The vice-president of Malawi, Cassim Chilumpha, has been arrested on charges of treason, reports say. He is accused of holding meetings in which members of his United Democratic Front party conspired to topple the country's president, his lawyer said.

It's official: for the first time in five years, drought-stricken Malawi will have a bumper maize harvest, according to a final crop estimate by the ministry of agriculture. Good rain and a successful government-sponsored fertiliser and seed distribution programme boosted farmers' yields, said Patrick Kabambe, secretary for agriculture and food security. The country is forecast to produce about 2.35 million mt of maize, just over the annual requirement of 2 million mt.

An international fact-finding mission arrives in Malawi next week to address the ongoing hunger emergency in the southern African country. The mission, comprised of human rights experts from Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, Canada and Germany, is co-organized by Rights & Democracy (Canada) and FIAN International (Germany). The week-long inquiry, which takes place from April 17 to 23, supports an ongoing initiative by a broad coalition of Malawian civil society organizations working to ensure that both donor countries and the Government of Malawi respect commitments outlined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including those related to the human right to food.

The Malawi government has objected to cartoons in the country's two main newspapers, calling them offensive and in conflict with Malawian culture, writes Samuel Makaka on the website The government spokesperson, Patricia Kaliati, Minister of Information, held two press conferences in less than two weeks condemning the Nation and the Daily Times. The cartoon in the Nation depicted Archbishop Ziyaye administering Eucharist to President Bingu wa Mutharika, himself a catholic. Kneeling down immediately behind him, obviously in readiness for the same, is Vice President, Cassim Chilumpha, who is a Moslem.

The possible revision of a law that forbids Malawi's members of parliament from crossing the floor could help strengthen President Bingu wa Mutharika, who has been locked in a gruelling battle with his opposition. Changing Section 65 of the constitution was proposed by Mutharika, who argued that it contradicted freedom of association, which is also guaranteed. "The review of the constitution should assess the rights of individuals to belong to an association of their choice, and not to be forced to belong to a political party," he remarked at a recently concluded conference to examine the issue.

This paper explores the effect of education on understandings of and support for democratic government in Malawi - paying particular attention to the consequences of primary schooling, which remains the modal experience of Malawian voters. The study indicates that primary schooling promotes citizen endorsement of democracy and rejection of non-democratic alternatives even when it has taken place under authoritarian rule, without explicit civic education. It finds that the educated not only support democracy but they have a better understanding of why they are supporting it.

The DVD of the movie "The Making of a President", concerning the Malawi elections 2004, is now available through Minibus Media. Apart from including subtitles in English, German and Portuguese the DVD also contains additional features such as the profile of all presidential candidates as well as a trailer. The documentary was produced by Minibus Media in collaboration with Civil Liberties Committee.

Ennat Edson didn't think it would end this way. Last year, she was making wedding plans. Now, at just 15, she is back at her mother's cramped, dingy house, nursing a fussing baby her former fiancé refuses to acknowledge is his. Here, and in isolated villages and crumbling cities across the most destitute continent, girls younger than 14 are finding boyfriends and getting married in a bid to escape the empty bellies, numbing work and overwhelming tedium of poverty. Encouraged by their parents, many marry much older men who they hope can give them a better life. Often, they are disappointed. "Poverty is the cancer in our society," says Joyce Banda, Malawi's Minister of Gender, Child Welfare and Community Services. "More girls are marrying young - not out of choice, but because they have no choice," according to the Mail and Guardian.

"The Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) wishes to express its alarm and extreme concern over the action taken by President Bingu wa Mutharika in dismissing Dr. Cassim Chilumpha from the position of Vice President of the Republic. We consider the action to be not only unfortunate but also ill-timed and ill-advised. CHRR considers the action by government to be ill-timed because, after many months of acrimonious exchanges between the two senior-most members of government, they had appeared to have finally begun to heed the widespread appeals for the President and his deputy to try sorting out their differences through amicable means."

