Malawi Minister Goodall Gondwe Voted Best African Minister Of The Year

(Malawi) Malawi Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe has
been voted as the Best African Minister of the Year by his colleagues
during a meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board held in
Washington, DC., in the USA recently, APA learnt here Thursday.

Goodall
told journalists in Lilongwe on Thursday that fellow Finance Ministers
from across the world who were meeting recently in Washington to, among
others, discuss and come up with possible solutions to the financial
turmoil currently facing Third World countries, voted him the award.

\"I am very pleased to be voted as the Minister of the
Year. This was very good encouragement for me as an individual as well
as the nation,\" he said.

The veteran economist who has worked for the African
Development Bank and the World Bank before landing the finance
portifolio, won the top accolade for the economic achievements Malawi
has realised during the four years that he has been the country’s
financial guru.

Bingu wa Mutharika endorsed as his party's presidential candidate as political scientists tip he is a favourite to win race

BLANTYRE (AFP) — Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika -- who is
leading a minority government -- has been endorsed as his party's
candidate in next year's presidential elections, a party official said
Wednesday.

"The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has
unanimously resolved to present to the Malawi electorate Dr Bingu wa
Mutharika as the party's candidate for the presidential race of May 19,
2009," Hetherwick Ntaba -- the party's secretary general -- told AFP.

The presidential poll is being held simultaneously with legislative elections.

Ntaba, who was a top aide to late dictator Kamuzu Banda, said Mutharika's nomination was unopposed.

He
said the decision to endorse Mutharika was taken by the party's
national governing council at its weekend meeting. The party is
scheduled to hold a convention later this year.

Mutharika, tipped
by political analysts to win the race, will run against his arch-rival,
former president Bakili Muluzi, and key opposition figure John Tembo of
the Malawi Congress Party.

Mutharika, 76, turned against his
one-time mentor by ditching Muluzi's United Democratic Front to form
his own party soon after the 2004 elections.

Muluzi had ruled
this impoverished southern African nation from 1994 to 2004, after
wrestling power from Banda in the country's first democratic elections.

He
reluctantly handed over power to Mutharika, after failing to change the
constitution to allow him stand for a third consecutive term.

Malawi President committed to improving infrastructure

President Bingu wa Mutharika has warned foreigners
against erecting substandard buildings in the country’s four cities,
saying he would demolish them.



The president said this on friday in Lilongwe during the swearing-in
ceremony of Jaffalie Mussa as minister of the newly created Ministry of
Housing and Urban Development.



Mutharika hopes with the creation of the new ministry, substandard
buildings he blamed on foreigners would be a thing of the past.



“Foreigners will not come here again and tell us what to do. This is
our land; it will not work even if they take [Ralph] Kasambara to
defend them,” said Mutharika.



This is the second time the president has mentioned lawyer Kasambara, in frustration.



Mutharika first referred to the former Attorney General on his arrival
from UN General Assembly when he blamed the prominent lawyer for
dragging the government to court over a presidential directive to ban
the buying and selling of maize.



The president called it “multiparty chaos” saying in the past people
used to build substandard houses attributing it to multiparty democracy.



The president says he would set new standards to avoid what he called illegal developers.



The president said he would only allow a minimum of eight storeys for
buildings in the cities, adding he would love to see buildings that go
as far as 12 or 20 high.



He has since directed that the municipal markets in Blantyre, Zomba,
Lilongwe and Mzuzu should be under the new ministry while the rest
would be under the local government ministry to avoid confusion.



The president said he had decided to create the ministry because
housing was a critical issue because there is a growing need for
housing in the country.



The president advised the Ministry to ensure that low income civil servants and the youth, access affordable houses.



Mutharika bemoaned poor housing for the Malawi Defence Forces and the
police, saying most of their houses were built in the colonial days.

The president also said teachers and nurses in rural areas have a
daunting task to find a house and called on the new minister to find
ways of providing houses to rural areas.



He also said traditional chiefs need affordable good housing.



