Cashgate: Did Malawians Miss The Cues in Osward Lutepo's 'Angry' Generosity

Slumped in his wheel-chair, Cashgate convict Osward Lutepo's lowered physical position fits the hat of his diluted societal status.
Yet, before April 2013, Lutepo, who stares at an eleven-year jail term sentence stacked in his face by the Zomba High Court, was a man whose face brought a new consciousness.
Indeed, he was someone whose shadow one would dive head-first to hug. Yes, here is a man whose human countenance was more shiny than perceptible realities.
Now, nobody knows whether it is former president, Joyce Banda, or the well-known business magnet, who attracted who-to-who.
What is known, though, is the fact that, when Lutepo announced his intention to control the kitty in the then ruling People's Party of Joyce Banda, Banda did not raise any qualms. In fact, Lutepo got his desired position quicker than he came.
And, soon, spotting that new-consciousness smile, he would be donating vehicles to the People's Party through its president, Joyce Banda. And Lutepo and Banda could do this in broad daylight.
Ah! Perhaps Malawians were foolish!
Ah! Perhaps Malawians are foolish!
Nobody cared about the countenance of Lutepo and Banda as they exchanged the keys in public, the donated vehicles behind them, but visible- very visible- to the media and members of the general public.
And, ah!, always Malawi Broadcasting Corporation Radio and Television would cover the events live!

Missed cues?
Now that Lutepo has received the sentence he deserves, I see how foolish the media and Malawians have been!
Look, Lutepo was a smiling gentleman wherever he went. No wonder, people scrambled to kiss his shadow. After all, he was a business magnet of sorts. A man who forsook formal employment  for self-employment.
Banda, too, was a smiling woman  whenever members of the diplomatic corps paid her a visit. Didn't she woo the British back, after former president Bingu wa Mutharika showed British Ambassador Fergus Cochrane-Dyet  the exit?
The truth is that she did.
In fact, Malawi was a replica of Zimbabwe before Banda wooed the world with her cosmetic smile: No diesel, petrol and paraffin in service stations; no sugar in shops, including reputable ones such as Shoprite, People's Trading Centre, Chipiku-Plus; and no hope among the citizens!
Malawi was suffering from a public crisis.
Coincidentally, this was the time the Democratic Progressive Party, on whose ticket Banda run as running mate to Bingu wa Mutharika, and Mutharika himself, had booted Joyce Banda out of the party, and sidelines her as Vice President.
Then, just in the nick of time, Bingu fell down in his office- at the New State House in Lilongwe- the type of fall one never wakes up from, and Banda became the president.
As the say, the struggles that followed her ascendancy, and the efforts to thwart her rise behind the scene, are common folder now.
From the blues [I mean, after the blue party- the Democratic Progressive Party] had embraced the exit door with qualms, Banda wooed everything in her path.
And she seems to have wooed the erstwhile business magnet, Lutepo, too. 
And when Lutepo started donating vehicles to Banda's People's Party in full view of the public, the media, and the nation, missed the cues.
What cues? One may ask!
The non-verbal cues.
On the faces of both figures.
The figure of Banda and the figure of Lutepo.
I mean the face of Banda and the face of Lutepo.
The two never smiled!
Maybe they knew what this was all about. Behind the scenes, of course.
Maybe Lutepo was being forced. Maybe Banda was forced Lutepo to donate the vehicles.
Only Banda knows. Wherever she is. Outside the country.

DPP’s foreign relations agenda: more words, less action

Nothing prepares any nation state for the moment diplomatic relations end.
However, when the nation state’s actions lead to the thawing of the relations, nothing prepares it for the mammoth task of shielding itself from the barrage of criticism that follows when the childlike excitement of crossing a historical divide dissipates, and it turns out that a wrong choice was made.
This is the exact situation post-1994 Malawi finds herself in, after making two crucial decisions that have defined its diplomatic position in the past seven years.  The first defining decision was made in January 2008, when the country’s leadership decided that its 42-year-old relationship with Taiwan had run out of steam.
As expected, the Republic of China (Taiwan) felt hard-done by, and accused Malawi of being lured by a US$6 billion package in aid and other inducements offered by the People’s Republic of China.
The second defining moment came when the late President Bingu wa Mutharika expelled British High Commissioner to Malawi, Fergus Cochrane-Dyet, in a row over a leaked diplomatic cable that purported that Mutharika was "becoming ever more autocratic and intolerant of criticism". The development sent shockwaves across the country- as happens when relations thaw, and continuity of development initiatives descend into trepidation. 
These two remarkable developments put a full stop to the traditional friendly attitude attributed to Malawians. Today, these developments stand like a glittering pile of Malawi’s unpredictability, diplomacy-wise, and may even act as a fortress and frontier in the eyes of would-be diplomatic friends.
More so because, even though the British Government and its Malawian counterpart have sorted their “differences” and re-posted envoys to each other’s Capital cities, memories that land-locked Malawi, despite being poor, is steeped in its own order- an order somewhat condemned for posing as self-sufficient while the majority of the population wallows in poverty- still linger across the borders.
Coincidentally, the two defining diplomatic moments came under the tutorage of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Coincidentally, too, the decision to expel Cochrane-Dyet came when former president, People’s Party leader Joyce Banda, was serving as Foreign Affairs Minister.
Now that the DPP, albeit under the new leadership of President Peter Mutharika, has come back into power, questions inevitably linger over its foreign policy.
From the look of things, however, the DPP regime seems to have something up its sleeve, in terms of foreign relations. A good case in point is President Peter Mutharika’s decision to place the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Corporation- under the political headship of George Thapatula Chaponda- forth on the pecking order of ministerial protocol.
In fact, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Corporation, Chaponda, is forth only to the President, Vice-President Saulos Klaus Chilima, and Finance Minister Goodall Edward Gondwe.
This notwithstanding, Institute for Policy Interaction executive director, Rafiq Hajat, says it is too early to fathom Malawi’s foreign relations policy.
He is, however, quick to point out that it will not come as a surprise to see Malawi establishing diplomatic relations with countries that may help her in the areas of technical and infrastructural development.
“In the end, every country looks at what is in it (the relationship) for it,” says Hajat.
While Chaponda has not come out clearly on what democratic path the country plans to tread on,   President Mutharika has hinted that, while his administration plans to nurture the relationships (bilateral/multilateral) that already exist, it also seeks to extend its friends’ net and ‘fish’ in the Bric- the acronym for the combined economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China -countries.
“We (Malawi) plan to take advantage of the economic rivalry that exists between the US and Bric countries to attract Foreign Direct Investment into the country. A number of countries in the world are recognising the economic viability of the Bric countries,” the President is quoted as saying on his return from the US/Africa Summit in August.
While other commentators say it is too early to pronounce judgement on Mutharika’s foreign relations intentions within 100 days, others, such as human rights activist Billy Mayaya, say the current administration has no choice but to play ‘Good Girl’ to the development partners.
Mayaya cited the issue of Cashgate, saying it has made donors jittery, and that the current administration just has to learn to play it nice in the hope that the aid taps will be let loose again. He says one of the instruments being used by the current administration to sooth donor egos is austerity measures.
In the wake of donors’ reluctance to open the aid taps, enthuses Mayaya, “initial signs are that the President is sensitive about public scrutiny and commitments he made towards austerity given the increasingly faltering economy”.
Whether this state of affairs would hold once the donors play game remains to be seen, though.
What is clear, however, is that, so far, it has been more pronouncements of intent with no real action on the ground.
It is also clear that the current administration might have learned that solitude invites an uncomfortable feeling of vulnerability to others, and that only diplomacy- which is a group endeavour-ensures that leaders of a nation state are encased by their own people, and friends of good will.
And that, only then, do nations cease to be ‘lonely’ in a crowded world.

