Some Development Issues and Debates

I have just heard that JZU and many of his critics have agreed to reconcile and this will be followed by JZU's announcement of his retirement. This will then be followed by a convention where the MCP will elect its members in a manner that will not only make the MCP a strong party once again, but a trully reformed party for the nation too. It sounded too good to be true, but they say it is true. Is this good for you or for the nation?

Realities seem too different from what we desire and this forms the real genesis for frustration. We r often too frustrated and at times, we even start considering the bibilical story of Job. Should one be happy to be a Job of today? What real incentive can one have to rejoice when he feels that he is Jobised? What really an explain the myth of success?

What are the pros and cons of nuclear energy for Nyasaland? Is it an option in the medium to LR, especially considering its landlocked nature and the drying rivers (hence dwindling reliability of hydro-energy)? Despite being a peaceful nation, it's trivial to note that Nyasaland's erratic energy sources puts a bar on serious investors. Could nuclear energy be i(u)nfeasible or harmful?

Transparency International has released the 2009 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and Malawi seems to be doing fine relative to last year's scores. See http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2004 The trend in CPI ranking and the scores for Malawi are graphed below, by year Cheers The bottom line is that we are not too bad, are we?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ThIfnemg4g

The 19 May 2009 arrives, Malawians vote for leaders of their choice. The outcomes are such that 67 % choose Bingu wa Mutharika, 32 % choose John Tembo and one percent chose to vote for the others. Conspicuous in the vote pattern are the following facts -the Southern voters generally vote massively for the southerner Bingu wa Mutharika although the Machinga and Mangochi districts choose MCP markedly, for the first time since the dawn of democracy. -the central region splits the vote between Bingu and Tembo –the first time that the central region has markedly backed a non-central candidate since the birth of democracy - The northern region votes wholly for Bingu wa Mutharika and does so more than any other region, in per cent terms. Ultimately, the South gives Bingu 48 % of his vote, the centre gives him 32 % of his vote, while the north gives him 20 % of his vote. He has won, the opposition is defeated , this time massively. Bingu is sworn in and organises a tour to thank voters. He cal...

To be humble to superiors is duty, to equals courtesy, to inferiors nobleness. Benjamin Franklin

Ask not, what God can do for you, but ask what you can do for God

The master economist must possess a rare combination of gifts. He must reach a high standard in several directions and must combine talents not often found together. He must be a mathematician, a historian, a statesman and a philosopher in some degree. He must study the present in light of the past for the purpose of the future. J. M Keynes

I am very happy to learn that Hon JZU has deemed it wise to pave way for new blood in 2014. There is no sin that is never cleansed, and if we thought he was going to cling to power and leave a divided MCP, and hence a politically insecure Malawi, we were wrong. He has once again proved that he is a changed man, who, even though led the MCP to a massive defeat by the ruling DPP, realises that the nation must come first in his decisions. A democratic system with a weak opposition, lacks the much needed checks and balances, constructive criticism of government undertakings, and is as good as ‘dynamically dead’. Hon JZU’s decision on this issue is wise and is in line with democracy consolidation and equitable distribution of opportunities, development and many other things in the country. He deserves honour! Viva democracy. Viva Malawi.

'There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction ....that he must take himself for better for worse as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till', Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1841

He was a marvel of nature, a God's gift to the world and indeed a King of pop. For me, Michael Jackson goes into history as the greatest pop star of all time. He brought to this world, talent, originality, and his success in his heydays, brought to question, the notion that people of his colour and/or social status at the time were only hewers of wood and drawers of water, with neither talent nor inherent ability to propel themselves into careers worth discussing! May his soul rest in eternal peace Mfumusaka (GC Matchaya)

December 09, 2008 04:55 AM (as it appeared on nyasatimes) By Greenwell Matchaya Just like any other individual in the global economy, I crave to understand the meaning of the financial turmoil hitting the developed countries, for the developing world including Malawi. In this post I will say something briefly about it. To do this, I will make some assumptions about the predominantly Western economic downturn in the short, medium and long term. As a point of departure, let's assume that the downturn will continue to trouble Western countries for sometime considering that part of its life span is hidden in whether consumers will soon regain confidence in the financial markets or not, then one would argue that for countries like Malawi, the short-run is less troubling because Malawi does not have a vibrant financial market and the Malawian economy is only indirectly and perhaps remotely related to it. Malawi's economy is also not driven by the housing market, whose collaps...

GC Matchaya One month after the Malawian people from all parts of the country gave the DPP a mammoth vote in the presidential and parliamentary elections, the DPP top brass has now released this year’s names of men and women who will head ministries as the president endeavours to forge ahead with development goals for the nation. The just-gone elections were unique and memorable with regard to the voting pattern that ensued and the absence of serious voting irregularities as such, people had unique expectations regarding the composition of the cabinet that was to follow. The cabinet has many new faces and some old faces have lost their posts which is normal. At present we do not have the CVs of the appointed ministers and we will postpone any serious and specific comments about expected performance of individual ministers to a later time. The cross-regional or district distribution of the ministers which people are implicitly or explicitly alluding to in their deliberations on issues o...

