Speech By Her Excellency Dr. Joyce Banda, President of the Republic of Malawi During The Commemoration of the National Anti-Corruption Day At The Bingu International Conference Centre, Lilongwe. 5th February, 2014

.Your Excellency Chief Justice Richard Banda SC. Retired;

.The Vice President of the Republic of Malawi Right Honourable Khumbo Hastings
Kachali;
.Your Lordship the Chief Justice, Hon. Anastasia Msosa, SC.;

.The Speaker of Parliament, Honourable Henry Chimunthu Banda, M.P.;

.Minister of Justice and Constitutional affairs, Hon. Fahad Assani;

.Minister in the Office of the President and Cabinet Responsible for Good
Governance, Hon. Dr. Chris Daza;

.The Chief Secretary to the Government, Mrs Hawa Ndilowe;

.Director of Anti-Corruption Bureau, Justice Rizine R. Mzikamanda, SC., JA.;
Members of the Diplomatic Corps;

.The Chairman of the National Integrity Committee, members of the Committee here
present;

.Honourable Members of Parliament;

.Chief Executive Officer for Lilongwe City Council;

.District Commissioner for Lilongwe District Council;

.Leaders of various Political Parties;

.Members of the Civil society;

.The Media;

.Traditional leaders

.Distinguished invited guests;

.Ladies and Gentlemen.




I am very pleased to be here today as Malawi commemorates the National Anti-Corruption Day under the theme “Break the Silence; Stop Corruption>.” This is a very important day for every Malawian. I notice that this is the 10th commemoration of the National Anti-Corruption Day since it was first instituted in February, 2004.



This day gives all of us an opportunity to reflect on our efforts to fight corruption. This day allows us to evaluate the impact of corruption on our society. This day affords us an opportunity to assert our will and commitment to fight corruption.


Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen



Corruption has become one of the greatest challenges that every Government is confronted with in today’s society all over the world. Many African countries are struggling to fight corruption. Just very recently, I read a commentary how corruption as besieged European countries where corruption costs European countries 120 billion euros each year. And here at home, as early as 2001, the then Director of Public Prosecution, now my Minister of Justice made a public comment that one third of national budget is lost to theft and corruption. And over time, we have seen how each Government has been confronted with theft and corruption. Each time such concerns have been raised, our development partners have reacted in one way or another. We have seen how corruption has undermined the country’s efforts to drive reforms and sustainably develop the economy.


Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen


Corruption is prevalent in all sectors of our society. It is prevalent in Government. It is prevalent in private sector. It is prevalent in civil society organisations. It is prevalent among development partners. Yes, it is prevalent even in our communities. Corruption has become a global phenomenon. Therefore in addressing corruption, we need holistic approach and a globalised mindset.



Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

I have said it before that when I took office, our country was facing numerous social economic challenges. Malawians will recall that there were serious governance issues which led to us losing friends and partners. Worse still, social services had compromised following complete economic collapse under the previous Government. There was no fuel in this country. People spent days and nights at petrol stations waiting for fuel which in most cases never came. There was no forex available; no drugs in hospitals and perpetual blackouts of electricity.


All these challenges were on top of serious human rights concerns against the previous administration. These and other challenges were inherited by this Government which immediately embarked on reversing the trend. In order to address the challenges, my government developed an Economic Recovery Plan as a roadmap to recover our economy. The implementation of this Economic Recovery Plan has faced a number of challenges, one of the most serious being corruption and fraud. While government was keen to improve the economic situation of the country, a few greedy individuals were frustrating government efforts by siphoning public resources through corruption and fraud. You are all aware that our law enforcement agencies and other Government institutions are currently occupied with investigating the looting of Government resources at Capital Hill. As a nation, we are all deeply hurt by the revelations that some selfish individuals illicitly siphoned large sums of money from Government at Capital Hill.



Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

Corruption involves the misuse of any office, not only public office. It involves the illicit misuse of power and influence, for financial and personal benefit. Our law targets both public and private persons. Those in public service engaged in corruption use their official positions to enrich themselves, and others known to them, at the expense of poor Malawians. We must always remember that the positions we are holding whether in public or private offices are for serving Malawians, and not for self enrichment at the expense of poor Malawians. What is worse is that corruption undermines good governance.



Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen


Corruption is an impediment to economic growth and development. Corruption retards the social economic development of a country. Governments struggle to provide basic necessities to its citizens because resources are lost through corruption. And in our case, because of few greedy individuals, government cannot provide adequate resources to government ministries and departments, which translate into provision of inadequate services to the public. Because of a few corrupt individuals Government faces serious challenges in the provision of social services.



Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
Since the launch of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy in 2009, some government departments have developed Anti-Corruption Policies and have set up Institutional Integrity Committees with the aim of fighting corruption within their own institutions. Some departments and institutions have not yet established Institutional Integrity Committees. I urge them to do so because it is a requirement. An instruction has been issued by my Government that 1 per cent of the annual budget of every Ministry, Department or Agency of Government be devoted to the work of Institutional Integrity Committees. In order to ensure that we develop a strong National Integrity System, I have appointed a new National Integrity Committee to oversee all efforts in that regard. The new National Integrity Committee is composed of individuals of high standing in our society, persons with impeccable credentials of integrity. I am confident that they will greatly assist Malawi in entrenching a National Integrity System and fight corruption.



I am pleased to formally commission the new National Integrity Committee. I call upon it to spare no effort in overseeing the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and in establishing a robust National Integrity System. It is not enough to develop Anti-Corruption Policies and form Institutional Integrity Committees, we should make sure that we put these instruments to use so as to achieve their objectives of fighting corruption in various institutions. This is the time we must all realise that as Malawians we have a role to play in fighting corruption at individual as well as at national levels. Let us resist, reject and report corruption. We must break the silence, we must stop corruption.



Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

Despite the challenges faced in the course of implementing the Economic Recovery Plan, my Government will not relent in this endeavour of bringing the economy on course. My Government will therefore continue to fight corruption at all levels by providing the necessary support to the Anti-Corruption Bureau to enable it to perform its functions effectively. I have said it before that I will fight corruption to the bitter end, even if this comes before my political career.


Turning to the looting of Government resources at Capital Hill which my Government has recently uncovered, I would like to state clearly here that I will spare no effort in fighting corruption in the public service. The discovery of the looting is not accidental. I have explained it before that it was because I noticed that our currency was not accordingly responding to the recovery that was taking place in the economy that I raised serious questions with the former Minister of Finance. I charged him and his team to work to discover any loopholes through which Government resources were being lost and seal those loopholes. True to my suspicion, and thank to the work of my officials, the looting of Government resources at Capital Hill was discovered.


As we have come to know, the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) was abused, starting from 2005 when it was first installed. Looting was first discovered in 2010 and investigations in the 2010 cases were for no apparent reasons halted. There had been recommendations to the previous Government to seal loopholes in IFMIS, but that Government choose not to do anything about it, probably to leave room for the siphoning of more Government resources. Small wonder therefore that by the time I took office the problems had grown very big, as certain individuals had mastered the art of siphoning Government resources.



I could not allow this to continue. This is why I and my Government have spared no effort in investigating this looting and bring all those involved to justice. I have said it time again, I have placed my political career at stake by going flat out to root out this corruption because I believe this is the right thing a leader who loves her people and her country should do. I have said that I will shield no one and that I have allowed all the law enforcement agencies to work independently, professionally and diligently to ensure that we, as a country, get to the bottom of the problem and deal with it once and for all.



I have also allowed the participation of foreign experts in virtually every key institution in order that we have a credible and thorough investigation of the matter. No one can doubt the credibility of our investigations in these matters. Do not be deceived, not every country can allow foreign experts to get involved in investigating internal and serious matters as we have done. It is like we have allowed foreign experts to go anywhere in our house, including our own bedroom, in order for them to assist resolve this matter.


Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

May I add that we have put in place a Government Action Plan on measures to improve public financial management. The implementation of that plan is on course. The plan I am talking about has had wide support, including that of our Development Partners. As a country, we are confident we are doing the right thing in addressing the problem because we recognise that this is our fight and we must fight it, whether with external support or not. That is why we are doing all it takes to get to the bottom of the problem. I am aware that there are forces trying to derail the process of investigation and prosecution in order to protect culprits. I am also aware that there are forces who want to use the investigations and the prosecutions in these matters for their own political or other agendas. Let me warn that my Government will not allow anyone to derail the process for their own political or other agendas. Our law enforcement agencies must be allowed to operate independently and professionally. When we talk about independence of the agencies, we mean independence from interference whether from the Government, NGOs, donors or any individual or other authority. Interference can either be direct or subtle. All that must not happen.


Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

My Government is aware of the enormous challenges the law enforcement agencies are facing in the current investigations. This is why my Government has periodically provided special extra funding to the institutions in order to accelerate the investigations and prosecutions of the matter. I am aware that there is pressure on the law enforcement agencies to speed up their work and I am aware that they are doing their best. In fact the experts who are working with our agencies have on a number of times conceded that, in their experience, the demands placed on our agencies are sometimes unrealistic. For example, some of the top foreign investigations have conceded that it is quite a challenge to expect the investigations to be done within six months when in their experience it would ordinarily not be done in less than eighteen months. My government, however, has every confidence that our agencies will do a good job even in the face of the challenges.


My Government has already addressed some of the challenges faced by the Anti-Corruption Bureau. My government approved the expansion of the Bureau’s staff establishment as well as the opening of an additional office in Zomba. The Anti-Corruption Bureau needs to expand to enable Malawians easily access its services. Further to that, my government would like the Anti-Corruption Bureau Officers to be trained in advanced investigative skills so as to enable them handle complicated cases. My Government will continue to give support to the Anti-Corruption Bureau so that its officers acquire skills that can equip them deal with modern economic and financial crimes.


