Malawi gets World Bank K2.9bn grant
BY DICKSON KASHOTI
08:00:11 - 16 November 2007

The World Bank has given Malawi a grant of K2.9 billion (US$20 million) following the country's successful implementation of macro-economic programmes.

The money would be used for poverty reduction projects.

World Bank Country Manager Timothy Gilbo told the press during a signing ceremony of the grant in Lilongwe Thursday that this was the first in a series of three annual US$120 million poverty reduction support credit (PRSC) agreement with the bank to be provided to Malawi through the International Development Association (IDA).

The bank is expected to give Malawi up to US$360 million in credit in the next four years and Gilbo said although the PRSC is a family of credit, Malawi’s PRSC-1 is a grant.

Gilbo said the PRSC programme would be IDA’s instrument for provision of budget support to Malawi within the Common Approach to Budget Support (CABS) framework.

He added that it would support the government of Malawi’s efforts to undertake the policy and institutional reforms necessary for successful implementation of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS).

“The PRSC series is a central pillar of the bank’s efforts to support implementation of the MGDS... we are very pleased to have approved our first grant within the framework of the CABS,” he said.

Gilbo said this was the first time the World Bank was giving a PRSC to Malawi, adding this would not go through Parliament for approval because it was a grant and not credit.

He said the PRSC programme was expected to bridge a financing gap in MGDS implementation, consolidate policy and institutional reforms in the macroeconomic gains that Malawi has registered over the last three years and contribute to improving aid effectiveness by being part of a harmonised approach to budget support.

It would also impact on agricultural incomes, employment generation in the private sector and public service delivery’s contribution towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Gilbo said Malawi has received the grant because of its significant progress in restoring macro-economic stability, adding Malawi has successfully concluded three reviews of the IMF supported Poverty Reduction Growth Facility (PRGF) and is about to conclude fourth and fifth reviews.

He said due to continuing strong fiscal management, domestic borrowing by the government has declined from 25 percent of GDP to 12.4 percent of the GDP as at end June, 2007, inflation declined to 7.1 percent in September while real GDP growth was 7.9 percent in 2006 and is projected at 7.5 percent in 2007.

Gilbo, however, said reforms to reduce the cost of doing business have been slow, observing that Malawi dropped from 110th in 2006 to 127th in 2007 on the ease of doing business rankings.

Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe thanked World Bank for the grant, which he signed on behalf of the government of Malawi.

Gondwe said the grant would support efforts by government in the functioning of agricultural markets with a focus on establishment of additional auction floors for agricultural products and putting in place a better targeted and more private sector inclusive system of providing fertilisers and seeds to farmers.

He also said it would help in economic governance with a focus on reforms that improve payroll management and external accountability of the government of Malawi.

“The specific reforms to be undertaken have been classified as follows; agriculture and land reforms, private sector development reforms, social protections reforms and public sector and finance management reforms,” he said.

Gondwe said World Bank has been a very consistent development partner for Malawi since 1966 in terms of project, programme, relief and other development support but has, however, been an observer as far as budget support is concerned.
“The decision by the bank to join the CABS group through provision of financial resources is a very welcome one not only because of the financial resources but more so because the bank is an ‘opinion leader’ as far as the donor community is concerned,” he said.

Madonna, Gucci team up for Malawi charity gig

Thu 15 Nov 2007, 16:45 GMT

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NEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters Life!) - Madonna is joining forces with luxury goods maker Gucci to raise funds for orphans in Malawi, from where she has been trying to adopt a child since last year.

The U.S. singer and Gucci will host a fundraising event with dinner, musical performance and a party on Feb. 6 next year to mark the opening of Gucci's largest store in the world, on New York's Fifth Avenue.

Madonna said the event will benefit UNICEF and the charity she co-founded in 2006, Raising Malawi, which focuses on trying to end the poverty and hardship suffered by Malawi's one million orphans, many of whose parents died of AIDS.

"I am grateful that Gucci is joining forces with me to bring attention to a country with millions of children in desperate need of our help," Madonna said in a statement.