A recent study and several well-publicised cases of gender violence have raised concern in Malawi, with the president and aid agencies calling for urgent action to address the problem.A survey commissioned by the NGO, ActionAid, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and humanitarian partners, covering over a thousand school-age girls, found that more than half had experienced some form of sexual abuse in schools in Malawi. Urgent measures to curb violence against girls both at home and in schools were recommended.

The UN Millennium Village Project is giving 11 Malawian hamlets the chance to break free from the cycle of poverty. About 55,000 people in the settlements, spread across the country, are participating in the five-year project aimed at finding practical solutions to the problems preventing countries from achieving the UN's poverty-slashing Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. Rather than the 2015 timeframe, the villages "intend to prove that they can achieve at least some of the MDGs in a period of five years", said Peter Kulemeka, assistant resident representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Malawi.

Malawi has launched a comprehensive five-year plan intended to foster rapid industrialisation through the use of science and technology. The plan, announced on 19 January, is the first of its kind, has a budget of one billion kwachas (US$8.3 million), and places a heavy emphasis on popularising science. The money will be spent in four main areas: capacity building (US$3.5 million), promoting and popularising science (US$2.3 million), developing and commercialising research (US$1.5 million) and administration (US$1 million), reports SciDev.

Malawi's recently introduced Central Payment System which some civil servants blame for delaying some important government operations has been hailed by the Government as the final solution to stem corruption and fraud in the government financial system. Controls, from the initiation of expenditures up to the point of payment have been instituted.

Malawi is a poor country: close to 65 percent of the rural population live on less than US$ 0.60 per day and 48 percent of children are malnourished. The first Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF) aimed to reduce such high poverty levels. It was introduced at a time when the country was transitioning politically to multi-party system. A review shows that despite the difficulties of this period, the social fund performed well.

A Malawian opposition MP says he has decided to withdraw a motion to impeach President Bingu wa Mutharika. Maxwell Milanzi of the United Democratic Front says the proposed impeachment was not popular with Malawians or international donors. In October, several donor countries warned Malawi that the impeachment proceedings were diverting attention from the country's food shortages

Malawi’s First Lady, Ethel Mutharika, has taken The Nation Newspaper to court over a story she went on a shopping spree in Scotland while her husband was negotiating for aid to help the starving in his country, writes Samuel Makaka on www.journalism.co.za in a story published on December 22. The Nation newspaper, one of the biggest in the country, repeated claims in the Daily Record of Scotland that she was seen shopping in expensive stores in Edinburgh during an official visit.

Internews Network is currently seeking a Resident Journalism Advisor for a proposal we are submitting for Malawi. The Resident Advisor (RA) will implement the media component of a larger anti-corruption project aimed at strengthening governmental integrity in Malawi. The primary duties of the RA will be to (1) assist in the establishment of a Malawian media council that will promote ethical and professional standards in journalism as well as advocate for media law reform, and (2) provide training and assistance for Malawian journalists on basic journalism skills, journalism ethics, and specialized reporting (particularly investigative reporting.)

Malawian President Bingu wa Muthrika's main rival, the United Democratic Front (UDF), has said it is willing to take up his offer to break the political impasse in the country provided he works on improving relations with parliament. In his New Year's eve address last week, Mutharika said he was ready to talk to the opposition provided "they withdraw the impeachment charges against me", which followed the president's anti-corruption campaign that netted former ruling party members.

Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, Anna Kachikho has threatened to act against corrupt immigration officers who provide Malawian passports and other travel documents to foreigners. The minister sounded the warning in an interview with The Daily Times on complaints that some officers at Immigration were conniving with foreigners. “As Home Affairs Minister, I will not condone any officer who receives bribes from foreigners to assist them with Malawian travel documents.

The Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN) campaigns for just economic policies by engaging in economic literacy programmes, budget monitoring and lobbying on trade issues and trade agreements that relate to Malawi. Historically, the space for civil society organisations to engage government has been limited or non-existent, leaving MEJN and other civil society organisations (CSOs) with much to do in offering alternative suggestions to influence economic policies.

