A grouping called Independent Civil Society(ICS) has called on various sections of the society not to pressurize President Lazarus Chakwera on matters to do with the public sector reforms.
This follows a recent call by a consortium of various organizations for Chakwera to authenticate the leaked public and civil service reforms report or risk facing unspecified actions in seven days time on the argument that it is hard for Malawians to hold authorities accountable on matters concerning the report as they are not aware of the contents.
But speaking at a press briefing held in Blantyre on Saturday, the ICS chairperson Caesar Kondowe said they have noted that the President already addressed the issues contained in the leaked document.
Independent Civil Society(ICS)
He said:”The President lamented that the report was not intended for public entertainment or futile debates that generate only noise. Instead, it serves as a reference for him to engage with public institutions and officers, providing them with the necessary direction on the reforms they need to implement within their respective areas of responsibility.”
On his part, another member of the group Unandi Banda also backed the initial order that the President made for the report to be made as led by Vice President Saulos Chilima.
He said the demands are breeding a basis of a perceived disagreement between Chakwera and Chilima, which he believes are detrimental to national development.
According to Banda, Malawians must only judge the results when the President chooses to brief the nation on returns from the report.
Political activist Bon Elias Kalindo, has asked the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) led Tonse Alliance government to arrest an a man dressed in MCP attire whose video clip is viral in various social media platforms inciting violence against those that are against President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera’s leadership.
Kalindo has observed that a member of the DPP Tiaone Hendere was arrested by police in Phalombe for inciting violence by urging DPP members not to allow MCP to campaign in Phalombe claiming that Phalombe is a DPP stronghold.
Man in MCP colours making threats
He said Hendele’s arrest followed a video clip of 2nd March, 2024 and this was in reaction to allegedly suspected MCP thugs who dressed in DPP attires ambushed DPP members armed themselves with phanga knives, catapults and big stones in their hands to disrupt peaceful DPP Blue Convoy Parade in Lilongwe City on 24th February, 2024.
In the video clip which is in circulation, the man while brandishing his panga knife in front of the camera, is heard that “they don’t care whether one is living, has money, position, region and church but as long as one is castigating or insulting President Chakwera, he or she will be slashed of ears.”
The man in the video clip has vowed to die for President Chakwera by not allowing anyone in the country to castigate and insulting President Chakwera assuring all that if found, one should be prepared to be chopped of his or her head.
“We will chop your heads and hands with these panga knives you are seeing in this video clip,” narrated the man.
Speaking through an audio clip circulating in various social media platforms, Kalindo has asked the Malawi Police Service (MPS) to arrest the MCP member for Malawians to trust the police that they work professionally.
Kalindo said for 4 years of the MCP led government, the Malawi Police Service has been seen working as MCP Police saying this has been evidenced by only arresting opposition members while those in the MCP are scot-free.
He said Malawians are expecting nothing from the police but justice for the MCP assassin to be arrested and prosecuted in a court of law just the same as Tiaone Hendele who appeared before the Phalombe Magistrate Court to answer a charge of inciting violence.
Appearing in court, First Grade Magistrate Leonard Fletcher Mtosa released on bail Hendele , ordering her to pay K100,000 cash, one surety to pay K500,000 non-cash bail condition and reporting to Mulanje Police Station twice a month.
Meanwhile, Kalindo has advised Malawians to keep on watching at MCP squabbles ahead of the elective conference to be held in August, 2024 saying all the eyes should be on the position of the party’s Secretary General
Kalindo has warn the MCP that if care is not taken, there will be deaths of people vying to contest for the positions claiming that some are working hard to use charms and guns to eliminate their opponents reminding the contesters in the MCP that before they were elected into those positions they are holding today, there were others yesterday.
The Lilongwe-based Illusions Club says it is set to hold a new festival called ‘Illusionz Beach Festival’ from August 30 to September 1,2024 in Salima District.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lilongwe on Friday, Illusionz Managing Director Martin Nyirenda said the festival is aimed at celebrating music, culture, and tourism.
He expressed enthusiasm saying the festival will be a one of a kind experience.
“It’s going to be three days packed with non-stop entertainment, showcasing the Malawian culture through dance, music and other activities.
“Illusionz since inception has had several international artists who have come to the venue; and the club has proved to be an entertainment spot.
The managing Director said the festival will feature six well-known international artists alongside more than ten talented Malawian artists.
“The festival will also offer different activities to patrons such as pool parties and a wide array of beachside activities including water sports, beach soccer, volleyball, beer pong, and beach races,” he added.
Residents and businesspeople from the Northern Region have hailed President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera’s two-week stay in the region, saying it has given a huge boost to their various businesses.
