"It's shameful that the UDF party wants to take us back to the dark days,"

Mr Gwanda Chakuamba (2003)

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Thursday, March 23, 2006

Malawi gears up for e-governance

Manager for Government Wide Area Network (GWAN) Patrick Machika told the country’s national news agency, Malawi News Agency (Mana) that government in collaboration with the World Bank embarked on the project which will take five years at a cost US$3.2 million.

He said computer operators would be communicating through e-mail, conducting research through the internet and making conversation through the integrated computer network and video conferencing instead of the telephone.
“With video conferencing, ICT users will be able to see who they are talking to,” said Machika.

He said that the services to be provided by GWAN would minimize government expenditure in paying individual Internet Service Providers and monitoring the transmission of viruses between computers linked to the network.

“Government would cut costs on telephone bills, internet subscription and provide security measures against computer viruses by using anti virus software. All computers will have one entry and one exit,” said Machika.

He said over 500 civil servants have already been trained in ICT with assistance from the Taiwanese Government which has also donated 400 computers to be distributed to various ministries.

He however parried fears that the new innovation will see mass retrenchments in government ministries. He said some of the functions will continue to be handled manually.

Blantyre (AND)

He said the project aims at connecting all computer systems in the civil service onto the superhighway to enable officers to communicate swiftly when processing data and share official documents through voice and video.

Blantyre (AND) Malawi’s Leader of Opposition in Parliament John Tembo, who is also the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president, took a swipe at President Bingu wa Mutharika for contributing to the collapse of the mediation talks meant to bring harmony between government and opposition parties.

Wrangle between government and opposition parties has heightened mostly owing to a zero tolerance to corruption policy of Mutharika


Speaking during a press conference at his residence in Lilongwe, Tembo said the Global Leadership Foundation (GLF), a grouping of former African presidents last October invited him, former president Bakili Muluzi and Mutharika.

However Mutharika did not turn up for the reconciliation talks. “Upon arrival in South Africa, it was noted that the government delegation did not arrive. The UDF, on the other hand, had sent a three man delegation headed by Bakili Muluzi,” said Tembo. The wrangle between government and opposition parties has heightened mostly owing to a zero tolerance to corruption policy of Mutharika which has seen Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) nabbing high profile opposition figures.

However Tembo feels the fight against corruption although commendable was selective. He also took a swipe at government for its delay in calling for the sitting of Parliament. He wondered how Parliament can stay for six months without meeting. “To stay seven months without Parliament sitting is a luxury. It is better not to meet at all, be a dictatorship,” he said.
But a government spokesperson says Tembo is entitled to his opinion and challenged that if he knows that government was selective in its fight against corruption and that it is shielding other perpetrators of the same, he is free to name them.

