How much do we know about the personal histories of our leaders?

A discussion with a good colleague based in London a few weeks back has gotten me thinking about how little we really know about our leaders.
Hastings Kamuzu Banda (Prime Minister and President, 1961-1994)

Malawi's first President, the late Hastings Kamuzu Banda, might have ruled for nearly three decades, but yet the country knows very little about his personal history. Indeed, his own relations indicated in a Malawi News article in January of 1998 that the first "Ngwazi " did not want, "for reasons only known to himself, his history to be written while he was alive". Well, twelve years after his passing, we still know very little about the man: when exactly was he born? Was it 1906 as the public was made to believe during his reign or was it during the Mwase-Chibisa war of 1896 as has been suggested by some of his relatives? or was it 1898, as Phillip Short suggests in his biography of the man? What was his name at birth? was it Ackim Kamnkhwala Banda as his relations have pointed out and why did he change his name to Hastings Kamuzu Banda? Did he have brothers and were there more sisters? When exactly did he travel to Zimbabwe, South Africa and later to the United States for his university studies? who sponsored him on these trips and why? what else did he do in those countries other than study?
Was Kamuzu ever married? did he have children? If not, why, especially for a man that put Malawi women - his "Mbumba" at the top of his priorities? And what exactly was the role of the "Official Hostess" in Kamuzu's life? Why did Kamuzu always had to speak in English and require a translator (much like many of our numerous pastors today)?

Bakili Muluzi, President, 1994-2004

Exit Kamuzu, enter Bakili Muluzi. Perhaps the only one of the three Presidents that we know the most about. The only one of the three Malawi leaders not to have spent a good part of his life outside the country, so much is known about Muluzi's personal story, from Kapoloma village in Machinga on his journey to the Malawi presidency. His marriages, his political abilities (and weaknesses), his business acumen and failures are all a matter of public knowledge.

Bingu wa Mutharika, President, 2004-to date
Now, Bingu wa Mutharika. Although less enigmatic than Kamuzu, Mutharika's personal history is also very sketchy. Born Brightson Webster Ryson Thom, very little (that is convincing at least), is known as to why had to change his original names and adopt the Bingu Mutharika moniker.
Does changing ones name from Thomu to Mutharika truly disguise one's identity from the agents of the one-party era as has been suggested? What exactly had he done that required such drastic changes in his life as to not only escape from Malawi, but also to change his entire name? (especially when one considers the most famous victims of Banda's dictatorship like Henry Masauko Chipembere, Kanyama Chiume, Orton Chirwa, etc, did not have to change their names in exile)? Even if we are to he had to change names to escape the one party brutality, did his family (read brother) also have to change names? And does Bingu have any other siblings other than his eponymous brother, Peter?
Where exactly did Thomu/Mutharika do his university studies? Did he physically attend the Universities of Delhi in India and the now defunct Pacific Western University to get his MA and PhD respectively? And did he have a Bachelor's Degree before obtaining the MA at the University of Delhi? If yes, where was this obtained?

We read in the run up to last May's elections, there were so many people showing up looking for jobs by claiming to be related to Mutharika. That is perhaps the price to be paid when very little is known about the background of the man holding the highest office in the land.

The bottom line is that we need to learn more about our leaders. In the absence of credible official information, we are left to rumor and speculation. We need people who are willing to take up these subjects and write up the histories of our leaders while they are still alive, or, in the case of the late Banda, to learn more about the man from those that were close to the late president and are still alive to share what they know of the man. Anyone out there willing to take on this project?

My Two Tambala’s thoughts Quota system and elections for Leader of Opposition

Let me start by apologizing to readers and followers of this blog for the long period of silence. I could not believe it myself to find that my last post was in August – three months back. I have no strong reasons to offer for this silence and can only apologize.

Now to my two topics, starting with the introduction of quota system for University selection.

I must say I agree with President Mutharika on one aspect of this issue: the imbalance in University selection needs to be addressed to malke it more representative. However, I do not agree that the quota system is the way to addressing the root causes of the imbalance.

The solution, in my humble view, rests in the answer to question: why do students in one particular region (the north) fare better in our national exams than those from the other two (and more populous regions)? The fact that our brothers and sisters from the northern region have time and again demonstrated an ability to perform well in national exams is something worth celebrating. To accuse them of cheating – as the President implied in his recent address when he argued that University Lecturers from the north leak exams to northern-students – is not only cheap of the President, but is also demeaning and contemptuous to the professionalism of our esteemed Lecturers from the north – whose dedication and intellect I can personally vouch for any time, any day.

We should look at the strong performance of the students from the northern region as an opportunity, one that we should replicate in the other two regions. In my view, students from the central and southern regions are no less intelligent than those from the north. The question to be addressed by any policy therefore has to be to work towards bringing out this intellect from central and southern students to enable them to stand up on their own with their northern counterparts. The quota system, in my view, merely addresses the superficial aspect of the imbalance, not the root causes.

I do not have solutions to the problem, which needs some deeper research. But I dare say among the issues to be considered are the student-pupil teacher ratios. It is a known fact that there is more congestion in schools in the more populous central and southern districts, with some statistics suggesting that there are twice as many students for every teacher in the central and southern regions than there are in the north. There are also more students sharing a classroom in the central and southern regions than there are in the north. Clearly, these factors contribute to undermining performance of students from the two regions in national exams. A real solution to addressing the imbalance in University selection therefore needs to address these underlying issues - by improving the student-teacher ratio, increasing the number of classroom space and generally making the education system more conducive than is currently the case. Others might argue there is also a need to change the attitude towards education in the central and southern regions, but I am no expert on that.

