US grants Malawi $20mil to fight corruption

June 25, 2006, By AND

Lilongwe (AND) The governments of Malawi and the United States of America this week launched an ambitious K2.9 billion ($20.9 million) programme that will assist the country to combat corruption and tighten fiscal mismanagement.

Economic Planning and Development Minister David Faiti launched the programme, called Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Threshold program, in Lilongwe, Malawi, alongside United States Ambassador to Malawi Alan Eastham.

Under the programme, which will later see Malawi qualify for a full Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), the US government will provide $20.9 million over a period of two years.

Eastham said the program will help the Malawi government to strengthen institutions responsible for investigating and prosecuting corrupt activities and put systems in place to achieve fiscal management by ensuring accountability and transparency.

“This programme is a threshold of a larger programme that the US government is undertaking around the world. An effective implementation of this program will help the Malawi government to qualify for a much larger and comprehensive program,” said Eastham.

He said money from the Millennium Challenge Threshold programme will also support training of prosecutors, judges, and investigators of corruption for them to effectively deal with corruption cases.

Eastham said the money will also be used to strengthen the National Assembly, the Auditor General, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), the Malawi Police Service, the Accountant General’s office, the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), the National Audit office, the Ministry of Finance and other government institutions.

“This will help to improve the budget process by tightening fiscal management systems, achieve more frequent and professional government audits, and improve management of domestic and international debt, among others,” said Eastham.

He said part of the funds will also be used to improve the investigative reporting of the media as well as civil society organisations as watchdogs against corrupt activities.

In his speech, Faiti said the Malawi government, under the leadership of President Bingu wa Mutharika, qualified for the Millennium Challenge Threshold programme because it has shown a promising track record in issues of good governance and the fight against corruption.

He said the programme will help the government to uproot main sources of corruption and strengthen prudent and sound economic management.

“Government is committed to the elimination of corruption, fraud and fiscal mismanagement as this help to ensure that the limited resources are used effectively to benefit that majority of our people and not into the pockets of a few,” said Faiti.

The Economic Planning Minister said he was optimistic that Malawi will meet targets set under the program and qualify for the Millennium Challenge Account.

“Malawi has demonstrated a commitment to undertake policy reforms necessary to improve conditions for development and is close to qualifying for full Millennium Challenge Account,” said Faiti.

US President George W Bush devised the Millennium Challenge Account as measure of US foreign aid from the traditional donations to investment. Under the programme, the US government gives substantial amounts of money up to $200 million to countries that have demonstrated a commitment to better the health and education of their people.

Lilongwe Bureau

Muluzi returns Monday to face Malawi Anti-Corruption Bureau

by Mabvuto Banda, 21 June 2006 - 05:48:54

Former President Bakili Muluzi returns home next Monday, but it may not be a happy comeback because the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is lurking around with questions for his alleged involvement in the abuse of public funds through some diplomatic missions. A senior United Democratic Front (UDF) official on Monday said Muluzi is due back on June 26. The British Home Office gave Muluzi a six-month visa which expires this month after recuperating from two operations on his spinal cord. UDF spokesperson Sam Mpasu declined to disclose the date of Muluzi’s arrival Tuesday but said he is coming next week. “I know that he is coming back but I cannot disclose the date because we have information that they have prepared a warrant of arrest for Muluzi and want to arrest him upon arrival,” said Mpasu. Atupele Muluzi, son to the former leader, said the family is not aware of any such plans against his father. “As a family, we are just looking forward to welcoming him back after going through a major operation, but it is surprising that every time Parliament is meeting such rumours abound,” said Atupele. ACB Director Gustave Kaliwo said Tuesday the bureau only wants Muluzi to clarify on their latest findings regarding several issues. “I cannot say that we are arresting him, there are just several outstanding matters that we would like to clarify with him about the money that went through embassies that we understand was used by him,” said Kaliwo. He did not disclose how much money is involved. The ACB has been probing two former envoys — John Chikago, former High Commissioner to Japan, and Ziliro Chibambo, former ambassador to Mozambique. Muluzi has several outstanding issues with the ACB, ranging from probe on how he built Keza Building in the commercial city of Blantyre to allegations that he diverted close to K1.4 billion from donors into his personal account. The bureau is also yet to conclude the case in which it accuses the former president of buying over 100 vehicles without paying duty. He later donated the cars to his party, the UDF. Last year, the bureau summoned Muluzi to answer questions on his alleged involvement in the K1.4 billion case but that never happened and the bureau went ahead to confiscate his computers at his BCA Hill residence in Blantyre.