It is also very important that the Anti-Corruption Bureau retains its trained and experienced staff and that can only be done if the Anti-Corruption Bureau is competitive. My Government will review conditions of service for the Anti-Corruption Bureau in order to make the institution competitive and, in turn, even more efficient and effective. Delay in the prosecution of cases is another challenge. I believe that the establishment of a special Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Court would assist in fast tracking the trial of corruption cases. To this end the Corrupt Practices Act and other relevant laws are under review.





Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

In order to promote good governance, my Government has established a Ministry of Good Governance. This ministry is working hand in hand with the National Integrity Committee, the committee which oversees the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy through the activities done by the various pillars. I want the Ministry of Good Governance and the National integrity Committee to continue exploring other ways of fighting corruption. I also want this Ministry to see to it that anti-corruption policies that have been developed by various institutions are being put to use. My Government is doing all this as a way of fighting corruption and promoting good governance.


Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

In closing, I recognise that Malawi as country, we are celebrating 50 years of independence this year. I see it as divine that this country be cleansed of corruption and theft as we prepare to enter the next jubilee. It is therefore very important for me that as my Government is implementing a transformational agenda, we have to deal with theft and corruption squarely in our efforts to realise the country’s destiny.


At this point, let me thank our cooperating partners for the support that you are rendering to the Bureau to augment Government efforts. Specifically let me pay tribute to the British Government, the Government of the Kingdom of Norway and the Republic of Ireland for the financial support to the Bureau. The American Government has also provided technical expertise in prosecution and communication strategy for which my Government is appreciated.


Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

Let me remind all Malawians that the responsibility of fighting corruption is not for Government alone, or the Anti-Corruption Bureau alone, but for all of us. Let us not waste our time finger pointing while we shield perpetrators of corruption. We perpetuate corruption when we choose to remain silent when we have information that could have helped avert loss of resources through corruption or that could have assisted to bring perpetrators to book. We therefore must collectively fight to destroy this cancer that eats deep into the moral fabric of our society. Break the Silence: Stop Corruption.


Lastly, I want to pledge my government’s support in the fight against corruption by providing the necessary support to the Anti-Corruption Bureau.


With these remarks I declare the National Anti-Corruption Day Conference for 2014 officially opened.


Thank you all for your attention.

May God bless our nation and bless us all.

From first-born to ‘Most Senior’: How I Learned The Truth About Me

Up until two years ago, I had no idea that I was not the first-born in our family. And, when I finally learnt the truth, it came as a massive surprise because my parents always referred me to as the ‘first-born’.


The shock has disappeared now, but I can’t help but ask why? Is the truth, no matter how painful it may be, the special, private property of parents, relatives, or whoever may be in the know about something someone does not know? I can’t help but ask.


And, taking cognizance of the fact that the parents in question- the people I would have asked- now rest in peace somewhere in Dedza, I have been trying to second-guess the possible reasons. Would disclosing the truth be analogous to undressing wounds and, by extension, resurrecting old pains?





Borrowed deaths

Before I go further, may be it is important to relive the moments I was made to believe that I was the “first-born”, and also delve into some of the things I ‘suffered’ because of being the first-born.


I vividly remember that whenever my mother or father met people for the first time, they would always introduce me as “This is our first-born” child. Family friends would also refer me to as “The first-born’ of the Chirombos.


And, it was in my ‘capacity’ as the first-born that I was ‘forced to die’ deaths that were not mine. What do I mean by ‘deaths that were not mine’?


Well, here is a good example. As a Christian, I grew up liking the Holy Bible. And, in the course of reading and studying the Bible at church, I was introduced to the issue of the Israelis, and got fascinated with the exodus stories.


Among other things, I failed- and still fail- to understand why Pharaoh, the Egyptians’ leader, was so hard-hearted that he refused to bulge to Prophet Moses’s demands to release the children of Israel from bondage and let them leave for the promised land of Canaan.


While I read the story of the plagues with self-detachment, one plague hit me as a personal tragedy: the death of all first-born children in Egypt. These deaths hit me as personal tragedies because they made me ask questions such as: So, being the first-born in my family, would I have died if I were an Egyptian child then? Why kill innocent children for the sake of an old man (Pharaoh) who could answer for his sins and stubbornness?


In the end, I came to the conclusion that I would have died had I been an Egyptian first-born child at that time, and that is how I was made to die deaths that were not mine. In the first place, it’s Egyptian first-born children that died, and not Malawian first-born children. Secondly, it’s first-born children that died and, as I have recently realised and come to accept, I would not have been one of them because I am nowhere near first-born!





Subtle clues

However, I do not blame my parents for letting me live in the ‘dark’ about this first-born thing. I think they tried to give me clues in their own ways.


For instance, I remember my father often telling me things like, “Hey, Richard, if you were female, you would have been helping me with household chores. Hey, Richard, if you were female, you would have done this, you would have done that.”


Whenever she was working on something that needed female hands, she would be at it again. If you were…!


One day, I think it was around 1987 when we were staying in Chitawira Township, one of the neighbours told me that ,”How is your sister”, before saying, “Sorry, I was thinking about something else.”


And, poor me, I could not read between the lines.


In fact, Richard is not the name my parents gave me at birth. My mother told me, when I was about nine years old, that my name at birth was Chikumbutso (Memory).


And, even with this hint, I never had the presence of mind to ask her: “Why Chikumbutso? Who did you have in mind? Who or what did I remind you about?”


Poor me! I should have read between the lines. There might have been someone, or some people, before me, and I reminded my parents of them.


As fate would have it, the name Chikumbutso died when a priest Christened me Richard at St Pious Catholic Church in the 1980s. And so died one more hint about whether I, really, was the first-born child, as my parents used to put it.





Uncovered

However, as often happens in life, I accidentally stumbled upon the truth two years ago.


I had travelled to Mzimba to be a monitor for one of our relations who was contesting in one of the two Mzimba constituencies in 2012.


We were standing outside one of the shops at Mzimba Boma when, while chatting with one of our relations, he suddenly said:


“Did you know that you are not the first-born in your family?”


I was astounded.


“What,” I asked.


“You are not the first-born, as you have been made to believe. You are just the most senior,” he continued.


I was taken by surprise. I was not only surprised, but I struggled to contain my emotions. But the truth is that I found myself pushing back tears.


Then, gathering some courage, I asked: “So, there were others before me?”


“Yes,” was the quick reply.


I let that answer sink in, while I prepared to ask what I thought was the most important question. I, then, asked the question: “You say there were others before me. What happened to them?”


His answer: “They died. They all died immediately after delivery.”


Finally, I wanted to know how many had died.


“Ah, about…” he said, while counting his fingers and attempting to remember.


“Aah…” he continued counting his fingers. I was not looking at his fingers; I wanted to get the figure from him.


Then, just when he was about to mention a figure, my cousin came and interrupted: “You have been standing for a while here. Why not go there, at that verandah, and sit down,” she said.


Immediately, we all headed for the verandah.


However, when we finally settled down, I could not muster enough courage and energy to ask him to give me the response.


I was, and still are, afraid of knowing the truth. It is enough to know that there were others I will never know!


Of course, it is easy for me to grab my handset, call him, and ask him to provide the figure. But the truth scares me. The truth will hurt me.

Putting Child and Human Trafficking in Malawi and Abroad in Perspective

(NOTE: I wrote this article in 2009, before the World Cup was held in South Africa. George Perkings, writing from Norway, wanted the aticle and, so, I have just posted it here).


Panganani Saikonda Chigada, a promising 19-year old youth from Blantyre’s Ndirande Township, still lives in the hearts and minds of his family members- some 11 months after his mysterious death.


Panganani is a living example of human trafficking, family members say.


The late Panganani’s brother, 22 year-old Blessings, said his younger brother traveled to South Africa earlier this year, and arrived in the Rainbow nation on January 19, 2009. People like Blessings and relatives only got the news from Panganani when he thought he was finally home and dry in South Africa.


“He (Panganani) was an energetic person who used to wear earrings and imitate the dressing of US (United States of America) hip-hop music artists, something I think made him attractive to traffickers,” said Blessings.


He believes that his brother’s looks are what attracted Chancy Kauta,a Malawian woman who lives in South Africa, as well as her friend believed to have come from New Zealand, to befriend him. They then started taking him along on their trips to various tourist attraction places in Malawi.


“The same women took Panganani to South Africa, where he is said to have been sold to men who sodomised him to death,” he said, flanked by his sister Edna.


Edna things that poverty could have played a role in their brother’s ordeal and subsequent death. The Chigada family lost the father a few years ago and depends on the mother- a widow who fends for the family by selling tea products.


It all started when Chancy, whose parents live in Ndirande, came home from South Africa to attend a tomb construction ceremony for a family member and brought the white lady friend along. The family fails to understand how Panganani came to befriend the two ladies, to the extent of always being in their company.


“It reached a point where our brother could pass nights at their place,” said Edna.


In the end, the three arranged to process a passport for Panganani, without his relatives’ knowledge, and took him along to South Africa.


He called a friend, Ted, on January 19 informing him that he had arrived safely in Cape Town.


Barely a month later, Panganani was dead. A family examination of his body revealed that he had damaged anal tissue and other signs of physical torture. What surprised the family, though, were the details in his passport: they showed that he hailed from the area of Traditional Authority Chigaru in Blantyre whereas the family hails from T/A Kapeni in the same district.


The passport also contained some ‘strange name’. It indicated that the deceased name was Panganani Promise Chigada and the family says he never had such a name.


Edna and Blessings say circumstances surrounding their brother’s death point to human trafficking, and have called on officials to extradite investigations on the issue.


“The year is coming to a close yet there seems to be no progress at all. We are getting tired of waiting for justice and our fear is that these people will do the same to others,” said Blessings.


Blessings said family members can not digest the fact that Panganani is really gone, hoping that the truth behind his death could set them free. The danger is that on the long journey between waiting and justice, many more lives could be lost.


2010 World Cup: Did it increase cases of human trafficking?
The 2010 World Cup, which was held in South Africa for the first time on
the continent of Africa, was a dlong-time dream come to fruition. It was a living
manifestation of Africa’s patience, hope and forbearance that never
came without sweat and threats, some of which vain.