The president then directed that the Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC)
should be supervised by the new ministry as no one supervises the
corporation at the moment.



He praised the new minister who was in the company of 14 DPP supporters
from his Machinga home for standing firm with the government and the
party despite being dropped from cabinet last year.



Mussa was dropped from cabinet last year but remained loyal to the ruling party.







“When you were dropped as minister, you never issued adverse statement
and never threatened to leave the DPP. This is remarkable,” said
Mutharika.



The president further said he was surprised the opposition was
questioning the rationale behind the creation of the new ministry.



Speaking after the ceremony, Mussa said he was happy that the president
has trust in him and promised to be dedicated in his new role.



He said housing was a thorny issue in the country as the indigenous were failing to own decent houses.

Malawi tobacco earnings jump to near $500 million

By Mabvuto Banda

LILONGWE, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Malawi has earned close to $500 million from tobacco sales so far this year, a huge jump from $185 million in full-year 2007, an industry official said on Friday.

"This year the country has made $457 million from tobacco, more than the projected 88 percent increase from last year's earnings," Godfrey Chapola, general manager for the Tobacco Control Commission told Reuters.

Earnings had initially been projected at about $348 million.

Tobacco, Malawi's main foreign currency earner, accounts for more than 70 percent of its exports and 15 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP).

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

Chapola said tobacco volumes had increased from the final estimate of about 170,000 tonnes to about 188,000 tonnes, pushing up revenues for this year.

Higher prices on Malawi's auction floors in the last two years have encouraged higher tobacco output, raising production from 140,000 tonnes in 2006.

On the biggest auction floors in the capital Lilongwe, which closed sales last week, farmers sold their crop at an average of $2 per kg, after 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 farmers say it costs to produce 1 kg of the golden leaf.

Malawi reopens agriculture schools to foster food security

APA-Lilongwe (Malawi) As part of his war against hunger in the country, Malawi President Bingu was Mutharika on Monday announced that he would reopen several educational institutions that once taught modern agriculture methods but were shut down by his predecessor Bakili Muluzi due to financial constraints between 1994 and 2004.

Mutharika, who has won praise from both local and international observers for his achievement of food security since he took power in 2004, said he would reopen the farm schools to consolidate a strong base for sustainable agriculture as a basis for the country’s development.

Malawi has been producing a bumper harvest of its staple food crop maize in the past three years, mainly by Mutharika\’s subsidising smallholder farmers with fertilisers and seeds.

As a result, some 400,000 metric tonnes of surplus maize was exported to Zimbabwe in 2007, while 10,000 metric tonnes was equally divided as a donation to Lesotho and Swaziland as Malawi\’s humanitarian gesture to the two drought-hit states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), formed in 1980 to economically empower the region.

MALAWI: Green belts to boost food production

LILONGWE, 6 October 2008 (IRIN) - Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika has pledged to embark on a "green belt" programme to enable the country, in the long run, to say goodbye to hunger and international food aid.

"Malawi appeals to the G-8 countries to support us to create a green belt around our lakes and along our rivers to irrigate land up to 20 kilometres from the shores. The Malawi government plans to grow a lot of rice, wheat, maize, millet, cassava, potatoes and beans for the local and international market," he told the United Nations General Assembly recently.

Mutharika, who is also Malawi's minister of agriculture and food security, has been applauded for using a subsidy programme for fertiliser and seed to boost local production. In 2005/06 the full US $50 million price tag was met by the government as donors sat on the sidelines.

"The green belts, if implemented, would help us harvest crops all year round, thereby curbing any food shortages that haunted the country in the past. We have been blessed with abundant water resources, which can be used to make the green belts programme work," Mutharika told reporters in the capital, Lilongwe, last month.

The green belts would stretch from Karonga, a town in the extreme north, near the border with Tanzania, to Nsanje, a town on the Shire River on the southern border with Mozambique.