Death of a democrat?

by Bright Molande, 22 June 2006 - 04:45:44

It was from the darkening sky of 14 June that he came. Just on the day we cry Long Live Genuine Democracy, Chakufwa Chihana was landed after a long flight of his soul. Cry, the beloved Chihana. He was first to openly cast a stone against dictatorship as an individual. Now dead, Long Live Democracy! He was an epic hero, once though. While Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda was still a dictator, Chihana landed at Kamuzu International Airport in the dust of the storm of change and opened the Pandora’s Box. Change was here and no-one could stop it. Even vendors of the holy weed crawled out in white robes and sheep skins to preach democracy. Chihana briefly appeared from the clouds and soon disappeared in the dust of the storm of prison life. Only his two fingers rudely remain in our memory, pointing at the path to our destiny. But his voice was a little match that ignited the roaring fire that leapt and advanced to devour the ruling crocodiles and jackals that wagged their tails around Kamuzu Banda. They charged back, threatening to devour the preachers of our salvation. Kamuzu said “not in my name”. He whose voice echoed from Sapitwa to Nyika, “If I should die, my blood will be the fuel of democracy,” today, his death speaks of freedom better than his precious life. Alone, he braved trials of the times behind the prison bars of crocodile jaws while the Alliance for Democracy (Aford), the pressure group he led, caught the fire of change and roared across the nation. Even sceptical professors jumped in and sang, “Onward Malawian Soldiers, Marching as to Freedom.” It was a national cause. But, “Chihana came out of prison only to pack Aford back to kuthengere, digging its political bunker which has turned out to be its grave in the North,” a well informed analytical journalist at The Nation now laments. He became too wiser than his people. He forgot, no man is greater than his people. Aford was buried in the North, buried with the cherished dream of dragging the North to the centre without thinking nationally. Shame! Politically, Chihana lived the life of the dead long before his physical death. “Only Chihana and his daughter-in-law make Aford,” shall be the last of the leading headlines celebrating his political career. The corrosive disillusionment caused by Messiah still haunts our political nightmares. Former President Bakili Muluzi the (other) Father of Democracy dragged Chihana around like a kid puppet while he flowed downstream like a lifeless fish that could no longer swim upstream. And when Lucius Banda mourned in his song that “All he knows is just how to follow,” we knew the political stamina to lead was long lost in political power. And Muluzi mocked him, “some of these parties will end like curtains.” Chakufwa the Democrat picked up the wisdom and tore his party with his own hands. The democrat set out and retreated to Sapitwa—out of reach in his blind quest to become a god, now all gone and dead. As we bury the remains of this freedom fighter, will his disciples really bury his spirit? But Chihana deserved a state funeral, buried in a stately casket and not a coffin (although a “casket” is only American English while “coffin” is British English for the same thing we call bokosi). That must not speak of his social status but of what he was, once. He remains a man who truly fought for change. And, he served our bellies as a Vice-President as well in the fog of Muluzi’s democratic reign. Chihana’s political death was a national tragedy while his physical demise is only a sad end of an era, the tragic end of a life. He must be remembered and “mourned well” either way. Once, Chihana was a national hero. Times have been when he was cut out for a Hero’s Acre. And when a friend sends me a text message wondering, “mourning a villain?” That disturbs me. But then, even villains must be mourned without tears. To jeer at the dead is to be worse than a heartless villain. This hero who died twice needs a well of tears from the springs of our cracked hearts. After all, Chihana’s political death is a tragedy many of our politicians are bound to go if they are not seeing and living a vision of the changing times. We will bury them without our tears, lest we should sprout a curse of democracy on their mounds. But a messiah who came to fight a lion with two fingers on our behalf cannot be a villain. He must have meant well, once, but tripped in the fog of power lust. Chihana is a hero who only forgot us and sought himself in the foggy jungle of power where no self-seeker ever returns. When he fell, we all fell and broke the backbone of the nation. We are still recovering. While death is the loneliest footpath of the soul, Chihana’s political death was a collective steep slippery road of our country. He came with the political stamina to forbid Muluzi from doing the worst he has done to his people. He heroically faced the roaring lion and all his hungry cubs anyway. But perhaps, Chihana and Muluzi were only best as freedom fighters. The country still needed one measuring to intellectual stature of Dr Banda and President Bingu wa Mutharika to “see a vision” and mobilise us to “live the vision”. It appears, though, that Chihana walked out of the prison spell with his own Gweru colour dreams. They soon became political hallucinations that must have haunted him to his deathbed. Just like Muluzi, he saw no vision and therefore lived no vision. It is the death of Chihana the hero that I therefore mourn. He came as a political messiah and died even thus and thus. His political death dug social graves for underdogs in the squalor of poverty who can only welcome all such self-seeking politicians with greetings of the dead: The grave you dug below is all astir to meet you at your coming; Rousing the spirits of the departed to greet you—and You will find us waiting here Playing chess among the dead Calculating how you missed A grand move of a life chance And when you descend, first— Shaking skeletal hands of the dying Hugging creaking naked skeletons Wondering how you mounted Your Gweru dreams for power greed And sold your soul to power! O, how the mighty are fallen! How the mighty are fallen! —The author is a poet, literature scholar and social critic from the University of Malawi, Chancellor College —Feedback: amolande@chanco.unima.mw

