MALAWI PRESS REVIEW February 2004
From Centre For Social Concern (see our house)

PREVIEW

Media reports on politics expressed concern by opposition political parties and the civil society over irregularities and some incidents of violence in the voter registration exercise as well as some of the Primary elections. It is feared that the activities prior to the General elections may have an adverse effect on the outcome of the May General elections.

Media reports on the economy revealed government's optimism that it has more or less fulfilled a number of donor conditionalities set forth last October. Reports also expressed concern over issues such as corruption; the influx of counterfeit products in the country and government's plans to privatize the Blantyre and Lilongwe Water Boards.

There is no doubt that the formation of a Maize Seed Bank for all the beneficiaries of the Target Input Programme (TIP) would be an positive initiative in the fight against hunger.

It was revealed that scarcity of funds as well as the HIV/AIDS pandemic are some of the major challenges facing the education sector, and are the main contributors to the problem of low quality education in the country.

Civil society groups have expressed concern over government's reluctance to listen to the views of civil society in areas such as budget monitoring, thereby making it difficult for civil society to make an impact on issues of economic development.

Media reports also expressed concern over an increase in incidents of baby dumping; land scarcity; child labor; cases of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS and the selling of Anti Retroviral Drugs on the black market.

POLITICS

During the month of February, media reports on politics focused on activities leading to the May General Elections. Opposition political parties expressed dissatisfaction with the voter registration exercise as well as the conduct of some Primary elections. There is growing concern that the events prior to the General elections may have far-reaching repercussions so as to affect the General elections. Political analysts have also expressed reservations on the future of the Mgwirizano Coalition in terms of its ability to sustain itself beyond the election, as well as the coalition's potential to oust the ruling United Democratic Front.

Opposition political parties as well as the Public Affairs Committee expressed dissatisfaction with the Malawi Electoral Commission's (MEC) ability to conduct the May 18 General Elections. It was pointed out that the voter registration exercise, which was characterized by several anomalies set a bad precedent in the run up to the May 18 polls. However, some of the blame for voter apathy has been apportioned to lack of funding for voter education from donor agencies and other electoral players.

There were reports that UDF primary elections were marred by a lot of irregularities that included violence, allowing ineligible people to vote, intimidation and threats, as well as forcing people to vote in fear. The UDF rerun primary elections in over 20 constituencies following complaints from some disgruntled losers and their supporters. Furthermore, The decision by the UDF to bow down to AFORD demands not to field parliamentary candidates in the Northern Region irked the party's aspiring MP's most of who have resolved to stand as independents. This deal was considered undemocratic as it denies UDF aspirants their right to contest in the Parliamentary elections. All the more, the decision was made without consulting the electorate.

The six-member Mgwirizano coalition elected Republican Party President Gwanda Chakuamba as its Presidential candidate. However, prior to the presidental election, the coalition was rocked with fights over who would lead it in the polls with some of the big opposition parties, MCP and NDA and MGODE refusing to sign the Memorandum of Understanding after disagreements over the criteria used to come up with a leader. Nevertheless, in a twist of events People's Progressive Party's Vice President Justin Malewezi stunned members of the Mgwirizano coalition with his decision to stand as an independent candidate when the coalition already has Gwanda Chakuamba as the coalition president.

All in all, media reports indicate that the outcome of the coalition still leaves much to be desired for those who were hoping for a grand alliance to crush the UDF. Many people remain convinced that in the absence of bigger opposition parties such as MCP and NDA, the Mgwirizano coalition is powerless. Political scientists also expressed reservations on the future of the opposition coalition. Some have argued that the proposed coalition is merely focusing on ousting the incumbent government and ignoring its sustainability beyond the elections. The main bone of contention is how the coalition will be able to put up with different individual parties and personalities.

It is predicted that further and worse drifts would arise once the coalition took over power, as already evidenced by the emergence of squabbles from the onset of the coalition. It is also sad to note that much media attention has been placed on the process of choosing the president and little attention placed on examining how the manifestos of various parties would work to improve poor people's lives. Indeed, selfish interests are taking centre stage rather than the welfare of the masses.

The resignation of vice-president Justin Malewezi from the United Democratic Front once again put the country's constitution to the test with some legal experts calling for a review of the laws governing the position of the President and the vice President. On the other hand, some experts are weary of reviewing the constitution arguing that the country's constitution has been over amended. There is need to have a holistic review of the constitution to avoid ad hoc changes.