Up to 90 percent of cultivated crops are rain-fed, but Malawi had numerous irrigation schemes along Lake Malawi and the Shire Valley. Many ground to a halt when the dictatorship of Hastings Kamazu Banda collapsed in 1994, partly because they were linked to his former ruling Malawi Congress Party's paramilitary wing, the Malawi Young Pioneers.

The new green belts initiative is likely to cover some of these irrigation programmes, most of which are either lying idle or underutilised. The government will also assist smallholder farmers establish their own irrigation schemes along Lake Malawi - Africa's second largest lake - to grow rice and maize.

Need for commitment

Billy Banda, executive director of Malawi Watch, a social justice advocacy group, said the green belt idea was long overdue. Because of low output on insufficient land, over a third of farmers cannot produce enough and have to sell their labour for part of the year to buy food on the market.

"There has to be political will to make this dream come into reality. Secondly, all Malawians should support the initiative without necessarily looking for outside intervention, because as a country we have all the resources to implement this ambitious initiative," Banda said.

A report by Christian Aid, an international non-governmental organisation, Fighting Food Shortages, Hungry for Change, cited failure by past governments to invest in small-scale irrigation as one of the reasons some families in Malawi face hunger.

"Climate change may be adding to people's food insecurity: long dry spells in the middle of the growing season are becoming common; floods at the same time of year destroy crops, but the biggest problem is the failure by government to tackle root causes of the farmers' problems," the report noted. For instance, policy continued to focus on maize even though this crop is extremely sensitive to water shortages.

Government has since acknowledged the risk of a major food crisis by considering the purchase of weather derivatives – a financial instrument backed by the World Bank - which means that if the country's rainfall dips below a certain level then it will get a pay-out.

Malawi Vice President breaks silence

Embattled Vice-President Cassim Chilumpha has called for unity among Malawians if the country is to develop.



Chilumpha made the remarks in Blantyre Wednesday when he joined
thousands of Muslims who attended Eid-ul-Fitr prayers, which mark the
end of the month of Ramadan.



The prayers were held at the Chichiri upper stadium.



Chilumpha described unity as the backbone of development in any country.



“We have to unite to achieve the State President’s [Bingu wa Mutharika] vision of developing the country,” said Chilumpha.



Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations this year were held under the theme of “Unity: A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim”.



Chilumpha thanked the Muslim community in the country for braving what he called trying times of fasting and praying.



“Celebrate Eid in peace and remain united,” he advised.



Speaking at the same function, Nikkah and Other Islamic Functions
Association (Noifa) Chairman Aman Kunje said the 30-day fasting period
was hard and difficult but people had to endure if they were to harvest
the best.



“We have managed to contain ourselves, to contain a lot of pain and avoided things God would not want,” said Kunje.



He further said the significance of Eid is the completion of fasting and “as we have come to an end, we are happy”.



“This is brotherhood in Islam according to the Quran. We have to settle
all our differences, and we should reach a point where we can say all
is over and re-unite,” he said.



The prayers, accompanied by other activities like songs and dances apart from prayers, were also conducted across the country.



Chilumpha, a devout Muslim, has been out of the public eye and ear for some time following his house arrest on treason charges.



Government accuses him of allegedly hiring two South Africa-based assassins to kill Mutharika.



His treason case is still ongoing at the High Court in Blantyre.



Apart from his court appearances for the treason case, the other time
he came to the limelight was in April this year when he challenged
opposition UDF national chairman and former president Bakili Muluzi for
the party’s presidential candidate position.



During the elections for the party’s torch bearer in the 2009 presidential race, Chilumpha lost miserably to Muluzi.



Apart from the underground campaign his group conducted with assistance
of jailed former UDF spokesman Sam Mpasu and the party’s Taskforce,
Chilumpha did not sell himself to the voters.



Things became worse for him when organisers of the UDF convention told
delegates that Muluzi funded the indaba and was responsible for their
transport costs and meals.



Even songs by UDF member and Muluzi’s personal assistant Lucius Banda
were all in praise of the former president, thereby giving undue
advantage to Muluzi over his rival.



