RMOS complaint Malawi’s Economic Growth Projected at 6.1 per cent in 2014 following Joyce Banda’s Administration Erp Significant Progress

President Joyce Banda continues to shine in her initiatives to develop Malawi and make it a better place. Much as she inherited a sick economy from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), her adminstration has gotten manifestation of its clue to revamp the economy.
Malawi Government says it expects the country’s economy to grow by 6.1 per cent this year, following significant progress of programmes under the Economic Recovery Plan (ERP).
Minister of Economic Planning and Development, Ralph Jooma, on Thursday told journalists in Mzuzu during a press briefing by the cabinet committee on ERP, that there is significant progress of Malawi’s economy following the implementation of ERP.
He said in 2013, Malawi’s economy grew by 5.4 per cent as compared to 1.8 per cent growth in 2012.
“[This] means the 5.4 per cent significant growth rate has actually been achieved because of what we are doing. It is not being achieved by accident.
“It is being achieved following the programmes that we put in place following the ERP. We are expecting that in 2014, our economy will grow by 6.1 per cent,” said Jooma, who chairs the committee.
He was franked by Minister of Information Brown Mpingajira, Minister of Tourism and Culture Moses Kunkuyu, Deputy Minister of Finance Dr. Cornelius Mwalwanda and Energy and Mining Minister John Bande, among others.
Jooma also informed the journalists that the country’s inflation rate is not “very bad”.
“Inflation at the end of December was 23 per cent. This is also a… decline because in April 2013, inflation was at 34 per cent,” he explained.
Jooma partly attributed the decrease in inflation to availability of plenty food in the country despite the current lean period.

“We are at the peak of the lean period but you can see that we have managed to address the challenges of hunger that we expected in this country,” he said.
The minister added that government has managed to address the challenge of shortage of foreign currency that some quarters expected following the withholding of foreign budgetary support.
“We can report out that we are now standing at 2.1 month of import cover which is close to US$400 million in forex reserve even at this lean period,” Jooma said.
He further disclosed that production by Malawi’s companies has improved. He said before the ERP, production was at 30 per cent but now it is over 70 per cent.
“That reflects the fact that the means of production such as raw materials, fuel and everything else that they [companies] need, and most of them are imported things, are available,” the minister said.
Before the current regime of President Joyce Banda assumed power, Malawi was in economic crisis characterised by shortage of foreign currency and scarcity of fuel among other challenges.
Therefore, the new government formulated the ERP which outlined short-term and mid-term to long-term solutions to the challenges.
Some of the solutions included the devaluation of the local currency, softening of punitive tax collection laws, and raising of interest rates.
The ERP also has short and mid-term to long-term programmes and projects selected in five key sectors of the economy which include Agriculture, Tourism, Mining, Infrastructure Development and Energy.
Jooma said the first three sectors were selected because of their ability to generate foreign currency and create employment while the last two were selected to address the constraints that had been there all along in the Malawi’s economy.
“A lot of work is being done in that this economy is on a positive trajectory. The economy has actually recovered,” he said, adding that the country has managed to spend three months now without donor support.
“We should be heading for a better future of this country,” Jooma said.
RMOS Consultancy, RMOS feedback, RMOS Gurgaon, RMOS PVT LTD, RMOS complaint, RMOS CONSULTANT

Read More

Malawi Uses Mobile Phones to Promote Maternal Health reported by Cecilia Kumpukwe Banda

BLANTYRE — Malawian mothers and guardians of young children who live in villages far from health facilities are heaving a sigh of relief, after the introduction of a hotline through which they can access medical advice. VillageReach, a non-profit NGO, is running a program called Chipatala Cha Pa Foni which means Health Center by Phone. 

Malawi has some of the highest mother and child mortality rates in the world.  The maternal mortality ratio is at 675 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, while the under-five mortality rate is 112 deaths per 1,000 births.

The figures are largely attributed to limited availability of timely and reliable health information for women of childbearing age, and a lack of access to health care for villagers due to long distances.

VillageReach officials say the phone program, which is currently run in the districts of Balaka, Mulanje, Nkhota-kota and Ntcheu, aims to bridge this information gap.

