Malawi has a 13-year old chief.
Willard Mswati Gomani, a Form Two student at Milanda Secondary School, has been named the next Inkosi ya Makosi Gomani following the death of his father, Kanjedza Alexander, who died last week at Ntcheu District Hospital.
He has held the position for less than 15 months, after being installed Inkosi ya Makosi Gomani 1V in June, 2008.
Willard Mswati Gomani, the first born to the late Inkosi, was installed Inkosi ya Makosi at a Ngoni ceremony held in Ntcheu. He becomes Inkosi ya Makosi V.
However, little Mswati will have to wait a little longer to sit on the royal throne as he will have to finish his education.
The new chief’s god father is King Mswati of Swaziland, who gave him the name Mswati.
Inkosi ya Makosi Gomani is a paramount chief for the Ngoni people, mostly found in Ntcheu district of Southern Malawi.
The Ngoni people originated from South Africa, and were forced, during the late 1800s, to spread across many parts of Southern Africa owing to the perceived cruelty of Tchaka Zulu, their paramount chief in South Africa.
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Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Malawi leader earmarked for AU chairmanship
President Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi could as well become the next African Union (AU) chairman come next year, following a decision by Southern African Development Community (Sadc) leaders to proffer him up for the position.
A Sadc meeting held this month proposed Malawi’s Mutharika and the president of Lesotho for the position of AU chair which falls vacant next year. The AU’s current chair is Muammar Gadaff of Libya.
The next AU chairmanship, which operates on rotational basis, will go to Sadc next year.
Sadc leaders then earmarked Mutharika for the position, but the final decision will be arrived at after another contest between Mutharika and other leaders to be held in January next year- though Mutharika is well-placed and favoured to become the next chair.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Prof. Ettah Banda, has confirmed the development.
“Sadc leaders settled for Mutharika. The final event to come up with the final name will be held in January. Mutharika’s chances are very high, looking at his political and economic performance,” said Banda.
Mutharika has led Malawi to three successive bumper harvests, rescuing the country once known for befriending perpetual hunger from the pangs of poverty and food insecurity.
“We are happy with the decision of the Sadc leaders and the probability of holding the AU chairmanship,” said Banda.
A Sadc meeting held this month proposed Malawi’s Mutharika and the president of Lesotho for the position of AU chair which falls vacant next year. The AU’s current chair is Muammar Gadaff of Libya.
The next AU chairmanship, which operates on rotational basis, will go to Sadc next year.
Sadc leaders then earmarked Mutharika for the position, but the final decision will be arrived at after another contest between Mutharika and other leaders to be held in January next year- though Mutharika is well-placed and favoured to become the next chair.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Prof. Ettah Banda, has confirmed the development.
“Sadc leaders settled for Mutharika. The final event to come up with the final name will be held in January. Mutharika’s chances are very high, looking at his political and economic performance,” said Banda.
Mutharika has led Malawi to three successive bumper harvests, rescuing the country once known for befriending perpetual hunger from the pangs of poverty and food insecurity.
“We are happy with the decision of the Sadc leaders and the probability of holding the AU chairmanship,” said Banda.
Malawi's veep, Chavez call for Africa, South America unity
Malawi’s vice president Joyce Banda has called for closer working relationships between Africa and South America, saying good working relations between the two continents were crucial to attaining sustainable social-economic development.
Banda said at a meeting of African and South American heads of state being held in Venezuela the two regions, while at disparity in terms of social-economic development, had some common challenges that needed shared solutions.
“It is sad that South America and Africa have often trodden on difference paths over common challenges. The end result has been disintegration, lack of unity, increased poverty and social-economic uncertainty among the people of the two great areas. This must change,” said Banda.
Banda cited mining, energy development, agriculture and industry development as some of the areas that needed a common approach, adding falure to harness each others’ ideas had increased economic disparities for the peoples of the two regions.
“Isolationism will never help us; it will never help things. Let us begin to work more closely, and join hands in development projects that may change the facet of people’s lives. For example, we have the Shire-Zambezi Waterway in Southern Malawi, a project that will help reduce transport costs by as many as 45 per cent and make life easier; we need you to work with us towards this goal.
“The project will help many other neighbouring countries and render the export and import of raw materials and finished products cheaper for many people. In the end, poverty will no longer be a reality but a song, and prosperity will come home for many poor people,” said Banda.
Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, acknowledged that there is a ‘big gap’ between Africa and South America, and called for the immediate bridging of the prevalent gap.
‘There is real need for unity. It is time Africa and South America got united and up lift the lives of our people. Why have we allowed this gap to grow? Why have we let it drift us apart? Closer relations between us needed today more than ever before; what with the on going global economic crisis?” queried Chavez.
African leaders have since committed themselves to working more closely with South America, as the world grapples with the effects of the global economic crisis.
Banda said at a meeting of African and South American heads of state being held in Venezuela the two regions, while at disparity in terms of social-economic development, had some common challenges that needed shared solutions.
“It is sad that South America and Africa have often trodden on difference paths over common challenges. The end result has been disintegration, lack of unity, increased poverty and social-economic uncertainty among the people of the two great areas. This must change,” said Banda.
Banda cited mining, energy development, agriculture and industry development as some of the areas that needed a common approach, adding falure to harness each others’ ideas had increased economic disparities for the peoples of the two regions.
“Isolationism will never help us; it will never help things. Let us begin to work more closely, and join hands in development projects that may change the facet of people’s lives. For example, we have the Shire-Zambezi Waterway in Southern Malawi, a project that will help reduce transport costs by as many as 45 per cent and make life easier; we need you to work with us towards this goal.
“The project will help many other neighbouring countries and render the export and import of raw materials and finished products cheaper for many people. In the end, poverty will no longer be a reality but a song, and prosperity will come home for many poor people,” said Banda.
Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, acknowledged that there is a ‘big gap’ between Africa and South America, and called for the immediate bridging of the prevalent gap.
‘There is real need for unity. It is time Africa and South America got united and up lift the lives of our people. Why have we allowed this gap to grow? Why have we let it drift us apart? Closer relations between us needed today more than ever before; what with the on going global economic crisis?” queried Chavez.
African leaders have since committed themselves to working more closely with South America, as the world grapples with the effects of the global economic crisis.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Nothing
Walking,
and Hoping,
Are full of nothing.
Nothing,
In hoping,
And working,
For nothing.
Working,
For Nothing,
Is nothing,
Worth something.
Something,
Gotten in working,
For someone,
Is nothing
Personal.
Its occupational,
And Oval,
Overall, it is
Nothing.
Nothing,
Is crazy,
In something,
Crazy.
Because,
It is,
After all,
Not all.
and Hoping,
Are full of nothing.
Nothing,
In hoping,
And working,
For nothing.
Working,
For Nothing,
Is nothing,
Worth something.
Something,
Gotten in working,
For someone,
Is nothing
Personal.
Its occupational,
And Oval,
Overall, it is
Nothing.
Nothing,
Is crazy,
In something,
Crazy.
Because,
It is,
After all,
Not all.
Improved seeds crucial to increased food security
Malawi has managed to produce food surpluses for three consecutive years because of improved crop varieties, a feat government says is poised to maintain following increased efforts in improved seed variety research initiatives.
Andrew Daudi, Principal Secretary for Agriculture and Food Security, said government has increased research interventions by improving working relationships with the world’s renowned research institutions, notably from Australia .
“Part of the reason we have succeeded with our input subsidy programme is the use of improved varieties of maize seed and other crops. We want to continue injecting more resources into research,” said Daudi.
Malawi has, once again, managed to register a grain surplus of over 2 million metric tonnes, raising the hopes even higher that the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) member state could again export maize and help bail some of its neighbours out.
Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe, has already encouraged Malawi to export some of its surplus maize and bail some of Sadc member states who have less than enough out of the qualms of hunger.
The country’s opposition is, however, against the idea, saying some of the country’s districts have reported less than charitable harvests.
Andrew Daudi, Principal Secretary for Agriculture and Food Security, said government has increased research interventions by improving working relationships with the world’s renowned research institutions, notably from Australia .
“Part of the reason we have succeeded with our input subsidy programme is the use of improved varieties of maize seed and other crops. We want to continue injecting more resources into research,” said Daudi.
Malawi has, once again, managed to register a grain surplus of over 2 million metric tonnes, raising the hopes even higher that the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) member state could again export maize and help bail some of its neighbours out.
Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe, has already encouraged Malawi to export some of its surplus maize and bail some of Sadc member states who have less than enough out of the qualms of hunger.
The country’s opposition is, however, against the idea, saying some of the country’s districts have reported less than charitable harvests.
EU hands over market shelters
The European Union Micro-Projects Programme has handed over two structures to Mwanza Central constituents in Southern Malawi , raising the infrastructural outlook of a market that has not been renovated since 1982.
Mwanza, formerly Blantyre West constituency, became a district in 1972, but has lacked proper market infrastructure as the district’s main market maintained a make-shift status.
The structures’ handover also marks the end of the Fourth Phase of the EU Micro-Projects programme. EU officials say work would continue in 2010, when the Fifth Phase of the initiative takes effect.
The programme has helped transform the face of many micro-structures in Malawi , increasing access to markets and hither to inaccessible rural areas.
Member of Parliament for Mwanza Central, Nicholas Dausi, has hailed the development. He said the new structures could mark the beginning of new development initiatives for the people of Mwanza district.
“Mwanza is a border district and, therefore, deserves to be looked after well. Remember, first impressions last. This, exactly, is what the EU Micro-Projects Programme has helped us do: we have up lifted the face of our district,” said Dausi.
Mwanza is renowned for its fruit products, including tangerines and oranges. A myriad of small, community fruit processing plants is fast becoming a main facet of the district, with the technical and financial assistance from the One Village One Product (Ovop).
Ovop is an initiative adopted from Japan . Former Malawi Ambassador to Japan , John Chicago, was instrumental in brining the intiative home.
Mwanza, formerly Blantyre West constituency, became a district in 1972, but has lacked proper market infrastructure as the district’s main market maintained a make-shift status.
The structures’ handover also marks the end of the Fourth Phase of the EU Micro-Projects programme. EU officials say work would continue in 2010, when the Fifth Phase of the initiative takes effect.
The programme has helped transform the face of many micro-structures in Malawi , increasing access to markets and hither to inaccessible rural areas.