Gauging the gelling powers of blue

Political harmony is a very tricky thing and only the rare ‘hostess’ can successfully carry it off.
But, from the look of things, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) seems to be wearing the tag of hostess well, despite facing the tricky situation of smothering the egos of political parties who profess advancing different ideologies.
Political Scientists Association of Malawi secretary general, Ernest Thindwa, observed that, in the first place, Malawians should realise that achieving political harmony in the Malawian context is not as simple as it sounds. More so when, in the case of Malawi, party ideologies are similar-sounding at best and non-existent at worst.
“In the first place, our political parties seem not to follow a specific set of ideologies. This emanates from our political culture- a culture that has contributed to the weakening of democratic institutions,” said Thindwa.
However, Thindwa noted that the political parties can still work together by focusing on national interest issues, and not necessarily their ideologies.
And, in tandem with his observation, we have seen the DPP work with United Democratic Front (UDF) president and May 20 tripartite elections presidential candidate, Atupele Muluzi, even though the Limbe-headquartered UDF maintains that it has no formal working relationship with the ruling party. Muluzi is the Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining in President Peter Mutharika’s administration.
While a working relationship between the DPP and a top UDF official was something unheard of before the tripartite elections, due to different ideologies and political motivations, some analysts said that party ideologies were the last thing that could stand in the way of political harmony.
For example, political and social commentator based at The Polytechnic, Simbarashe Mungoshi, said almost all the political parties in Malawi are united by one thing: Elitist ideologies, owing to the way they negotiate their way to the pinnacle of power.
“In the first place, let me dispel the notion that our political parties have no ideologies. A proper analysis reveals that party leaders subscribe to elitist ideologies because they rise through the ranks (of their political parties) through their financial muscle, political acumen or education background,” said Mungoshi, adding:
“That is why it is so easy to say that such a political party belongs to so-so. Almost all the political parties have members of the elite who own them.”

Shifting the goals?
While it is too early to say, with certainty, how the DPP administration plans to toy around with other political parties in its bid to create cosmetic or real working relationships with other parties, social commentator Edward Chaka said, so far, the current administration has shown willingness to set its differences with other parties aside and promote national development.
Chaka, who is the executive director for the People’s Federation for National Peace and Development, said by not antagonising other political parties, the President could be sending the message that he is ready to work with all Malawians.
“We are yet to see the acrimony that has characterised Malawi politics since (the re-advent of multiparty politics in) 1994. Peace, which is a prerequisite for national development, can only come in an environment where national interests take precedence, and that is what we have seen, so far,” said Chaka.
And, so far, Malawians have seen a Malawi Congress Party (MCP) that was nothing but combative after the declaration of the elections’ results 100 days ago ‘eat’ the mellow meal of ‘political sanity’.
For instance, MCP publicity secretary Jessie Kabwila has toned down a bit- hushing her sentiments that the DPP rigged the May elections to conceding that the MCP could have lost because “We did not feature members of Parliament in some constituencies”, especially in the Southern Region.
Just recently, she was seen disembarking from a presidential chartered plane at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe. Mutharika had just relinquished his position as Southern African Development Community chairperson to Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, in August and ‘happened’ to have invited Kabwila to Zimbabwe.
The sight of Kabwila disembarking from a presidential plane raised eyebrows among some people, but Kabwila was quick to say her trip would not hush the MCP into praise singing.
“We will continue to play our role of providing checks and balances,” said Kabwila.
On his part, Mutharika was uncharacteristically appreciative.
“I am happy that when we invited her, she accepted our invitation. We are one party, and our interest is to develop the nation,” said Mutharika at the post-trip press briefing.
What this means, therefore, is that the DPP has set out to work with other political parties, where need be.
This can best be summed up in the President’s words, thus: “Campaign (time) is over”.

Mixed signals  
So, while chastening the opposition has traditionally been considered a ‘privilege’ of the ruling elite, the DPP administration seems to have other ideas other than keeping the opposition on its toes all the time.
And, while opposing has emerged as a tool for survival in the opposition jungles, the slight change has been observed by other political parties. For example, Umodzi Party president John Chisi said the intensity of opposition has slackened somewhat in the 100 days.
“This notwithstanding, we still have problems. For example, the ruling DPP has not incorporated some of the ideas that were part of other political parties’ manifestos in the run up to the elections. I thought the DPP would have incorporated them,” said Chisi.
Chisi cites the issue of ploughing more resources into agriculture than other sectors as a dark spot.
“All the previous budgets allocated more resources to agriculture than areas such as health and industrialisation and this hasn’t helped. The current administration should have prioritised industrialisation,” said Chisi.
This, he said, pointed to the fact that 100 days were not a “significant litmus test” for us to gauge if the DPP is prepared to “work with others for the long haul”.
And the “long haul”, in Malawi’s political and legal speak, is five years.  

Cashgate: Did Malawians Miss the Cues on Joyce Banda, Osward Lutepo's Faces?

Slumped in his wheel-chair, Cashgate convict Osward Lutepo's lowered physical positions fits the hat of his diluted societal status.
Yet, before April 2013, Lutepo, who stares at an eleven-year jail term sentence stacked in his face by the Zomba High Court, was a man whose face brought a new consciousness.
Indeed, he was someone whose shadow one would dive head-first to hug. Yes, here is a man whose human countenance was more shiny than perceptible realities.
Now, nobody knows whether it is former president, Joyce Banda, or the well-known business magnet, who attracted who-to-who.
What is known, though, is the fact that, when Lutepo announced his intention to control the kitty in the then ruling People's Party of Joyce Banda, Banda did not raise any qualms. In fact, Lutepo got his desired position quicker than he came.
And, soon, spotting that he would be donating vehicles to the People's Party through its president, Joyce Banda. And Lutepo and Banda could do this in broad daylight.
Ah! Perhaps Malawians were foolish!
Ah! Perhaps Malawians are foolish!
Nobody cared about the countenance of Lutepo and Banda as they exchanged the keys in public, the donated vehicles behind them, but visible- very visible- to the media and members of the general public.
And, ah!, always Malawi Broadcasting Corporation Radio and Television would cover the events live!