It all started when African soccer officials, through Africa’s soccer governing body- the Confederation of African Football (CAF)- lobbied for more African slots at the world stage, a development that saw the number of teams represented at World Cup finals balloon to five, up from three.


CAF then told the Federation for International Football Associations (FIFA) point-blank that increasing the number of African representatives was not enough; the continent wanted nothing less than the chance to lay host to the world’s biggest soccer fiesta. Efforts to host it in 2006 failed, as Germany’s bid proved too superior to that of African representatives and CAF was riled.


The confederation threatened to boycott proceeding World Cups, prompting FIFA President Joseph Sepp Blatter to grant Africa an automatic hosting right next year (2010). It thus became an all-Africa affair, with Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and others trying their luck. In the end, the Rainbow nation of South Africa emerged victor and successfully hosted the event.


Almost all people on the continent and the rest of the world agreed that this was Africa’s biggest moment. However, legal experts and human rights activists, especially those working in the area of human trafficking, refused to throw all caution to the wind and ride over the buzz of general excitement.


The experts feared that the 2010 World Cup could turn out to be a cbottomless pit for human trafficking incidents, and asked governments, civil society organizations, the media and members of the public to work together in making the world Cup finals a water-tight affair for traffickers.


Fears were that children and women, the common targets for traffickers, could fall victim to organized trafficking syndicates and leave more tears than joy on Africa’s shiny face.


Child Justice Magistrate Esmie Tembenu, who presides over child cases
at Soche Child Justice Court in Blantyre, was amongst the first people to raise the alarm.

“We must be extremely careful as a nation. There is need, also, to increase the level of public awareness on issues of human trafficking.I fear for our children and women, especially, comprise a large part of trafficking victims,” said Tembenu.

Tembenu warned people, especially rural dwellers. Against entertaining unknown people who will more likely be plying the dusty village roads and paths in search of people. Often, these foreigners will be using coercion and blackmail to get their way.


“I can foresee people going to the villages and promising would-be victims employment and better life. Some will even try to adopt Malawian children without going through the normal channels, and then taking these unsuspecting people to South Africa to be used as child prostitutes and labourers. Unfortunate ones are killed for their body
organs,” she said.


No wonder that Malawi did not take these challenges lying down. Government and human rights activists, through the Malawi Network against Child Trafficking (MNACT), launched a national campaign against human trafficking. MNACT , whose secretariat was hosted by the child rights NGO, Eye of the Child, was established by the Malawi government through the Ministry of Gender, Child and Community Development . It
enjoyed a membership of 69 organisations, both governmental and non-state actors.


MNACT’s anti-human trafficking campaign was premised on the fact that a recent rapid assessment survey on the social impact of the 2010 FIFA World Cup conducted by the Southern African Network against Trafficking and Abuse of Children (SANTAC) revealed that trafficking cases were bent to increase.


The assessment revealed that, before and during the event, demand for sexual services, including sexual services from women and children, increased; there was more demand for cheap and exploitable labour as well as increased opportunities for criminal elements to ply their trade, which included trafficking and exploitation of women and children.



Malawi committed to fighting human trafficking
Malawi has maintained its Tier 2 ranking in the June, 2009 edition of Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) published by the United States of America’s Department of State.
Tier 2 countries are those whose governments do not fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to meet such standards.


There are 72 countries under this category, with Mozambique, Tanzania, Namibia,
Madagascar, Rwanda, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Israel, Jamaica, Japan among some of the familiar faces.


There are three classifications of Tiers. Tier 1 is for countries whose governments fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act minimum standards (Mauritius, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Nigeria, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Australia, France, among other countries) while Tier 2 applies to those that do not fully comply but are making significant efforts to comply.


This category also contains a Watch List component, which applies to countries that have significant numbers of trafficked victims, or whose numbers are increasing; countries that have provided no evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year; and countries whose determination that they are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year.


The last category, Tier 3, is for countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so. Currently,
these countries include Burma, Chad, Cuba, Eritrea, Fiji, Iran, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mauritania, Niger, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Syria, and Papua New Guinea.



The US Department of State is required by law to submit each year to the country’s congress a report on foreign governments’ efforts top eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons, and the June report becomes the ninth annual Trafficking in Persons Report.


The US government first issued its first anti-human trafficking policy under
President Bill Clinton in 1998, a development that has seen unprecedented forward movement around the world in efforts to end human trafficking, according to former US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.


Clinton acknowledges, however, that much needs to be done, especially in identifying and addressing the root causes of trafficking, including policies that contribute towards the trafficking of vulnerable children.


“The human trafficking phenomenon affects virtually every country, including the United States. In acknowledging America’s own struggle with modern-day slavery and slavery-related practices, we offer partnership. We call on every government to join us in working to build consensus and leverage resources to eliminate all forms of human trafficking,” said Clinton.


Her sentiments reflected the thinking of US President Barack Obama, who says: “Sadly, there are thousands who are trapped in various forms of enslavement, here in our country…oftentimes young women who are caught up in prostitution. So, we’ve got to give prosecutors the tools to crack down on these human trafficking networks. Internationally, we’ve got to speak out. It is a debasement of our common humanity, whenever we see something like that taking place.”


TIP serves as a US diplomatic tool aimed at engaging the world in the fight against human trafficking.


In the wake of continued negative TIP ranking, Malawi has set out to turn things around, and has for the past five years engaged an extra gear in efforts aimed at nipping human trafficking in the bud. Efforts to develop legislation to combat human trafficking started in November 2004, and these efforts were mainly targeted at fulfilling Malawi’s obligations under the United Nations Protocol to Suppress, Prevent and Punish Trafficking in Persons adopted in 2002. The protocol came into
force in 2003.


Between 2004 and 2006, the country increased its efforts through reviews of a myriad of loosely attached legislation touching on human trafficking, and has achieved positive strides through the Malawi Law Commission. The commission launched a number of preparatory activities including the 2005 publication of a research paper on trafficking in persons, primarily focusing on the trafficking of women and children
for sexual exploitation within and outside Malawi.


The commission also reviewed a number of other legislation and policies, which included the National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, Children and Young Persons Act, Wills and Inheritance Act, Adoption of Children Act, Divorce Act, the PenalCode.


Some of its work has since started bearing fruit. For instance, the Child Care, Protection and Justice Bill developed by the commission completely reformed the Children and Young Persons Act by introducing extensive reforms to the legal framework affecting the care and protection of children.


The Malawi Law Commission has not taken these strides on the chin and sat back. In September 2009, the commission submitted the report on the Development of the Trafficking in Persons Legislation to former Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Prof. Peter Mutharika.


This was the culmination of work that started in 2007, when the Malawi Law Commission in consultation with the Judicial Service Commission appointed a special Law Commission whose mandate was to develop legislation on prevention and elimination of trafficking in persons.


Mutharika said the report was a manifestation that the country was doing all it could to come around the problem of human trafficking, adding government was committed nipping human trafficking in the bud.


“Government is very much committed to tackling the problem of human trafficking. We know that women and children bear the brunt of such practices, yet this is a group of people that contributes positively towards social-economic development,” said Mutharika.


He reiterated government’s commitment to solving the puzzle that is human trafficking, and asked for close collaboration with government departments, civil society organisations and community members.


Mutharika said the fight against human trafficking required consulted efforts, and commended NGOs for their work in increasing public awareness.



Law Commission submits draft Trafficking legislation
Malawi is on verge of having comprehensive legislation dealing with issues of human trafficking following submission of the Malawi Law Commission’s Development of Trafficking in Persons draft legislation report.


The long awaited for report was submitted to Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Prof. Peter Mutharika., in September this year and aims at providing a comprehensive legislative framework for combating and preventing trafficking in persons using human rights based approaches.


Once enacted by Parliament, the legislation will apply to where the offense committed is committed wholly or partly in Malawi; the offense is committed outside Malawi but the victim happens to be a Malawian citizen; the offense is committed outside the country by a citizen of Malawi or a person who is resident in Malawi; or the offense involves an organized criminal group, committed outside Malawi with a view to
the Commission of an offense under this act, within Malawi .


The report was cause for relief for many, including judicial officers.


The existing legal framework in Malawi makes no express reference to the offense of trafficking in persons, the result has been disastrous as court officials have been forced to apply different statutes.


While the Penal Code recognizes that trafficking-related offenses breach various forms of fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed under the constitution and need to be criminalized, penal provisions cut across various laws. Some of these laws include the Immigration Act, the Employment Act, the Extradition Act and the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act.


This has led prosecuting authorities to sometimes apply different sentences, a case in point being that of Masautso Banda- who employed 10 children under the age of 14. The prosecuting authority used the Employment Act to bring to book traffickers who exploited others through forced labour.


Banda was accused of trafficking children from Dedza to Mchinji for labour, and was charged under Sections 21 and 24 of the Employment Act for employing 10 persons under 14 years of age. The accused pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a fine of K5000, to pay the sum of K1,500 to each of the trafficked children as compensation for their
suffering for three days, and to pay the children’s transport expenses from Mchinji to Dedza.


In default, the accused was sentenced to imprisonment for 11 months.


Banda paid the fine and escaped a prison sentence.


In some cases, prosecuting authorities have failed to secure convictions for trafficking offenses because existing laws were not drafted to capture the peculiar nature of the offense of trafficking in persons- a peculiarity illustrated in the case of Ruth Lourenco versus the Republic.


In 1999, three destitute girls from Lilongwe, aged between 15 and 19 years, were arrested in a police raid at sex club in Amsterdam and were subsequently deported to Malawi.


The accused, a local businesswoman, was accused of trafficking them and stood trial on charges of procuring for prostitution outside Malawi. She was acquitted on technical grounds because, by the time the girls were approached by the accused, they were already commercial sex workers due to their destitution.


The court thus held that since they were already prostitutes prior to their recruitment, they could not have been procured for the purpose of prostitution as set out under section 140 of the Penal Code.