Member of Parliament for Mwanza Central, Nicholas Dausi, has hailed the development. He said the new structures could mark the beginning of new development initiatives for the people of Mwanza district.
“Mwanza is a border district and, therefore, deserves to be looked after well. Remember, first impressions last. This, exactly, is what the EU Micro-Projects Programme has helped us do: we have up lifted the face of our district,” said Dausi.
Mwanza is renowned for its fruit products, including tangerines and oranges. A myriad of small, community fruit processing plants is fast becoming a main facet of the district, with the technical and financial assistance from the One Village One Product (Ovop).
Ovop is an initiative adopted from Japan . Former Malawi Ambassador to Japan , John Chicago, was instrumental in brining the intiative home.
Constituents construct micro-market
So many farm products, no markets. That is part of the song for most small scale entrepreneurs and farmers in Malawi ’s rural areas.
Quite ironic a song for a people who have been independent since July 6, 1964 because, often, this has translated into starvation in the midst of plenty. More marketable resources, no cash to offset some of life’s basic needs. At one time, the national percentage of those who swam towards the verge of malnutrition was well over 58 per cent, a trend that is now changing following the institution of stringent government mechanisms, through vibrant nutrition policies through the Office of the President and Cabinet’s Department for Nutrition, HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Mary Shawa, the Department’s Principal Secretary, has become synonymous with Malawi ’s success story in the areas of nutrition, HIV and AIDS.
While things seem to be moving in nutrition, HIV and AIDS, one area that seems to have been late to catching the drift of the changing tides is small scale entrepreneurship for the rural masses. These people only depend on up town markets such as Limbe, Mzuzu and Lilongwe for their product sales or purchases, something that eats much into their pockets as they pay blood in transport costs, and burn their sweat in unproductive business.
This is fast becoming clear, at least for the people of Thyolo, a district in Southern Malawi , well known for its never-ending supply of farm products.
No story of bananas, pine apples, sugarcane, Mangoes, Tomatoes, Onions, green maize, sweet and Irish potatoes, and other grain products is told without mentioning the names Thyolo (district), Mulanje, Dedza, Ntcheu. But, quite ironically, the people in these areas also contribute significantly towards the country’s high poverty levels.
“There is really nothing to show for our sweat except for our deformed hands. We work all day, all year round but get nothing in return. I think it’s because we have not sat down to see why we have failed to develop and transform our households all these years; we need something new now,” says Group Village Headman Mauwa of Thyolo.
Mauwa looks like the ordinary villager, breathes like one- nothing strange about him. But, man, the traditional leader is about to bring about a revolution in the social-economic status of his subjects in Thyolo East Constituency.
Realizing that poverty can not be eradicated by hoping for a better tomorrow, Mauwa has mobilized his subjects, and convinced the Malawi Entrepreneurship Development Institute (Medi- one of the country’s top capacity builders in small scale entrepreneurship) to start a pilot initiative for a small scale development centre. This is a place where, three months from now, a products and services’ marketing centre will stand and carter for the economic needs of Thyolo East constituents.
The land upon which the centre will stand used to be some desolate, unproductive land. No positive hopes could be attached to it. Now that is set to change.
“We want to transform our lives here, and that is the reason we sat down as a community to consider something we could do, something that could have sustainable social-economic impacts. We settles for a small scale market development centre called Thyolo East Small Scale Market Development Centre. We will be selling our products and services here, unlike in the past when people used to flock to Blantyre City and Limbe to sell their farm produce or buy their needs,” said Mauwa.
This is a new development in Malawi , and Mauwa hopes that the initiative will be replicated in other parts of Malawi should it turn out to be a success.
For Minister of Trade and Industry, Eunice Kazembe, the development could turn out to be another economic spinner for Malawi , as community members will now be able to trade at their own terms and within their own localities.
“Other countries started the same way, small. These communities must be commended for sitting down and resolving to do something about their situation. I see sustainable social-economic change coming; I see poverty being alleviated, and development bridges being constructed,” said Kazembe.
For Medi Executive Director Charles Kazembe, it is a story of how communities an influence positive change and help towards uplifting their own economic standards.
“I was surprised and, at the same time, encouraged with what people of Thyolo East agreed to do. Imagine, they have volunteered to do many things: they have burned the bricks for construction of two brocks to be used as the market centre and are constructing the structures. Their women are bringing sand from far away places using their heads, and fetching water from rivers from construction work. I am amazed,” said Kazembe.
It is intimated that the initiative will help rescue community members from the pangs of poverty by providing a ready market for their farm produce, and provide a ready meeting place for positive community discourse. Some community members have already started talking of putting in place revenue collection mechanisms to help towards maintenance of the market.
“We also want 35 per cent of the revenue collected from the market centre to go towards community development initiatives. Such revenue can also help us provide food and other resources to the less privileged, including the provision of subsidized fertilizer to the aged and those who cannot afford a bag of fertilizer,” said Amadu Chanza, a community member.
The hopes must really be high for Thyolo East communities, something that started one day by the mere act of a resolute communities sitting under village headman Mauwa’s Mahogany tree. The tree also serves as a court.
Quite ironic a song for a people who have been independent since July 6, 1964 because, often, this has translated into starvation in the midst of plenty. More marketable resources, no cash to offset some of life’s basic needs. At one time, the national percentage of those who swam towards the verge of malnutrition was well over 58 per cent, a trend that is now changing following the institution of stringent government mechanisms, through vibrant nutrition policies through the Office of the President and Cabinet’s Department for Nutrition, HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Mary Shawa, the Department’s Principal Secretary, has become synonymous with Malawi ’s success story in the areas of nutrition, HIV and AIDS.
While things seem to be moving in nutrition, HIV and AIDS, one area that seems to have been late to catching the drift of the changing tides is small scale entrepreneurship for the rural masses. These people only depend on up town markets such as Limbe, Mzuzu and Lilongwe for their product sales or purchases, something that eats much into their pockets as they pay blood in transport costs, and burn their sweat in unproductive business.
This is fast becoming clear, at least for the people of Thyolo, a district in Southern Malawi , well known for its never-ending supply of farm products.
No story of bananas, pine apples, sugarcane, Mangoes, Tomatoes, Onions, green maize, sweet and Irish potatoes, and other grain products is told without mentioning the names Thyolo (district), Mulanje, Dedza, Ntcheu. But, quite ironically, the people in these areas also contribute significantly towards the country’s high poverty levels.
“There is really nothing to show for our sweat except for our deformed hands. We work all day, all year round but get nothing in return. I think it’s because we have not sat down to see why we have failed to develop and transform our households all these years; we need something new now,” says Group Village Headman Mauwa of Thyolo.
Mauwa looks like the ordinary villager, breathes like one- nothing strange about him. But, man, the traditional leader is about to bring about a revolution in the social-economic status of his subjects in Thyolo East Constituency.
Realizing that poverty can not be eradicated by hoping for a better tomorrow, Mauwa has mobilized his subjects, and convinced the Malawi Entrepreneurship Development Institute (Medi- one of the country’s top capacity builders in small scale entrepreneurship) to start a pilot initiative for a small scale development centre. This is a place where, three months from now, a products and services’ marketing centre will stand and carter for the economic needs of Thyolo East constituents.
The land upon which the centre will stand used to be some desolate, unproductive land. No positive hopes could be attached to it. Now that is set to change.
“We want to transform our lives here, and that is the reason we sat down as a community to consider something we could do, something that could have sustainable social-economic impacts. We settles for a small scale market development centre called Thyolo East Small Scale Market Development Centre. We will be selling our products and services here, unlike in the past when people used to flock to Blantyre City and Limbe to sell their farm produce or buy their needs,” said Mauwa.
This is a new development in Malawi , and Mauwa hopes that the initiative will be replicated in other parts of Malawi should it turn out to be a success.
For Minister of Trade and Industry, Eunice Kazembe, the development could turn out to be another economic spinner for Malawi , as community members will now be able to trade at their own terms and within their own localities.
“Other countries started the same way, small. These communities must be commended for sitting down and resolving to do something about their situation. I see sustainable social-economic change coming; I see poverty being alleviated, and development bridges being constructed,” said Kazembe.
For Medi Executive Director Charles Kazembe, it is a story of how communities an influence positive change and help towards uplifting their own economic standards.
“I was surprised and, at the same time, encouraged with what people of Thyolo East agreed to do. Imagine, they have volunteered to do many things: they have burned the bricks for construction of two brocks to be used as the market centre and are constructing the structures. Their women are bringing sand from far away places using their heads, and fetching water from rivers from construction work. I am amazed,” said Kazembe.
It is intimated that the initiative will help rescue community members from the pangs of poverty by providing a ready market for their farm produce, and provide a ready meeting place for positive community discourse. Some community members have already started talking of putting in place revenue collection mechanisms to help towards maintenance of the market.
“We also want 35 per cent of the revenue collected from the market centre to go towards community development initiatives. Such revenue can also help us provide food and other resources to the less privileged, including the provision of subsidized fertilizer to the aged and those who cannot afford a bag of fertilizer,” said Amadu Chanza, a community member.
The hopes must really be high for Thyolo East communities, something that started one day by the mere act of a resolute communities sitting under village headman Mauwa’s Mahogany tree. The tree also serves as a court.
Finance Minister bemoans poor procurement systems
Malawi ’s Finance, Ken Kandodo, has bemoaned the general lack of professional procurement officers in public institutions, blaming the development for increasing procurement-related corruption and thwarting national development.
Kandodo said for a long time, procurement was mostly handled by non-professionals; a development that often translated into poor delivery of services as most of the procured items left a lot to be desired.
Corruption was a also rampant, he said.
“Government is happy, however, that things seem to be changing- especially after the establishment last year of the Malawi Institute of Procurement and Supply (Mips). We really want things to improve as far as procurement of public services in concerned. Tax payers’ money should be spent on worthy services,” said Kandodo.
Kandodo said procurement played a crucial role in the country’s social-economic development endeavors, and has since asked procurement officers to follow the book in procuring services and products.
“Procurement is key to Malawi ’s social-economic development,” said Kandodo.
It is just now the government is waking up to the fact that public procurement is a specialized area that requires professional personnel. In the past, even government messengers could handle procurement of services and products.
