POLITICS 2014

It is difficult to specify what most influenced the shape of 2014, what made 2014 special. Was it the tripartite elections with their aftermath of unrest, doubt about the proper running of these elections, doubt about their outcome? Was it the Cashgate scandal and the attempts to bring the culpable to justice? Was it the unseating of an incumbent president, the first woman president in Malawi? Maybe it was the new lease of power given to the Democratic Progressive Party DPP with Peter Mutharika at the helm? Or was it the doubtful performance so far of the new government? Or may be the strikes of the judiciary or the Anti Corruption Bureau and university personnel, which impacted on the governance of Malawi. A keen observer of Malawi will say that a very important factor, event has not been mentioned; that is: was it the 50th anniversary of independence?

Very little was said and done about the 50th anniversary. Malawians, being more pragmatic than visionary wanted to choose a new government. The fact that vision counted for little is telling. The country, which seemed to have broken through regionalism and tribalism in the 2009 election, was back full swing to the past. The votes were cast very much according to regional and tribal lines. Quite a few commentators have diagnosed the problem as a lack of shared vision. In other words, Malawians have not been able to agree as to what they want their country to be like in years to come.

One could actually be excused to think that had the country done some serious evaluation of the past 50 years in order to work at a broadly based consensus about the next 50 years, prior to elections, Malawi might have chosen differently.

Walking through the months that make up 2014 we do find the usual events that are now customary in every election year. Primaries rooted out some of the political heavy weights and as a consequence produced a rush of independents. There were the usual defections. Presidential candidates were on a search for running mates. It is in February that they have to reveal their running mates because of submitting their nomination papers. The running mates were chosen to make up for some of the qualities lacking in the presidential candidate or in view of attracting voters from another region or religion. In March we see the first public debates of vice presidential candidates broadcast nation wide. The incumbent’s (Gwengwe) running mate shines through his absence. We also see some occasional violence in the campaigns but common sense generally prevails. The promises made by the various parties and candidates abound. But potential voters like to see more concrete signs in the form of handouts. Running for political office hence becomes very expensive.

May brings us the shambolic tripartite elections! The after elections situation is explosive but the desire for peace (at all cost) prevails. Opposition parties let us know they have been cheated out of winning these elections but it remains words only.

In June the new government settles in and slowly and painstakingly appoints minsters. Here again the regional card is trumped. Too many people from the South are chosen and too few women. The usual migration of parliamentarians is seen: from being independent to the government side. Following the nefarious discourse that they want development for their

constituency as if Malawi is only that part of the country that voted for the DPP party. Even a professor of law who spent forty years in the USA does not deliver us from such discourse! The cabinet is kept at twenty as promised but there are fifteen presidential advisors to offset the ‘small’ cabinet size.

In July the president makes it clear that the ministers will be judged on their performance. He also makes it clear that they are supposed to work and not follow him wherever he goes. Even female civil servants should remain in their offices; one wonders if the days of dancing and signing civil servants are over. Our cities have Mayors again, since the tripartite election brought back the councillors.

When the new parliament starts meeting, Ministers demand huge increases in their salaries as well as the parliamentarians. Some civil servants say that they cannot make ends meet. It looks a bit as if the more one is paid in Malawi, the lesser one is able to make ends meet or to meet one’s basic needs. It begs the question: isn’t this simple old-fashioned greed? In this much-touted God-fearing country our leaders simple forget that in Malawi there is only so much (or should say so little) to be divided. Should principles of social justice apply here? Especially when we think of others who have to have a share in the national cake, like those who have to educate our children, our teachers, and those who take care of us when sick, our nurses. They do not seem to count. Maybe ‘being God-fearing’ is like another ‘trickle down theory’. Like the one often mentioned in the context of the economy, it does not work at all. It is mere talk. The rich will simply get richer and the poor poorer; the gap between them grows. A formula for disaster, for revolution. One wonders how long the people of Malawi will take this.

While generally the call for increased wages is being heard, the government cautions people. We have to adjust our demands to the national income, now reduced to what the taxes, import duties etc. bring in. Because we have to make do with a zero aid budget. The traditional donors who supported the Common Approach to Budget Assistance CABS have so far refused to resume budgetary support.

While we approach the end of the year when government starts implementing the harmonization of salaries across the various groups of civil servants, the judiciary cries foul. They want to retain their advance position and claim also the same increase as civil servants who have been given almost 50% increase. They do so after they learn that ministers and parliamentarians have taken hefty increases, sometimes as high as 160%. So they claim, there must be money in the national kitty. When president and vice president and cabinet refuse (read postpone) the increase it is to late. Soon the strike by the judiciary is joined by the Anti Corruption Bureau staff. Some are speculating that this is done in order to continue plundering national resources. Because the court cases against Cashgate offenders have stalled and those who are supposed to be watchdog and are investigating corruption are on strike too.

Poor Malawi. She resembles a thin cow, with little life left in it and those who are already reasonably paid are sucking the last life out of it. No one here appears to agree with the

famous words of President John Kennedy: don’t ask what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country.

The last weeks of the year look more like: Things Fall Apart. Some are now prescribing a new cure: federalism. But it seems that most do not exactly know what is meant by the word and just use it to show they are disgruntled. At times it looks as if things go from bad to worse. Like the delegation that was taken to New York by the president and the costs incurred during the United Nations meeting by staying in very expensive hotels. Then there is a small sign of hope: the president telling off his ministers who like himself were accused of treason. He whistles them back and tries to put some sense into them when they are suing the government and want to claim compensation. If only we could see more this kind of leadership.

Quite a few commentators are claiming that what we need is visionary leadership that can mobilize all Malawians to go for it: development by the people and for the people. A visionary leadership that can bring to the surface what Malawians want as a nation: that can help the country to determine what it wants for itself in the years to come. A capable and motivated civil service, lean but mean, that can deliver, create the climate in which people can thrive and work for the common good of all, while creating wealth for themselves. A leadership that can unite all and does away with the discourse of: we bring you development. A leadership that will help all to discover their pride in being Malawian.

If not the alternative is: things continue to fall apart. But at the same time the population becomes more aware of their rights and analyses who stops them from enjoying their rights and their share in the national cake. A citizenry that realizes that poverty is being made by humans and kept in place by them will not take this any longer.

To let it come that far is to lay the foundation for revolution. Maybe that will be the only way forward.

THE ECONOMY 2014

2014 Economy Desperate Times Plastic Measures

At the dawn of the year 2014, the country was still waking up to the shocking reality and revelations of civil servants theft of public funds and that billions of funds disappeared into a black hole through institutional and individuals scams. The revelations of theft were the last nail in the coffin; they actualized the speculation of aid-freeze as donor decided that they could no longer stand the fact of pouring funds into leaking bucket, as described by the Permanent Secretary of Britain’s foreign aid wing, the Department for International Development DfID Mark Lowcock, while visiting the country within the year.

Since the donor freeze, which came into effect late 2013, Malawi faced an uphill struggle to implement its key development projects in 2014. Donors insist that they will only renew financial support after having seen a credible outcome of the investigations into the grand theft of public funds, most of which has been diverted for personal use instead of catering for certain basic services such as clean water, good health and schools.

With donors having frozen their funds, the year 2014, has been increasingly difficult for government to provide basic public services, in crucial social sectors such as health, energy and education. The prevailing state of affairs has affected the country in the short-term, and will do so in the long-term; as it has high potential to hurt infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing and tourism sectors; above all, in 2014 it was also the time when an electoral cycle came to an end and the country had to carry-out an election amidst these economic woes.

