Some Development Issues and Debates

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

'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...