Meanwhile, Chilumpha is reportedly vying for Nkhotakota South
constituency where he is likely to face UDF favoured and his former
lawyer in the treason case and old time friend Fahad Assani.

Japan hails Bingu

BY JONAH PANKUKU

Japanese Ambassador to Malawi, Motoyoshi Noro, on
Friday hailed President Bingu wa Mutharika for sound leadership, which
he said, had contributed to strong international relations between
Malawi and Japan.



Noro was speaking in Lilongwe on Friday at a certificate awarding
ceremony to Japanese volunteers that completed their work of supporting
Malawians in different fields.



He said Japan was delighted to be associated with Malawi, whose leader
had a vision to uplift the lives of people in the country.



He said Japan would continue rendering its support to the country for it to achieve its developmental goals.



"The state president has proved to be visionary and development
oriented. This is true with the two awards that he has received.



“I've never seen such a great leader in Africa. He is even recognised world wide for his vision to develop Malawi," said Noro.



The ambassador praised the Malawi Government for being the first in
Africa to recognise the important role that the Japanese volunteers
were doing.



He revealed that Malawi was the largest recipient of Japanese volunteers in the world.



Noro attributed this to peace and tranquillity existing in the country,
saying they would not be free to render their help to a war torn
country.



"Though politicians quarrel, they don't shoot one another. It's only
verbal wars and I can say there is political stability in the country,"
he said.



In his remarks, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Henri Mumba said the
presentation of the certificates symbolised deep gratitude and
appreciation to the government and people of Japan for the partnership
that existed between the two countries.



"Through these dedicated individuals, there has been effective transfer
of technology, lasting friendships between the volunteers and people of
Malawi and strong cultural and traditional bonds have been formed,"
said Mumba.



He thanked Japan for its continued support to Malawi in areas such as
social-economic development sectors of health, education, agriculture,
balance of payment and infrastructure.



One of the volunteers said she hoped Malawians would benefit a lot from knowledge they had imparted on them.



Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) sends volunteers in
developing countries to accord opportunities to qualified young
Japanese nationals to share their technical expertise.



In Malawi, the programme began in July 1971 following the signing of a Technical Cooperation Agreement between Japan and Malawi.

Muluzi’s treason fate on Sept 29

By THERESA KASAWALA - 23 September 2008 - 15:28:54

The High Court in Blantyre will on September 29 decide whether or not
former president and opposition UDF national chairman Bakili Muluzi
should be released unconditionally or his conditions varied following
state’s failure to charge him on treason allegations, three months
after his arrest.



Muluzi made an application through his lawyers Fahad Assani and Jai
Banda, asking the court to release him unconditionally or vary bail
conditions under Section 118 (3) of the criminal procedure and evidence
code.



The applicant was arrested on May 25 after landing at Kamuzu
International Airport from the UK on allegations of plotting to
overthrow the government.



Assani told the court sitting in Justice Anaclet Chipeta’s chamber that
the police have failed to charge their client despite being asked to do
so.



He observed that over three months have lapsed and no formal charges had been made against the applicant.



“After 48 hours, the applicant was not taken to court where he could
have been charged or informed of the reasons for his arrest,” he said.



“We need unconditional release of our client because Section 42(2)(b)
of the Constitution stipulates that every person arrested for, or
accused of, has the right to be brought before an independent and
impartial court of law and to be charged or be informed of the reason
for his further detention not later that 48 hours, failing which he or
she shall be released,” says part of the section quoted by the defense
counsel.



Assani said the section refers not only to the arrested persons but also the accused.



“The accused person, the situation the applicant is in, is required by
the Constitution ‘to be brought before an independent and impartial
court of law and to be charged.’ This has not been done and the
Constitution has prescribed the outcome of such position, failing which
he or she shall be released,” the defense argued.