Fireworks are expected when Parliament meets on April 4. However President Mutharika boasted that this time around, government will not be cornered by the opposition because it has amassed a large number of MPs than MCP and UDF combined.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Malawi moves to boost milk, beef production
by Edwin Nyirongo, 22 March 2006 - 05:38:22
Malawi has embarked on an ambitious plan to start manufacturing its own Urea Mineral Licking Block (UMLB), a supplement for feeding cattle to increase production of meat and milk.
UMLB contains proteins, minerals and carbohydrates, among other things, which are important for cattle growth.
Government, through the Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology, has started training business people interested in producing the feed for sale to cattle farmers.
So far three people—one from each of the country’s three regions: North, Central and South—have completed a five-day intensive training at Lunyangwa Agricultural Research Station in Mzuzu.
Industry, Science and Technology Minister Khumbo Chirwa, speaking when he closed the training session on Friday, said UMLB will increase milk production by about 10 percent. He said this will in turn create wealth among farmers.
“Minerals which are present in the block are used for bone formation, maintenance of acid-base equilibrium and as part of enzyme systems for
carrying out numerous biochemical functions in the body.
“The advantage for animals taking the Urea Mineral Licking Block is that it ensures early conception and decreases inter-calving intervals. It also
improves milk [production] by 6-10 percent,” he said.
The minister said he was aware that the UMLB, currently found at the Taifa Market in Mzuzu, are imported from Tanzania and wondered why the country imports such a simple-to-make product when most of the ingredients are available locally.
He urged the graduates to make use of the training and also market their products to farmers.
One of the graduates, Isaac Kazanga, said the training will not only benefit them but also farmers who will experience high yields due to the advanced
UMLB they will be producing.
“The technology will increase milk production and consumption, create jobs, reduce drainage of foreign exchange. There will also be general improvement in the health of livestock,” he said.
Other graduates are Dorothy Mhango from Mzuzu and Kamoza Sam Tembo from Blantyre.
The graduates were drilled in the role of livestock in Malawi, basic animal nutrition, factors affecting livestock production, Urea Mineral Block
ingredients, Urea Mineral Block quality standards issues and manufacturing.
Malawi Government impresses IMF
by Zainah Liwanda, 22 March 2006 - 05:30:43
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission that was in the country to initiate the second review under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) programme said Tuesday Malawi has met all set targets.
Briefing journalists in Lilongwe, the mission’s head Calvin McDonald said the team would present the findings to the IMF executive board for discussion.
“Our assessment is that Malawi has met all the quantitative targets through end December 2005 that were set under the PRGF arrangement and they have met the structural targets, although with some delay, that were also set for end December 2005.
“We will present the findings of our review to the executive board of the IMF. The second review will be completed when the executive board has a chance to discuss the findings of the mission sometime,” said McDonald.
He said the board is expected to discuss the findings in June, saying after the completion of the discussions it is expected that Malawi would receive another disbursement under the PRGF programme.
Earlier, IMF Representative in Malawi Thomas Baunsgaard said the mission reviewed, among others, the outlook for the fiscal and monetary policies for the remainder of the 2005/06.
Baunsgaard explained that the mission commended government for scaling up food security operations to meet the increasing humanitarian needs especially at the time when logistical constraints have pushed up costs.
He said this will put pressure on the budget and foreign reserves, but said sufficient flexibility in exchange rate policy with additional donor support is needed to reduce the adverse economic impact.
“Besides food security operations, close adherence to the budget approved by Parliament is essential to sustain the recent improvement in fiscal policies and prudent monetary exchange rate policies are required to respond to external shocks,” said Baunsgaard.
According to Baunsgaard, preliminary indications show that this year’s harvest would be much improved, which he said would have a positive impact on economic prospects.
“The authorities should take advantage of this encouraging development to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms, including in public financial management,” he added.
The representative said progress has been done in implementing structural reforms, although at a lower pace than anticipated, adding most of them were met with a delay.
He said continued improvements in the payroll management and pension reforms will be critical in ensuring fiscal sustainability.
Baunsgaard said following the completion by the IMF executive board’s first review in February, a total of $14 million has been disbursed to Malawi under the PRGF programme.
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Radson Mwadiwa explained that the delay in meeting some structural targets was due to administrative problems with the IT department but that was solved.
Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) chief executive Chancellor Kaferapanjira said the development was good news and that there were high hopes Malawi would qualify for debt relief.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Kaka Cassim Chilumpha fighting to work for enemy
by Mzati Nkolokosa, 15 March 2006 - 05:36:55