Missed cues
Now that Lutepo has received the sentence he deserves, I see how foolish the media and Malawians have been!
Look, Lutepo was a smiling gentleman wherever he went. No wonder, people scrambled to kiss his shadow. After all, he was a business magnet of sorts. A man who forsook formal employment  for self-employment.
Banda, too, was a smiling woman  whenever members of the diplomatic corps paid her a visit. Didn't she woo the British back, after former president Bingu wa Mutharika showed British Ambassador Fergus Cochrane-Dyet  the exit?
The truth is that she did.
In fact, Malawi was a replica of Zimbabwe before Banda wooed the world with her cosmetic smile: No diesel, petrol and paraffin in service stations; no sugar in shops, including reputable ones such as Shoprite, People's Trading Centre, Chipiku-Plus; and no hope among the citizens!
Malawi was suffering from a public crisis.
Coincidentally, this was the time the Democratic Progressive Party, on whose ticket Banda run as running mate to Bingu wa Mutharika, and Mutharika himself, had booted Joyce Banda out of the party, and sidelines her as Vice President.
Then, just in the nick of time, Bingu fell down in his office- at the New State House in Lilongwe- the type of fall one never wakes up from, and Banda became the president.
As the say, the struggles that followed her ascendancy, and the efforts to thwart her rise behind the scene, are common folder now.
From the blues [I mean, after the blue party- the Democratic Progressive Party] had embraced the exit door with qualms, Banda wooed everything in her path.
And she seems to have wooed the erstwhile business magnet, Lutepo, too.    
And when Lutepo started donating vehicles to Banda's People's Party in full view of the public, the media, and the nation, missed the cues.
What cues? One may ask!
The non-verbal cues.
On the faces of both figures.
The figure of Banda and the figure of Lutepo.
I mean the face of Banda and the face of Lutepo.
The two never smiled!
Maybe they knew what this was all about. Behind the scenes, of course.
Maybe Lutepo was being forced. Maybe Banda was forced Lutepo to donate the vehicles.
Only Banda knows. Wherever she is. Outside the country.

Sweeny Chimkango Talks Music, Silence

When Sweeny Chimkango ‘wears’ a silence on his face, it may not necessarily mean that the silence is a reflection of the silence in his mind.

Take, for instance, the issue of his silence in gospel music circles after the release of his second, and last album, ‘Mfumu ya Luntha’, in 1999.

This notwithstanding, Chimkango maintains that, while he has apparently been quiet in terms of album releases, he has been grappling with a ‘loud’ debate in his mind.

“One of the things my mind has loudly been reflecting on is that of the influx of gospel musicians and the subsequent commercialisation of gospel music. There has been an influx of gospel musicians and I have been having personal debates on whether the commercialisation of gospel music is good for this country and this is one of the reasons I have been silent,” says Chimkango.

Chimkango adds: “I feel, personally, that we need not commercialise gospel music and this issue that has been bothering my conscience. Commercialisation of gospel music has negatively affected dissemination of the gospel in the sense that this is a ministry and, apparently, not all have been called to minister.”

He digs holes into some gospel songs, saying the lyrics are “too shallow” and devoid of meaning. He, says, for example, that some musicians have fallen into the trap of repeating lines such as ‘Yesu abweranso [Jesus is coming back]’ from start to finish, “for fifteen minutes on end”.

Chimkango blames the situation on misconceptions that gospel music is the next possible route to riches.

“Initially, people ventured into gospel music because God had called them. God, then, blessed those he had called into ministry and some people thought that those called were into gospel music to earn money and such people have ended up commercializing the industry. This is my opinion,” says Chimkango. 

No wonder, a lot has taken place in the busy world of his head.

Foray into music

Chimkango developed interest in music when he was seven years old.

“I used to play the banjo while experimenting with my voice in Lusaka, Zambia, where I was born. I am told that my late father, Samson, used to sing when he was young.  I, specifically, learnt music because of my church engagements. I used to present special songs and church hymns as a boy,” says Chimkango.

Despite being born on foreign soil, he was born to a father who traces his roots to Chimkango Village, Traditional Authority Kuntaja in Blantyre and a mother from Makwasa in Thyolo.

“It’s like I graduated from the banjo to the guitar. Fortunately, I linked up with a group of music-loving individuals when we came back to Makwasa in Malawi. I cannot recall the name of the group.

That is before he went to Thyolo Secondary School, where his talent was nurtured after becoming one of the founders of a group called Back to the Bible Quartet.

“You see, there was a famous foreign group bearing that name in the 1980s and we decided to name our Quartet after it. Members included Justin Chataika, Evance Kaima, the late Harris Chilozo and the late John Nakoma,” says Chimkango.

But the big break came when he went to Blantyre Teachers Training College, where he met the late Mjura Mkandawire, then a music tutor at the institution.

“Mkandawire horned my skills, and this marked the first time I started reading tonics sofa [do re mi fa so la ti do] and staff notation [which indicates notes of a beat]. In fact, I put every song I write in staff notation now. The advantage is that those who understand staff notation can play the music from all over the world. The Malawi Police Brass Band is able to play the Chinese National Anthem, or any other national anthem, because of staff notation,” says Chimkango.

Indeed, he has been able to study the guitar code for Bob Marley’s music and ably plays it.

It is after his classroom-encounter with Mkandawire that he became one of the founding members for the once famous Christ in Song Quartet. The other members were Lloyd Malopa, the late Davis Kapito and the late George Chafunya.

Established in the 1990s, the Quartet was formidable in both the Seventh-day Church and other denominations. Its songs included ‘Pekeyangu’ [Swahili song], ‘The Blood’ and ‘Over There’.

Says Chimkango: “These songs were not necessarily our compositions; they were adaptations. For example, ‘Over There’ was a Golden Gate song. This is a group formed by African Americans. Among other countries, we performed in Namibia, South Africa and Kenya. The quartet broke up when the late Kapito joined active politics.

“I, thus, went solo in 1997 and released my first album ‘Yendanibe’ the same year. This was a 10-track album with songs such as ‘Thowege’, ‘Otengera Mau’, ‘Yendanibe’, ‘Miseu ya Golide’. ‘Miseu ya Golide’ was sponsored by Dr Tikhala Chibwana and Mr Patrick Khoza, who wanted to promote my talent. The song was recorded at Studio K. I will forever be grateful to them.”

Having tasted the waters, it did not take Chimkango 16 years to release a second album.

“In 1999, I released my second album ‘Mfumu ya Luntha’,” recollects Chimkango.

It included such songs as ‘Don’t Shut Me Up’, a protest song against social injustices targeted at people with handicaps, ‘Mfumu ya Luntha’, ‘Mohutherelamo’, among others.

Social injustices

Was ‘Don’t Shut Me Up’, with all its unapologetic declaration and confrontational approach, a gospel song?

