C F S C

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R E NOVEMBER S 2012 S News clippings R with analysis From the E Major newspapers V in

I Compiled by the E Center for Social Concern W (CFSC) Box 40049 Lilongwe 4 Area 25

Next to St. Francis Parish Tel: 01 715 632

www.cfscmalawi.org CFSC Press Review November 2012

LIST OF NEWSPAPERS REVIEWED

Daily Times The Weekend Nation T he Sunday T i m e s Malawi News The Guardian Nation on Sunday The Nation

CFSC Press Review November 2012

PREVIEW

The political scene was awash with so many things in November. The sitting of Parliament also saw a number of things happening that affected political parties in one-way or the other. Some parliamentarians dumped the ruling People’s Party and this meant some support on the government side was lost.

Again United Democratic Front UDF Member of Parliament and Economic Planning minister was voted Chairperson of the party at a convention that was held in Blantyre. This automatically changed his future in the running of business as cabinet minister. Despite the calls for Atupele Muluzi to resign from cabinet he did not do so, instead he resigned after some members of the ruling party had ridiculed him at a public political rally. This is what politics is like in Malawi; today one is in government the next second he is in the opposition.

Malawi’s economy needs a lot more if it is to improve at a steadfast speed. Goodall Gondwe an economic expert made it clear at a meeting on Malawi’s economy.

Is the hunger situation in Malawi being exaggerated as some people are saying? Already there have been distribution of food items to the needy but some still think the government only wants to blow things out of proportion.

Malawi Council of Churches MCC has raised concerns over the way some people dress in churches. Of late people have embraced some trendy fashion of dressing a thing that has not amused the men of God and they want this to change.

At what age should girls in Malawi get married? This is the big question that is being asked. Should it be at 18, 16 or 21? Debates still continue to flow over the issue, as some still think 21 is the right age. The arguments are that at this age a girl must have finished with education and is mature enough to make such a huge decision.

At least there has been some will by the African continent to have women in political leadership positions. It seems Africa is now willing to give a chance to women to play an active role in political activities. Rwanda is a good example of a good number of women who are in parliament assisting government in formulating policies.

CFSC Press Review November 2012

POLITICS

The United Democratic Front UDF held its convention in November where members elected Atupele Muluzi as the National Chairperson for the party. Muluzi, who is the son of the former president of Malawi Dr , won after the party’s constitution was amended on the age limit for presidential candidate. Way before the convention was held the party had been sailing in troubled waters after a series of wrangles for leadership. Party followers look forward to strengthening of the party now that the convention has been done.

The outcome of the convention seems not to have amused some members who have since left the party to form their own. Friday Jumbe, who has been involved in wrangles with fellow UDF members over leadership, announced the formation of a new party called Labour Party. Jumbe who was in one faction of the party is at present accusing the party for using him. He is the man that former president Dr Bakili Muluzi entrusted with the chairmanship of the party. But as it was to be some people never recognized him as leader of the party instead formed other groupings that were against Jumbe.

In November 2012 we witnessed how some public utterances can break and cause trouble for others. The Bible makes it clear that tells people to tame the tongue. They say a few words are enough for the wise and yes indeed just a few podium utterances saw Atupele Muluzi resigning from his position as minister of economic planning. How one would wish politicians checked their speeches on the podium.

Atupele Muluzi resigned from the cabinet after some overzealous People’s Party PP officials insulted his integrity at a public rally. Press reports have shown that Muluzi was bitter after some PP publicly washed his dirty linen in public. Among other things the party officials are reported to have told the people at a political rally that Muluzi cannot become leader of Malawi because he does not speak Yao, the official language for the Eastern Region where he comes from. One wonders why a mere party official could insult a cabinet minister and get away with it. It is now not surprising to see Atupele Muluzi reigning from his position. The UDF had been asking its members of parliament who are in the cabinet to resign but such calls fell on deaf ears.