The mood at Mudi House is that of war time. The tenant, Cassim Chilumpha, is fighting for the position of Vice-President.Everything has changed. The gate that once had four Police Mobile Service (PMS) armed men now has one private guard. The grounds that were once clean are littered with leaves. Government withdrew its staff from the House after President Bingu wa Mutharika accepted Chilumpha’s “constructive resignation”. There is a skeleton of staff. One young man sits at the reception to welcome visitors—journalists last in case of last Wednesday. Mutharika’s portrait hangs on the wall. Chilumpha had to open the door into the press conference’s room for himself. Yet he had the courage to smile—a temporary smile perhaps, just for the camera.“Good afternoon gentlemen,” he greeted the journalists and shook hands with everybody saying “It is our culture to greet each other”. He had a political way of presenting his battle. “I am fighting for rule of law,” he said. “It’s not something to do with a person. Let’s protect our Constitution irrespective of who is in problems.” It was all war language or it says ‘let us’ ‘we’ and ‘they’ or ‘them’. It’s a call for Malawians to fight on Chilumpha’s side. He spoke like any person in dire straits. “Malawi has got one of the best judiciaries in the world,” he said.He had a choice for words influenced by both the Bible and the Qur’an. He had a tongue of Matigari, that Ngugi wa Thiongo hero in search of truth and justice in post colonial Kenya. But there is a difference between the two. Matigari was motivated by the plight of poor people. Chilumpha is fighting for his position but the battle is portrayed as for rule of law. “We want to ensure that court orders are obeyed,” said Chilumpha. “The issue now is whether [or not] Malawi will be governed by rule of law.”Every Malawian, he said, must begin to worry when a person—meaning Mutharika—who swore to defend the Constitution chooses not to obey the courts. Of course. But it’s difficult to believe Chilumpha is fighting for truth and justice and not necessarily his position. He has been fighting in the past five years and he likes to fight from within his group. That is how he works and there was no need for Malawians to be surprised when Chilumpha criticised his own government. (A better word should be condemned because criticism is constructive evaluation.) He was a co-founder and one of initial financiers of Forum for the Defence of the Constitution (FDC) in October, 2002. The Forum became a strong part of the fight against Bakili Muluzi’s wish to extend presidential terms. Some UDF members who co-founded FDC were disgraced from the party. An example is Jan Sonke. Chilumpha was not touched. Now that the FDC is being formed—again—to fight the constructive resignation of Chilumpha, among other aims, it becomes practical to connect the Forum to the estranged Vice-President whose life is difficult to understand. It’s even sensible to conclude that by fighting third term through FDC, Chilumpha was fighting for the presidency, which is a healthy appetite.Of course, it’s impossible to understand a human being but Chilumpha is a man who keeps his life to himself. His former workmates at Polytechnic, where he rose to the position of associate professor, says so. He was born in an Anglican Church family on November 29, 1958, was named Bright and grew up at Chiutula village, T/A Malengachanzi, about eight kilometres from Nkhotakota Boma.As a boy Bright read his primers at Chisoti and Nkhotakota LEA schools, went to Nkhata Bay Secondary School, and in late 1970s Chancellor College’s school of law from where he went straight into civil service. He went to college a Christian and left a Muslim, with a new name, Cassim. “I really don’t know how he became a Muslim,” says one of his college mates. “But it’s not strange. I was a Seventh Day Adventist when I went to college, now I am a Presbyterian.”After one year in the civil service, Chilumpha won a scholarship to study for master’s and PhD degrees in law at Hull University in the UK. He came back and joined Polytechnic’s Faculty of Commerce and went into parliamentary politics in 1994. He held the ministries of Defence, Education, Justice and Attorney-General in the Bakili Muluzi administration. He was minister when the K187 million scandal happened. Once he went out of the country for a few months, came back and one morning resigned from UDF only to be back in the party in the afternoon and refute the resignation reports.He became Water Minister in the Mutharika administration until he was fired from the Cabinet and started to speak against his government. That was the first public surprise because even if his boss was wrong, Chilumpha could have sorted out issues in camera. In any case a Vice-President is ideally the closest to the President. Chilumpha didn’t use that opportunity. There is an agreement that politically, Chilumpha does not deserve the Vice-Presidency. He may remain so legally. After all law protects the weak.But politically he will remain outside the Mutharika administration. Last week he called cabinet a “bunch of 20 people without Constitutional mandate”. How is he going to work with this bunch if he remains Vice-President?The danger, though, is that being Vice President, Chilumpha constitutionally becomes President in case Mutharika is incapacitated or—pardon nature—dead.In that case Chilumpha, as President, may—and only may—revive UDF and bring back Muluzi, the national chair, on TVM and MBC. The UDF will be in power again. Young Democrats shall terrorise innocent people again. “Chilumpha is playing with our psyche,” says one social scientist. “But that does not mean I agree with some of the things government is doing to him.”This looks like Chilumpha’s last battle. Either he will lose and go into political cocoon. Or he will win, remain Vice President, absent himself from cabinet meetings yet live on tax of poor people he is inviting to fight on his side.