The report on ‘Development of Trafficking in Persons Legislation’ will thus fill many prevalent gaps, and give Malawi a vintage point in dealing with human trafficking cases. It comes after comprehensively examining various international instruments, among them the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, United National Convention against Transnational Organized Crime to Suppress, Prevent and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; Convention on the Rights
of the Child; the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention; Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women; Southern African Development Community Protocol on Trafficking in Persons; Millennium Development Goals, among others.



Commissioners assigned to the task recommended that proposed legislation provide comprehensive provisions on the prevention and elimination of trafficking in persons; provide the establishment of a Board for co-ordination and management of matters related to trafficking in persons; provide provisions for care, assistance and
protection of trafficked persons; provide for local and international co-operation on matters of trafficking in persons; as well as a provision catering for connected matters.


The commissioners included Penston Kilembe as chairperson, Doreen Kapanga as deputy, and Gertrude Lynn Hiwa, Wezi Kayira, Justice Maclean Kamwambe, Tonda Chinangwa, Elias Zirikunkhongo, Grace Tikambeni Malera, Maxwell Matewere and Habiba Osman as members.



MNACT Special report on human trafficking
Millions of African men, women and children are being forced into situations of labour and sexual exploitation, both in Africa and abroad, annually. At the international level, trafficking in persons has been identified as a serious threat to human security and development by governments, pressure civil society organisations, pressure groups and the United Nations.


For many African governments, however, the problem has only been recently acknowledged.


Human trafficking came to the fore at the turn of the 1990s, and particularly during the first decade of the Millennium, as the international community came to recognize it as one of the major challenges facing the globalised world. Increased cknowledgement of the existence of the practice, also described as modern day slavery,
helped the world focus on this new form of slavery, efforts that begun to expose the devastating plight of trafficked persons.



Members of the international community, including Malawi, have never looked back.
In Malawi, initiatives to develop legislation aimed at combating trafficking in human begun in earnest in November 2004- a programme of action aimed at fulfilling Malawi’s obligations under the United Nations General Assembly’s Protocol to Suppress, Prevent and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.



The Protocol
was adopted in 2000 by UN member states but came into force in 2003.


It supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, which came into force in 2001.


Malawi is still working on new anti-human trafficking legislation since the currently has no existing legal framework that makes express reference to the offense of child trafficking.


This could explain why Malawi has remained stuck on Tier 2 in the United States of America-Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) published in June, 2009.The Department of State is required by law to submit each year to the US Congress a report on foreign governments’ efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons.


The report serves as US government’s diplomatic tool aimed at increasing global awareness of the human trafficking phenomenon and sheds new light on various facets of the problem. It highlights shared and individual efforts of the international community and encourages foreign governments to take effective action against all forms of trafficking in persons.


The impacts of human trafficking are devastating as victims may suffer physical and emotional abuse, rape, threats against self and family and even death. That is one of the reasons the practice remains a multi-dimensional issue: it is a crime that deprives people of their human rights free and freedoms, increases global health risks, fuels growing networks of organized crime and can sustain levels of poverty
and impede development in certain areas.


Tiers are categories under which countries and ranked in relation to their efforts against human trafficking. Tier 1 is for countries whose governments fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards, and includes such countries as Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Mauritius, Germany and Italy.


Tier 2 is the ranking for countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.


Countries in this group include Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Afghanistan, Brazil, Uganda and Zambia. But category also has a Watch List, and this includes countries whose governments do not fully comply with TVPA’s minimum standards but are making significant efforts.


It takes into consideration such factors as the absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking (where their numbers are significant), or where such numbers are significantly increasing; failure to provide evidence of increased efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year; and, the determination that a country is making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year. Countries include China, Gabon, Lesotho, Argentina, Egypt,
Tunisia, and Yemen.


The last category is that of Tier 3, which is for countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so. Examples include Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Eritrea, Burma, Chad, Malaysia, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Papua New Guinea, among others.


The reality of human trafficking also came to the fore during a January, 2008 National Consultative Workshop, which firmly entrenched views that trafficking in persons was just an international phenomenon but one that is also occurring within the borders of Malawi, involving both Malawian victims and perpetrators.


In the period between 1999 and 2004, Malawi came to the spotlight as a country of origin, transit and designation in East and Southern Africa for transnational victims to South Africa and Western Europe following the publication of a study by the International Organization for Migration carried out in 2003. This was partly because the country was also classified in Tier 2-Watchlist by the 2004 US T.I.P Report.


However, issues surrounding external and internal migration (one of the areas through which human trafficking takes place) primarily for labour that has at times turned out to be exploitative are deeply entrenched in Malawi’s history. International labour migration from Malawi to neighbouring mining countries of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia dates back to the historical ties that arose at the creation of
the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1953, when cheap labour from Nyasaland was used to run the mines in Northern and Southern Rhodesia.


Upon the dissolution of the Federation and after attaining independence, labour flows continued out from Malawi, and were formalized in the early 1980s by the Temporary Employment Bureau of Africa (TEBA), which used to recruit people to work in the minds of Zimbabwe and South Africa. Although the migrant workers worked under extremely exploitative conditions, that returned were able to raise their standard of living and thus the prospect of working abroad attracted many.


TEBA stopped recruiting people sometime between 1989 and 1990 after an aeroplane carrying returnees crushed. Since then, there have been a number of difficulties in re-introducing the system despite the fact that many people are still interested in it. The gap created by the end of centrally organized mine migration to South Africa and other countries has led to the development of informal and illegal smuggling
rackets taking people across the border to these countries, according to the Development of Trafficking in Persons Legislation Report submitted to former Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Prof. Peter Mutharika.


The Malawi Law Commission, reviewing the country’s human trafficking statutes, has submitted the report.


The June 2009 TIP commends the Malawi government for taking significant steps to fighting human trafficking, observing that: “The Government of Malawi’s anti-trafficking law enforcement improved over the last year, though punishments of trafficking offenders remained weak, inconsistent and highly dependent on the knowledge level of the judges and prosecutors involved in the case.”


The country prohibits all forms of trafficking through existing laws, including the Employment Act and articles 135 through 147 and 257 through 269 of the Penal Code, though lack of specific anti-trafficking legislation allows for a range of potentially weak punishment to be imposed on convicted trafficking offenders.


There has been little research on the physical and psychological health consequences of women, children trafficked in Malawi, or Africa, but a study on The Physical, and psychological health consequences of women and adolescents trafficked in Europe points to dire consequences.


The study, titled ‘Stolen Smiles’ quotes one of the trafficked women, a Lithuanian citizen trafficked to London: “I feel like they have The study, funded with support from the European Commission’s Daphne Programme, with additional funding from the International Organisation for Migration and Sigrid Rausing Trust, says 60% of the women victims reported being physically and/or sexually abused before they were
trafficked while 95 percen% reported physical and sexual violence while in the trafficking process. Fifty-eight percent reported physical injuries while 20% of the women reported that a relative knew their trafficker.



here were also high levels of mental health problems, with 38% of the victims reporting suicidal thoughts and 58% reporting symptom levels of posttraumatic stress disorder upon entry into care.


Malawi is taking the necessary steps to end human trafficking, following increased efforts in drafting requisite laws. It is hoped that once passed into law, ‘Development in Trafficking in Persons draft Legislation could become the immediate tonic for current challenges in the country’s human trafficking legislation.




Facts on human trafficking
• Human trafficking affects men, women and children, centrally to
conceptions that it affects only women and children.

• The International Labour Organisation reports that there are 12.3
million people in forced labour, bonded labour, forced child labour
and sexual servitude.

• According to the United States Department of State, figures vary
from study to study, and hover anywhere between 4 million to 25
million.

• A U.S Government-sponsored study in 2006 revealed that approximately
800, 000 people are trafficked within national borders.

• The Trafficking in Persons Report of June 2008 estimates that 80 per
cent of transnational victims are women and girls, and up to 50 per
cent are minors.

• Trafficking in persons is taken as a relatively low risk business,
but if successful garners high payoff.

• According to International Police (Interpol), trafficking in women
for sexual exploitation is a multi-billion-dollar business that
involves citizens of most countries and helps sustain organized crime.

• Human trafficking has adverse physical and psychological health
consequences for women, men and children.

• The June 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) ranks Malawi on
Tier 2, the ranking for countries whose governments do not fully
comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s minimum
standards, but are making significant efforts to comply.

• Malawi has no express law on human trafficking.

• The Malawi Law Commission submitted a ‘Development of Trafficking in
Persons Legislation’ to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional
Affairs in September 2009.

• The Malawi Network against Child Trafficking currently has 69
organisations. MNACT is a network of government (through the Ministry
of Gender, Child and Community Development) and non-state actors aimed
at facilitating anti-trafficking interventions in Malawi.

Fischer To Parliament: A Figment of My Imagination of Football Player Fischer Kondowe's Journey to Parliament

So, Fischer Anong'a Kondowe wants to have a go at Parliament in the forthcoming (May 20, 2014) Parliamentary elections?


So, he wants to contest in Blantyre City South Constituency?


Here is what I think, and this is fiction.



You see, the intentions of The Parliament are, as purposefully instituted, drawn on a larger scale than small, individual scale- especially when the individual in question is one Fischer 'Anong'a' Kondowe.



Why do you think he is interested in running for office in Blantyre City South Constituency? ALLOW ME TO OFFER MY VIEWS WHILE, AT THE SAME TIME, IMAGINING WHAT COULD BE GOING ON IN THE MIND OF FISCHER KONDOWE RIGHT NOW. IT WILL BE CONFUSING AT TIMES BECAUSE THERE WILL BE NO CLEAR DISTINCTION BETWEEN WHAT I AM SAYING AND WHAT IS COMING FROM THE MIND OF THE IMAGINARY FISCHER KONDOWE. I AM JUST THINKING ALOUD. He could probably be thinking thus:


The moment one gets out of breath with running (on Match day and during training sessions), they can stop at Parliament building and pant a little, while the rest of the country calls them Honourable Members of Parliament.


