MALAWI PRESS REVIEW March 2010
From Centre For Social Concern (see our house)

News clippings with analysis
From the Major newspapers
in Malawi

Compiled by the
Center for Social Concern (CFSC)
Box 40049 Lilongwe 4
Area 25
Next to St. Francis Parish
Tel: 01 715 632

LIST OF NEWSPAPERS REVIEWED

Daily Times, Malawi News, The Weekly News, The Nation,
The Weekend Nation, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Chronicle,
Nation on Sunday,

 

PREVIEW

It has been said more than once that there is s shortage of medical personnel in the health sector in Malawi. Already there are also daily reports of shortage of drugs and equipment in most of the hospitals in Malawi. Visiting people form other countries have always wondered how medical personnel manage to do their work with no equipment at all.

The shortage of equipment is just one the problems that the Ministry of Health has to deal with, there is also the recent issue of high schools fees for would be nurses.

Of late there have been reports of hiked fees at nursing school. This has hindered many inspiring nurses from realizing their dreams. March reports show that there are no first year students in government nursing schools. This is a deplorable situation because Malawi needs a lot of nurses in hospitals.

In a Malawian setting very few parents and guardians can afford to pay K335,000 per year for their wards. Now these exorbitant fees that nursing schools are charging are too much for many aspiring student. Something has to be done with haste so that the situation can be seen to be improving.

The fact that there are no first year students in the nursing schools means that the problem of shortage is far from over. Nurses and Midwives in Malawi are a rare crop that should be guarded. It therefore does not reflect well on Malawi if there are few nurses left in the country. Government cannot fulfill its dream of having a healthy nation.

Malawi has lost a number of medical personnel in recent years as many nurses and doctors left in search for greener pastures. A number of surveys have shown that this did not only happen in Malawi some other developing countries.

POLITICS

The problems in the United Democratic Front UDF are far from over. UDF was once one of the richest parties on the continent in terms of resources when the party was in power. Today all its financiers seem to have deserted it. The party's chairperson, former president Bakili Muluzi, late last year announced his retirement from active politics which also meant that the party would have to stand on its own feet. Ever since the UDF became an opposition party there have been a lot of financial and numerous other problems facing the party.

When Muluzi announced his retirement from politics he also told the UDF that he would no longer finance the party, a decision which has fuelled the current financial problems. Muluzi then left the mantle with Friday Jumbe former finance minister in the UDF administration. This appointment did not please some of the gurus in the party, although it had announced that it would only hold a convention to choose its president in 2013, a year before 2014 general elections. Meanwhile Lucius Banda, Mosses Dossi, Clement Stambuli, George Nga Ntafu, Fahad Assani and Brown Mpinganjira have publicly shown their interest to challenge Jumbe.

The attacks on John Tembo leader of the Malawi Congress Party MCP seem to be harsher. First it was some of his Members of Parliament led by the late Ishmael Chafukira who asked John Tembo to leave leadership to the young blood in the party. As if this were not enough, the party's General Secretary Chris Daza also spoke to the press on the same issue. Daza is of the view that it is high time John Tembo gave way to others in the party to lead. Tembo who is over 78 years old has led the MCP in the past two presidential elections and has not yet announced his retirement. It is unknown whether Tembo will abide by the pleas from people in the party that he should let new brooms sweep the house. Meanwhile a taskforce on leadership change in the MCP has added its weight to Daza's announcements and has also added pressure on Tembo. The taskforce has since given Tembo ten days to resign or else more serious consequences will follow. Political observers have since warned that the ongoing wrangles in the country's oldest party MCP might result in Tembo forced exit.

Just when people thought Tembo was over the issue of Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly, the MCP leader shocked Malawians when he went to court to try to unseat the youthful legislator Abel Kayembe. Those that sympathise with John Tembo feel that the MCP leader should have automatically been chosen leader of opposition because he is leader of the biggest opposition party in the August House. It should be noted that Tembo went to court after it was announced that the incumbent leader of opposition Kayembe had begun to receive his full benefits, which is equivalent to that of a cabinet minister.

