Shire Valley: Malawi’s man-made or artificial humanitarian disaster?

Every now and then, officials responsible for disaster management have to make short, anguished trips to districts in the Shire Valley, a place well charted, as far as human disasters are concerned.
Chikwawa and Nsanje, the so-called Shire Valley districts, are so visible in disaster time— which is always in the rainy season— that, compared to other parts of Malawi, they wear their guts on the outside— as depicted through their resistance, which they portray with surplus machismo, to the idea of relocation upland.
The Shire River, Malawi’s longest and biggest river, flows in the background— perhaps as a symbol of the guts the people wear outside; for the river, which flows mightily in broad daylight, and in thick darkness, is very much a part of the Shire Valley’s story of disaster— laid out like the map of disaster waiting to happen.
For the most part— at least when disaster strikes— it [the river] is blamed for causing flooding, which often happens when its banks burst.
However, the floods cannot be traced to a single trail, like that [trail] of too much rains; for experts from the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) argue that people stay too close to the river.
So, instead of being a single trail of disaster, the Shire Valley is ‘visited’ by a series of disasters— persistent, almost predictable— that has defined the pathways of Shire Valley people to trouble; trouble being the disasters that have become a tear-evoking part of their story.
The Shire Valley story, for what it is, is a story of agricultural production— its bedrock being the fertile, alluvial soils of the Shire River which nourish crops for sound nutrition and replenishment; and livestock, especially cattle, on which residents of Blantyre and other Southern Region districts depend to meet their meat needs— wildlife at Majete Game Reserve; hydro-electric power generation at Tedzani; man-hunting crocodiles; and, of course, floods.
At first, it was the issue of connotation of a name [that question again, what is in a name?] that was the trouble, for the area used to be referred to as the Lower Shire, and politicians such as former Cabinet ministers Harry Thomson, Gwanda Chakuamba and Sidik Mia and parliamentary Committee on Agriculture Chairperson Joseph Chidanti-Malunga did not like that idea.
They said, as Chidanti-Malunga puts it, that calling Nsanje and Chikwawa Lower Shire districts depicted the people as “backward’, ignorant almost.
They won the battle, the politicians; for the Shire Valley is getting more prominent than the Lower Shire.
Sadly, it is the story of persistent floods that continues to put Shire Valley people in the centre of the storm, for all the bad reasons, throwing positive stories such as those of natural resources preservation, hydro-electric power generation, food production, livestock production, among others, in the dustbin of petty things.
In the end, the Shire Valley has turned into, not a place but, an abstract mass whose story is tangled in flood-induced death, injuries, displacements and what have you. Not a desirable position for people desiring to portray a positive image to the world.
Not surprisingly, the people of the Shire Valley have come in for scathing criticism, people criticising them for staying put in a zone that reeks of nothing but trouble: injuries, displacement, death— a people unable to make decisions. Typical Lower Shire people!
But, of course, former veteran politician the late Chakuamba tried to back the people up, saying they, simply, could not abandon it as one abandons a lice-infested bed.
“The Shire River provides fertile land for the cultivation of crops and rearing of livestock, supporting the livelihoods of thousands of people,” he said on November 7 2007.
The Shire River, as Lake Malawi’s only outlet, also flows all year round, making green the grass that lines its path from Lake Malawi to Zambezi River to the Indian Ocean.
The grass is the food that nourishes the bodies of animals such as cattle, which are then slaughtered and consumed in places far and wide.
So, Shire Valley traditional leaders such as Nyachikadza have been refusing to relocate upland. For him, this is because his subjects’ ancestors are buried in the fertile soils that feed the green grass that is food to the cattle that nourishes the health of Malawians that love the Shire River.
In 2001, the government tried the impossible: suggesting that Shire Valley residents who stay in flood-prone areas relocate. In broad daylight, they refused.
This was despite that the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services had issued a ‘fresh’ warning’ that, for the umpteenth time, floods would define life for Shire Valley people during the rainy season that would span from November 2001 to March 2002.