The problem with this (Fischer's) line of thinking is that such people may not be in a position to contribute, meaningfully, to national discourse (debate, Parliamentary committee meetings etc). All they (such people) will be doing is reflecting that running up and down was not a pleasant thing since they earned their cash the hard way.


With Fischer's soccer career visibly on a downward spiral, all he could be thinking is that her miseries (ignited by the prospects that he may soon abandon the soccer pitch that has sustained him for years) are about to reach a pitch at which The Parliament is his only refuge.


So, all he could probably be thinking is: I will run straight away from the soccer pitch till I get to The Parliament Building through the ballot. There, at the building, there will certainly be cash goodies I need not run up-and-down-the-pitch for to get. Yes, there (at The Parliament Building), I will be safe from the rest of rival football fans who found fault with me all the time!


Of course, he will think of all the love he got from club coaches such as Gilbert Chirwa, Kinnah Phiri, Eddington Ngomano, Mabvuto Banda, Gerald Phiri, Lloyd Nkhwazi as she runs along (his eyes set on The Parliament), but he will reconcile himself to the idea of parting with them by determining that he would secretly send them letters just to let them know that he was happy and inspired while under their watch- emphasising that he will always love them so much, as long as he lives.


Putting these thoughts behind, Fischer continues running, stopping to pant every now and then; stopping to pant every time he gets out of breath. Fischer is so busy running that he hardly noticed that Tuesday, May 20, 2014 (Tripartite Elections day) came two days ago and quietly disappeared into the annals of history. Who could blame him for failing to observe it? (Three days before Tuesday, May 20, 2014, President Joyce Banda had announced on State-sponsored MBC TV and Radio 1 and 2 that May 20 would be a public holiday; with her communications' team emphasising that it had pleased Her Excellency to declare it a holiday, and that, without her, there was nobody who would have declared the day a public holiday. Long Live the President, the announcer's voice blared at the end of the public announcement). Nobody could, indeed, blame him because he never met anyone on the road as he ran to Parliament. In fact, in his haste for The Parliament Building, he forgot to pack his portable radio in his Big Bullets-labelled bag!


Today is Thursday, 22 May, 2014. The Tripartite Elections took place two days ago. Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) officials have been lazy. How come the results re still not coming through, three days after the elections? No wonder, Malawi Congress Party presidential candidates Lazarus Chakwera, Democratic Progressive Party presidential hopeful Peter Mutharika, United Democratic Front and Alliance for Democracy joint presidential candidate, Atupele Muluzi, People's Progressive Movement presidential candidate Mark Katsonga, Chipani Cha Pfuko's presidential candidate Davies Katsonga, independent presidential candidate Thoko Banda, green-card holder James Nyondo and other presidential candidates are all demanding "to know the truth" and are fuming at the mouth, demanding the release of Parliamentary and Presidential results. They have learned, from the General Election of 1999, 2004, and 2009 that these 'delays' are a sign of gathering gloom on the Tripartite Elections field. More specifically, it is President Joyce Banda's quietness that gives them a sense of something hideously preternatural looming. At once, they develop the timidity of an active imagination.



Fischer does not care. He is so sure that he will get into The Parliament this time around, and keeps on running. Stopping here and there to pant and renew his energies. Then, he sees The Parliament Building from afar. His destination is in sight. He can see one heavily-guarded gate leading into the The Parliament Building's parking lot. He has heard, as he vied for the Blantyre City South Parliamentary seat, that our short, Chinese people put up one massive hell of a building at the City Centre in Lilongwe. May be the guards will deny him the opportunity to get in at this hour. But, this afternoon, after Mec chairperson Maxon Mbendera makes the life-changing announcement about who has won and who has fallen, he will 'earn' his right of entry. It must be today, Fischer assures himself.


"Using powers vested in me as chairperson of the Electoral Commission," Mbendera addresses an ecstatic audience at Comesa Hall Tally Centre in Blantyre, "I...". The air is heavy. The moment is here; to be lived, or hated. "Aaaaah, sorry ladies and gentlemen," Mbendera says, to the bewilderment of the Comesa Hall audience. "We apologise, but we forgot to include the Parliamentary results from Blantyre City South Constituency."


As Fischer walks towards The Parliament Building gate in Lilongwe, he eavesdrops a fiery debate among the three judge at the gate. "These folks are dunderheads. How can they forget to announce the results of Blantyre City South Constituency and, then, hold the nation to ransom by delaying the results of the Presidential election. Fotseki! Who do these people take us f.."


"Hey," Fischer interrupts the guards. "What's wrong with the Blantyre City South Constituency results. Are they saying..."


"Shut up you malnourished Rasta (man). Let's get the Parliamentary results from Blantyre City South Constituency first. The chairperson of the Electoral Commission is about to announce now." They give Fischer an old, brown sack to sit on. The radio set is placed some five metres away, at a distance safe enough (for the radio) to be left 'alone', but close enough to everyone's ears.


"Fischer Kondowe of Big Nyerere Progressive Front is the winner with 7, 689 votes. He is seconded by the..." Fischer has no time to listen. He commands the security guards to take him on a tour of The Parliament Building and show him the chair he will be sitting in. They rebuff him, with one of them bluntly telling him to contact the Office of the Speaker of the National Assembly. Angry, Fischer slaps one of the guards, calling him a filthy, old man who deserves a place at a shelter for the aged at Chifunga in Neno (he is probably talking about Neno Shelter for the Aged, managed by the Association of Progressive Women along the Blantyre-Mwanza Road. The guard does not take this insult lying down, and jumps on Fischer, throwing him to the ground. Fischer tries to wrestle with him, but realises he has run out of energy.


The running. The running. It has left him too exhausted that he can't even push an old man off his body! Sure, he will need five years to rest and regain his energy. He will need to relocate to another constituency so that his constituents will not drag him into exhaustion with their "unreasonable" requests! Aaah, he realises that the Electoral Commission chairperson's announcement has made him wiser now.


Suddenly, two men in ragged clothes appear on the scene. They have machetes in their hands. The guards, including the one who pinned Fischer down, rush to confront the two men. One of the men raises his hands in a half-whining, half-coaxing tone and asks if any of the guards has K20. He says they are beggars who are looking for money so they may eat that day. Fischer lambasts the two men, calling them all sorts of names, and reminding them that they have two hands.


"Those two hands are not there for nothing. Work. Fotseki! And, for your own information, this is The Parliament Building. Good-for-nothing people like you have no business here. This is for us, Honorable Members..."


"But you have not even be sworn-in! You..."


"Fotseki," Fischer tells the guard. "My people have elected me, and I am an MP, with or without being sworn-in. Fotseki!"


But, as Fischer fumed and fumed, one of the guards immediately draws out a K20 bank note and, with a smile, says, "I hope this will help".


Just then, Fischer realises why MPs behave differently when elected into office. He realises that, intoxicated with the little power they have got, MPs only see ragged clothes and shaggy clothes in their constituents. They, unlike on the soccer pitch, look at their constituents as good-for-nothing people (beggars even).


"I think the soccer pitch is better than The Parliament Building. In sports, you look at the supporters in ragged clothes as very important people who contribute to the team's success. In fact, it is them who pay gate fees and oil the finances of sports clubs. I think it will be different with being MP. It is like a sudden drop from simple peevishness to patronising instruction!" Fischer thought.


And it dawns on him that a, rather, disappointing journey has begun! The soccer pitch, in spite of the bareness of the hard surface, was his pretty home. And he was fond of the kit-boy who always took great care of his training jersey!


What a rapid modification of ideas even before being sworn-in as MP!

Lucius Banda’s two faces of ‘Time’

On the surface, the threads that form the spine of Lucius Banda’s ‘Time’ album seem to be such issues as love’s infallibility and blindness, the vanity of nationalism, hope, self-awareness, the perpetual search for money as a means of buying survival, among others. But I suppose that the impulse behind the work is an attempt to portray the jarring double-faces of ‘Time’ (in its literal sense).


In other words, the veteran musician’s album puts Malawi in the frame of a verandah-garden riddled with the impact of time (within relatively the same period of time) on two objects, namely: the individual person, and; the nation.


The individual personas, on one hand, share their experiences through the many solitary voices that riddle the musician’s 17 tracks. Sometimes, there are two personas in one song, if it’s a love song, and these personas respond to each other’s musings. The nation, on he other hand, has its aspirations, fears, hopes, and disappointments reflected by the title track, ‘Time’, which is, simply put, a stock-taking exercise aimed at gauging the gains and losses accumulated in the past 49 years of independence.


‘Time’, with its mood of dolorous lamentation, aptly captures the feelings of a people that attained independence from former colonial master, Britain, in 1964, only for the new leaders to sink the citizenry deeper in the mire. This strange sense of loss of place and hope comes after the so-called nationalists rescued the hitherto ‘clueless’ people from the colonial ‘enemies’.


This ‘national’ face of time is aptly reflected in the title track itself, especially when the persona who, like an elected representative of the people, queries: “Is it freedom of independence, or freedom of self-suffering? When will this country change? Who will develop it? 50 years of sovereignty and we still rely on donors to drive our economy?”


The short of it is that, whereas politics was supposed to be a smooth road, the tendency by politicians has been that, once the electorate puts them in power, things change for the worse and it feels as if they (voters) have paved the politicians’ road to hell. They, in turn, become another Lucipher, detached and exiled from the reality of poverty and helplessness that hovers all over the land.


That is why, when these two hidden faces of time are put together, they form a liturgy of despair, regrets, love’s invincibility, death, anger while, at the same time, offering hopeful moments of supplication for divine solicitude. Drawn on the past, these presences (poverty, hopelessness) endure- leaving a permanent mark on the people as they become hopeful and obdurate!


This makes the songs ring true, and sound closer to life.


And, just like in the previous 16 albums of Banda- especially the title tracks- the persona takes a swipe at the nation that is about to turn 50 years (in 2014), calling it a gathering of 15 million babies! A nation that is 50, but clings to its mother’s breast.