Meanwhile some political experts have warned that Muluzi’s resignation is a sign that he is not strong enough to withstand any verbal attacks from opponents. Have since advised Muluzi to grow a thick skin. While it was inevitable that Muluzi would sooner or later be dropped from the cabinet, his resigning because of verbal insults is the last thing that many people expected. On the other hand some observers feel Atupele’s resignation is a loss to the opposition United Democratic Front UDF because by having a member in the cabinet, it meant the party was part of the decision making process in running of government business.

Parliament in its November sitting authorized the Tripartite Elections. Both the opposition and government sides of the National Assembly voted for the tripartite elections in 2014. This means that for the first time in Malawi people will be voting a presidential, parliamentary and councilor. It has taken government more than 13 years to have this bill tabled and passed. The regimes have given one excuse after the other for their failure to give a go ahead for the tripartite elections.

There was a kind of drama in the National Assembly during the November sitting. The United Democratic Front UDF members of parliament for one day crossed the floor from the

CFSC Press Review November 2012 government side to the opposition only to return 24 hours later. The party had been sitting on the government side and was giving government the much-needed support. According to the UDF members of parliament they had to get back to the government side because that is what their party had instructed them to do so.

Political violence resurfaced in the month under review in Thyolo District. Supporters of the former ruling party are alleged to have stoned PP followers. President had gone to Thyolo North Constituency where she addressed a public rally at the time of the incident. More than ten people were injured during the incident. But as usual the suspected perpetrators of the violent act denied the accusations. This incident took place weeks after supporters from different political parties fought in Mzimba District during the bye-election.

CFSC Press Review November 2012

ECONOMY

Just like it did with the revenue collections, the former government is reported to been doing the same with the inflation rate. So many learned experts always questioned why the Malawi nation kept having single digit inflation year in year out. Despite the high cost of food items that is one component that helps in coming up with the inflation, government then made sure that the inflation still remained a single digit. It should be noted that even at a time when it was obvious that there was a food shortage the government of the day that time still insisted Malawi was a food secure nation. One can never tell what else our politicians sugarcoated.

It is now common knowledge that low-income earners are the majority in Malawi. This means that they again the major contributor of revenue through taxes. But then experts have noted that the current tax system is a burden to low-income earners. The Centre For Social Concern’s CFSC survey on Malawi’s taxation system has since proposed that there should be a change in the system that will work in favour of the poor. CFSC has always asked for an increase in the tax free band so that the low income earners can find some kind of relief, in these times of economic hardships, but the policy makers have always done it their way. At present the tax free band is at K15,000, but CFSC has proposed that it should be moved up to K25,000.

Media reports on the same study also proposed an increase in taxes for those that earn a lot of money. CFSC proposed hat there should be another tax band introduced for those that earn more than K400,000 a month and that these should pay 40%.

Former finance minister Goodall Gondwe, who was also economic advisor to the former president Dr Bakili Muluzi, hit the nail on its head when he said Malawi’s economy will take time to recover. Speaking at an Economic Association of Malawi ECAMA conference held in November, Gondwe noted that while Malawi formulates one of the best budgets, there was need to find where to start when implementing the policies.

There were a number of meetings to discuss the economy in November and one such meeting is the one that the government of Malawi and the International Monitory Fund IMF organized. At the end of this important meeting it was sad to learn that most ministers did not seriously attend much to the annoyance of some individuals. Press reports disclosed that chairperson of Sunbird Leonard Chikadya openly blamed the ministers for not showing seriousness in the high level meeting.

CFSC Press Review November 2012

FOOD SECURITY

There are different comments coming out on the food situation in the country. The figures that are being publicized range from 1.6 million to more than 2 million people who are said to be the facing an acute food shortage. On the other hand some people feel the figures could be more than this while others think the food situation in Malawi is exaggerated. What with some farmers selling their maize to foreigners in the boarder districts! For a layperson one may never know the exact extent of the food shortage.