ECONOMY

In the month of February, Finance Minister expressed optimism that in the awaiting talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the donor community would approve the disbursement of budgetary support since government has adhered to budgetary targets, in addition to fulfilling a number of donor conditionalities set forth last October. However, perhaps stakeholders have to adopt a wait and see attitude to this optimism, for past experience has revealed that the donors may beg to differ. All the more this optimism appears to be based on volatile targets such as inflation, interest and exchange rates which are likely to change in the absence of insufficient donor inflows as well as well as excessive government expenditure in the run up to elections. An estimated K3.2 billion in Balance of Payment has trickled into the country from bilateral donors since October last year.

Media reports have already featured allegations that Government may soon face pressure to either borrow more money from the market or beg from donors as the budget for the May 18 General Elections has been exhausted. It was alleged that the election budget has been busted by shortcomings in the electoral process, the main one being shortage of materials.

However, the Finance Minister's confidence extends to the strength of the kwacha against the major currencies. The Minister expressed optimism that tobacco sales as well as the depreciation of the US dollar should help stabilize the Kwacha and perhaps even help it to appreciate. Tobacco production has increased by 17 per cent this year as compared to the volume of the leaf sold the last season. This is a positive move because the country can take advantage of low Tobacco production in Zimbabwe due to the land crisis in that country.

An assessment of budget performance over the past six months by civil society revealed a lack of focus on improving the macroeconomic environment in government's disbursement of funds. In their latest economy report, Stanbic Bank revealed that government's budget deficit more than doubled in November, just a month after the IMF resumed aid to Malawi. On a positive note, government managed to bring down the base-lending rate by 10 per cent. It was also noted that government managed to slow down price increases over the past four months.

The influx of counterfeit products in the country is a cause for concern because counterfeit products deny government of revenue as they come into the country through clandestine sources. All the more, such products destroy images of reputable companies such as Unilever. However, there is little doubt the entry of such counterfeit products involves government officials who are bribed to allow such products to get into the country. Therefore there is need for government to employ stern measures against anyone or any manufacturer involved in such deals.

The problem of corruption remains a cause for concern in the country. However, it is most disappointing to note that instead of being exemplary, it is usually top government officials who are involved in incidents of corruption. Consequently, the Lawmakers are not willing to enforce the Law in order to protect their own interests. Lawyers have questioned a K10 million loan deal struck between Atupele Properties chaired by President Muluzi and the Malawi Revenue Authority, arguing that the law does not allow Muluzi to get directly involved in businesses, and that the deal reflects abuse of office on the part of the President.

The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Malawi and Canada on the Least Developed Countries (LDC) initiative to enable Malawi to export apparel and textile products into Canada duty free, is a positive economic move and a useful tool in the fight against poverty. However, it is only hoped that this opportunity will be fully utilized. In the past, Malawi has been criticized for not taking maximum advantage of trade initiatives such as the African Growth Act (AGOA).

Trade experts have also expressed concern that the proposed Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) between African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) and the European Union (EU) by creating larger markets would expose developing countries like Malawi to stiff competition from developed EU economies. Nevertheless, this should be a challenge for Malawi to produce high quality products that would compete on the global market.

The corporate world has been challenged to come out in the open and take HIV/AIDS as an economic issue that needs strategizing if businesses were to make best use of their labor force and penetrate the global market. It has become obvious that the HIV/AIDS pandemic poses a great challenge to development as well as the country's economy.

The Public Services International (PSI) has opposed government plans to privatize the Blantyre and Lilongwe water, arguing that the move would perpetuate poverty among Malawians. It appears that government is more and more bowing down to donor pressure to privatize all non-profiting government entities. However, there is little doubt that the government should employ caution in its privatization endeavors as water is a human right and its privatization would certainly have an adverse effect on the poor.

FOOD SECURITY

Target Input Programme (TIP) beneficiaries will from this year's harvesting season each contribute three kilogrammes of legumes and five kilogrammes of maize seeds to Seed Bank as one way of making farmers independent of further free farm inputs from government. This is a commendable initiative that should ensure sustainability of farm inputs, which will in turn ensure food security. Another step in the right direction would be to encourage village grain reserves to ensure that people have food through out the year.