Kandodo said for a long time, procurement was mostly handled by non-professionals; a development that often translated into poor delivery of services as most of the procured items left a lot to be desired.
Corruption was a also rampant, he said.
“Government is happy, however, that things seem to be changing- especially after the establishment last year of the Malawi Institute of Procurement and Supply (Mips). We really want things to improve as far as procurement of public services in concerned. Tax payers’ money should be spent on worthy services,” said Kandodo.
Kandodo said procurement played a crucial role in the country’s social-economic development endeavors, and has since asked procurement officers to follow the book in procuring services and products.
“Procurement is key to Malawi ’s social-economic development,” said Kandodo.
It is just now the government is waking up to the fact that public procurement is a specialized area that requires professional personnel. In the past, even government messengers could handle procurement of services and products.
Phalombe: a district without district hospital
Phalombe, a district in Southern Malawi , remains without a public district hospital over a decade after being declared a district.
The district was formerly part of Mulanje district, before former president Bakili Muluzi declared it a district.
The development has formed people from the district, most of whom live on less than US$1 a day, to opt for expensive private hospitals- further draining their hard-earned resources, resources that would otherwise have been used for other household development initiatives.
People currently depend on Holy Family Mission Hospital , a Christian Health Association of Malawi (Cham) member. Holy Family also owns a medical college, but intake has remained very low because of failure by the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) to connect the institution to the national electricity grid.
This comes over 10 years after Holy Family College applied for electricity connectivity.
This has not gone down well with Malawi ’s Health Minister, Prof Moses Chibambo, who has vowed to shake Escom into connecting the institution to the electricity grid.
“I will do all I can to convince Escom to connect Holy Family College . As you have heard, failure to connect the institution has affected the intake of new students. It is too bad,” said Chibambo.
There is no kitchen at Holy Family Mission Hospital , 10 years after fired gutted down the hospital’s kitchen in 1999. There is no guardian shelter as well, making if more than difficult for guardians.
Phalombe District Health Officer, Raphael Piringu, hopes that the district could soon have a district hospital following government’s assurance that Phalombe is one of the three district earmarked for a district hospital during the 2009/10 fiscal year.
Plans are in the pipeline to start construction of a new hospital next month.
“We really need a district hospital. Currently, people are facing lots of challenges to access health services as they mostly depend on private health facilities, most of which are too expensive for ordinary community members,” said Piringu.
A district hospital is one of the key requirements for a district, though lack of them in some of Malawi ’s administrative districts remains a major challenge to the country’s health infrastructure system.
Blantyre also has no district hospital, forcing people to rush to the referral Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital even at the beck and call of a headache.
The district was formerly part of Mulanje district, before former president Bakili Muluzi declared it a district.
The development has formed people from the district, most of whom live on less than US$1 a day, to opt for expensive private hospitals- further draining their hard-earned resources, resources that would otherwise have been used for other household development initiatives.
People currently depend on Holy Family Mission Hospital , a Christian Health Association of Malawi (Cham) member. Holy Family also owns a medical college, but intake has remained very low because of failure by the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) to connect the institution to the national electricity grid.
This comes over 10 years after Holy Family College applied for electricity connectivity.
This has not gone down well with Malawi ’s Health Minister, Prof Moses Chibambo, who has vowed to shake Escom into connecting the institution to the electricity grid.
“I will do all I can to convince Escom to connect Holy Family College . As you have heard, failure to connect the institution has affected the intake of new students. It is too bad,” said Chibambo.
There is no kitchen at Holy Family Mission Hospital , 10 years after fired gutted down the hospital’s kitchen in 1999. There is no guardian shelter as well, making if more than difficult for guardians.
Phalombe District Health Officer, Raphael Piringu, hopes that the district could soon have a district hospital following government’s assurance that Phalombe is one of the three district earmarked for a district hospital during the 2009/10 fiscal year.
Plans are in the pipeline to start construction of a new hospital next month.
“We really need a district hospital. Currently, people are facing lots of challenges to access health services as they mostly depend on private health facilities, most of which are too expensive for ordinary community members,” said Piringu.
A district hospital is one of the key requirements for a district, though lack of them in some of Malawi ’s administrative districts remains a major challenge to the country’s health infrastructure system.
Blantyre also has no district hospital, forcing people to rush to the referral Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital even at the beck and call of a headache.
Malawi to increase boat ambulances
Malawi plans to increase the number of boat ambulances to, at least, 20, up from less than four that currently ferry patients in Lakeshore districts to nearby public hospitals.
This, according to Health Minister Moses Chirambo, will help reduce the number of patients who die on the way to medical facilities in a country dogged by transport problems for people who live along Africa’s third largest freshwater lake.
Malawi is one of the countries with the highest maternal mortality and morbidity rates in the world that, out of every 100, 000 births, 894 have to die. Malaria remains another challenge crippling the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) member state’s health care delivery system- already devastated by the twin challenges of HIV and AIDS and Tuberculosis.
Chirambo said communities living along Lake Malawi were facing insurmountable transport challenges during emergencies, a development that was increasing the number of preventable deaths.
“We talk of communities living along such Lakeshore districts as Nkhatabay District Hospital and others. There are very few boats ferrying patients to these hospitals. Government will, therefore, increase the number of boats in a bid to help improve service delivery of health services,” said Chirambo.
Chirambo said the initiative will be implemented in the course of two years. During the same time, renovation works will be taking place at Nkhatabay District Hospital, to cost a whopping K15.7 billion.
“We really want to change the face of health services in Malawi. As you can see, boat ambulances and a state-of-the-art hospital will help improve the health status of many people, not only in Nkhatabay and the Northern region but, in Malawi in general. We want to help meet the Millennium Development Goals,” said Chirambo.
This, according to Health Minister Moses Chirambo, will help reduce the number of patients who die on the way to medical facilities in a country dogged by transport problems for people who live along Africa’s third largest freshwater lake.
Malawi is one of the countries with the highest maternal mortality and morbidity rates in the world that, out of every 100, 000 births, 894 have to die. Malaria remains another challenge crippling the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) member state’s health care delivery system- already devastated by the twin challenges of HIV and AIDS and Tuberculosis.
Chirambo said communities living along Lake Malawi were facing insurmountable transport challenges during emergencies, a development that was increasing the number of preventable deaths.
“We talk of communities living along such Lakeshore districts as Nkhatabay District Hospital and others. There are very few boats ferrying patients to these hospitals. Government will, therefore, increase the number of boats in a bid to help improve service delivery of health services,” said Chirambo.
Chirambo said the initiative will be implemented in the course of two years. During the same time, renovation works will be taking place at Nkhatabay District Hospital, to cost a whopping K15.7 billion.
“We really want to change the face of health services in Malawi. As you can see, boat ambulances and a state-of-the-art hospital will help improve the health status of many people, not only in Nkhatabay and the Northern region but, in Malawi in general. We want to help meet the Millennium Development Goals,” said Chirambo.
Malawian workers exploited
Government has threatened to close all exploitative foreign companies in a latest swipe at foreign investors it accuses of ill-treating local workers.
Labour Minister Yunus Mussa said government would not hesitate to close companies bent at making profits at the expense of Malawian workers, as there can never be sustainable social-economic development should local workers continue to live on
‘hand-to-mouth’ basis.
“There is high level exploitation of Malawian workers. This is evident in the fact that almost all foreign companies pay our workers poorly, paying them in exactitude of the minimum wage of K129 per hour. The minimum wage is just a guideline, it doesn’t mean our workers should be paid exactly that amount,” said Mussa.
Mussa has since threatened to close two prominent foreign owned companies, including Exclusive Garments, on accusations of local workers’ exploitation.
“We will not hesitate to close exploitative companies. We have just discovered that the level of workers’ exploitation is very high and unprecedented in Malawi, and will do all we can to come to the root of the problem. Government doesn’t rule out mass deportations of exploiters,” said Mussa.
It is not the first time a high level government official has taken a swipe at foreign investors; State President, Bingu wa Mutharika, has often attacked investors for offering poor agricultural produce prices.
Just this month, government deported three top bosses from some of the country’s biggest tobacco companies, accusing them of fixing tobacco prices and sabotaging the economy.
But government has not always had its way. A wrangle currently rages on with the country’s cotton buyers over this year’s cotton prices. The Cotton Development Association wants to by cotton at between K36 and K42 per kg, contrary to the government set price of K75 per kg.
The price wrangle has meant delayed market openings for cotton, with one of the country’s top cotton buying companies pulling out of the market to concentrate on grain trading.
Most of the cotton companies are foreign owned, and are now buying from Zambian and Mozambican farmers. Government has threatened to deport their top bosses, a threat yet to materialize.
“These companies are in my firing range,” said Mutharika recently, raising fears he would soon strike at industry bosses.
Labour Minister Yunus Mussa said government would not hesitate to close companies bent at making profits at the expense of Malawian workers, as there can never be sustainable social-economic development should local workers continue to live on
‘hand-to-mouth’ basis.
“There is high level exploitation of Malawian workers. This is evident in the fact that almost all foreign companies pay our workers poorly, paying them in exactitude of the minimum wage of K129 per hour. The minimum wage is just a guideline, it doesn’t mean our workers should be paid exactly that amount,” said Mussa.
Mussa has since threatened to close two prominent foreign owned companies, including Exclusive Garments, on accusations of local workers’ exploitation.
“We will not hesitate to close exploitative companies. We have just discovered that the level of workers’ exploitation is very high and unprecedented in Malawi, and will do all we can to come to the root of the problem. Government doesn’t rule out mass deportations of exploiters,” said Mussa.
It is not the first time a high level government official has taken a swipe at foreign investors; State President, Bingu wa Mutharika, has often attacked investors for offering poor agricultural produce prices.
Just this month, government deported three top bosses from some of the country’s biggest tobacco companies, accusing them of fixing tobacco prices and sabotaging the economy.
But government has not always had its way. A wrangle currently rages on with the country’s cotton buyers over this year’s cotton prices. The Cotton Development Association wants to by cotton at between K36 and K42 per kg, contrary to the government set price of K75 per kg.
The price wrangle has meant delayed market openings for cotton, with one of the country’s top cotton buying companies pulling out of the market to concentrate on grain trading.
Most of the cotton companies are foreign owned, and are now buying from Zambian and Mozambican farmers. Government has threatened to deport their top bosses, a threat yet to materialize.
