What is it with Muluzi and Chaos?

A
vehicle on the convoy of former president Bakili Muluzi from Lilongwe
heading for Blantyre killed Chitekwe Zokola, 30, between Manjawira and
Senzani in Ntcheu Thursday afternoon.



Both United Democratic Front (UDF) Deputy Secretary General Hophmally
Makande and the police confirmed the accident in separate interviews.



“We noticed that a vehicle on the convoy had hit a person, so we
stopped and attended to the person who died on the spot. The convoy
delayed by an hour waiting for the police,” Makande said.



He said Muluzi left the spot of the accident as soon as the police
arrived, adding that the dead body was taken to the Ntcheu District
Hospital mortuary.



Ntcheu Police publicist Gift Matewere also confirmed that Zokola, from
Matale Village, Sub-Traditional Authority Tsikulamowa died on the spot
after being hit by one of the vehicles on Muluzi’s convoy.



He said the car that hit Zokola was number nine of the convoy and it registration number was BN 2025.



“Zokola was hit when he was trying to cross to the other side of the
road without checking whether the convoy had passed,” Matewere said.



He said the vehicle would be examined to establish its roadworthiness.



Matewere identified the driver as Francis Bwaila, 48, from Chasemphana Village, Traditional Authority Nsomba in Blantyre.



He said the police were currently investigating the matter to establish the cause of the accident.

African Green Revolution Conference in Oslo

The Norway Post : African Green Revolution Conference in Oslo

Kofi Annan, President Bingu Wa Mutharika of Malawi and other key leaders have this week met to discuss Africa’s future at the 3rd annual African Green Revolution Conference held in Oslo.

Together with a large number of business and political leaders they are gathered in Oslo this week at the African Green Revolution Conference to develop a strategic action plan for change and secure commitments to ensure a lasting solution to Africa’s food vulnerability. With its enormous potential to grow regional economies and feed the population, sustainable agricultural development will be the focal point of discussion.

Kofi Annan says: "These challenges are too great for one sector, for one population, to address alone. Only when the international community works in partnership with all affected stakeholders will we be able to achieve these critical goals and see real outcomes for the people of Africa."

The board of the Yara Foundation will award its annual Yara Prize for outstanding achievement in agricultural entrepreneurship to two African visionaries at the conference.

Malawi parliament passes budget after two months

News | Africa - Reuters.com

LILONGWE (Reuters) - Malawi's opposition-led parliament finally passed the national budget after a two month wait, signalling an end to an impasse that has stalled the southern African nation's development agenda.

The opposition alliance of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and Malawi Congress Party adopted the $1.6 billion draft 2008/09 budget, which was tabled in June but stalled over a political feud.

"I am relieved that the budget has finally come through and I would like to thank all players that have made this possible by ignoring our political differences and giving our people what they deserve," finance minister Goodall Gondwe told Reuters.

Mutharika to probe death of Muluzi's top aide

Blantyre, Malawi - Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika has set up a
commission of inquiry into the death of Precious Kalonga Stambuli, the
former Chief Economic Advisor of former President Bakili Muluzi. Making
the announcement in the capital, Lilongwe, Wednesday, the Office of the
P resident and Cabinet said Mutharika had appointed top constitutional
lawyer Mode chair Msisha to head the five-member commission.



"The commission wants to establish circumstances that led to the death of Dr. Stambuli," read the brief report.

Stambuli,
who was also a business partner of Muluzi?s in his failed Trade
Investment Bank, died in mysterious circumstances during Christmas time
in 2003.

A postmortem by pathologist Dr. Charles Dzamalala indicated Stambuli died of poisoning and strangulation.

Just
before his death, Stambuli, who had dalliances with opposition
politics, had circulated a document which exposed the former
president's alleged corrupt tra n sactions.

Muluzi has, however, denied involvement in the death.

Blantyre - 27/08/2008

Pana

Malawi reduces AIDS deaths by 75%

LILONGWE (Reuters) - Greater access to free medicine has helped
slash AIDS-related deaths in Malawi by 75 percent in the last four
years, a senior government official said on Monday.

HIV/AIDS has been blamed for 59 percent of deaths among those aged
between 15 to 59 years in the southern African country, which has a
population of 13 million.

But Malawi has made progress since 2004, when it started to offer
free antiretroviral therapy -- drugs that help treat immunodeficiency
virus -- to thousands of patients.

"I am happy that AIDS related deaths have decreased by over 75
percent over the last four years in comparison with the AIDS related
deaths we had in 2003-2004 because of increased free treatment," said
Mary Shawa, Malawi's principle secretary for

HIV & AIDS.

Malawi has had about 800,000 AIDS related deaths since 1985, when
the first case was reported. As of March this year, the government has
put 159,111 people on free antiretroviral drugs and 106,547 of those
are still alive.

"This represents a 67 percent survival rate. But we still need to
do more, because those who did not make it may have died because they
started the treatment late or did not have access to proper nutrition,"
said Shawa

Boom Time for Malawi Tobacco Sales?

By Masina, Lameck

Despite the anti-smoking lobby, championed
by the World Health Organisation, that has threatened the future of the
tobacco industry in many African countries, for the past two-years
Malawi has experienced a boom in tobacco sales. Lameck Masina reports
Last year's tobacco selling season, for the first time in seven years,
saw the commodity fetch good prices on Malawi's auction floors. At the
start of the 2007 selling season in April the average price of tobacco
ranged from $1.40 to $1.70/kg with some lots fetching as much as
$200/kg. This was in sharp contrast to the previous season's sale when
the average price hovered around $0.70-$0.90/kg, substantially less
than the $1/kg the industry says it costs to produce the 'golden leaf'.

These prices were realised, among other reasons, as a result of
a series of meetings that the government had with buyers prior to the
opening of the floors. The talks had been called to address the issue
of declining prices which had marred the previous season's sales.
President Bingu wa Mutharika, himself a tobacco farmer, had previously
accused foreign buyers of fixing prices, an allegation that the buying
companies - from the US and Switzerland - had denied. In 2006,
Mutharika had threatened to expel from Malawi buyers conniving to
corner the market and fix the crop's price.

The Tobacco
Control Commission (TCC) attributed last year's higher prices to a
newly introduced system of setting the minimum price of the various
grades of tobacco at $ 1.10/kg for the low quality leaf and $1.40/kg
for the high quality tobacco.

This year the minimum price was
increased to $2.20/kg. Despite the price fluctuations that followed,
there were expectations that the revenues earned from tobacco would
reach an all-time high by the close of the selling season in September.
In its April newsletter, National Bank of Malawi had predicted that
this year's tobacco earnings would reach $452.7m, with sales averaging
$3/kg.

Malawi largely derives its foreign exchange earnings
from tobacco, which contributes about 70% of export earnings. The green
gold, as tobacco is fondly known in Malawi, accounts for 13% of the
country's gross domestic product (GDP). About one in six of the
country's 12m people depend on tobacco and its related industries for
their livelihood.

Poor prices over the past years have led to
more farmers leaving tobacco farming. The Tobacco Farmers Association
of Malawi (TAMA), a grouping of tobacco growers, had reported that
between 2000 and 2006 about 40,000 tobacco estate farmers left the
industry due to declining prices.

This year, the tobacco
auction floors had opened in Malawi's capital city Lilongwe in March on
a high note with a kilogram of tobacco fetching from $6 to $11 well
above the minimum prices set by the government of $2.20. This had given
hope to farmers who had struggled to make any profit from the trade
over the last few years.

The TCC general manager, Godfrey Chapola, had attributed the high
prices to a tobacco shortage on the global market. He said some
tobacco-growing countries had either stopped or dramatically reduced
production levels leading to demand exceeding supply.

However,
the exceptional prices did not last. By the second day of the auction
sales, hope had dwindled that tobacco would continue to realise such
high prices. The value of the leaf dropped drastically to between $2.30
and $0.60 for the same quality crop.

Disagreements on the
auction prices had led to the suspension of sales more than five times
in less than 30 days of trading as growers attempted to get real value
for their leaf but buyers showed little willingness to dig deeper into
their pockets.

In mid-April, violence broke out between the
farmers and the security guards at Mzuzu Auction Floors in Northern
Malawi. The farmers had physically blocked the buyers from continuing
with sales. The farmers were not prepared to drop their demand for a
higher price after hearing about the worldwide shortage of tobacco.

Angered by the buyers who continued to offer low prices, the TCC
suspended the sales. Later, growers from southern Malawi flocked to the
Blantyre Agriculture Development Division offices calling for an
audience with Mutharika. The growers believed only Mutharika could call
a halt to the plummeting tobacco price.

The economists argued
that the prices offered were defying market forces that play such a
crucial role in pricing. The president of the Economist Association of
Malawi, Charles Mataya, said he suspected the main tobacco buyers in
the country had a hand in the plummeting prices.