Media reports expressed concern over the fact that the government has not come out in the open to say what will happen to the rest of the poisoned maize that was bought during the 2001-2002 season. It may as well be the case that the government has already destroyed the maize. However, there is no doubt that the government should be responsible enough to erase any suspicions that there could be a chance that the poisoned maize could be distributed once again should hunger arise.

Media reports also expressed the need to put into place a good policy framework in order to benefit from the One Village One Product initiative, which at face value appears to be a worthwhile project. Indeed, if OVOP's three principles that aim at fostering independence creating a global outlook and encouraging creativity are anything to go by, the country should be able to regard food insecurity as something of the past. It is also vital for government to improve the local market before venturing into the export market.

CIVIL SOCIETY

Civil society groups in the country have described as deliberate government's failure to put a legal framework for the declaration of assets. Although the passing of the Assets Bill has become one of the conditionalities for donor funding, there has been a great deal of reluctance by law makers to enact the Assets Bill for fear that it would clamp down on them and block their sources of livelihood. Corruption and abuse of resources is rife in the country so that it is not surprising to see some politicians becoming rich overnight. According to Transparency International the perception of corruption in Malawi has been increasing over the past three years.

There is no doubt that the best picture would be to see government and civil society groups working together as economic partners. However, in practice, this has not been the case. Civil society groups have expressed concern over government's reluctance to listen to views of the civil society in areas such as budget monitoring, thereby making it difficult for civil society to make an impact on budget implementation. There is need for government to consider civil society groups as development partners as their role as a 'watchdog' on the economy is likely to promote transparency, good governance and accountability of public funds.

Media reports have also expressed concern that most Malawians are not conversant with issues of economic development. This is a major handicap and calls for the need to change people's mindset in order to make them development conscious. This is vital if the country is to win the fight against poverty.

Civil Society groups have also expressed concern over the size of the new Cabinet President Muluzi announced recently. The 45-strong Cabinet would certainly be a strain on government resources hence contrary to government's pledge to cut down on expenditure. Many people had hoped that the President would reduce the Cabinet and introduce new blood selected on merit.

Commenting on the voter registration exercise, civil society groups have blamed the UDF and the Malawi Electoral Commission for discrepancies in the voter registration exercise that was not considered to be free and fair. There are concerns that the exercise would negatively affect the outcome to the May elections.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL LIFE

During the month of February, media reports expressed concern over the problem of land scarcity; incidents of baby dumping, the effect of polygamy on women and children and child labor.

Reports that about 200 Malawians were alleged to have settled on Zambian land in a fierce land border dispute point to a problem of land scarcity in the country and the need to put up good land policy measures to ensure that people have access to land for shelter and cultivation. However, what is most surprising in the Zambian land wrangle is the fact that people were given this land by a Malawian chief who claimed that the land belongs to Malawi. This also points to the need for chiefs to understand land demarcation issues to avoid such land border disputes.

Media reports also expressed concern over the increase in squatter settlements in the commercial city of Blantyre that further points to the scarcity of land in the country. What is perhaps more worrying is the lack of capacity by government to effectively respond to the spread of these unplanned settlements which are both a health hazard and contribute to environmental degradation.

In the month of February, media reports recorded a few incidents where mothers gave birth to babies only to dump them or kill them shortly afterwards. The sad thing is that it appears that baby dumping or killing is slowly becoming a norm. In most cases the mothers are young therefore not ready to bear the responsibility of looking after the babies. It is also believed that the HIV/AIDS pandemic has led to an increase in cases of baby dumping. However, there is no doubt that this is a serious social problem in need of a viable solution. Although young mothers have the advantage of the extended family to help them take care of their babies, there is still need for them to have access to more youth-based counseling services in order to help them make informed decisions.

It has been noted that it is mainly the poor who are responding to the call by HIV/AIDS experts for people to break the silence in the fight against HIV/AIDS. This gives the wrong impression that the affluent in society are immune to the disease.

Media reports also highlighted the plight of women and children in polygamous marriages. Although polygamy is accepted in some traditional and religious spheres, it's psychological and economic impact on women and children cannot go unnoticed. It is obvious that due to poverty, very few men have the financial muscle to support more than one wife and many children as well as provide the families with a decent home, ample food, good education and the much-needed medical care. All the more, the HIV/AIDS scourge puts people in polygamous marriages at a high risk of contracting the scourge.

