PREVIEW
Malawi faces another crisis exactly the same time it faced the devastating floods last year. Unlike last year when there were rains that caused the floods in some parts of the country, the situation is different this year, there are simply no enough rains. Some districts have to face another shortage of food due to the dry spell. At present there is no food in some households.
The staple grain maize has become so scarce that even ADMARC markets in some instances do not have it in stock. Because the demand is so high private traders have taken advantage of the scenario to sell it at exorbitant prices. A look up into some social media forums show that some areas are selling a 50 kilogramme bag at K13,500.00 and in some it is at K15,000.00. In this scenario it means only those with good incomes will be able to provide for their families.
There is a shortage of maize in Malawi looking at the rate at which maize flour from neighbouring Zambia is being imported and smuggled from Chitapa. Hospitals have also not been spared from the shortage as reports show that the some have minimised the meals they give out to patients in a day. All this is evidence that the food shortage is being felt in almost all sectors of the society.
However some observers are still of the view that each passing day of no maize in the home should ring a bell to Malawians that Nsima is not the only food. Calls for food diversification have been going on for some time but it still remains an uphill task for a nation that feels Nsima is the way to go.
Others have also gone a step further in making sure that people change their eating pattern by changing the number of meals per day. It is only sensible for a household that has little food to use it sparingly by cutting off the number of meals per. Instead of three times day people can go for a meal a day or twice a day.
Coming from year of a food shortage in 2015, this year 2016 also promises to be another year of less food in people’s homes. Already there are fears that the dry spell will also be heavily felt in next year and this will translate into another year of less harvest and a food shortage.
These trends in the food shortage pattern and the people’s eating habits surely need concerted efforts from all stakeholders if this advocacy is to bear fruits.
POLITICS
With a staggering economy some observers have expressed concerns over the purchase of a motorhome for the president costing K150 million. Much as it is a requirement, but then the timing is bad considering the fact that the country is already struggling financially. With reports of most of the public hospitals failing to feed the sick, purchasing a motorhome feels extravagant and it sounds like the deeds of a not so caring parent. Even though the State House press office defended this, people may easily conclude that the government has its priorities upside down.
People’s Party PP leadership crisis continues to haunt the party that was shamelessly voted out of power in the 2014 tripartite elections after two years in power. With its leader Dr Joyce Banda out of the country since she left power, the PP has been going on without its president raising fears of the strength of the ship whose captain is nowhere to be seen. Press reports show a number of people defecting from the party. The latest defections being that of Moses Kunkuyu one of the very first members of the party.
Meanwhile some members of the party have asked the party to call for an early convention as this is the only place where the party can solve leadership problems. In recent weeks party members have been on each other’s necks over who is going to lead the party. Christopher Mzomera Ngwira in the past unilaterally endorsed Khumbo Kachale as the party’s leader much to the disagreement of some executive members who feel Uladi Mussa should be at the helm of the party. It is therefore only at a convention where members will exercise their right to choose their leaders.
Rosemery Chibambo Malawi’s first female cabinet minister passed on in January at 84. Chibambo who served under the first president of Malawi Dr Hestings Kamuzu Banda, died after a short illness in Blantyre. She was buried in Mzuzu at a Heroes Acre. As the first female cabinet minister she will be remembered for the role she played in inspiring other women’s participation in politics and decision making positions. The Malawi government honoured Chibambo by putting her portrait on a K200 note.
The late female politician’s funeral attracted some speeches that cannot just go without any comments. For a start the outspoken General secretary of the Livingstonia Synod of the Church of Central African Presybeterian CCAP Reverand Levi Nyondo, did not mince words when they told government to take care of the resting place of the late Chibambo. Coming from a background of an ignored grave of the Late Alliance For Democracy AFORD Dr Chakufwa Chihana where it is bushy and has turned into a grazing land foranimals, Reverend Nyondo wants government to take care of Chibambo’s grave.
More issues came also from the opposition Malawi Congress Party president Reverend Dr Lazarus Chakwera. In his eulogy Chakwera took advance to apologise to the nation for the atrocities and suffering that some ma y have suffered in the hands of the MCP during the one party era. Late Chibambo has been on the receiving end the many problems caused by the MCP. She has been in exile for some time as she and husband were fleeing the wrath of the then ruling government. It is against this background that the MCP leaders took a chance to ask people to forgive and forget.
It has not been all good in the United Democratic Front UDF in recent months. There is in-house fighting in the party with division that have seen some members supporting the party’s president Atupele Muluzi and the party’s working relationship with the DPP. There are growing concerns over the future of the party as some feel the DPP will sooner or later swallow the UDF. At present some youths have asked Muluzi to resign as president.
ECONOMY
The revelation that the Malawi civil service is bloated , comes at a time when authorities are making Malawians believe that the much preached about reforms are shaping up and bearing fruits. It is not so easy for many to understand why there is so much reported in a positive way as if the reforms have made any significant changes in the civil service. The fact that there is just too many civil servants only means there is also too much spending than what is supposed to be spent.
178 000 civil servants is too much as it also translates to a larger than life wage bill. Malawi is at present going on without any budgetary support and the wage bill which is at K198 billion has been said to be one of the contributing factors to Malawi’s huge budget. It is not a secrete that Malawi does not have so many sources of revenue and that the revenue collecting body has been collecting less than what it had targeted to collect for some months. All this points up to an economy that is not doing so well and need to be looked into with haste if the ailing economy is to be resuscitated.