From A Rocky Start

The turbulence in economy that started towards the end of the year 2013 just picked moment with the lean season of the 2014, and economically the country made an early start of the passion. By 13 January 2014 there were already media reports that government did not have enough funds to fully finance operations of the ministries, departments and agencies. The situation had forced government to effect drastic cuts to funding for ministries, departments and agencies. According to reports in extreme instances some of them had received just a quarter of their usual monthly funding. The Ministry of Finance spokesperson confirmed the funding cuts, “that between January and June of the year 2014, life would slightly be different and difficult. Because of the non-disbursement of donor aid, and that government revenue that were being realized from taxes collected by the Malawi Revenue Authority MRA and other local sources were not enough to fully finance what the ministries and departments required to do and his office had advised the ministries and departments to prioritize.” Most of the Malawian population simply didn’t realize what this would really translate into in terms of quality of life; but at the same time the majority of the population did understand that the year was set to have a very wobbly economy to say the least.

The Electoral Cycle and The Economy

Amidst an economic overhang, the year 2014 also happened to be the time when the electoral cycle came to an end and the country had, for the very first time, to carry-out a tripartite multiparty democracy election. So what is normally the economic price of multiparty democracy election in Malawi? The question demands careful treatment. For one, we might distinguish between the direct economic cost of democracy – such as election costs – and the economic price of democracy. The ‘price of something’ is commonly taken to be an unwelcome experience, event or action involved as a condition of achieving a desired end. That there is a direct economic cost of democracy is manifest. In Malawi, the cost running an election can be substantial – at times higher than in some countries in the West.

What about the economic price? The impact of electoral cycles more than often extends to economic policy decisions in the country. In Malawi, it is common practice now that after the elections the new ruling party reassesses many existing contracts, withholding payment for up to some months or years in some cases. In 2014, for instance, the new government scrapped the Mudzi Trust Foundation and made a surprise policy announcement to introduce a very similar project under the Malata Subsidy where it has now planned to construct houses for 100 poor families in each of the 93 constituencies of the country. In addition the new government introduced a special tax reduction for telecommunications sector with full knowledge that such a move would only create an improper fraction, weighing down more on the side of the poor employee while the corporations’ tax burden would go lighter.

The move went against the very fundamental principles of taxation; horizontal and vertical equity; which state that persons or businesses in similar circumstances have similar tax burdens (‘Horizontal Equity’) and also people with a greater ability to pay taxes pay more as compared to poor people (‘Vertical Equity’). A tax must be progressive where the burden of taxation rises in proportion to an individual’s ability to pay i.e. in proportion to his or her income wealth. It is therefore, clear that every election cycle in Malawi has the evident cost which is the direct cost of running an election, and also an indirect cost which is occasioned by the subsequent economic policy changes always brought by new government. Thus the already turbulent economy had to support these costs which could be minimized and avoided respectively.

National Budget Predicting a Continuation of Economic Woes Beyond 2014

The budget; a government document representing the government’s proposed revenues and spending for a financial year is passed by parliament and presented by the Minister of Finance to the Nation. The government budget has economic, political and technical basis. Unlike a pure economic budget, it is not entirely designed to allocate scarce resources for the best economic use. It also has a political basis wherein different interests push and pull in an attempt to obtain benefits and avoid burdens. The technical element is the forecast of the likely level of revenues and expenses.

On 1st September 2014 the Minister of Finance presented the budget for the 2014/15 financial year and tentatively beyond. The key themes that emerged out of the minister’s budget statement were: (i) an unsettling reminder that while the country has registered some

achievements at 50 years of independence, poverty continues to prevail at alarming rates both in rural and urban areas; and (ii) that the results of the Cashgate scandal exerted significant challenges to the implementation of the 2013/2014 budget as government had to drastically cut funds to some sectors of the economy in face of aid suspension by the donor community. These themes were a reminder of a turbulent socio-economic environment within which the 2014/2015 budget had been formulated e.g. suspension of aid and ever soaring epidemiological indicators apart from the aid suspension. The budget was also strained with other issues such as a domestic debt of MK340 billion (US$819.2) and payment of arrears of MK173 billion (US$417).

The imbalance between available revenues and what is needed for services in the 2014/2015 financial year had opened up budget gaps (deficits) in most sectors accumulating to a budget deficit of MK107 billion. Indeed, experience from the previous year and economic projections made at the presentation of the budget spoke in sync, indicating that the times ahead would be a more difficult period for the country than any period to date; above all that budget cuts could deepen even further during implementation, plunging families and communities into untold wretchedness.

Considering, the demands in all public sectors compared to the population growth, it was clear that the 2014/2015 budget would fall short to adequately provide for the citizens. What the 2014/2015 budget told Malawians was that government recognizes its core role of ensuring access to quality basic services that actualize fundamental human rights such as, health and education, however it is also a fact that government cannot afford to adequately provide for those rights hence the citizens would be responsible for their own health, education and development. As such, the year 2014 set in rhythm the economic hardships for the proceeding year, and this meant that for those Malawians who are asset-poor and cash-poor to afford basic services from parallel markets - the private institutions - they would be left in the cold. For the rest of 2014 and beyond, the poor would not pull themselves out of poverty, because the basic ability to do so had been denied them in the 2014/2015 budget.

Currency, Inflation and Cost of Living

The Kwacha closed the month of December 2014 at MK470.78 against the US dollar resulting in a year-on-year depreciation of Kwacha against the US dollar of 8.2% in 2014 compared to December 2013 when it was MK435.23/US$. Year-on-year headline inflation for the month of November 2014 increased to 23.7% from 23.3% in October 2014 owing to an increase in non-food inflation. The increase in non-food inflation has been influenced by an increase in household expenses and transportation prices. The food inflation was relatively modest, but wages lagged far behind; thus non-food inflation caused the cost-of-living crisis to be acute.

In conclusion, it could be said that on the economic front, the year 2014 was a year of desperate times with plastic measures. At the dawn of 2015, none should expect much difference; today the government crows about the failings of past administrations while presiding over an intensification of the same problems.

FOOD SECURITY 2014

In January, the government intervened in a food crisis in Dedza by distributing 2,000 bags of maize and soy beans. This followed reports of the deaths of eight people due to hunger in TA Tambala. The Dedza DC, Lawford Palani, attributed the hunger to insufficient rains in the last rainy season. The distribution started with TA Tambala because of the deaths. MP for Dedza, Patrick Chilondola, commended government for the food relief. The Secretary for Agriculture and Food Security Jeff Luhanga said farmers should not be frightened by the late onset of rains because the maize crop has a way of picking itself up even when rains come late. He said farmers should only be worried when the rains are erratic in February or March because that is when the maize crop needs a lot of water. He advised Malawians to diversify their eating habits by not relying on maize as a staple food; rice is cheaper than maize but many people still want to eat Nsima which is expensive because it always needs relish. Former President Joyce Banda had sourced 100 tons of maize which was distributed to the hunger stricken in the country complementing the WFP and other government efforts.

Vice chancellor for LUANAR Prof Kanyama Phiri said failure for small holder farmers to access fertilizer has contributed to a reduced harvest across the country. The Famine Early Warning System Network FEWSNET said that Malawi would experience a longer lean period due to late planting, especially in southern region, a situation that would worsen the food situation and lead to higher prices.

In February , Minister of Agriculture, James Munthali said the country’s maize production for the year could go up as such as 33% as compared to the last season because of good rains falling in most parts on Malawi. He was saying this although his ministry was yet to conclude crop estimates for the year. Munthali said compared to the previous season, the year’s crop season looked greener and was giving a more positive outlook. The government of United Arab Emirates UAE through the Khalifa Bin Zayed Nahyan Foundation had donated 13,500 mt of maize to Mudzi Transformation Trust which would benefit 684,000 needy families.

It was reported that Malawi maize is one of the most expensive in the world regardless of the FISP which has been consuming about 10% of the national budget annually. Comparatively, maize in Ethiopia was selling at $390, Kenya $393, Mozambique $378, Rwanda $318, South Africa $293/ ton, but between January and April 2012 in Malawi it stood at $400/ton. Civil Society Agricultural Network CISANET Coordinator, Tamani Nkhono argued the causes of high food cost which were reflected in high prices in Malawi are complex and would require a lot of investment to solve. The Cabinet Committee on the Economic Recovery Plan ERP had declared that the country had plenty of food despite president Joyce Banda taking relentless food distribution rallies. In the month of February, prices for country’s staple food, maize, started to come down in price with the commodity selling as low as MK5,000/50Kg bag. A visit to Blantyre city’s populous township of Ndirande revealed that the commodity hit a pick of MK9,000/50Kg bag the previous year, was selling at prices between MK6,000 and MK6,500/50Kg bag.