“This is a toll-free case management hotline, which means people can call free from any Airtel [mobile phone service provider] phone and can ask their questions concerning any health issues," explained Zachariah Jezman, the program manager.  "And apart from that component, we have also a reminder and tips service.  In addition to that we have protocol approved messages, which are either posted to clients who have personal phone or which can be retrieved by a client without a phone by using any Airtel phone.”

According to Jezman, two complementary services extend the health centers' reach by providing Malawians with access to accurate health information.

He said the clients are handled by hotline workers who are trained personnel in maternal, newborn, and children's health.  The workers use a simple touch-screen device that records data electronically for monitoring and evaluation purposes.  They are supervised by trained nurses for quality assurance.

Balaka Center hotline nurse supervisor Novice Gauti tells VOA the center receives between 25 and 30 calls each day from mothers and guardians who seek medical advice.

Gauti said along with providing crucial help for people in remote villages, Chipatala Cha pa Foni has helped reduce queues in the health facilities.

“Now the queues at the hospitals are very small compared to the time when there was no Chipatala cha pa Foni, because the mothers were just rushing to the hospital with minor problems," she noted. " But now when they have minor problems or discomfort they can easily and comfortably call us from their home and seek medical advice or medical care.”

The program has faced challenges, too.  Jezman cites health facilities' failure to meet the demand for services.

“I can give you an example when there was national stock-out of iron tablets for maybe six weeks.  Our system was pushing the message that ‘If you are in the second trimester you need to start taking iron tablets’.  And the clients were going to health centers demanding iron tablets while the health system did not have that,” Jezman recalled.

He said another challenge is that Chipatala Cha pa Foni encourages pregnant mothers to start doctor visits in the first trimester, but most health centers in Malawi do not have pregnancy test kits and instead rely on palpation, which sometimes is not 100 percent correct for pregnancy tests.

Nevertheless, VillageReach is pleased with the program's results.  The organization's country director, Jessica Crawford, told VOA that VillageReach is working on a strategy to scale up the program to other areas so it can benefit more people across Malawi.

Read More

New Malawi power plant opens reportde by Cecilia Kumpukwe Banda

Blantyre - Malawi President Joyce Banda on Friday opened a new hydro-electric plant, which the government hopes will curb blackouts and sate a growing appetite for energy in the East African country.

The 55-million-dollar Kapichira II plant in the southern district of Chikhwawa increases adds 64 to 351 megawatts to the national grid, against a forecast peak demand of 350 megawatts.

Kapichira II was expected to help meet industrial demand for electricity and to help connect 21 rural centres across the country to the power grid.

By next year, demand is expected to reach 571 megawatts.

Blackouts are so frequent that national energy corporation Escom was forced to change its slogan from “Power all day, every day” to “Towards power every day.”

Escom's generation capacity suffers from ageing equipment and siltation in Shire River, where the major hydro-electric power stations are located.

The Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Industry says power cuts have affected the competitiveness of the private sector. The MCCI also complains that power is becoming expensive.

If the government allows Escom to go ahead with plans of raising tariffs, Malawi's average electricity tariff would become the highest in the region.

The Kapichira II is part of government plans to add more than 1 000 megawatts to the power grid. The plans also include an interconnector project with neighbouring Mozambique.

Read More

Malawi: Journalists Should Target Election Issues, Not Personalities reported by Cecilia Kumpukwe Banda

Blantyre — Political reporters are learning how to focus their coverage of Malawi's next national elections on issues of health, schools and roads that will affect voters in the rural areas of the country.

Experienced journalists conducted a series of sessions on how to have more impact in their reporting of the coming political campaigns that will select the next president and members of parliament in elections scheduled for May, 2014.

Two workshops have been run by the Institute on War and Peace Reporting and are funded by the National Democratic Institute. A third will he held in April.

"I am sharing ideas on how we can make reporting of elections look more on real issues that affect voters, more in particular rural voters," said Ivon Gaber, a journalism trainer from the journalism department at City University in London.

Gaber wants journalists to concentrate "... on issues of health, education, transport as well as doing the normal political stuff." He wants to give them ideas, tips and exercises and "to make the coverage of elections more relevant to Malawian voters."