“These companies are in my firing range,” said Mutharika recently, raising fears he would soon strike at industry bosses.
Locals still shun tourism sites
The level of locals’ patronage to Malawi’s acclaimed tourism sites remains ‘horribly’ low, a development blamed on prevalent perceptions that tourism is for foreign nationals.
But Director of Tourism, Isaac Katopola, said this was set to change following increased levels of public awareness about the ‘vast’ advantages of visiting local tourism sites.
Katopola said government has been carrying out public mobilization campaigns aimed at changing prevalent perceptions. He said the country was also working on price modalities to make sure Malawi remained a competitive tourism destination for many of the world’s citizens.
There are concerns over Malawi’s price competitiveness, with a majority of foreign tourists complaining over high accommodation and traveling prices.
Government maintains Malawi remains one of the cheapest destinations in Africa, with her wide variety of endemic natural diversity. Lake Malawi is Africa’s third largest lake and contains more aquatic bio-diversity than any other fresh lake in the world.
While fossil fish can not be found in the lake, archaeological evidence indicates the lake, also known as the Lake of Stars, has not always been without fossil fish. Just some 200 years ago, it was there in abundance- now forced out of existence by man’s pervasive activities.
“We are worried that locals continue to shun tourism site. The thinking is that only foreign nationals are best-suited for tourism. It is sad, but we are working on it,” said Katopola.
Malawi joined the rest of the world in commemorating ‘Tourism Week’ whose theme was ‘Cerebrating Diversity’. The week brought to light some of the country’s attractive places, which included the Kandewe Cultural Heritage Site. There, at Zuwulufu, a traditional suspension bridge built in 1904 stands strong in the air.
Something happened there some fifteen years ago. An unsuspecting Hippopotamus walked through the suspended bridge that needs faith in one’s legs to cross, as it is made up of mere bamboos, and- mid way through- fell through, down into the Zuwulufu River.
The Hippo plunged some fifteen metres down, breaking its two hind legs. School children, who cross the suspended bridge daily in their quest for a honey comb called education, could not cross the river as their link was torn asunder mid way through the river. They reported to their parents, and the parents called game rangers.
The rangers task was simple: shoot the Hippo that had burst through Goodwin Mkandawire’s idea of a bamboo suspended bridge).To the villagers, the Hippo was good news. The spirits of their (Khoka people, who lived in the area and can still be found) ancestors had brought them ‘Ndiwo’ (relish).
The Hippo died, relish for all villagers, but the suspended bridge was repaired.
Katopola said this, and many other tourism attractions, were good for both the foreign national and local citizen.
“Tourism, like music, is universal,” he said.
But Director of Tourism, Isaac Katopola, said this was set to change following increased levels of public awareness about the ‘vast’ advantages of visiting local tourism sites.
Katopola said government has been carrying out public mobilization campaigns aimed at changing prevalent perceptions. He said the country was also working on price modalities to make sure Malawi remained a competitive tourism destination for many of the world’s citizens.
There are concerns over Malawi’s price competitiveness, with a majority of foreign tourists complaining over high accommodation and traveling prices.
Government maintains Malawi remains one of the cheapest destinations in Africa, with her wide variety of endemic natural diversity. Lake Malawi is Africa’s third largest lake and contains more aquatic bio-diversity than any other fresh lake in the world.
While fossil fish can not be found in the lake, archaeological evidence indicates the lake, also known as the Lake of Stars, has not always been without fossil fish. Just some 200 years ago, it was there in abundance- now forced out of existence by man’s pervasive activities.
“We are worried that locals continue to shun tourism site. The thinking is that only foreign nationals are best-suited for tourism. It is sad, but we are working on it,” said Katopola.
Malawi joined the rest of the world in commemorating ‘Tourism Week’ whose theme was ‘Cerebrating Diversity’. The week brought to light some of the country’s attractive places, which included the Kandewe Cultural Heritage Site. There, at Zuwulufu, a traditional suspension bridge built in 1904 stands strong in the air.
Something happened there some fifteen years ago. An unsuspecting Hippopotamus walked through the suspended bridge that needs faith in one’s legs to cross, as it is made up of mere bamboos, and- mid way through- fell through, down into the Zuwulufu River.
The Hippo plunged some fifteen metres down, breaking its two hind legs. School children, who cross the suspended bridge daily in their quest for a honey comb called education, could not cross the river as their link was torn asunder mid way through the river. They reported to their parents, and the parents called game rangers.
The rangers task was simple: shoot the Hippo that had burst through Goodwin Mkandawire’s idea of a bamboo suspended bridge).To the villagers, the Hippo was good news. The spirits of their (Khoka people, who lived in the area and can still be found) ancestors had brought them ‘Ndiwo’ (relish).
The Hippo died, relish for all villagers, but the suspended bridge was repaired.
Katopola said this, and many other tourism attractions, were good for both the foreign national and local citizen.
“Tourism, like music, is universal,” he said.
Local governments ordered to clean up
Malawians hate paying up. This became more evident during consultative meetings for the introduction of ‘Polluter Pays Principle’ some two years ago, sending government to the drawing board.
Many stakeholders, industry players and community members alike, came flat out against the initiative, saying it would make life expensive since it would, in effect, make people pay for that they needed not.
There fears could, somehow, be understood since they emanated from the Ministry of Environmental Affairs. Now, government wants to start from the ground and instill a sense of cleanness over public infrastructure.
Minister of Local Government, Goodall Gondwe, has started the process, beginning with Mzuzu City in Malawi’s Northern region.
Mzuzu was declared a town in 1964, before graduating into the region’s only city. The country has four cities, one in the North, another in Central region, which also hosts the country’s capital city, and two in the Southern region. These are Blantyre and Zomba, Malawi’s former capital.
Gondwe is not happy with album dwellers he accuses of developing ‘strange’ tendencies.
“People seem to have developed strange tendencies, one of which includes litter- throwing in most parts of the country’s urban areas. This does not happen in rural areas, which means that it is not part of our culture,” said Gondwe.
Gondwe said government wanted to improve the level of cleanness in Malawian cities, some of which were once considered the cleanliest in Africa. Foreign heads of state even came to just appreciate how City Assemblies such as Blantyre managed to keep litter out of the streets.
But Gondwe said this reputation was fast dying because urban dwellers were losing sense of environmental management and throwing all responsibility to the wind.
“We want to start with local assemblies and take the initiative to the national stage. It is not too late to bring things back to normal,” said Gondwe.
He hoped that people would soon begin to own up to their mess.
Many stakeholders, industry players and community members alike, came flat out against the initiative, saying it would make life expensive since it would, in effect, make people pay for that they needed not.
There fears could, somehow, be understood since they emanated from the Ministry of Environmental Affairs. Now, government wants to start from the ground and instill a sense of cleanness over public infrastructure.
Minister of Local Government, Goodall Gondwe, has started the process, beginning with Mzuzu City in Malawi’s Northern region.
Mzuzu was declared a town in 1964, before graduating into the region’s only city. The country has four cities, one in the North, another in Central region, which also hosts the country’s capital city, and two in the Southern region. These are Blantyre and Zomba, Malawi’s former capital.
Gondwe is not happy with album dwellers he accuses of developing ‘strange’ tendencies.
“People seem to have developed strange tendencies, one of which includes litter- throwing in most parts of the country’s urban areas. This does not happen in rural areas, which means that it is not part of our culture,” said Gondwe.
Gondwe said government wanted to improve the level of cleanness in Malawian cities, some of which were once considered the cleanliest in Africa. Foreign heads of state even came to just appreciate how City Assemblies such as Blantyre managed to keep litter out of the streets.
But Gondwe said this reputation was fast dying because urban dwellers were losing sense of environmental management and throwing all responsibility to the wind.
“We want to start with local assemblies and take the initiative to the national stage. It is not too late to bring things back to normal,” said Gondwe.
He hoped that people would soon begin to own up to their mess.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
From Elke Ihnen's heart to Rabea
Someone lives,
Wings and Europlane wings away,
Somewhere over the soils and clay of Germany,
If ever there be something like German clay,
A land of hopes and 'if I weres' for many,
Who walk smiling,
Over the smatching October sun.
Sure knew Elke Ihnen,
When Mother January came,
And waited February, March, April, May, June, July, August
For Father September to chance:
That Rabea would up ward fly,
Towards a land hither to unknown.
Somewhere, beyond the blue borderless sky
Lies Malawi
The Lakeland,
Where stay some more,
Unknown brothers and sisters for Rabea.
Rabea and Elke Ihnen's sacrifice,
For the betterment of many,
Who live without more,
But hopeless hope.
The feet fear not the nagging Sun,
The little peaces of opposing colours of clothes,
Know not shame but smiles,
As Rabea and more together labour,
And communities, too
For a better tomorrow.
The Germans have a mighty heart,
And have come to love the Lake.
As Elke Ihnen back home,
Questions raised:
Rabea must be safe.
Is she safe?
The love of a parent,
Whose hug in anticipation waits,
For the warm hug,
Of a child on good mission.
One day in November,
Shaddows will take the place,
Where Rabea once stood,
And up brought some shapeless wall.
Now the wall,
Is the class room,
And Rabea's shaddow,
Whose beholder now rejoiceth in Germany,
Will be the school block,
And the Makanjira children's hopes.
One day, so the children will say
Rabea will back 'home' come,
To see the labour of her hands,
Perhaps with Elke Ihnen too,
To see the elephants crops devour,
And the Southerly winds Hippos push.
When Rabea will in Elke Ihnen's shoulders lie,
The Makanjira children's shoulders will be cold,
And dry,
Waiting for Rabea and Elke Ihnen's hug.
No more.
Wings and Europlane wings away,
Somewhere over the soils and clay of Germany,
If ever there be something like German clay,
A land of hopes and 'if I weres' for many,
Who walk smiling,
Over the smatching October sun.
Sure knew Elke Ihnen,
When Mother January came,
And waited February, March, April, May, June, July, August
For Father September to chance:
That Rabea would up ward fly,
Towards a land hither to unknown.
Somewhere, beyond the blue borderless sky
Lies Malawi
The Lakeland,
Where stay some more,
Unknown brothers and sisters for Rabea.
Rabea and Elke Ihnen's sacrifice,
For the betterment of many,
Who live without more,
But hopeless hope.