“My answer would be yes. You see, the mistake people make in life is to separate social injustices from spirituality, yet social justice is an artifact of, say, Christianity. The people who oppress others come from Christianity and other spiritual backgrounds.

“We see these things happening from time to time. For example, during the time of Jesus Christ, one burdened man cried to the Lord for help but believers, those who were close to Christ, shut him up because they did not know how it felt to be in the shoes of the desperate man,” says Chimkango.

Chimkango says, coincidentally, people with physical challenges, visual challenges and other challenges continue to face avoidable challenges.

He has examples.

“This year, the University of Malawi [Unima] will be celebrating 50 years of existence. The question is: Are the physically-challenged, visually-challenged given access to the library at, say, Chancellor College? Is it fair to expect them to depend on others to visit, read and borrow books? Why can’t we have facilities that will ease access to these facilities? This is the regrettable situation at the moment,” says Chimkango, adding:  

“If we talk of these issues, it doesn’t mean we are less Christian than others. After all, we do not need all the space [in Unima constituent colleges] to accommodate people with handicaps, the visually-challenged and those challenged in other capacities. Social issues should not be divorced from Christianity.”

Between Rastafarianism and Christianity

Seeing Chimkango drive around town, one would be forgiven for calling him a Rasta man. His headgear attests to this.

“Of course, thoughts about Rastafarianism have, at one point or another, crossed my mind. In fact, I recorded a five-song Reggae album in collaboration with my brother, MacDonald, but, then, when I sat down and pondered over it, I realised that I would confuse people because Rastafarianism is not Christianity. I have, therefore, left the project in the hands of my brother. Some of the recorded songs include ‘Enemies at Your Door’, ‘A Stone-throw Away’.

“Am I, therefore, a Rasta? No. I am a Christian with so much black consciousness in me. Of course, I identify with some of the Rastafarian principles on respect for humanity but the Rastafarian practices of burning weed [marijuana] and how Haile Selassie is presented as the creator of the universe make me  feel jittery. Otherwise, I like the philosophies and ideologies on what humanity is, and how Westerners have colonised our minds,” says Chimkango.

He says black consciousness entails knowledge that one is African and, therefore, proud of who they are.

“This is the reason I did some of my songs in Manganje, and why I admire Wambali Mkandawire’s music,” says Chimkango, who works for Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Television as Chief Producer.

His work at MBC saw him becoming a pioneer in producing professional music videos that graced the television screens in the morning of television broadcasting in Malawi. These included music videos for the late Evison Matafale, Ethel Kamwendo Banda, Wilfred Kasito, Lucius Banda’s ‘Tina’, among others.

Ironically, he has not been honoured for his contributions to the music video industry.

Ironically, again, he has never recorded a music video for any of his songs. Is he a farmer without a farm? Is it because, maybe, he cannot dance?

“I think that is a very good observation. I never thought about that [laughs]. I will think of doing it. But, definitely, it’s not because I cannot dance. I have learned that the concept of music videos is not embedded in dancing. I used to think that way before, but I now realise that concepts differ. It’s possible to do a music video without dancing,” says Chimkango.

Breaking the silence

Chimkango acknowledges that, somehow, his gospel-music silence has been so prolonged it has become a famine.

“I have just recorded ‘Khalamaso’ produced by Gracian Mokwena. I am thinking of launching it this August,” says Chimkango.

The silence is, then, about to be broken. Are the social injustices ready to roost, too? The answer is beyond him.

Poets’ Silent Melancholy

Creativity should, ideally, be exciting.

In a conducive environment, it can open the floodgates of success and reduce the bricks of poverty to ashes.

This is especially true when we consider the fact that it is not enough to make a name in the arts; those who join the industry must also be able to acquire a certain greatness, and become richer and happier than those who opened the way for them. This state of affairs should apply in an ideal world of creativity.

Unfortunately, this is not the case in Malawi. The creative industry, instead of being exciting and well-paying, is grisly. Take, for instance, the case of poets- yes, those unique human beings who are capable of compressing the world they know and the world they create into stanzas.

One would think that the Felix Njonjonjo Katsokas, the Nyamalikiti Nthiwatiwas, Hudson Chamasowas, Sylvester Kalizang’omas, Evelyn Maotchas, Joseph Madzedzes, among others, would be living the fruits of their creativity.

However, theirs is a vindication that, sometimes, justice is blind. Poets who have produced albums will tell you that they have fought tooth and nail to prompt the Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma) to protect and safeguard their works, with little success. Even when Cosoma stickers were the in-thing for musicians, the poets were left out, alternatively at the mercy of their own devices.

And the situation has remained largely unchanged. Poets who release poetry albums are left to safeguard their works against piracy by themselves. To make matters worse, when musicians are lining up to get their loyalties from Cosoma, the poets- who have taken the radio airwaves by storm and are riding on a new wave of popularity- watch from a distance.

They wish they could be the ones showered with such monetary rewards because they deserve to lay their hands on the loot, too. However, always standing in their way is- not piracy perpetrators- but authority figures who were supposed to protect them.

In fact, instead of promoting justice, and recognising that poets, too, are covered by intellectual property instruments, the copyright authorities behave like a mysterious adult who looms over a child’s world- large and menacing and insensitive.

Add to the dish the problems of piracy and the picture changes from hopeless to ruthless.

Why should this be case when the copyright authorities are armed to the tooth by the laws of the land? Why should this be the case when the copyright authorities have a vast fund of experience in planning and carrying out anti-piracy programmes.

It is high time the copyright authorities abandoned their, sometimes, snap judgments and embraced the reality that poets have created a niche on the market and deserve as much protection as all intellectual property rights holders. 

Only progressive thinking can put an end to this fruitless misunderstanding. Let’s remember that unity in purpose is the stuff of serious minds.

Of course, sometimes the poets put the copyright authorities in dilemma. For instance, when some clueless poets incorporate folktale and village songs in their act, they make their story commonplace, forcing the copyright authorities to face a Hobson’s Choice as they walk the thin line of distinguishing the poet’s original work from stuff owned by the entire nation (the case of folktales, for example).

To make matters worse, some poems sound like a brunt-edged knife that fails to sparkle with wit; being shallow, uneducated, uninspiring and loosely-compacted. Where are the sparkling, sharp-edged stanzas of the 80s, 90s, early 2000s?

Of course, some say the poets of yester-year sounded similar, a sure sign, they say, that they lacked imagination. Whatever the argument, at least the stanzas were married to wit, followed established techniques, and the messages were educated.

Whatever bone one may have to pick against the poets, there is no convincing reason for leaving them out in the cold: hungry and unattended to. Let poets enjoy what belongs to them. It’s high time we ended the silent melancholy our poets have endured for years.

Book Publishing Challenges in Malawi: Shelved: General Writers Cry Foul as Textbooks Steal the Limelight

The wide, open territory of general books is becoming narrower by the day.