"Frankly
speaking, I am at loss as to why there are low prices when the demand
is high. My fear is that two or three buyers who are influential are
conniving to keep the prices low. With what is happening at the auction
floors we can not rule out collusion," Mataya told a local daily
newspaper.

Recent statistics from the TCC had indicated that
revenue from the country's number one forex earner was this year
expected to rise by 78% due to improved prices and production figures.

In 2007, Malawi realised a total of $196m from 110m/kg when annual
sales for all types of the crop averaged $1.77/kg. The TCC said that,
as at May 2008, tobacco sales had recorded revenues of $ 163m from
69.5m/kg, a figure reflecting a 43% increase over the same period in
2007. With 82m/kg yet to be sold on the auction floors, the TCC had
expressed optimism that the 2008 revenue figures would be double the
previous years.

Malawi is one of the world's top 10 producers
of tobacco accounting for 5% of the world's total exports and 2% of
total global production. According to the World Bank, Malawi produces
some 20% of the world's total harvest of burley tobacco.

Tobacco: A commodity that is running out of puff? Not in Malawi, it would seem.

Tobacco

Zimbabwe tobacco up in smoke

The continuing political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe has negatively
impacted the country's once thriving tobacco industry. Reports indicate
that since 2000, the tobacco selling seasons have been plunged into
disarray as tobacco farmers withdrew their crops from sales,
complaining about low prices and delayed payments.

This year's
season was characterised by off and on selling as farmers sought
improved prices - even if the value of those higher prices was quickly
wiped out by the country's staggering 100,000% inflation rate.

The official opening of the tobacco selling season this year was
scheduled for the month of April. It was delayed by over two weeks when
farmers refused to send their crops to the tobacco auction floors in
Harare, demanding a review of prices.

Farmers had objected to
the tobacco being sold in us dollars while they got paid in local
currency at the official exchange rate, which was not commensurate to
their labour input.

Last year similar wrangles had led to
indefinite postponement of the sales after farmers indicated that they
were not ready to sell their tobacco until they got a special exchange
rate. They rejected the official exchange rate of Z$250/$1 that applied
at the time. Although the rate was later adjusted upwards to a special
rate of one z$30,000/$1, the tobacco farmers insisted that this was
still not enough. The US dollar was at the time fetching 20 times more
on the parallel market, which is where most of the farmers were
obtaining foreign currency to buy farming Implements. The impasse was
only resolved after the intervention of the government which pegged the
price of tobacco at $1.50/kg last year. This year the price was moved
up to $2.26/kg, although the farmers had demanded a rate of $4/kg.

In May, business ground to a halt over non-payment at the country's
three main auction floors in the capital Harare Burley Marketing
Zimbabwe, the Tobacco Sales Floor and the Zimbabwe Tobacco Auction
Centre. Farmers had complained that they had sold their crop 21 days
previously but had still not received payment despite government
promises.

A few fanners said they had received only Z$5, while
the balance was deposited in their accounts or paid out in cheques.
Historically, Zimbabwe has been the world's second largest exporter of
tobacco. During the 1980s and 1990s the 'golden leaf was the county's
main export product accounting for about half of Zimbabwe's total
foreign exchange earnings. The January 2008 global production figures
from the US Department of Agriculture had shown that Zimbabwe was not
even among the top six tobacco exporters which now comprise Brazil, US,
India, Malawi, Italy and China.

According to the Zimbabwe
Tobacco Association (ZTA), production of tobacco plunged from a record
level of 267m/kg in 2000, when the government the introduced its
ill-fated land reform policies, to 73m/ kg in 2007.

George nga Mtafu rejects budget adamant on section 65

Parliament adjourned prematurely yesterday
after opposition MPs took government unawares by resurrecting Section
65. The opposition demanded that the Executive signs the Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) drafted by the clergy on the country’s political
impasse or else they (the MPs) would torpedo the budget.

Section 65—a constitutional provision that stops MPs from crossing
the floor—may mean a further delay to the adoption of the budget which
has already delayed by over a month.

UDF leader in the House George nga Mtafu said until Section 65 is
put on the agenda together with a report on Special Client Account, the
budget is not going to pass as doing so would allow lawlessness to
continue in the country.

Leader of opposition John Tembo said the opposition’s concern is
that the Ministry of Justice is suffocating justice in the country. But
he said he is willing to sit down and find a political solution.

Drama also filled the afternoon session which saw the opposition
forcing Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe to give only K2 to the Malawi
Broadcasting House—a proposed successor of MBC and TVM.

The opposition-led Parliament also told government to ensure that
the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) should not be partisan by targeting
members of the opposition and failing to act on the Executive and DPP
benches.

Gondwe tried to no avail to bring back the vote for the Ministry of
Justice and Constitutional Affairs, which was rejected on Monday until
government makes a commitment to democracy and the rule of law.

The minister then asked for suspension of the Committee of Supply,
which is only remaining with seven votes to go before passing of the
budget.

Parliament has been adjourned until this afternoon though it is not
known if they two sides will find an amicable solution after President
Bingu wa Mutharika earlier stated he does not recognise the MOU.

Three votes passed in the afternoon: of Mines, Geological Surveys and Ministry of Health.

Police identify a key witness to testify against former president Bakili Muluzi in the alleged murder of Kalonga Stambuli

Police have reportedly identified a key
witness to testify against former president Bakili Muluzi in the
alleged murder of Kalonga Stambuli four years ago, some senior CID
officers have confided in The Nation.

The witness has also confirmed the approach. But officially Police and government authorities have dismissed the claim.

The CID officers disclosed the key witness as Taulai Mtika
Chiputula—a South Africa-based Malawian businessman from Blantyre’s
Chilomoni Township who fled the country while being investigated by the
authorities for an offence.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Mtika and interdicted
chief resident magistrate David Kadwa in 2006 on allegation of
extorting K500,000 and K150,000 as a "thank you" for the acquittal of
another Blantyre businessman where Mtika is alleged to have played a
role.

Mtika, who escaped from Police custody while admitted to Queen
Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, was suspected to have been used
to extort the money from the businessman.

In a telephone interview from South Africa last week, Mtika confirmed he was approached.

"Yes, I have been approached but I am yet to make a decision," said
Mtika, who refused to disclose any agreements or trade-offs he has made
with the authorities. He said he could also not reveal names of people
who approached him because of the nature of the case.

Meanwhile, Muluzi’s lawyer Fahad Assani has told The Nation they
were tipped about the witness search and are getting ready for the case.

"We know all about the witness, the case and the plot to take Muluzi
to court over the killing of Stambuli," claimed Assani in an interview.

He claimed they have recorded evidence to be used in court—of Mtika
confirming being approached by senior Police investigators to testify
against the former president.

Some senior intelligence officers corroborated that Police
prosecutors have identified a key witness to implicate Muluzi in the
murder of Stambuli, who was the former president’s aide and business
partner.

"People have already travelled to South Africa and met Mtika…It’s
just a matter of time and the case will be ready for prosecution," said
a senior Police officer close to the investigations.

But head of Criminal Investigations Department (CID) David Nyongo
said he is not aware of the investigations on Stambuli’s death.

"I believe that it is a lie," he said.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Wezi Kaira could not be
reached for comment yesterday as he was said to be out of the country.

But chief State advocate Rosemary Kanyuka said she does not know of any key witnesses.

"I don’t know anything about such investigations," said Kanyuka.

Stambuli was found dead at his Chirimba mansion in Blantyre. An
autopsy by pathologist Charles Dzamalala found indications that
Stambuli may have died from strangulation.

Muluzi employed Stambuli at the failed Trade and Investment Bank where he was the chief executive officer.

Family and other commentators have been on State media calling for a commission of inquiry into the death of Stambuli.

Muluzi has publicly denied any involvement in the death and accuses
government of trying to persecute him by trumping up charges against
him.

Malawi to begin irrigation farming to boost food: president

BLANTYRE (AFP) — Malawi, until recently a net importer of food, is
to start irrigation farming to help boost food production and end
hunger, President Bingu wa Mutharika said on Tuesday.

The
government will establish a green belt along its giant lake Malawi,
which straddles one third of the country, Mutharika told reporters
before departing for Norway to attend a conference on a green African
revolution.

"Where there is a river, we will try to start
irrigation. We should grow everything so that we have food all the
time," he said in remarks quoted on state radio.

"God gave us water. We have a lot of rivers and lakes. We are going into irrigation farming in a big way."

Despite
the huge fresh-water supply from Lake Malawi, Africa's third-largest,
agricultural experts say only two percent of land is irrigated and most
farming remains on a small scale and dependent on rain.

At the
Norway conference, Mutharika said he would be seeking international
investment to boost Malawi food production in order "to have food not
only for ourselves, but the world.