President Bingu wa Mutharika took a swipe at religious leaders of the Northern Region when he was there in the month of March. Mutharika who has come under attack for sidelining the North defended himself saying his government is trying all it can to develop the region. Religious leaders especially from the Livingstonia Synod of the Church of Central African Presbyterian CCAP, condemned the Mutharika administration for implementing the quota system of selecting students into public universities and secondary schools which they said sidelined northerners. The grassroots members of the northern region also view President Mutharika as truly working against this region when three members of parliament from there were suspended for challenging the implementation of the quota system.

The clash between two United Democratic Front UDF camps at the Chileka Airport as they welcomed former president Dr Bakili Muluzi has been condemned by various players in the society. The fact that Friday Jumbe and Lucius Banda camps fought over who should welcome Bakili Muluzi at the airport shows that there is less tolerance within parties. According to other observers there is no democracy in the party. UDF was once the strongest and richest party in the country and it used to boast of being the most democratic party in the land. Now all that is history. If the party is to regain its status of being the most Democratic Party, it needs to solve all its in-house problems.

ECONOMY

Though Malawi is a peaceful country, evidence has shown that there are still some outstanding things happening that are hindering the growth of foreign investments. Among other things there is a lot of crime that makes investors think twice before they start business in Malawi. As if this is not enough, the power failures could also be blamed as one of the obstacles in running businesses in Malawi. As a result the country has missed some opportunities. It is high time authorities look into these problems and come up with lasting solutions.

Press reports on the economy have disclosed that the European Union EU has finally given up on Malawi following its reluctance to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement EPAs. Civil society in Malawi has played a major role in asking government not to sign the EPAs in their current form. The Center For Social Concern CFSC and other organizations have always advocated for a No to the EPAs because the organization felt the country would not benefit a lot from the agreement. The good thing is President Mutharika also announced that Malawi would not sign. Although Malawi did not sign the interim agreement, some countries in Africa have signed.

The sales of tobacco in this year's season started on a positive note with the leaf fetching a considerable amount of money. Just like other tobacco seasons, the sales of tobacco this year are also locked with shortfalls. Press reports have shown that there was a lot of tobacco that was rejected at the Auction Floors in Lilongwe during the first week of the sales. Although this has been the case experts have a predicted good sales at the end of the season. Good sales and prices mean cash for the farmers and some increased forex in the country. Already reports have shown that the first week of the sales in the month of March were six times more than the sales in the same period in the last season.

There is at least some good news from the reserves of Malawi. After some months of low import cover the situation is changing for the better. Reports have shown that the import cover is close to two months as opposed to one month in January. However the situation is expected to improve even further because of the sales of tobacco and uranium exports. Though on a small scale the exports of uranium from Kayerekera in Karonga will also assist in the import cover. The approval of International Monetary Fund IMF for donors to release funds to Malawi has also improved the situation.

Malawi hosted the African Union Economic Summit in the month under review. This is the first assignment for Malawi after President Bingu wa Mutharika became chairperson of the Africa Union. Parliament in its last sitting passed an extra budget amount K920 million for AU activities now that Mutharika is the chair.

FOOD SECURITY

At the recent African Union Meeting in Lilongwe one of the issues that featured highly is the success story of Malawi on food security. To date many countries look at Malawi with disbelief following its transformation in terms of food security. Against all odds Malawi managed to have bumper harvest for three years in a row. Malawi became a food exporting nation after previously being beggars when food was scarce. President Bingu wa Mutharika told the meeting that it was high time Africa became a food self-reliant continent and this would be possible with things like subsdised fertilizer. The current food security in Malawi could be safely said to have come about because of good rains and the availability of fertilizer and farm inputs at cheaper prices.

While success stories of the food situation in Malawi are spreading throughout the continent, there are still some areas that will have a shortage. They include Mwanza, Neno, Balaka, Chikwawa and Nsanje. These areas experienced floods and dry spell leading to shortage of food. Meanwhile traditional leaders in Balaka District concerned for their subjects have since asked organizations to rescue some of the people who are facing starvation. It should be noted that government in recent months announced that it had predicted a 30% shortfall in this year's harvest. This could mean that some areas will indeed go without food.