And, according to Malawi Writers Union president, Sambalikagwa Mvona, the threat to authors of books on general, other than academic, issues is not being posed by outside forces: “It’s textbook writers and publishers who threaten the survival of other writers, especially those whose focus is not on helping students pass examinations.”

Mvona, one of Malawi’s established writers, is not speaking from a position of ignorance.

He remembers that, not long ago, before commercial interests started dominating the world of publications, a golden glow suffused the bookshelves.

Not that it is wrong to publish textbooks books and stock them on the bookshelves, he enthuses, acknowledging that academic books play the role of an engine that liberates users from ignorance.

He, however, observes that textbooks can quickly turn into an instrument of repression for creativity, especially when publishers prioritise them, at the expense of other books.

“Authors who specialise in general issues are failing to get the opportunity to sell their books simply because publishers have developed a preference for textbooks. All of a sudden, the bookshelves are dominated by textbooks.

“Books authored by those who cater for the general public are being ignored. This means writers are being denied the right to eke out a living, and readers are being deprived of the chance to read general books. General books are being stocked at the back of book shelves in book stores,” says Mvona.

Mvona says, consequently, Malawian youths have developed the culture of “reading in order to pass examinations; instead of reading and studying books in a bid to widen their knowledge horizon. This is a disaster in the making”.

The veteran writer says, when students have achieved their purpose of passing examinations, they forget about books altogether, thereby fermenting that shameful culture of book phobia in the country. He says Malawian readers and policymakers should realise that general stories, told either through fiction or non-fiction books, help people live fruitful lives.

It is, in a way, like what author Joan Didion observes in the opening line of his work, ‘White Album, when he says: “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”

Mvona observes that too much focus on textbooks has a way of negatively affecting a nation because “all work without pleasure fails to satisfy the imagination”.

He says what distinguished fiction books from academic ones is their ecstatic embrace of impossible, sometimes amusing, impossibilities.

However, this sentiment is not new. The author of ‘Stress for Success’, Peter G. Hanson, once observed that, “If you don’t close the door to your work, it spills over into other areas of your life, making it hard to give anything your full attention- particularly leisure.”

“The end result,” says Mvona, “Are bored people. We need to serve the interests of textbook authors and general authors for the nation to develop,” he says.

As things stand, Mvona observes, it is as if textbooks are a fatal seduction, distracting us from the entertaining light things in life and the fertility of the imagination. The current trend pins our future to reading to pass examinations and nothing else.

Victimised giant

While the saturation of textbooks on the shelves makes the situation appear as if it has become easy to get one’s work incorporated in school curricula, the situation on the ground is different.

Historian and renowned author, Dr. Desmond Dudwa Phiri, who has 20 books to his credit, says curriculum developers seem to have a disdain for Malawian books.

“I have authored both textbook and general books but curriculum developers do not appreciate our efforts. I have authored books on the country’s history- History of Malawi Volume 1 and History of Malawi Volume 11, but they, still, are not included in our school curricula. Yet these are the only books in Malawi that cover our history from the earliest period, the Amwandionerapati, to the 2009,” says Phiri, adding:

Yet Phiri is no ordinary man. In 2009, he was elected by the Pan-African Press Association to the executive club of 23 great African writers after assessing three samples of history and play writing. The only other elected writer came from Zimbabwe, meaning that only two authors from Central Africa made it into the exclusive club.

Some of his books, including ‘The Chief’s Bride’, were in the school curriculum in Botswana for five years. Just recently, he signed a contract with a Kenyan publisher and bookseller to reprint one of his works.

“We are not getting the support we need. In my case, my books sell more outside the country than Malawi. This should not be the case. We work very hard, in the service of the nation, but we have very little to show for it, and this is because of failure to appreciate the great minds we have in this country,” says Phiri.

Business versus charity

On their part, booksellers say they cannot shoulder the blame of fronting textbooks at the expense of other equally-important books because they are in business first.

But Book Sellers Association of Malawi interim president, Maureen Masamba, describes assertions that book sellers prioritise textbooks for the sake of wads of cash attached to them as “a difficult opinion”.

“To begin with, we just provide the platform for authors to sell their books. We are not the owners of the books; we just sell them. The process starts with publishers, who decide what books to publish and, on our part, we generate money through commission,” says Masamba.

Masamba, however, acknowledges that textbooks sell more copies than other books.

“From our perspective, as outlets, if we place a book of fiction next to a textbook, we are likely to sell the textbook quicker than the other book. Again, this goes back to our reading habits. People are reading books with the aim of passing examinations nowadays. As people who are in business, we capitalise on this demand,” observes Masamba, adding:

“If writers have a complaint, it should be directed at the lack of a reading culture in the country. Due to this culture (of not reading), other books even gather dust on the shelves while textbooks exchange hands very quickly.

Thus, stocking books for the sake of it is no longer a viable option for the vast majority of book buyers, and booksellers are just dancing to the rhythm of massive appeal.

Familiar trap

Book Publishers Association of Malawi president, Alfred Msadala, says publishers appreciate the value of books, but consider issues of their own survival when it comes to making decisions on which books to publish and, in effect, make available on the market.

“The publisher is a business person who has to generate working capital from his business. Without that (working capital), we close shop,” says Msadala.

Msadala has working examples. He cites the case of MacMillan Malawi.

“Do you know why MacMillan Malawi is no longer operating on the (local) market? They were barred (from stocking textbooks) by the World Bank and are serving suspension for six years. Because they were barred, they realised that they could not generate enough working capital by publishing the other types of books that cover issues such as myths, legends because of low financial returns,” says Msadala.

In other words, enthuses Msadala, publishers have to know why they are there. Of course- and authors of general books may not like this- the publishers are in business.

No wonder then that, increasingly, the musings of authors are inflected with a scent for money. The textbooks have simply become the fountainhead of this money-revolution!

Shelved: General Writers Cry Foul as Textbooks Steal the Limelight

The wide, open territory of general books is becoming narrower by the day.

And, according to Malawi Writers Union president, Sambalikagwa Mvona, the threat to authors of books on general, other than academic, issues is not being posed by outside forces: “It’s textbook writers and publishers who threaten the survival of other writers, especially those whose focus is not on helping students pass examinations.”

Mvona, one of Malawi’s established writers, is not speaking from a position of ignorance.

He remembers that, not long ago, before commercial interests started dominating the world of publications, a golden glow suffused the bookshelves.

Not that it is wrong to publish textbooks books and stock them on the bookshelves, he enthuses, acknowledging that academic books play the role of an engine that liberates users from ignorance.

He, however, observes that textbooks can quickly turn into an instrument of repression for creativity, especially when publishers prioritise them, at the expense of other books.

“Authors who specialise in general issues are failing to get the opportunity to sell their books simply because publishers have developed a preference for textbooks. All of a sudden, the bookshelves are dominated by textbooks.