On variation of bail conditions, the defence said as an alternative in
an event that the court wants to keep the applicant under the bondage
of bail, though not charged with any offence, they were asking for the
variation of bail conditions.



“Section 118(3) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code stipulates
that the High Court may, either of its own motion or upon application,
direct that any person be released on bail or that the amount of, or
any condition attached to, any bail required by a subordinate court or
police officer be reduced or varied,” Assani explained.



He said in the absence of any charge the conduct of the state to arrest
him restricts his liberty through a bail bond, adding that was
tantamount to denying the applicant his right to freedom and security
of person.



The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Wezi Kayira told the court
the state was not yet ready to charge Muluzi because the issue was
still under investigations.



Muluzi’s bail conditions include that he informs police when going
outside Blantyre and the High Court if traveling outside the country
and reporting to police once every month, conditions the defence wants
to be varied and scrapped all together.



In a related development, the same court Monday also reserved its
ruling to October 2 on the application by the state, asking the court
to order that the case of two retired Malawi Defense Force (MDF)
brigadiers Cosgrove Mituka and Juvenalis Mtende be referred to the
Industrial Relations Court (IRC).



The state wants the court to order that the case should not go under
judicial review but be referred to the IRC, arguing that the issue was
to do with employment.



A lawyer representing the brigadiers, Ralph Kasambara argued in court
that the case could not be referred to the IRC because MDF and the
police were not covered in the public law.



He argued that Labour Relations Act does not cover issues to do with
MDF and police hence the need for the case to go under judicial review.




A lawyer from the Attorney General’s chamber Mphatso Kachule told the
court that issues to do with employment could be heard in the IRC.



“There is no specific phrase in the Labour Relations Act that
stipulates that labour issues to do with MDF cannot be heard in the
Industrial Relations Court,” said Kachule in Justice Healey Potani’s
chamber.



He argued that the case could be referred to the IRC because MDF was not a separate branch of government.



“The affected officers also did not sign any form as required for the
Army commander’s assessment and recommendations after noting that their
contracts had expired,” Kachule said, adding that the commander could
not make an assessment in the absence of signing the form.



The state also asked the court to lift the injunctions obtained by the
defence restraining government and MDF from firing the two brigadiers.



Kasambara made an application asking the court to imprison Army
Commander General Mark Chiziko and two principal secretaries for
failure to comply with a court order to re-instate the brigadiers until
the matter was heard.



The two army officers wanted the three arrested on grounds that they
did not formally respond to the injunction that was served on MDF
except for a telephone call officials from MDF made enquiring on the
matter.



The court ordered that the brigadiers should be re-instated until the
matter was heard, but reports indicate that the two have not yet been
re-called for duties.



Mtende and Mituka were fired following treason allegations that were
leveled against them and Muluzi as an alleged beneficiary of the coup
plot.



It was alleged that government terminated their contracts because they did not express interest to have them renewed.



But the two claimed that they applied through Chiziko’s office to have their contracts renewed.

Bakili Muluzi should quit now to avoid embarrassment

It will be a day of celebration for some and a day for sorrow for others. May 15th will be the day Bakili Muluzi will be put in his rightful place, away from tax payer's and donor money and away from the most powerful seat in the country. Oh what a great day it will be, when the Malawian people once and for all stand up against the foolery of Muluzi and company.We shall celebrate with pomp and ceremony. I get great strength from the words of Barack Obama when he says, YES,WE CAN and Malawians YES WE WILL. Next year parliament will be singing a new tune. We shall be able to move away from the petty politics that have characterized parliament for four years now. Most of all, we will move away from turning our beloved country into Bakili Muluzi's play ground. We shall bring back values we have lost over the years like believing in working hard honestly to be rewarded.