GC Matchaya we will comment on it later, but it seems promisory to me! Size PORTFOLIO June 15, 2009 1. President Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika 1. Vice President Joyce Banda (Mrs) 1. Agriculture and Food Security Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika 1. Agriculture and Food Security(Deputy) Magret Roka-Mauwa(Ms.) 1. Finance Mr. Ken Kandodo 1. Finance(Deputy) Mr. Fraser Nkhoma Nihora 1. Foreign Affairs Dr. Eta Elizabeth Banda 1. Foreign Affairs (Deputy) Augustine Mtendere 1. Education Dr George Chaponda 1. Higher education, Science and Technology (Deputy) Otilia Moyo-Jere (Ms) 1. Primary Education (Deputy) Victor Sajeni 1. Development Planning and Cooperation Abi Marambika Shawa 1. Development Planning and Cooperation (Deputy) Daniel Siwimbi 1. Transport and Works Khumbo Kachali 1. Transport and Works (Deputy) Lazaro Kasaila 1. Justice Dr. Peter Mutharika 1. Irrigation Ritchie Bizwick Muyewa 1. Irrig...

GC Matchaya I may not claim to have a lasting answer to this question however given the silence I will try to give my sketch of ideas on this as follows. The concerns about the Mw Kwacha being held at some fixed but high level surely spring from many angles but possibly the most useful one for most of us is the effect of such an exchange rate regime on the Malawi’s national accounts analysed in the context of a nation that has more on its table (projects etc requiring increased government spending) to deliver. As appoint of departure therefore it might be important to recap the basic major components of the two major accounts that may be impacted by the exchange rate regime more directly and these are the current account here proxied by the trade balance (value of exports-value of imports) and the capital account proxied by the value of capital inflows into Malawi minus the value of capital outflows to other countries. Now remember again that under a market determined exchange rate, th...

The Republic of Malawi held its fourth Presidential and Parliamentary elections on the 19th of May, 2009 under the supervision of the Malawi electoral Commission (MEC) chaired by Mrs Anastasia Msosa. This election was of its own kind not only in the manner in which it was conducted (which was characterised by drama as one major presidential contestant-Muluzi got barred from contesting), but also the campaign process, themes and tools as well as the outcome, were by and large quite fascinating. Indeed for those who were found in the middle of their studies, the fun that accompanied this election surely robbed them of their good chunk of precious time. I still vividly remember the despair in the voice of a friend of mine, a student in China, who almost failed to submit his essay on time as he had spent most of his time, listening to Zodiak online radio, to try to acquire a picture of what was going to ensue on the voting day in Malawi. The good news is that he passed, and his party won L...

Once again congratulations our President (Bingu wa Mutharika aka Chitsulo Cha Njanji ) for the smart and decisive wins over the combined force of the opposition. The people of Malawi have spoken and, so loudly. They want a man with a vision and a government that is prudent, benevolent and pro-poor. I wish you all the best and God’s blessings as you now start spending the garnered political capital for the good of Malawi. You can now be confident that you are the man of the people, by the people and for the people. You have my thumbs up throughout your term and I am confident that given the support that you will surely enjoy, your demonstrated determination, strong will and God’s blessings, we should be at a different level in five years. I should also congratulate all the MPs who have made it for the job well done, and again all the others who have not made it on this occasion, for accepting the results. Of course I should also congratulate the Malawi Electoral Commission and other st...

Looking at the performance of Dr Bingu wa Mutharika across the nation in the foregoing elections, it is clear that he is once again a national president and hence a blessing to all of us. He has scored well all the way from the North, Centre and the Southern region. This is very impressive and there is one important message being pushed forward. Malawi is no longer as tribalist as people thought or at least we are now advancing appreciably fast towards that state where credit will often be given where it is due and only a small section of our society will put nepotistic agenda first in their execution of duties. This is good news for us and the future leaders of our nation. Let’s go on, take advantage of this moment, to continue to change the mentality of our siblings starting from our own homesteads. We will surely get there and, while we are at the bottom of the wealth ranking, given another five years of decisive leadership, economic prudence, vision, peace and acumen we should be c...

I do constantly study and question the process of development of nations in light of their social and political fabrics. Development and political economics including law caught my interest long ago when, as a child, my kinsmen and people in our neighbourhood introduced me to the thought that Malawi was relatively poor and under-developed relative to other nations. Frequently, these people bragged and talked about the Republic of South Africa (RSA) as being a marvel of Africa, with advanced infrastructure and social life. As a young boy, not only did I long to get to RSA to see for myself, I boggled my mind with questions whose answers turned out to be more complex every day I advanced to an older boyhood and every time I tried to delve more into my quest for answers. The dominant questions that characterised my childhood were hence of the following kind; why did our country choose to build fewer and unattractive infrastructure? Why did our leaders, mafumu (chiefs) choose to preside ov...

Tivotera o Bingu omwewo!! (We will vote for the same Bingu). That was a resounding statement coming from my fellow constituents deep in the heart of Lilongwe District, juts 3 days before the elections. At that point, as someone interested in politics and the development of our nation, I found it impossible to stop there but had to inquire more. In my inquiry, I wanted to know why these kinsmen and friends of mine thought it was appropriate to vote for the DPP and Bingu into office again. The outcome of my inquiry was amazing as the answers were straightforward. Below were some of the reasons my kinsmen and childhood friends and others put forward for voting o Bingu en masse. Firstly, before Bingu came to power, our village was so vulnerable to hunger and starvation, however Bingu’s arrival on the political scene seems to have repelled those and we are now fine as far as food sufficiency is concerned. Secondly, Bingu’s government is pro-poor in that they have realised what the poor n...