The problem of child labor mostly in tobacco estates attracted considerable media attention during the month of February. It appears that farmers employ children as cheap labor in some cases paying them a meager sum of K6 a day. Despite this exploitation, the children are forced to work due to poverty. It is therefore pleasing to note that estates run by big tobacco companies are up in arms against the practice.

EDUCATION

Scarcity of funds continues to be the main problem facing the education sector, as well as the main contributor to the problem of low quality education. Media reports revealed that midway through the Semester, the Government had not yet paid loans for University students. It was reported that the Polytechnic is currently running its programmes on tuition fees from parallel programme students. Perhaps this is a sign that in general, the government is in financial trouble because the Education Ministry is in fact one of the priority Ministries as far as government funding is concerned.

The recent improved Malawi School Certificate of Education results should be taken with a pinch of salt, as it may not necessarily indicate an improvement in the standard of education in the country. Thus there is need to consider other aspects in rating education standards such as the pass mark. Another bone of contention has been the high grades registered by individual students.

Media reports also expressed concern that deaths of teachers and pupils due to HIV/AIDS adversely affect government efforts to achieve quality education. It is therefore vital to sensitize pupils, teachers and parents of the dangers of contracting the HIV virus.

On a positive note, it was reported that thanks to Girls Attainment in Basic Literacy Education (GABLE), which aimed at attaining more girls in school, there has been remarkable progress in terms of girl school enrolment in some parts of the country.

An increase in absenteeism and dropout rates among students has led the government to revert to the boarding system abolished in secondary schools some years ago as a cost cutting measure. However, this time round, the government will let out boarding facilities to individuals to provide meals and accommodation to students. This may prove to be a positive initiative as far as cost cutting is concerned, however, there is need to monitor the quality of the services provided because past experience within the education sector has proven that in many cases private institutions have compromised on quality.

Female teachers in the country bemoaned the fact that they are forced to dance for the President during presidential rallies and visits. It is ironic that Women dances which faced a lot of criticism during the one party system have still found their way into the multi-party era. However, what is more worrying is the fact that the teachers spend a lot of time organizing these dances thereby contributing to low education standards in the country

HEALTH

The month of February saw the launching of the National HIV/AIDS policy that provides an opportunity for Malawi to embark on a new path in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The Policy focuses on preventing the further spread of the pandemic and mitigate the impact on the socioeconomic status of individuals, families and communities. The President urged Malawians to break the silence on the pandemic by going for Voluntary Counseling and Testing and disclosing causes of their relative's death if the country is to win the battle against the Scourge. However testifying that one's relative died of Aids remains a contentious issue perhaps because it is not in keeping with our culture of respect as HIV/AIDS is somehow associated with cultural areas of secrecy such as sex and promiscuity.

As the country gears up to start distributing ARVs in August, there are growing concerns that the country risks developing an HIV strain which would be resistant to ARV's if necessary infrastructures are not put in place. It is therefore imperative to make sure that there is a continuous supply of drugs and trained medical personnel to administer the drugs. It is also sad to note that drug dealers are selling fake ARV's on the black market cheating the general public.

There is growing concern that the current brain drain in the country's health sector by health personnel in search for greener pastures would affect treatment of people with Hiv/Aids. Therefore, there is need for government to address this issue urgently before Anti-Retroviral Drugs become readily available in the country's hospitals. The challenge for government is to improve the unattractive pay and poor working conditions.

The Minister of Health, Yusuf Mwawa bemoaned the tendency by some donors to in the health sector to donate outdated and used equipment, which does not function properly. Indeed it appears that some donors take advantage of poor countries desperation to 'dump' on us worn out equipment, which is likely to be detrimental to people's health. Perhaps, this deplorable behavior should serve as a lesson for poor countries to strive for self - sufficiency.

Media reports expressed concern over the increase in maternal death in the country. In the past year, one in every 15 women died every day of complications due to pregnancy and childbirth. Perhaps the main tragedy is the fact that almost every one of these deaths is avoidable with adequate support and care. High maternal mortality in the country has also been attributed to HIV/AIDS where by more women are dying from complications as a result of the virus. Other factors are a delay in recognizing that there is a pregnancy-related problem and making the decision to seek care; delay in reaching care due to transport and cultural constraints, as well as delay in receiving treatment once a woman has arrived at the right health facility.