Eyes into Africa’s bright future

by Mzati Nkolokosa, 21 June 2006 - 06:34:16

The first wave of partnership in Africa was in the 1960s. But it was not for long. Coups, disease, hunger and wars became part of life. Now there is hope and Africa is moving forward to realise rue independence. March 6, 1957, was a defining day in Africa’s history. Gold Coast, Ghana from this date, attained independence from Britain. The country’s founding President Kwame Nkrumah, speaking without a prepared speech or notes, was an inspiration to all Africa. “The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked with the total liberation of Africa,” he declared. It was a speech from the heart. And Nkrumah meant it, because a year later, he called African liberation leaders to Ghana to strategise the continent’s independence struggle. The fruits were soon to be seen. Twenty African countries were independent by 1960. Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda was in Ghana and admired Nkrumah’s success. It was from Ghana that Banda was invited to help Malawi’s struggle for independence. Why did Orton Chirwa and others invite Banda when there were other Malawians outside the country? The answer is simple. Banda—and other educated Africans—was motivated by Nkrumah and supported the struggle in Malawi. Namibia’s founding President Sam Nujoma describes Nkrumah as a “progressive president, an accomplished academic, an incisive thinker, analyst and writer, and a legendary pan-African revolutionary.” Indeed he was, at least seen with an understanding mind and smelled by scholarly nostrils. Nkrumah knew the importance of industrialisation. In nine years he established 68 state-owned factories. He listed some of them in his 1963 book, Africa Must Unite: a distillery, a coconut oil factory, a brewery, a milk-processing plant and a lorry and bicycle plant. There were agreements for a large, modern oil refinery, an iron and steel works, a flour mill, sugar, textile and cement factories. The New African editor Baffour Ankomah says Nkrumah forgot factories for shoes, glass, meat, gold, fruit and tomato, chocolate and a radio and television assembly plant. This, says Ankomah, was in addition to building a huge hydroelectric plant at Akasombo—that major source of electricity studied in Malawi’s primary school geography, a motorway from Accra to Tema and free educational and medical services “that made Ghana a showcase for Africa.” Further, Ghana had a continental radio station broadcasting beyond Africa. The radio, say analysts, helped the African liberation struggle. “For unless we attain economic freedom, our struggle for independence would have been in vain, and our plans for social and cultural advancement frustrated,” says Nkrumah in his book. But this progress did not last. Nkrumah was overthrown on February 24, 1966, while in Peking (now Beijing) on his way to Vietnam with plans to end the American war. “It is difficult to imagine the greatly improved condition of the African people today if Nkrumah had continued in power in Ghana to lead the pan-African movement,” says June Milne, Nkrumah’s research and editorial assistant. “One of the most shocking incidents in Africa was the overthrow, in February 1966, of that great man. I don’t think we will ever recover from those events,” writes Zambia’s founding President Kenneth Kaunda in the New African of February this year. Nkrumah wanted and fought for a united Africa, one that could progress together. He thought a united Africa should have a one-word-name: Africa. “There is no time to waste. We must unite now or perish,” said Nkrumah at the historic OAU meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1963. “Kwame Nkrumah was [Ghana’s] leader, but he was our leader too, for he was an African leader,” said Tanzania’s founding President Julius Nyerere in Accra in 1997 when Ghana celebrated 40 years of independence. Scholars—and all critical minds—can only reflect at history with wonder. Major-General Henry Templer Alexander, last British Chief of Defence Staff in Ghana dismissed by Nkrumah, had no kind words for the architect of one Africa. Nkrumah “is not a brave man...nowadays he keeps himself very much confined,” says Alexander in his book Africa Tightrope Colonel Afrifa, who was part of the coup, says in The Ghana Coup, Nkrumah could have been a great man. “He started well...and became...the symbol of emergent Africa. Somewhere down the line, however, he became ambitious... and ruthlessly used powers invested in him by his own constitution. He developed a strange love for absolute power,” says Afrifa. What went wrong in Ghana between 1957 and 1966? “It is likely that historians will be asking that question for many years to come,” says The New Africans, a Reuters guide to the history of Africa’s founding leaders. Indeed it’s a question that needs an answer because the link between Nkrumah’s end and the rise of dictatorships in Africa is becoming clear. Why did, for example, leaders like Banda and Kaunda, who were close to Nkrumah, turn to one-party politics? Nkrumah established a one party state and controlled his Convention People’s Party (CPP) and all the organs of state; dismissed security chiefs and judges at will. Was Nkrumah just that bad to enjoy absolute power? Perhaps the challenges of his presidency can help explain. He faced at least seven assassination attempts. But one was most apparent. On August 1, 1962, a grenade was thrown at a village of Kulungugu, in northern Ghana, where he stopped on his way from meeting President Maurice Yameogo of Upper Volta. Four people died, 56 