The then director of the department, Donald Kamdonyo, said Malawi would receive average to above average rainfall, making floods inevitable, especially in the Lower Shire Valley districts of Chikwawa and Nsanje.

This came after, according to statistics which the Department of Disaster Preparedness, Relief and Rehabilitation— now Department of Disaster Management Affairs— compiled, at least 157,000 households in Chikwawa and 60,000 households in Nsanje were left destitute after floods messed their lives up the previous year.

That year, floods also affected 12 other districts countrywide, leaving five people dead after houses collapsed on them. Countless others suffered broken bones.

Not to be outdone, crocodiles, which always lurk in the waters, attacked and skilled dozens others in the valley.

That is the story of the Shire Valley when the country’s biggest and longest river, the Shire River, overflows; it washes not only livestock, people, houses and crops but also crocodiles that head for riverside villages.

The floods expose people and livestock that escape collapsing houses and raging waters to death at the hands of crocodiles, a painful ordeal considering that the mouth of a hungry crocodile has long teeth.

But, still, Nyachikadza and Chief Joseph Kwenje of Sekeni 1 Village in Chikwawa, where most houses were destroyed in 2001, refused to move an inch on the issue of relocation.

“This village has fertile land, on which we grow maize, sorghum, bananas, pumpkins, Irish and sweet potatoes, among others.

“For example, we harvest maize twice a year because of the rich alluvial soils. Our maize flourishes without chemical fertilisers. The Shire River is God-given and our crops are our life-blood,” he said.

In the name of lifeblood, they lose their blood to the raging floods, until, maybe, the last individual standing drops his last drop of blood— if not to a collapsing house or drowning, at least a crocodile.

It is a man or woman dying for the land he or she loves; just that death, instant and— in the case of a crocodile attack— painful comes in time of peace.

To 34-year-old father of four Michael Lufeyo, a resident of Thabwa in Chikwawa, there is no way they can relocate.

He says, in 2002, the then Environmental Affairs minister Thomson and the then district commissioner Kiswell Dakamau both tried to reason with him and other villagers to move upland. They failed.

“We nearly stoned them. You see, people often talk about the need to move out of here, our fertile land, but the places they identify for us are worse off than this place. The areas they suggest, including Dyelatu and other places, are dry and less fertile than where we are. We will never relocate,” he said on March 11 this year, even as the Blantyre-Chikwawa Road was cut off at Domasi in the district, leaving transporters and business persons grounded for days on end.

But, as former commissioner for Disaster Preparedness, Relief and Rehabilitation Lucius Chikuni once said, the only solution is to relocate.

"It will be difficult to convince donors, every year, to release funds for relief aid when the permanent solution would have been to move the people upland," he said back in 2001.

That is why, about 17 years later, Lufeyo is still staying on a floods-battered two-hectare piece of land close to Domasi.

