Malawi gears up for e-governance

Manager for Government Wide Area Network (GWAN) Patrick Machika told the country’s national news agency, Malawi News Agency (Mana) that government in collaboration with the World Bank embarked on the project which will take five years at a cost US$3.2 million. He said computer operators would be communicating through e-mail, conducting research through the internet and making conversation through the integrated computer network and video conferencing instead of the telephone. “With video conferencing, ICT users will be able to see who they are talking to,” said Machika. He said that the services to be provided by GWAN would minimize government expenditure in paying individual Internet Service Providers and monitoring the transmission of viruses between computers linked to the network. “Government would cut costs on telephone bills, internet subscription and provide security measures against computer viruses by using anti virus software. All computers will have one entry and one exit,” said Machika. He said over 500 civil servants have already been trained in ICT with assistance from the Taiwanese Government which has also donated 400 computers to be distributed to various ministries. He however parried fears that the new innovation will see mass retrenchments in government ministries. He said some of the functions will continue to be handled manually. Blantyre (AND) He said the project aims at connecting all computer systems in the civil service onto the superhighway to enable officers to communicate swiftly when processing data and share official documents through voice and video.

Blantyre (AND) Malawi’s Leader of Opposition in Parliament John Tembo, who is also the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president, took a swipe at President Bingu wa Mutharika for contributing to the collapse of the mediation talks meant to bring harmony between government and opposition parties.

Wrangle between government and opposition parties has heightened mostly owing to a zero tolerance to corruption policy of Mutharika

Speaking during a press conference at his residence in Lilongwe, Tembo said the Global Leadership Foundation (GLF), a grouping of former African presidents last October invited him, former president Bakili Muluzi and Mutharika. However Mutharika did not turn up for the reconciliation talks. “Upon arrival in South Africa, it was noted that the government delegation did not arrive. The UDF, on the other hand, had sent a three man delegation headed by Bakili Muluzi,” said Tembo. The wrangle between government and opposition parties has heightened mostly owing to a zero tolerance to corruption policy of Mutharika which has seen Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) nabbing high profile opposition figures. However Tembo feels the fight against corruption although commendable was selective. He also took a swipe at government for its delay in calling for the sitting of Parliament. He wondered how Parliament can stay for six months without meeting. “To stay seven months without Parliament sitting is a luxury. It is better not to meet at all, be a dictatorship,” he said. But a government spokesperson says Tembo is entitled to his opinion and challenged that if he knows that government was selective in its fight against corruption and that it is shielding other perpetrators of the same, he is free to name them. Fireworks are expected when Parliament meets on April 4. However President Mutharika boasted that this time around, government will not be cornered by the opposition because it has amassed a large number of MPs than MCP and UDF combined.

Malawi moves to boost milk, beef production

by Edwin Nyirongo, 22 March 2006 - 05:38:22

Malawi has embarked on an ambitious plan to start manufacturing its own Urea Mineral Licking Block (UMLB), a supplement for feeding cattle to increase production of meat and milk. UMLB contains proteins, minerals and carbohydrates, among other things, which are important for cattle growth. Government, through the Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology, has started training business people interested in producing the feed for sale to cattle farmers. So far three people—one from each of the country’s three regions: North, Central and South—have completed a five-day intensive training at Lunyangwa Agricultural Research Station in Mzuzu. Industry, Science and Technology Minister Khumbo Chirwa, speaking when he closed the training session on Friday, said UMLB will increase milk production by about 10 percent. He said this will in turn create wealth among farmers. “Minerals which are present in the block are used for bone formation, maintenance of acid-base equilibrium and as part of enzyme systems for carrying out numerous biochemical functions in the body. “The advantage for animals taking the Urea Mineral Licking Block is that it ensures early conception and decreases inter-calving intervals. It also improves milk [production] by 6-10 percent,” he said. The minister said he was aware that the UMLB, currently found at the Taifa Market in Mzuzu, are imported from Tanzania and wondered why the country imports such a simple-to-make product when most of the ingredients are available locally. He urged the graduates to make use of the training and also market their products to farmers. One of the graduates, Isaac Kazanga, said the training will not only benefit them but also farmers who will experience high yields due to the advanced UMLB they will be producing. “The technology will increase milk production and consumption, create jobs, reduce drainage of foreign exchange. There will also be general improvement in the health of livestock,” he said. Other graduates are Dorothy Mhango from Mzuzu and Kamoza Sam Tembo from Blantyre. The graduates were drilled in the role of livestock in Malawi, basic animal nutrition, factors affecting livestock production, Urea Mineral Block ingredients, Urea Mineral Block quality standards issues and manufacturing.