There was a report that FISP was crippled as billions in debts, contract breaches. The Nation on Sunday established that as of 11 February 2014, government owed nearly MK33 billion to FISP suppliers in the 2013/14 season.

In March , it was in the paper that LUANAR is researching on challenges and opportunities for inclusive value chain development in the cluster sugar cane production in the country. To achieve this, the institution is consulting with various stakeholders in the sugar cane industry to analyse critical areas. The areas include government interest to support the cluster, which is a prerequisite for undertaking policy, and institutional reforms required; assessing challenges for specific arrangements of a broader value chain through which the cluster can be expanded; and proposals on various value chain arrangements in sugar cane production.

It was reported that FUM was sending emerging commercial farmers to the Zambia Agriculture Exhibition which had been designed using the European model of agricultural exhibitions. The Agricultural Exhibition, dubbed Agritech Expo took place from 4 to 5 April at the Golden Valley Agric Research Trust Gart research centre in Chisama.

In March, government said it would revamp key agricultural facilities and institutes which were abandoned by previous regimes to boost crop and animal husbandry production. In another note, in March, floods washed away the maize field of Otumula Watch. She was shocked, confused and hopeless. She said “floods came just like that and washed away everything, all the maize gone.”

In May , it was reported that LUANAR and Leeds University had joined forces in taking Conservation Agriculture CA to higher levels. The two have a research planning workshop in Lilongwe. It was said that there had been a very significant relationship between the two Universities. Among other areas, participants to the workshop expected to identify existing challenges and knowledge gaps in climate change and develop a set of research concept notes that will form the basis of future collaborative research proposal and projects.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security had said production of all food crops is anticipated to increase the 2013/14 production season, a development which will make the country become food sufficient. The Ministry had attributed this to the increased uptake of fertilizer from the newly introduced Farm Input Loan Programme FILP which is complementing the existing FISP. The papers also carried a story that the country’s Strategic Grain Reserve SGR were almost completely been drawn down calling for government to replenish the stocks through local purchases or importation in case of unforeseeable humanitarian needs. According to April 2014 FEWSNET, the NFRA had almost no maize grain stocks in the SGR because all of the stocks were used for the previous years humanitarian food assistance programme. People from Chikwawa-Nkombezi constituency are poised to avert food shortage problems through shortage through provision of materials for irrigation farming projects. Speaking during campaign rallies he held, pledged to continue developing the constituency in different areas even after becoming legislator if elected in the May 20 polls. There was a call for a need by African governments to develop the continent’s infrastructure, including roads and storage facilities, as well as to ensure

access to credit and insurance to help support the agricultural sector, especially the smallholder farmers.

In June Prof Peter Mutharika said that his administration would abolish the coupon system of identifying beneficiaries in the FISP. He reported that the system would be electronic and what would happen would be that once beneficiaries are recorded, anyone trying to engage in the malpractices would be detected by the system.

In the same month, it was said that the gender, climate change and agriculture programme can empower rural women for better cope with potential adverse impacts of climate change.

NFRA reported that installation of new equipment and repairing of old machines at Kanengo silos in Lilongwe had greatly improved efficiency as well as safe keeping of maize. The EU financed the project which commenced in May 2014 to the tune of 1.5 million Euros and had been implemented by Avto Engineering.

In July , average national maize prices fell by about 7% lower than projected and 11% lower that May prices in the first 2 weeks of June 2012. It was driving down inflation which made up of over 50% food basket. It was said that lower prices for maize, a staple food for many Malawians, would ensure food access for poor households while at the same time making inflation rate drop to 22.6%. MCP had asked government to increase number of FISP beneficiaries. Ironically, in the run up to May 20 Tripartite Elections, MCP promised to end FISP as the programme was abused by government. However, the DPP-led government had maintained the programme, pegging it at around MK50 billion from last year’s MK61 billion, but with the same number of beneficiaries. CISANET said that Malawi agriculture remains underdeveloped 50 years after independence as evidenced by continual use of hand hoes for tillage by the smallholder farmers. Malawi’s current fertiliser stocks stand at about 129,000 tons slightly below the country’s FISP requirements of 150,000 tons. Minister of Agriculture and Water Development Dr Allan Chiyembekeza said that the country would be required to import additional stocks to bridge the deficit of 21,000 tons. The FAO had said that Malawi should continue with FISP. The FAO’s Sub-regional Coordinator for Southern Africa David Phiri said this in an interview. All major countries that have developed have done so through agriculture. At that particular time, they provided a lot of support to the sector. You may call it subsidies. Most of these countries are still more than countries in Africa.

In August, agricultural experts and CSO groups working in the agricultural field had proposed the creation of the National Agriculture Transformation Authority Nata and National Food Security Council NFSC to oversee the development of the agricultural sector in the next 50 years. On another note, despite signing a free to Trade Area Agreement, COMESA member states had continued to impose trade barriers which are a major impediment to food security within the region.

During the month, Chief Kapeni of Blantyre said that it is high time chiefs in the country started advising their subjects on the alternative to the FISP saying there are high chances that the programme will not be there forever.

In September, Indigenous Business Association of Malawi IBAM President Mike Mlombwa said there is need for transparency in the FISP because some companies form a cartel to get business at the expense of others. For the 1st time in 8 years this year's distribution will be supervised by SFFRFM.

Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development handed our the 420-ha Muona Irrigation scheme, one of the largest in Malawi, to local communities in Nsanje. Dr Chiyembekeza cautioned the 2,066 farmers benefiting from the rice and maize cultivation on the scheme to take care of it, after farmers signed the irrigation management transfer with the irrigation rural Livelihoods and Agricultural development IRLAD.

On the back of revelation that up to 640,000 people are at risk of hunger in the country, government has urged cooperating partners and other players to implement programmes to avert the situation. Gondwe, Minister Finance, said government had made a provision of MK5 billion in the proposed 2014/15 budget to support all types of disaster.

Malawi food production, in particular the staple food maize, is expected to register a surplus of some 978,123 mt in 2014/15 fiscal year, according to Malawi Vulnerability Assessment. The UN had said Malawi had reached the MDG hunger target, thanks a string and persistent commitment to boost maize production. In a report on the state of food security in the world (sofi 2014), the UN said that although the country has made such strides, malnutrition remains a challenge with 20% of citizenry being affected, and 50% of children under 5 are stunted and 12.8% are underweight.

In October, the government had partnered with USAID and FAO to revolutionize the agricultural industry in the country through establishment of an Agricultural Statistics Master Plan. The plan has been developed in the line with MDGs and the national statistical data. Reducing post harvest losses is a critical component in improving food security in the face of drought and other effects of climate change, Care Malawi has said. While we aim to increase crop production for households, we should also recognize the importance of ensuring proper storage and use of our produce in enhancing food security.

NFRA is yet to buy maize for the SGR due to the delayed budget passed by parliament. The delay might further strain the agency’s purse by buying the maize at exorbitant prices from private traders or importing since most farmers had already sold theirs.

Police had said they wanted to make the years FISP a success by clamping down on criminal activities perpetuated by vendors. National Crime Prevention and partnership desk officer for the community policing branch, George Pindani said this when he launched the Southern Region sensitization awareness campaign at Chemusa and Namatete school in Blantyre and Bvumbwe trading centre in Thyolo.

In November, Community leaders in Thyolo took a swipe at the country's grain marketing board, ADMARC for what they described as (lack of transparency) in handling the 2014 FISP.

CADECOM launched a three year integrated food security project to be implemented in the area of Zuze and TA Kaphuka in Dedza.