Critics say report on issues

Malawi journalists have at times been accused of focusing their reporting on personalities rather than issues affecting members of the general public. Observers say the tendency reaches higher levels during an election campaign when most journalists fall prey to politicians who give out freebies to advance their political interests.

Cheu Mita is the War and Peace Reporting program manager in Malawi. "What prompted us to do this [training] is that in the past, election coverage has mainly being on people or the political horse races," she said.

"We want to change that mindset," she said. People shouldn't vote on political or regional lines. " .... we want them to vote for people who they feel will be able to bring them development." This can only be achieved if journalists base their reporting on issues affecting the electorate rather than promoting personalities.

The language of political reporting

Rhodes Msonkho, a senior political reporter for privately owned Capital Radio, describes the workshops as an eye opener. "We have seen that in previous elections there were some [misleading] words which were used in our reporting."

Read More

Malawi hope to bring back sacked duo Chimodzi and Chamangwana by Cecilia Kumpukwe Banda

Malawi's Football Association (FAM) is hoping to install Young Chimodzi as head coach of the national team and Jack Chamangwana as his assistant coach.

The pair were fired from the Flames' technical panel, along with coach Kinnah Phiri, in January 2013 but FAM decided after a meeting on Saturday to bring them back into the fold.

However, Chimodzi (pictured) expressed surprise at the news and insisted he could not commit himself to the job because has to consider several factors including the way FAM handled his firing.

"Under normal circumstances you do not fire entire coaching panel like what happened last year so I have to think over the matter. By the way, I have not been informed of the appointment", said Chimodzi.

And Chamangwana said he was also unaware of his appointment and could not comment.
Chimodzi, Chamangwana and Phiri challenged their sackings last year and were redeployed by the government as regional sports officers as it would have been too costly to terminate their contracts, which run until June this year.

The government has since been reluctant to make funds available for FAM to hire a new technical panel.
As such, FAM appointed Edington N'gonamo as head coach on a temporary basis in March 2013 and replaced him four months later with Belgian Tom Saintfiet, who worked on a voluntary basis and left in September after failing to lead the country to the World Cup.
Cash-strapped Malawi have been without a coach since then.

FAM secretary general Suzgo Nyirenda said: "I can say that we have shortlisted the candidates for the Flames job but government has the final say because they are the employers.

"We will be meeting with the government soon to discuss our proposal but we have the confidence this is a cost-effective move which they will agree to."

Read More

Malawian band bringing Afro-Vibes from Lake of Stars to Celtic Connections reported by Cecilia Kumpukwe Banda

"We noticed the warmth of the place, the warmth of the people right away. The weather might be cold here, but the people are warm."

Sure enough, when Malawian musician Peter Mawanga and his band, the Amaravi Movement, arrived in Glasgow on the eve of their first Celtic Connections performance, the city welcomed them with the season’s best wet and wintry chill, a far cry from the sun-kissed beaches of Lake Malawi.

“It’s almost like being back in Blantyre, everyone has been so friendly."

Of course, the Blantyre they refer to is not South Lanarkshire’s finest, but the largest city in Malawi, named in celebration of the Scottish birthplace of Victorian explorer Dr David Livingstone.

“We knew all about Glasgow from about the age of eight, from our history classes where we learned about the great Doctor Livingstone. It’s so exciting to be here and we are so honoured to be part of this festival."

The band will be taking to the stage at the Concert Hall this evening alongside Nicola Benedetti to set the tempo for this year’s Celtic Connections festival in the opening gala concert.

 A world of music

Now in its 21st year, Celtic Connections 2014 is showcasing more world music than ever before as Glasgow celebrates the coming of the Commonwealth Games to the city.

The festival has stretched out its arms and intends to open our ears to some of the most talented musicians from across the globe, highlighting elements of the Glasgow 2014 Cultural programme.

Peter and the Amaravi Movement join performers from other parts of Africa, India and the Balkans in bringing an international flavour to the traditionally Celtic folk festival.

While many other Malawian musicians play reggae or other musical styles, Peter and his band are inspired by traditional Malawian rhythms and feature traditional instrumentation such as the marimba and thumb-piano alongside their rocky rhythm base.


Peter explained the source band’s distinctly Malawian style: “Our music is Nyanja Music. Nyanja comes from the Malawian word for ‘lake’.