injured, most of them seriously. Nkrumah escaped without any injuries but saw everything that happened. It was a dehumanising experience. He later wrote of how a cheering crowd turned into “a screaming mass of people, blood stained, limping [and] disfigured”. The incident was followed by others. But the Kulungugu attack disturbed him. He lost confidence in Ghana Police and organised a private army with Russian help on January 2, 1964. On this date, a constable named Ametewee chased Nkrumah, fired five shots at him, missed, but killed the chief presidential guard, Salifu Dagarti. It was another disturbing and dehumanising incident but not the first, not the last. He had endured a lot which his friends—Kamuzu, Kaunda, Nyerere and others—heard. This is perhaps the reason why Nkrumah turned into a dictator. He was pushed into a corner and had no choice but to protect his life and the interests of his people. Some African leaders, like Kamuzu, perhaps became dictators, dealing with every opposition immediately, for fear of being the next Nkrumah, Africa’s model. The military coup that ended Nkrumah’s rule was organised by the CIA with support from London and carried out by local collaborators in Ghana, according to information released in recent years the West. It is easy to blame the US and Britain. But the major culprits were Africans who collaborated with the West. Since then Africa has mainly been a sad story. Portugal handed over power to Africans in Angola and Mozambique but civil wars followed immediately. Malawi was host to over a million Mozambican refugees in the 1980s until mid 1990s. Some remained and have become Malawians just like that confirming perhaps one of Nkrumah’s dream that Africans must be one, have one passport and move freely in their continent which was to become a country. There was war in Liberia, Burundi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Burundi, and trouble in Zaire. South Africa was struggling with apartheid. There was no peace in Ethiopia. People are still fighting in Somalia, Sudan, Ivory Coast and Uganda and many other counties. It has largely been a hopeless Africa, perhaps traced from Nkrumah’s troubles and fall. But all that is changing now. Of course, Nkrumah’s fall was a setback because all African leaders were affected. And Kaunda was not exaggerating the effects when he suggested that Africa would not recover from the coup and its effects. Yet there is light. Slowly Africa is moving and into the right direction. The wars in Mozambique, Angola, Liberia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone are over. Mozambique and Angola are prospering. Liberia has a highly educated President, Ellen-Johnston Sirleaf, who is a symbol of a bright future for the war-torn country. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has made significant changes to bring lasting peace and economic boom to his country. He was at the White House recently talking to President George Bush, sharing a vision while their ministers were signing treaties to boost trade. Rwanda remains the world’s best example on women representation in decision making positions. There are serious peace efforts in DR Congo, Ivory Coast, Sudan and attempts at normalising Somalia. Nigeria, a country of coups and assassinations, has been at peace with a civilian president for close to a decade. That is an achievement and a pointer to a brighter future. Africa shares its fears and hopes. Most countries have held elections yet that is not democracy. The main challenge facing emerging democracies is rushed elections assumed to bring liberty and therefore liberal democracy. The good news is that now there is willingness, even pressure from within, for liberation and that starts with liberalising the economy which leads to political liberalisation because liberalised economy leads to modernisation. Dictatorships were brought down in the 1990s. The IMF, World Bank and donors were able to do this in Africa and elsewhere bringing hope that soon vanished because there was no meaningful replacement and countries were plundered in a way that is very difficult to reconstruct. Still there is a real chance for Africa to move forward. British Chancellor of the Exchequer writing in The Guardian in January challenged Africa, saying it is the continent’s time to move forward. “A century ago,” he said, “people talked of ‘what we could do to Africa’. Last century, it was ‘what can we do for Africa’. Now, in 2006, we must ask what the developing world, empowered, can do for itself.” Nkrumah, born September 21 in 1909, had a vision for Africa, for a big country to be called Africa, one that could take advantage of its natural resources—land, forests, fresh water and hard working people—to develop. Sadly he died on April 27, 1972, in exile in Guinea, without seeing that vision. Instead Ghana and Africa had become a land of coups, wars, hunger and disease. In Nkrumah’s words, these problems, coming after independence, forced Africa to make one step backward. Now, he said in a visionary statement in 1966, “we shall take two forward”. It is happening now. Africa is moving forward and it’s good news, sweet news. The sweeter news is that Malawi, with President Bingu wa Mutharika, is moving along with eyes fixed into Africa’s bright future. It is time to join Mutharika in serious, visionary thoughts about Malawi, a country in which we live, not for ourselves, but for our children and their children—from whom we have borrowed Malawi, a piece of land which we are expected to return better than we found it. —Feedback: mzatinews@yahoo.com