President Joyce Banda came under heavy attacks over her food distribution exercise. For sometime now Mrs. Joyce Banda has been going around distributing maize or flour to people who are reported to be facing a food shortage. Critics feel Mrs. Banda should delegate because she is wasting so much money on her continues trips to the distribution exercise. Others feel it would have been easier if the duty was handed over to district commissioners. Some experts have raised concerns over the manner in which maize is being distributed as it is mostly at a political setup. But the ruling PP has brushed aside such assertions saying the beneficiaries are not only PP but also people from all walks of life.

Some concerned citizens are also not happy with the maize that is branded Joyce Banda on the bags. This development has raised fears that Banda could be campaigning for 2014 general elections. But the government has denied such claims saying they are only rescuing people who are hungry.

It was the same old story of delays in the farm input subsidy programme. The exercise which is aimed at improving the food security of the nation has been rocked with problems ever since it was introduced. One of the problems is the late delivery of farm inputs to farmers. Some members of parliament have again raised the same concerns with fears that any delay in the delivery of fertilizer would cause problems to the farmers.

In November press reports also disclosed that those that abuse the subsidized fertilizer programme have come up with a new way of doing so. It is reported that some people are mixing the farm input with sand. In Mzimba an entire truck was found with bags of sand instead of fertilizer. While on its part government is trying its best to run away from cheats, the cheats themselves are coming up with new ways of ruining a good government initiative.

CFSC Press Review November 2012

CIVIL SOCIETY AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS

Civil society leaders are not amused with government’s decision to award K700 million to former Malawi Young Pioneers MYP. Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation CHRR’s Undule Mwakasungula noted that government should not have compensated ex-MYPs but instead, the victims that suffered in the hands of the MYPs. Evidence has shown that there are many people whose rights were violated by the MYPs during the one party era, and some have not been compensated to date. Therefore, Mwakasungula sees no reason why the MYPs should be compensated at the expense of their victims. Mwakasungula further added that there could only be reconciliation and forgiveness if the victims are also compensated.

The Public Affairs Committee PAC held yet another all-inclusive consultation meeting on the state of affairs in Malawi. After two days of deliberations and debates PAC came up with a number of recommendations. Among other things the meeting recommended that the Speaker of the National Assembly should evoke Section 65 and declare seats of those that have crossed the floor vacant. The conduct of many parliamentarians leaves a lot to be desired as they are in one party today and tomorrow they are in another. It is this trend that has forced many quarters of society to ask the Speaker to use Section 65. Despite pledges by Malawi presidents to safeguard the constitution evidence has shown that they have at times assisted in raping it.

Some religious leaders in the month under review asked worshipers to dress with respect in places of worship. As things are changing in the world at large in terms of fashion trends and technology the same is also happening in the church. But according to the Malawi Council of Churches Malawians should watch out the way they dress in the presence of the Lord. As the church is also going with time one thing people should know is there will always be a place where people should tow a line in as far as dressing in church is concerned.

The Consumer Association of Malawi CAMA plans to hold peaceful demonstrations on the acceleration of cost of living. The leader of the consumer rights body John Kapito, who was once a commissioner of the Malawi Human Rights Commission MHRC, says there is no point in pretending that all is well when people are actually failing to make it through the day due to the increasing cost of living. The plans are to hold these demonstrations in the year to come. So far the planned march has the blessing of some civil society organizations.

CFSC Press Review November 2012

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL LIFE

At a time when the Malawi Police Service MPS is trying its level best to change its image, some bad news came out in the press in November. Male and Female inmates are sharing rooms while in police custody. For sure one would not expect this to happen in this day and age when people know of their rights. Surely it is inhuman and unheard of to have male and females spend nights in one congested room. It is pleasing to note that the Malawi Human Rights Commission MHRC is looking into the issue.

Parliament in its November sitting asked government to work very hard in protecting Malawian women from foreigners. Evidence shows that some cunning foreigners propose marriage to women in Malawi to easily get benefits in the country. For some it is to get easy business permits at the expense of the local women’s trust. These foreign men end up abusing the poor ladies. It is against this background that some parliamentarians want a law on marriage of convenience to be put in place to safeguard women.