Chakwera is the first Head of State to operate from Mzuzu for such a long period of time as previous presidents preferred operating from Sanjika Palace in Blantyre and Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe.
During his stay in the Northern Region, the Malawi leader visited flood survivors in Karonga where he also inspected the rehabilitated Wovwe Irrigation Scheme.
President Chakwera
Chakwera also officiated the opening of three Teacher Training Colleges (TTC) of Chikwawa, Mchinji and Rumphi at a function held at Rumphi TTC.
From Rumphi, President Chakwera went to Mzimba where he inspected M’mbelwa Stadium before going to Edingeni where he assured the people of Mzimba that his administration will complete Jenda-Edingeni-Mzimba Road.
On Friday evening, the President hosted a dinner for business captains in the Northern Region.
Residents in Mzuzu have told this publication that President Chakwera’s stay in the Northern Region has helped in boosting every sector of the economy, including tourism.
Food and accommodation businesses are among the businesses that have benefitted from the stay, according to the residents.
At the peak of national desperation created by an acute food shortage and the 44 percent devaluation in November 2023, President Lazarus Chakwera in February 2024 spoke hope in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) in Parliament. Chakwera said the economic pain that Malawians were going through was because of a combined effect of geopolitical factors; over 20 years of public policies that have effectively destroyed Malawi’s production and manufacturing as well as four devastating cyclones that hit Malawi over the past four years.
He said despite the anxiety, there were clear signs that the economy was recovering and that it was time to use that progress to achieve even greater and faster progress. Among others, Chakwera said the fact that the country’s Human Development Index (HDI) moved up five steps from position 174 to position 169 meant recovery was happening.
Chakwera further said the fact that Malawi made advances in five different Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) means recovery is happening. He added that the fact that food inflation has been going down for several weeks and is set to go down further when harvesting starts is cause for optimism.
Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola
The economy on the ground
According to Economic Intelligence Unit (eiu) Malawi’s economic outlook remains highly uncertain. In 2024-25 the economy will remain saddled with still-high inflation (albeit declining), and exchange-rate instability (following a large currency devaluation of 44% in late 2023). The expected impact of the El Niño weather event event in early 2024 will weigh on agriculture, but growth will accelerate, driven by development finance (towards infrastructure), which will be catalysed by an IMF extended credit facility that was approved in late 2023. The government is pursuing debt restructuring to keep funding taps open. Endemic corruption, a rising rate of poverty and limited economic opportunities will provoke public protests in 2024. Despite social instability, GDP growth will accelerate from 2024 as output in the mining sector improves.
The World Bank report says Malawi’s economy continues to be significantly weakened by frequent exogenous shocks coupled with macro-fiscal imbalances. Growth is projected to increase in 2023 to 1.6% as electricity supply improves, compared to 0.9% in 2022. However, severe, and persistent shortages of foreign exchange continue to subdue growth.
The economy of Malawi was $7.522 billion by gross domestic product as of 2019, and is predominantly agricultural, with about 80% of the population living in rural areas. Malawi ranks among the world’s least developed countries. In 2017, agriculture accounted for about one-third of GDP and about 80% of export revenue. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. The government faces strong challenges: to spur exports, to improve educational and health facilities, to face up to environmental problems of deforestation and erosion, and to deal with the problem of HIV/AIDS. Malawi is a least developed country according to United Nations.
Worldwide gross domestic product in 2022 was at about 12,703 USD per capita. GDP in Malawi, on the other hand, reached USD 645 per capita, or 13.16 billion USD for the whole country. Malawi is one of the smaller economies and is currently ranked 142.
The 2023 Corruption Perception Index released by Transparency International shows that Malawi’s performance has remained constant on corruption scores. The report shows that Malawi has scored 34 out of 100 points and has been ranked 115 out of 180 countries that have been assessed. In 2022, Malawi scored 34 out of 100 points and was ranked 110 out of 180 countries and territories that were assessed.
The Nation in early February 2023 reported that Malawi had slightly moved from 35 to 34 points on Transparency International (TI) 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, but maintained position 110 out of 180 countries assessed. The assessment, according to the TI statement released on January 30, meant that despite several efforts, the country remained highly corrupt.
Main challenges hampering progress for Malawi and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa included lack of integrity among the political elite, failure to deal with procurement flaws and sanction as well as prosecute any abuses of funds for emergencies like COVID-19 recovery funds, according to the report.
Reads part of the report: “Criminals are often aided by the complicity of corrupt public officials, police officers, prosecutors and judges, which allows them to operate with impunity.