“Books authored by those who cater for the general public are being ignored. This means writers are being denied the right to eke out a living, and readers are being deprived of the chance to read general books. General books are being stocked at the back of book shelves in book stores,” says Mvona.

Mvona says, consequently, Malawian youths have developed the culture of “reading in order to pass examinations; instead of reading and studying books in a bid to widen their knowledge horizon. This is a disaster in the making”.

The veteran writer says, when students have achieved their purpose of passing examinations, they forget about books altogether, thereby fermenting that shameful culture of book phobia in the country. He says Malawian readers and policymakers should realise that general stories, told either through fiction or non-fiction books, help people live fruitful lives.

It is, in a way, like what author Joan Didion observes in the opening line of his work, ‘White Album, when he says: “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”

Mvona observes that too much focus on textbooks has a way of negatively affecting a nation because “all work without pleasure fails to satisfy the imagination”.

He says what distinguished fiction books from academic ones is their ecstatic embrace of impossible, sometimes amusing, impossibilities.

However, this sentiment is not new. The author of ‘Stress for Success’, Peter G. Hanson, once observed that, “If you don’t close the door to your work, it spills over into other areas of your life, making it hard to give anything your full attention- particularly leisure.”

“The end result,” says Mvona, “Are bored people. We need to serve the interests of textbook authors and general authors for the nation to develop,” he says.

As things stand, Mvona observes, it is as if textbooks are a fatal seduction, distracting us from the entertaining light things in life and the fertility of the imagination. The current trend pins our future to reading to pass examinations and nothing else.

Victimised giant

While the saturation of textbooks on the shelves makes the situation appear as if it has become easy to get one’s work incorporated in school curricula, the situation on the ground is different.

Historian and renowned author, Dr. Desmond Dudwa Phiri, who has 20 books to his credit, says curriculum developers seem to have a disdain for Malawian books.

“I have authored both textbook and general books but curriculum developers do not appreciate our efforts. I have authored books on the country’s history- History of Malawi Volume 1 and History of Malawi Volume 11, but they, still, are not included in our school curricula. Yet these are the only books in Malawi that cover our history from the earliest period, the Amwandionerapati, to the 2009,” says Phiri, adding:

Yet Phiri is no ordinary man. In 2009, he was elected by the Pan-African Press Association to the executive club of 23 great African writers after assessing three samples of history and play writing. The only other elected writer came from Zimbabwe, meaning that only two authors from Central Africa made it into the exclusive club.

Some of his books, including ‘The Chief’s Bride’, were in the school curriculum in Botswana for five years. Just recently, he signed a contract with a Kenyan publisher and bookseller to reprint one of his works.

“We are not getting the support we need. In my case, my books sell more outside the country than Malawi. This should not be the case. We work very hard, in the service of the nation, but we have very little to show for it, and this is because of failure to appreciate the great minds we have in this country,” says Phiri.

Business versus charity

On their part, booksellers say they cannot shoulder the blame of fronting textbooks at the expense of other equally-important books because they are in business first.

But Book Sellers Association of Malawi interim president, Maureen Masamba, describes assertions that book sellers prioritise textbooks for the sake of wads of cash attached to them as “a difficult opinion”.

“To begin with, we just provide the platform for authors to sell their books. We are not the owners of the books; we just sell them. The process starts with publishers, who decide what books to publish and, on our part, we generate money through commission,” says Masamba.

Masamba, however, acknowledges that textbooks sell more copies than other books.

“From our perspective, as outlets, if we place a book of fiction next to a textbook, we are likely to sell the textbook quicker than the other book. Again, this goes back to our reading habits. People are reading books with the aim of passing examinations nowadays. As people who are in business, we capitalise on this demand,” observes Masamba, adding:

“If writers have a complaint, it should be directed at the lack of a reading culture in the country. Due to this culture (of not reading), other books even gather dust on the shelves while textbooks exchange hands very quickly.

Thus, stocking books for the sake of it is no longer a viable option for the vast majority of book buyers, and booksellers are just dancing to the rhythm of massive appeal.

Familiar trap

Book Publishers Association of Malawi president, Alfred Msadala, says publishers appreciate the value of books, but consider issues of their own survival when it comes to making decisions on which books to publish and, in effect, make available on the market.

“The publisher is a business person who has to generate working capital from his business. Without that (working capital), we close shop,” says Msadala.

Msadala has working examples. He cites the case of MacMillan Malawi.

“Do you know why MacMillan Malawi is no longer operating on the (local) market? They were barred (from stocking textbooks) by the World Bank and are serving suspension for six years. Because they were barred, they realised that they could not generate enough working capital by publishing the other types of books that cover issues such as myths, legends because of low financial returns,” says Msadala.

In other words, enthuses Msadala, publishers have to know why they are there. Of course- and authors of general books may not like this- the publishers are in business.

No wonder then that, increasingly, the musings of authors are inflected with a scent for money. The textbooks have simply become the fountainhead of this money-revolution!

Malawi's Fiction, Non-Fiction Writers: Aubrey Kalitera: A Victim of Malawi’s Second Nature

His stature did not match the nature of a man born as an elevated genius.

In fact, his house- purposely situated far away from the glamorous life of Blantyre Central Business District in Manyowe- did not project the scene of an elevated genius when compared to the grandeur of great personalities in other countries.
And, yet, Aubrey Kalitera- he whose brain churned out more than 20 novels and books, some of which are part of the country’s school curricula- was a great man.
We can, as well, say Kalitera is the answer writer Judith Sargent Murray (1751 – 1820) sought, but failed to get during her life-time, when she queried: “Is it upon mature consideration we adopt the idea that nature is thus partial in her distributions? Is it a fact that she (nature) has yielded to one-half of the human species so unquestionable a mental superiority?”
The answer- gauging by the creativity levels in Kalitera’s ‘Why?’ series or his film ‘To Ndirande Mountain with Love- is an irrevocable ‘Yes’.
Of course, as Murray observed, “The province of imagination hath long since been surrendered up to us, and we have been crowned undoubted sovereigns of the regions of fancy”, but the truth is that Kalitera was a man out of the ordinary. A man born on February 8, 1948 in Maselema Village in the area of Traditional Authority Mlumbe, Zomba, with an elevated genius.
Unfortunately, he was afflicted by the curse of being an artist in Malawi: Rich minds, empty pockets!
Like many creative writers and artists before him, Kalitera bore the blunt of Malawians’ blatant disdain for anything that has a semblance of literature. As renowned author and historian Desmond Dudwa Phiri likes to say, and say again, Malawians are blind to any letters typed in a book.
Phiri’s unflattering observation, to the effect that “If you want to hide something from a Malawian, publish it in a book”, has been ‘approved’ by the nation through its non-willingness to promote local writers and artists by buying their works.
Take, for instance, Kalitera himself. The only time the government supported his works was when it, through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, included his fiction book ‘N’chiyani Mwana Wanga’ on the list of recommended Chichewa Literature books for Malawi School Certificate of Education candidates.
Otherwise, the multi-talented author suffered under the barbarous ‘phobia’ towards any artistic work Malawian. This strange behaviour has the inevitable effect of persuading authors and artists that, somehow, they are not good enough. But that is not the problem.
The problem is that, after making authors and artists buy the idea that they are not good enough, the Malawian- including government officials and private sector players- will use the authors and artists accordingly- paying them peanuts for work that costs a leg- till, at length, the author and artist is turned into someone not very far from nobody.
As proof of it, the Malawian- meaning, government officials and private sector players- spends the whole night at the forsaken artist’s place when they finally give up the ghost- notwithstanding all the deceased’s ill usage.
You should have been there to see this happen! On Tuesday, soon after his untimely death on Monday, his Manyowe home was not as deserted as buyers of ‘Why Father Why?’ ‘Why Daughter Why?’ ‘Why Son Why?’ on the market. If the cash did flow as effortlessly as the sad faces of people that thronged to his home, he would have appreciated the warm-heartedness of Malawians.
You should have been there to see this happen. On Wednesday, as people escorted him to his final lasting place at Henry Henderson Institute in Blantyre, it was as if the nation had supported his creative works all along.