Apart from the general swipes that persona in Banda’s songs takes at the citizenry, politicians- and the adorable lyrics that decorate the flower bed of love, Lucius has severed ties with tradition by experimenting with a number of genres. Among them are Reggae, Ngoma, Beni and Manganje, Kwasakwasa blended with other genres, classic, among others.


This, it seems, has been done to accommodate the musician’s varied audience, and recapture the audience that takes unkindly to monotonous sounds.


What that has done, inevitably, is to portray the musician as a man of no identity (or a man of varied identities, sometimes conflicting)- making it more difficult to identify the veteran musician with one particular genre. It is like the same cook dipping 17 cooking sticks in one pot! Chances are that people won’t realise which stick cooked better.


For instance, while ‘Miss You Lucky Dube’ is a Reggae beat composed in memory of the fallen South African musician Dube, ‘Nancy’ throws Ngoni traditional beats, including a tinge of Ngoma, into the mix.


Then, there is ‘Wandikwatiradi’- a love song that recaps how the son of a cook who had resigned to staying in the boss’s boys’ quarters located at some hidden corner within the perimeter fence ends up marrying the boss’s daughter, to the chagrin of her parents- which is a slow beat whose seriousness gets lost in the unmistakable Kwasakwasa guitars in the evening of the track.


The trend is repeated in ‘Forever’, another love song that let’s us appreciate the gladness of a persona who finally weds a long-time lover. The track starts softly, only to dilute its beat into the energy-sapping Kwasakwasa.


The first-timer may also get confused with the track ‘Forever’, taking it for an English song when, in fact, ‘Forever’ is the only English word in the lyrics.


Otherwise, the musician has shown his music prowess by harmoniously mingling Chichewa with English in the track, ‘Tseketseke’- which features Piksy and is characterized by the unmistakable voice of a South African lady-backer pronounces as ‘Zeke-zeke’. One would be forgiven for thinking that ‘Tseketseke’ is a Chichewa beat. In fact, it is an English song whose only connection to Chichewa is the word Tseketseke in the chorus.


‘Usaope Akatchena’ is another captivating song, but chances are that the track may come under a barrage of criticism from feminists such as Jessie Kabwila. Kabwila chides songs that portray women as ‘recipients’ of men’s advances and overtures, and took a swipe a Banda’s song, ‘Wawa Angoni’ for portraying women as objects when it categorized them in the same group as beer, meat when it says in the chorus ‘…Kamkazi kali pambalipa/ Koimba nthungululu”.


‘Usaope Akatchena’ captures the story of a male persona who fell head-over-heals over a well-dressed women, but could not summon enough courage to approach her. As it turns out, the woman also fancied the man but, picking a leaf from society’s norms, failed to make her feelings known because only men are expected to propose love to a member of the opposite sex as dictated by culture.


Otherwise, this is another creative piece emanating from the great brain of Banda, cementing his reputation as one of Malawi’s greatest composers.


This love song- along with ‘Flora and Mavuto’, ‘Zidutswa za Mtima’, ‘Forever’, ‘Ndi Wanga’, ‘Usaope Akatchena’, ‘Tell Her I Love Her’, and ‘Wandiwatiradi’- makes love one of the dominant themes in ‘Time’. Religion also takes a prominent place in the album, though it is unclear whether this ‘gospelisation’ of Banda’s voice has anything to do with his being taken ill before ‘Time’s’ production or it is just a question of a veteran musician taking time to thank God for being with him throughout his 17 albums!


What else can one say, other than singing praising his creator, when he becomes the first Malawian to churn out 17 successful albums?


The most encouraging aspect about ‘Time’ is the way the musician plays around with old messages to shed new light on life, calling people to keep their faith when they tumble in ‘Paulendo’, a message he also advanced in ‘Cease Fire; album. And ‘Wandithawadi’ could as well be a creative extension to ‘Wandithawa’, in which a ‘dilly-daller’ saw his hopes disappear when the woman he had fancied all his life found herself in the embracing arms of another man.

When State-Run Media Thwart Democracy: What Happens?

Times come when, like El Nino winds that elude the meteorologists’ charts, the breezes of history unexpectedly accelerate and blow away the touchstones by which a people live.


It happened twice or thrice during the past century. In 1914, when the Reverend John Chilembwe staged a surprise uprising against Thangata system (bonded labour); between 1940 and 1964 when Malawians (Nyasas) got tired of their emotional moorings to colonial authorities and wanted independence. It ended in 1993 when people voted for multiparty democracy during a national referendum and for change during subsequent presidential and parliamentary elections in 1994..


The last episode was true of the post-independence African character of the 1990s, when authority got deconstructed from institutions to individuals and that, now freed from official restraint, people felt liberated enough to choose everything, including national leaders, for themselves.


Malawians have, since 1994 when they transformed their political landscape to a magnitude that signals nothing less than a fundamental mutation in the national character, voted for Members of Parliament (MPs) and a Head of State every five years.


On May19, 2009, Malawians voted again, signaling the fourth turn of democratic elections. This followed similar elections in 1994, 1999 and 2004, each process a new national experiment.


It thus becomes imperative, as is always the case with all human experiments, to ask the big questions: Where have we scored highly? What have been the challenges? In that order, not forgetting opportunities that exist and the way forward.


Running away from such questions could be tantamount to running away from future responsibility- a future as nearer as 2014 when Malawians go to the polls again, says political commentator Nandini Patel. She is one the first people to note that the country’s four elections have proved too predictable in other aspects and difficult to comprehend in other cases.


They (elections) have been predictable in terms of regional voting patterns and ruling parties’ conduct over state-run media; and difficult to comprehend when it comes to the issue of independents and how president Bingu wa Mutharika won over 60 per cent of the vote in 2009.


“Look at the elections in 1994, for instance. People voted on regional lines. This is evident in the fact that the eventual presidential winner, (United Democratic Front’s) Bakili Muluzi, got 42.2 per cent (South), Kamuzu Banda 33.5 per cent from his Central region stronghold and Chakufwa Chihana (Alliance for Democracy) with 18.9 per cent, mainly from the Northern region.


“This was almost repeated in 1999 when Muluzi got 51.37 per cent in the South, the Malawi Congress Party/Alliance for Democracy coalition 44.30 per cent in the Central and Northern region, respectively, and Kamlepo Kalua who got 1.43per cent of the national vote,” said Patel, a lecture at the Catholic University in Chiradzulu.


The scene was repeated in 2004, when UDF presidential candidate Bingu wa Mutharika chalked 35.89 per cent in the South, Malawi Congress Party’s (MCP) John Tembo 27.13 per cent and Gwanda Chakuamba of the Mgwirizano Coalition 25.72 per cent.


It was as if every new elections were a reinstatement of the saying that old habits die hard. But Patel says this was something that was doomed to change, anyway, though she acknowledges having doubted Afrobarometer’s opinion poll findings that pegged DPP’s Mutharika at over 60 per cent.


Patel looks at DPP and the way it plans to sustain its majority numbers in parliament after the 2014, 2019 and 2024 parliamentary elections as some of the yet-to-come trends people may not comprehend now. Time will unfold all things and decide whether the DPP treads the same decline paths as those parties before it: UDF and MCP..


The past four elections have had there fair of surprises, renditions, revisions, opportunities and challenges- only that some of the challenges refuse to go with the times, says Patel, pointing at the issue of state-run media during campaign.


David Bandawe, Chief Elections Officer (CEO) at the Electoral Commission (EC), acknowledges that every election has been a new experience, with its own challenges and opportunities. This is something he came to appreciate more just recently.


Bandawe has a friend at the Parachute Battalion, those patriotic guys who jump from the air for the sake of their beloved nation. The two happened to talk about jumping from the air during their most recent meeting when the man in uniform alluded something to the fact that ‘every jump is a new jump’, according to the EC CEO.


“So, too, are elections. Each and every election is a new experience, with unique challenges and opportunities. That is the reason we, at EC, are always trying to improve things,” says Bandawe.


EC has, in this respect, organized a meeting aimed at reviewing all independent electoral observers’ reports pertaining to the May19 elections; a development Chairperson Anastasia Msosa says will help solve some of the challenges.


The most outstanding challenge is the perceived abuse of state run media by those in power, observers say. But this is a challenge faced by political parties; EC, too, faces its own music.


Some of its challenges include increasing complaints from political parties, the legal environment in which the electoral body operates, budgeting constraints, complex processes leading to voter registration and voters roll verification, transportation hitches as well as registration periods corroding with the farming season or rains.


This notwithstanding, opposition political parties are, however, riled by the conduct of the electoral body. The EC appreciates the challenges, yes- charges Aford’s Secretary General Khwauli Msiska, who happens to be the party’s sole parliamentarian (Karonga Nyungwe constituency)- but what is it doing to address them?


“Nothing,”


Msiska said Mutharika’s high approval ratings at the ballot could be attributed to the public media which he accuses of over-blowing the president’s ‘obsequious’ charm, evasive assurances and elastic treatment of facts. He also thinks that ruling party cadres never told fibs exactly but made pronouncements that narrowed the isthmus between truth and expediency so that wishes were presented as action while mere reasoning became interchangeable with fact.


“That is the power of propaganda. A lie, repeated many times, becomes truth; this is the role state-run media played during campaign,” says Msiska.


Sentiments shared by Republican Party president Stanley Masauli He is ruthless in his verdict of the polls, something he says is derived from the way Malawi Broadcasting Corporation and Malawi Television behaved in the run up to the polls.


“These institutions violated the EC’s Code of Conduct and went away with it. So, I question: Were the elections free? Yes. (Were they) Fair? A big no. Credible? May be,” the voice of a man who fought hard to get his deregistered party (RP) back but failed to get his worth at the ballot.


The conduct of MBC and TVM could be the reason, perhaps, why MCP spokesperson Nancy Tembo insists that the opposition dominated parliament of the past five years could have been right, anyway, to deny TVM and MBC funding (not in the negative sense).