"We don't eat much rice but we are going to produce a lot of rice to feed the rest of the world."

Mutharika said his poor nation will "no longer beg food, especially maize, from outside."

"For
the past three years, Malawians agreed not to beg maize. We can beg
other things, but not maize," Mutharika said in an apparent reference
to the government's 50-million-dollar (35-million euro) programme of
subsidised fertiliser which enabled peasant farmers to access cheap
fertiliser.

Sixty percent of Malawi's 13 million citizens who
live below the poverty line met their food needs for the first time in
seven years in 2006 with a harvest of 2.2 million tonnes of maize.

Famine
threatened up to five million people in 2005 following drought, and the
Mutharika administration, just one year in office, spent more than 100
million dollars to import more than 400,000 tonnes of food to avert
hunger.

Up to 85 percent of farming in Malawi is done by small-holder farmers who grow mainly maize, the country's staple.

Cracks in UDF, NRP: As UDF plans to field candidates in Lower Shire

by CLEMENT NAMANGALE

The New Republican
Party (NRP) is reportedly bitter with its alliance partner UDF that has
decided to field parliamentary candidates in the Lower Shire, the
perceived stronghold of NRP president Gwanda Chakuamba.

According to NRP sources, the alliance was only for supporting UDF presidential candidate Bakili Muluzi in the 2009 elections.

A close ally to Chakuamba disclosed last
week that the NRP leader is against UDF’s decision to field its
candidates in the Lower Shire where he thinks his party can do well.

This development, according to the
source, might affect the future of the alliance. But Muluzi yesterday
dismissed the assertion.

On his part, in an interview last week,
Chakuamba declined to comment on the issue, saying UDF director of
research Humphrey Mvula is the appointed spokesperson of the alliance.

Mvula, in a written response, confirmed
UDF intends to field parliamentary candidates in the area, arguing both
parties are at liberty to field the best candidates in various
constituencies.

He said the candidates will undergo intra- and inter-party primary elections where necessary.

Said Mvula: "There is a special
committee drawing membership from both parties that was mandated to
deal with the identification of potential Members of Parliament in the
Lower Shire. This committee is currently building consensus on how best
a most popular candidate could be identified from any of the two
parties."

He said the process proposed for the
Lower Shire will apply to other alliance partners in the Central and
Northern regions, depending on where the party in the alliance
considers to be its stronghold.

Mvula said the alliance parties agreed
in principle, subject to special considerations, to accord first
priority and opportunity during the 2009 parliamentary elections to a
party currently holding the constituency in Parliament, irrespective of
whether the MP has defected or not.

He said all parties in the alliance would support one presidential candidate, Muluzi.

But the NRP source said Chakuamba is
disappointed that after his party agreed to support Muluzi, UDF still
wants to give his (Chakuamba’s) party a tough time by fielding
parliamentary candidates in Nsanje and Chikwawa.

"Our feeling was that we have assisted
UDF by supporting Muluzi’s presidency and we thought UDF would do the
same by leaving out the Lower Shire, where we are strong, for our
parliamentary candidates," he said.

The source said the development, if not well resolved, might put the alliance at risk, claiming tension is building up.

But in his remarks on arrival from UK
yesterday, Muluzi dismissed the claim that the alliance is shaky,
arguing the leaders are united.

"My colleagues are also committed," said Muluzi at the end of his speech that covered many other political issues.

A UDF aspirant in the Lower Shire, Audrey Fatchi, told The Nation
last month that Chakuamba was allegedly telling his supporters in the
area to disregard the alliance in the parliamentary race because NRP
has it covered. Fatchi quoted Chakuamba as saying the alliance is only
for the presidential seat.

It is unjustifiable to reject Ministry of Information vote

By The Daily Times - 26 August 2008 - 11:24:29

The rejection of a vote for the Ministry of Information and Civic
Education by members of Parliament (MPs) Monday is unwarranted and
misguided.



The MPs wanted just to get even with Minister of Information Patricia
Kaliati, whom they have failed to admonish for her outspoken approach
to the opposition.



This was an unfortunate thing for the MPs to do as they only disturbed
a somewhat smooth flow of Committee of Supply stage of the budget
sitting.



For starters, this is not the first time that MPs have rejected the vote, for reasons that are more personal than objective.



It is a known fact that Kaliati, outspoken as she is, has crossed paths
with her opposition opponents. During last budget sitting, the
opposition rejected her ministry’s vote purely because they wanted to
punish her and press her to apologise over some mudslinging she was
involved in at a public function.



In our view, the rejection of her ministry’s vote yesterday was a
repeat of the emotional and hateful approach towards her that we all
witnessed during the 2007/08 budget debate.



The minister, for goodness sake, is a mere political head of her
institution, the Ministry of Information. She does not own it like a
farm. The President, in exercise of his powers, can choose to reshuffle
cabinet and shift her to another government portfolio, or fire her from
the cabinet altogether. It, therefore, wouldn’t make sense to reject
the vote for the ministry because that entails victimising innocent
staff at the ministry, whose salaries are factored into the vote, which
the MPs mercilessly rejected yesterday.



Again, linking her ministry to state media houses, MBC and TVM, is
another argument that does not hold water at all. The MPs do not solve
the problem of biased coverage of politics by the two institutions by
rejecting the Ministry of Information’s vote. After all, when the House
last year approved a nominal allocation of K1 each for the two
institutions, which in essence was a rejection of their votes, this
only boomeranged on the MPs themselves as the two institutions went on
to launch hard-hitting programmes namely Makiyolobasi, Mizwanya and
Mpungwepungwe Pandale.



In our view, the solution, like we have always advocated, is for the
MPs, especially the opposition MPs, to use their numerical strength in
the House to change the legal framework under which the two
institutions operate.



The MPs could move a motion in the House to make the media houses truly
independent, by for instance, changing the law that empowers the
President to appoint the boards for the two institutions.



However, our honourable MPs are hypocritical and they let MBC and TVM
operate the way they do so that one day when they get into government,
they could equally abuse the media outlets in the manner in which the
incumbent government is or previous ones were doing.



Why is it that for 10 years, the UDF did not bother to change MBC and
TVM so that they cover all parties in a balanced, fair and impartial
manner? Why did it have to take them to land in the opposition for them
to realise that MBC and TVM cover politics unprofessionally?



Certainly, it could have appeared wise of UDF if they had corrected
things when they were in power than to assume a holier than thou
attitude today.



All in all, we condemn the MPs for rejecting the vote for the Ministry
of Information. It was purely personal. We implore them to look at the
vote soberly and realise that Kaliati is not the Ministry of
Information, and conversely, the ministry is not Kaliati. Let them pass
the ministry’s vote.

Malawi president urges citizens to register for 2009 poll

BLANTYRE (AFP) — Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika, who will seek
re-election in May next year, on Monday called on citizens to register
en masse for the country's fourth multi-party election since 1994,
state radio said.

"Go and register to give yourself power to vote
for a government of your choice," the radio quoted him as telling
supporters who had gathered outside a primary school in the
administrative capital Lilongwe, where he had gone to register himself.

Malawi
last week launched a massive nationwide drive to get up to seven
million citizens onto a fresh voters' register. The exercise will end
on November 29 in the country's 28 districts.

"I would like all
political, civic and Church leaders to encourage their flock to go and
register for people to choose a government of their choice," Mutharika
said.

In the May 19 poll Mutharika, in power since 2004, faces a
strong challenge from his predecessor and mentor Bakili Muluzi, chosen
as the opposition candidate despite being constitutionally barred from
contesting.

Muluzi had served two terms from 1994 when he wrested power from dictator Kamuzu Banda in the country's first democratic poll.

Bank sets aside $200m for Malawi development projects

By: Marcel Chimwala

Published: 22 Aug 08 - 0:00

The
African Development Bank (AfDB) has set aside $200-million to finance
development projects in Malawi from this year until 2010 under its soft
loan lending cycle.

This is more than double the funding allocated to Malawi for a two-year period from the previous $80-million.

AfDB president Donald Kaberuka
says the AfDB decided to increase the allocation for Malawi because it
was impressed by the economic reforms undertaken by President Bingu wa
Mutharika’s government.

“These reform efforts are leading to
major developments in the delivery of social ser- vices and in other
areas that visibly [improve] the lives of people,” he says.

The
Malawi government priority areas under the Malawi Growth and
Development Strategy include agriculture and food security, irrigation
and water development, and transport and communications.
“After
implementing these top priorities for the last four years, we have
achieved remarkable stability in our macroeconomic indicators. “The
average annual growth rate between 2005 and 2007 was above 7% a year.
Inflation dropped from 17,1% in 2004 to about 7,8% in 2007. “Our
foreign exchange rate has been stable and predictable,” says Wa
Mutharika.

