Move To Keep Malawi's Asian Business Community Safe From Covid-19

Ref: 200409/URG
URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT
To: The Asian Business Community of Blantyre, Limbe and Zomba
From: The Asian Business Community COVID-19 Task Force

The rapid increase of COVID-19 cases in Malawi and the urgent and pressing need to contain this at this early stage whilst we have this window of opportunity.
After extensive discussions and deliberations with business captains, it is evident that the Asian Business Community is a critical component for the survival of major industries in the country.
After careful efforts to mitigate the financial loss to the value chain of businesses and the national economy, the ABC COVID-19 Taskforce has come to the following difficult decision as an essential step to protect lives, especially when considering our very fragile health delivery system:
ALL businesses and community members are hereby given a directive for a PARTIAL COMMUNITY LOCKDOWN effective Thursday midnight being 9th April 2020 for a period of 14 days ending 23th April 2020 based on the following conditions:
1. Everyone over the age of 53 years must stay within the confines of their home.
2. ALL domestic staff over the age of 53 to be given a paid 14 days leave
3. All those with existing underlying health conditions to stay within the confines of their home.
4. Womenfolk (if not main breadwinners) and children are to remain within the confines of their home. (except in the case of emergencies).
5. ONLY the bread winner of the family may leave the house to go to work between 6am till 7pm.
6. Non- breadwinners may only go out to get medical supplies, food/ essential
household items.
7. Restaurants must operate on a delivery or take out basis ONLY.
8. No one should leave their home after 8pm till 6am unless in an emergency.
9. Based on clear Government of Malawi directives all places of social gatherings (clubs, bars, shisha lounges) must be closed and restaurants will only offer take away services till 8pm.
10. All non-essential travel, such as travel to Mangochi, Lilongwe or recreational areas for the Easter weekend should be cancelled.
11. At respective business work place all necessary precautionary measures such as social distancing, hand washing, wearing of masks and gloves etc must be strictly adhered to.
The same caution and strict measures apply on returning home from work place; Refer to Guidelines in Hygiene Practices that we all to be strictly adhere to.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Any member of the community found violating this PARTIAL COMMUNITY LOCKDOWN without a valid reason, strict action by community elders will be taken against them including a penalty of MK500,000.
Whilst we appreciate that this directive may be challenging for some and may affect our lifestyle in one way or another, it is important to state that we have reached this decision only after lengthy consultations with medical professionals and are doing this in the best interest of us all.
It gives me great pride to state and thank the business community in maintaining a very low mark up on groceries, essential goods and medical supplies during this pandemic.
This truly reflects the generosity of the community and I pray that we all will continue to support the vulnerable through in this manner.
Given the circumstances we must all be prepared to make sacrifices for everyone’s benefit.
We thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
It is my prayer that everyone will adhere strictly to this directive and together we can overcome this pandemic.
May the Almighty guide and protect us all in these stressful times - Ameen.

Faizal Aboo

Chairman, Asian Business Community (ABC)
Covid-19 Taskforce
9th April 2020

US repatriates citizens from Malawi

The United States (US) has shown that it is taking the Coronavirus pandemic seriously by calling on its citizens who are resident in Malawi to register their willingness for repatriation.

Through its embassy in Malawi, it indicates that the first flight departs from Malawi in two weeks, with the most vulnerable being prioritised.
Here is the full message posted on Wednesday:

Message to U.S. Citizens in #Malawi:

Special Flight Leaving Lilongwe to the United States.

We are in the process of examining options for a repatriation flight to the United States. The flight is estimated to travel within the next two weeks.

Americans interested in repatriation should immediately contact the U.S. Embassy Consular section via the Lilongwe Evacuation Request Form, no later than 7:30 am on Tuesday, April 14. If you have filled out the form already, please DO NOT fill it out again. 

Vulnerable populations will be prioritized and all others will be confirmed on first-come, first-serve basis. Please do not call the Embassy to confirm receipt of your email; we will contact you if you are confirmed for a seat on this flight. More: http://ow.ly/bhHU50z8Ggn

South Africa Accused of 'Exporting' Covid-19 To Other African Countries

Covid-19, also known as Coronavirus, is supposed to be the common enemy facing the world.

ILL-EQUIPPED TO FIGHT CORONAVIRUS: Most Africans
For many countries it has become a common enemy, prompting leaders such as the United States President Donald Trump and the Government of Portugal, among other countries, to announce that those who are living in the two countries illegally will have access to Covid-19 medical services.
The message is that people are one in the battle against Coronavirus.
The South African Government thinks otherwise, which is not surprising because South Africa has a penchant for thinking differently, call it out of the box.
Once, when the HIV and AIDS pandemic had ravaged the world, especially sub-Saharan Africa, the then South African leader Thabo Mbeki publicly doubted the existence of AIDS.
Seeing is believing, they say, but the HI virus is so small that it cannot be seen with the naked eye. And because AIDS is not a disease but a condition culminating in the weakening of the immune system that opens the gate to opportunistic infections, maybe blaming Mbeki is to be at fault because AIDS is, really, not a disease.
The same cannot be said of Coronavirus, which has taken the world by surprise, by storm, has shaken the foundations of medical science. South Africa has its cases. The United Kingdom has its cases. France has its cases. Italy has its cases. Spain has its cases. The United States has its cases. China has its cases. Japan has its cases. South Korea, the star performer in this battle, still has its cases. Zimbabwe, Zambia, Egypt, Iran, Tunisia, Algeria, Tanzania, Malawi, Namibia-- they all have Covid-19 cases.
And all these countries are pulling resources together, focusing their energies on this common and, as Trump has put it, "invisible enemy".
However, South Africa has chosen to fight two battles; one against Coronavirus and another against illegal immigrants.
Last week, South African health officials sent one Covid-19 patient to Malawi, through a bus loaded with innocent, unknowing passengers. Medical officials put a note in the Covid-19 patient's bag, to the effect that "Please observe him closely on the journey".
As it were, nobody on the bus, be it the driver or conductor, saw the message because the piece of paper that contained it was kept in the patient's back-pocket.
The passenger died close to Mwanza Border, which is a Malawian border district between Malawi and Mozambique.
A team of medical officials had to be called from Blantyre District Health Office to Mwanza Border, some 60 kilometres from Blantyre, to conduct tests on the dead passenger, who passed through borders in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique-- only for a corpse, and not living being-- to almost make it to Mwanza border in Malawi.
To date, health officials have not announced results of the tests. In other words, Malawi had its first Covid-19 death two weeks ago but, really, it is not Malawi's first Covid-19 case because the Malawian bus passenger died in Mozambique's territory.
So, maybe Chairperson of the Cabinet Committee on Covid-19, Jappie Mhango, is right to say, as he did on Tuesday, that Malawi has registered its first Covid-19 death this week.
Mozambique must claim the 'death', and own it, of the Malawian man who died two weeks ago.