Government says the FISP is an excellent weapon for fighting hunger in the country. It was also reported that the FISP continued to get messy each passing agricultural season with reports from Mwanza indicating that the programme was breaking communities among target beneficiaries as the youth gang up against the elderly in the scramble for two 50kg bags of fertilizer.

During the month of December, in a quest to improve household food security and income, Mkango Resources, rare earth exploiters at Songwe Hill in Phalombe, had engaged communities around their catchment area with a pigeon pea seed bank project. The company distributed 4,000 Kg of pigeon pea seed valued at MK1.2 million to 1,000 farmers from 14 villages surrounding the exploration site.

During the same month, Minister of Agriculture Dr Allan Chiyembekeza said that G8 New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition is expected to graduate at least two million people out of poverty. This partnership will help unlock responsible private sector investment into food security and nutrition. It is also expected that the initiative would open up employment and market opportunities for labour and smallholder engaged in agricultural production.

CIVIL SOCIETY AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS 2014

2014 being an election year meant a lot of work for the civil society who are expected to actively play their role as watchdogs. Not only were they expected to be watchdogs but also barking dogs who would give the government checks and balances. While civil society groups were present in Malawi a number of things happened that the activists should have spoken about were also happening and need CSOs action.

For instance not too many people were impressed with the reaction of the civil society on the Cashgate scandal. The looting of government resources that ended up in Malawi losing donor confidence should not have received the attention it got from the CSOs. In Malawi activists treated the issues with kid glove when in reality they should have done more. The effects of such bad leadership cost Malawi too much to the extent that the country now has no budgetary support from the donors.

Activism in Malawi faces a lot of challenges ranging from lack of commitment and unity among the civil society leaders. The saying that united we stand and divided we fall has been seen in the way the group handles issues. At one point they speak as a group to rebuke the government only to have some of them going in a different direction. It only weakened the strength of the group.

So in 2014 being an election year some of the activists already had a liking for one presidential candidate or the other. It was obvious in the way CSO leaders spoke about the presidential candidates. That aside some NGOs tried their best in civic educating the masses about voting. Being the first time that the country was conducting a tripartite election it meant a lot of work to civic educated Malawians most of whom are illiterate. The CSOs also did a lot in making sure that there is equal footing for all the candidates in the run up to the tripartite elections. As it is always the case the incumbent president always has the lion’s share of the government resources because they are in government.

On the same hand the Public Affairs Committee PAC also played a part towards the elections. they invited presidential candidates to closed meetings. The then president Dr Joyce Banda refused to meet PAC at any other venue other than her residence. And so they expressed their concerns to the presidential candidates and gave out their advice. Again PAC being a very influential religious body they later on also organised prayers for a smooth tripartite election.

Calls for the Disbanding of Small Political Parties.

One lesson that came out from the 2014 tripartite elections is the fact that the competition was among the four parties which are also considered to be the biggest. These are the Democratic Progressive Party DPP, the United Democratic Front, the People’s Party and the Malawi Congress Party. It therefore, was obvious that the four major parties were the only ones that would be competing at the end of the day.

It indeed was the case because even in numbers of party membership it is the same parties that competed. Although we are in a democratic Malawi there is no point in having many

parties simply because we have the freedom to form one. The fact that there are so many parties only tells us that most of the party owners are greedy and do not want to be ruled under someone in another party. Evidence has shown that there are more than fifty registered political parties and eleven contested in the tripartite elections.

This scenario did not go down well with some CSOs who feel there are just too many parties that are not relevant and fail to add value to Malawi’s democracy. Some even failed to get maximum votes in their constituencies an indication that such presidential candidates are little known even to the grass roots. It is therefore, against this background that the CSOs are demanding that such irrelevant political parties should be deregistered. Not only are they failing to make a mark in Malawi’s politics but they are also just excess baggage in the country’s democracy.

Vote of No Confidence on Political Parties.

Even though parties fielded parliamentary candidates in all the 193 constituencies they failed miserably. Even some cabinet minister from the then ruling party failed in the parliamentary race. The electorate opted for independent candidates. Therefore, a good number of candidates were voted into power leaving out those that represented parties regardless of the size of the party.

This scenario is totally different from the time when Malawi was very new in its democracy. Many people voted for an MP simply because of the party they belong to. Those MPs who were even failing to perform at constituency level would still have hope of making it back to the National Assembly. And because of the absence of the recall provision voters had to put up with the worst performers as representatives in the name of voting along party lines.

All this is now history because during the past two elections one in 2009 and 2014, the pattern has changed. For instance we saw a number of high profile politicians failing to make it instead some novices in the trade who stood as independent candidate sailed through. This can only tell us that people have lost confidence in the parties. The candidate has to convince the electorate that they are going to represent their interests and that is all and not what their party will do. So the 2014 elections saw the highest number of members of parliament coming from the independents. People now feel they are safer having an independent MP more than one that belongs to a political party. This is a sign that they have lost trust in the parties. It is also a lesson to political parties to do all they can to win back this trust

An Attempt to Shut the CSOs up

The ushering in of a new government also meant a change in some of the positions in the government. And so just like his predecessors, President Mutharika appointed some activists as his personally assistants. This is the trend of all the other presidents Malawi has had. This was the time the country experienced a minority parliament and therefore had a budget stand off. The opposition who were in majority refused to pass the National Budget instead opted to table and discuss the famous Section 65. Malawians were told Mr Mavuto Bamusi who tirelessly fought the opposition in the first term of late president Bingu wa Mutharika is now

Peter Mutharika's advisor. He also appointed seasoned economic expert and analyst Collins Magalasi.

As if this is not enough the president went ahead and appointed some active members of civil society into diplomatic positions and parastatal board. Mutharika appointed the likes of Christopher Chisoni, Billy Banda, Habiba Osman, John Kapito on various boards. To many this has been viewed as an attempt to gag the already almost mute civil society. With such positions civil society leader may find it very hard to criticise the government. It is so difficult to bite the hand that feeds you because obviously board membership comes with some monetary gains and therefore there are fears that these may not continue doing their role as CSOs who are expected to be watchdogs.

AMECEA

The Catholic community in Malawi hosted the 18th Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa AMECEA plenary meeting in Lilongwe in 2014. The meeting which was successfully hosted by Malawi brought together both the religious and laity. It was from 16th July to 26th July. In Malawi Catholics from all walks of life attended the opening Mass at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe.

EDUCATION 2104

Education a Tool for Political Party Campaign – the May Tripartite Elections

The period under review was characterised by the campaign mode of the May 20 Tripartite elections and its aftermath. If all the campaign promises were put into action, the education sector would have been one of the best on the globe. Education became a tool for political advancement where all political parties made attractive promises including the ruling party at the moment. The sector was built into the political party manifestos where selected parties indicated that even secondary school education would be free once voted into power, and in principle this convinced the electorate. What is happening after the elections is the same old rhetoric where the sector’s standards continue to dwindle rapidly in many respects.

However, from the media reports, the year registered a number of positive strides which were intended to support efforts toward improving the education standards.

Firstly, the ministry managed to train 6,000 teachers using different training models to ensure that they fit into the current demands by learners. These teachers have since been deployed to various schools across the country especially where there was more need for personnel. The teacher training was intended to beef up the current staff to minimise the challenge of unqualified staff.

Education Financing: the financing to the ministry of education as outlined in the 2014/2015 national budget, has greatly improved for the first time in ten years. The sector got the second largest share of the national cake going far beyond other departments. The lion’s share formed the basis for encouragement among all those involved in the implementation of the sector’s programmes. The media reports also called on civil society organisations to monitor the transparency and accountability aspects of this funding.

During the year, the media reports highlighted government’s commitment to construct 165 out of the planned project of 201 houses across the nation to improve the conditions of teachers in various institutions. The lack of housing remained one of the major setbacks in the sector as some teachers continue to rent in private houses.

On the other hand, the country registered a number of challenges that need to be urgently addressed if the education standards were to improve. It has become a fact that all the political party campaign promises just frustrated the situation, the sector remained in dire need.