Malawi 06/07 budget ups agriculture, water funding

Fri Jun 16, 2006 6:26 PM GMT

By Mabvuto Banda

LILONGWE (Reuters) - Malawi's Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe on Friday unveiled the budget for 2006/2007, sharply raising the amount of money allocated for agricultural and irrigation programs in the drought-stricken African nation.

"Never again shall we become so hopeless and force to beg for food," Gondwe said as he announced the increases for the ministries of agriculture and water and irrigation, both considered crucial to fighting hunger in Malawi.

Almost half of Malawi's 12 million people were in need of food relief last year following a drought.

The new budget raises the agriculture ministry's allocation to $43 million from $14 million and the water and irrigation ministry's funding to $14 million from $6 million, Gondwe announced.

He also pledged to continue the fertilizer and maize subsidy that is believed to have improved agriculture production.

The budget is seen as key for Malawi's ability to qualify for debt relief and resolve its chronic food shortages.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) board meets later this month to decide whether the impoverished southern African nation qualifies for debt relief. Gondwe has said it will only occur if legislators pass the budget.

"This is not only the responsibility of the IMF board and our executive, but it is also a responsibility of this parliament to pass the budget because it anchors the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PGRF) with the Fund, which is crucial to multilateral debt relief," he said in a speech.

The proposed budget also aims to reduce spending to 28.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2006/07 from 32.2 percent in 2005/06, while repaying domestic debt.

Gondwe, a former World Bank economist, forecast a drop in inflation to 10.4 percent by December 2006 from over 15 percent last year. Inflation has been on a downward trend in Malawi, hitting 16.1 percent in April following 16.6 percent in March.

He projected the economy would expand by 8.4 percent from a sluggish 2.1 percent last year on account of the anticipated bumper harvest, which was helped by good rains and the introduction of the fertilizer and maize subsidy.

Seeing a vision

by Mzati Nkolokosa, 07 June 2006 - 06:53:15

The UDF was in the news again last week, hitting hard at President Bingu wa Mutharika saying he has not performed.
“President Mutharika has done absolutely nothing in two years,” says a press release from the party citing the mausoleum for first President Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda as Mutharika’s only achievement.
This analysis from UDF is understandable. The party sees a picture while Mutharika sees a vision. UDF is in typical politics while Mutharika is in statesmanship—at least he is going into that direction. This, as one brilliant pastor said recently, means UDF is thinking of next elections while Mutharika is thinking of the next generation—our children and their children for whom we live today.
Seeing a vision is one fundamental question of leadership Mutharika has got right. It was cloudy during the 2004 General Elections campaign but crystal clear on May 24 when Mutharika was sworn into office and spoke in new tongues; when he spoke of a vision for Malawi in a speech titled: “My vision for Malawi”.
“Let me start my speech this morning by outlining my vision for Malawi,” said Mutharika in a speech that lasted more than one hour.
The speech, hailed by critical thinkers, was the beginning of differences between UDF and Mutharika. The party wanted pictures, temporary benefits, something tangible while Mutharika spoke of a vision and he has remained focused on his vision.
But most Malawians, like UDF, see the physical picture and not the vision which brings hope. The reason is known. Hope is invisible. Hope that can be seen, according to Greek philosophy, is no hope at all.