South Africa adds fuel to Africa's Covid-19 fire
Back to the issue of South Africa 'exporting' Covid-19 cases to other African countries.
Even as most African countries have closed their boundaries to outsiders, perhaps taking a queue from the United States and China, South Africa has only closed its borders to those coming in-- or imposed strict quarantine measures on them-- only to open them to those it is forcing to go out.
How? The country has been chasing out illegal immigrants from Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi by the busloads.
The administration of Ceril Ramaphosa has been cracking down on those who have been staying in the Rainbow Nation without proper documents, deporting 420 people so far, according to that countries immigration department records.
These people have been deported, irrespective of their health conditions, in the past three weeks.
With plans to deport more, Malawians inclusive, the South African Government is exporting Covid-19 cases to southern African countries.
And, as they say, what goes around comes around. South Africa, as the biggest economy in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc, to which it is party, will in the end, like all SADC member states, be forced to contribute resources to the cause of health in the bloc, thereby paying for a situation it has contributed to.
But that is no solace to other SADC countries. More so because, instead of playing the one-people-in-a-globalised-world game as played by Trump and other more considerate world leaders, South Africa is still playing it soro.
South Africa has literally thrown Africa sisters and brothers in the lions-den of Coronavirus. Which is not strange, after all; South Africa imports loads of goods to Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia, among other countries-- what should stop it from 'exporting' Coronavirus? Nothing.
Not even common sense!

Covid-19 quarantined people roam freely in Blantyre

Malawians that have been to Covid-19-hit countries have it soft and smooth in Blantyre, Malawi.
Malawi is one of the countries hit by Covid-19, also known as Coronavirus, with eight reported cases as of Tuesday and one case of death.
Due to the situation, planes of the big airlibes such as Kenyan, South African and Ethiopian are no longer flying into Malawi. However, those who flied into Malawi earlier, which is before the April 1 deadline, as well as those travellibg by bus from South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique, among other countries, are being quarantined.

NO LONGER FLYING INTO MALAWI: Planes
The country's president, Peter Mutharika, has weighed in on the situation, banning church gatherings, ordering that employees work in shifts, reducing the price of fuel, among other things, with those coming from Covid-19-hit countries required to go into 14-day quarantine.
The quarantine centre in Blantyre is situated in Kameza llcation, close to Kamuzu College of Nursing premises.
However, instead of remaining in-doors until the 14-day period is over, those under quarantine roam freely day and night, mingling with traders and Kameza residents as they buy food stuffs, water bottles and even drink water in the vicinity.
To make matters worse, they are doing so without any face-masks on, further endangering other people and throwing spanners in the work of the Cabinet Committee on Covid-19, which, through its chairperson Jappie Mhango, has vowed to put all hands to the wheel in a bid to stem Covid-19 patient and death cases in Malawi.
One of the people who are under quarantine at Kameza, who declined to be named for fear of attracting the ire of health officials, claimed that they have been left at the hands of natural devices and are being forced into a corner.
"We have people from South Africa, the United Kingdom, Kenya, among others, who do not have food and enough water to drink. We cannot afford expense food and we are, therefore, being forced to go out and look for these things.
"Actually, there is no security where we are staying and all this thing (aboit quarantine) depends on our good-will.  I hope you have heard that some people in in self-quarantine (at home). The truth is that they are not in self-quarantine. They paid money to some officials when entering Malawi and, with that, bought their freedom.
"So, if I may ask, why should be the only ones suffering when other potentially 'dangerous' people who have just come into this country in the past 14 days are roaming free in locations and on the streets? It is not fair. If they sell us cheap food where we are staying, we will see no need to go to Kameza trading centre to buy food and drink beer," he said.
Meanwhile, Mhango has vowed to close all loopholes.
"If Malawians notice anyone willfully endangering the lives of others, let them inform us and we will take appropriate action. We, under the wise leadership of Professor Peter Mutharika, are committed to dealing with the Covid-19 threat once and for all.
"But, for us to win the battle, we must have unity of purpose. We must stand together. We must protect one another. We must love our nation," Mhango said on Tuesday.
Whatever the case, it is clear that Malawi is facing another silent crisis that is becoming alarmingly loud.

President Donald Trump Lambasts World Health Organisation on Covid-19 Handling

The United States (US) President, Donald Trump, has faulted the World Health Organisation (WHO) for giving the US faulty advice on Covid-19, otherwise known as Coronavirus.
In a tweet, Trump hints at taking action against the United Nations agency.
Writes Trump: "The W.H.O. really blew it. For some reason, funded largely by the United States, yet very China centric. We will be giving that a good look. Fortunately I rejected their advice on keeping our borders open to China early on. Why did they give us such a faulty recommendation?"

NOT PLEASED: Trump

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DECLARATION
●Zachimalawi would like to categorically say that it is interested in issues related to the United States because that great country gave this blogger one of the greatest gifts, a Samsung Galaxy Tab A after winning Media Institute of Southern Africa-Malawi Blogger of the Year award in 2016.
●Zachimalawi is also interested in issues related to the United Kingdom (UK) because that great country has given this writer a lifetime chance to be a student at one of the UK's top universities, even the University of Sussex. Well, I am enjoying the experience and will always be grateful to the British people.

8 cases, 1 death

Coronavirus, a.k.a. Covid-19, is quickly becoming Malawi's newest health, socio-economic challenge.

Latest on Covid-19 Situation in Malawi

●Things are moving very fast in Malawi, and here are the latest developments on Coronavirus

REMARKS BY CHAIRPERSON OF THE SPECIAL CABINET COMMITTEE ON COVID-19 JAPPIE MHANGO, ON CONFIRMED DEATH AND THREE NEW CASES 

Tuesday, 7th April, 2020

I regret to inform the nation that the 51-year-old Malawian lady of Indian Origin who had just recently returned from UK and was our 5th patient to test positive from Covid 19 has sadly passed on in the early hours of this morning. She had an Underlining Medical condition.

Our Blantyre District Health Office, Environmental Health Team is assisting with the burial arrangements.

As a nation, we grieve with the family of the deceased and I urge you all to respect their privacy. 

 As a matter of an update on the Covid 19 situation, the country has today confirmed 3 new cases, two in Blantyre and one in Chikwawa.

One case in Blantyre is a 34-year-old family contact of the first case that was registered on 3 April 2020. The second case is a 28-year-old lady who travelled from London, UK on 19 March, 2020. The person confirmed in Chikwawa is a 30-year- old gentleman who traveled from South Africa on 16 March, 2020. 

This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 8, including 1 death.  