"Raising Malawi has already done tremendous work in helping these children. But we have much more to do and this event will surely bring us closer to our goal."

Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie's bid to adopt David Banda from Malawi has hit several stumbling blocks since they took the 13-month-old boy from the African country last year. He had been placed in an orphanage by his father after the death of his mother.

Rights groups have accused Madonna of using her fame and wealth to circumvent the country's adoption rules although the singer has insisted she is following the law.

Malawi's High Court is to hold a hearing next year into whether Madonna and Ritchie are suitable parents and should adopt the child.

The New York event is expected to raise at least $2 million with Madonna joined by a list of celebrity co-chairs in the event including Adrien Brody, Arpad Busson, Salma Hayek and Francois-Henri Pinault, Tea Leoni, Lucy Liu, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Gucci, which is owned by French retailer PPR , has been a UNICEF corporate partner since 2004.

Caryl Stern, president and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, thanked Madonna and Gucci and said AIDS remained one of the most devastating public health problems in recent history.

"Every day, 6,000 children lose a parent to AIDS, and 1,400 children die from AIDS," Stern said in the statement.

Malawi: Government Pushes Green Vehicles

UN Integrated Regional Information Networks

14 November 2007
Posted to the web 14 November 2007

Blantyre

As crude oil prices hit a record high, the Malawi government has launched a project to ensure that all vehicles in the country switch to the cheaper and greener alternative fuel - ethanol - in a few years.

Besides promoting the production of ethanol from sugar molasses, the 5-year US$1 million project, funded by the Malawi government, is investigating the possibility of converting conventional vehicles into dual-fuel vehicles, or flexible-fuel - 'flex-fuel' - vehicles (FFVs), which can run on a combination of fuels.

"The country's decision to use ethanol is in line with procedures aimed at emission reduction as demanded by the [UN Framework on Climate Change]," said Kendron Chisale, Malawi's deputy director of science and technology. "In the end, Malawi will benefit because we will be able to mitigate some of the climate change related natural catastrophes." The department hopes to have some adapted vehicles on the road within a year.

Freeman Kalirani, a researcher at the government-owned Lilongwe Technical College, led a team that modified a Mitsubishi Pajero to run on ethanol or petrol, or a combination of ethanol and petrol in a single tank.

He said the research team would continue comparing the engine performance of ethanol-powered and petrol-driven vehicles. "We will test and check on the long-term effects of ethanol on the fuel system of vehicles. We will also gather data on the performance of a flex vehicle and build capacity for Malawians to maintain ethanol-driven or flex vehicles."

The modified vehicle completed a test drive of over 2,100km at an average speed of 110km/hr on ethanol; consumption at 8km/litre was high because of the speed and age of the car; newer vehicles consume between 10km/litre and 15km/litre.

Import flex-fuel vehicles

According to Presscane Ltd, 1 of the 2 companies producing ethanol, Malawi has been using ethanol-blended fuel since the energy crisis in the early 1970s. Petroleum companies such as BP Malawi, TOTAL Malawi and Chevron Malawi blend 10 percent ethanol with 90 percent petrol.

A switch to ethanol would not only benefit the environment but also create employment opportunities in the country's sugarcane industry, and help Malawi save forex currently being spent on fuel imports

Between 1995 and 2000, Malawi imported around 80 to 90 million litres of petrol each year, with the cost rising from $13 million to $36.1 million over the same period. In the first half of the year, a barrel of bioethanol in Brazil, was half the price of a barrel of oil, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation. The current price of crude oil is about $90 per barrel.

Malawi's department of science and technology, in partnership with the privately owned Ethanol Company of Malawi (ETHCO), is also promoting the importing of Brazilian 'flex-fuel' vehicles that can run on ethanol. Matthews Chikaonda, chief executive officer of Press Corporation Limited, a local conglomerate that owns ETHCO, said the country produced enough molasses, a by-product of making sugar, to produce ethanol.

He said the country would save millions of dollars once all vehicles started using locally produced ethanol instead of imported petroleum. "A switch to ethanol would not only benefit the environment but also create employment opportunities in the country's sugarcane industry, and help Malawi save forex currently being spent on fuel imports."