Monday, March 13, 2006

Malawi Business Climate Good
The Chronicle Newspaper (Lilongwe)

March 13, 2006
Charles Chisi
Lilongwe

The Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) says it expects businesses to perform better this year than last year due to improvements in fiscal management by government.
MCCCI Chief Executive, Chancellor Alison Kaferapanjira said this in his 2005 Malawi Business Climate Survey results presentation during the regional chapter meeting held at Capital Hotel in Lilongwe on Tuesday "Both current and expected business performance is encouraging this year unlike last year because of improved fiscal management which has been spiced up by the fight against corruption. This does not only win investors' confidence but is also a catalyst for economic growth," said Kaferapanjira.
Kaferapanjira said from the survey conducted between July and November, over 70% of the respondents of their questionnaires indicated that businesses would be good.
He said businesses from the textiles, garments and footwear; and food-processing sub-sectors are the most optimistic ones when it comes to the expected performance this year. "The optimism in the food-processing sub-sector could be a result of the prospects for a good agriculture season, which will ensure supply of raw materials," he said He, however, said pharmaceuticals, paints and soaps sub-sector are the least optimistic in terms of their expected performance this year with less than 50% of the respondents indicating between good and very good.
He attributed this to the unfair competition in the market arising from counterfeit products, imported substandard products and smuggled products.
Kaferapanjira, nonetheless, said the signing of the Malawi-Mozambique bilateral trade agreement will enable the sector to record highest export revenues than any other sector as some of the exports would go to Mozambique.
However, Kaferapanjira bemoaned exchange rate fluctuation, which he described as an obstacle to maintain a healthy business in the country. "While there is an improvement in the rating in most of the areas, the environment is still not conducive to doing business as indicated by the proportion of respondents. Kwacha depreciation is still viewed as a major threat to the maintenance of healthy businesses in the country," he said.
He said a solution to this is for the government to increase imports to enable forex inflow, which is a cushion for Kwacha stability as contained in its vision of transforming the nation from a predominantly importing and consuming nation into a producing one.

In its 2005 Malawi economic performance report, MCCCI said the meager 1.9% GDP growth rate achieved last year is because of the decline in Agriculture, which forms the backbone of the country's economy.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

IMF team in for budget, debt relief talks
by Frank Phiri, 09 March 2006 - 05:56:04
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Calvin McDonald arrived on Wednesday to discuss the structure of the 2006/07 budget with government and assess whether Malawi has finally satisfied criteria to qualify for debt relief.
Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe yesterday confirmed the mission’s arrival and said it would discuss a host of issues with government over the next three weeks, key of which are debt relief and the budget.
“They’ll be looking into our fiscal tables in the last six months ending December [2005], and more closely into our external debt position to see if we can qualify for relief under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI),” he said.
Gondwe said the mission would also assess if Malawi has met performance targets under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (Hipc) initiative.
He said he was optimistic that the country has made the final step into the completion point when its lenders are expected to decide whether or not to cancel her foreign debt stock of US$2.9 billion (about K377 billion).
“We should have reached the completion point by now, but this was not possible without an IMF programme. Now we’ve done everything except one thing that relates to the land law,” he said.
Gondwe said the law has been drafted and would be tabled in the next sitting of Parliament..
The minister said the review meeting with the Fund’s officials comes after a week of similar discussions with the World Bank in Lilongwe.
McDonald’s mission comes a week after the IMF Executive Board in Washington approved a further disbursement of US$7.1 million (over K951 million) to Malawi following what the Fund’s officials said was the country’s impressive performance under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) which it won on August 5, 2005.
Meanwhile, the Office of the President and Cabinet said yesterday that government would save up to K8 billion annually on attaining her debt relief status.
It said in a statement the current government’s tenacity on good governance would ensure that Malawi achieves the 100 percent debt cancellation deal offered to poor countries by the group of the world’s eight industrialised nations at their G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.
“Under the HIPC arrangement, this money will be used to further the policies embarked upon in earlier agreements, which will make life a little easier for everyone,” said the statement.
Reuters reported this week that Chad and Malawi had already won approval for debt relief and the process was “in the pipeline”. It said the IMF was in earlier stages of talks on debt relief with Togo, Ivory Coast and Liberia.
Malawi and the other five countries missed the December 2005 schedule for 100 percent debt relief from the IMF.
The current IMF mission is also expected to tip government on strategies to counter food shortages, which officials say have left an estimated 4.8 million people starving and pushed inflation to 16.7 percent.
Sweden wants House to discuss national matters
by Zainah Liwanda, 09 March 2006 - 06:05:15
New Swedish High Commissioner to Malawi Sten Rylander has pleaded with Malawi Parliament to set aside political bickering and discuss issues of national interest when the House resumes sitting next month.
Rylander made the appeal at New State House in Lilongwe on Wednesday after presenting his letters of credence to President Bingu wa Mutharika.
“I discussed with the President the role of Parliament, and I hope that [the House] could come back to normal and discuss what is in national interest for Malawi instead of engaging in political bickering, impeachment and things like that. Come together as a nation, that’s my advice to you,” said Rylander.
The envoy said much as the opposition and government may have dissenting views, it was important that national issues are prioritised for the good of the country.
Rylander described the relationship between Sweden and Malawi as cordial as manifested by the assistance his country provides to Malawi.
The high commissioner said he also informed the President that his country’s assistance to Malawi has passed the US$50m mark.
“We are just about to take a decision on budgetary support. I had a very good meeting with your President. I congratulate you for having such a good President. We have been impressed to see him fight for accountability, against corruption, for development, democracy and I think you also have good economic policies,” he added.
The envoy further commended Mutharika for appointing Goodall Gondwe as finance minister, describing him as “experienced and professional.”
Speaking earlier, the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, based in Zimbabwe, Riffat Iqbal, said she discussed with the President how to expand the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
The envoy said the relationship between Malawi and her country dates back to the struggle for independence.
“Pakistan supported Malawi in its struggle for independence. There are many areas in which our co-operation can be increased, especially trade, and economic cooperation and also our political relationship,” she said.
Iqbal further explained that she also briefed the President about international issues, such as the Pakistan and India peace dialogue and efforts to combat international terrorism.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Malawi’s anti-corruption stance impresses Britain