The AfDB last month approved a loan and two grants totalling $47,5-million for Malawi’s National Water Development Programme.

Currently,
the AfDB group is involved in nine operations in Malawi worth
$170-million, which are mainly in the economic and social sectors,
including rural infrastructure development.

Meanwhile, the AfDB
has outlined a four-point economic growth agenda for Africa, which is
expected to run from 2008 to 2012, with emphasis on infrastructure
development.

Kaberuka says that, under this medium-term
strategy, the AfDB will direct 50% of its resources towards developing
infrastructure on the continent, while the other key areas will include
governance, aimed at the establishment of regional institutions, the
development of the private sector and regional integration.

“Africa
can only grow [if there is an] emphasis on infrastructure development
and the other three areas. {Infrastructure touches on everything. It is
the key to stable institutions and it is the key to economic growth.”
He
says Africa, which holds 10% of the world’s oil reserves and 8% of its
gas reserves, has failed to develop over the years because it has not
done well in these four areas.

“Our strategy now is to get a
growth agenda in Africa and multiply access to education, health
facilities, information technology, and many other essential needs,”
says Kaberuka.

Malawian firm seeks property-development partners

By: Marcel Chimwala

Published: 22 Aug 08 - 0:00

Malawi’s State-owned Airports Development Limited (ADL), which is
responsible for the management of all major airports in the Southern
African country, is seeking companies to partner it in construction
projects worth about $50-million.

CEO Rodrick Chataika says
that, besides others, ADL plans to build an $18-million hotel and a
shopping complex in the capital, Lilongwe, where the country’s biggest
airport, Kamuzu International Airport, is situaed.

“We would
like to develop a hotel to ease accommodation problems that travellers
often face in Lilongwe. “This structure is expected to have conference
and shopping facilities near the airport.

“Land is already
available to fulfil our plans of building a 100- to 500-room hotel.
“What remains is to identify strategic partners.”

ADL also plans to construct an office complex in Lilongwe at a cost of $23-million.

“On
the office complex, we are scouting for partners to start off the
project. So far 90% of the people [required] to occupy the new
[facility] have expressed their commitment to the project.”

Some
government minis-tries and departments used to operate from the
commer-cial capital, Blantyre, but when President Bingu wa Mutharika’s
government assumed office three years ago, it directed that they move
to Lilongwe.

ADL says it expects to earn over $2,75-million
annually from office rentals from the Lilongwe complex, which will
finance its efforts to better manage the air travel industry and ensure
development of Malawi’s airports to international standards.

ADL
is also developing a new warehousing facility to hire out to tobacco
buying companies during the tobacco selling season. Malawi is among the
leading producers of the crop in the region.

Meanwhile, another
Malawian company, Soche Tours & Travel, is seeking international
partners for a $20-million hotel project at Chikoko Bay, in the
southern tourism district of Mangochi.

“We are looking for any
partners that can help us make this dream become a reality. “Our aim is
to develop the Chikoko Bay area, which is naturally attractive to
tourists, by constructing a state-of-the-art hotel,” says Soche Tours
& Travel MD Harry Mtuwa.

Tourism accounts
for about 4% of Malawi’s gross domestic product (GDP), while
agriculture is the main contributor, with a staggering 39%. A lack of
proper infrastruc-ture to cater for the growth of the tourism industry
is said to be the main reason for the industry’s meagre GDP
contribution.

Against this background, the Malawi government
is offering various incentives to investors wishing to take part in the
development of the tourism industry.

It is partcularly promoting
investment in ecotourism, including the building of eco-lodges in areas
with tourism potential, including wildlife reserves.

K1.4 billion saga: Muluzi wants AG out of case

by OLIVIA KUMWENDA

Former president Bakili Muluzi has applied to
the Supreme Court of Appeal objecting to Attorney-General (AG) Jane
Ansah’s appearance in a case where the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)
wants to vacate a stay order the UDF leader obtained restraining the
bureau from questioning him on K1.4 billion donor money that was
deposited in his account.

According to court documents, Muluzi argues that Ansah is ethically
prohibited from appearing as counsel in the case—scheduled for today—
because she once heard and made a determination on the matter when she
was a High Court judge.

In 2005, the ACB summoned Muluzi to interrogate him on how K1.4
billion from foreign governments was deposited into his personal
account when he was in power. But Muluzi obtained an injunction from
the High Court restraining the bureau from questioning him. Justice
Frank Kapanda granted the injunction.

The ACB later applied to the same court to vacate the injunction.
Ansah, who was at the time a High Court judge, presided over the
matter. According to court documents, Ansah vacated the injunction and
denied Muluzi an application for an order stopping the execution of
notices from ACB summoning the former president.

Muluzi appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal and applied for a
stay on the notices. The upper court, presided over by Justice Atanazio
Tembo, granted an order of stay until determination of the
appeal—overturning Ansah’s decision.

In the interim, Ansah was appointed AG.

Earlier this month, the ACB filed in the Supreme Court for an order
to vacate the one Judge Tembo granted. The hearing of the application
was first set for August 15 and Ansah appeared in the matter as counsel
together with ACB director Alex Nampota.

The matter was, however, adjourned to today.

In his preliminary objections filed on Monday by his lawyers Jai
Banda and David Kanyenda, Muluzi argues among other things that it is
improper for one person—Ansah—to act as both judge and advocate in one
case.

"The [AG] as a judge who determined the matter in the High Court
cannot subsequently represent any of the parties in the appeal before
the [Supreme Court]. Similarly, counsel who appears in the matter
before the High Court cannot subsequently sit upon an appeal before the
[Supreme Court] if he [or she] is appointed as a Supreme Court Judge,"
argues Muluzi.

The preliminary objections are expected to be raised during today’s hearing.

In 2006, the ACB arrested Muluzi and charged him with 42 counts of
corruption, theft by public servant and breach of trust. He was later
released on bail without conditions.

ACB wants to quiz Muluzi on MK1.4billion case

by OLIVIA KUMWENDA

The Nation

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has applied
to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Blantyre to vacate the injunction
former president Bakili Muluzi obtained restraining the bureau from
questioning him on how K1.4 billion from foreign governments was
deposited into his personal account when he was in power.

ACB director Alex Nampota on Sunday said the application will be
heard this Thursday. He could, however, not give details of the
application as he was travelling.

Lawyers from both sides on Friday went to court for the application
but Judge Andrew Nyirenda asked for sometime to peruse the file.

Muluzi’s lawyer Jai Banda, who was at the court with lawyer David
Kanyenda—also representing Muluzi, confirmed the development yesterday
but referred The Nation to Nampota for details.

The development follows reports that the ACB is closing in on Muluzi on the K1.4 billion case.

ACB public relations officer Egrita Ndala told The Nation last month the bureau has been conducting investigations on the matter for some time.

Muluzi in October 2005 obtained an injunction from the High Court in
Blantyre stopping the ACB from interrogating him on how the K1.4
billion went into his private account.

The former Head of State got the injunction after the ACB summoned him on the K1.4 billion.

In July 2006, the ACB arrested Muluzi and charged him with 42 counts
of corruption, theft by public servant and breach of trust.

"We once summoned him but he said he can’t come so we did our
investigations without him and came up with the charges which were
taken to the Director of Public Prosecutions who certified them and the
magistrate issued a warrant of arrest after looking at the charges,"
said former ACB director Gustave Kaliwo in an interview after the
arrest.

Muluzi chose to remain silent and was later released on bail without conditions.

Zambia's president dies in French hospital

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) -- Zambian President Levy
Mwanawasa died Tuesday at a hospital in Paris nearly two months after
suffering a stroke, Zambian and French officials confirmed. He was 59.

Mwanawasa fell ill in late June at an African Union summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Zambian officials said at the time.

Mwanawasa's death "is a great loss for the Zambian people who respected
and had great affection for him," according to a statement from French
President Nicolas Sarkozy.

"It's a great loss for the African
continent as a whole, which appreciated his political courage,"
Sarkozy's statement said. "It's a big loss for democracy, for which he
was an ardent defender his whole life.

"France salutes his memory, full of courage and liberty."

The Zambian leader was taken from a hospital in Egypt to an intensive
care unit in Paris in June, but initial reports that he died days later
turned out to be false.

Mwanawasa would have turned 60 on September 3.

President Bush also issued a statement mourning the loss of Mwanawasa,
described by the U.S. leader as "a champion of democracy in his own
country and throughout Africa."

"As President of Zambia,
President Mwanawasa launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign and
dedicated himself to improving the welfare of all Zambians," according
to the White House statement.

"As Chairman of the Southern
African Development Community, President Mwanawasa worked tirelessly to
uphold the values of good governance, speaking out against human rights
abuses and threats to democracy when many others were silent.