Malawi Government impresses IMF

by Zainah Liwanda, 22 March 2006 - 05:30:43

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission that was in the country to initiate the second review under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) programme said Tuesday Malawi has met all set targets. Briefing journalists in Lilongwe, the mission’s head Calvin McDonald said the team would present the findings to the IMF executive board for discussion. “Our assessment is that Malawi has met all the quantitative targets through end December 2005 that were set under the PRGF arrangement and they have met the structural targets, although with some delay, that were also set for end December 2005. “We will present the findings of our review to the executive board of the IMF. The second review will be completed when the executive board has a chance to discuss the findings of the mission sometime,” said McDonald. He said the board is expected to discuss the findings in June, saying after the completion of the discussions it is expected that Malawi would receive another disbursement under the PRGF programme. Earlier, IMF Representative in Malawi Thomas Baunsgaard said the mission reviewed, among others, the outlook for the fiscal and monetary policies for the remainder of the 2005/06. Baunsgaard explained that the mission commended government for scaling up food security operations to meet the increasing humanitarian needs especially at the time when logistical constraints have pushed up costs. He said this will put pressure on the budget and foreign reserves, but said sufficient flexibility in exchange rate policy with additional donor support is needed to reduce the adverse economic impact. “Besides food security operations, close adherence to the budget approved by Parliament is essential to sustain the recent improvement in fiscal policies and prudent monetary exchange rate policies are required to respond to external shocks,” said Baunsgaard. According to Baunsgaard, preliminary indications show that this year’s harvest would be much improved, which he said would have a positive impact on economic prospects. “The authorities should take advantage of this encouraging development to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms, including in public financial management,” he added. The representative said progress has been done in implementing structural reforms, although at a lower pace than anticipated, adding most of them were met with a delay. He said continued improvements in the payroll management and pension reforms will be critical in ensuring fiscal sustainability. Baunsgaard said following the completion by the IMF executive board’s first review in February, a total of $14 million has been disbursed to Malawi under the PRGF programme. Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Finance Radson Mwadiwa explained that the delay in meeting some structural targets was due to administrative problems with the IT department but that was solved. Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) chief executive Chancellor Kaferapanjira said the development was good news and that there were high hopes Malawi would qualify for debt relief.

Kaka Cassim Chilumpha fighting to work for enemy
by Mzati Nkolokosa, 15 March 2006 - 05:36:55