This is why UDF is fond of reminding people of how former president Bakili Muluzi delivered free primary education within months of coming into power. People saw their children learn under trees and hoped that classrooms would be constructed. People saw their children being taught by boys and girls who had failed Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) and hoped that some day, there would be qualified teachers.
But that was not to be. Years later K187 million meant for construction of school blocks went into the pockets of contractors who did not build a single classroom. Years later a tree fell on pupils at Mkomachi Primary School in the Capital Lilongwe killing two.
Is this the free primary education UDF is talking about? It is true the enrolment doubled to a little over three million. But free primary was not the only reason. The main factor was that people were motivated to send children to school because for the first time, there was a national propaganda to show that education is important.
That propaganda could have been anything different from free primary education. People simply needed a motivation.
Mutharika has a vision for education. That is why the universities are being funded reasonably for the first time in years. That is why teacher training colleges are about to revert to old programmes lasting two years.
That is not all. The removal of minibus touts and vendors from townships and cities is a vision that must be dissected carefully. The country’s cities and townships have become cleaner than a year ago. The deeper one is that order and sanity have returned to Malawi.
There is another deeper meaning. Mutharika is saying do meaningful businesses from which government can tax you and provide social services in return.
Minibus-touting was a chaotic business yet well organised. Touting managers had plots in town. They had boys, too.
The managers didn’t report for duty at all but received proceeds everyday and, in return, paid the touts. Government made nothing from this business yet they expected the Blantyre City Assembly, for example, to provide them with water and public conveniences.
The challenge is now with the city and town assemblies to formalise the work of touts. It’s not that the boys have been chased but the assemblies can employ them to organise minibuses in a formal way, not the chaos of months ago.
The chasing of touts was also a message that people should go back to rural areas. This is an important message because Malawi has highest urbanisation rates in the region. Thousands are flocking to cities when they have nothing to do. Thousands more are leaving Malawi hoping for greener pastures in South Africa, Europe and the United States.
Mutharika has always been adamant that Malawi is not poor. By saying so he is sending a message that you can be productive here, even the rural areas.
Some people in the villages have been working hard and are successful. They have built good houses when you and me—white collar job holders—are blaming landlords for hiking rental.
Take the example of the many success stories the media has highlighted. Think of Nation Achievers 2005, the Chingale Integrated Farmers Association which has a K7 million revolving fund in bank.
These are people who don’t need Mardef loans because they are self-reliant. Yet they are in rural areas. Instead of vending in cities, people must own shops at Thyolo, Kamwendo or Bwengu, for example.
Mutharika is building a foundation for a better tomorrow. Sadly, not all Malawians are helping him, not even some Cabinet Ministers who are lazy and seek cheap media publicity. Muluzi built walls. Mutharika is attempting a huge task of building a foundation.
The challenge is that by starting from the beginning, by being a seer or prophet, Mutharika risks being misunderstood.
UDF wrote off Mutharika’s claims as if the President does not exist at all. No wonder Muluzi’s policies focused on the visible (pictures—classrooms and numbers) not visionary (the intellectual backbone and the intellectual foundation) which Mutharika is constructing.
If Mutharika pushes for more reforms and sticks to his vision despite prophets of doom, generations to come will, for sure, sit, speak, study and conclude that once Malawi had a leader, a statesman who took Malawi to its deserved destiny.
—Feedback:mzatinews@yahoo.com