Those who know him say Kalitera had a genteel personality, replete with an abundance of roving wit- attributes he inherited from the communal spirit of T/A Mlumbe’s subjects. Growing up among the ever-smiling people of Zomba, so his admirers say, he bred himself into a likeable personality. It was a bent that could not be straightened even by such influences as town-mongering, civilisation, globalisation, and whatever makes this generation a careless lot.

“He was one of the best writers in the country; a man who did not hesitate to share his knowledge with others. In fact, he was one of the Malawi Writers Union (Mawu)’s reliable trainers,” said Mawu president, Sambalikagwa Mvona, on Tuesday.

What a shame that his books are not commonplace on local book shelves? Who introduced this custom of ignoring our own geniuses? Whatever the case, Murray was right when she suggested that custom, if allowed to take a hold on our lives, becomes our second nature. Thus, the custom of ignoring the works of geniuses such as Kalitera has become our second nature!

“It is a shame that we treat our authors as nobodies,” Mvona said, adding: “Look, we have been talking to the government on the issue of supporting us, to no avail. We have been talking to donors so that they can support Malawians authors, but only the Royal Norwegian Embassy has come to our rescue through the cultural scheme.

“Otherwise, the government seems not to care, the donors seem not to care, and Malawians, too, seem not to care. They only appreciate one’s work when you are gone. We cannot continue living like this.”

Greatness in humility

Born in a typical Malawian village in Zomba, Kalitera rose from a humble background and trod the creative corridors that led to international acclaim. Members of the international community, and the small portion of Malawians that cared, found that, suddenly, his every note was a novel, a film script, or a non-fiction write up on how to become a good writer.

“He was a spring of creativity. For instance, at the Peer Gynt awards last year, he submitted two books namely ‘The Input Substitute’ and ‘Why Poverty?’ He was the only author to submit two books, and that tells you a story about how creative he was. Our loss is great,” Mvona said, adding:

“In fact, we wanted to award him at an event slated for August. So sad he will not be there in person to receive the honours.

And, on this point, Mvona’s voice sounded over all the other voices- full, deep, sorrow-ridden.

Malawians must be as shallow as fountains. They make mockery out of geniuses. And only rise up on dark days like Wednesday (burial day)- when the mood is tinted black and the cheeks are wet with tears of regret- a shameless nation laid low with crushing fatigue and depression.

What makes Kalitera’s death harder to deal with is that he was a gem Malawians failed to tame. And, to prove his gem, he trod on in a country that loathes talent, publishing a horde of books in the midst of adversity.

Book Publishers Association of Malawi president, Alfred Msadala, said despite the challenges faced by Malawian authors, Kalitera showed that it is possible to create works that resonate with international audiences.

“He was unique, knew what he wanted, wrote widely, and many publishers got interested. He was, really, creative and talented, hence catching the interest of international publishers,” Msadala said.

Msadala, himself a writer of repute, said Kalitera was a member of Macmillan, which is a member of the association as well.

But is it not shameful that Kalitera’s works were admired by foreigners such as author, composer, blogger and music historian S.K. Waller? Waller took Kalitera so seriously that she quotes him on her blog, Incurable Insomniac, as saying about a good writer:

"You know what, it is so funny. A good writer will always find it very hard to fill a single page. A bad writer will always find it easy,” Waller quotes Kalitera as saying (Why Father Why, 1983).

Whatever happened for Malawians to dislike sons and daughters of their soil, the fact is that it does not thwart creativity, as Film Association of Malawi president, Ezaius Mkandawire, observed.

Mkandawire said, by producing a movie from the book ‘To Ndirande Mountain with Love’, Kalitera showed that he was a lid that fitted all pots.

“From Ndirande Mountain with Love’ is among the vintage films that Malawi should be proud of. It was made before the boom of this technological advancement where everyone is a film maker because they have a video recorder,” Mkandawire said this week, adding: “It (To Ndirande Mountain with Love) is A very professional (film and) it is in the league of an old great ‘Prodigal Son’, A  film that was short by Norman Phiri for the Scripture Union.”

Mkandawire said, from Kalitera’s life, Malawians can learn that collaboration between authors and film makers can bring the best out of creative minds.

“There must be collaboration between that two, the reason being that not all directors ( filmmakers) can be good story merchants,” Mkandawire said.

However, he observed that turning a book script into a film is not as simple as Kalitera made it appear.

“It is worth understanding, also, that it involves transfer of rights. Unless that is put into a proper consideration, that kind of synergy will always be difficult to pursue. (But) it is important for authors to do just that. The source of stories always comes from authors. Film makers have a role to actualise the stories into film. In that way, both forms of art will have a longer shelf life and create larger audience.”

He said, unlike in the past, when the film industry was small, it is now easy to promote collaboration between authors and film makers.

What is clear, from the life of Kalitera, is that, even when new authors saturate the bookshops with their works, it will be difficult to call to mind new publications and film adaptations that will resemble his. Call it the glory of his creative pieces!

 

Poetry in Malawi: Moving Voices, Static Movement: The paradox of poetry

There will always been poetry; sometimes forgotten, sometimes remembered.

In the case of Malawi, however, poets seem more forgotten than remembered by policymakers, a development that has seen them miss out on national lists of honours.

Consequently, while poets are capable of making the hardest heart dance to the beat of emotions, their industry seems to be a soft spot as their needs are often forgotten in the scramble for national development.

So, despite poetry’s power to create lasting impressions through cadence, rhythm, imagery, among other elements, the Malawian poet remains present, and absent at the same time, in national affairs.

This state of flux puzzles Poetry Association of Malawi (Pam) president, Felix Njonjonjo Katsoka, who acknowledges that the country has invested little in the task of keeping records of local poets and their contribution to society.