March 7, 2006,
By Frank Jomo
Blantyre (AND) The new British envoy to Malawi Richard Wildash who presented his credentials to President Bingu wa Mutharika yesterday at the New State House in Lilongwe has hailed the President for his zero-tolerance towards corruption.

“We very much support what the President is doing in terms of governance generally and the problem of corruption in particular. Clearly corruption is damaging the economy, it’s absolutely right that it should be a high priority to deal with that and it is an on-going process. It is not something that you can do in a day, week, month or even year,” said Wildash.

In a report monitored on local broadcaster Malawi Television (TVM), Wildash said corruption has robbed the country of development and that it was imperative for the government to fight it. He promised his government’s continued assistance to Malawi in the fight against corruption.

He said African leaders needed to take corruption fight head-on if promises made at the Gleneagles Summit in Scotland last year are to become a reality.


Also presenting their letters of credence were Spanish Ambassador to Malawi, Santiago Caro who is based in Zimbabwe and Tanzanian based Iranian Ambassador to Malawi Abbas Vaezi.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006


Muluzi wanted stakes in Mobile operator
BY GERALD NAMWAZA
02:23:52 - 01 March 2006

ECONET Wireless, a company that has acquired majority shares in Telekom Networks Limited (TNM) said the investors had wanted to roll out a third mobile phone company but pulled out of the deal when it was discovered former President Bakili Muluzi wanted stakes in the deal, The Business Times has learnt.The company spokesperson, Sure Kamhunga said the company had submitted proposals to Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) to roll out a third mobile phone but lost on political grounds.But Muluzi's spokesperson and former minister of commerce Sam Mpasu has dismissed the allegations as baseless, saying they are aimed at tarnishing the good business acumen of the former president.However, the merchant revealed on the sidelines of an Econet sponsored dinner for Malawian journalists at Zimbabwe's Meikels Hotel in Harare that his company pulled out because of political interference.He said he was shocked to hear from Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) that any company that wanted to do business in the mobile industry was expected to work with Muluzi's Atupele Properties Limited.But Mpasu said in an interview yesterday that when he took over from Brown Mpinganjira in 1998 as minister of information, he passed the Communication Act that paved the way for the formation of an independent regulatory authority."Previously, applications for licences were going through the minister but this time around we wanted Macra to be responsible," Mpasu said.Adding: "So there is no way Dr Muluzi would influence the activities of Macra."The third mobile licence was granted to Malawi Mobile Limited (MML) with Muluzi's interests well taken care of under the directorship of his son Atupele.However, MML is locked in a legal battle with government over the issue of nullification of the mobile licence in 2005.