Otherwise, to the extent that quota system does not address the underlying problems, I would say it is no solution at all.

On elections for Leader of Opposition

I must say I am very saddened to see the turn of events and the direction that our politics is taking. While many celebrated the DPP's landslide victory in the last elections, there were some of us that feared the consequences of such an absolute majority on our young democracy.

There is simply no way I can agree to the view that the ruling party should have a say on who should be the Leader of Opposition. It is a joke and a mockery to our democracy that a Parliament that some had argued had the best brains on the land has chosen to go down this path. The government side should have no say on who should lead those opposing it, much in the same way as the opposition currently has no say on who should be the leader of the government side in the National Assembly.

The recent changes that have allowed the government to have a crucial say in the choice of the Leader of Opposition demeans the value of that office, as the holder now becomes beholden to government and has to answer to them to keep his/her seat. For a government that already has a strong majority in numbers, they could have demonstrated some maturity by keeping out of the infighting among the opposition.

For those who argue that this move serves to teach MCP strongman, John Tembo a lesson – I would say you miss the point. Laws/ rules should not be designed to target a particular individual. They are meant to be timeless. This was the reason some of us strongly objected to the efforts to remove the presidential term limits in 2001/2002. The argument by the UDF at the time that Muluzi was a good leader and a performer (????) was never enough to justify changing a law that applies to all future presidents of the country.

Removing Tembo from the position of the Leader of opposition should have been an internal MCP matter. Those MCP MPs/members not happy with Tembo's leadership should have taken their battle to a party convention. Otherwise, in my view, despite the validity of their protestations about lack of democracy in their party, they are no better than the man they accuse by choosing to take a non-democratic route themselves. Those who celebrate that Tembo's removal is good for democracy, I would: what democracy? The people that have orchestrated Tembo's removal are not democrats themselves. I personally would rather live with people that are democratically elected, even if their democratic credentials are questionable than applaud the removal of a democratically elected leader by non-democrats.

It is a sad day for democracy in Malawi and I for one, am not celebrating.

Diploma Mill Economics

Pacific Western University (PCU) of California, USA is described by Wikipedia, the web based, free content encyclopedia project, as "an institution criticized on multiple occasions as a substandard educational institution or 'diploma mill'. Among the ranks of its alumni is our own President, Bingu wa Mutharika who obtained a PhD in Development Economics from there.

In the last couple of weeks, a number of economic decisions made in Malawi in my view, have gone to confirm the questionable of economics one would expect from a diploma mill like PCU. On July 31st, the Daily Times run an article headlined "Forex Shortage affects Unilever". According to this article, Unilever, is struggling to procure raw materials for its products from outside Malawi due to forex shortage. As a result, the company is currently unable to produce enough products for the local market.

Two days before the Unilever story, the same paper had carried an article chronicling the struggles of one Eunice Kendulo, a fifty-one year old cotton farmer from Salima district in central Malawi. This story reports that cotton buyers have 'voted with their feet' by staying away from buying after the President imposed a minimum buying rate of K70 per kilogram while the buyers were offering half of that. The end result is that the likes of Ms. Kendulo are stuck with a commodity that they cannot sell or consume.
President Mutharika's responses to these episodes? Closing down of forex bureaux and threatening cotton buyers with deportation (never mind that none are currently buying) if they refuse to pay the set minimum price. Tobacco buyers have in recent years faced similar threats of deportation when the President has, in his wisdom, set minimum prices for the tobacco crop.
The President's desire to ensure Malawian farmers get the most for their produce is a noble goal. Similarly, the refusal to float the Malawi Kwacha is being justified as an attempt to cushion local consumers from price increases that would result from devaluing the local currency.

While I am not a believer in unfettered laissez-faire economics, it surprises me to see the levels of protectionism that the Bingu government is undertaking in Malawi (perhaps the outcome of 1960s protectionist economics?). For one, the resistance to liberalize the currency exchange market is as ridiculous as it is self defeating. Not only are Malawian companies unable to procure necessary raw materials for their domestic production, but it also results in the very thing that Bingu is trying to avoid- price increases as fewer goods are produced in a market that demands more. Additionally, an overvalued currency also makes Malawian goods very uncompetitive on the international market, reducing the inflow of foreign currency, further perpetuating the forex shortages.
As for the minimum price settings, the President would do better to convince the farmers not to sell below his preferred minimum price. Let Ms. Kendulo and her fellow cotton farmers decide whether to sell at lower prices or keep their cotton harvest unsold. The President should not adopt this self-defeating know-it-all attitude.

As for these constant threats of deporting foreign investors, well, who is the ultimate loser? While I am not naive enough to assume that all 'investors' have the good of Malawi at heart, I strongly feel this scare-them policy only serves to scare away other investors, depriving hardworking Malawians of employment opportunities. And frankly, all this gives the impression of a leader who is not in control.

Where was President Mutharika? Gone AWOL?