In the five years (2000-2005) of its existence, the Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN) has recorded tremendous achievements in the areas of economic literacy, formulation of Malawi’s PRSP, budget monitoring and trade and trade agreements in Malawi. Through the economic literacy programme, MEJN has reached many people to make them understand the dynamics of the political economy of the country. Its interventions in policy formulation processes show the critical role of civil society organisations (CSOs) as partners with government and donors in poverty reduction programmes.

However, a question that is often asked is to what extent has the work done by MEJN shifted the boundaries of engaging with government to influence economic policy change for the country?

The danger of cooption

The danger and dilemma faced by CSOs working with government, especially in the areas of economic justice, relates to maintaining independence and legitimacy. There is a fine line between implementing their programs so as to be able to influence change of policy and being submerged or co-opted into the government machinery in the process.

This has a lot to do with the political governance that a country has as well. For instance, in Swaziland and Lesotho, which are monarchies or semi-monarchies, the role and influencing abilities of CSOs in the fields of economic justice is greatly diminished. Giving alternative suggestions to the budget process is seen to be opposing the powers of the monarchy to control the economy, hence the weak role of CSOs in Swaziland and Lesotho.

In Malawi, MEJN has been associated mostly with monitoring the national budget. To that effect, MEJN has been making statements as to how budget allocations could be improved through advocating for a prioritized budgeting process and also by involving other stakeholders to scrutinize the national budget. Through its district chapters, MEJN has been able to track budget allocations and even to do satisfaction surveys to check on the quality of the outcomes of the budget allocations.

Government’s View of MEJN’s Role in Economic Justice

A snap survey on the extent to which MEJN’s role is influencing government policy in Malawi indicated varying answers. From government circles, MEJN is seen as a very important partner in development of Malawi’s Economy and it is for that reason that MEJN is always brought aboard whenever government is discussing economic programmes. They regard MEJN as the most active NGO/Network in Malawi that is helping to disseminate information on poverty reduction and educating people in Malawi to understand budgetary issues.

However, according to government officials, MEJN cannot influence government policy in terms of changing economic policy developed by government. Consultations and involvement of MEJN in economic policies is meant to solicit views on the development of economic policies. According to officials from government, it is the role of government thereafter to decide on the formulation of economic policy.

Civil Society’s View of MEJN’s Role in Economic Justice

In civil society circles in Malawi, MEJN is applauded for the work that it has done in the field of economic justice in Malawi, more especially in the area of giving economic literacy to people. However, the country is yet to see the real impact of MEJN’s work in changing policy direction in government circles.

Involvement of MEJN in economic policy formulation by government could be cosmetic in that decisions may already have been made and, for the sake of inclusion of CSOs, MEJN could be called in but not to change anything. There is also the problem which was so apparent with the Muluzi Government whereby people were allowed to talk but government would not listen. And so the government was stubborn despite allowing dissenting or alternative views from civil society. In that type of atmosphere, no matter how good MEJN’s alternative views could be, they would not be effective because of government’s unwillingness to listen and use the ideas.

Another point which has been remarked about MEJN’s role is the fact that MEJN at times has made too much noise without giving alternative criticism or without giving expert advice as an alternative. MEJN has made statements on many aspects, some of which were not within its mandate. A good example is where MEJN commented on purely political matters as opposed to economic issues. This irritated policy makers but also showed lack of focus on the side of MEJN and to a certain degree did undermine MEJN’s credibility.

Lack of focus, lack of specialization and making unnecessary comments has the potential of derailing the work of MEJN and its ability to be taken seriously by policy makers in government.

Conclusion

Influencing policy change and making in government by civil society is a process that requires a democratic, transparent and accountable culture to achieve. It is an on-going process. For the case of Malawi, participation of NGOs in government policy is a recent phenomenon that is still being understood by both parties.

During the Banda era nobody ever thought of opposing a national budget let alone the national assembly. And so the change of the political system has also brought in a political economy that allowed dialogue with NGOs in Malawi. What remains to be honestly achieved is reaching a point where the government would be influenced positively by civil society in policy formulation for the good of the country’s economic growth. MEJN and other CSOs have much to do in giving expert and focused alternative suggestions to influence economic policies.

* Francis Ng’ambi works for the Malawi Economic Justice Network

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