Another district that will also feel pangs of hunger is Nsanje. As if the floods that destroyed the crops were not serious the district was also invaded by armyworms. This meant that the crops that survived the floods were devoured by armyworms. The same district also faced a prolonged dry spell. All these factors have affected the food situation in the district.

Leaders are supposed to lead by example and this is exactly what T.A. Mwaulambia of Chitipa is doing. Just when many people would expect a chief to rely on handouts from his subjects, Mwaulambia is doing the opposite. The Traditional leader is doing his best to making sure that there is plenty of food at his home. This has already caught the eye of the ministry of agricultural officials who have commended the chief. The scenario in T.A. Mwaulambia's household would perhaps act as a role model to other traditional leaders.

CIVIL SOCIETY AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS

A number of civil society organizations in the month spoke with one voice when they condemned what presidential advisor of Non Governmental Organizations NGOs Bessie Chirambo said. The presidential advisor blasted civil society organizations and asked them to go through her office when they want to comment on issues. Chirambo, who is also in the National Governing Council NGC of the Democratic Progressive Party DPP, further threatened NGOs that government would shut down any organization that does not comply with this. Civil society who play a vital role in a democracy have challenged Chirambo's assertions.

In August last year the Human Rights Consultative Committee HRCC conducted consultative meetings on the abolition of the death penalty. The issue has been in the press for some time as civil society is trying to lobby for the abolition of the death penalty. Both former president Dr Bakili Muluzi and the incumbent Dr Bingu wa Mutharika have never signed for a death warrant. But the human rights body feels if the death penalty is still there in the constitution another president might use it. Meanwhile some chiefs in the Northern Region, notably Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe, have added their voice on the bid.

Although government has in the past months made promises that it will hold local government elections, the situation on the ground does not match the pledge. Malawians have been living without councilors for some years. The Mutharika government promised that it would conduct local government elections as early as possible. But these statements have been changing because the local government minister Goodall Gondwe announced Malawi will have its local government elections in 2014. There are going to be tripartite elections, local government, presidential and parliamentary. The lack of commitment by government has left some people wondering if at all this government is serious about the issue. The Malawi Electoral Systems Network MESN has also noted that the government announced the elections would be held in December. Against this background MESN feels preparatory work should have started on the ground to make sure that this is adhered to. So far there has not been any work done in preparing for the local government elections.

Some civil society organizations have condemned government in the way it plans to administer the Malawi Youth Enterprises and Development Fund MYEDF. According to the MYEDF their target is the youth between 18 and 35 years. But the civil society organization feels those that are from 30 years to 35 should not be included but instead youths from 10 years to 30. The K3 billion MYEDF has caused a lot of controversies after media reports disclosed that K1 billion has already been used for administration. This means the youth of Malawi who form the majority are only left with K2 billion.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL LIFE

Experts have welcomed the ministry of gender and child welfare's decision to remove children off the streets. Malawi's streets are full of children mostly orphans. The HIV/AIDS pandemic resulted in Malawi having many orphans who lost their parents and guardians to the deadly disease. The street kids are sometimes forced to beg on the streets by their guardians. But all this is hopefully going to come to an end because the ministry intends to help the children. Among other measures they will first be removed from the streets. Perhaps this could help some of them go back to school. At the same time it will protect the children from any possible abuses that they are subjected to on the streets.

Some observers have expressed concerns over the troubles that beneficiaries go through at the Administrator General's office. Evidence has shown that it takes more than six years for beneficiaries to access a deceased estate, because of the inefficiency of the Administrator General's office. Some beneficiaries miss out the opportunity to achieve something in life because some die during the six years of waiting. For this reason an organization called Justice Link has said that there should be ways of dealing with this problem so that people are assisted in good time.

Traditional dances that fuel gender based violence should be abandoned, this is what some organizations feel. There have been reports of some activists who have time and again asked women and children to consider quitting dancing during functions especially at political rallies but this time the call is to stop dances that perpetuate gender based violence. Much as it is good to celebrate and keep our culture through various traditional dances, some of them are well known for fuelling gender-based violence. These are the ones that organizations and activists want the country to abandon.