President Bingu wa Mutharika just returned home this week from a hashed-up holiday in an undisclosed location. That the President is entitled to a holiday like the rest of us is not an issue - and after a grueling and ultimately successful campaign season, who can even begrudge Bingu a breather - perhaps on the seaside in swimming costumes and a glass of beer on the side!
Be that as it may, I feel as a country, we should have been told - at the minimum, that he was going on holiday, even if the destination remained a secret (for whatever reason). But it seems in the typical mode of the Big Man leadership style, the President is not even comfortable saying he is going on holiday to nurture the impression that the Big Man never rests.
The sad part of all this over-secrecy is that rumour quickly fills in the void. Is the President sick and in hospital somewhere? Did the grueling campaign cause some slipped discs requiring unforeseen medical attention? Perhaps he is getting a regular medical check-up? where is he being treated/ checked? In a hospital or is he being prayed for by some faith healers somewhere? Perhaps getting attention from a sing'anga akunja? ?
The long and short of it is that all this unnecessary secrecy, far from propping up the Big Man image that our President and his advisers seem so keen to cultivate, only serves to undermine it. The President would not lose any authority by openly stating that he is going to take a short holiday or even stating that he needs to go for medical check up. He is human after all.
If I am to go on holiday, I just don 't go attending conferences and then decide to extend my stay by taking a holiday. As taxpayers, we are the President's bosses and need to be told what he is doing, and preferably, where. For all the tax-payer money he gets to spend at our expense, the least he can do is to let us know what he is up to. That is not too much to ask.

Who are Malawi's Real Achievers?

The recent awards recognizing the 'achievements' of a few Malawians dished out during the 45th Independence anniversary celebrations raise a number of questions, three of which immediately come to mind.

Hail to Malawi's newly crowned Excellent Grand Commander!

The first question from these awards is how we as a country define achievers? The list of Malawi's supposed achivers that were recognised this last July 6 is dominated by politicians and their closest friends. The first Head of State, the late Kamuzu Banda and the incumbent Bingu wa Mutharika, were both accorded the honorific titles of "Excellent Grand Commander". Didn't Malawians reject Banda in the early 1990s because, as the Catholic Bishops' said in their oft cited Pastoral Letter of 1991 "the majority of [Malawians] live in circumstances which are hardly compatible with their dignity as sons and daughters of God". And hasn't Bingu himself claimed that he had to free into exile to run away from Banda's dictatorship? Didn't some on the list of achievers suffer national ridicule and forced to live the lives of exiles under the very Banda who is being accorded the title of Excellent Grand Commander? And by granting both Banda and Mutharika this highest title, are we to assume their achievements are at par? Now, I do not want to ignore Bingu's achievements in the last five years, but are we as a country satisfied with what has been done so far? There has been some progress in terms of road infrastructure, some bumper maize harvests (paid for the tax payer, not from the President's pockets). But If anyone tells me this merits a double adjectival description, i.e., excellent and grand, I have to say it is so depressing that we have to be satisfied with so little. In my view, Mutharika's achievements, notable as they are, are neither excellent nor grand. They merely stand out because his predecessor set the bar so low, so much that we are seeing a mountain in achievements that are nothing more than an anthill.

My second question is who decides these awards? In the ideal world, one would hope for a more neutral panel to select the awardees. However, looking at the list, it is quite clear that a group of politicians with obvious party leanings sat down and decided who to award and who not to. That Bingu looks up to Kamuzu's as his hero is no secret (despite claiming to have fled the country because of Kamuzu's authoritarian rule). It comes as no surprise then that besides Bingu, Kamuzu is the other recipient of the highest honor a sign that the student feels he is now at the same level with his teacher/ hero. The majority of the names on the list are politicians, both dead and alive, who, although not necessarily affiliated to the ruling DPP, are at least not associated with the current political opposition. While I don't want to begrudge the contributions of most of these sons and daughters of Malawi the recognition they deserve, I am at a loss to understand what a number of the people on the list have contributed to justify their recognition over and above the contributions of others. In particular, what is so special about politicians? My former primary school headmaster, in my view, worked so hard and achieved much more than what most of the people that were recognized last Monday. The likes of Allan Namoko, Archbishop James Chiona, Levi Ziliro Mumba, John Chilembwe, John Gwengwe, Daniel Kachamba- to mention but a few are, in my view, great and genuine achievers that truly stand out, even if a dodgy group of party loyalists overlook their contributions because their recognition does not generate any political mileage for the ruling party.
The third conundrum is the criteria for granting these awards. Does a criterion really exist? Does it make sense to award individuals that are still living, and thus potentially with a lot more achievements yet to come? Is there a clear criteria on measuring what amounts to an achievement that is to be nationally recognized? For example, what have certain opportunist Chiefs achieved other than bestowing meaningless titles on leaders in return for patronage? How do we explain the recognition of Malawians that played roles that are polar opposites to each other, such as those of a former "Life President" and those of a freedom fighter who was imprisoned for standing up to the very same dictator? And further, how does one recognize the achievements of individuals who served as faithful deputies and yet ignore the contributions of the very people they deputized? (Now, this should not be taken to mean I endorse those who suggest former President Muluzi should also have been recognized. But it seems to me if Muluzi's deputy achieved so much, then common sense would imply Muluzi too must have achieved something (whatever that is).
The long and short of it is that these political awards are ridiculous and unnecessary. There are millions of Malawians that are contributing in many meaningful ways. Parents that strive against odds to provide meals to their kids every day; Teachers that continue to educate Malawi's future generation and yet get paid next to nothing; medical practitioners who struggle and improve to serve hundreds of lives in our poorly equipped hospitals; volunteers that are trying to find ways to reduce poverty in our land; poorly paid police officers who are trying their best to bring about peace and security in our midst; pastors and church people that bring comfort and solace to people when politicians are busy sharing the national cake. There are better achievers out there that are simply doing their work and do not expect to be given any awards or titles. The sad part is that these people are made to feel that their contributions are meaningless when we have national events that honor wannabe achievers.