A pastoral letter authored by Roman Catholic Bishops and read in all the churches in the country on Sunday says that Malawi has witnessed a new era of the rule of law, good governance, accountability and transparency among other positive developments.

Roman Catholic church hails Malawi Government's positive developments

The letter states that in the past governments have raised false hope among the general citizenry only to discover that leaders are later corrupted by power. “We seem to witness a new Malawi where food security, education and economic planning are given the attention they truly deserve,” reads the letter in part. The leaders acknowledged efforts by the government donor community and civil society groups for their timely response during the famine period that hit the country five months ago. Other areas that the letter has highlighted include Agriculture subsides, the need for a legislation on pricing and selling of essential commodities in order to protect producers especially the under privileged. Tree cutting and faithfulness and abstinence to fight the HIV/Aids Pandemic were issues also tackled.

Malawi economy to grow 8.4 pct in '06 - finmin

Tue Jun 6, 2006 11:17 AM GMT

BLANTYRE (Reuters) - Malawi's finance minister said on Tuesday economic growth should pass the eight percent mark this year after good rains raised the prospect of better crop harvests in a country heavily dependent on agriculture.

Goodall Gondwe also told Reuters the annual inflation rate was expected to drop to 10.4 percent in 2006 from over 15 percent last year. He made his brief comments ahead of the unveiling of the 2006/07 budget in parliament next week.

"In 2006, real GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is expected to grow by 8.4 percent on account of the anticipated bumper harvest due to good rains and the successful fertilizer and maize subsidy introduced last year," Gondwe told Reuters.

Growth last year was a sluggish 2.1 percent in the southern African nation of around 12.5 million which is one of the poorest countries in the world. It was hard hit by a scorching drought that left around 5 million in need of food aid.

According to the World Bank, agriculture accounts for 45 percent of Malawi's GDP, so any improvement on that score is bound to translate into faster growth.

The annual inflation rate was 16.1 percent in April and is seen falling because of increased supplies of staple foods such as maize.

Gondwe said his budget also aims to reduce expenditure to 28.7 percent of GDP in 2006/07 from 32.2 percent in 2005/06.

The budget is seen as key to increasing donor confidence as the country attempts to qualify for badly needed debt relief.

But it faces big political hurdles after threats from the opposition to torpedo it over a number of political disputes with President Bingu wa Mutharika. The opposition has a majority and so there is no guarantee that the budget will be passed.

-Reuters 2006

Saudi investors eye Malawi

June 6, 2006,

By ANDnetwork .com

The son to late Saudi Arabian King Prince Alwaheed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz-Saudi paid a brief state visit to Malawi over the weekend to investigate potential projects the business community from his oil rich country could venture into.