The mood at Mudi House is that of war time. The tenant, Cassim Chilumpha, is fighting for the position of Vice-President.Everything has changed. The gate that once had four Police Mobile Service (PMS) armed men now has one private guard. The grounds that were once clean are littered with leaves. Government withdrew its staff from the House after President Bingu wa Mutharika accepted Chilumpha’s “constructive resignation”. There is a skeleton of staff. One young man sits at the reception to welcome visitors—journalists last in case of last Wednesday. Mutharika’s portrait hangs on the wall. Chilumpha had to open the door into the press conference’s room for himself. Yet he had the courage to smile—a temporary smile perhaps, just for the camera.“Good afternoon gentlemen,” he greeted the journalists and shook hands with everybody saying “It is our culture to greet each other”. He had a political way of presenting his battle. “I am fighting for rule of law,” he said. “It’s not something to do with a person. Let’s protect our Constitution irrespective of who is in problems.” It was all war language or it says ‘let us’ ‘we’ and ‘they’ or ‘them’. It’s a call for Malawians to fight on Chilumpha’s side. He spoke like any person in dire straits. “Malawi has got one of the best judiciaries in the world,” he said.He had a choice for words influenced by both the Bible and the Qur’an. He had a tongue of Matigari, that Ngugi wa Thiongo hero in search of truth and justice in post colonial Kenya. But there is a difference between the two. Matigari was motivated by the plight of poor people. Chilumpha is fighting for his position but the battle is portrayed as for rule of law. “We want to ensure that court orders are obeyed,” said Chilumpha. “The issue now is whether [or not] Malawi will be governed by rule of law.”Every Malawian, he said, must begin to worry when a person—meaning Mutharika—who swore to defend the Constitution chooses not to obey the courts. Of course. But it’s difficult to believe Chilumpha is fighting for truth and justice and not necessarily his position. He has been fighting in the past five years and he likes to fight from within his group. That is how he works and there was no need for Malawians to be surprised when Chilumpha criticised his own government. (A better word should be condemned because criticism is constructive evaluation.) He was a co-founder and one of initial financiers of Forum for the Defence of the Constitution (FDC) in October, 2002. The Forum became a strong part of the fight against Bakili Muluzi’s wish to extend presidential terms. Some UDF members who co-founded FDC were disgraced from the party. An example is Jan Sonke. Chilumpha was not touched. Now that the FDC is being formed—again—to fight the constructive resignation of Chilumpha, among other aims, it becomes practical to connect the Forum to the estranged Vice-President whose life is difficult to understand. It’s even sensible to conclude that by fighting third term through FDC, Chilumpha was fighting for the presidency, which is a healthy appetite.Of course, it’s impossible to understand a human being but Chilumpha is a man who keeps his life to himself. His former workmates at Polytechnic, where he rose to the position of associate professor, says so. He was born in an Anglican Church family on November 29, 1958, was named Bright and grew up at Chiutula village, T/A Malengachanzi, about eight kilometres from Nkhotakota Boma.As a boy Bright read his primers at Chisoti and Nkhotakota LEA schools, went to Nkhata Bay Secondary School, and in late 1970s Chancellor College’s school of law from where he went straight into civil service. He went to college a Christian and left a Muslim, with a new name, Cassim. “I really don’t know how he became a Muslim,” says one of his college mates. “But it’s not strange. I was a Seventh Day Adventist when I went to college, now I am a Presbyterian.”After one year in the civil service, Chilumpha won a scholarship to study for master’s and PhD degrees in law at Hull University in the UK. He came back and joined Polytechnic’s Faculty of Commerce and went into parliamentary politics in 1994. He held the ministries of Defence, Education, Justice and Attorney-General in the Bakili Muluzi administration. He was minister when the K187 million scandal happened. Once he went out of the country for a few months, came back and one morning resigned from UDF only to be back in the party in the afternoon and refute the resignation reports.He became Water Minister in the Mutharika administration until he was fired from the Cabinet and started to speak against his government. That was the first public surprise because even if his boss was wrong, Chilumpha could have sorted out issues in camera. In any case a Vice-President is ideally the closest to the President. Chilumpha didn’t use that opportunity. There is an agreement that politically, Chilumpha does not deserve the Vice-Presidency. He may remain so legally. After all law protects the weak.But politically he will remain outside the Mutharika administration. Last week he called cabinet a “bunch of 20 people without Constitutional mandate”. How is he going to work with this bunch if he remains Vice-President?The danger, though, is that being Vice President, Chilumpha constitutionally becomes President in case Mutharika is incapacitated or—pardon nature—dead.In that case Chilumpha, as President, may—and only may—revive UDF and bring back Muluzi, the national chair, on TVM and MBC. The UDF will be in power again. Young Democrats shall terrorise innocent people again. “Chilumpha is playing with our psyche,” says one social scientist. “But that does not mean I agree with some of the things government is doing to him.”This looks like Chilumpha’s last battle. Either he will lose and go into political cocoon. Or he will win, remain Vice President, absent himself from cabinet meetings yet live on tax of poor people he is inviting to fight on his side.