Malawi 2009 General Election Results Summary

Presidential Election Results
Here's a summary of the presidential elections results, based on the schedule of results released by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) at 12:228pm on Saturday, May 23rd 2009.

Candidate	Votes For	Share of Valid Votes
Bingu wa Mutharika (DPP)	2,946,103	65.98%
John Tembo (MCP)	1,370,044	30.69%
Kamuzu Chibambo (PETRA)	35,167	0.79%
Stanley Masauli (RP)	33,887	0.76%
Loveness Gondwe (NARC)	32,160	0.72%
James Nyondo (Independent)	27,328	0.61%
Dindi Gowa Nyasulu (Aford)	20,151	0.45%
Total valid votes:	4,464,840

Parliamentary Election Results

I have reconciled the results of the elections of May 19th as released by the Malawi Electoral Commission with those announced on the radio and circulating on the Internet. I did note a couple of errors on the list that has been doing the rounds on the net. For instance, one seat that was won by the MCP candidate in Dowa South East was allocated to a DPP candidate who actually came second. Another seat that was won by an independent candidate in Thyolo South was listed as having been won by the DPP candidate. In yet another case, two independent candidates were both listed as having won the same seat in Zomba Likangala. In Lilongwe Msozi North, the wrong person was listed as the victor yet the winner was a different person, albeit also an independent. Having made these corrections, here's the final parliamentary list:

Party	Seats Won	Share of Seats
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)	112	58.33%
Malawi Congress Party (MCP)	28	14.58%
United Democratic Front (UDF)	17	8.85%
Alliance for Democracy (Aford)	1	0.52%
Maravi Peoples Party (MPP)	1	0.52%
Malawi Forum for Unity and Dvt (MAFUNDE)	1	0.52%
Independents	32	16.68%
Total	192

* note that elections were not held in one constituency following the death of one of the contesting candidates.

While the DPP is short of the two thirds majority by 16 MPs, it is worth recalling that a high proportion of the candidates that were elected on an independent ticket were those that were frustrated in one way or another in the DPP primary elections. It is likely that a majority of the 32 independents will side with the DPP when parliament meets. Indeed, already, a number of the new independent MPs have rejoined the ruling DPP, further bolstering the ruling party's numbers before the new Parliament has even met. The opposition parties (MCP, UDF, Aford, MPP and MAFUNDE) between them have a combined total of 48 seats, translating into 25 percent of the seats in the new Parliament.

Parties that will receive Parliamentary Funding

As the numbers currently stand, only the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) with 58.33% and the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) will be the only parties entitled to receive parliamentary funding on account of the fact that they have at least 10% of the seats in Parliament. For the first time since 1994, the UDF will not be eligible to receive Parliamentary funding.

More Women in the new Parliament

The campaign to increase the number of women legislators in the new Parliament appears to have had some success, albeit marginally. The 2009-2014 Parliament will have a total of 42 lady legislators (22%) - up by 15 from the last Parliament which had 27 lady MPs (14%). The new figure of 22 percent is still lower than the SADC gender protocol which called upon member states to have a minimum of 30% female legislators.

High Turnover of MPs

One characteristic feature of the May 19th elections has been a high turnover of legislators. The new Parliament retains only 53 of the original 193 legislators that sat in the House in the last Parliament. A whopping 139 of the 2009-2014 Parliamentarians (73%) are entering the National Assembly for the first time (138 if we exclude Khwauli Msiska, who was a member of the House in the 1999-2004 Parliament). The list of casualties applies across the board. The DPP is returning 26 MPs from the last Parliament, while both the MCP hand the UDF have returned 12 each. MPP's Uladi Mussa, and two independents - Cassim Chilumpha and Billy Kaunda are the other three returnees.

Congratulations to Justice Msosa the EC and all Malawians

Justice Anastasia Msosa has done it again! having overseen the successful 1994 elections, she has once again ably led the team that has handled these elections. There have been numerous challenges yes and there is always room for improvement. from talking to people in Malawi, it appears the electoral Commission has done a wonderful job, making these the best organised elections since 1994.
The calm way that the Malawian public conducted itself on polling day and the manner in which the results have been received also deserves our appreciation. We should not take this for granted - we know elsewhere on the continent, election results have sparked violence that in the worst cases, has resulted in multiple deaths. We deserve to pat ourselves on the back for maintaining peace throughout the process.

A new era of politics?

In my previous post, I was predicting a victory for incumbent president Bingu wa Mutharika. I must confess I did not expect the margin of victory that appears to be emerging from the election results as currently being announced. For all intents and purposes, Mutharika appears to be headed for a strong landslide performance. While Bingu is performing strongly in the northern region as predicted, he has also performed just as strongly in the central region and the southern region.
perhaps the biggest surprise is coming in Parliament. While a number of independents are outperforming some DPP candidates in a few areas, by and large, the strong performance of the DPP is being repeated in the Parliamentary race. Indeed, even among the independents that are winning, most are among those that were frustrated in the DPP primary race. In other words, these are essentially DPP candidates that are most likely to go back to their DPP home.
The people's verdict is in - some of us will be talking about what this bodes for the future of the country's democracy, about the future of the opposition, about voting trends in a country long used to regionalistic politics. All that should be put in the context of what the Malawi people want. They cannot be expected to vote for individuals who have failed them just for the sake of maintaining an opposition. they cannot be expected to vote for people from their region even if they are deemed failures. It is the dawn of a new politics.