Predictable pattern
The Global Framework for Climate Services Adaptation Programme in Africa has been predicting, since 2013, that rainfall patterns in Malawi and other Southern African Development Community member states would be tottering between normal and catastrophic. 
That is why, between then and now, it is either La Nina or El Nino, affecting, positively or negatively, the country’s agricultural seasons.
No wonder, “previous spells of El Nino greatly affected field production,” as Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services Director, Jolam Nkhokwe, observes.
The problem is climate change-related and solution, according to Natural Resources Minister Aggrey Masi, lies in controlling green gases emissions.
He says climate, per se, is not the problem; the problem is drastic changes in climate.
Climate, he observes, is a variable resource that drives economies through hydro, thermal and solar power but even these can be affected by changes in climate.
Another solution, of course, is relocation, an idea Director for Humanitarian Response at Dodma, Paul Kalilombe, supports as a long-term solution to perennial floods.
Fortunately, while those in the Shire Valley continue to snub the idea of relocation, others in equally flood-prone areas are ready to do so.
Other than Nsanje and Chikwawa districts, one of the districts have have fallen prey to persistent floods is Mangochi, where people in Chikundo, Nansenga, Chipala and Mtiyala villages, Traditional Authority Mponda, as well as some parts of T/As Chimwala, Namavi, Chowe, Chilipa and Makanjira have become more-than-one-time victims of floods.
Since the onset of the seasonal rains in November 2018, 15,000 households have been negatively affected in these areas, according to Dodma records.
It is the fifth time— meaning, fifth consecutive year— the households have borne the brunt of natural disasters, a development Mponda blames on climate change.
“We are living in strange days. In the past, disasters were not commonplace, perhaps because we had lots of trees.
“Today, most of the trees have been felled and we are experiencing challenges such as soil erosion, floods, drought, prolonged dry spells, among others. We do not know where to run to,” the chief says.
Of course, his subjects have an idea about where to run to: “Upland, of course.”
It is the voice of Marko Malikebu of Chikundi Village.
There is a problem, though: “I and my family cannot relocate upland because some of the areas identified do not have social amenities such as schools, sanitation and health facilities.
“Besides, we do not have money we can use for building resilient houses. Some of us do not have money for buying pieces of land in safe locations. We need support from the government,” says Malikebu, who has been constructing a new house each year for the past five years.


Most of the affected houses are built with unbaked bricks.
The challenge, according to Kalilombe, is that Dodma is incapacitated, when it comes to the issue of financing the relocation of, otherwise, stranded people.
This is because his department does not have the mandate to finance relocation of people affected by floods because it specialises in supporting disaster-struck people.
The best it can do is to engage other government departments on the issue.
“We, as a department, would have loved it if the people moved out of these areas because it is a concern for us to be assisting the same people each rainy season.
“However, the issue of relocation is a multi-sectorial issue which needs proper policies by relevant government agencies,” he said.
He says, on several occasions, Dodma has been advising affected people to move upland but most of them claim that they do not have a place to move to, let alone a pillow to put their heads on; meaning that, somehow, other government departments have to come in and support those who have turned into ‘customers’ of disasters.

Never ending cycle of trouble
Surprisingly, those who suffer the negative effects of floods and other natural disasters, and those who do not, are warned each and every year.
But, it seems, such news is treated as a myth, until the reality of disaster strikes, turning structures from houses, groceries to rubble— another macabre souvenir of the time bomb that ticks every time the rains are on us.
On October 1 2018, the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services announced that there was a likelihood of moderate El Nino weather conditions during the 2018/19 rainfall season which would cause floods in some parts of the country.

Nkhokwe indicated that the El Nino phenomenon was expected between September and November.

“Global models are currently projecting the development of moderate El Nino conditions between September and November 2018, which are likely to persist throughout the 2018/19 rainfall season,” he said.

An El Nino phenomenon is an unusual warning of waters over the Eastern Central Equatorial Pacific Ocean and is known to influence rainfall patterns across the world including Southern Africa and Malawi.

Nkhokwe said, between October 2018 and March 2019, most of the Northern Region areas, spilling over into Central Region areas of the country, would receive normal to above normal rainfall while most areas of the Southern Region would receive normal to below rainfall amounts.

“This implies that the impacts associated with reduced or increased rainfall amounts such as prolonged dry spells and floods, respectively, are likely to occur during the season,” he said.

He said this is based on observations and analyses in Malawi, with input from a climate experts meeting that took place in Gaborone, Botswana, recently.

Moderate El Nino phenomenon was also experienced in 2002/03 and in 2009/10 in Malawi.

Malawi's climate is influenced by three major factors, which are El Nino Southern Oscillation, The Indian Ocean Dipole and Subtropical Indian Ocean Dipole.

In addition, rainfall patterns are driven mainly by Intertropical Convergence Zone, Congo air mass and tropical cyclones, according to the department.