"On behalf of the United States, we extend our sincere condolences to
President Mwanawasa's wife, his family, and all Zambians during this
difficult time."

Lake of Stars International Music Festival 2008 - Malawi, 10th-12th October 2008, Livingstonia Beach, Salima

SADC economic growth report ranks Malawi 2nd in the SADC region

MCDONALD BAMUSI

President Bingu wa Mutharika returned home yesterday afternoon from the
28th summit of SADC heads of state and government that was held in
Johannesburg, South Africa.

The President was met on arrival at Kamuzu International Airport by top
governmental officials that included Minister of Transport and Public
Works Henry Chimunthu Banda, Health Minister Khumbo Kachali and
Information and Civic Education Minister Patricia Kaliati among others.

A multitude of jubilant women and traditional dancers thronged the
airport to welcome the Malawi leader who could not resist greeting them
soon after inspecting a guard of honour mounted by the First Battalion
of the Malawi Rifles.

Media reports from Johannesburg indicate Malawi has been rated among the best economic performer in the SADC region.

“Considerable progress has been made in attaining reasonable levels of
economic growth in the region with economic growth remaining strong
while inflation continuing to go down.

“Most countries have recorded positive growth for five consecutive
years and substantial economic growth is registered in Angola with 19.8
percent, followed by Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania,” reads part of a
report from the summit.

However, the SADC secretariat noted that updates for various countries
in the region show that the level attained in economic growth falls
short of the regional target for 2008 which was set at seven percent.

“The majority of SADC member states have witnessed improvements in
fiscal performance with declining fiscal deficits which are the results
of pursuing fiscal policies and the initiative of the Highly Indebted
Poor Countries, which are benefiting the member states,” says the
report.

Book Feature: I Live Here

I LIVE HERE
(Pantheon Books/October 14, 2008/$29.95) is a visually stunning
paper documentary, in which the lives of refugees and displaced people
become at once personal and universal. It is a raw and intimate journey
to crises in four corners of the world: war in Chechnya, ethnic cleansing
in Burma, globalization in Mexico, and AIDS in Malawi.

The voices we encounter are those of displaced women and children, told in their
own words or by noted writers and artists, including Joe Sacco, Ann-Marie
MacDonald, Phoebe Gloeckner, Chris Abani, and many others. Threaded
throughout these accounts is Mia Kirshner’s intimate travel narrative,
brought vividly to life in collaboration with writer J.B. MacKinnon
and designers Paul Shoebridge and Michael Simons.
This groundbreaking book is but one element of a larger project known as the I Live Here
Foundation, committed to establishing creative writing programs for
marginalized people. Further information is available at i-live-here.com.

It is sad we do not appreciate one another until one is departed, RIP Respicious Dzanjalimodzi

Dzanjalimodzi:Voice of reason gone for good

By The Daily Times - 15 August 2008 - 10:49:43

Parliament is supposed to be a House of honour and substance. But for
the most part, the Malawi Parliament has not lived up to this public
expectation--certainly not in recent times.

However, there are names of parliamentarians such as the Goodall
Gondwes, the Aleke Bandas and the Malewezis of this world who have
given the nation some hope that there are still some truly honourable
people out there that are in Parliament to serve the country. This list
of men of honour in Parliament would not be complete without the
mention of one Respicious Dzanjalimodzi.

When the news broke Thursday morning that Honourable Dzanjalimodzi had
breathed his last in South Africa after a short illness, it came as a
shock that the country had just lost a beacon of hope. It had lost yet
another true patriot who stood head and shoulder amongst those who
understood that there was no greater honour than serving one’s country.

Some of our parliamentarians have never done anything of substance in
their own lives. So, some of the things that they do in Parliament
should not be entirely surprising. But late Dzanjalimodzi came from a
completely different mould of politicians.

Dzanjalimodzi had a distinguished career in government as a technocrat
and administrator, serving in various capacities including Secretary to
the Treasury. He was, therefore, someone who understood the functioning
of government. When he stood to contribute, the House listened.

As secretary to the Treasury, he had served many organisations where he
was an ex-officio board member representing government interests. He
had many times assisted ministers put together the national budget and
also prepare responses to queries from members of Parliament.

So when the current budget session reconvened last week and there was
the conspicuous absence of Respicious Dzanjalimodzi, his constructive
comments and suggestions were greatly missed. Little did his colleagues
know that he would not be returning to the august House.

Many Malawians have greeted the news of his death with disbelief. Once
again, the country has been robbed of an illustrious son who was
destined for great things in the political arena.

As the country struggles to find its feet on the political and economic
front, it was people like Dzanjalimodzi who were providing some form of
comfort that no matter what our different political persuasions might
be, we are first and foremost Malawians.

As we mourn this great son of the land, we need to reflect on what we
want for our country and what legacy we would like to leave behind for
our children.

This soul-searching is not just for parliamentarians but by all who
would like to serve the public whether it be in government, commerce
and indeed in politics itself.

If there is one lesson that Dzanjalimodzi has left behind, it is that
being in opposition does not mean opposing everything and anything and
that it is possible to be down to earth and make meaningful
contributions and not just engage in the tongue lashing, which has
characterised the debates in the House.

We hereby join the family and the nation in mourning this great son of
Malawi. A true patriot is gone when the country needed him most. His
contribution to the nation will always be remembered by his colleagues
and even those who were on the opposite sides.

Results of Mozambique–Malawi fuel pipeline study said to be favourable

Marcel Chimwala

A study into the feasibility of a multi- million-dollar fuel pipeline
from Mozam-bique’s Indian Ocean port of Beira to Malawi’s lower Shire
Valley district of Nsanje – undertaken by Qatari firm Vanessia
Petroleum – has reportedly produced favourable results, and the Malawi
government is optimistic that implementation of the project will start
before the end of the year.

The project will slash the cost of transporting imported liquid fuel from the coast to the landlocked Southern African country.

Malawi
Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe says: “The information we have so far
indicates that the project is feasible. We will soon engage in talks
with the Mozambican government, through whose territory the pipeline is
expected to pass, on how best the project can be carried out.

“We hope the negotiations will be completed soon to allow the project to commence before the end of the year.”

Gondwe
says Vanessia Petroleum has pledged to spend $150-million on laying the
pipeline and building fuel storage facility at Nsanje, which will also
be the port of call for the proposed Shire–Zambezi waterway project.

He says the Qatari firm will manage the pipeline and storage facilities under the build, operate and transfer model.

The
fuel storage facility will enable Malawi – which currently has the
capacity to hold oil stocks to last ten days only – to hold enough oil
to last about 90 days.

Currently, Malawi transports its fuel by
road from the ports of Dar-es-Salaam, in Tanzania, Nacala, in
Mozambique, and Durban, in South Africa, and “the high cost of fuel in
the country” is partly blamed on this relatively expensive mode of
transport.

Tobacco earnings beat USD350 million target

TAONGA SABOLA

It doesn’t get sweeter than this. With about
25 million kilogrammes yet to pass through the auction floors, the
country’s number one foreign exchange earner tobacco has already
fetched $353 million (about K49.42 billion) surpassing the $350 million
(about K49 billion) set by the authorities, the Tobacco Control
Commission (TCC) said on Thursday.

This year’s revenue is 80 percent higher than the K27 billion, the
green gold generated at the close of the tobacco selling season last
year.

TCC general manager Godfrey Chapola told The Nation that improved
prices on the auction floors have been the major driver of the
skyrocketing earnings.

The country has seen probably the best tobacco prices in years,
partly attributed to increased competition on the market coupled with
rising demand for the commodity emanating from a slow down in
production in some of the major tobacco producing nations.

Chapola said as at Thursday, a total of 145 million kgs of the crop
had been sold. Primary crop estimates had indicated that the country
would produce a total of 150.8 million kgs.

As at Thursday average prices for burley hovered between $2.50 and $2.60.

"Final and June estimates peg total tobacco production this year at
169.7 million kg. Previous estimates (March) had indicated a total
output of 150.8 million kg. We think the increase is due to tobacco
that is ordinarily smuggled across the borders but this year that
tobacco has been sold locally because of favourable prices.

"There are unsubstantiated rumours that some tobacco may have been
smuggled into Malawi from neighbouring countries. This, however,
remains a rumour," said Chapola.

In its April 2008 Economic Newsletter, National Bank of Malawi (NBM)
had predicted this year’s tobacco earnings to hit $452.7 million with
sales averaging $3 dollars per kilogramme. But the price of the green
gold lost some salt in following weeks to settle at around $2.50 as
buyers came back to their senses from a first day ‘mistake’ which saw a
kilogramme of tobacco selling above $9 dollars.

Economic commentators say they expect the increased gross tobacco
revenue to strengthen the local currency in the short to medium term.

In its March 2000 economic bulletin financial securities firm
Continental Discount House (CDH) advised monetary authorities to take
advantage of massive smoking dollar inflows to collect anomalies in the
country’s exchange rate regime.