Predicting the 2009 Malawi Elections

The elections are a mere three days away. The official campaign period ends on Sunday, May 17th at 06:00am.
Being so removed from the ground has meant that I have been unable to make any independent judgments and predictions on the entire process. It is the second election that I will be missing and this gives me a heavy heart. I can only hope that those that have the vote use it on Tuesday and decide on who should be entrusted with the power to exercise the role of President for the next five years and who should also be entrusted with making laws for the same period. There is just no excuse for not voting.
So who are the likely winners and losers from these elections? My predictions, I should stress, are based on second hand information, reinforced by the live radio coverage from Zodiak radio and Capital radio's daily news summaries - two of Malawi's best radio stations).
President: Bingu wa Mutharika faces a tough challenge from MCP's John Tembo, whose electoral fortunes have been boosted by his coalition with the UDF. An Afrobaromter survey conducted late last year gave Mutharika a commanding lead over both Tembo and Muluzi (standing as individual candidates). While the coalition gives MCP and UDF the chance to consolidate their vote, I am not convinced this gives them enough to overturn Mutharika's lead from last October's survey. Yes, a couple of decisions on the DPP side - including running mate selection, confrontational and sometimes ill-advised choice of language that disparages opponents and their supporters alike, might have eroded Mutharika's support among a section of the middle class. However, while this will make the presidential race a tighter race than the Afrobarometer survey data suggested, I still feel Mutharika will sneak in.
Verdict: Mutharika for President.
Parliament: The selection of candidates for the DPP in the primary elections left a lot to be desired. candidates were imposed, while some winners were discarded in favour of preferred names. While DPP is going to increase its numbers in the new Parliament from the six it had in the previous one, it might yet again fall short of a majority. I am also somewhat unsure of the impact of the UDF/MCP coalition on Parliament. Listening to the campaign coverage on Zodiak radio, I cannot help to think that voters are bound to be confused when you have John Tembo / Bakili Muluzi introducing candidates for both parties in the elections that will be competing against each other. This might have an impact on their performance in the elections.
Verdict: another split Parliament

The Law, Madonna and Mercy James

I am intrigued by the High Court's decision to reject Madonna's application to adopt Mercy James. I must say I am torn on this matter: a Big part of me is sympathetic to little Mercy and the opportunities that would have been opened for her if she were to join Madonna's household. I can just imagine how little Mercy will feel when she learns as a grown up that she was denied the opportunity to experience a totally different life from the challenges of living in an orphanage where she seems destined to spend a good part of her young life now.
I am not naive of course. Mercy is just one of thousands of kids like her in Malawi. Just because Madonna sought to take her to join little David does not change much for the plight of orphans in our country. Adoptions like these, in other words, much as they change the lives of the single individual kids, impact very little, if at all, on the challenge of orphans in our country. We need a more holistic approach other than celebrity adoptions to solve the problem.
This does not mean though we should frustrate well wishers like Madonna and other unheralded individuals who want to help by adopting some of our less fortunate children like Mercy. I am a firm believer that the opportunities we get very strongly influence our destiny. While David Banda might have been condemned to a life of underachievement, he now stands to fulfill his full potential and perhaps more due to the world of opportunities opened for him under Madonna's roof. Otherwise, we have too many children growing up in our beautiful country who have so much potential yet they are never given the opportunity to translate this potential into meaningful lives because it remains untapped.
Let me state here though I do not in any way blame the High Court for making the decision it has. It is not for the Court's to make laws for the country- theirs is simply one of interpretation. The blame, in my view, ought to be placed squarely on the feet of our politicians.
The problems in our adoption laws were exposed when Madonna first adopted David Banda a few years back (or most likely earlier when other less glamorous foreign nationals might have faced similar challenges). After that episode, we should have woken up and been proactive to address the deficiencies by amending the law accordingly. Instead, we were preoccupied with the trivial political games that appear to be the hallmark of our politics at the expense of addressing serious issues that affect us. It is thus hypocritical for all manner of politicians, including cabinet Ministers, to make noises against the ruling when it is precisely their fault that they did not act. To hear the likes of Patricia Kaliyati and Anna Kachikho speaking on the matter makes me realize these people have no clue as regards what their role is in law making. Had the law been changed, the Court's would have ruled differently. It was not.It it would thus be unfair to blame Judge Esmie Chombo - she was simply doing her job and applying the law as it stands. That is called the rule of law.