The continued strikes by both primary and secondary school teachers paralysed learning in most institutions. In particular, the protests by primary school teachers caused huge damage because of the largest size of the population which they control and manage. As one of the largest workforces, the teachers complained and bemoaned delayed salaries and other incentives including the hardship allowance for those in rural areas.

The poor conditions of service for teachers continued to affect learning where, among other things, newly recruited teachers waited up to nine months on average before they could get

their first salary. The lack of descent housing on school premises posed a major challenge during the year, teachers rented in private houses which make them vulnerable to poor sanitation and other health hazards.

The closure of universities as institutions of higher learning questioned government’s commitment to the socio-economic and political development as outlined in its political party manifesto and the inauguration speech. The media reports also questioned the independence of the university councils, which proved to be toothless to revive the ailing situation. It was clear that there was no solution in sight to resolve the issue and the continued lack of constructive dialogue between government and its employees was an indication that the strikes might not end any time soon. Unfortunately, it has also affected other government departments such as the judiciary and the Anti-Corruption Bureau that have since become dysfunctional.

The continued implementation of the Quota System amid court ruling against it is counter productive in a democracy where every person shall have access to higher learning on merit without any hindrance; the implementation limited and denied access to tertiary education by many deserving students.

Referring to the international instruments, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights to which Malawi is signatory, stipulates that education is recognised as one of the fundamental human rights to which everyone person must have access. By going against this understanding, government is violating the basic rights of deserving students who are supposed to contribute to the welfare of the nation. Again, the continued implementation of the system has frustrated and created unnecessary tension and conflicts among Malawi, especially at tribal and regional levels. It is advisable, therefore, that issues related to the Quota System have to be debated with a value-based approach focusing on the preferential option for children from less privileged families to access tertiary education.

It is highly regretted that the vocational training schools in Malawi are not given the priority they deserve and hence, they are not a meaningful alternative, instead, it the private institutions that run these schools at a cost.

The insufficient supply of learning and teaching materials characterised the year, a development that added frustration to the already de-motivated staff at various levels of learning. A great number of students had limited resources such as text books and writing materials; there was general lack of access to free exercise books, pencils and pens. In addition to the insufficiency of the materials is the fact that due to lack of basic income by most households they could not afford to purchase these school materials on the market.

The other challenge was the relatively high pupil-teacher ratio estimated at over 160 pupils to one teacher which made individual attention to learners extremely challenging. Malawi is one of the countries that have the highest pupil-teacher ratio in the SADC region and world over.

Further, the year observed a lack of sufficient user-friendly materials for the handicapped where in particular, the Federation of Disabled People’s Organisation in Malawi Fedoma urged government to consider user-friendly learning materials for the disabled and to promote mixed learning with other students to avoid them being discriminated against.

The period under review registered inadequate infrastructure as a critical issue that is compromising the standards of education being offered. This shortfall demonstrated a lack of political will to support the system especially the free primary education declared in 1994. The introduction of the universal access to education at this level generally increased the enrolment size across the nation, which naturally should have called for the needed infrastructure. In the midst of all this, some political parties indicated that they would introduce even free secondary education – a far fetched dream. How can government introduce another phase of free learning while it has failed to manage the primary section?

The lack of adequate infrastructure brought about overcrowding in many schools where respective management teams have been compelled to have children attend school in shifts, lean under trees or in the open air. The shifts reduce time for learning and most primary school teachers normally have two shifts of 3.5 hours each.

Pupils are seen learning in the open or in a shed because of inadequate infrastructure.

The infrastructure deficit gave rise to self-boarding schools where pupils, especially girls, fend for themselves. This situation made them vulnerable to various abuses including the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases as they seek to find ways of survival. Realising this danger, some chiefs have since proposed to government to ban self-boarding schools but government has not responded meaningfully because they do not have any alternative.

Learning or elections? This was the May elections dilemma which saw the political manipulation of the education sector. Teachers were allegedly transferred because they did not support a certain political party. At the same time, there was growing concern over some teachers who spent most of their quality time attending political party rallies. Because of the elections, a selected number of teachers were hired by the Malawi Electoral Commission as presiding officers and were posted far away from their duty stations. This deployment deprived the pupils of learning for at least a few months. Regrettably it has become a trend

by all political parties to engage especially women to attend and dance at political rallies while they are supposed to teach in class.

The Malawi Examinations Board Maneb was at it again, the leakage and cheating during examinations at different levels of learning captured the public’s eye. The blame game between Maneb and the police, who give security at examination centres, occurs every year for many years now. Though the cluster system (selected schools in a zone use one centre to write exams instead of individual schools’ centres) of writing exams has been helpful in curbing cheating, the ministry needs to revisit the security system right from the setting of the examination papers.

The drop-out rate remained a growing concern in many schools; it was estimated that 27,000 girls dropped out of school largely due to early marriages. The high rate will likely make Malawi fall short of the MDG on universal primary education at the end of 2015. It is also estimated that half of all the girls married, do so by their 18th while a quarter marry at around 15 years. For those girls who attend school in rural areas, only 5% complete their secondary school, a situation that puts the role of the community into limelight. What are they doing about this situation? It is important to note that Malawi is rated as the 7th highest prevalence rate of child marriage in the world.

HEALTH 2104

The twelve months of the year 2014 will not go well in the health history of Malawi. The year has been characterised by strikes at an unprecedented rate. On one incident the nurses who are Nurse Midwife Technicians petitioned the government to consider their complaint that they be upgraded to be registered nurses. What started as an-in-house issue flared up to become a huge problem and it took the president to intervene. The end result was the firing of the chairperson of the Nurse and Midwives Council Dr Grace Chiudzu. Poor lady!

Despite the difficulties encountered during 2014, one plausible achievement attained is the successful reduction of cholera throughout the country. It is not a hundred percent defeat of this disease in Malawi, but from information acquired from many districts the news is encouraging. If there have been cases of cholera in the twelve months under review, the figure is definitely negligible. The Ministry of Health can be applauded for drastically reducing the cases of cholera throughout the country.

There is considerable improvement in the advocacy for men to go for circumcision. In Malawi and I can safely say in many parts of Africa circumcision is viewed as a practice belonging to the Islamic faithfuls. But in recent years with the advent of HIV and Aids attacks and deaths medical experts have urged the male population to go for circumcision because they believe it is one way of preventing the spread of the disease. Grown up men however tend to keep away from circumcision because they are ashamed to queue alongside the youths.

Border districts of Nsanje, Mwanza, Mulanje, Phalombe, Dedza, Ntcheu and Karonga share their drugs with citizens from Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. Malawi is in an awkward position. The borders with neighbouring countries are man-made, they are simply porous to say the least. Unfortunately for Malawians, the other countries are either stingy with their drugs or they don’t have them at all, so the only solution to save their lives is to visit Malawi hospitals. At Nsanje hospital the situation can often be unbearable to the extent that patients are forced to share beds with non-Malawians.

During the year 2014 Parent and Child Health Initiative Pachi has said blood shortages in hospitals remain one of the major contributing factors to prevailing deaths among pregnant women.

During their campaign to sensitize Mamaye clubs in Kasungu, their national campaign coordinator Charles Makwenda said citizen participation in blood donation exercises is crucial to saving lives of expectant mothers who rank high among groups that mostly need blood transfusion in health facilities. He said these clubs are meant to help address issues of shortage of blood which contributes towards deaths of women in hospitals by encouraging communities to give blood.

Even Senior Chief Kaomba of Kasungu supports the initiatives undertaken by Pachi. He said Kasungu is one of the districts losing more women because of pregnancy complications.

Chief Kaomba emphasized the need for the marriage age limit to be 21 to ensure no mother dies due to pregnancy.

Malawians and foreigners alike will take time to forget Kamuzu Central Hospital KCH morgue saga when dead bodies were left to decompose due to negligence by the authorities. It all started when people visiting the hospital experienced a stench smell oozing out from the mortuary. The situation was so bad that even mortuary attendants could not bear it. One of the workers said the smell was just too much to experience.