“I see nothing wrong with that,” said Tembo at a review meeting of the elections in Blantyre.. “In fact, I think that the decision has helped the two institutions become self reliant. They can do without any funding even now,” said Tembo.


Accusations of TVM/MBC perceived bias during the polls have not gone down well with DPP spokesperson, Hetherwick Ntaba. He says, though the opposition seems to blame the ruling party for every Sparrow that falls from the sky, the fact is that it is the magnetic personality and policies of Mutharika that turned him into a common denominator and visible agent of the convulsions that have transformed Malawi’s social-economic status for the past five years.


He says this is the reason people voted for Mutharika, and not because of the influence of state run media. He, however, says he finds it ironic that the same opposition that denied the two institutions funding could now stand on mountains and accuse them of not airing out their views.


“It is hypocritical. Let me also clear this myth that MBC and TVM are the only channels of campaign information; we have many other radio stations, most of whom did not give us an inch during campaign period,” says Ntaba, pointing at Joy FM.


All Rafiq Hajat, Executive Director for the Institute for Policy Interaction, does is laugh at both the opposition and ruling party.


“The opposition were in majority for the past five years but never amended the Communications Act thinking they would go into government on May19, 2009. The DPP is now in majority but will do nothing to change the Act, I tell you. The short of it is that the opposition is now crying over spilt milk and the DPP will one day cry. Isn’t that a good joke!?”


Laughs.

Sports: The Counterattack, As Children Fight Bullets With Balls

There were times- sometimes frequent and, sometimes, far between- when, as happens to people stolen in energy-supping activities, the kids paused on the dusty sports grounds to draw breath and regroup.


The children, gathered in their droves at Makata Primary School ground in Blantyre, are so sure that the impact of their seemingly little, local deed will be global in nature, and are here to commemorate the ‘Global Peace Games for Children and Youth 2012’. This is part of the global community’s efforts to destroy the seeds of war before they germinate into full-blown chaos.



In Malawi, activities marking ‘Global Peace Games for Children and Youth 2012’ are being spearheaded by Play Soccer Malawi, a grassroots’ educational programme that united children, youths and communities by promoting health, physical and social development through recreational sport. The organization is commemorating the event from September 21 to November 15.



Drawn from Makata, Chitsime, Namwalimwe, Nyambadwe, among other primary schools- each of the children’s teams wears a similar set of uniform to symbolize their unity in purpose.


“You see,” says Play Soccer Malawi executive director, Patricio Kulemeka, “children are the best agents of positive change in the world and, through sports, we can join hands with them to promote peace and meet Millennium Development Goals such as Goal 1 (eradicating extreme hunger and poverty) by connecting vulnerable individuals to community services and supports through sport-based outreach programs; Goal 2 (achieving universal primary education, by providing sport-based community education programs that provide alternative education opportunities for children who cannot attend school.



“Through sport we can also promote gender equality and women empowerment, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV and Aids, malaria, and non-communicable diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and facilitate the development of global partnership for development.”



Kulemeka banks his optimism on the ‘innocent’ nature of children who, unlike a man who has been dying for many days, and has become numb to the stench of the world, their minds are free from the corruption all-around.


On this ground, the kids- aged between five and 15- fought gallantly for a trophy they could not see on Monday, 9 October. Their trophy, peace, is more felt than seen.


“It is possible to win peace through sport. Fair play is one of the principles people can adopt to maintain world peace,” Kulemeka says.


His line of thinking is shared by the children who are here. For example, 15-year-old Maria Damisoni says she believes that sports’ balls and courtesy are more deadly in effect than military weapons! In her unconventional wisdom, she believes that there are so many ways of countering a war, and that the plan for war is not merely military.


“It can be through sports, too,” Damisoni says.


No wonder, some of the kids read messages whose gist is that the sacred land of the earth should not be the abode of war-mongers. War, they enthused, is more expensive than peace, and holds a vague terror for all people, the bravest included.


“Sport is key to unity. Even United Nations statutes mention sport as one of the most important tools in global development. That is why U-Sport signed an agreement with the African Union to employ sporting activities in the promotion of peace. Then, we also have Fifa Day, Fair Play Day.


“While we sometimes fail to come together, we are hoping that our children can learn to reconcile. To this effect, other mother body Play Soccer has for the past 12 years been engaging children, youths, community members to promote peace,” Kulemeka says.


That is how the local, Ndirande activities turn global. What’s more? They have the backing of the United Nations system. For instance, Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace, Wilfried Lemke, acknowledges sport’s uniting power in this year’s message.



“The Global Peace Games for Children and Youth are a special opportunity to …strengthen the circle of friendship and solidarity for the ideals of peace and nonviolence within and among all nations and peoples.



“I strongly encourage you to practice the lessons of friendship, respect, and tolerance, which you learn during these Games to help to build peace and unity everywhere and to educate yourselves to learn how to make the world a better and healthier place. Sport can be a powerful vehicle to help teach the lessons and values that are needed. Sport brings you together to have fun, be active--- it helps you learn how to work together, and to grow healthy bodies and minds that can make you strong and educated leaders,” Lemke says.



Kulemeka cannot agree less: “For Play Soccer Malawi, this is what we try to achieve. Our programming combines education, sports, culture, citizenship and social inclusion. When we talk about sports, we automatically think of education. Sports and education are intrinsically linked and are of primary importance to the formation of children and youngsters.



“And it is precisely this synergy between sports and education that serves as the main foundation for the annual global peace.”



Indeed, the local organisation’s programmes show that there is more to sport than balling around as they address an array of issues, including nutrition, introduction to healthy bodies, immunizations, water, caring for the environment, fairness, sportsmanship, dealing with anger and frustration, rules of the game, friendship, teamwork, solidarity, self esteem and positive attitude, honesty, rights and responsibilities, respect and honour differences, basic first aid, respect for rules, leadership, equal opportunities, support for others, common illnesses, substances that affect health, among others.


For Fifa president Sepp Blatter, there is no teacher in tolerance than football. “I hope you will continue to use the games as a special opportunity to focus on all that football can teach us- the life skills of winning and losing with grace and dignity, of showing respect for others, practicing fair play, tolerance and understanding, learning team work and how to make your bodies healthy and strong”.


Blatter also asks people to “take action to improve health and education”.


Blatter, like Kulemeka, hopes that the children’s little deeds at Makata and around other dusty grounds in the world, will serve as a crying voice that, gradually, does not get swallowed up in the distance but acts as a silencer that will cover the violent crack of bayonets. Yes, a vibrant silence made more intense by the universal, peace trill of a millions of world children!

Reaping The Bitter Fruits of Neglecting Early Childhood Development

The system condemns them to failure at an early age, but the ramifications have a touch of patience because they largely manifest themselves when adulthood awns on the kids.


“We are talking of Early Childhood Development (ECD), one of the areas overlooked in Malawi’s national development policies,” says ECD expert, Charles Gwengwe.


In a country where only 1.5 million kids (aged between one and eight years) out of 4 million have access to ECD services, representing 38 percent, the situation is nothing short of a national disaster.


Gwengwe says Malawians have been sitting on a ticking bomb, in terms of preparing their children for life’s cognitive challenges, a development he says has a way of manifesting itself in development endeavours.


Gwengwe, who is the executive director for the Association of Early Childhood Development in Malawi, says what compounds the situation is the fact that caregivers are also in short supply.


“Our country, with its population of over 14 million people, only depends on 26, 000 caregivers to impart skills to 38 percent of the kids who are able to access ECD education at the moment,” Gwengwe says.


On the negative impact of neglecting ECD, Gwengwe says one of the effects is seen through the behaviour of politicians, whom he accuses of behaving in a strange way by, among other things, raising sentiments that do not add any value to national discourse.


He says most politicians behave he way they do because they did not have access to ECD in the early stages of their lives.


Child rights activist, Kenwilliams Mhango, says what has been happening in the country, in terms of access to ECD, can best be described as a “violation of human rights”, imploring the government to treat ECD as a critical area in national development.


“Child neglect takes many forms, including when we deny children their rights. Denying children access to learning opportunities is like condemning them to a precarious future. How can they develop if their foundation, in this case education, is shaky? Mhango queries.


Mhango, who is the country director for the African Network for the Protection and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect- (Anppcan) Malawi Chapter, observes that, for a long time, policy makers have regarded child abuse, neglect, child trafficking as the only challenges facing children, a development that had left other issues unattended to.


“Of course, we should continue the fight against the various forms of child abuse, but we should not neglect ECD. The problem is that most of the times we fight issues that have a clear negative bearing on child development and growth, including issues such as child trafficking, forgetting that we can also fight against abuse by taking a proactive approach. Increasing access to ECD is one way of taking such a proactive approach,” Mhango says.


He says organisations such as Anppcan-Malawi Chapter have tried to play their role by introduce child-friendly programmes, citing the implementation of ‘Child Social and Financial Education’ in Blantyre Rural and City as well as Uliwa in Karonga.


Mhango, who is also a board member of the Human Rights Consultative Committee- a grouping of over 90 human rights organisations- says the initiative just underlined the commitment of Non-Governmental Organisations towards the promotion of child rights.


“If we want development, we should initiate pro-child programmes while the children are at a tender age, and they will grow with the knowledge. As they grow with such progressive knowledge, the nation grows with them,” Mhango says.


Coincidentally, his sentiments are shared by Principal Secretary for Gender, Children and Social Welfare, Mary Shawa, who sees the value of ECD in national development.





Sealing the holes

“ECD helps us identify gifted children at a tender age, thereby increasing our chances of nurturing them into geniuses,” Shawa says.


While observing that the country only has 26, 000 caregivers, of which only 16 percent are trained, Shawa says the government has put in place programmes designed to reduce challenges faced by children in accessing learning opportunities between the ages of one year and eight years.


“Our target is to reach 70 percent of the population that is eligible for ECD education,” Shawa says.


Information sourced from www.africaecd.org, a website run by one of the organisations that promotes ECD in Africa, the story of ECD in Malawi dates back to 1964, “when the first ECD center was developed in Malawi”, further observing that efforts were being taken to improve the situation.