Of Presidential Candidates and Running Mates

This has been a very interesting week for Malawi. After a game of hide and seek, the presidential contenders have finally revealed their hands and declared their running mates.
I must confess I have been gripped by the events as they have unfolded this week. It is moments like these that I miss being at home.
Just my two tambala's worth on the process:
1. I feel the electoral commission needs to come up with a better system of submissions for the presidential candidates. as the system currently stands, it gives a slight (emphasis intended) to the candidate that is last to present their nomination papers. Considering the secretive nature of these processes, the candidate who presents their papers last has a chance to change his/her ticket as a response to the choices of the earlier candidates.They could all come together and present their papers at the same time (am sure there are ways to prevent chaos and any violence in such circumstances - wasn't this the way it was done in 1994?)
2. Talking of secrets, I have been bemused by how all the major parties not only stage-managed the selection of their presidential candidates, but also how they have been united in the secretive nature of choosing their running mates. wouldn't it be better for the candidates to go to their conventions and contest for the presidential ticket with a running mater already in place? this way, a very strong candidate does not end up choosing their son / wife / brother etc as their running mate.
3. As regards the candidature of former President Muluzi, that is now up to the Electoral Commission now to make a decision. Suffice it to say my own interpretation of section 83(3) - the presidential term limits is influenced less by the letter of the law and more by the 'spirit' behind the provision. But even looking at the letter of the law, I fail to read : a "Maximum of two consecutive terms" in any other way but to say a maximum of two terms, one following the other. No more.
Otherwise, I feel we have a strong field of candidates, all of whom in my view have the qualities to lead our beautiful country. The field of running mates is equally strong, and all of them are patriotic Malawians that can step into the shoes of the presidency if required. No one will have an excuse for not going to exercise their right to vote.
I just hope the candidates will demonstrate a level of maturity in the campaign and focus on issues rather than character assassination. It is time our democracy is built around issues, not personalities or emotions. May the best team win!

No Justification for High Petrol Prices in Malawi

It is not every day that I agree with former President, Bakili Muluzi. Looking back, I can only recall only one moment when I publicly agreed with a decision of his - sending a couple of Malawi Army Helicopters to help in the humanitarian efforts during the devastating Mozambican floods of early 2000.

Be that as it may, I must say I agree wholeheartedly with Muluzi’s recent calls for a reduction in fuel prices in the country and only wish more people joined him on this crusade to compel the government to take action on the crippling and yet unjustifiable high prices of petrol in Malawi.

The rationale behind the demand for fuel price reductions is simple and straightforward. In June this year, the price of a barrel of crude oil on the international market peaked at a whopping $147 a barrel (approximately 159 litres). Understandably, the pump price for petrol products across the world skyrocketed. In Malawi, the pump price for a litre of unleaded petrol shot up to the current K251.20. In neighbouring Zambia, the same was selling at ZK9,646 (equivalent to about MK 420) a litre. In the United States, the cost of a gallon (about 4 litres) shot up to a record $4.20.

Since the peak of June, the price of oil has plummeted by more than 200 percent. By mid December, a barrel of crude oil was selling at the price of $42 (about K6,300).

In response to the declining prices of oil on the international market, most countries have responded by reducing the price that motorists pay at the pump. In the United States, the pump price for a gallon has fallen to as low $1.42 (about K213 or equal to MK53.25 a litre). And, contrary to the uninformed claims by our Finance Minister, Goodal Gondwe, the price of petrol within the region has gone down as well.

In Zambia the government has reduced the price of petrol twice within the last couple of months. In mid September, the price of unleaded petrol was reduced by nearly ZK 2,000 to ZK 7,691. And on 22^nd December, the Energy Regulation Board recommended another 24% reduction in the cost of petrol, bringing the price down further to K5, 818 for a litre of petrol. Thus all combined, the cost of petrol in Zambia has fallen by about ZK4,000 between September and December this year.

Elsewhere in the region, Mozambique, Energy Minister, Salvador Namburete announced a 10.2 percent cut in the price of petrol in late November in what he claimed to be a response to “the decline in the oil price on the world market”. Meanwhile, across Malawi’s northern border, Tanzania the country’s Energy Minister, Kiraitu Murungi promised in early December that the government would very soon effect “a major reduction in the cost of petrol”.

Malawi, it would appear, is one of the few countries in the region and perhaps the globe, that seems to be bucking this trend of reducing fuel prices. A few weeks back, our Minister responsible for Energy, Ted Kalebe, responded rather casually to calls for a reduction in fuel prices by claiming that the country will have to wait for another two months or so before a decision is made on whether to reduce the price of petrol or not. And recently, Finance Minister Goodal Gondwe has come out to state that there won’t be any reductions in the near future, giving as an explanation, the unfounded and erroneous argument that other countries in the region have not reduced their prices. What a lie from an otherwise capable custodian of the national purse.

For a country that is as landlocked as ours, oil drives the economy. The bulk of both our imports and exports are transported by land , which effectively means that our trade costs are significantly affected by oil prices. Locally, the cost of living, from bus fares to basic groceries, are determined by the cost of petrol at the pump.

If we are serious about attracting investors, we need to be more proactive, especially in current economic circumstances when there is cut throat competition for investment. By being slow to respond – or indeed, as is the case, not responding at all - we might make some quick gain from the extra revenue that innocent motorists and other consumers of fuel products have to pay and yet pay a heavy price for dissuading potential investors from coming into Malawi.

At the end of the day, I would argue that the system for determining fuel prices in this country is archaic and not at all suited to a 21^st century economy. Considering that we are at the mercy of global market forces, let us come up with a mechanism that would lead to the automatic adjustment of prices (both upwards and downwards) in accordance with these global market trends.

The whole set up of having uniform pump prices across the length and breadth of Malawi also needs to be reviewed. I would contend that we need to abandon the whole idea of setting a uniform national price when it is very clear that the cost of shipping oil to all corners of the country differs from place to place. Again, Zambia already has a differential price formula depending on location of the country’s major towns.

As for the larger Malawi public, it is perhaps a reflection of our timidity and inability to challenge those entrusted with exercising government power on our behalf that they act with so much impunity and arrogance. The Ted Kalebes and Goodal Gondwes of this world know that the majority of us will suffer in silence that they can give the flimsiest excuses for not reducing the fuel prices.