Please let us continue to observe the prevention guidelines we have put in place. 
• Regular hand washing
• Social Distancing
• Avoid Handshakes 
• Observe self-quarantine rules as provided if you have recently returned from a hot spot country

We will keep the nation updated of any new developments

I thank you all.

Malawi registers first Covid-19 death

●3 new Coronavirus cases
Malawi, which had no single Covid-19 case by Wednesday last week, now has eight such cases.
In fact, one of Malawi's Covid-19 patients has just died.
The country had four Covid-19 cases as of Monday, April 6, 2020.
Chairperson for the Special Cabinet Committee on Covid-19, Jappie Mhango, said on Tuesday this means Malawians have to take the government's guidelines seriously.
"We, as the government, have set up several testing centres but we would like to urge citizens to follow guidelines as set out by his excellency the State President, Professor Peter Mutharika," Mhango said.
Mutharika has put in place measures, including that workers should work in shifts, fuel prices be reduced to cushion the impact of Covid-19 on transportation costs, people should not meet at rallies, religious and other gatherings.
However, Mutharika has dismissed the possibility of a lock-down, saying Malawi's situation is different from that of other countries.

Paul Tiyambe Zeleza Writes on Great Academic, The Late Thandika Mkandawire's Life

Thandika Mkandawire: In Memory of an Intellectual Giant

Thandika Mkandawire, the towering Pan-African Malawian-Swedish public intellectual died on March 27 2020. The world of social thought, as Samir Amin, another departed luminary, called it, is so much poorer that he has left us, but so much richer that he lived for eight decades enlightening the world with his prodigious mind. Through his copious writings, engagements in numerous forums, and teaching in various universities he provoked and animated minds and imaginations for generations across Africa, the diaspora, and world at large. His extraordinary intellectual insights and incisive and surgical critiques of conventional, sometimes celebrated, and often cynical analyses of development and the African condition, to use a beloved phrase of the late Ali Mazrui, the iconic man of letters, were truly inspiring.

Thandika, as we all fondly called him, has joined our illustrious intellectual ancestors, whose eternal wisdom we must cherish and embrace in the continuing struggle for the epistemic, existential, and economic emancipation of our beloved continent.

When I think of Thandika, many images come to my mind, of the luminous beauty and brilliance of his mind. His passion for rigor and impatience with lazy thinking. His bountiful joy of living. His love of music and the arts. His boundless faith in Africa and equal opportunity dismissal for Afropessimism and Afro-euphoria. His devotion to Pan-Africanism and the diaspora. His deep sense of globalism. His lifelong and unromantic commitment to progressive causes. His generosity in mentoring younger African scholars. His exemplary leadership of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD). And his remarkable modeling of the life of a principled public intellectual.

He is simply one of the most brilliant people I have ever known in my life. As my wife observed on several occasions, Thandika was the only person she witnessed who I was so enthralled by that I could sit and listen to for hours! To be in his company was to marvel at the power of the human mind for extraordinary insights and the joys of living for he was a bundle of infectious joviality, humor and wit. The breadth and depth of his intellectual passions and unwavering faith in Africa's historic and humanistic agency and possibilities was dazzling.

I had known Thandika years before I met him in person. I had heard of the fiery Malawian intellectual who as a young journalist had been been in the forefront of the nationalist struggle. Like many of us born before independence, his personal biography encompassed the migrant labor political economy of Southern Africa: he was born in Zimbabwe, and grew up in Zambia and Malawi. And like many smart and ambitious young people of his generation in the early 1960s, he trekked to the United States for higher education, as there was no university in Malawi at the time. He did not return to Malawi until 1994, after spending 32 years in exile, following the installation of a new democratic government.

He was a student in the United States in the 1960s at the height of the civil rights movement, and as an activist, he immediately saw the intricate connections between the nationalist and civil rights movements in Africa and the Diaspora. This nurtured his profound respect and appreciation of African American society, culture, and contributions, which was a bedrock of his Pan-Africanism in the tradition of Kwame Nkrumah and others. Also, like many activists of his generation the trajectory of his life was upended by political crisis in Malawi, known as the ‘Cabinet Crisis’ that erupted a few months after independence in 1964.

The octogenarian, conservative and authoritarian Malawi leader, Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, fell out with his radical younger ministers who preferred democratic politics and more progressive development policies. They were forced to escape into exile. Thandika was suspected of sympathizing with the ‘rebels’ as Banda’s regime vilified them, and his passport was revoked. Thus began his long personal sojourn into exile and the diaspora, and professional trajectory from journalism into academia. His exile began while he was in Ecuador on a project and unable to return to the USA he got asylum in Sweden.

His experiences in Latin America and Sweden globalized his intellectual horizons and reinforced his proclivities towards comparative political economy, a distinctive hallmark of his scholarship. They also reshaped his interests in economics, pulling him away from its dominant neo-classical paradigms and preoccupations, and anchoring it in the great questions of development and developmental states, areas in which he made his signature intellectual and policy contributions.

Thandika also immersed himself in the great debates of the 1960s and 1970s centered on Marxism, dependency and underdevelopment, African socialism, and the struggles for new international orders from economics to information.

The intellectual ferment of the period prepared him well to participate in African debates about the state, democracy and development when he joined the newly established Institute for Development Studies at the University of Zimbabwe in the early 1980s in the immediate euphoric aftermath of Zimbabwe’s liberation victory. In 1985, he became the head of CODESRIA as Executive Secretary.

He joined CODESRIA in the midst of the draconian anti-developmentalist assaults of structural adjustment programs (SAPs) imposed on hapless and often complicit authoritarian African states by the international financial institutions working at the behest of the market fundamentalist ideology of neo-liberalism propagated by conservative governments in Washington, London, Berlin, Ottawa, and Tokyo.

Through his own comparative scholarship on regional economic histories, development paths, and the patrimonial state in Africa and other world regions especially Asia, as well as national and multinational projects commissioned by CODESRIA, he led the progressive African intellectual community in mounting vigorous critiques of SAPs. Moreover, his monumental work offered alternatives rooted in the historical realities of African economies and societies, the aspirations of African peoples, and the capacities of reconstructed African democratic developmental states.

In the late 1980s, when the gendarmes of neo-liberalism and apologists of Africa’s bankrupt one party states were railing against democracy, or watching struggles for the ‘second independence’ with indifference or suspicion, Thandika unapologetically called for democracy as a fundamental political right and economic necessity for Africa. He was particularly concerned about the devastation wrought on African capacities to produce knowledge through the willful dismantling of African universities and research capacities.

At a conference of Vice Chancellors in Harare in 1986, the World Bank infamously declared that Africa did not need universities. Mendacious studies were produced to show that rates of return were higher for primary education than for tertiary education. Rocked by protests against tyranny and the austerities of SAPs that dissolved the post-independence social contract of state-led developmentalism, African governments were only too willing to wreck African universities and devalue academic labor.