The feet fear not the nagging Sun,
The little peaces of opposing colours of clothes,
Know not shame but smiles,
As Rabea and more together labour,
And communities, too
For a better tomorrow.
The Germans have a mighty heart,
And have come to love the Lake.
As Elke Ihnen back home,
Questions raised:
Rabea must be safe.
Is she safe?
The love of a parent,
Whose hug in anticipation waits,
For the warm hug,
Of a child on good mission.
One day in November,
Shaddows will take the place,
Where Rabea once stood,
And up brought some shapeless wall.
Now the wall,
Is the class room,
And Rabea's shaddow,
Whose beholder now rejoiceth in Germany,
Will be the school block,
And the Makanjira children's hopes.
One day, so the children will say
Rabea will back 'home' come,
To see the labour of her hands,
Perhaps with Elke Ihnen too,
To see the elephants crops devour,
And the Southerly winds Hippos push.
When Rabea will in Elke Ihnen's shoulders lie,
The Makanjira children's shoulders will be cold,
And dry,
Waiting for Rabea and Elke Ihnen's hug.
No more.
Construction work on course, all happy- Studnitz
Construction work for school blocks in Malawi’s Lakeshore district of Mangochi is on course, a development that would help shelter otherwise helpless children from the area of Senior Chief Makanjira from the on-coming rains, says Michael Studnitz, Co-founder and Chairman of the German NGO Reisende Werkschule Scholen.
The German NGO has since 2001 been making periodic trips to Malawi, a Southern African Development Community (Sadc) member state, where students have been working with local communities to bring about sustainable social-economic development through school blocks’ infrastructure.
Some of the beneficiary schools include Nangungu Primary in Mangochi’s Makanjira area, developments that have excited traditional leaders from the area.
The Germans are back to Malawi this year, and plan to construct some more school blocks for the less privileged in Malawi, where most pupils learn under trees. Education rights NGOs claim that over 10 pupils may have died over the past 10 years after trees fell on them, something that speaks volumes about the country’s education infrastructure.
Studnitz said this week construction work was well on course for the October 26, 2009 handover ceremony, and hailed the German students for their high spirits.
“The guys have been great ever since they arrived in Malawi. We are really grateful that everyone is alright and also that we have managed to mingle and integrate well into the communities. They are really part of the communities now,” said Studnitz.
Studnitz said he was even encouraged that almost all of the Germans have expressed wishes to visit Malawi again at some point in their lives, hailing the people’s friendliness.
“Everyone smiles here. Malawians are real wonderful people,” said Studnitz.
Malawi is endowed with a great variety of natural resources, something the Germans are enjoying quite well. They take time to relax and feel the breeze of Lake Malawi, the world’s third largest fresh water lake. Elephants are also a common sight, as they walk in groups and fill their long trumpet-like mouths.
Women from Makanjira almost compliments this great sight with their hard work, ferrying water from nearby rivers to help their make the work of their men easier during block construction.
Some of the Germans could be heard laughing in the background.
The German NGO has since 2001 been making periodic trips to Malawi, a Southern African Development Community (Sadc) member state, where students have been working with local communities to bring about sustainable social-economic development through school blocks’ infrastructure.
Some of the beneficiary schools include Nangungu Primary in Mangochi’s Makanjira area, developments that have excited traditional leaders from the area.
The Germans are back to Malawi this year, and plan to construct some more school blocks for the less privileged in Malawi, where most pupils learn under trees. Education rights NGOs claim that over 10 pupils may have died over the past 10 years after trees fell on them, something that speaks volumes about the country’s education infrastructure.
Studnitz said this week construction work was well on course for the October 26, 2009 handover ceremony, and hailed the German students for their high spirits.
“The guys have been great ever since they arrived in Malawi. We are really grateful that everyone is alright and also that we have managed to mingle and integrate well into the communities. They are really part of the communities now,” said Studnitz.
Studnitz said he was even encouraged that almost all of the Germans have expressed wishes to visit Malawi again at some point in their lives, hailing the people’s friendliness.
“Everyone smiles here. Malawians are real wonderful people,” said Studnitz.
Malawi is endowed with a great variety of natural resources, something the Germans are enjoying quite well. They take time to relax and feel the breeze of Lake Malawi, the world’s third largest fresh water lake. Elephants are also a common sight, as they walk in groups and fill their long trumpet-like mouths.
Women from Makanjira almost compliments this great sight with their hard work, ferrying water from nearby rivers to help their make the work of their men easier during block construction.
Some of the Germans could be heard laughing in the background.
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Penguin man and his mate
Se went the Penguin-stomached man,
Him and his noisy sister,
To the ants-filled land.
No, not only the so-filled land,
They, too, went to the Ngaliba land,
Before the badling Mountains.
There, the Penguin-man's sister sleeps,
When Mother ballot cries.
Four times she has cried
As the darkness kisses bye,
To the coming light.
So did the light
Bye the in coming dark.
Up came the foet,
It was a double might.
Neding another flight.
Hence went the Penguin man,
And his wife.
Sorry, its vice,
As together
They seek against their ants no mighty vice.
They have booted bye to kick backs,
So did they to vendor stalls
Lidding town of human vices
He and his vice.
In the ants land they made more noise,
Thinking it was all fine,
So did they
In Ngalibaland
Before the people said 'we want the lonely men,
A man and a woman
The party mount now so quiet
All the noise no prize
For the Penguin man and his wife.
So the ant-landers spiked,
The big man's quacking,
Their Penguin sister they spiked.
That, is that what you call our new life?
Him and his noisy sister,
To the ants-filled land.
No, not only the so-filled land,
They, too, went to the Ngaliba land,
Before the badling Mountains.
There, the Penguin-man's sister sleeps,
When Mother ballot cries.
Four times she has cried
As the darkness kisses bye,
To the coming light.
So did the light
Bye the in coming dark.
Up came the foet,
It was a double might.
Neding another flight.
Hence went the Penguin man,
And his wife.
Sorry, its vice,
As together
They seek against their ants no mighty vice.
They have booted bye to kick backs,
So did they to vendor stalls
Lidding town of human vices
He and his vice.
In the ants land they made more noise,
Thinking it was all fine,
So did they
In Ngalibaland
Before the people said 'we want the lonely men,
A man and a woman
The party mount now so quiet
All the noise no prize
For the Penguin man and his wife.
So the ant-landers spiked,
The big man's quacking,
Their Penguin sister they spiked.
That, is that what you call our new life?
Sole witness as Mulanje and Kilimanjalo mate
So innocent his mission,
Innocent Bushman set for the great Mulanje Mountain peak,
Sapitwa, that is the fame,
And the name.
Brother Kilimanjalo up river,
Of Sapitwa tolerates no riddle.
After all,
They hag up yonder
When shake the mighty winds,
When El Nino walks home,
To spread dry spells on land,
In miseries in the granaries.
That July morning,
Fog so covered,
The mighty Mulanje and Kilimanjalo kisses,
As Bushman
So innocently up mountain snaked.
The porter,So local in his knowledge
To Bushman's lonely insistence obliged,
To his lonely death no companion.
Mulanje Mountain so angry infuriated,
On why Bushman stil,l treked,
As Kilimanjalo and Mount Mulanje mate,
And unto another life's waters poured.
So went Bushman,
With the sperms of Father Kilimanjalo,
Down the Mulanje tube,
Yet he turned into no foetus.
Innocent villagers,
Wearing Bushman's innocence of July,
Up, up treked,
In search of daily bread.
Bushman quetly lay,
Flies nearby,
His new porter frriends,
That his own porter down he left
As towards death he solely treked.
Like the mighty winds,
The insolent fog,
Twain sheets as the two mounts met,
The news all over spread
That Bushman no longer breathed.
Innocent Bushman set for the great Mulanje Mountain peak,
Sapitwa, that is the fame,
And the name.
Brother Kilimanjalo up river,
Of Sapitwa tolerates no riddle.
After all,
They hag up yonder
When shake the mighty winds,
When El Nino walks home,
To spread dry spells on land,
In miseries in the granaries.
That July morning,
Fog so covered,
The mighty Mulanje and Kilimanjalo kisses,
As Bushman
So innocently up mountain snaked.
The porter,So local in his knowledge
To Bushman's lonely insistence obliged,
To his lonely death no companion.
Mulanje Mountain so angry infuriated,
On why Bushman stil,l treked,
As Kilimanjalo and Mount Mulanje mate,
And unto another life's waters poured.
So went Bushman,
With the sperms of Father Kilimanjalo,
Down the Mulanje tube,
Yet he turned into no foetus.
Innocent villagers,
Wearing Bushman's innocence of July,
Up, up treked,
In search of daily bread.
Bushman quetly lay,
Flies nearby,
His new porter frriends,
That his own porter down he left
As towards death he solely treked.
Like the mighty winds,
The insolent fog,
Twain sheets as the two mounts met,
The news all over spread
That Bushman no longer breathed.
Malawian soil plus German skills equals school blocks
By Richard Chirombo
Just about everyone around Nangungu Primary School in Makanjira, Mangochi, knew the German visitors were coming. Pupils, Senior Chief Makanjira, parents and teachers; they all tuned their reasoning towards October 2007.
But nobody, even his best friends, new what was up little Ali Mwamadi’s sleeve.
He had prepared a carefully woven reed hut, shaped like a plastic bag, and stood ready to receive his ‘gift’. Never once did he forget that little hut-cum-travel bag, lest he be caught unawares by the visitors.
When the Germans, for that was the nationality of the visitors, finally came in October, six year old Ali was there to welcome them. He stepped forward, a metre behind Wallace Christopher Chombo, project officer for the Malawi/Werkschule Scholen (Traveling Workschool Scholen) initiative.. Then, he stretched his bag-like hut, extending it towards the visitors..
For a moment, silence; nobody seemed to understand. There was a sense of confusion, too. But it was just for a moment because, before long, Mwamadi aired his views:
“Where is the soil they said you would bring? Throw it inside my hut!”
Laughter. Not for little Mwamadi: he was serious.
“I say, put a sample of the soil from Germany in here. What will you build the school block with, if not soil from Germany ?”
Everyone now got it. Mwamadi had heard right; that some Germans would come to Nangungu Primary School, the first of a series of visits planned by a German Non-Governmental Organization Reisende Werkschule Scholen, to help in the construction of school blocks in the district.