The Saudi Arabian prince and his entourage arrived at Kamuzu International Airport by a private Boeing 737 aircraft at about 14:30 and was welcomed by Malawi's Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe on behalf of President Bingu wa Mutharika. The prince and his 36-member delegation, mostly comprising the business community and journalists, visited the office of the president and cabinet and Capital Hill before proceeding to the New State House to meet Mutharika for talks on the country’s investment climate. “I have discussed with President Mutharika business opportunity investment climate favourable and useful to attract foreign investors to come to Malawi to start businesses,” said the prince, adding: “We have promised the president that we will study the projects that will attract business people from my country to come to Malawi to invest". The Saudi Arabian prince refused to mention projects the business people from his country could invest in saying the projects need to be evaluated first. “I have all members of the investment committees I formed to invest in Africa and in this case, Malawi. We need to evaluate the projects and come back to OPC in a very short time,” he said. Information and Tourism Minister Patricia Kaliati told the Malawi News Agency (Mana) in an interview that the two leaders also discussed the Shire-Zambezi Waterway Project and construction of a five-star hotel and conference centres in Lilongwe. “These are some of the projects President Mutharika told His Royal Highness the Prince of Saudi Arabia,” said Kaliati, adding that the prince has pledged to assist Malawi in many areas. “What they are looking forward to is to come and invest in Malawi. Government would grant them security,” said Kaliati. She said government has on her part pledged to provide tight security to the investors to ensure safety of their products. Nation Online

United States Praises Malawi, Morocco for Anti-Trafficking Gains

US State Department-Washington DC

Michelle Austein

Two African governments received praise for progress in fighting human trafficking and two countries were cited for doing enough in the State Department's 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report.

In its annual report to the U.S. Congress, released June 5, the State Department evaluated foreign governments' efforts to eliminate human trafficking. The report groups nations in one of four categories based on their efforts to control human trafficking, to prosecute those involved, and to support and assist victims of these crimes.

Governments that meet standards established in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 are placed in Tier 1. Tier 2 comprises countries that are demonstrating commitment to address their problems but have not yet achieved international standards. Tier 2 "Watch List" includes countries that show signs of falling backwards, while governments not making significant efforts to meet the standards are placed in Tier 3. (See related article.)

MALAWI, MOROCCO

Two Tier 1 countries, Malawi and Morocco, were praised for taking steps to prevent human trafficking in 2005.

Despite limited resources, Malawi made significant progress, particularly in the areas of prosecuting traffickers and educating the public to recognize human trafficking. Malawi, with support from international donors also produced and distributed 10,000 posters and 20,000 pamphlets to schools, welfare agencies, hospitals and youth clubs to educate the public about the issue.

Morocco fully complies with the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking, according to the report. Its international anti-trafficking cooperation "reflects the government's strong commitment to addressing the trafficking problem," the report said.

In February, Moroccan officials dismantled a large international network that was trafficking and smuggling migrants from India. Seventy suspects, including a police officer, were arrested.

SUDAN, ZIMBABWE MUST IMPROVE ANTI-TRAFFICKING EFFORTS

Sudan and Zimbabwe - both Tier 3 countries -- were cited for not doing enough to fight human trafficking.

Even though Sudan demonstrated initial progress on a number of fronts, "most of these efforts were not sustained," the report said. During the country's recently ended civil war, adults and children were forced to join armed groups.

To improve its anti-trafficking efforts, the Sudanese government should take steps to provide protective services to all types of trafficking victims and remove child soldiers from armed groups.

Zimbabwe showed "little political will" to address its trafficking problem during the past year, the report said. Zimbabwean children are trafficked internally for forced agricultural labor, domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. Trafficked women and girls are lured out of the country by false job or scholarship promises.

To further its anti-trafficking efforts, the report said, Zimbabwe should improve anti-trafficking legislation and launch a broad public awareness campaign.

Algeria, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Libya, Mauritania, South Africa, and Togo were among the countries listed on the reports Tier 2 "Watch List."