 147 and 257 through 269 of the Penal Code, though the country lacks specific anti-trafficking laws.

The penalties prescribed under these statutes range from small fines to 10 years’ imprisonment; these penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with punishments prescribed for other serious crimes.