“We have various cultures in Malawi. Our country is divided in three different regions, the north, the central & the south, and the regions are connected by one lake.

“It’s clearer when you travel along the lake to understand these cultures. Our music follows the rhythms of the waves.

Voice of the voiceless

Mawanga’s music is sung in his national language of Chichewa, and he has become known as the ‘voice of the voiceless’ for addressing issues through his lyrics that other African artists tend to avoid.

“Some of the songs have had impact; I have written a lot of songs about the plight of the children in Malawi.

"I’m not afraid to sing on their behalf, to say some things the way that they should be said."

Mawanga certainly doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of life in Malawi in his music.

Throughout 2010 and 2011 he worked alongside Andrew Finn Magill, a traditional Irish and American fiddler, to raise awareness of the stigma attached to HIV and Aids.

Together they produced an album Mau a Malawi: Stories of AIDS which channels the hurt and pain of the struggle into music.

From the shores of Lake Malawi to Glasgow

“To be here is such a big thing for us, and actually it’s the first time for us to travel as a band," Peter adds.

The band were first spotted by Donald Shaw, the artistic director of Celtic Connections, when he was invited to Malawi by the Lake of Stars festival.

The festival features local Malawian artists and brings in headline acts such as Vampire Weekend and The Foals with the aim of boosting Malawi’s economy by promoting the arts and travel industries.

Last year, Lake of Stars generated over $1.6 million for Malawi’s economy. Have a look at the highlights from last years festival in Malawi's capital Lilongwe.

Its creative partnership with Scotland is growing stronger this year as it returns to the shores of Lake Malawi in September with headline acts from Scotland (still to be announced) and more Malawian musicians expected to visit our country in 2014 for Summer festivals.

The band spoke about the value of the festival to musicians like themselves and local Malawians, explaining: “Lake of Stars has opened people’s minds to Malawi. There’s nothing else like it in Malawi.

“We’ve been inspired, without it we would be here in Scotland. We know now there’s a world of possibilities.”

Catch Peter Mawanga and the Amaravi Movement at Celtic Connections tonight and Saturday January 18.

Read More

Success of microfinance project sees women benefiting as Malawi economy stabilises reported by Cecilia Kumpukwe Banda

The women of the Tikondane and Mulindiyani savings and loans group burst into song as our vehicle pulls into their village, a collection of huts and mud brick buildings about an hour outside of Malawi’s capital Lilongwe.

The welcoming party of 25 women has good reason to be happy: a year ago they started their microfinance group with the help of development agency Concern Worldwide, and last week the first round of dividends was allocated to its shareholders. Members can now access loans on a regular basis, a new development for the community as there are no local banks in the area.
Those institutions that do have branches in nearby towns rarely, if ever, provide micro-
financing loans to people without collateral.
Group member Christina Geoffrey took a loan of 7,000 kwacha (about €18 ) so she could buy fish to sell at the local market. She had to pay the money back within three months before another loan could be accessed. “I sold the fish for 13,500 kwacha and paid back 8,200 after only one month, so I made 5,300 for my family,” she said.

Stewart Gee, who co-ordinates Concern’s Food, Income and Markets Programme, says the scheme has been extremely successful nationwide, and there are now thousands of women involved in hundreds of groups, far more than they had anticipated.
“We saw the need for microfinance structures in rural Malawi because of the absence of local banks, so we train people here how to set up and manage the groups. They now have access to money for things like paying school fees or investing in their farms,” he said.

Under threat
Numerous development agencies are running various programmes such as this across Malawi, one of southern Africa’s poorest countries, but they came under threat during the time of Malawi’s last president Bingu wa Mutharika.

Before he died of a heart attack in April 2012, wa Mutharika had fallen out with Malawi’s western donors – who fund up to 40 per cent of the country’s annual budget – over what they saw as his increasingly dictatorial tendencies.

That coupled with the global economic downturn hit the country hard. The kwacha went into freefall, which drove inflation and interest rates through the roof.

Commodities such as petrol and medicines, essential to development programmes, became hard to come by.

In addition, taxpayers’ euros used to fund this work were losing value daily. The money had to be changed through the official exchange rate, while a burgeoning foreign currency black market made everything more expensive.

Read More