"With the tobacco marketing season in progress it is expected that
the kwacha will exhibit its tendency of being firm against major
trading currencies reflecting the increased holding of foreign currency
reserves in the country," said CDH.

Govt to disband Air Malawi

MOSES MICHAEL-PHIRI

Government has come out of its shell on Air
Malawi and says it plans to disband the airline and establish a new
entity in which Capital Hill will have 51 percent stakes.

In his wrap up statement to Parliament on Tuesday Finance Minister
Goodall Gondwe said Air Malawi has failed the country and a new airline
will be a solution to retain a flag carrier.

Gondwe said since 2004, government has spent considerable sums of money to ascertain the viability of the company.

He said the board of Air Malawi as well as management have tried
their best with various experiments to bring normality into the company
despite short spells of cash flow improvements that have been
advertised as profits.

"But in the end these too have failed and the financial situation is
now threatening the safety of its passengers. In the circumstances, it
seems proper for the government to make a long term decision, on the
matter that will satisfy both demands.

"We feel that a new airline could be re-established in which the
government will retain a 51 percent shareholding and a strategic
investor would be allowed to own 49 percent of the shares. The
Government would thus have a majority on the board of the airline that
would strictly be run on a commercial basis. In pursuing this deal, we
are looking at what other countries have done such as Nigeria, Kenya,
Zambia, Ghana etc," said Gondwe.

He added that for almost 30 years, Air Malawi has failed this
country to deliver services that are reliable and has from time to time
failed even to procure basic operational materials such as fuel without
government’s support.

"Indeed again and again it finds it difficult to even maintain its
membership of IATA and continues to damage the good name of Malawi by
ignoring its advertised time-tables. The comments it attracts
internationally have been unflattering. It is because of these problems
that the UDF Government decided to privatise Air Malawi and searched
for an investor to purchase it. It was however not successful as
prospective buyers found the airline unviable," said Gondwe.

He said now the question of how Air Malawi should be handled has been a difficult one.

"On one hand it has been argued, that the air line should be
maintained under any circumstances as it is our flag bearer around the
continent. That we should not sell the public asset to foreigners and
that we should therefore save and improve it at any cost.

"This is an understandable view and one which is shared by many. It
is an emotional view, but understandable. On the other hand it can be
argued equally legitimately that we must have an airline that provides
the public with an efficient and reliable service throughout the
country and one that is not a burden on the public finances so that it
does not compete with our ability to assure the public the basic needs
of life," he added.

Gondwe’s revelation puts to rest a heated debate that has ensued in
recent past as to whether government should sell the flag carrier or
not.

The debate followed reports that government was negotiating with South African-based ComAir to buy off Air Malawi.

Commentators recently advised government against trading the
company, arguing that it is of great significance to the country as it
Malawi’s sole flag carrier.

Since then, a number of groupings have expressed interest to buy the
airline, among them the company’s managers and two local consortia.

Currently Air Malawi has three aircrafts but operates two aircrafts
the Boeing 707-300 known as the Kwacha and a 32-seater ATR42.

With the Kwacha grounded when a truck hit a pressurised area two
months ago, the airline has been chartering aircrafts from South
Africa’s Inter Air to operate on its flights.

Opposition blocks budget discussion

Opposition MPs yesterday blocked progress of
the Committee of Supply which scrutinises budget allocations by
faulting Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe for failing to bring into the
House revised expenditures for the last financial year.

Gondwe tried in vain to convince the uncompromising MPs that he
would bring the supplementary appropriation later and showed signs of
frustration alongside Justice Minister Henry Phoya—who described this
year’s budget as "going through acrimony and tribulations".

On Tuesday, Parliament voted to go into the Committee of Supply. But
trouble started earlier yesterday when MCP’s stand-in finance
spokesperson Situsi Nkhoma wanted Gondwe to table the supplementary
bill to regularise any over-expenditure that might have been incurred.

"Apart from that, despite the mediation efforts by the clergy, only
the opposition has signed the memorandum of understanding. We want
government to assure us that it will not fool us as it did last year
when they prorogued Parliament. What is their position on Section 65?"
Situsi Nkhoma queried amid loud cheers from the opposition backbenchers.

Leader of UDF in the House George nga Mtafu said: "Where is Section
65 now and what will happen to our security when the Army marches in on
Friday as someone ordered?"

First Deputy Speaker Esther Mcheka-Nkhoma asked leader of the House
Henry Chimunthu Banda to comment on the matter, but he said he could
not find a Standing Order allowing him to debate the issues under the
Committee of Supply.

"Apart from that, the statements were made six days ago, why did
they have to wait until now? Why should security become an issue only
now?" Hit back Chimunthu Banda.

But Mtafu was at his feet: "His Excellency the State President in
Chiradzulu warned that we should pass, not our budget, not a Malawi
budget but his budget by Friday. Technically, even a very, very
unintelligent person will understand that there is no way the budget
can be passed by Friday".

MCP chief whip Betsoni Majoni said the opposition have waited for
days to give chance to government to apologise to which Industry and
Trade Minister Henry Mussa challenged that the President never spoke of
asking the military to march into Parliament.

Mcheka-Nkhoma curtailed debate and moved into Committee of Supply
where Lilongwe Mapuyu South Joseph Njobvuyalema questioned why the
State Residences vote should be discussed when it has not been audited
since 2003.

Gondwe said the State Residences were audited and they were just waiting for the Auditor-General’s signature.

Nkhotakota Central MP Clement Stambuli said the budget documents needed to be changed to reflect that they were only estimates.

Gondwe said since 1964, the supplementary appropriation bill is
presented soon before the actual appropriation bill of that year.

"It also allows us to easily justify any increase in the next year’s
allocations as we explain the over-expenditure in the past year. This
is the convention and practice for years," he said.

But Blantyre South West MP Gerald Mponda said there was no legal basis for Gondwe’s proposal.

Gondwe argued that Section 177 of the Constitution allows him to
bring the supplementary appropriations bill any time in the year but
former Justice Minister Bazuka Mhango said the section gives a specific
timeframe—that it should be before the start of the year.

Mcheka-Nkhoma asked for direction only to be challenged by
government whip Davies Katsonga who asked her to make her decision
based on the precedence set in the House.

As Chimunthu Banda pleaded for peace to be heard, opposition benches
kept interrupting him, forcing the leader of the House to snap: "It has
been very unusual and the issues that were being raised were irrelevant
to the Committee of Supply. We know what is happening, we are not
children."

After a one-and-a-half hours debate, the House adjourned two hours early with nothing discussed except the technicalities.

Opposition should learn to be sincere

By The Daily Times

There is something extremely wrong with our National Assembly that
beats common sense. Only on Tuesday leader of the opposition and elder
statesman John Tembo told the House that he did not want the wrangles
between his side and the government benches to derail the budget. He
said the misunderstandings were a thing of the past and wished
government well in its implementation of the financial blueprint.



Most Malawians breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that. Some of
them could not believe what they had heard since Tembo has been the
choirmaster in the song that wants Section 65 first and budget later.
These skeptics were proved right less than 24 hours later and those who
were gullible enough as to trust the leader of the opposition’s
cleverly delivered sentiments ended up completely in the wrong.



Alas! Come Wednesday, the opposition in the House did not go into the
committee of supply to finalise the budget as most well-wishing
Malawians had hoped for after Tembo wound up the debate on the budget
with a sweet promising and flattering speech on Tuesday. The opposition
were shamelessly back to their old antics demanding Section 65 and
mounting other hurdles in the way like asking government to explain
over-expenditure from last year before the House could plunge into the
committee of supply.



One thing came out clearly from this unpredictable behaviour of the
opposition, either Tembo is a fluent liar, which we would hate to
believe, or he does not command much respect among his ranks.



Yes the opposition is supposed to demand an explanation on
over-expenditure in the votes that it passed last year to keep the
government in check but not while sacrificing the budget. In fact, this
process is supposed to start immediately after the budget is passed and
not wait to be used as a means to reject the next budget.



Simply put, what the opposition has done is hypocrisy. All along the
government side has been portrayed as the devil’s advocate especially
when they refused to sign the memorandum of understanding (MOU),
crafted by the clergy to end the impasse in Parliament. From their most
recent actions it is apparent that the opposition is not sincere and
that could be the reason why the government is cautious not to take
them on their word.



But as we have said before, Malawi is our country as most of us have
nowhere else to live and, therefore, those in leadership, most of whom
have flats abroad and go to hospital in South Africa, should not play
with innocent lives. Our children learn in Malawi schools, not in
London and the majority poor need the subsidised fertiliser to push up
yields, more so with the increase in global food prices. Please pass
the budget.