Under Thandika CODESRIA valiantly sought to protect, promote, and project an autonomous space for African intellectual development, for vibrant knowledge production. That is how I finally met Thandika in person. In 1989, CODESRIA established the “Reflections on Development Fellowship.” I was one of about a dozen African scholars that won the scholarship. My project was on “African Economic History in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.” This resulted in the publication of A Modern Economic History of Africa. Volume 1: The Nineteenth Century in 1993, which went on to win the prestigious Noma Award for publishing in Africa. Some regard this as my most important book.

Thus, I like many other African scholars who experienced the devastation of African universities during the continent’s ‘lost decades’ of the 1980s and 1990s are deeply indebted to Thandika and CODESRIA for ensuring our intellectual support, networking, sanity, and productivity. This is at the heart of the outpouring of tributes by African scholars for Thandika since his passing. He was not only one of the most important African intellectuals of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, he was also an architect of an African intellectual community during one of the bleakest periods in the history of the African knowledge enterprise. His intellectual and institutional legacies are mutually reinforcing and transcendental.

In August 1990, the recipients of the “Reflections on Development Fellowship” met for nearly two weeks at the Rockefeller Conference and Study Center, in Bellagio, Italy. I had not experienced an intellectual indaba like that before. Thandika dazzled the fellows, who included several prominent African scholars, with his incisive comments and erudition, legendary humor, and striking joyousness. Meeting him at Bellagio left a lasting impression on me. His brilliance was accompanied by his uncanny ability to put very complex thoughts in such a pithy way, rendering an idea so obvious that one wondered why one had not thought about it that way before.

Thandika was one of those rare people who effectively combined institutional leadership and intellectual productivity. This was the praxis of his reflexive life, in which administrative challenges inspired academic work. While at CODESRIA, he pioneered and produced important studies on structural adjustment, development, and African universities and intellectuals. In 1987, he edited the groundbreaking collection, The State and Agriculture in Africa; in 1995, he edited the comprehensive collection on structural adjustment, Between Liberalisation and Oppression; in 1999 he co-authored, Our Continent Our Future.

After he joined UNRISD, he continued working on his old intellectual preoccupations as he embraced new ones as reflected in his journal articles and book monographs. The latter include the co-authored, African Voices on Structural Adjustment (2002), and the edited, African Intellectuals: Rethinking Politics, Language, Gender and Development (2005). Soon after joining UNRISD, which he led from 1998 to 2009, he launched a program on social policy that increasingly reflected his growing research interests. The articles include, "Thinking about Developmental States in Africa" (2001); "Disempowering New Democracies and the Persistence of Poverty" (2004); "Maladadjusted African Economies and Globalization" (2005); "Transformative Social Policy and Innovation in Developing Countries" (2007); "Good Governance': The Itinerary of an Idea" (2007); “From the national question to the social question” (2009), “Institutional monocropping and monotasking in Africa” (2010); “On Tax Efforts and Colonial Heritage in Africa” (2010); “Aid, Accountability, and Democracy in Africa” (2010); and “How the New Poverty Agenda Neglected Social and Employment Policies in Africa” (2010).

In 2009, he was appointed at the London School of Economics as the inaugural Chair in African Development. This gave him space to expand his intellectual wings and produce some of his most iconic and encyclopedic work as evident in the titles of some of his papers. They include “Running While Others Walk: Knowledge and the Challenge of Africa’s Development” (2011); “Welfare Regimes and Economic Development: Bridging the Conceptual Gap” (2011); “Aid: From Adjustment Back to Development” (2013); “Social Policy and the Challenges of the Post-Adjustment Era” (2013); “Findings and Implications: The Role of Development Cooperation” (2013); “Neopatrimonialism and the Political Economy of Economic Performance in Africa: Critical Reflections” (2015); and “Colonial legacies and social welfare regimes in Africa: An empirical exercise” (2016). He also published monographs including the co-authored, Learning from the South Korean Developmental Success (2014), and a collection of lectures he gave at the University of Ghana, Africa Beyond Recovery (2015).

Following my encounter with Thandika at Bellagio, our personal and professional paths crossed many times over the next thirty years. The encounters are too numerous to recount. Those that stand out include CODESRIA’s conference on Academic Freedom, held in November 1990 at which the “The Kampala Declaration on Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibility” was issued; and numerous CODESRIA conferences, workshops, and general assemblies including the one in 1995 where I served as a rapporteur. These forums were truly invigorating for a young scholar meeting the doyens of the African intelligentsia. Like many of those in my generation, I matured intellectually under the tutelage of CODESRIA and Thandika.

In return, when I relocated to the United States in 1995 from Canada, I invited Thandika or played a role in his invitation to conferences in the US. This included the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Center for African Studies at the University of Illinois in 1995 where I served as director of the center, and the 1996 US African Studies Association where he gave “The Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola Distinguished Lecture.” The lecture, later published in the African Studies Review entitled, “The Social Sciences in Africa: Breaking Local Barriers and Negotiating International Presence,” was a veritable tour de force. It brilliantly traced the development of social science knowledge production on Africa and offered a searing critique of Africanist exclusionary intellectual practices.

Later, when Thandika was head of UNRISD, he invited me to join the nine member Gender Advisory Group to work on a report on the implementation of the United Nations Fourth World Women’s Conference held in Beijing in 1995. Out of this conference came the report, Gender Equality: Striving for Justice in an Unequal World published in 2005 to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Beijing conference. In return, I also invited Thandika to contribute to my own edited collections, including The Encyclopaedia of Twentieth Century African History to which he contributed a fine essay on African intellectuals.

Our personal encounters were even more frequent and deeply gratifying. In the 1990s, I used to go to Dakar frequently, sometimes several times a year. On many occasions, Thandika hosted me or took me out to sample the incredible culinary delights and vibrant music scene of Dakar nightlife. I recall one night going to a club where Yousou N’dour was playing. It was an indescribable treat. In his customary insightful and pithy way, he made me understand the social vibrancy of Dakar. In contrast to the apartheid cities of Southern Africa from which we were alienated in the townships, Dakar is an old city whose residential patterns and social geography are deeply embedded in the rhythms of local culture.

Another memorable encounter was Christmas in the early 2000s where our two families and close friends spent the entire day at the lake in Malawi. As usual, he regaled us with jokes interspersed with acute observations on Malawian history, society, economy and politics. Last December, he and his dear wife, Kaarina Klint, were in Nairobi. What had been planned as a luncheon turned out into an engagement that lasted until dinner and late into the night. We had not seen each other for several years, although we had been in touch, so there was so much to cover. We excitedly discussed his forthcoming 80th birthday celebration, and the possibility of him joining our university as a Visiting Distinguished Professor.

