From Owings Chawanda

MINISTRY OF PUBLIC SECURITY
The Ministry of Public Security has gone through tremendous changes, starting from the time it was called Ministry of Home Affairs, through to Internal Security, and now Public Security.
Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Bright Nsaka, says the changes have been in line with government’s goals, which have varied from improving internal security, improving public/law enforcers’ relationships, rehabilitating infrastructure for both Police and the Malawi Prison Service, to creating clear-cut boundaries with other Ministries related to the armed forces.
Police officers are armed, army officers are armed, and prison guards and officials have arms- all armed to the tooth. Except perhaps Immigration Department officials, some of them. But they have not always been held under one ministry, and this has tended to create confusion in the past.
“That is why we have changed the name of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to that of Public Security. There were misconceptions among members of the public who thought that the Malawi Defense Force fell under this ministry. Remember, we also have the Ministry of Defense, which is being led by Honourable Sidik Mia,” said Msaka.
He explains the confusion that has been lingering for so long well, and now hopes that, with the new changes in name, things will change. So will perceptions.
Blantyre-Malabada Member of Parliament, Aaron Sangala, leads the Ministry of Public Security. Sangala spent most of the past five years deputizing other ministers, before becoming full minister.
It seems that he has now bonded well with Police Inspector General Peter Mukhitho.
Mukhitho, formerly President Bingu wa Mutharika’s personal body guard, vowed to improve and increase Police ‘visibility’ at a time crime became a pastime for many criminals. Mukhitho came in at a time armed robberies had reached a crescendo, so much so that day-light robberies were becoming common, both in Blantyre and Lilongwe- the Capital City.
In came Mukhitho with the new promise to increase police visibility. And then came the name change to augur well with the new developments in Malawi Police Service. Mukhitho wanted police officers to be visible, and that was happening, but the aim of this was to increase security. For whom? Members of the Public. Hence Public Security.
“So far, so good. We have seen changes in levels of crime. We have even improved on our travel time to crime scenes,” said Mukhitho.
The Ministry’s headquarters are in Lilongwe, Capital Hill, the seat of Central government.
The Ministry has three departments under its arm pit: Malawi Police Service; Malawi Prisons Service; Immigration Department. Police and Immigration officials undergo similar training, and simultaneously. You may be mistaken to think that long throngs of youths plowing the grounds of Limbe Police Training College in Blantyre all police trainees.
The truth is that it’s always a mixture of Immigration Department trainees and their police counterparts. Only that Police trainees always outnumber their Immigration counterparts.
That is not strange. The number of police officers is low in Malawi. Some four years ago, the country had 5000 police officers, against a population of 12 million. Now the population is hovering over 13.4 million, and the country still maintains a police service of less than 15, 000 personnel. So, the ratio of police officers is still low, necessitating the need to train more officers and prop up local security.
The Malawi Prisons Service is like an island; standing on its own in a triple combination. The Service in recently been plagued by escapee prisoners. Some guards have also joined the fray, losing their official guns under mysterious circumstances.
Infrastructure remains another challenge. The country’s prisons are holding thrice the number of inmates they were constructed to accommodate and, then, the problem is compounded by the fact that they eat once a day. It is like the breeding house for starvation.
Tuberculosis, scabies, malaria are all common place, like the blue skies. Everyday, 3 prisoners die on average. So, we are also breeding death.
The Minister can influence the Immigration Department, Malawi Police Service and Malawi Prisons Service.
This influence can be in the areas of infrastructure development, capacity building, and systems development. Building and security contractors stand a good chance of getting contracts, so do Information Technology institutions.
Some 27 years ago, former president Kamuzu Banda told people at Karonga Primary School in Salima (Central Region, it was on 25 February) that he wanted to construct a barbed fence around Malawi’s borders. Then, on August 3, 1989, he said he was waiting for a demarcation exercise between Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique to go on with his plan.
Nothing was ever heard of that. But, last year, the demarcation exercise begun. Some Malawians have found themselves in dilemma because they have all along been staying in Mozambique thinking it was Malawi. So, too, have some Mozambicans.
There will, thus, be opportunities in boundary construction should the current administration, or those to come, choose to pursue Kamuzu’s Banda’s course.
Opportunities exist.

MALAWI COMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY AUTHORITY (MACRA)
This is a regulatory body of broadcasting houses, established under the Communications Act.
MACRA only regulates radio, television stations and telecommunications operators- not newspapers and magazines as some investors have been thinking.
Publications are registered at the Registrar General’s office. There is a beaming Press Office there, with a special officer to boot.
MACRA has been coming under intense pressure for not following the Communications Act of 1997 to the latter. There have been cases where the Authority has acted in retrogressive manner, or pure bias.
Take, as an example, what has been happening with the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation and Malawi Television. The two are supposed to be regulated by MACRA, but, for the past 9 years, that never happened.
MBC and TVM could defy MACRA’s guidelines willy-nilly, and get away with it.
All radio stations and TVs are required by law to give political parties equal chance during campaign periods. Or at least the chance to give their side of the story when attacked.
But MBC and TVM consistently violated this by giving the ruling party- first, United Democratic Front, then Democratic Progressive Party- 96% positive coverage, and opposition parties 99& negative coverage, according to Broadcast Media Monitoring Reports from the Malawi Electoral Commission, Development Media Africa, EISA, COMESA Electoral Observation Team Reports.
And MACRA took no action. It said, on MBC, that it was powerless because the state-run media house was established before MACRA. On TVM, the Authority was jumpy.
But that only changed after intense pressure some three years ago, though things never changed during the May 19, 2009 presidential and Parliamentary elections. It was privately owned Joy FM that borne the brunt of MACRA’s whip that it got closed on the day of the elections for reporting archaically.
MACRA falls under the Ministry of Information and Civic Education, a development experts have decried, saying it puts MACRA in a fix and under the armpit of the Minister of Information instead of wearing and independent tag.
That is true. When Patricia Kaliati was minister, she would shout MACRA into doing things her way. She always got her wishes.
Government handpicks MACRA’s board members as well. This explains why MACRA is soft on government media.
Malawi has 13 radio stations registered with MACRA. As for television stations, we currently have three in Malawi Television, Luntha in Balaka, and AFJ TV Station. A TV license for Joy was withdrawn for unclear reasons, though the TV had already started airing programmes.
Malawi has two mobile phone operators, and three mobile service providers. G-Mobile has, however, been slow to fulfill its license obligations, prompting MACRA to issue a warning and deadline.
But ZAIN and TNM continue to dominate. Just recently, MACRA advertised that it wanted some more mobile phone operators and community radio station licensees.
The Minister of Information and Civic Education influences MACRA with an invisible, albeit visible, hand. That is why those with government connections often get their way.
Investment opportunities exist in mobile phone and fixed line operations, radio station and TV ownership, as well as security phone gadgets business.
Security companies also register for frequencies, and thus opportunities also exist in establishing security gadgets frequency businesses, with the aim of providing, on contract basis, frequencies, maintenance, among others, for security operators.