Debate on the right marriage age continued in November. Consultation has been done on the issue also took place in November on what exactly should be the age at which people should marry. The issue came up after members of parliament passed the Marriage Law in the National Assembly in 2009. The marriage age was put at 16. The passing of the law caused a lot of problems as many people were against this as they said it was on the lower side. At present people are proposing that the marriage age should be pegged at 21. At least at this age many girls have completed their education and are matured enough to make own decisions.

Tumbukas in Rumphi held their cultural festival called Gonapamhanya at Bolero in Rumphi district. President Joyce Banda was present at the cultural festival and encouraged traditional leaders to safeguard culture. In previous months the Lhomwes held Mulhakho wa Alhomwe, the Chewas also had Kulamba, and the Ngonis in Mzimba held Umthetho at Hora. Meanwhile there are suggestions to have all the cultural celebrations combined.

Child rights defenders in November attributed poverty to the rise in child abuse in some parts of Malawi. According to experts some families have no choice but to marry off their daughters early. Reports have shown that some mothers even send their children on the streets to beg for alms. All this is coming up because the high level of poverty coupled with high costs of living. It is indeed true that people cannot live a dignified life if they are in extreme poverty.

CFSC Press Review November 2012

EDUCATION

The Malawi National Examinations Board MANEB released the 2012 Malawi schools’ examinations results in November. Just like in past years the results of 2012 show that there is not any improvement at all. At a time when people expected an improvement in the results, nothing seems to be changing for the better. The pass rate is 51.8%. Out of over 111,000 candidates that sat for the Malawi Schools Certificate Examinations MSCE in 2012 over half failed. Could it be because the examiners or markers are too harsh on the candidates? Is something wrong with the questions that are examined? Perhaps there is something wrong with the teaching system to the extent that students fail to grasp what teachers are teaching.

On the same note some education experts have raised concerns over the poor show in the 2012 MSCE examinations results. There are concerned with the amount of money that government spends in preparing students for the examinations in secondary schools. Estimates have shown that Malawi is wasting over K15 billion in preparing students for secondary school education that includes writing examinations. The experts say they are worried with the poor showing in MSCE examination over the past years because it is always below 60%. For sure there is need for concerted efforts to make sure that government’s funding to the education sector bears the expected fruits.

Any person would agree with the report on the performance of the education sector. The report has rated the education sector poorly in fact it is the worst compared to Malawi’s neighbours. These findings should indeed give stakeholders a chance to come up with short and long term plans to improve the education standards. Surprisingly it is the education sector that gets a lion’s share of the National Budget.

It was announced in November that the government is ready to implement compulsory education. This development has however raised a number of issues that need to be looked into before the implementation. Evidence shows that the time government introduced free primary school education there was an urgent need for classrooms, learning and teaching materials and teachers as well due to the increasing numbers in enrollment of pupils. As education officials have put it Malawi needs to introduce compulsory education now and sort out of the shortfalls in the long run.

CFSC Press Review November 2012

HEALTH

It is the same old song of brain drain in Malawi where many medical personnel are leaving the country seeking for greener pastures elsewhere. A number of medical personnel have in the past trekked to the West where the working environment is better than here in Malawi. It is therefore, not surprising to learn that many Malawian trained medical personnel have left the country in recent times. The Minister of Health, who is also Vice President of Malawi Khumbo Kachale, expressed concern over the rate at which people are leaving the government to either work in the private sector or outside Malawi. This scenario surely calls for a hasty solution to how Malawi can keep its medical personnel within the boarders and in the government.

Some hospitals in Malawi are still facing the problem of shortage of drugs. According to November media reports one of the country’s biggest referral hospitals has a problem of shortage of drugs. It has been an ongoing problem in Malawi hospitals where pharmacies could easily be said to have not enough stock at all times. In November we learnt that the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital QECH in Blantyre, the only referral hospital in the entire Southern Region, ran out of tuberculosis drugs and other essential drugs. Being a recurring problem the authorities should surely work an extra mile in making sure that this issue is dealt with once and for all.