It turned out to be our last meeting. But what a special day it was. Thandika was his usual self, affable, hilariously funny, and of course he made brilliant observations about African and global developments. Thank you Thandika for the privilege of knowing you and your beautiful mind. You will always be a shining intellectual light for your generation, my generation, and generations to come of committed, progressive African, diaspora and global academics, researchers, thinkers and activists.

Malawi Registers Fifth Covid-19 Case

A fifth person has tested positive for Covid-19, a.k.a. Coronavirus, in Malawi.

Special Cabinet Committee on Covid-19 Chairperson, Jappie Mhango, on Monday identified the fifth victim as a Blantyre-based female who returned from the United Kingdom on March 28 , 2020.

Mhango said the individual was "on self-quarantine".

The Queen's Speech on Covid-19

The Queen's address to the nation in full:

I am speaking to you at what I know is an increasingly challenging time. A time of disruption in the life of our country: a disruption that has brought grief to some, financial difficulties to many, and enormous changes to the daily lives of us all.

I want to thank everyone on the NHS front line, as well as care workers and those carrying out essential roles, who selflessly continue their day-to-day duties outside the home in support of us all. I am sure the nation will join me in assuring you that what you do is appreciated and every hour of your hard work brings us closer to a return to more normal times.

I also want to thank those of you who are staying at home, thereby helping to protect the vulnerable and sparing many families the pain already felt by those who have lost loved ones. Together we are tackling this disease, and I want to reassure you that if we remain united and resolute, then we will overcome it.

I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. And those who come after us will say the Britons of this generation were as strong as any. That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humoured resolve and of fellow-feeling still characterise this country. The pride in who we are is not a part of our past, it defines our present and our future. 

The moments when the United Kingdom has come together to applaud its care and essential workers will be remembered as an expression of our national spirit; and its symbol will be the rainbows drawn by children.

Across the Commonwealth and around the world, we have seen heart-warming stories of people coming together to help others, be it through delivering food parcels and medicines, checking on neighbours, or converting businesses to help the relief effort. 

And though self-isolating may at times be hard, many people of all faiths, and of none, are discovering that it presents an opportunity to slow down, pause and reflect, in prayer or meditation.

It reminds me of the very first broadcast I made, in 1940, helped by my sister. We, as children, spoke from here at Windsor to children who had been evacuated from their homes and sent away for their own safety. Today, once again, many will feel a painful sense of separation from their loved ones. But now, as then, we know, deep down, that it is the right thing to do.

While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal. We will succeed - and that success will belong to every one of us.

We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.

But for now, I send my thanks and warmest good wishes to you all.

President Peter Mutharika Gets Tough on Covid-19

NATIONAL ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT PETER MUTHARIKA ON ADDITIONAL MEASURES TO THE NATIONAL RESPONSE ON CORONAVIRUS

4 April 2020

Fellow Malawians,

On Thursday, I announced that we now have confirmed cases of Coronavirus disease. Now we have a fourth confirmed case in Blantyre. An attack on one of us is an attack on us all. This is an attack we must all fight. Either we unite and fight, or we perish!

We are not alone in these tragic times. The whole world is under attack from this deadly virus. Many countries are struggling, many people are suffering and many are dying across the world.

HAS ADDRESSED MALAWIANS: Mutharika

On 20th March, I declared Malawi a State of Disaster on the basis of Coronavirus attack. I want to thank every Malawian who has been complying with the preventive measures which Government has put in place. Prevention is wiser than cure. Precaution is always wisdom.

We are encouraging every Malawian to observe strict rules of hygiene, including frequent washing of hands  with soap and wearing masks; 

We are intensifying screening of people in all entry points and surveillance of all travellers from countries that have confirmed coronavirus cases;

We have intensified civic education and information sharing with communities;

We are increasing the number of testing centres in various parts of the country over and above the three laboratories that we have, namely:

the National Health Reference Laboratory in Lilongwe;

the College of Medicine Laboratory; and

the Malawi Liverpool Welcome Trust in Blantyre;

These measures are not enough. We need to do more on all fronts.

Coronavirus is a public health problem. It is also an economic threat and a social problem.

 I know that everyone is worried but I also know that we can survive this problem if we unite and fight.

Today, I therefore announce more measures to be implemented with immediate effect:

In order to decongest work places, all offices shall work in shifts with the exception of those working in essential services. In the public sector, the Chief Secretary to the Government will issue a circular to provide guidelines while for the private and other sectors, the heads of institutions shall liaise with the Secretary responsible for Labour for guidelines;

All formal meetings, gatherings and conferences are suspended forthwith;

All places, buildings and structures with public access shall ensure that there is adequate ventilation during all periods the public has access to those places, buildings and structures;

All employers shall allow vulnerable employees, including those with underlying medical conditions, to work from or stay at home.

In order to decongest our prisons, I direct the Malawi Prison Services and Juvenile Centres to present a list of prisoners and juveniles who committed petty offences and those who have served a significant portion of their sentences for moderate crimes to the Minister of Homeland Security for processing of their release;

I am further directing all affected line Ministries and Local Councils to ensure that they have consulted and engaged their stakeholders such as vendors, market leaders, religious leaders, chiefs and the private sector to agree on sector specific measures and submit them to the Cabinet Committee for my approval within the next 72 hours.

The Coronavirus attack has a huge negative impact on the economy and businesses everywhere. There are many business people and industry players who are uncertain about the situation as it is unfolding. I know that everyone is worried.

Therefore, Government will take measures to protect jobs and incomes, protect businesses and ensure continuity of the supply chain and the survival of the economy.

Let us remember one thing. Malawi’s economy has its own unique characteristics. We are not any other country.

At the same time, the situation we have is unprecedented to everyone. With Coronavirus, there are no models except ourselves.

Therefore, it is extremely important that we must be engaging and listening to one another very carefully.

Government must listen to the private sector and the private sector must listen to us – just as I urge employers and employees to listen to one another. 

Consequently, I urge the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Trade as well as the Reserve Bank to constantly keep engaging and listening to the private sector as we develop and review various measures.

Our goal is to protect the private sector, no matter how informal it may be, because our economy cannot survive without the private sector.

Today, I am directing the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) to reduce fuel prices with immediate effect. This move is intended to reduce transport cost.