In the 2017/18 rainfall season, some areas, mostly in the Southern Region of Malawi, were heavily affected by dry spells which affected maize production output.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development, at least 3.3 million people were food insecure during the 2018/19 lean period, statistics reflected in a Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee report.

While adverse weather conditions were, truly, foreseen, nobody foresaw events of last week, when rains fell in droves, leaving devastation and bad memories in their wake.

On March 5 2019, the Department of Climate Change and Metrological Services warned that the Southern Region would experience severe weather conditions that would weaken only on Friday, March 8.

The department further warned that the anticipated heavy rains could cause floods, including flash floods, in  prone areas while strong winds could destroy property and endanger life.

“To secure property and lives, the public should, therefore, take precautionary measures such as moving to higher grounds when water levels start rising, avoid crossing flooding rivers and not seeking shelter under trees and weak shelters,” the statement read in part.

Nkhokwe said the department was monitoring weather developments which could directly or indirectly affect weather over the country to ensure seamless use of weather information on all timescales by the public.

He attributed the conditions to a low pressure area initially traced in the Mozambique Channel.

However, the department seemed to doubt its own wisdom for, on Thursday, it changed tune, saying conditions would normalise on Sunday— and not on Thursday or Friday as earlier communicated.

As it were, by Saturday, the rains were over in Blantyre and other highly affected areas.

“When we said that the rains would weaken on Thursday, we didn’t know that the air mass which was in Mozambique and triggering the rains here in Malawi would actually come here in Malawi.

“As we speak, that air mass has come over and we expect the rains to continue up to Saturday when the air mass will be heading back to Mozambique,” he said on Thursday.

Nkhokwe reiterated that the rains could cause floods, including flash floods, in prone areas, destroying property and endangering life.

Trail of death

By Thursday, March 7, floods had claimed six lives— a heavy sacrifice even in the time of war.

Chikwawa Police Station spokesperson, Foster Benjamin, said the victims were swept away by flooding rivers, including Livuza and Mkhate, on Wednesday.

It took a day for rescuers to find remains of the victims.

“One of the dead people is Helles Maperera, a health surveillance assistant (HSA) at Maperera Health Centre. Two of the dead were husband and wife,” he said.

This means, in the case of the HSA, Malawi will have to dig deeper into its pockets to train more HSAs.

In 2011, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund and Ministry of Health and Population, Malawi had about 12,000 HSAs, a vital link between village and the health system. The HSAs work is carefully monitored by the village health committee, which is composed of an equal number of men and women and serves for a term of three years.

In a paper titled ‘Motivation of Health Surveillance Assistants in Malawi: A Qualitative Study’, Kingsley R. Chikaphupha, Maryse C. Kok, Lot Nyirenda, Ireen Namakhoma and Sally Theobald indicate that motivation of health workers is a critical component of performance and is shaped by multiple factors.

They cite salary, accommodation, human resource management, supplies and logistics, and community links as the five main themes that shape HSAs’ motivation.

They, however, observe that human resources for health shortage remain a key challenge to the aspiration of achieving quality universal health coverage in Malawi.

“In response to this, there have been increasing investments in community health worker (CHW) programmes, with the aim of bringing health services closer to communities and making services more accessible in resource-constrained settings,” they write.

A CHW is a health worker who carries out promotional, preventive or curative health services, and who is the first point of contact at the community level.

“A CHW can be based in the community or in a basic primary healthcare facility. In addition to specific aspects of their job descriptions, CHW selection criteria, remuneration and incentives, training, supervision and support structures vary by country and depend in part on the extent to which CHWs are integrated into a health system as well as on the degree to which task shifting has been implemented,” their paper reads in part.

With Maperera, investment in the health worker that was him has been lost to floods, and it will take years before one like him can be trained and positioned to serve rural dwellers.

This means, according to Benjamin, there is a human cost to floods, which is why all efforts must be made to avert such crises where possible.