The then Minister of Health Gotani Hara shocked the nation more when she said she had not the slightest idea about the decomposing of bodies at the Kamuzu Central Hospital, but the deputy hospital administrator Mable Chinkhata explained that the cold rooms had stopped working due to the power overload caused by the hospital’s extension cords and continuous power failure.

Another source of information said the rising number of unclaimed dead bodies brought by police further worsened the situation. Failure by the hospital authorities to raise money for repairs of the engine rooms was the major reason. One cold room can take at least 18 bodies, but during that critical period, over 30 dead bodies were crammed into that one cold room alone. As a result the floor was literally covered with maggots and green flies.

It is worth noting that KCH caters for all the nine districts in the Central Region with a population of six million. It is also a referral centre for some cases from the Northern Region.

Despite the discouraging events at the Kamuzu Central Hospital, Malawi has generally made wonderful progress in its fight against malaria. The achievement becomes more praiseworthy because Malawi is leading all the countries in the SADC region in the fight against this major killer in the world. Free treated mosquito nets have been given to many families and Malawi is doing all it can to prevent children under the age of five from catching the deadly disease.

Problems at the KCH did not only rain but poured during 2014. After the huge breakdown of cold room s at the mortuary, another problem came into the limelight. This time it was the elevator that stopped functioning. Think of it that KCH has three storeys and the elevator is the easiest way up and down. And all over a sudden the elevator ceases to work forcing patients to either limp down or up the stairs. This was a battle of the fittest as the weak and the wounded had to hire piece workers to carry them on their backs; this was if you had the cash on hand. The human “elevator” cost MK300 each way!

An impromptu explanation by the Minister of Health Gotani Hara to President Joyce Banda and the nation that KCH management was to blame for the multiple problems did not go well with the staff.

Gotani had said the rotting of dead bodies in the morgue and the breakdown of the elevator was the result of negligence by the hospital staff. But the workers hit back at Gotani by exposing a copy of a petition written on 29 October 2013 to the Speaker of Parliament and copied to the Minister among other things highlighting the poor state of the hospital, mortuary. The staff also explained that the incinerator at the mortuary was not working,

human and other wastes were being carelessly disposed of causing pollution and posing a hazard to workers and patients.

The fight against HIV and AIDS has attracted bogus healers since it was discovered over two decades ago. The recent self acclaimed healer is Jazelem Chimkomba, a transporter based in Lilongwe who claims that over 60 patients have been cured of Aids after receiving the medication called the “most definite cure for HIV/Aids.” One of Chimkomba’s patients, Mickson Lombola, a tobacco farmer living at M’bang’ombe near Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe, said he and his wife Elina have also been cured. But the Ministry of Health spokesperson, Henry Chimbali asserted that until now no cure for HIV and Aids has been discovered.

Blantyre QECH has not been spared of the problems being faced by Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe. Doctors are at times forced to contribute their own money to buy drugs for the patients. Although such stories have always been denied by the authorities, it is not a secret that there aren’t sufficient drugs in the country’s hospitals.

During the political campaign in 2014 United Democratic Front candidate, Atupele Muluzi donated MK3 million to all three central hospitals namely, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Kamuzu Central Hospital and Mzuzu Central Hospital. But the Ministry of Health declined to receive the money. Instead of receiving the cash donation with which to improve the health of many ailing Malawians, the authorities preferred to see more and more people suffering and dying in order to gain a political victory.

Press reports about foreigners accessing medical facilities in Malawi seem to be endless. Citizens of this country are being dispossessed of their drugs in hospitals which are close to borders with other countries. This situation is inescapable but can be solved if the government can be serious enough medicines. One possible answer is the introduction of national identity cards. Evidence has shown that 40% of the drugs is being used on foreigners who take advantage of the free for all situation..

The freedom to strike as stipulated in the laws of Malawi often affects vulnerable people such as patients. This happened at KCH when the staff there went on strike in protest against Ministry of Health officials who were occupying houses meant for health workers. In the end the KCH staff of the pharmacy and casualty departments downed their tools. The patients who had sought treatment came from near and far and deserved better. Management is here to blame because the crisis could have been averted.

As the population of Malawi continues to grow there is urgent necessity for the Ministry of Health to sensitize expectant women about the dangers of depending on traditional birth attendants for delivery. Sometimes the temptation is huge particularly when the government hospital is very far away .and at night. The situation can be frightening when the expectant woman is young and delivering her first child. It is therefore imperative that all expectant women visit hospitals for professional assistance.

One is tempted to ask how many Malawians appreciate blood donation after reading constant stories in newspapers about the urgent need for blood .in most hospitals. The Malawi Blood Transfusion Services MBTS in collaboration with Ministry of Health leave no stone unturned in search of blood. According to MBTS chief executive Natasha Nsamala commended youths aged between 16 and 26 for being regular blood donors but expressed worry that their efforts are often frustrated by individuals aged between 26 and 65 who shun donating blood. It is reported that mobilising people to donate blood is not easy because people do it voluntarily. Malawi needs 80,000 units of blood every year and usually registers a shortfall of 30,000 units. The World Health Organisation WHO country representative Eugene Nyarko decried the deficit, saying this risks the lives of thousands of pregnant women who need blood and its products.

Nyarko asked the Ministry of Health as well as national and international partners working in the blood transfusion sector to develop an activity plan to address the need for timely access to safe blood and blood products in prevention of maternal deaths. Nyarko said Africa still loses one woman out of 38 to pregnancy-related complications, which are due to blood shortage.

Press reports in 2014 have shown that many doctors are worried over working conditions in public hospitals because there are a number of things that affect service delivery. There aren’t sufficient medical supplies and equipment among other problems. Congestion is also another worry that the specialists have to deal with as it compromises the time they spend with the patients during consultation.

The outbreak of a new deadly disease known as Ebola which has killed thousands in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, sent shock waves to many Malawians. Malawi is not well prepared for Ebola. The country’s porous borders are under threat of foreigners slipping into the country and the concern is that these people may carry with them the dreaded disease.

Judging from reports from affected countries, Malawi is far from prepared to tackle Ebola. Unlike HIV/Aids which may take years before the victim succumbs to death, Ebola is scaring and very difficult to handle. Even doctors and nurses must take utmost care when treating the patients. Many doctors and priests have died after assisting Ebola patients. Ebola like HIV/Aids has originated in Africa.

According to experts between 60% and 90% of the people who develop Ebola will die. Its symptoms include fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. These are followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and sometimes internal and external bleeding. But Ebola is not transmitted through the air. It is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids, such as blood. Health workers are at risk if they are not wearing masks, gloves and gowns.

The World Health Organisation WHO has advised Malawi that it needs close to MK280 million to effectively contain the Ebola virus disease should the deadly outbreak infiltrate the country.

Fraud in Malawi seems to have spared no one, not even the health sector where it has been reported that some health workers are demanding payment for services rendered, especially pregnant women. It is spread like wild fire from Blantyre at QECH, Machinga and KCH just to mention a few. At Machinga senior Chief Kawinga was made to pay MK1,000 to save the life of his pregnant daughter. The Malawi government has criticised the practice. Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health Henry Chimbali said other than a few facilities that have well-established paying wards, all public health facilities in the country offer their services for free.

Malawians will have to look a gift horse in the mouth because they have been forced to do so. Some well wishers tend to give the Ministry of Health drugs that are about to be expired while knowing the truth. The consequences are that the ministry has to pay for the arrangements to dispose of the expired drugs. Political interference and mismanagement have also been blamed for the delay of supplying the drugs in good time.

Towards the end of 2014 two bogus doctors, Akuzike Kandulu and Zizwani Mwafulirwa were arrested at QECH in Blantyre. They had been working at Malawi's biggest referral hospital for some time without being detected. How they beat security of the hospital nobody understands. Needless to say many lives were in danger and it is not possible to find out how many lives were lost because of the incredible carelessness of the authorities. This act has sent shock waves to many Malawians and foreigners alike. Who do we believe to be a genuine doctor in our hospitals if Jim and Jack can just walk in the hospital and start practising?