Interesting OXO advert from one of our readers, this will launch our bizzare section

Malawi hosting Africa's biggest ICT Forum

Malawi will host Africa’s biggest ICT Forum called ‘Annual Connecting Rural Communities Africa Forum’ from the 26-28 August.

Thirty Information and communication ministers, ICT experts, regulators
and operators from Africa, the Middle East and Europe will be attending
to discuss strategies and policies to help connect rural areas in
Africa.

A letter signed by Minister of Information and Civic Education Patricia
Kaliati stated that connecting rural communities is a crucial topic for
development in Africa. Malawi will be introducing radical policies to
improve rural connectivity.

Kaliati, who is also one of the main speakers said that “’together we
can make a positive difference to the development of ICT in Africa.’’

According to the programme, the forum will let delegates find out more
about Africa’s licenses for new services and promote competition and
discover policies to promote universal access in their country.

The forum will help to examine the effect liberalization is having on
ICT development in Africa, it will also help to understand the
potential of 3G for rural communities in Africa and the benefits of
mobile broadband services in Africa.

The conference will also include workshops on 3G and satellite
technologies provided by telecommunication operators like Ericsson.

By IT News Africa staff reporter.

Malawi economic analysts blame legislatures for poor economic freedom report

DESPITE government’s efforts to boost the economic
image of the country to global investors, a US based think tank
Heritage Foundation says economic freedom in Malawi remains poor.



But some local economic analysts, including the report, blame
parliament for the development saying legislatures have failed to pass
economic bills that would have made Malawi more competitive on the
international trade arena.



The foundation report, quoted in the August country report for Malawi
by the London based Economist Intelligence Unit, says the country is
ranked 120 out of 157 countries.



The overall economic freedom score for Malawi is 53.8 percent and is
scored 52.1 percent in the freedom to do business and is ranked poorly.



“However, by far the worst category for the country was freedom from
corruption, which scored a poor 27 percent,” reads the report in part.



But the report scores Malawi highly on fiscal freedom and labour
freedom, far ahead of regional economic power house South Africa, a
pointer Malawi is getting its formula right on labour and fiscal
discipline.



“The country scored well on labour freedom, with the report noting that
the non- salary cost of employing a worker was low,” the report says.



Ahead of Malawi are neighbours: Mozambique at 96, Tanzania at 97 and Zambia is ranked at 99.



“This places Malawi in the category of countries considered to be mostly unfree,” reads part of the intelligence report.



The report however says, although Malawi’s ranking actually improved
from 122nd place last year, its freedom score marginally fell by 0.2
percent points and remains below its neighbours excluding Zimbabwe.





The economic think tank says politics, which has delayed the passing of
the 2008/9 budget has created a climate of uncertainty that would slow
down donor inflows.



“With the difficulty in any case of obtaining parliamentary approval
for new projects, this makes it even more certain that there will be
cut backs in development spending,” says the report in part.



And some local analysts have blamed the situation on political impasse
saying most crucial bills are still gathering dust in parliament.



“The problem is that some of the crucial bills that would have brought
sanity on the market are not yet passed and it is not surprising that
the think tank has noted these things,” said one Blantyre based analyst.



Countries are scored over ten categories including business freedom,
property rights, monetary freedom, and government size and investment
freedom.

Bakili Muluzi accusation of MBC pointless

by DailyTimes

IT is widely said a drunken parent can not counsel
a son on the dangers of alcoholism. The children will wonder why the
parents indulge in the practices if the vices are at all dangerous. It
is therefore advised that parents be exemplary if their children are to
adopt good behaviour.



United Democratic Front (UDF) chairman Bakili Muluzi, also proprietor
of Joy FM radio has been bashing Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC)
and Television Malawi (TVM) for unprofessional conduct.



But one gets a picture of a wayward parent giving counsel to an equally wayward child.



It is common knowledge that MBC and TV M are biased towards the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).



Berson Lijenda, chairman of the media committee of parliament and
former MBC employee, once said that whoever sees nothing wrong with MBC
and TVM is obsessed with untruth.



Even minister Patricia Kaliati, who claims there is nothing wrong with
TVM and MBC, knows she is lying every time she says there is
professionalism at the two public broadcasters.



Many people and organisations have pleaded with the powers that be to
change the style of broadcasting at the two public stations and open up
the airwaves to the opposition as well.



Interestingly, UDF is among those weeping the loudest. On Muluzi’s
direction, UDF legislators have in the past denied MBC and TVM their
budgetary funding.



That, however, has only propelled the broadcasters to intensify their
selling of the ruling DPP’s propaganda, raising fears as to how
parliament would handle them in this year’s budget.



Even surprising is the fact that Muluzi’s Joy FM is following in the
footsteps of MBC. It has since introduced carbon copies of programmes
that Muluzi and his party condemn on MBC.



If Muluzi managed to note the unprofessional conduct at MBC, then he
must have noticed the same at his radio since the programmes are
similar.



And the fact that these programmes continue to run on his radio shows
that he sees nothing wrong in them, which is why his accusation of MBC
is pointless.



Is it not ironic that Muluzi views Mpungwepungwe pa Ndale on MBC as
unprofessional while he has no problems with Chilungamo Chilipati and
Nkhanga Zaona on his Joy radio.



In fact there are many ironies.



One wonders therefore if at all Muluzi’s claim that government is abusing MBC and TVM is sober.



Is he saying that would have treated the institutions any better or
that he will not abuse them again should he be allowed to contest and
win the next year’s election?



If Muluzi really sees something wrong with MBC he should have made his
Joy radio an exemplary station and show the nation and MBC what
professional and ethical broadcasting is.



But if Muluzi thinks he will fool the nation that TVM and MBC are
unprofessional while expecting that his radio will get away with the
same just because he privately owns it, then not all everyone will be
fooled.



Muluzi should know that the fact that he owns Joy radio is not a
guarantee for him to misuse the station the same way. Mutharika and his
cohorts should know too that being in government is not an entitlement
to abusing taxpayer- run broadcasters.



For Muluzi, he must know that media ethics and guidelines the world
over are the same regardless of whether the medium is privately owned
or not.



Already other quarters feel, and justifiably so, that Muluzi must taste
his own medicine without a murmur as he himself abused MBC and TVM
during his reign.



But considering that the UDF chair has had a feel of what it is like to
be given a blackout, only to be covered for the wrong reasons, one
would have thought Muluzi has learnt it the hard way and would change.



No one can believe it that MBC and TVM will become any better at all
should he contest and turn out victorious next year. He abused the
broadcasters during his ten year reign. He is abusing Joy radio.

Malawi plans to register seven million voters for 2009 poll: officials

BLANTYRE (AFP) — Malawi is hoping to enrol seven million people on to its new voters roll when registration for next year's general election opens this month, electoral officials said Thursday.

"We are targeting seven million voters. We will register afresh people for the elections," Fegus Lipenga, spokesperson for the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), told AFP.

The MEC, which will spend 50 million dollars (32 million euro) on the May 19 poll, will kick off a three-and-half-months phased registration exercise on August 18 in selected districts of the poor southern African nation.

Registration will close on November 29 after covering the country's 28 districts.

Lipenga said the registration "will be staggered because we are using very expensive equipment that we purchased. It was not possible to procure equipment for each and every centre."

He said a new voters electoral roll was being launched in a bid to avoid a repeat of a fiasco in 2004 elections, in which the number of registered voters dropped by one million after the high court ordered an inspection of the lists.

That election was the third multiparty poll since the end of dictatorial rule 15 years ago.

The commission has launched a media blitz to attract the largely illiterate population of 13 million Malawians to register.

"We are urging all stakeholders to mobilise people to go in large numbers to register so that they are allowed to vote in 2009," Lipenga said.

Former colonial power Britain has pledged eight million dollars to help fund the elections. Other donors and the United Nations Development Fund will also bankroll the vote.

Incumbent President Bingu wa Mutharika faces a strong challenge from his predecessor Bakili Muluzi.

Muluzi has been chosen as the Malawi's opposition's candidate in the presidential poll although he was constitutionally prohibited from running again after he served two terms from 1994.

He wrested power from dictator Kamuzu Banda in the country's first democratic poll in 1994.

24 die in road accident

Twenty-four people died when a lorry they were traveling in overturned and landed in a ditch in Mzimba on Monday night.



The accident happened at Mapanjira in the district on the Lilongwe-Mzuzu M1 road between 8pm and 9pm, according to the police.



The police said in an interview Tuesday that 22 people died on the spot
but Northern Region Police spokesperson Nora Chimwala said in the
afternoon that two more died at Mzimba District Hospital where they
were referred to.



The police and Mzimba District Hospital officials said 26 people were
injured and four were rushed to the hospital in critical condition.



Mzimba Police officer-in-charge Clifford Bandawe was said to have
traveled to the scene of the accident as we went to bed but his
officers confirmed both the accident and the time it occurred.