Decades after Malawi attained independence there are still some foreign bosses who think they can get away with any misconduct. The PTC manager took the law into his own hands when he physically assaulted a shop manager in Blantyre. It is against this background that some observers feel the foreign manager should be punished or even expelled from Malawi. On the same note experts in the month of March asked employees to join trade unions. The advice came up after some press reports disclosed that a number of people were fired for merely drinking tea. This was at a shop in Blantyre. Again there has been a lot of media coverage on the abuses that employees face ranging from poor salaries, physical and verbal abuse.

EDUCATION

After so many delays in coming up with materials for visually impaired students the ministry of education finally launched books for such students. Evidence has shown that some visually impaired students fail to continue their education because of the availability of materials. Now that the books are available it lightens the future of the children with hope that their education will go to greater heights.

In the month of March the issue of school fees in private schools came out again. Late last year the ministry of education closed some schools after it had conducted inspections across the country. It was during theses inspections that the ministry announced that it noted with great concerns that some schools were charging exorbitant school fees without justification. The ministry has since vowed to intervene in such a situation. Meanwhile the umbrella body for private schools Private Schools Association of Malawi PRISAM announced its hands are tied and the organization cannot do anything on the fees reduction proposal. Link Education Governance LEG has since welcomed government's proposal to regulate school fees in private secondary schools.

Just when people thought the delays in receiving monthly salaries for teachers had ended the problem came out again recently much to the annoyance of the teachers. Teachers who form the majority of the civil society had a rude awakening when their salaries were delayed making it difficult for them to pay bills and take care of some basic necessities. Press reports have shown that the salaries were delayed because government had changed the system of payment. It should be noted that such delays also affect the students.

With a few years to 2015, which is the target for Millennium Development Goals MDGs the education sector is still rocked by a number of problems. Shortage of schools as a result of increasing number of students and dilapidated structures are some of the problems facing the ministry. The situation is dismal for Community Day Secondary students who are studying under trees. Problems of shortage of classes has been going on for some time and one wonders why there seems to be no solution in sight.

President Bingu wa Mutharika in the month of March assured the Malawi nation that he would stick to his vision of making education accessible to every Malawian. Mutharika spoke this when he attended a graduation of teachers at Domasi College of Education which 428 teachers graduating with Diplomas and Degree. The number of the trained teachers will beef up the already dwindling number of qualified teachers who leave the teaching profession to seek greener pasture elsewhere. There is again need for incentives that would help the ministry keep the trained teachers in the education sector.

HEALTH

After some considerations government included gay relationships in its HIV/AIDS prevention strategy, a move that has been commended by a number of observers. Although until now there are no laws that recognize same sex relationships, in Malawi it is clear that homosexuality is present in the country. Some months ago the secretary for nutrition and HIV and Aids in the Office of the President and Cabinet Dr Mary Shaba, made it known that the fight against HIV and AIDS is going to be meaningless if gays are not taken on board. Now that the gays have been incorporated in the HIV and AIDS prevention strategy it is a step in the right direction.

More and more disturbing news continue to appear in the press after effects of the fees hike for nursing students in both government and Christian nursing schools have been published. The announcement by government to stop funding nursing students came at a time when the country needs many medical personnel because of congested hospitals. Press reports have disclosed that there are no first year students in some training institutions because they cannot afford the exorbitant fees. Observers have noted that this scenario could spell doom for Malawi because in the near future there will be less personnel trained and yet the country needs more of these nurses.

Meanwhile the Zodiak Broadcasting Station also lamented the exorbitant fees for nursing schools. Gospel Kazako of Zodiak also noted that although some students might do well in the secondary school education examinations, there is a limiting factor that is hindering them from pursuing their dreams. This is the hiked fees.

Still on the same issue of nurses, Medicines San frontier MSF noted that many people who are HIV+ fail to access ARVs because of the shortage of personnel. The ministry of health has in recent times lost a lot of nurses who have left the country and government hospitals in search of greener pasture. MSF said that although the government of Malawi is making sure that ARVs are available in the country, a number of HIV+ go untreated because there are not enough doctors and nurses. Such a scenario needs more and more personnel to beef up the health facilities so that the HIV+ people could be attended to in good time. But how is this to be when there are no new nurses trained because of the skyrocketed fees in nursing schools?