I am also directing the Treasury to do the following:

Reduce salaries of the President, Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers by 10 percent for three months and direct the resources to the fight against the coronavirus;

Instruct the Malawi Revenue Authority to open up a voluntary tax compliance window for a period of six months to allow tax payers with arrears to settle their tax obligations in instalments without penalty;

Provide a special fund to ADMARC to buy agricultural produce at competitive prices;

Establish a Relief Fund through which well-wishers, companies and individuals can support the fight against Coronavirus;

Apply tax waivers on importation of essential goods for Coronavirus management. These include personal protective equipment, hand sanitizers, soaps, water treatment chemicals and many more;

Waive tourism levy to support the tourism industry;

Waive non-resident tax on all foreign doctors and medical personnel;

Increase the MEDF loans allocation from K13 billion to K15 billion in order to help Micro, Small and Medium Scale businesses that have been seriously affected by the pandemic;

Increase Nutrition Allowance payable to civil servants with foundational medical conditions by 50 percent;

Reduce fees and charges on all electronic money transactions in order to promote use of electronic money transactions;

I am also directing the Ministry of Health to recruit 2,000 health workers to assist in the fight of the pandemic. We need more soldiers and human power in this fight.

I am directing Treasury to increase the risk allowances for our health workers as a matter of urgency. The welfare of healthcare workers is our welfare. Their safety is our safety.

I am directing the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure that Auction Holdings Limited functions normally to operate the tobacco marketing season and protect tobacco farmers.

Further, I am directing Reserve Bank to:

Implement a win-win arrangement with commercial banks and Micro-Finance Institutions to observe a three-month moratorium on interest and principal repayments for all loans contracted by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Under this arrangement the Registrar will encourage commercial banks to restructure loans to this sector in order to extend their repayment to more than a year;

Cushion the foreign exchange market to ensure availability of forex and stability of the foreign exchange rate;

Activate an Emergency Liquidity Assistance framework to support banks in the event of worsening liquidity conditions and to provide support to banks on a case by case basis.

I am also directing Government to discuss with Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Tourism Association of Malawi for win-win arrangements that will ensure that there are no redundancies in companies.

As we speak, I have discussed with SADC, COMESA and other regional trade blocks as well as neighbouring countries to ensure smooth transportation and importation of essential goods and raw materials into Malawi.

Finally, I hereby direct the Competition and Fair Trading Commission to increase surveillance and protect consumers from anyone who wants to unfairly increase prices of essential goods. People who intend to take advantage of our current situation will be punished. I will not allow anyone to take advantage of coronavirus attack to exploit consumers.

Government shall continue to monitor the implementation of these new and existing measures and review the situation as it develops. More comprehensive measures may be imposed

I want to thank Development Partners for your support and standing with us as a country. Most of you are serving Malawians when your own families and loved ones are in equally demanding situations in your home countries. I appreciate your sacrifice.

In conclusion, I would like us to unite and stand steadfast in these trying times. Together, we can win the war against Coronavirus. Let us not politicize this pandemic.

I thank you for your attention.

Latest on Malawi's Covid-19 Battle: Malawi Registers Fourth Case

REMARKS BY JAPPIE MHANGO, CHAIRPERSON OF THE SPECIAL CABINET COMMITTEE ON COVID-19, ON MALAWI’S FOURTH CONFIRMED CASE

April 4, 2020

As you recall, on 30th March 2020, the President, Prof Arthur Peter Mutharika, declared coronavirus a National Disaster and only 2 days ago, His Excellency announced to the nation that Malawi has recorded its first 3 confirmed cases of coronavirus all of them from a single household in Lilongwe, I wish to inform you that we have another confirmed case in Blantyre.

This patient recently returned from the UK and was in self-quarantine. Tests were done yesterday at the College of Medicine laboratory where it was confirmed that the results are positive.  With this new case, Malawi now has 4 new cases of coronavirus and we can confirm local transmission based on the initial three cases from Lilongwe. All these 4 cases have mild disease

Fellow Malawians, it is very clear that we are at war with the disease and therefore we all need to work together to contain the virus. The Special Cabinet Committee on coronavirus has been regularly meeting to monitor and give guidance on Government interventions to prevent and contain the disease. Government is now intensifying measures to contain the disease by among other things

1. Ensuring contact tracing on all those individuals that came into contact with the confirmed cases
2. Provision of testing services to all suspected cases
3. Increasing surveillance on coronavirus
4. Enforcing measures on social distancing
5. Enforcing hand-washing in all communities
6. Provision of Personal Protective Equipment to all personnel who are at risk of contracting the disease especially health care workers.

The Ministry of Health knows that coronavirus realises that there is shortage of health care workers and therefore working on
1. Increasing the funding allocation to the staff to be recruited now
2. fast tracking the recruitment process for health care workers.

Various ministries and govt departments and councils have developed guidelines and by-laws to contain the virus. In fact Opinion leaders (Traditional Leaders including all Paramount Chiefs, Religious leaders), District Commissioners and Directors of Health and Social Services in the districts have been oriented on coronavirus. Govt also engaged the Private Sector to discuss the impact of coronavirus and how the sector can contribute to the fight against the disease

1. In infrastructure, all district hospitals have reserved rooms and spaces for treatment of confirmed cases that have moderate and severe disease
2. Works on other existing treatment sites has started now that we have funding for all the 10 sites in some of our border districts and central hospitals
3. Training for health care workers and community health workers is currently underway
4. Govt has repaired ventilators in our central hospitals and has provided an additional 20 new ventilators into our treatment sites
5. Govt has more than 20,000 test kits that were donated by Jack Ma and are currently being used at CHSU and College of Medicine and Liverpool Welcome Trust laboratories. Govt, through UNICEF, is procuring another 5000 test kits to be delivered within a month.  Take note that all our test kits have met the standards defined by WHO and CDC and our machines and protocol also meet the set standards. In fact, we have been confirming the initial results with NICD in South Africa
6. Ministry of Health is finalising guidelines on the use of GenExpert machines to ensure that testing is available in all district hospitals
7. Through UNICEF, Personal Protective Equipment is being procured for all health care workers. Priority is given to local suppliers, who meet the required standards.
8. Risk communication is currently being done through the Health Education Unit where posters, jingles, leaflets etc have been developed.
9. The MOH has developed an application which will be used to ensure that we are able to track patients and suspects to ensure compliance to guidelines.

Take note that the ministry has received technical and material support from WHO plus UN Family and CDC, financial support from DFID, HSJF, the governments of Norway and Germany, GAVI, The Global Fund and other development partners.

Again local organisations and companies have contributed to the fight – including messaging through our radio and TV stations, Mobile phone companies such as Airtel (including Airtel support to the Chipatala Cha Pa Foni).

Take note that we have noted that the Chipatala Cha Pa Foni has been overwhelmed by phone calls and the ministry is working on increasing the capacity and personnel to improve the situation

Finally, govt is committed to ensure that coronavirus is contained in Malawi and will do everything possible together with all its partners to win the fight.

I thank you all.

Boris Johnson Leads From The Front on Covid-19

Malawi's health officials refused to test Covid-19 patients!