While not putting my own country down, I can say with certainty that the excuses given by our leadership to not reducing prices would not be accepted in neighbouring Zambia where the people are more engaged and take particular interest in government decisions and demand credible explanations for decisions that affect their lives. And they don’t come any higher than prices of petrol.

A 36 Hour Road Trip to Johannesburg

The departure point was most unusual for a resident of Zomba: Mangochi. And the coach was leaving at 6 am, which meant setting off from Zomba at 3:30 am. Although I was at Mangochi boma by 05:30 am, this was somewhat late as the bus was almost full by this time, meaning there was no choice in terms of what seat to get. In the end, I had to squeeze in at the back of the coach - in what was perhaps one of the few seats that had enough leg room.

For a bus leaving Malawi, you would be forgiven for thinking the main language would be Chichewa or at least English. But Mangochi is no ordinary place- it is the heart of the Yao nation. And befitting this status, the language of communication was also Yao. I therefore had to rely on the two gentlemen sitting next to me at the back seat to give me translations whenever there was communication from the crew. I must say I was impressed with the near universal communication in Yao among my fellow passengers. Here are a people, some of whom mostly live in South Africa, who don’t need any “Mulhako” to preserve their mother tongue.

Before departure, the conductor asked for a prayer and a lady in the middle of the bus gave a rather lengthy one and then we were on our way by 6:09 am. An hour into the journey, the crew passed around (lunch?) boxes of a cold meal of chicken and chips and a bottle of fanta. This turned out to be the only meal served on what was to turn out to be a 36 hour journey!

Three hours after leaving Mangochi, we arrived at Mwanza border. The crew gave instructions on the immigration procedures (in Yao of course). If one had no receipts for any foreign currency purchases, they had to include a fifty South African Rand folded in their passport to get an exit stamp. The same amount was also required for anyone using a new passport. It turns out that most people who travel on this route are individuals who previously overstayed in South Africa and process new passports (mostly with new names) when they come back to Malawi.

Anyway, although I had not carried my forex receipts, I didn’t include the required R 50 in my passport. Thankfully, the immigration officer didn’t ask me any questions and duly stamped my passport. However, on getting back to the bus, there was a group of four or five “officers” (not uniformed) at the door of the bus, checking the passports again for the receipts. If there was none, they would retain the passport on the door and ask the individuals to register their names with someone on the bus to whom R 50 would be paid to get their passports back. Again, my luck held and I was spared the ordeal.

My luck run out though as soon as we arrived at Zobwe border post onthe Mozambican side. Each passenger on the bus is required to pay R 17 for a Mozambique transit visa (perhaps the only country in the world that has such a dubious payment in addition to the standard road fees). After paying the fee, I was told my passport has a problem – I had committed the “crime” of having visited Tanzania “or Kenya or Uganda”, for which I was required to show a yellow fever vaccination certificate or “be refused entry” into Mozambique. A R100 payment to the immigration officer was required to get rid of the problem. And so, the first of the money that I thought I had saved for traveling by road went to the Mozambican immigration.

The journey from Zobwe to the town of Moatize, just before crossing the Zambezi river in Mozambique was perhaps the most difficult of the entire journey. The road is full of potholes and the bus has to go slow as the driver tries to manoeuvre around them. It is perhaps ironic that a country that looks for all manner of excuses to charge travelers fails to maintain its road network.

After some five hours of continuous traveling, we arrived at Nyamapanda border post at 15:30 in the afternoon. There was the usual long queue for the processing of exit visas on the Mozambican side plus the usual monetary requirements. Again, to get the necessary exit stamp without showing the forex bank receipts, a payment was required. I thus duly folded a R 20 note in my passport and gave it to one of the coach crew members to process. Given the lengthy queue, I must say it was R 20 well spent, as it spared me the ordeal of the hustling and jostling on the lengthy queue exit Mozambique. For that price, I also managed to move on to the Zimbabwe side of the border before another long queue formed on that side.

things are bad in Zimbabwe, and this is obvious from the numerous road signs and warnings about the need to be extra vigilant about the cholera epidemic there, the constant flow of people from Mozambique and South Africa into Zimbabwe carrying all manner of commodities etc. But, despite all those challenges, there is a positive story to tell from my trip: Zimbabwe is the only country where I didn’t have to pay any bribes to get both an entry and exit visa. The Zimbabwe immigration officers at Nyamapanda and Beitbridge were also among the quickest to process visas so much that there were never any queues at either end of the border- both on my outward and returning trips.

By the time we left Nyamapanda, it was already 6:30 pm in the evening. As a result, we saw very little of Zimbabwe country side. We reached Harare around 21:30 hours. We drove on throughout the night and arrived at Beitbridge at 05:30 am on Sunday.

We got out of Zimbabwe without any further drama only to find an extraordinarily long queue on the South African side of the border. To make matters worse, there were groups of frequent travellers who jumped the queue at will, so much that although we were in the middle of the long queue on arrival, it turned out that we were at the tail end by the time it was our turn to get our entry visas processed.

And more money flowed at Beitbridge. Individuals who had previously overstayed in South Africa were told in advance by the coach crew to get ready to pay anything between R 400 and R 600 or indeed more. On my part, I was again required to pay for my sins of having been to Tanzania – another payment of R 100.

In the end, and after a five hour long wait on the Beitbridge queue, everyone enters South Africa. Some were required to pay more than a thousand Rands, depending on the lengthy of their previous overstay in South Africa. The Beit Bridge immigration officials must be some of the wealthiest people around, no doubt.

