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.