“Indeed the accident happened between 8pm and 9pm. The vehicle involved
in the accident was a Fuso Fighter, registration number KU 2413 and
driven by Shadreck Mwale, 19.



“The driver failed to negotiate a corner and the vehicle swerved to the
right hand side of the road where it overturned into and landed in a
drainage leaving 22 people dead,” said an officer at Mzimba Police
Station.



The vehicle, according to the police had 48 people, all members of
Christians of Last Church and they were on their way to Euthini for a
national conference.



According to the police, the vehicle belongs to Be Happy of Kasungu.



Mzimba District Health Officer Mwawi Mwale confirmed that 22 bodies
arrived at the hospital while 26 others came with injuries with four of
them in critical condition.



“We have referred the four critically injured to Mzuzu Central Hospital
while we are treating the others here. The 22 bodies are all here in
our morgue and most them died from head injuries,” he said.



Mwale said most of those being treated sustained various injuries such as scar bones, multiple fractures and cut wounds.



He, however, commended the swift response of the police, hospital
officials, the Mzimba (district) community and the general public on
the spot of the accident, adding their assistance helped to save some
lives.



“The first casualties were in by 9pm and because of the swift response
and combined effort by the police and hospital officials, we were able
to reach there and bring the casualties here on time. The people in
Mzimba as a whole also need to be commended just as the police and our
staff for the response,” said Mwale.



Mapanjira is near Luvwiri, close to Luwawa Forest Turn Off, an area mostly deemed as accident-prone.

Malawi's tobacco earnings jump 88 pct this year

LILONGWE (Reuters) - Malawi expects revenues from tobacco, its main
foreign exchange earner, to rise 88 percent this year to about $348
million from $185 million last year, officials said on Wednesday.

Tobacco accounts for over 70 percent of exports and 15 percent of
its gross domestic product (GDP) in this poverty-stricken southern
African country.

A total of 143,000 metric tonnes of tobacco was auctioned by
end-July pushing tobacco revenues higher, against total volume of
150,000 tonnes exported in the previous year, the Tobacco Control
Commission (TCC) said.

Higher prices on the auction market in the last two years have
encouraged tobacco production, and pushed production from 140,000
tonnes in 2006 to 150,000 tonnes in 2007.

The tobacco regulatory authority projects a steady 150,000 tonnes of output for 2008.

The biggest auction floors saw farmers sell their crop at an
average of $2 per kg after Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika
ordered buyers to offer better prices or leave the country.

For many years tobacco prices had hovered around 70-90 U.S. cents
per kg, far lower than the $1 that it costs to produce one kg of the
golden leaf, farmers say.

The country's auction market will close early next month.

About 2 million of the country's 13 million people depend on tobacco and related industries for their livelihood.

Malawi parliament agrees to end budget impasse

LILONGWE (Reuters) - Malawi's opposition-led parliament has voted to allow government spending and to pass a stalled budget bill, signalling an end to an impasse that has stifled plans to boost the impoverished country's economy. The opposition alliance of United Democratic Front (UDF) and Malawi Congress Party has agreed to debate and approve the $1.6 billion draft 2008/09 budget, which was tabled in June but has been delayed over a political feud.

Parliament aims to pass the bill by the end of next week, the speaker of the national assembly said in an announcement on Tuesday.

The opposition also voted to allow Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe to spend K90.2 billion (US$657 million) over four months until the budget is implemented.

"I am happy now that we can move on smoothly and pass the budget for the sake of our people in this country," Gondwe told Reuters. The 2008/09 budget proposes increasing public service salaries by 20 percent, doubling spending on a fertilizer and seed subsidy programme that has fuelled growth in recent years and introducing tax measures to encourage local cigarette manufacturing.

The budget is also crucial for funding elections next year.

President Bingu wa Mutharika suspended parliament in June until opposition leaders promised to adopt the budget.

The opposition had refused to approve the bill, saying wa Mutharika's Democratic Progressive Party should first lose more than 60 legislators whom they accuse him of poaching when he quit the UDF.

As part of the deal to approve the budget, opposition and the government said they agreed the speaker could at a later date sack MPs who had switched parties, a move that would likely weaken wa Mutharika ahead of next year's elections.

Wa Mutharika, lauded for economic achievements in the last three years, has clashed with the opposition since he quit the UDF, which sponsored his candidature in 2004 elections.

Big Music festival in Malawi

Lilongwe, Malawi (PRWEB)
August 4, 2008 -- Malawi is reaching fever pitch as it prepares for the
biggest musical festival ever to hit Africa's warm heart - the Music
Crossroads InterRegional Festival (IRF). This one-of-a-kind annual
event combines music, people and humanitarian efforts to bring together
the best young talents from Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and
Malawi for southern Africa's greatest music competition.

Lilongwe is covered from head to toe in bright festival posters
heralding the coming IRF which will kick-off on the 7th and 8th of
August with the Malawian National Finals, building up to the pinnacle
event - the Music Crossroads InterRegional Grand Final - on the 9th and
then cooling of with a community festival at Salima (near Lake Malawi)
on the 10th.

This is a big year for Malawi, as not only are they to host the IRF
but as they have been the reigning Music Crossroads champions for two
years running, having won in Maputo (2006) with Konga Vibes and Harare
(2007) with Body Mind and Soul. Hopes are high and they will definitely
be looking to take the title for a third year in a row. Music
Crossroads Malawi national coordinator Mathews Mfune assures that they
have got the goods to take it all the way. The Malawians will certainly
not have it easy though, as for the past year up and coming artists
from Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe have been
furiously training and competing with only two groups being selected
from each country to represent their nation at the prestigious IRF
Grand Final.

What these artists are competing for is, as they say, worth more than
gold. It is a once in a lifetime chance to launch their international
musical careers, the lucky break they have all been working for. The
winner of the IRF Grand Final will receive a Music Crossroads European
Tour of over 10 different countries, professional training and an album
recording, setting them firmly on the road to fame. Body Mind &
Soul last year's laureates have recently returned home from their
whirlwind tour and are set to make a special appearance at the festival
before beginning preparations for their 2009 US Tour.

Renowned bassist and world musician Manou Gallo (Ivory Coast/
Belgium) will also be in Malawi to give tomorrow's stars the insights
they will need to face the challenges and trials of making it
professionally in the international music industry. Other international
guests include Maslow (Ireland) and Oh Hollie Neverdays (Sweden), both
selected through similar programs, they will both perform throughout
the festival.

Madonna Presents Malawi Documentary

The Queen of Pop has returned to her home state of Michigan to present
her documentary about Malawi orphans to the Traverse City film festival.



Madonna, who was born in Bay City in 1958, was met at the screening of
I Am Because We Are by documentary director and fellow Michigan native,
Michael Moore.



The director of Bowling for Columbine co-founded the film festival in 2005.



Madonna told reporters at the release of her documentary that it was "great bringing my movie to a place that I feel familiar".



Madonna was accompanied by her daughter Lourdes, 11, and the documentary's director, Nathan Rissman.



She said the film festival in Traverse City in northern Michigan was
better than the Cannes Film Festival, "where nobody's speaking
English".

Malawi’s adherence to fiscal discipline has resulted into more development activities - African Development Bank President

THE African Development Bank (AfDB) has assured government it would continue to allocate more funds to the country’s development projects.

This was said by the bank’s president Donald Kaberuka during a banquet hosted by State President Bingu wa Mutharika at Sanjika Palace on Wednesday.

Kaberuka commended Malawi’s adherence to fiscal discipline which has resulted into more development activities and pointed out that the bank’s budgetary support allocation for the country is currently awaiting ratification by the AfDB Group.

“We subscribe to Malawi’s development paper (MGDS) which is being implemented for long term purposes. We will be offering secondary resources for countries to boost production,” said Kaberuka.

But he said the challenge would be for government’s to ensure growth in financial, energy and commodity sectors.

He added that the bank is opening 25 offices to decentralise its operations and nine of them would be opened in Southern Africa.

In his remarks President Mutharika said it was pleasing that government has for the past four years implemented the priorities under the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS) which include agriculture and food security, irrigation and water development, transport and communications.

“After implementing these top priorities for the last four years we have achieved remarkable stability in our macroeconomic indicators. The average annual growth rate between 2005/2007 was above 7 percent per annum.

Inflation dropped from 17.1 percent in 2004 to about 7.8 in 2007. Our foreign exchange rate has been stable and predictable,” said Mutharika.

Early last month the AfDB approved a loan and two grants amounting to US$ 47.5 million (around K7 billion) to finance the country’s National Water Development (NWDP).

NWDP is in line with the MGDS and it covers rural and urban areas throughout the entire country with a target of having 80 percent coverage for improved water supply and sanitation by 2015.