At the same hospital QECH guardians have complained to management that their belongings are systematically being stolen. It appears there is an organised gang within the hospital premises which roams about without being detected and walk away with whatever they can put their hands on. The problems seem to multiply at our hospitals, from scarcity of drugs, broken down elevators, strikes, and the list goes on and on.

Mzimba hospital in Malawi's largest district has 31 health centres under it serving a population of 600,000. The problems affecting other hospitals in the country have not spared Mzimba. Here there are two cold rooms to cater for dead bodies, one of them stopped working in 2013 while the other can only accommodate three bodies.

Other challenges at Mzimba hospital include a maternity ward which has only 36 beds but at peak time up to 106 expectant mothers turn up and have to sleep on the floor. Mattresses have to be co-joined on the floor to take on more patients. This ward is overwhelmed because it combines antenatal and labour patients. In this situation a separate maternity waiting room would ease congestion.

Sanitation is all important in hospitals, but at Mzimba hospital there are no latrines and bathrooms at the guardians’ shelter. There is only one tap forcing the guardians to queue for water. Men and women sleep under one roof. As for cooking, it is done in an open space what with the scorching sun and the heavy rains when the weather changes.

The progress being made in the health sector is too slow when one remembers this country is fifty years under self rule. Life is precious, it needs to be looked after with great care. Erroneous government policies coupled with fraudulent civil servants and a largely an uninformed population continue to hinder the progress of the medical service in Malawi. The funds that are being allocated annually to the Ministry of Health together monetary assistance from our donors and well wishers would have gone a long way to improve the livelihoods of the people of this country.

ENVIRONMENT 2014

The rainfall delay of 2014 shook the citizens of this country. Many were on the verge of losing hope, despite assurances from the Meteorology Department that sufficient rains would come. However, there is a general consensus that the change in the rainfall pattern is very much due to deforestation along the river banks, the wanton destruction of Dzalanyama huge forest in Lilongwe, Soche Hill mountain forest in Blantyre which was cleared to give space to illegal house building, and Ndirande Mountain, once a dazzling scenery to viewers is now an eye sore.

There are many places in the three regions of Malawi where the people have resorted to the careless cutting down of trees. Some do it to produce charcoal, others to find firewood to sell or poles with which to construct houses. For whatever reasons, the end result is the sudden change of environment such as the scarcity of rain, the drying up of rivers and lakes and house taps. A typical example is the unprecedented scarcity of water supply in Lilongwe and Blantyre Cities.

The destruction of Dzalanyama Forest in the Central Region districts of Lilongwe, Dedza and Mchinji started a long time ago. The Lilongwe and Diamphwe Rivers both start from Dzalanyama. Therefore, depletion of this forest has already made its serious effects felt. Residents of Lilongwe City have never had their water supply worse. Pipes are literally dry for most of the day.

A call to chiefs in the whole country to help save environment is a very welcome idea and should be encouraged. Chiefs have a crucial role to play in the promotion and protection of forests in the country. Many chiefs think that natural resources of Malawi would be safeguarded if they were empowered to look after them. The chiefs live with the people and they know the culprits who invade the forest reserves to cut down the trees and to poach wild animals. Unfortunately traditional leaders do not have powers to control natural resources because the current Forest Act of 1997 gives more power to forest staff.

According to press reports of 2014 many Malawians think the environmental protection is none of their concern. But when the rains delay or when there isn’t sufficient water supply then everybody is concerned and worried. Whether one is a politician, a lecturer, a businessperson, or a mere vendor, protecting the environment should be the responsibility of everyone. We notice that Malawi is currently reeling under bad effects of environmental degradation which is shown through climate change. This is then impacting negatively on agriculture, which is the backbone of Malawi economy.

Animals in the reserves need to be fenced securely so that people and crops are safe . Analysts blame the area’s pattern of settlement in Traditional Authority Kambwiri and Ndindi in Salima as playing part in the conflict between wildlife and humans. This is why a new 20-metre solar powered electric fence is expected to harmonise wildlife conservation and agriculture in the area around Thuma Forest Reserve. Elephants around this area were a threat both to human life and to the crops. When residents around the reserve see that their lives and crops are safe, they are encouraged to assist to apprehend would-be poachers.

Meanwhile government authorities have continued to sensitise people saying tree planting remains Malawi’s best option to help reduce the global effects of climate change. Trees are vital to people’s very own existence. Life itself evolves around a tree hence the urge to promote afforestation especially among communities. The exercise of tree planting should be the concern of every household. Other stakeholders should come afterwards.

One other way of spoiling the environment is through cutting down trees for use in tobacco barns. In districts which produce flue tobacco a lot of trees are required. It is therefore very important to plant as many trees as possible so that whatever trees are cut down, more are planted. Press reports of the year under review indicate that Malawi is one of the highest consumers of trees, with a household currently using 2.6 tons of wood per year. At the same time, over 20% of household incomes is spent on fuel wood, while women and children are the worst victims as they are reportedly said to spend over 520 hours yearly collecting fuel wood per family.

It has taken many years for people in Karonga to realise that some of the drought being experienced almost on a yearly basis in the district is of their own making. The locals now agree that deforestation has a negative impact on their economic and social lives. But Karonga is not the only district. Like it are Mwanza, Balaka and Ntcheu.

Poverty and land shortage have been described as some of the major reasons for deforestation. Some politicians in the country are also to blame for telling people to cultivate in protected government areas, particularly during campaign period.

Poor policies on energy or a lack of its implementation is having a hand in deforestation. In Malawi our implementers of policies or law are doing just the opposite. Most of our priorities are upside down. Malawi has a huge source of water and as a nation, Malawi should not, 50 years after independence, be talking of hunger after people’s crops have been scorched. The people of drought prone districts need massive planting of trees to ensure that our land is green and this will reduce greenhouse gases.

Another growing concern is about Malawi’s great Mulanje mountain which is a huge attraction to tourists and Malawians feel proud about it. But in recent times there have been floods and droughts along this attractive tourists’ focus. The solution here, like in many similar disasters, lies in planting trees involving communities. Chiefs, community leaders like teachers, religious leaders, and councillors ought to participate in this crucial undertaking. As years pass, forests should come back on the mountains and along the river banks.

Malawi still boasts of being the Warm Heart of Africa but very little is being done to maintain that status. There is more damage being done to the natural beauty of Malawi than good. Take for example how filthy our cities are with piles and piles of used plastics, scattered leftovers of mango rinds, and name it, anything that has nothing to do with Beautifying Malawi.

The year under review has revealed the common tendency among Malawians to saw down electricity poles along the main road and turn them into axes and hoes. The railway line from Mchinji to Nsanje has been vandalised beyond anybody’s imagination. Deliberate destruction of permanent infrastructures in the name of poverty has been tolerated too long since democracy was first introduced in 1994. Which donor country will want to fund an infrastructure which was intact but the incumbent administration let it go into the hands of vandals? Search me.

National parks and game reserves of Malawi have fallen prey to some indigenous citizens who invade the forests to kill the animals such as elephants for meat and ivory. Another group of these irresponsible Malawians conspires with foreigners from neighbouring countries to kill the animals and share the spoil. Beautiful leopard and lion skins and ivory are some of the wanted fast selling commodities. Perhaps the feeling of ownership is lacking in most Malawians and think its none of their business to cater for the safety and protection of the wild animals.

Current statistics indicate that elephant numbers in Malawi have dropped by 50% since the 1980s, that is, from 4,000 to about 2,000. According to press reports, notable locations such as Liwonde and Vwaza National parks have the highest number of elephants, between 600 and 700 collectively. Kasungu National Park has less than 100 elephants left. There is general consensus that come 2025, Malawi may have no elephants at all.