The only point he got wrong was the suggestion that the visitors- Eike, Evelyn, Eric, Joschus, Kim, Kolla, Marcel, Mario, Nadine, Niklas, Sean, Sebastian, Otis- would bring with them German soil, and the misconception that German soil must have been more durable than local Katondo, in the words of Ishmael Abna, a community members from the area.
That was 2007, when Mwamadi was only 6 years-old. He will be much older now, that the Germans are coming back for another construction project, to ask for German soil.. Some community members from Makanjira have already started preparing for the Germans’ 2009 coming. This year’s construction work will start on September 1, though some of the Germans will be in by August 10.
According to Michael Von Studnitz, chairperson and co-founder of Travelling Workschool Scholen, the organization chose Malawi out of 15 other choice countries because of high illiteracy rate, especially in Mangochi district, the friendliness of its citizens as well as prevailing peace and stability.
This feeds well into the fact that the country has been named the second most peaceful in Africa, after fellow Southern African Development Community member state of Botswana .
“Since 2001, we have been happy to help in the education and infrastructural development of Malawi . In fact, our research showed that there were only 13 countries in the world that needed more help than Malawi ,” said Studnitz.
Studnitz said the German organization, through financial assistance from Bingo Lotto and Stiftung Umvertellen, also wanted to boost cultural ties with Malawi , a development he hoped would help people from the two cultures appreciate their cultural heritage and learn from each other..
Through the development of learning infrastructure, the Germans also want to contribute towards the attainment of high education standards. Studnitz cited the general lack of up-to-scratch infrastructure in the country as one of the reasons for high illiteracy rates in many districts. His organization trains German children in various skills, some of which are exposed in Makanjira when those trained visit Malawi every two years since 2001 to do construction work.
This is done in collaboration with communities surrounding primary schools whose physical appearance seems to suggest doom, or announce news of imminent collapse. Trees have become the automatic substitute for such crumbling blocks, a temporally substitute that succumbs to the yielding pressure of heavy rains and the unyielding sun.
Influential community leaders like Senior Chief Makanjira have welcomed the gesture, hoping it would dig deep into the roots of illiteracy, and help enlighten hither to education-shy communities about the positives of education.
Various studies have shown that traditional Yao areas have been the heaven for illiteracy, a trend now changing with the establishment of many learning facilities in as many traditional Yao areas. This excites Makanjira so much, as manifested in his loud hopes that, very soon, the sons and daughters of Mangochi may begin to contribute positively towards their district’s development.
Those who attain the highest levels of education will now be able to flock to urban areas for work, look positively towards retiring so they may go back to the district for some good rest, and use that time (of rest) to share their experiences with the communities that nurtured and nourished them.
“In the end, Mangochi will be a developed lot,” said Makanjira.
Such is the hope of the chief; Reisende Travelling Workschool Scholen just nourishes it.
For people like Chombo, a son of Malawi who has joined hands with the Germans towards the development of Mangochi, the contributions they are making in raising up school infrastructure where in the past only hope rested is an incentive to foreign well-wishers eager to push us where our energies fail us
It always surprises people how the efforts always begin: a willing heart, community participation, eager and skillful German citizens, traditional, leaders’ support, the sight of little children bathing for education in the October sun, approaching rains, and readily available resources (water and soil).
Soon, a foundation is dug, one stone over another, iron sheets and…(boom) …students can now learn under protective shelter. It all happens within one month, and the Germans go home.
There are tears, also- always tears- in the end.
“ Malawi is almost like our own home; not a second home,’ says Studnitz.
Just about everyone around Nangungu Primary School in Makanjira, Mangochi, knew the German visitors were coming. Pupils, Senior Chief Makanjira, parents and teachers; they all tuned their reasoning towards October 2007.
But nobody, even his best friends, new what was up little Ali Mwamadi’s sleeve.
He had prepared a carefully woven reed hut, shaped like a plastic bag, and stood ready to receive his ‘gift’. Never once did he forget that little hut-cum-travel bag, lest he be caught unawares by the visitors.
When the Germans, for that was the nationality of the visitors, finally came in October, six year old Ali was there to welcome them. He stepped forward, a metre behind Wallace Christopher Chombo, project officer for the Malawi/Werkschule Scholen (Traveling Workschool Scholen) initiative.. Then, he stretched his bag-like hut, extending it towards the visitors..
For a moment, silence; nobody seemed to understand. There was a sense of confusion, too. But it was just for a moment because, before long, Mwamadi aired his views:
“Where is the soil they said you would bring? Throw it inside my hut!”
Laughter. Not for little Mwamadi: he was serious.
“I say, put a sample of the soil from Germany in here. What will you build the school block with, if not soil from Germany ?”
Everyone now got it. Mwamadi had heard right; that some Germans would come to Nangungu Primary School, the first of a series of visits planned by a German Non-Governmental Organization Reisende Werkschule Scholen, to help in the construction of school blocks in the district.
The only point he got wrong was the suggestion that the visitors- Eike, Evelyn, Eric, Joschus, Kim, Kolla, Marcel, Mario, Nadine, Niklas, Sean, Sebastian, Otis- would bring with them German soil, and the misconception that German soil must have been more durable than local Katondo, in the words of Ishmael Abna, a community members from the area.
That was 2007, when Mwamadi was only 6 years-old. He will be much older now, that the Germans are coming back for another construction project, to ask for German soil.. Some community members from Makanjira have already started preparing for the Germans’ 2009 coming. This year’s construction work will start on September 1, though some of the Germans will be in by August 10.
According to Michael Von Studnitz, chairperson and co-founder of Travelling Workschool Scholen, the organization chose Malawi out of 15 other choice countries because of high illiteracy rate, especially in Mangochi district, the friendliness of its citizens as well as prevailing peace and stability.
This feeds well into the fact that the country has been named the second most peaceful in Africa, after fellow Southern African Development Community member state of Botswana .
“Since 2001, we have been happy to help in the education and infrastructural development of Malawi . In fact, our research showed that there were only 13 countries in the world that needed more help than Malawi ,” said Studnitz.
Studnitz said the German organization, through financial assistance from Bingo Lotto and Stiftung Umvertellen, also wanted to boost cultural ties with Malawi , a development he hoped would help people from the two cultures appreciate their cultural heritage and learn from each other..
Through the development of learning infrastructure, the Germans also want to contribute towards the attainment of high education standards. Studnitz cited the general lack of up-to-scratch infrastructure in the country as one of the reasons for high illiteracy rates in many districts. His organization trains German children in various skills, some of which are exposed in Makanjira when those trained visit Malawi every two years since 2001 to do construction work.
This is done in collaboration with communities surrounding primary schools whose physical appearance seems to suggest doom, or announce news of imminent collapse. Trees have become the automatic substitute for such crumbling blocks, a temporally substitute that succumbs to the yielding pressure of heavy rains and the unyielding sun.
Influential community leaders like Senior Chief Makanjira have welcomed the gesture, hoping it would dig deep into the roots of illiteracy, and help enlighten hither to education-shy communities about the positives of education.
Various studies have shown that traditional Yao areas have been the heaven for illiteracy, a trend now changing with the establishment of many learning facilities in as many traditional Yao areas. This excites Makanjira so much, as manifested in his loud hopes that, very soon, the sons and daughters of Mangochi may begin to contribute positively towards their district’s development.
Those who attain the highest levels of education will now be able to flock to urban areas for work, look positively towards retiring so they may go back to the district for some good rest, and use that time (of rest) to share their experiences with the communities that nurtured and nourished them.
“In the end, Mangochi will be a developed lot,” said Makanjira.
Such is the hope of the chief; Reisende Travelling Workschool Scholen just nourishes it.
For people like Chombo, a son of Malawi who has joined hands with the Germans towards the development of Mangochi, the contributions they are making in raising up school infrastructure where in the past only hope rested is an incentive to foreign well-wishers eager to push us where our energies fail us
It always surprises people how the efforts always begin: a willing heart, community participation, eager and skillful German citizens, traditional, leaders’ support, the sight of little children bathing for education in the October sun, approaching rains, and readily available resources (water and soil).
Soon, a foundation is dug, one stone over another, iron sheets and…(boom) …students can now learn under protective shelter. It all happens within one month, and the Germans go home.
There are tears, also- always tears- in the end.
“ Malawi is almost like our own home; not a second home,’ says Studnitz.
PPM,DPP: Together, yet so far apart
By Richard Chirombo
People’s Progressive Movement (PPM), an alliance partner to President Bingu wa Mutharika’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), seems set to follow the state president’s footsteps, albeit on different missions.
This came to the fore again this week, when PPM president Mark Katsonga Phiri addressed a campaign meeting at Ndirande’s Chirunga Ground on Monday, a day after Mutharika addressed a similar meeting at Ndirande Community Centre Ground. The two venues are just a kilometer apart.
Katsonga was in the populous township to win votes for PPM’s parliamentary candidate in the by-elections slated for this week, Margaret Saenda, while Mutharika was in town for the sake of Themba Mkandawire.
Mutharika has this year attracted a lot public attention, and uproar in equal measure, largely generated through the purchase of Hummers, which now form an integral part of his presidential convoy. Katsonga has not let the Hummers’ phenomenon gather around Mutharika’s personality only, but has purchased his own- an automobile he is employing to good use during campaign, including the one for Blantyre’s City Central constituency now on the table for claim.
PPM surprised Malawians in the run up to the country’s May 19 Presidential and Parliamentary elections when it announced, during the handover ceremony of papers for its presidential candidates to Malawi Electoral Commission officials, it would no longer feature candidates. The party announced, instead, it would support Mutharika’s candidature.
Observers, including Mzuzu University political analysts Noel Mbowela, described it as a marriage of convenience at the time, one that lacked clear terms of reference and guidelines on mutual benefits.
Mutharika then, during a meeting addressed in Katsonga’s Neno constituency, denounced Katsonga, accusing him, among other things, of cheating constituents that the DPP had endorsed him as its parliamentary candidate when the party already had a female candidate in the name of Reen Kachere.
The outburst put Katsonga in a catch-22 situation, as he still maintained the two parties’ relationship remained intact, and that Mutharika’s outbursts were merely part of the heat that was campaign.