Press reports in the month of March disclosed that there is an outbreak of Measles in some parts of the country. Already some children in Mangochi and Blantyre have received treatment after contracting the disease. It is also announced that there are also some cases of Measles reported in Lilongwe City. Meanwhile the ministry of health has started giving out vaccine to Under Five children in all the government hospitals.

 

ENVIRONMENT

As the finance ministers and other experts were discussing issues during the African Union meeting that took place in Lilongwe the issue of employment was also discussed at length. This means that unemployment is a problem for all Africa. Here in Malawi the problem is even worse because those that are jobless have resorted to other means of making a living that are damaging the environment. Press reports in the month of March showed that in Nkhata Bay district people have resorted to cutting down trees to make ends meet. According to media reports unemployment is leading to massive cutting down of rubber trees. Perhaps the solution to the problem could be a creation of more jobs to the unemployed.

The meteorological department in the month of March announced that the rains would soon come to an end. Although some areas have been receiving rains regularly in the month under review other areas had to face tough and harsh conditions because of lack of it. It was reported that over a thousand houses collapsed and thousands of people were displaced because of heavy rains in Dedza. This was happening in Dedza District when Mwanza did not have enough rains.

Although it is like a new phenomenon, Malawians are now coming to terms with the fact that there is climate change and it is affecting the country. Notably there have been changes in the patterns of rains as evidenced by this season's amounts of rains: some districts received good rain while others did not. Against this background press reports have disclosed that Malawians, including weather experts, environmentalists and other stakeholders have come up with ways of adapting to the climate change.

In March the media reports on the environment and natural resources disclosed that some residents in Mangochi have changed their perception of natural resources. In recent times there have been reports of human and animal conflicts in certain areas and that some people have lost property and crops. This led to people believing that there was nothing government was doing to make sure that the people are protected. Against this background the people changed their view and have finally decided to conserve the natural resources by being friendly to the animals.

GENDER

Press reports some months ago came up with a list of newsmakers. These were the people that had made headlines for that month. Surprisingly there were no women who made it on the list which led to questions like 'where are the women in news making positions?' Could this mean there are no women in Malawi in all the sectors that make news. In a country that is striving to make a balance between men and women, the coverage of news should also include women. It is only with a lot of coverage that women can make it on to such a list.

On a similar note there was a report on the same issue of who makes news. According to the report women are still underrepresented in the coverage of news. While others feel the women themselves are to blame for failing to be good sources others have different views. Press reports have disclosed that some news people deliberately shun women when they are sourcing news. This is also the case in neighboring countries. But the same report noted that electronic media favours women more than print. A lot of women are given a chance to speak on television and radio. Similarly more female journalists prefer working on radio or television.

As the world was celebrating the International Women's Day in March the European Commission lamented the abuses that women continue to suffer on a daily basis in Malawi. According to reports many women are murdered every year. The report further disclosed that over 50% of women reported physical and sexual abuse by the husbands. The EC noted that the more women are abused the more development issues are retarded. It is therefore only concerted efforts from all sectors of society in making sure those women are not abused so that they contribute freely to the development of the country.

Female commercial sex workers in the month under review took the Ministry of Gender and Child Welfare to task for a proposed HIV and AIDS bill. The ministry has proposed a bill that will criminalise HIV infections by a partner who does not disclose their status. The commercial sex workers feel the bill is targeting them and will jeopardize their trade. Prostitution is illegal in Malawi and there are times when the police arrest some of the women who parade in the streets in the major towns in the country. Although the trade is illegal there are a lot of commercial sex workers in Malawi most of whom are women. Recently there have also been reports of male prostitutes.

Fr. Bill Turnbull

Center for Social Concern (CFSC)
Box 40049 Lilongwe 4
Area 25
Next to St. Francis Parish
Tel: 01 715 632
billturnbull@cfscmalawi.org