And the danger of investing in memory, as opposed to documents, is illustrated by Katsoka who, when asked to name the pioneers of poetry in Malawi, acknowledges that a few prickle his memory.

“To me, they (pioneers) are many but I can only recall a few, G.W. Ngwengwe, Professor Steve Chimombo, Professor (David) Rubadiri, Professor Francis Moto, Jack Mapange., Stanley Onjezani Kenani, Q Malewezi and Chigo Gondwe are slowly becoming heroes as well,” says Katsoka.

The only solace is, therefore, hope; the hope that poets would one day be accorded the respect they deserve in society.

“As a country we will one day regard poets as heroes or heroines. For example, one day the country will realise that, through poetry, Jack Mapange actively participated in the struggle against oppression and fight for democracy,” says Katsoka.

But, until that sunny day, the poet’s place remains obscure.

 It is like the poet’s hand has been too short to lay a grip on the national cake of recognition, with only a few institutions of higher learning keeping records.

“Academic institutions such as Chancellor College (University of Malawi), Mzuzu University are a good source of information where one can get the background of local Poetry. Chancellor College library, for example, has a lot of literally works on Malawian poetry,” he says.

Which raises the question: What have the poets done this far?

“However, so many poets in Malawi have not preserved their works as such it is not easy to find this information. This can be attributed to lack of resources to either publish or record their work,” says Katsoka.

National relevance

The challenge of records’ keeping aside, Katsoka says poets deserve a place on the national honours’ list?

“Just as musicians and other artists, poets have a great role to contribute to national development. If we are to sample Malawian poems, we will discover that most themes tackle issues of national concern, especially emerging ones. These include human rights [child, women as well as minority rights], acceptable cultural values, economic empowerment, family and religious values, good governance and labour relations.

“Of late, [we have had] poems on homosexuality, protection of albinos, federalism and sexual morality including rape. A good example is Robert Chiwamba’s Mudzafa Imfa Yowawa. [Of course] Individual poets have not actively participated in mainstream politics but poetry, through recitals, print and electronic media, has managed to reach out to the larger public,” says Katsoka.

Katsoka adds that poetry has been used as a tool for advocacy, community mobilisation and communication in general, citing the May 2014 Tripartite Elections.

Indeed, records at the Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) indicate that Chisomo Mdala, popularly known as Nyamalikiti Nthiwatiwa, was accredited to conduct civic education last year. 

  “Malawian poetry has been part of the syllabi in all literature courses at all levels of education; for instance, Akoma Akagonera and Ndidzakutengera Kunyanja Ligineti in secondary schools. There are also poems on education and health in general,” says Katsoka, adding that the government acknowledges the role of poetry in national affairs.

Among other recent developments, Pam is now a one of the rights holder associations in Copyright Association of Malawi (Cosoma).

This means poets are represented in activities taking place in the arts industry.

“This includes (involvement in) the arts cooperative that Cosoma has just instituted, policy formulation such as the Cultural Policy and lobbying for formulation of [an] Arts Council, participation in arts festivals such as Lake of Stars, Bwalo la Aluso, MacFest, Blantyre Arts Festival and, of course, Land of Poets,” he says.

Adds Katsoka: “There has also been tremendous support from the media. Radio and television stations have poetry programmes on their menu. Even the print media have space for poetry. Poetry is also enjoying better support from the corporate world.  Companies have been sponsoring poetry activities. A recent example is UGI, which just sponsored the poetry competition organised by Times Television.”

Defining the poet

The only Malawian to have been nominated for the 2012 Caine Prize, Stanley Onjezani Kenani, is on record to have told Weekender  that, in spite of their diversity, poets fall into two groups, based on the way they deliver the message. 

“To begin with, there are two types of poets: spoken-word poets and written-word poets. Quiet often, written-word poets find it hard to memorise their poems for recitals,” Kenani says.

Often, written-word poets focus on the academically acceptable aesthetics of poetry, while spoken word poets often dispense with the academic definition of a poem.

According to Kenani, spoken-word poets do not rely on reading from a piece of paper, saying, “Well, it's spoken word; so, I guess, they don't have to read.”
In Malawi, one of the well-known spoken-word poets is Kadzako Singano, while veteran poet Benedicto Wokomaatani Malunga has always been a written-word poet, even though he often appears during live poetry performances.
Kenani draws the line between the two types of poets. “The venerable Malunga - excellent at performing his poems - always reads from a piece of paper [while] South Africa's Napo Masheane - the best spoken-word poet I have ever met - never reads from a piece of paper. [But] both Ben [Wokomaatani Malunga] and Napo are awesome in their own way.”


Mobilisation
Whatever the orientation [written-word or spoken-word poets], Katsoka calls for a shift in focus in the industry.
“As poets, we need to operate as a business. This requires a degree of professionalism; therefore, we must woo experts who will help us develop tangible business plans and assist in managing them. Musicians have managers and promoters; the same should be adopted in the poetry industry in order for poets to leap from their sweat,” says Katsoka.
Katsoka suggests that it is possible to entirely survive on revenue generated through poetry. He, however, observes that, locally, poetry in local languages is mostly accessed for free despite the production costs incurred.

“With the increasing appreciation poetry is currently enjoying, poets should remain united to avoid being exploited by promoters. Ideally, every poet was supposed to belong to Pam, which could have been mediating in any activity involving its membership. This is not the case [and] as a result poets have on numerous occasions been exploited,” says Katsoka.

Katsoka says this is necessary for an industry plagued by lack of support.

“Almost 90 percent of Malawians access poetry through piracy. Despite the tremendous contribution poetry is making, the support from the government and the corporate world is minimal. Poets are not receiving loyalties from any media house. Currently, Cosoma is not collecting loyalties on behalf of poets while musicians are enjoying [the same]. [We also have a] small number of female poets. Potential female poets do not want to expose their talent,” laments Katsoka.

Ground clearance

To solve the problems, he says, Pam has piloted poetry clubs in some schools in the cities of Mzuzu, Lilongwe and Blantyre.

“The encounter has shown the potential that female students have in poetry composition and even reciting. However, upon completing secondary education, such budding female poets disappear without reaching full potential,” says Katsoka.

He suggests that poets need also to register their work with Cosoma so that there is a true census of poets in the country. This, he says, would give Cosoma the impetus to offer poets the same support offered to musicians.

Katsoka also asks poets to join Pam in order to promote unity and uniformity necessary in curbing exploitation from the media and promoters.

The government, he points out, should hasten the implementation of the Cultural Policy by instituting an Arts Council.

“There is need for more support for all programmes that are promoting poetry skills among females. For example, poetry school clubs established should be supported by all stakeholders. The programme should also be scaled up so that it is rolled out throughout the country including at primary and tertiary levels of education,” suggests Katsoka.

He also calls for increased awareness on the perils of piracy, with stiffer penalties being given to perpetrators.

 All these efforts are premised on the idea that there will always be poetry: Sometimes forgotten; sometimes remembered.