Freedom Day will indeed bare a stronger meaning after we are done away with Bakili Muluzi next year. We will know on that day that neither Malawi nor the presidency belongs to a single individual.We shall celebrate a government of the people by the people and for the people. Hopefully it will also mark the beginning of a prosperous future for our children and grand children. Already Malawi for the past 4 years has performed remarkably by all measures with a new philosophy of managing courtesy of the current administration. I certainly hope this is the calibre of the next generation of politicians we are seeing today, people like Goodall Gondwe. They should be commended for the job they are doing. The President too should be commended for allowing Goodall Gondwe to carry out his duties without any interference as it was in the Muluzi administration.

All I can do now is encourage my whole village to go to the polls on May 14th to be part of history when we will tell Mr Muluzi once and for all in a single tick that Malawi needs serious leadership and can actually survive without him, something he obviously still has not come to terms with.

After all is said and done, Muluzi should ask himself this question as we near the elections, is it worth it? For all the false hopes given to his supporters, for all the travelling (whistle stops?), all the fees for the battalion of lawyers he has hired to get into office through the back door and for all the time and resources wasted on rallies. Is it really worth it? I figured I should poise this question now so he starts thinking about it before he faces reality on May 14th. I am no psychologist but I understand it is a good coping mechanism to prepare one self for the worst case scenario.

Next year will surely be an eventful year. I am also keen to witness the loyalty from Muluzi's new found friends in Mr Chakuamba, Mr Kasambara and gang.

I have renewed faith in the Malawian people and know Freedom, justice and prosperity will carry the day on May 14th. This is a new Malawi and definitely a new and consious generation. No amount of foolery will fool Malawians. Not this time.

Emmanuel K
Lilongwe

Loopholes in UDF, NRP alliance

The Nation

New Republican Party (NRP) president Gwanda Chakuamba has fielded candidates in some constituencies in Blantyre before his party and its alliance partner United democratic Front (UDF) have reached an agreement on fielding of candidates.

Chakuamba’s move has also shocked UDF national chairman and presidential candidate who said on Wednesday that his party will have to discuss with NRP to get a solution.

"As a party, we shall be looking into those issues," said Muluzi in an interview, sounding surprised at the development.

The NRP president confirmed that he has candidates who are aspiring to be members of Parliament in some constituents in Blantyre. He said he cannot stop them because they are only exercising their rights.

"Some people are aspiring to be candidates. They have aspirations. I cannot stop them. It is their right," Chakuamba said from his Shire Valley home.

UDF director of research Humphrey Mvula said that UDF was aware that Chakuamba has fielded candidates in Blantyre Central and Ndirande Malabada constituencies.

But he said the agreement between the two parties is that each has the priority to field a candidate where it won a seat in the 2004 elections.

Said Mvula: "Where both parties claim to have strong players, we shall both agree to disagree to field our own candidates."

The NRP president, according to our findings, wants to field candidates in the entire Shire Valley but UDF says it also wants to have candidates in constituencies where it had MPs.

One member of the party said UDF is not comfortable with NRP fielding candidates in the Lower Shire because there are fears that some constituencies will be lost.

"UDF feels NRP will lose some seats if left alone to field its own candidates. UDF is assured of victory in constituencies which it has won before," he said.

Chakuamba has been holding meetings in different parts of Chikwawa and Nsanje telling his supporters that the two parties have agreed to regard UDF national chairman Bakili Muluzi as presidential candidate but to field parliamentary candidates from NRP.

Mvula said in July that the two parties were yet to agree on a final modality to be followed in fielding parliamentary candidates. The first part of the agreement between UDF and NRP was to field one presidential candidate who is Muluzi.

He was quoted: "There are constituencies won by UDF in 2004. Those are still largely UDF constituencies. There are also Republican Party constituencies transformed to NRP. We shall deal with the matter at an appropriate time after researching on the ground pertaining to who has performed better and who is likely to win the contest next year."

"That is also when we shall decide to either hold primaries in all constituencies or let sitting MPs through unopposed. If one party turns out to be more popular than the other in a constituency, we shall let it carry the day and we will all respect that. Again if one party fails to field a candidate at all, then the other has to rise to the occasion," said Mvula.

Technorati Tags: UDF, NRR, general elections

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.