Now, some three months after the May 19 elections, the relationship between the two parties remains hazy. Mutharika has done little to clear the air by his apparent disregard of PPM officials at his official meetings and public rallies.
PPM, which previously had over five Members of Parliament in the previous House, now has none, reducing the party to a side show and preparatory ground for the 2014 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
Observers see the difference in metres between Ndirande Community Centre Ground (where Mutharika addressed a campaign rally on Sunday) and Chirunga Ground (the abode of Katsonga on Monday) as being representative of the ‘inside’ distance between the two political bedfellows.
Kenwilliams Mhango, one of the observers, said the two parties were now drifting apart, and attributed the development to the lack of clear terms of reference for the parties since their relationship was forged by way of an ad hoc strategy.
This could be seen from Mutharika and Katsonga’s sentiments during their Sunday and Monday meetings, respectively. Mutharika told a mammoth gathering at the Community Centre Ground that they should vote for nobody else but DPP’s Mkandawire. He described the other aspirants as mere opportunists who had nothing to offer. This includes PPM’s Saenda.
Katsonga, on his part, implored constituents to vote for Saenda only, saying the other political parties had failed to meet the aspirations of the people. He especially took at a swipe at the most immediate past Member of Parliament for the constituency, Gift Mwamondwe, and his party, saying they had failed people.
Mwamondwe was a DPP parliamentarian who will now stand as an independent. He accuses the DPP, where he still claims to belong, of ‘doctoring’ results of constituency primaries last year in favour of Mkandawire.
The PPM President also took time to visit Ndirande Market vendors. Katsonga was one of the first politicians to respond to the vendors’ dire call of distress when fire gutted down the market late last year, and donated K3 million.
Addressing the vendors, who gathered in the market premises on Monday, Katsonga asked them to vote for his candidate Saenda, saying the other political parties had little regard for their plight as evidenced by their slow response to the calamity that befell them last year.
Vendors especially accused government of employing ‘abandonment’ tactics after the fire, citing the slow response to their troubles, a development that led to an attempted gutting down of a DPP office in the area.
Katsonga seemed to play this ‘anger’ card very well this week, imploring the vendors not to put the incident fast behind the wheels of the past but show that they, too, could make responsive decision at the ballot box, decisions that reflected the realities of everyday life.
"I would accept no other form of gratitude (to the donation I gave you) other than the gift of Saenda from this constituency. That is the best way to thank me. PPM is the only party that can do wonders for you, and that you can enjoy by voting for Saenda. I leave you with these words, my beloved vendors," said Katsonga.
When asked about the present status of his party’s relationship with DPP, Katsonga maintained it was intact. He said PPM had won the May 19 presidential elections by virtue of Mutharika, their supported candidate, winning the polls.
It was the voice of an ambitious party president looking forward to 2014.
At last, the coffin finally came. In went the PPM and DPP, together. Once again, the independents had ruled again in Zomba Malosa and Blantyre Central constituencies.
People’s Progressive Movement (PPM), an alliance partner to President Bingu wa Mutharika’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), seems set to follow the state president’s footsteps, albeit on different missions.
This came to the fore again this week, when PPM president Mark Katsonga Phiri addressed a campaign meeting at Ndirande’s Chirunga Ground on Monday, a day after Mutharika addressed a similar meeting at Ndirande Community Centre Ground. The two venues are just a kilometer apart.
Katsonga was in the populous township to win votes for PPM’s parliamentary candidate in the by-elections slated for this week, Margaret Saenda, while Mutharika was in town for the sake of Themba Mkandawire.
Mutharika has this year attracted a lot public attention, and uproar in equal measure, largely generated through the purchase of Hummers, which now form an integral part of his presidential convoy. Katsonga has not let the Hummers’ phenomenon gather around Mutharika’s personality only, but has purchased his own- an automobile he is employing to good use during campaign, including the one for Blantyre’s City Central constituency now on the table for claim.
PPM surprised Malawians in the run up to the country’s May 19 Presidential and Parliamentary elections when it announced, during the handover ceremony of papers for its presidential candidates to Malawi Electoral Commission officials, it would no longer feature candidates. The party announced, instead, it would support Mutharika’s candidature.
Observers, including Mzuzu University political analysts Noel Mbowela, described it as a marriage of convenience at the time, one that lacked clear terms of reference and guidelines on mutual benefits.
Mutharika then, during a meeting addressed in Katsonga’s Neno constituency, denounced Katsonga, accusing him, among other things, of cheating constituents that the DPP had endorsed him as its parliamentary candidate when the party already had a female candidate in the name of Reen Kachere.
The outburst put Katsonga in a catch-22 situation, as he still maintained the two parties’ relationship remained intact, and that Mutharika’s outbursts were merely part of the heat that was campaign.
Now, some three months after the May 19 elections, the relationship between the two parties remains hazy. Mutharika has done little to clear the air by his apparent disregard of PPM officials at his official meetings and public rallies.
PPM, which previously had over five Members of Parliament in the previous House, now has none, reducing the party to a side show and preparatory ground for the 2014 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
Observers see the difference in metres between Ndirande Community Centre Ground (where Mutharika addressed a campaign rally on Sunday) and Chirunga Ground (the abode of Katsonga on Monday) as being representative of the ‘inside’ distance between the two political bedfellows.
Kenwilliams Mhango, one of the observers, said the two parties were now drifting apart, and attributed the development to the lack of clear terms of reference for the parties since their relationship was forged by way of an ad hoc strategy.
This could be seen from Mutharika and Katsonga’s sentiments during their Sunday and Monday meetings, respectively. Mutharika told a mammoth gathering at the Community Centre Ground that they should vote for nobody else but DPP’s Mkandawire. He described the other aspirants as mere opportunists who had nothing to offer. This includes PPM’s Saenda.
Katsonga, on his part, implored constituents to vote for Saenda only, saying the other political parties had failed to meet the aspirations of the people. He especially took at a swipe at the most immediate past Member of Parliament for the constituency, Gift Mwamondwe, and his party, saying they had failed people.
Mwamondwe was a DPP parliamentarian who will now stand as an independent. He accuses the DPP, where he still claims to belong, of ‘doctoring’ results of constituency primaries last year in favour of Mkandawire.
The PPM President also took time to visit Ndirande Market vendors. Katsonga was one of the first politicians to respond to the vendors’ dire call of distress when fire gutted down the market late last year, and donated K3 million.
Addressing the vendors, who gathered in the market premises on Monday, Katsonga asked them to vote for his candidate Saenda, saying the other political parties had little regard for their plight as evidenced by their slow response to the calamity that befell them last year.
Vendors especially accused government of employing ‘abandonment’ tactics after the fire, citing the slow response to their troubles, a development that led to an attempted gutting down of a DPP office in the area.
Katsonga seemed to play this ‘anger’ card very well this week, imploring the vendors not to put the incident fast behind the wheels of the past but show that they, too, could make responsive decision at the ballot box, decisions that reflected the realities of everyday life.
"I would accept no other form of gratitude (to the donation I gave you) other than the gift of Saenda from this constituency. That is the best way to thank me. PPM is the only party that can do wonders for you, and that you can enjoy by voting for Saenda. I leave you with these words, my beloved vendors," said Katsonga.
When asked about the present status of his party’s relationship with DPP, Katsonga maintained it was intact. He said PPM had won the May 19 presidential elections by virtue of Mutharika, their supported candidate, winning the polls.
It was the voice of an ambitious party president looking forward to 2014.
At last, the coffin finally came. In went the PPM and DPP, together. Once again, the independents had ruled again in Zomba Malosa and Blantyre Central constituencies.
Towards improved governance in public health care delivery system
BY RICHARD CHIROMBO
It begins with pain in one Molar or pre-Molar tooth.
Twenty-four year old Jonathan Banda invested hugely in dental care
over the years but finally, on Wednesday July 22, 2009, succumbs to
the beck and call of toothache and decides it was time he lived
without the tooth, anyway.
He underrates the medical services offered at Zingwangwa, Ndirande or
Chilomoni Health Centres in Blantyre and goes direct to the referral
Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) where he is made to pay K200
for his pains in the public section.
He paid, yes, and wanted two things in return: no more pain as well as
taking the removed tooth (a Molar) home because 24 years are too long
a time to just pat like that. In addition, he hates the way people pat
with their teeth at the hospital- the patient goes home with some
cotton where once resided a tooth, and the troublesome tooth remains
in the bin at the hospital. Just like that.
“After removing the tooth, they gave me painkillers. I, then, asked if
I was free to go home, and they said ‘yes’. When I asked for my tooth,
they said no. Is that fair?” queries Banda.
Banda says some people love whatever they share a life-time with and
are not willing to easily pat ways with some of their body parts at
the hospital. He is talking about ‘unperishable’ organs such as teeth.
“We really need answers on what these people do with some of our body
parts. Some say they use them for study purposes at medical and health
science schools. Some say they throw them away. Only few people know
exactly what happens with their parts,” says Banda.
But, that is just the beginning: it ends with the pocket. Where does
the money (K200) that Banda paid go and, except for Ministry of Health
officials, how can the ordinary villager get hold of this revenue
information?
The Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN) has been fighting for this,
and many more, patient rights. According to MHEN National Coordinator,
Martha Kwataine, it is in the interest of transparency and
accountability in the public health care delivery system that people
ought to now about what happens with their what.
“This will instill a sense of confidence in our health care system and
improve the relationship between patients and the system,” says
Kwataine.
The question of good governance in the health care service delivery
system has been a recurring theme, a theme that has resonated across
regional health forums and meetings.
Governance, according to one of the MHEN members- People’s Federation
for National Peace and Development Executive Director, Edward Chaka-
revolves around six key parameters.
“Broad participation, transparency, open responsiveness, consensus
based performance, equity and inclusion, and accountability, among
other notable factors,” says Chaka.
Not all members of the general public can have a say in this, he
acknowledges, hence the need for a more organized mechanism through
civil society groups such as MHEN.
Chaka indicates, in one of the papers presented at a MHEN (Southern
region) Regional Health Forum, that this can be achieved by
understanding the historical, social and cultural context of a given
society or community.
“This is especially true for hospitals. The essence of governance is
that an organization becomes accountable to those who will be affected
by its decisions or actions, and our hospitals, though trying, have
largely failed to make the mark. In deed, where do our teeth go? Don’t
we have the right to take them home? How are the finances run? Is
there no way of making them public, and timely?” he says.