“With a growing realization of the importance of the early years for a child, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) in collaboration with the Government of Malawi and other partners are taking an active role in strengthening the programmes and services available to children aged 0 to 8 and their families,” observes a report on ECD.



Adds the report: “Since 1983, the Government of Malawi in partnership with Unicef and other partners have been drafting materials for Community Based Child Care and ECD Services. Although materials have been developed, it was felt that there was need to review and revise the materials in order to reflect a more integrated approach to early childhood, placing special emphasis on children 0 – 5 years.”



Indeed, as part of such efforts, the government launched the National Policy for Early Childhood Development and the National Policy on OVC On March 1, 2004. The National Policy on ECD aims at “promoting the provision of high quality ECD services to the Malawian children to ensure his/her survival, growth, and development that would lead to his/her active participation in national development”, among other things.


Apart from Unicef, Save the Children has also been running similar programmes since 2001, with the organisation’s Malawi website indicating that, “we support the government’s efforts to improve the quality of early childhood development by training caregivers and by strengthening management committees”.


“We are also testing new approaches to strengthen services for children under age 2 and continue to replicate enrichment activities for children ages 3-6. Currently, we are assisting more than 200 community-based childcare centers, each with an average enrollment of 50-70 children,” says the organisation.


Whether these efforts will tame Malawi’s political roving politicians remains to be seen, though.

Agriculture: Creating Fortune Out of The Soil

When three pairs of eyes see, in one object, three different things, and three people perceive a singular situation in different lights; it must be a different world, a strange world.


This situation bodes well where money becomes the object and people- the men and women who eke a living the hard way- become the subject. Money renders it a strange world in diverse ways- starting with what people believe is money, and the way non-hard-cash materials are turned into ‘money’.


Subsidized farm input can, for instance, be ‘money’ to ordinary people; unlike shares, treasury bills and bonds- the ‘money’ of business magnets.


It is all ‘money’.


For Sam Moyo, however, a resident of Soche Hill in Blantyre, all these are not money.


“To me, money means resources found in the soil. Things such as rocks and stone pebbles. The soil is my source of bread,” Moyo says.


For the past three years, he has known nothing but the soil as ‘money’, with which he feeds his family of five members.


“I have been selling non-precious and semi-precious rocks since March 2008. Sometimes I sell terrazzo, sand and simple rocks,” Moyo says.


But challenges are many because almost every situation- the sun, the cold, the winds, and the rains- serve as a ground for complaint.


“It is not easy, but I make it through. Though we have no formal schools for our trade, and I struggle to source capital for buying tools such as hummers, wheelbarrows, picks, levers, and metal bars, I manage to earn K18, 000 or more a month,” Moyo says.


Moyo said, contrary to perceptions that smashing rocks does not require financial investment, the business demands substantial capital. He said, for instance, that apprenticeship payments, and the purchase of such materials as hummers, wheelbarrows, picks, levers, and metal bars requires funds, in his case over K60, 000.


Matilda James and Violet Makwiza, who operate from Chemussa in Blantyre, said their lives have improved a lot since they ventured into the trade some two and eight years ago, respectively.


“Though my earnings do not exceed K18, 000 a month, I am able to supplement my husband’s income,” James says.


However, both James and Makwiza lamented the lack of capital in the trade, saying commercial banks are stingy with their cash.


There have been efforts by local assemblies, including city councils such as Blantyre, Lilongwe, Zomba, and Mzuzu to regulate small-scale sand mining activities, as well as rock smashing as one way of safeguarding the environment.


Despite all these challenges, artisanal mining remains the foundation of their survival edifice, the methodiser of their family stability, and mainspring of their daily hopes.


For a country short on minerals, small-scale mining has become a contributor to economic development. Malawi has no well-developed minerals industry, though there are potential heavy mineral sand, bauxite, phosphate, uranium and rare earth element deposits.


Mines and Minerals Act of 1981 stipulates that all minerals are vested in the President on behalf of the people of Malawi. The Commissioner for Mines and Minerals in the Ministry of Energy and Mining is empowered to administer the Act.


According to Malawi Government’s official website, www.malawi.gov.mw, the Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Environment is currently “implementing Priority Number Five, which include (sic) Climate Change, Natural Resources and Environmental Management, and Priority Number Nine, which tackles Energy and Mining”.


However, the Ministry- which is mandated to provide policy guidance and direction on all matters concerning the country’s natural resources, energy and environmental management- does not elaborate the exact activities being undertaken, leaving people wishing to appreciate government’s efforts in the dark.


Small-scale mining has been part of human activity since time immemorial. As the book ‘That’s Life: Hilarious Collection of Quotable Quotes, Incredible Incidents, Comical Facts, and Amazing Blunders’ indicates, tradesmen and women in this industry have been subjected to jokes along the centuries.


The book features a 17th century epitaph written by an unknown individual, which reads:


A zealous locksmith died of late,

And did arrive at Heaven’s gate.

He stood without, and would not knock,

Because he meant to pick the lock.


An artisanal miner is, effectively, a subsistence miner. The industry, as manifested by Moyo and Banda, is made up of people who are not on the salary books of any company. Instead, the small-scale miner leads a lonely life, working independently panning and mining precious or semiprecious stones using their meager resources.


The tools used are mostly hand-tools, exactly what Banda and Moyo use. Because , world over, artisanal miners often work seasonally, Banda has a maize field that gives him between 10 to 12 50 kg bags of maize a year.


Exactly what ICMM says: “For example, crops are planted in the rainy season, and mining is pursued in the dry season. However, they also frequently travel to mining areas and work year round”.


ILO statistics put the figure of artisanal minors at between 13 and 20 million- men, women, and children- which explains the organisation’s concern with child labour issues. But these are estimates based on a count of players in 50 developing countries, and do not include artisanal miners in developed countries.


Activities range from precious stones’ panning in rivers to the development of small-scale working plants, activities that affect a wide range of issues, including environmental degradation, safety precautions, land tenure, and labour standards.


Globally, 12 percent (or 330 tonnes) of annual gold production is generated through artisanal mining. In Malawi, though, it is not gold that is mined: terrazzo, bauxite, among others, is the common fish. It is not clear whether the number of miners in increasing in Malawi but steady, and rising, gold prices (from US$274.45 at the start of 2002, to US$1229.88 in May 2010) has shifted their global numbers upwards.


While Malawian miners lack collaborative mechanisms, the Collaborative Group on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (Casm), a global networking facility that aims at reducing poverty through improved environmental, social and economic performance of artisanal and small-scale mining in developing countries such as Malawi has been advocating for formalization of the sector.


Casm, which is headquartered at the World Bank premises in Washington and is currently chaired by the British Department for International Development, compiled a report in 2008 which, among others, suggested that the use of certificates of origin and ethical quality could raise the sector’s profile and stimulate sustainable development in artisanal mining communities.


So important is the issue that the International Labour Organisation (ILO), through its International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour, incorporates mining and quarrying activities. ILO notes that artisanal mining is important not only for the right reasons.


The sector has been cited as one of the breeding grounds for child labour. ILO says child labour “can still be seen in small-scale mines of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and even parts of Europe”.


Artisanal mining can also be a ground for conflict that pits small-scale, largely informal, miners against large larger mining companies, according to the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM).


“The fact that much of artisanal and small-scale mining activity occurs outside regulatory frameworks- whether illegal or not- can also present significant challenges for companies and regulators. There can be significant tension between artisanal and small-scale miners and their own governments- with companies caught in the middle,” reads part of ICMM’s guidance document.


The document, produced in collaboration with Communities and Small-Scale Mining, the International Finance Corporation’s Oil, Gas, and Mining Sustainable Community Development Fund, has helped ease simmering tension in over 20 countries, including Ghana.


In most cases, tensions arise when larger mining companies gain rights to develop deposits that are currently worked by artisanal miners, according to the ICMM report.

Malawi braces for climate change

MALAWI is said to be adapting well to changes in climatic conditions, thanks to agriculture capacity-building interventions targeting peri-urban communities in Chikhwawa and Mulanje districts, experts have said.


This was observed when University of Malawi’s Natural Resources and Environmental Centre (Narec) took Senior Programme Officer for the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)-Canada, Dr. Evance Kituyi, on a tour of projects the centre has been funding in Chikhwawa and Mulanje district. The trip also included researchers from the University of Dar Salaam’s Institute of Resource Assessment.


Kituyi said he was impressed with how Malawi was responding to the global challenge of climate change by building the capacity of people in peri-urban areas.


“While we all realise that climate change has started to devastate communities the world over, as erratic rains continue to pose food security challenges, it is pleasing that communities in Malawi have started adapting to the phenomenon,” Kituyi said.


Kituyi said countries need to scale-up climate change mitigation interventions to avoid perpetuating resource disparities between the poor and the rich.


Among other interventions focusing on horticulture, Narec has been working with institutions such as Bvumbwe Research Station, a development that has enabled it introduce vegetable crops such as cabbage and onions in Chikhwawa, and winter cropping and vertical gardening in Mulanje.


While community members have been working through farmers’ clubs, some individual farmers have adopted the new technological innovations and have seen their incomes prop up by applying the new methods in their individual plots.


National team leader for Climate Change Adaptation in Africa (ACAA) Peri-Urban Inter-dependence Climate Change Project, Miriam Joshua, said appropriate use of technology, improved knowledge on financial transactions, and introduction of new crops have improved the financial and food security situation at the household level.


“We have built the capacity of farmers in adapting to climate change with the aim of helping them sustain (crop) production and save money. We have targeted peri-urban communities deliberately because we know that most projects target urban areas, and this renders peri-urban communities vulnerableto climate shocks,” Joshua said.


Joshua said, however, that, by improving the amount of disposable income among farmers, the initiative could also stem urban migration, which causes brain-drain in rural areas as sharp minds flock to cities such as Mzuzu, Lilongwe, Blantyre and Zomba.