Media reports expressed concern that the Casualty Department at Queen Elizabeth Department, the country's oldest and biggest referral hospital does not have basic needs in terms of infrastructure for instance the hospital lacks an effective ambulance system, adequate space and beds and enough medical equipment and personnel.

Tuberculosis remains one of the major killer diseases in the country. It is therefore sad to learn from health experts that there are ten recorded strains of incurable TB in the country, which if left unchecked, there would be no economic muscle to curb. Health experts have warned against illegal sale of TB drugs such as Rifinah by vendors, which when taken for other intentions other than TB treatment would develop Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) TB which resists TB drugs.

ENVIRONMENT

During the month February, media reports continued to highlight the tendency by many people to urinate anywhere in most towns and cities. This problem has been partly blamed on the introduction of paying public conveniences at an average fee of K10, an amount most people are not willing to pay. Perhaps the best solution to this problem would be for the government to impose a penalty on anybody found urinating in public.

Media reports expressed concern over the adverse effects of Njuli Quarry in Chiradzulu on the five villages surrounding the quarry. Villagers have demanded closure of the quarry due to its adverse health as well as environmental impact on people's lives. This points to lack of planning and disregard for the environment. The company should have conducted a survey on the impact of quarry production on the surrounding villages before establishing the company. The company certainly needs to invest more to ensure safety of the people or face the wrath of the national Land policy that empowers chiefs to remove any investor from leased land who violates the rights of the villagers.

Media reports on the environment also expressed concern over wanton littering in public places a tendency that smacks of lack of appreciation for the environment. Some have argued that there is need to introduce tough laws to curb such behavior.

The much-touted Gel Fuel has not proven to be the panacea it was expected to be in the fight against deforestation. It was hoped that Gel Fuel would be an alternative source of fuel, compared to other sources such as wood and paraffin. However, Research findings have revealed that Gel fuel is expensive and not durable.

The month of February saw the commemoration of World Wetlands Day, which prompted people to reflect on the value and use of wetlands. In Malawi, Wetlands are a major source of livelihood as they are a reliable source of irrigation. Wetlands provide over 20 per cent of fish and over 50 percent of rice.

GENDER

It is becoming more and more clear that one of the major challenges in the fight against HIV/AIDS is the prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (MTCT). In view of this revelation, debate has ensued on whether or not it should be compulsory for pregnant women to go for an HIV test. Although some have felt that it was for the benefit of the mother as well as the unborn child to go for mandatory testing, others have felt it would be discriminatory and unfair especially when the mandatory testing would be done without resources and mechanisms that would help the woman cope with the aftermath of being tested positive. All the more, there is fear of rejection from the husband once tested positive. All in all, there is little doubt that it is vital that Health Officers should encourage all pregnant women to go for a test, as knowledge of one's status could well save the lives of both mother and child. Fathers should also be counseled on MTCT prevention if we are to achieve positive results.

However, on a similar note, some experts have argued that it is better for HIV positive mothers to exclusively breast-feed their babies than risk losing them to kwashiokor and diarrhoea. Many Malawian mothers cannot afford formula milk, and where the milk is available, mothers are tempted to dilute it thereby subjecting the baby to inadequate milk supply. Perhaps the best solution is for the Government to put into place mechanisms to help mothers cope with their positive status for instance by giving mothers ARVs, providing milk supplements to those who can not afford to buy them as well as educating Mothers on how to properly administer formula milk.

Gender Electoral Support Network (Gesn), an organisation formed to ensure that more women participate in politics, has expressed disappointment over primary elections being held by political parties, saying that they are sidelining women. It is alleged that women are being mistreated and not informed on dates of the elections. Gender activists have also blamed donors and political parties for talking a lot about women participation in politics, but in reality doing very little to reverse the situation. All in all, there is little doubt that it is vital to have women parliamentarians who would be better placed to fight for issues affecting women and children.

Jos Kuppens - Missionary of Africa
jkuppens@malawi.net
Jim Greene-Missionary of Africa
jgreene@malawi.net
Centre For Social Concern
P.O. Box 40049, Kanengo, Lilongwe
Malawi
Tel (265) 1 716 138 and (265) 9 957 669