The beginning of a new year spells doom for all consumers with news of skyrocketing prices of goods and services. Almost every item on the market has had its price revised upwards regardless of its necessity. This will be heavily felt by the low income earners who already have to deal with the shortages of food and this time face the price increases. It is already tough for the poor who are in majority in Malawi to cope up with the many challenges that they are facing, and the increasing prices of basic needs does not help matters all.
Although those in authority continue to give an impression that all is well and that soon the situation will ease economically, but there is just too much that points to the contrary. The Local currency, the Kwacha, has continuously lost ground as it has plunged down against the major currencies across the globe. The Kwacha has simply lost its strength and value. Since last year the kwacha has not been performing so well. This is again is another good pointer of an economy that is staggering.
Meanwhile a report by the Economic Intelligence Unit of London has pointed out that president Peter Mutharika will not govern Malawi with ease due to the economic problems that the country is facing. The poor economic situation will easily make the current government unpopular leading to numerous opposition from various sectors of the society. One does not need to be told about the economic woes that the nation is facing because it is so obvious.
FOOD SECURITY
It does not get worse than this in the agriculture industry. A continued dry spell is not help matters for the farmers and the sector as a whole. Coming from a year of food shortage that came mainly because of the floods last year, the present scenario is not offering much hope to farmers. Press reports have shown a continued dry spell in almost all the areas. The delays in the rainfall pattern have been greatly felt by almost every Malawian this year. This has made the food situation more worse than it was before. And the continued absence of rains in many areas will surely affect the harvest this year.
Not only will the dry spell affect food harvest this farming season, but also seed production. Companies that sell seeds rely on rain fed agriculture for production of seeds. This has raised fears among producers, distributers, processors and retailers. The fact that there is drought does not help matters for the production of seeds this year.
Meanwhile reports of shortages of food and starvation continues to appear in the press. Not a single day passes without reports of people who are starving and sleeping on empty stomachs. It is so worrisome that in Ntcheu people are feeding on wild tubers. The case is also the same in Mangochi and other districts . Media reports have shown that the Malawi vulnerability Assessment Committee MVAC said the number of Malawians that are facing head on with starvation is now close to 3 million. For sure Malawians need urgent food relief.
The effects of the scarcity of maize have been greatly felt in many households due to the ever increasing price of maize the staple grain. Because of the demand and supply theory, the prices of the grain is increasing on a daily basis. This time around the price of a 50 kilogramme bag of maize is going at K13,500. At ADMARC markets people are only allowed to buy 20 kilogrammes per person. Reports have further indicated that in most cases the depots run out of stock because the demand is too high.
Against a background of a food shortage in most households some circles are now advocating for a change in the eating patterns. At a time when many households have less food or no food at all, some stakeholders are preaching about a cut in the number of meals that families have in a day. Again the calls for food diversification are getting louder as people are being told to change their eating habits and to stop relying on maize as the only food available. This is not the first time that Malawians have been asked to stop depending on maize and now the current food scenario may perhaps help people change their attitudes towards the mentality of nsima consumption.
CIVIL SOCIETY AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS
President Peter Mutharika assured the Catholic Bishops of support and that his government appreciates the government in many ways. At a meeting at the State House in the month of January the president told the Bishops that as government they appreciate the role the Catholic Church has played in Malawi. The Catholic Church has assisted the government in contribution towards education, health , security and relief food in times of need. Government therefore recognises the church’s role in development.
The Catholic Church in the month under review also expressed concerns over the future of the family in the advent of technological advances. One Bishop also mentioned that the family is under threat with issues of polygamy , homosexuality and abortion being in the public domain for so long. It has been so long that Christian families have had to deal with these issues as they happen in the communities they live in. There are fears that the future of the family as they are a threat to the generations to come and Christian values.
Some of the clergy came under attacks for failing people on Anti Retrovirial drugs. A number of people’s lives have been threatened because of the messages that some men of the collar are preaching about. Reports have shown that more than ten people on ARVs stopped taking their medication because preachers had told them to only believe in prayer for healing. It has however come to public knowledge that some have died in the process of prayer having ditched medication. It is against this background that stakeholders are advocating for a preaching about the Word of God for healing combined with taking of medication.
With the commemoration of Reverand John Chilembwe happening in January the clergy took some time to preach about salvation and safeguarding of the freedom that Malawi is enjoying now. Chilembwe a missionary who is remembered on 15th January is well known for his role in fighting for freedom for Malawi. He is a founder of Providence Industrial Mission PIM which is still a vibrant church especially in the southern region.
Civil society organisations began the year by cautioning president Mutharika for failing Malawians. In his New year message to Malawi, Mutharika fail short of inspiring Malawians and giving them confidence for the future. Malawians are sailing through troubled waters and the least they expected is to have some inspirational message with words that would instil confidence in the masses from the president. The fact that the messages had none of these shows that there is not much that Malawians can hope for. At a time Malawi is experiencing a food shortage, economic problems, shortage of drugs and many other problems, the best that was expected was something that would have lightened people’s spirits.