During campaign time in 2014 there was not any party that included protection of the environment in their manifestos. This shows how little politicians of this country care about the value of wildlife, yet in other countries this section brings in countless numbers of tourists. These visitors from outside the country come in with much needed forex. Countries like Switzerland in Europe boast of booming tourism that attracts millions of tourists every year. Malawi is often compared to this European country in its natural beauty. Take Lake Malawi for example, with its sandy beaches and potable water, the great world famous chambo fish, majestic Mulanje Mountain, the rolling tea plantations in Thyolo and Nyika Plateau up north all are the more reason politicians should make it a very strong point in their manifestos.

Malawi’s man-made huge forest, Chikangawa in the north is losing its timber to foreigners. Its depletion is blamed on local people who assist some foreigners to smuggle the timber through Karonga to Kenya and beyond. Government should put security in place to safeguard the trees and to plant many more so that the future of this vast forest is secured.

There’s a saying in English which says a new broom sweeps clean. Yes indeed. Malawi has a new First Lady, Madam Gertrude, wife to President Arthur Peter Mutharika. Hardly was she married for a couple of months than she embarked on a first ever cleaning Malawi cities campaign. She launched a trust, Beautify Malawi Beam. Gertrude wants this trust to address environmental threats among the community members, councillors, Members of Parliament, public officers the private sector and civil society. Beam is also going to undertake projects which will include street cleaning, and waste recycling. These are no easy goals to achieve.

In the past environmental activities have failed because of lack of funding and political will. Politicians think of votes in the next elections before they enforce the law to evict vendors from the streets. In protecting natural resources such as fisheries, forests, wildlife and minerals. With Beam Malawians hope to see the difference and Gertrude will see to it her goals are achieved so that future generations will say once there lived a First Lady who had strong environmental visions.

It is pleasing to note one of the Catholic Church’s development arms, the Catholic Development Commission Cadecom has joined the struggle against environment ills in Chikhwawa, Mangochi, Dedza, and Zomba districts. The Commission has embarked on sensitising communities of the effects of gender on climate change. Members of the communities should be made aware that men and women are affected differently, like when a drought happens, women struggle with children while their husbands are away. This is why when planning interventions, men and women should not be seen from the same angle. In times of disasters women will always carry a bigger burden than men.

The press reports of 2014 indicate that the government is committed to ensuring that youths are involved on issues pertaining to climate change all over the country. Government authorities say they will involve women and girls in the fight against effects of climate change because they are the most affected. The struggle against climate change cannot be won without the youths as they are the pillars of the future. All in all climate change should be embraced by every Malawian. Seriously.

The plastic papers flying everywhere in our cities and towns are another eye sore. Councillors and all those in authority should join hands to ensure that the plastics are safely dumped. It is going to make a difference.

GENDER 2014

Women Performance in 2014 Tripartite Elections

From the word go it was so clear that women will find it hard in the 2014 tripartite elections it all started with the delays in getting funding from various donors. The more these delayed in releasing funds it meant there would be also a number of activities that would have helped in the campaign for the female aspirants. It therefore did not make it easy for the female aspirants who already have problems in many sectors.

It is not a secret that a number of female politicians have problems in public speaking skills. This coupled with less exposure have contributed to the down fall of many female politicians. It all started with the primary election in various parties where very few women made it. This was a clear indication that even at party level women’s performance was poor. This was also translated in the actual elections where Malawi’s first ever president Dr Joyce Banda also faired badly in the presidential race. Banda was number three despite being the incumbent president who had vigorously campaigning.

Among other thing Dr Joyce Banda has been accused of being the reason why people in Malawi gave women a vote of no confidence by voting form more men than women. While it is true that Malawi made a name on the international scene for having a female president on the ground months prior to the 2014 May election. It became so obvious that people were fed up with some of the blunders that her administration had made.

From the abuse of public resources by some of the ruling party and the government, the numerous hand outs and her large appetite for travel which meant more resources being used, these and many more also greatly contributed to Banda’s downfall. The fact that many women failed miserably when the country had a female leader may mean she had failed to gain the people’s confidence and therefore it translated into more women losing in the elections.

The same pattern also translated with the parliamentary results where very few women made it. Out of the 163 seats in the National assembly only 32 are held by women. This only shows that even with a female leader as a head of state women still faired badly in the 2014 parliamentary race. It raises a lot of questions where people are not too sure what is the main cause of the bad show.

50-50 Campaign

The 50-50 campaign though it has been around for some time, it is still failing to make a mark where politics is concerned. While the saying that politics is the game of numbers, the same numbers have failed to raise the bar where female politicians numbers in the national assembly and other decision making positions are concerned. The hype that the 50-50 campaign in the past election in 2012 is not the same that people witnessed in 2014.

It is all clear the campaign is only heating up when there is an election. It becomes so intense with various activities and awareness when there is an event. To this extent some have

dubbed it an event campaign. Much as the 50-50 campaigns really target certain events other would have wanted it to be an on-going campaign this would prepare more people to embrace fellow women as leaders. Maybe the timing is too short for the leaders to woo the voters to sway their voting patterns towards female candidates. Perhaps it should be given a lot more time and should be an ongoing campaign and not only earmarked just for an event.

The Ruling Party and Women in 2014

Former leader and founder of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party the late Professor Bingu wa Mutharika appointed a female running mate in the run up to the 2012 general elections and got a lot of support. This has not been the case with the present ruling DPP. On the day he went to represent his nomination papers, Mutharika unveiled Saulos Chilima as his running mate running away from his late brother’s example of choosing a woman as a running mate.

As if this is not enough the president went on to appoint only three women in his 20 member cabinet. The president appointed the three women one from each region. Mutharika did not change the composition of the cabinet even after some observers and gender activists had pointed this out. Seven months after the cabinet was put in place the number of women in the cabinet still remains the same. There are some critics who feel in 2014 the ruling DPP did not do much to promote women in decision making positions.

It therefore is not surprising that gender activists also noted this and spoke about it. Some groups feel there is a lack of commitment on gender equality issues. This is because even with the manifestos that explicitly spell out that there parties would empower women but the reality is not the same on the ground. Almost all the parties had some element of women empowerment in their manifestos. In the case of the Democratic Progressive Party, it is easily assessed on its performance.

Gender Based violence in 2014

It is very clear that there were massive cases of gender based violence in 2014. The sad thing is that almost all the cases reported in the media are against women and children. A case was reported of a police man who physically assaulted his wife in Chiradzulu. Just when people expected the policeman to be exemplary in making sure that he avoids drama at his house, the law enforcer did just the opposite.

This however was not the only case in the year 2014. Almost cases of violence against women were being reported in the press. Women in many areas prefer to keep issues to themselves while they are suffering from all sorts of violence in the homes. It still is a challenge to completely deal away with gender based violence when people keep these issues to themselves. Way before the Child Protection Law was passed women have suffered at the hands of men or fellow women. This shows that 2014 was not an exceptional case.

Having so many cases of gender based violence against women and children does not mean that men are not also on the receiving end. There are men who are being physically abused by their wives and family but choose not to go public. The way it is in Malawian set-up

people believe that a man is more powerful than a woman. Now once a man is assaulted physically, the number one thing he does is to avoid publicising the issue. This is because it is a laughable matter to have a man being physically assaulted by a woman.

It therefore, is not so easy to have the exact data on men and women who are victims of gender based violence. It has always been a tradition among Malawians that men do not cry out loud. So as it has always been the case as men continue to suffer in silence more than women.

16 Days of Activism

Just like all the years before Malawi joined the rest of the world in observing 16 Days of Gender Activism. With reports that three in every ten women are being abused the situation is really getting worse. This year’s theme therefore that Peace in Homes Peace in the World there is surely more that needs to be done. For sure if there was peace in homes there would never be high cases of violence in the world.

However, criticism in Malawi continued to question the impact of the 16 Days of Activism in Malawi. This is because even after years of joining the world to commemorate this day, cased have also said that there is no impact of the campaign because even in the middle of the campaign people still learnt of gender based violence cases in Malawi. The press kept coming up with stories of gender based violence in Malawi.