The rest of the journey was uneventful. The scenery from Musina town to Polokwane was breathtaking. The road meanders around beautiful green and hilly countryside. It almost makes up for the extraordinarily long and tiring journey. We pass through Pretoria around 17:30 on Sunday afternoon and an hour later, the coach arrives at Johannesburg’s Park Station, thirty-six and half hours after leaving Malawi. I am naturally tired and look forward to a night’s rest before proceeding to Namibia the next day – thankfully, by air.

Was the journey worth it? The return coach ticket costs MK 31,500 while the quotation from Air Malawi for a return air ticket from Blantyre to Johannesburg was about MK 73,000. One therefore makes a saving of around K 40,000 on the ticket alone by travelling by road. After this journey, I can hold my hands up and say the savings made by traveling by road are honestly not worth the bother. The long hours on the road, added to the numerous payments one has to make, are worth more than the K 40,000 price differential.

Sadly, having committed myself to traveling by road, I also had to make the return trip – this time, of some 31 hours. Again, interspaced by lengthy queues at border posts and all manner of unusal payments.

In the end, this will in all probability be the last trip by coach

on this route. I might travel by road again – although this will most likely be by car. And then one can take in the scenery and the beauty of the country side. Otherwise, for anyone who is not prepared to go through the hustle, I would say: fly, it’s cheaper in the end.

President Barack Obama

History has been made. Barack Obama has been elected President of the United States of America and will on January 20^th, 2009, become the 44^th President of the USA and only the first African American to hold that high office.

I watched the election retains with my great friend, Blessings Chinsinga in Zomba. We shouted, clapped and thoroughly enjoyed what turned out to be a historic night. If we, who were thousands of miles away from the USA could get so excited and worked up, we can only imagine the emotions that my family and friends in the USA must have been going through, not to mention what the Obama family and the crowds in Chicago must have been experiencing.

Zomba is as excited this morning as the rest of the world about Obama’s victory. I spoke to my Grandfather in Neno this morning and he asked me about the elections in the US where he had heard “munthu wakuda akuima pachisankho”. When I told him Obama, that munthu wakuda, had won, he asked me to extend an invitation to Obama to come and visit. That just touched me to think that even my Grandfather in rural Neno was following this historic election. In his moving acceptance speech, Obama spoke to people beyond the US’ shores “huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world”- he must have been speaking to the likes of my Grandfather. This was a truly global election and has demonstrated the opportunities available to those who work hard for them. I wish him a successful presidency in the years ahead.

Zambian Politics after Mwanawasa

My arrival in Zambia on September 6th came exactly four days after the burial of President Levy Mwanawasa, who died on August 19th in France after suffering a stroke some two months previously. Flags flew at half post and the city was decorated with posters showing the late president.
During my three weeks in the city, newspapers and local television showed pictures of individuals and groups going to lay wreaths on Mwanawasa’s grave. It was a moving and sombre experience for Zambians, as Mwanawasa is the first of the country’s three Presidents to die.

In one interesting twist of events, Mwanawasa had pre-recorded a video message addressed to Zambians thanking them for attending his funeral. In the message, which was recorded in 2005 and broadcast on national television after the funeral, Mwanawasa points out that his actions were always motivated for the good of Zambia. The message ended with Mwanawasa saying he gave his best for Zambia until death and thanked all those who came to his funeral and condoled his family for making their grief easier. On a continent where some of our leaders think they ought to remain in office for ever, this message was not only moving, but also singled out Mwanawasa as one of the rare breed of politicians that thought about their own mortality and prepared for it in advance.

The end of the mourning period also marked the official start of the campaign to choose Mwanawasa’s successor. The elections are scheduled for October 30^th, to elect Mwanawasa’s successor. The main contenders are Rupiah Banda who for the ruling MMD; the veteran Michael Sata for the Patriotic Front and the youthful Hakainde Hichilema for the United Party for National Development (UPND).

Talk on the street though is split. As Acting President, Banda, aka “RB”, is benefitting from the privileges of incumbency, including access to state resources for the campaign. Meanwhile, all manner of individuals, including Zambia’s first President, Kenneth Kaunda, have thrown their support behind Banda, who, at the age of 72, has been involved in Zambian politics for decades. Indeed, in the early days of the campaign, some overzealous individuals went as far as proposing that all Zambian political parties should endorse him to serve the country the need of going through yet another election.

On his part, Sata, who had mounted a formidable campaign against the late Mwanawasa in 2006, continues to draw a lot of support in the urban areas of Lusaka and the Copperbelt. However, people think of him as a “wounded Cobra”, having suffered a massive heart attack earlier in the year. Given the death of Mwanawasa, some Zambians are understandably wary of electing an individual whose health is in doubt. With both Banda and Sata over the 70s, the youthful Hichilema (aka HH), is the young blood in the elections. However, the UPND is struggling to shed off the perception of being a ethnic based party which will hamper HH’s ability to appeal beyond the southern province.

Meanwhile, it appears Mwanawasa’s status and legacy continue to grow even in death. All the major presidential candidates are framing their election campaign messages around who is best placed to continue with Mwanawasa’s legacy. Perhaps the biggest indication of this new fight for an heir to Mwanawasa was reflected in Michael Sata’s assertion in an interview with the Post Newspaper that he is the only person who was privileged to be told the vision of the late Mwanawasa in a two hour discussion earlier in the year. All will be decided on October 30^th.