The abortion debate continued in the month under review. It was reported that a number of cases of complications that arise from the abortions to be referred to many government hospitals. Estimates show that government loses millions of Kwachas in taking care of such patients. There are continued calls for legalisation of abortion and they are getting louder each passing day. Ever since the debate started a number of individuals have spoken about it. Just recently a well-known gynecologist confirmed that many young girls and women go for abortions illegally but it still remains a private matter. Evidence has shown that more than 70,000 abortions happen every year.

Health reports in the month of November brought in good news on the availability of an additional health facility in the capital city. There is a new modern hospital that is under construction in the suburbs of Lilongwe and will soon open its doors. A local entrepreneur has invested over K900m modern facility and equipment and is expected to ease the load that government hospitals usually have.

CFSC Press Review November 2012

ENVIORNMENT

When the news that Lake Chilwa is drying up came up in the press many people became worried about this development. Families surrounding this area rely on this lake for the economic activities. As the lake is drying up there are fears about their future source of income as the lake is drying up. Despite this problems reports show that many people are relocating to the other part of the lake. There are again fears that there might be conflicts that will come up from this and sanitation

Water shortage continues to be a problem in many parts of the country. In the meantime some human rights activists have vowed to go into the streets to march. Perhaps if people speak about this with one voice water utility companies would improve their services. In both Lilongwe and Blantyre the problem has been going on for years and by now there should have been some improvement or change. While some people have argued that there is an urgent need for more water by city dwellers because of the increasing numbers of people coming to live in the cities, others have noted there is more the companies can do.

It is indeed true that the poor nations in the world are the ones that will be heavily hit by effects of climate change. A report by the World Bank noted that many poor nations will suffer more from food shortages and drought compared to rich and developed nations. The report also noted that there is no way countries can end poverty by putting climate change issues aside. Surely the effects of climate change will have great impact on any food security efforts.

With so many prospects of mining activities in Malawi observers have advised that the resources that come from such ventures should also benefit the locals. It is not a secret that in some African countries where there is heavy mining activities the local population surrounding the mines always complains of being sidelined in the share of the wealth that comes with minerals. The trend has been some not so clear deals are done with authorities while the locals are hardly consulted. Just like we witnessed how much resistance there was when government signed a deal with Paladin for the Kayerekera uranium mining activities in Karonga.

CFSC Press Review November 2012

GENDER

It was again that time of the year when the world commemorates 16 days of activism against gender based violence. The theme for this year is “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World”. In Malawi, just like many more African nations, women and children continue to be victims of gender based violence right in their homes, at times at the hands of the very same people that are supposed to be protectors. As is always the case gender activists work very hard to raise awareness about the various forms of gender based violence. The ministry of gender expressed great concern over the increasing number of gender based violence cases in Malawi.

A very controversial subject appeared in the press in November. Malawi being a very conservative nation in terms of bedroom issues, it is no wonder the issue received some criticism from various quarters of the society. Press reports have shown that a group of women who are living with AIDS are advocating for a law on marital rape. Efforts to have this law in the past have met a lot of hurdles. Perhaps this time around the efforts will get some support.

Malawi hosted an international meeting on women in political leadership. The Fourth Regional Conference on African Women in Political Leadership, which attracted participants from 21 African countries, was officially opened by the president Joyce Banda and was held in Lilongwe. The meeting noted that despite having only a few women in leadership positions, Africa has made many strides in making sure women are given a chance in political leadership.

The NGO Gender Coordinating Network held an Annual General Meeting in Blantyre in the month under review. The Chair of the network reported that there has been so many times when people have questioned why not many activities on gender equality have been implemented of late. As Malawi is still on the path towards attaining gender equality the Gender Coordinating Network has noted that the network did not fulfill some of the activities because of lack of funding. On the same not the 50-50 campaign has also met some hurdles because of the same issue of funding.