Meanwhile, as the government and Shire Valley residents grapple with the idea of relocation, relief items have, as usual, been directed to people in affected areas.

Rescue efforts

On Saturday, Homeland Security Minister Nicholas Dausi— who oversees operations of Dodma— left Blantyre City early in the morning with assorted relief items meant for people affected by floods in Chikwawa, only to discover that the M1 Road had been cut off at Domasi, a spot between Thabwa and Kamuzu Bridge across the Shire River.

That has been another effect of the floods: people being cut off from the rest of Malawi, making transportation on land close to impossible.

Such is the situation in Mainland Chikwawa and the East Bank, where six people died last week, the highest among districts, according to Dodma.

By March 11, 30 people were reported dead nationwide.

After some roads have been cut off, Dausi failed to take relief items such as maize, plastic sheets, buckets and blankets to the intended victims of the floods, after President Peter Mutharika declared a state of national disaster last week.

Even Malawi Defence Force personnel and their search and rescue equipment were stuck; meaning that it was mission impossible.

No wonder, the South African government has come in, pledging assistance to Malawi at this point in time.

“I have been here since yesterday. I am going to Nsanje to visit my parents but I am stuck here,” said Joseph Mbundungu, one of the people found at Domasi.

Some motorists forced their vehicles into thick mud and water, with some people pushing them to provide an extra force at a fee ranging from K5,000 to K20,000. Call it cashing in on disaster.

“I have paid K500 for this man to carry me across. I have been greatly inconvenienced because I did not plan for this expenditure,” said Mary Mbamba, a businesswoman.

Linda Saulosi, 70, escaped death by a whisker.

“My house collapsed while I was lost in deep sleep. Fortunately, it collapsed outwards and I am here to tell my story,” she said.

Hers is one of the over 60 households that are being accommodated at Mediramu Evacuation Centre. People homeless in their country. More so because the Shire Valley districts of Nsanje and Chikwawa are, as before, the worst affected.

This being the case, can Shire Valley people be accused of recklessness, or inviting trouble to themselves and waiting to reap the benefits?

“I think, this time, floods have affected most parts of the country and there is no time to blame each other. We, as the government, just want to reach out to all those affected,” Dausi said.

Indeed, as he made a short and anguished visit to Chikwawa that Saturday, his Transport and Public Works Ministry counterpart, Jappie Mhango, was making a long and anguished visit to Mangochi District, where floods have left scars of pain.
On Sunday, Mhango toured Makumba, one of the four bridges which running water washed away along the Mangochi-Makanjira Road last week.
This means rehabilitation works have started.
“We expect that the contractor we have engaged, Mota Engil, will be able to open the road to traffic in the next four days. We want to make sure that people’s economic activities are not negatively affected.
“As you are aware, President Peter Mutharika has declared Malawi a nation in disaster. We are, therefore, set to repair all the damage which water has caused in Mangochi, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Phalombe and other districts. We know that lives of people have been disturbed but
we will try to come in with relevant support,” Mhango said.
Mhango also said it was not time for blame-games, observing that it was time to reach out to those affected in Chikwawa, Nsanje and other districts.
“But, sure enough, we need permanent solutions,” he said.
Mota Engil Project Manager, Jose Emmanuel Pereira, said his team would continue assessing other bridges before advising the government on how best to improve them.
Apart from motorists, healthcare service delivery has suffered a battering in the wake of the floods. In Mangochi, this means no referral services to Mangochi District Hospital from Lulanga, Makanjira, Lugola, Kadango and Lungwena health centres.
But Ministry of Health and Population spokesperson, Joshua Malango, said the ministry was doing its best to ensure that healthcare service delivery is not negatively affected.
Whatever the case, what is clear is that floods, a relatively silent crisis when compared to prolonged drought, spur a ‘loud’ humanitarian crisis.
Unfortunately, the damage floods cause is not based on total ignorance in all parts of the country; in some districts, it borders on neglect.