 ■Letter from Covid-19 patients' family bares it all


Dear brothers and sisters,
I would like share and provide some factual information to you all in regards to the COVID19 test result.

My parents recently visited india and made their safe return to Malawi on the 8th of March 2020. It was on the 11th of March that my father developed a few symptoms such as weakness/fatigue and loss of taste and smell. On the 14th of March 2020, my mother also developed the same symptoms except the loss of taste and smell. The COVID19 team were therefore contacted immediately.

The team visited the family home to assess the situation. I insisted and urged the team to do a test on my mother. Unfortunately, the team decided not to carry out any tests for COVID19 as the symptoms my parents had did not reflect the typical symptoms of COVID19 and did not meet their medical requirements.

My parents decided to be in self isolation for a period of 17 days since the symptoms first developed. After about a week of being in isolation we received the news that my aunt who travelled to Australia tested positive for COVID19. She was tested immediately upon her arrival in Australia. I requested a report from Australia to confirm the positive test result and with a lot of persuasion I urged the COVID19 team to test my mother. The test was eventually done after a few days on the 22nd of March 2020.

The results of the initial test conducted on the 22nd of March 2020 came out negative. The results were reported to us on the 24th of March 2020. At this point my father had fully recovered and my mother was feeling better, still not completely back to normal.

On the 31st of March 2020 the COVID19 team from CHISU contacted me requesting to conduct another test on my mother. They claimed that it was essential to do so as they would like to compare the results from the initial test conducted on the 22nd of March 2020. At this point my mother was in full recovery. Swab samples were taken, which tested positive for COVID19 on the 2nd of April 2020. Further samples were taken from family members including house keepers and their families whom reside in the compound of our family home. Three people tested positive for COVID19 - my mother, a family member and the house keepers wife who resides in the boys quarters. The rest tested negative.

Furthermore, I would like to clarify that the lady who has been tested positive is not the house maid, she is the wife of the house keeper who resides in the boys quarters in the compound of our family home and no contact has been made with her whatsoever.

Lastly, my parents have taken precautionary measures and have been in self isolation since they developed symptoms for a period of 17 days. My mother on the other hand is still in self isolation. With the grace of the almighty my family members including the house keepers appear to have no symptoms and are in good health. My parents have now fully recovered.

Kind Regards,
Faraaz Dodia

Former president Joyce Banda wants Malawi to declare false Coronavirus statistics!

Here are her words, verbatim. She seems not happy that Malawi has no case of Covid-19.

She seems to have set her eyes on the money that highly affected African countries are set to receive.

Joyce Banda's words:
My fellow Malawians I am saddened to see that Malawi is missing from the list of countries that can benefit from this fund during this time.  I request government to be proactive and stop politicizing this pandemic.  

In the past week I was interviewed by MIJ Radio Station expressing my opinion about our situation as a nation during this time of the coronavirus pandemic.  In that interview I expressed my concern at our apparent lack of preparedness or lack of access to accurate information about our preparedness from government. Other countries in the region provide frequent briefings so that the nation knows what is happening in their countries.  As for Kenya the Minister of Health briefs the nation on daily basis.  The written briefs we see each day are not good enough as more than half of our people have no access to this information.  

I have been following the information being provided by other Governments to their people and I feel very sad because:

1.  The global community cannot assist us when we are hiding our statistics and our challenges to fight the pandemic.

2.  When there is apparent politicization of this fight and apparent lack of political will to confront this pandemic as a united front regardless of our political and religious affiliations.


May God Bless You All!

UK Aid Provides K1.7bn to Malawi for Covid-19 Response

• UK AID PROVIDES 1.7 BILLION KWACHA FOR COVID-19 (CORONAVIRUS) PREVENTION AND PREPAREDNESS IN MALAWI

For immediate release

The DFID - UK Department for International Development has provided approximately 1.7 billion kwacha (£1.8 million) to UNICEF Malawi to strengthen Malawi’s capacity to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

Although Malawi does not have confirmed cases at the moment, so far the Covid-19 outbreak has affected 197 countries with over 21,000 deaths, and over 450,000 confirmed cases as of 26 March 2020, according to the World Health Organization. There are over 2,000 confirmed cases in Africa across 39 countries. Malawi’s neighbors, Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania all have reported cases. 

With this UK Aid funding, UNICEF is supporting the Ministry of Health to improve airport and border screening capacity; train health workers to respond to a potential outbreak; and equip emergency treatment units with medical and intensive care supplies as well as water and sanitation facilities so that they are ready to treat potential cases. DFID has also helped set up the testing facility in the national Public Health laboratory in Lilongwe.

Head of DFID in Malawi, David Beer, said “We recognise the need to act fast, to help Malawi prepare for the threat of COVID-19. This is why we have provided £1.8m with immediate effect, to set up emergency treatment units and rapid response teams, and critically, to boost public health messaging. I call on all Malawians to follow official advice, especially on handwashing and social distancing.”

“In the absence of effective treatment, raising awareness of the risk factors for Coronavirus infection and the protective measures individuals and communities can take, is the only way to reduce human infection.  Thanks to DFID through UNICEF for this very timely support to the Malawi Government,” said the Secretary for Health and Population Dr Dan Namarika. 

“There is no vaccine or specific antiviral medicine to treat this virus. The best course of action is to avoid infection. UNICEF is supporting the Ministry of Health and Population to develop contingency plans and communication materials. The support from DFID is timely and will assist our ongoing collaborative effort with the Government of Malawi to prevent the virus from spreading in Malawi,” said UNICEF Malawi Representative Rudolf Schwenk.

Misinformation has cropped up all over the world including in Malawi since COVID-19 began spreading. UK Aid funding will also help ensure that citizens will receive accurate, reliable information about what to do to protect themselves.
###

Note to editors
• COVID-19 is a new virus linked to the same family of viruses as SARS and some types of common cold. It is transmitted through direct contact with respiratory droplets (from coughing and sneezing), and touching surfaces contaminated with the virus.
• Symptoms can include fever, dry cough, fatigue, and shortness of breath. Some may have very mild or no symptoms. Most people (about 80 per cent) recover without needing special treatment. In more severe cases, an infection can cause pneumonia, severe illness, and death in some patients. Older people and those with underlying medical problems are at a higher risk of developing a serious illness.
• To avoid the risk of transmission, people should: 
1. Wash their hands frequently using soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub;
2. Cover their mouth and nose with flexed elbow or tissue when coughing or sneezing – not your hands;
3. Avoid close contact with anyone who has a cough or other flu-like symptoms;
4. Ensure children’s routine immunizations are up to date;
5. Seek medical care early if they have fever, cough and difficulty breathing, and share previous travel history with their health care provider;
• On 28 February 2020, WHO upgraded its assessment of the risk of coronavirus and public health impact at the global level from “high” to “very high”, signaling the urgency for every country to act aggressively to contain the disease and mitigate the impact on those affected.
• Misinformation has cropped up across the internet since #coronavirus, or #COVID-19, began spreading. #UNICEF Health Experts give us the facts and six things they think you should know. We remind all to seek reliable sources on how to prevent #coronavirus or #COVID19 and not to pass on unverified information from mass media and social media posts. Please visit UNICEF’s website, the Ministry of Health’s Facebook page or the World Health Organization.