Chaka acknowledges that, while good governance was ideal, it has
always been a challenge to achieve it in its totality. Very few
countries, including in the Western world, have mastered it. It is an
on going, continuous struggle.
To Kwataine, this struggle includes the need for a comprehensive
review of the health allocation formula. Her analysis of inequities in
health, service delivery and financing points to the gloomy conclusion
that our formula is not based on health needs.
This could be achieved by reshaping the formula to reflect an ‘Equal
access for equal need’ model, developing a needs based formula,
accommodating district specific cost and donor funding differences as
well as soliciting communitarian views on weightings in formula.
“(This will mean that) Population weightings include (s) age, gender,
residence, income, HIV status and performance criteria like in-patient
services,” says Kwataine.
The Malawi National Health Accounts (NHA)’s sub-accounts for HIV and
AIDS, Reproductive Health and Child Health, indicate that the Southern
region dominates in both health expenditures and facilities.
Between 2002 and 2004, for example, the South got 47 per cent of
health expenditures while the North and Centre got 17 per cent and 36
per cent, respectively. The South had a 47 per cent share of health
facilities, with the Centre and North sharing 35 per cent and 20 per
cent respectively.
Recent developments point to improved trends, however. It is also
intimated that K23 billion allocated to the Ministry of Health during
the 2009/10 fiscal year will go a long way in bringing equity in
health resources home.
Another factor includes the need to develop human resources and
capacity within the health sector. A Human Resources/Capacity
Development within the Health Sector Needs Assessment Study (Final
Report) released in April 2007 shows the need for more staff
recruitment and replacement.
The rate of attrition due to resignation, dismissal, redundancy and
death from 1990 to 2005 has been high, though it started to go down
between 1994 and 1995.
It started with a below-30 people figure in 1990, reached 320 in 1993
before going level at 200 workers between 1994 and 1995. Since then,
the number has been increasing, reaching 500 in 2005, up from 400 in
1999.
Ministry of Health officials blame it on the brain drain that
continues to hit many African countries including Malawi. Bilateral
donors, including Britain through its Department for International
Development, have tried to intervene with incentive-filled packages
and the trend seems to be slipping down into the record books.
Local Nurses and Midwives advocate, Dorothy Ngoma, says while the
biggest tide seemed far off the coast for now, conditions for health
workers remained pathetic in the country.
A paper by Prof. Cam Bowie (of the College of Medicine) indicates that
there have been staff inadequacies in both Ministry of Health and
Christian Hospitals Association of Malawi facilities between 2003 and
2007.
Except for Health Surveillance Assistants, positions for doctors,
nurses and+ technical personnel hardly filled the half-way mark. Many
more health experts continue to be lost to retirement, too.
The number of those lost to retirement now hovers above 50 annually,
raising the black flag even higher.
There is hope, however. Recent studies, including assessments
conducted by MHEN, seem to suggest that Public Private Partnerships in
health could be the answer. This will see private players deliver
health services on behalf of the public sector/government.
This recognizes the fact that, while the core business of the Ministry
of Health is to deliver the Essential Health Package (EHP), this is
hampered by poor coverage and access to the EHP services.
More hope lies in the fact, also, that health facilities such as QECH
have begun to open up to public scrutiny.
QECH, according to Felicia Chilipaine- Principal Nursing Officer,
Medical Unit, and a member of the hospital’s Suggestion Box Committee-
was now waking up to the notion of public responsiveness through such
strategies as suggestion boxes.
Chilipaine, who was speaking with the permission of Acting QECH
Administrator, said suggestions from the public were helping in
shaping the face of services delivery.
“It is also one way of achieving good governance and promoting
transparency and accountability,” said Chilipaine.
The public, through the ambitious initiative, now have the right to
demand quality services. Not only quality services but a timely
service, too, says Chilipaine.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It begins with pain in one Molar or pre-Molar tooth.
Twenty-four year old Jonathan Banda invested hugely in dental care
over the years but finally, on Wednesday July 22, 2009, succumbs to
the beck and call of toothache and decides it was time he lived
without the tooth, anyway.
He underrates the medical services offered at Zingwangwa, Ndirande or
Chilomoni Health Centres in Blantyre and goes direct to the referral
Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) where he is made to pay K200
for his pains in the public section.
He paid, yes, and wanted two things in return: no more pain as well as
taking the removed tooth (a Molar) home because 24 years are too long
a time to just pat like that. In addition, he hates the way people pat
with their teeth at the hospital- the patient goes home with some
cotton where once resided a tooth, and the troublesome tooth remains
in the bin at the hospital. Just like that.
“After removing the tooth, they gave me painkillers. I, then, asked if
I was free to go home, and they said ‘yes’. When I asked for my tooth,
they said no. Is that fair?” queries Banda.
Banda says some people love whatever they share a life-time with and
are not willing to easily pat ways with some of their body parts at
the hospital. He is talking about ‘unperishable’ organs such as teeth.
“We really need answers on what these people do with some of our body
parts. Some say they use them for study purposes at medical and health
science schools. Some say they throw them away. Only few people know
exactly what happens with their parts,” says Banda.
But, that is just the beginning: it ends with the pocket. Where does
the money (K200) that Banda paid go and, except for Ministry of Health
officials, how can the ordinary villager get hold of this revenue
information?
The Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN) has been fighting for this,
and many more, patient rights. According to MHEN National Coordinator,
Martha Kwataine, it is in the interest of transparency and
accountability in the public health care delivery system that people
ought to now about what happens with their what.
“This will instill a sense of confidence in our health care system and
improve the relationship between patients and the system,” says
Kwataine.
The question of good governance in the health care service delivery
system has been a recurring theme, a theme that has resonated across
regional health forums and meetings.
Governance, according to one of the MHEN members- People’s Federation
for National Peace and Development Executive Director, Edward Chaka-
revolves around six key parameters.
“Broad participation, transparency, open responsiveness, consensus
based performance, equity and inclusion, and accountability, among
other notable factors,” says Chaka.
Not all members of the general public can have a say in this, he
acknowledges, hence the need for a more organized mechanism through
civil society groups such as MHEN.
Chaka indicates, in one of the papers presented at a MHEN (Southern
region) Regional Health Forum, that this can be achieved by
understanding the historical, social and cultural context of a given
society or community.
“This is especially true for hospitals. The essence of governance is
that an organization becomes accountable to those who will be affected
by its decisions or actions, and our hospitals, though trying, have
largely failed to make the mark. In deed, where do our teeth go? Don’t
we have the right to take them home? How are the finances run? Is
there no way of making them public, and timely?” he says.
Chaka acknowledges that, while good governance was ideal, it has
always been a challenge to achieve it in its totality. Very few
countries, including in the Western world, have mastered it. It is an
on going, continuous struggle.
To Kwataine, this struggle includes the need for a comprehensive
review of the health allocation formula. Her analysis of inequities in
health, service delivery and financing points to the gloomy conclusion
that our formula is not based on health needs.
This could be achieved by reshaping the formula to reflect an ‘Equal
access for equal need’ model, developing a needs based formula,
accommodating district specific cost and donor funding differences as
well as soliciting communitarian views on weightings in formula.
“(This will mean that) Population weightings include (s) age, gender,
residence, income, HIV status and performance criteria like in-patient
services,” says Kwataine.
The Malawi National Health Accounts (NHA)’s sub-accounts for HIV and
AIDS, Reproductive Health and Child Health, indicate that the Southern
region dominates in both health expenditures and facilities.
Between 2002 and 2004, for example, the South got 47 per cent of
health expenditures while the North and Centre got 17 per cent and 36
per cent, respectively. The South had a 47 per cent share of health
facilities, with the Centre and North sharing 35 per cent and 20 per
cent respectively.
Recent developments point to improved trends, however. It is also
intimated that K23 billion allocated to the Ministry of Health during
the 2009/10 fiscal year will go a long way in bringing equity in
health resources home.
Another factor includes the need to develop human resources and
capacity within the health sector. A Human Resources/Capacity
Development within the Health Sector Needs Assessment Study (Final
Report) released in April 2007 shows the need for more staff
recruitment and replacement.
The rate of attrition due to resignation, dismissal, redundancy and
death from 1990 to 2005 has been high, though it started to go down
between 1994 and 1995.
It started with a below-30 people figure in 1990, reached 320 in 1993
before going level at 200 workers between 1994 and 1995. Since then,
the number has been increasing, reaching 500 in 2005, up from 400 in
1999.
Ministry of Health officials blame it on the brain drain that
continues to hit many African countries including Malawi. Bilateral
donors, including Britain through its Department for International
Development, have tried to intervene with incentive-filled packages
and the trend seems to be slipping down into the record books.
Local Nurses and Midwives advocate, Dorothy Ngoma, says while the
biggest tide seemed far off the coast for now, conditions for health
workers remained pathetic in the country.
A paper by Prof. Cam Bowie (of the College of Medicine) indicates that
there have been staff inadequacies in both Ministry of Health and
Christian Hospitals Association of Malawi facilities between 2003 and
2007.
Except for Health Surveillance Assistants, positions for doctors,
nurses and+ technical personnel hardly filled the half-way mark. Many
more health experts continue to be lost to retirement, too.
The number of those lost to retirement now hovers above 50 annually,
raising the black flag even higher.
There is hope, however. Recent studies, including assessments
conducted by MHEN, seem to suggest that Public Private Partnerships in
health could be the answer. This will see private players deliver
health services on behalf of the public sector/government.
This recognizes the fact that, while the core business of the Ministry
of Health is to deliver the Essential Health Package (EHP), this is
hampered by poor coverage and access to the EHP services.
More hope lies in the fact, also, that health facilities such as QECH
have begun to open up to public scrutiny.
QECH, according to Felicia Chilipaine- Principal Nursing Officer,
Medical Unit, and a member of the hospital’s Suggestion Box Committee-
was now waking up to the notion of public responsiveness through such
strategies as suggestion boxes.
Chilipaine, who was speaking with the permission of Acting QECH
Administrator, said suggestions from the public were helping in
shaping the face of services delivery.
“It is also one way of achieving good governance and promoting
transparency and accountability,” said Chilipaine.
The public, through the ambitious initiative, now have the right to
demand quality services. Not only quality services but a timely
service, too, says Chilipaine.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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