More research before production

Chikaonda said the only two companies producing ethanol from sugar molasses in Malawi were ETHCO, which produces 7 million litres of ethanol a year at its plant in Dwangwa, a town in central Malawi, and Presscane, another Press Corporation investment, which delivers 10.8 million litres from its plant in southern Malawi.

Each of the factories has a design capacity of 16 million litres a year, but is operating below capacity because of the low availability of molasses. The department of science and technology said there was a possibility that the two factories could produce ethanol at full capacity because there was room for for expansion in existing sugarcane plantations.

ETHCO general manager Daniel Liwimbi said there was need for proper government planning to expand ethanol production capacity to cater for the whole country. "Government should plan to increase production if the whole project is to be a success. With increased production from sugarcane molasses, capacity could reach up to 30 million litres per [cane-growing] season."

Some consumers cautioned that further research was needed and government should tread carefully in its search for alternative cheaper fuels. "It is too early to start celebrating. Let us be honest with ourselves and answer questions such as, 'are we ready to meet the demand once we abandon imported fuels?' An honest answer would be 'no' at this point in time," said Marcel Phiri, a car owner in the commercial capital of Blantyre.

Mayeso Mzunga, who transports goods, said he welcomed the news but also stressed the need for more research. He suggested the concurrent promotion of imported petroleum and locally made ethanol until such time as the country was ready "to fully go ethanol".

Malawi to turn new 43-metre memorial tower into tourism centre

lundi 12 novembre 2007

Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika said Sunday afternoon that his government was planning to turn a natural park area surrounding a newly opened 43-metre memorial clock tower into a recreation and tourism centre in the heart of the capital Lilongwe.

Speaking during the commissioning of the centre and commemoration of Armistice Day to mark the end of the two World Wars, Mutharika said the centre is a true expression of appreciation to those people who gave their lives to bring freedom to Africa and other parts of the world in general.

The president said his government was committed to fully honour the fallen heroes who played significant roles in the history of the country when they, under colonial master Britain, travelled to Kenya, Somaliland, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Burma to fight during the two wars.

\« This memorial centre will honour the fallen heroes of First and Second World Wars, including Malawians, who fought tirelessly and surrendered their lives to bring peace and freedom to us,\ » he said.

The 1.3 billion kwacha (US$24 million) centre will have statutes of the country’s heroes, recreation facilities and military rooms for the annual military parade that is part of Armistice Day.

Military representatives from neighbouring Zambia and Mozambique attended the event in the Malawi capital.

Malawians, then called Nyasas (from Nyasaland, as the country was known then), like their counterparts elsewhere in colonial Africa, were among those who joined hands with their colonial masters to fight in the two great wars of World War 1 from 1914 to 1918 and World War 11 from 1939 to 1945.

© APA News

Malawi firefighters to visit St. Albans

For The Charleston Gazette

The St. Albans Fire Department will host two firefighters from an African nation later this month to help teach them modern emergency-response techniques.

Fire Chief Steve Parsons told the City Council Monday night he met the two individuals — Prescort Sailasi and Nitron Rajabn — while he was in Malawi conducting missionary work. Although he extended invitations for them to visit St. Albans, he was surprised when they were able to accept his offer by arranging a grant from an African cell phone company.

Parsons said that although their department has only six firefighters, it covers a territory roughly the size of Charleston and South Charleston combined with a population of 1.2 million people.

All of that is done with only one fire truck with an eight-section hose and a single nozzle.

Despite the lack of equipment, Parsons helped the fire department battle a chemical plant blaze he described as comparable in size to the Nitro tire fire several years ago.

He expects a great deal of culture shock when his guests arrive.

“It will literally be like a Martian coming to visit,” he said. “They’ve never been out of their state, much less their country.”

Parsons said Sailasi and Rajabn are from the township of Blantyre, which is in southern African nation of Malawi.

Besides instruction, Parsons said he hopes to be able to arrange equipment donations for the men’s department.

He said he can easily find material to be donated, but is having difficulty arranging funding for transporting it to Africa.