About UK Aid
DFID has a longstanding record of supporting countries across the globe to prepare for large disease outbreaks. Our partners in vulnerable countries are also ensuring they are prepared by ensuring they have adequate supplies and health systems can cope. 

In addition to the UK’s support of £1.8m to Malawi, the UK has announced up to £544m of funding to support the global efforts to combat the outbreak of COVID-19. This includes up to £150million to the International Monetary Fund to help developing countries focus their available resources to tackling the virus and a £65 million investment into COVID-19 research. The UK is providing £10million to the World Health Organisation (WHO) to help prevent the spread of this outbreak by supporting developing countries to rapidly identify and care for patients with symptoms. Additional experts funded by UK aid will be deployed to the WHO to help coordinate the international response.

Further UK aid support will challenge harmful misinformation about coronavirus in South East Asia and Africa before it is able to spread worldwide and cause damage here in the UK. This support demonstrates how UK aid is making the world a safer place by tackling disease outbreaks that do not respect borders.
The UK is committed to spending 0.7 percent of GDP on Official Development Assistance. UK aid tackles the global challenges of our time including poverty and disease, mass migration, insecurity and conflict – aiming to make the world a better, safer and more prosperous place. For more information on the work of UK aid in Malawi visit: https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/dfid-malawi

About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere. For more information about UNICEF and its work for children in Malawi visit: www.unicef.org/malawi

For more information, please contact:

Benson Linje, DFID Malawi, Lilongwe, Benson.Linje@fco.gov.uk; Tel: +265 882 576 929
Rebecca Phwitiko, UNICEF Malawi, rphwitiko@unicef.org; Tel: +265 999 282 723
Joshua Malango, Ministry of Health, malangojoshua@gmail.com; Tel +265 884 495 839

Malawi Government Slams High Court Judge Over Coronavirus Injunction

PRESS RELEASE

GOVERNMENT DISTURBED BY JUDGE KENYATTA’S ORDER ON CHINESE NATIONALS AMID CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

The Government of Malawi is disturbed and dismayed by the High Court Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda’s order that released four Chinese nationals who had been quarantined on arrival at Kamuzu International Airport on Tuesday 17 March, 2020.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services sent back to China ten nationals and detained four others because they did not have return air tickets for their immediate return.  The four were quarantined pending processing of their return air tickets.

The deportation and quarantining of the Chinese was in keeping with international practice currently recommended to curb the spread of the devastating coronavirus from high-risk countries.

It was while the four waited for the tickets that a local legal firm, Wilknson & Associates, sought a court order which Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda granted, releasing the four even before any tests were conducted on them and before the recommended 14-day quarantine period had elapsed.

Government finds Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda’s order disturbing and short on patriotism as he has undermined local and global efforts to protect lives from the virus.

At a time different players are taking active roles to prevent importation of Covid-19 into Malawi, it is disappointing that Judge Nyirenda is pulling in the opposite direction. The court order has potential to make Malawi a weak link in global efforts to fight Covid-19.

Government would like to commend the Immigration Department for acting diligently to protect Malawians from potential importation of Covid-19.

Government would also like to commend various sector players who have heeded measures introduced to protect Malawians and the rest of the world from the outbreak.

It is against this background that Government is dismayed with Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda’s order that may have put millions of Malawians at potentially high risk.

We find it unfortunate that of all players, it should be the Judiciary that chooses to put the lives of millions at a potential risk, especially at a time players in different sectors have complied with Government’s guidance in Covid-19 prevention.

Government, therefore, joins the many voices that have spoken against the court order. Government would like to ask Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda to join the efforts in in the fight against Covid-19, instead of being an enemy of the efforts.

Finally, Government encourages the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services to apply for the vacation of the injunction for the sake of fighting Covid-19.

Going forward, it is the the expectation of the Government that the Judiciary will play its role in protecting Malawians and the rest of the world from the devastating Covid-19.

Mark Botomani, MP
MINISTER OF INFORMATION, CIVIC EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

Malawi submits Second Periodic Report to African Charter on Rights

Malawi has submitted its 2nd Periodic Report to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) and the Maputo Protocol.

You can access here: https://www.achpr.org/states/statereport?id=132

Malawi's development partners speak on respect for rule of law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JOINT STATEMENT FROM THE AMBASSADORS OF JAPAN, NORWAY, NIGERIA, TANZANIA, AND THE UNITED STATES, THE HIGH COMMISSIONER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM, THE AMBASSADOR AND HEAD OF DELEGATION OF THE EU, IN AGREEMENT WITH THE EU HEADS OF MISSION IN MALAWI - THE AMBASSADORS OF GERMANY AND IRELAND, AND THE HEAD OF MISSION FROM THE EMBASSY OF ICELAND ON THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN MALAWI.

As long standing partners, our governments are committed to supporting Malawi to achieve its goals of democracy and development. We have been encouraged by the progress that the country has made since 1994 in terms of building an open and respectful political landscape. This process has been underpinned by a belief in the value of tolerance and a rejection of violence as a means of resolving political disputes.
 
We have therefore watched the rising political tensions with growing concern. We believe that in order for Malawi’s progress towards a stronger and more inclusive democracy to be deepened, it is critically important to refrain from using inflammatory language, and to show restraint when it is used by others. We therefore call on political party and community leaders to work together to deescalate the situation and focus on the common history and experiences that unite Malawians which are far greater than what divides them.

We also urge all political parties, the civil society, religious and traditional leaders, and all  peace-loving Malawians to deeply reflect on the principles of national policy under the Constitution of Malawi especially principle 13 (L) which calls for peaceful settlement of disputes through negotiation, good offices, mediation, conciliation and arbitration. This is the time for dialogue and peacebuilding, not deepened divisions which could undermine the unity of the country.

We believe that it is equally important for everyone to respect the rule of law at this important moment in the country’s history. This means abiding by both the letter and the spirit of the law and the Constitution, and for authorities to be upholding it consistently in all cases.

We therefore welcome the commitment of all of the main political parties to abide by the verdict of the Constitutional Court on 3 February 2020, and the judgement that the Supreme Court will issue after hearing the appeal against that verdict in April. We call on political leaders to reaffirm their confidence in the judiciary, their willingness to find common ground, and their commitment to democratic norms and values.