UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
Malawi News Online (33) - 07/28/97

Malawi News Online (33) - 07/28/97

MALAWI NEWS ONLINE/MALAWI NEWS ONLINE/MALAWI NEWS ONLINE

A fortnightly update of news from Malawi

Edition # 33 28 July 1997

MALAWI NEWS ONLINE is written by Malawian journalists in Malawi and brings you the news from their point of view. It is assembled and edited in Denmark by South Africa Contact, the former anti-apartheid movement, publishers of i'Afrika, a quarterly magazine on Southern Africa.

The fortnightly news updates from Malawi are provided by our established network of journalists in Southern Africa. We also distribute ZAMBIA NEWS ONLINE, MOZAMBIQUE NEWS ONLINE and ZIMBABWE NEWS ONLINE, and these will be followed, in the not too distant future, by individual news updates covering other Southern African countries.

MALAWI NEWS ONLINE is brought to you by a co-operation between South Africa Contact and Inform, the leading alternative information network in Denmark.

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In this edition:

1. MULUZI FAILS TO TRIM CABINET

2. MULUZI PARDONS NINE ON DEATH ROW

3. POLICE TO EXTRADITE FRAUDSTER

4. GOVERNMENT DROPS BANDA UK BANK ACCOUNT CASE

5. VENUE SHIFT FOR SADC CONFERENCE

6. GERMANY CUTS AID TO MALAWI

7. CHAKUAMBA ELECTED NEW MALAWI CONGRESS PARTY PRESIDENT

8. ARMED ROBBERS MURDER BUSINESSMAN

9. POLICE IMPOUND THIRTEEN 90KG BAGS OF MARIJUANA

0. MCP VICE PRESIDENT EYES STATE HOUSE

1. MULUZI FAILS TO TRIM CABINET

President Bakili Muluzi on July 24 announced a bloated cabinet of 25 ministers and 13 deputy ministers contrary to recommendations by consultants to trim the cabinet to 23.

In the new cabinet, Muluzi retained all ministers from the opposition Alliance for Democracy, and poached on more, but he dropped three United Democratic Front ministers from north Malawi who are not members of parliament. These are Dr George Mtafu, Dr Donton Mkandawire and Ziliro Chibambo, who previously headed foreign affairs, education and health. However, in what is seen as counterproductive on efforts to cut state spending, Muluzi appointed a team of 13 deputy ministers, one of the biggest number of deputy ministers even in comparison to the former government.

New entrants into the cabinet are Sam Mpasu, who was recently cleared by the high court on charges of corruption and bribery, and who will head a leaner ministry of information, previously held by Brown Mpinganjira who has gone to education. The other is Robson Makuwila who has been appointed as one of three ministers of state in the president's office, along with Edda Chitalo and Bundaunda Phiri.

A number of ministers have been shifted around and these include Aleke Banda from finance, economic planning and development who has been moved to agriculture. Finance, which has been delinked from economic planning and development, will now be headed by vice president, Justine Malewezi.

Dr Mapopa Chipeta, from agriculture becomes minister of foreign affairs, while Dr Matembo Nzunda has been moved to commerce and industry which was previously under Chakakala Chaziya who has gone to local government and sports.

Others: Joseph Kubwwalo (defence), Kamangadazi Chambalo (transport), Melvyn Moyo (home affairs), Harry Thompson (health), Mayinga Mkandawire (forestry, fisheries and environmental affairs), Cassim Chilumpha (attorney general and justice), Peter Fachi (lands, housing, physical planning and surveys), Patrick Mbewe (tourism and wildlife). Dumbo Lemani (energy and mining), Kaliyoma Phumisa (labour, manpower development and planning), Lilian Patel (women, youth and community services) and Abdul Pillane (works and supplies).

2. MULUZI PARDONS NINE ON DEATH ROW

President Bakili Muluzi has pardoned nine people on the death row and commuted their sentences to life imprisonment.

The state house press office said Muluzi announced the decision to a delegation of the London-based Amnesty International led by its secretary general, Piere Sane. They had held discussions in Blantyre. "Muluzi reiterated his belief in human rights and he described life as a God given right," said the statement.

This is the second time that Muluzi has commuted death sentences to life imprisonment. During his inauguration in 1994, he pardoned all convicts on death row and also commuted their sentences to life imprisonment. He also abolished several prisons including the notorious Mikuyu and Dzaleka prisons in south and central Malawi, respectively.

3. POLICE TO EXTRADITE FRAUDSTER

Fiscal police have said they have located, in his self-imposed exile, former Petroleum Control Commission financial controller, Aubrey Chalira, alleged to have defrauded the commission of about K1 million (US$60,000).

Head of Fiscal police Joseph Aironi, said on July 10 that Chalira would soon be extradited with assistance from Interpol with whom the Malawi police has been working hand in hand.

Chalira fled the country in 1995 after some vital documents believed to have been fished out from one of the firm's offices were burned in one of the commissions' toilets. Following the financial scam the commission's board of directors instituted an inquiry to probe circumstances surrounding the event. It established that the fire was aimed at destroying evidence on the K1 million rip off.

4. GOVERNMENT DROPS BANDA UK BANK ACCOUNT CASE

Government has dropped a case in London against former head of state Kamuzu Banda over his UK bank accounts because there is nothing to be gained from it. "Government was reluctantly forced to conclude that English proceedings, which were at an early stage, would not yield any recovery, the Attorney General said in a statement on July 6. The statement says that much of the K10 million (400,000 pounds sterling) frozen in the accounts would have been used in paying Banda lawyers in the trial had government continued with proceedings in the High Court in London.

The government sought the freezing of Banda's bank accounts while preparing for proceedings against him for allegedly diverting money by wrongdoing and breach of trust. Solicitor General, Steve Matenje said the government was only allowed to freeze 400,000 pounds while at the same time Banda's lawyers were authorised to be paid from the same accounts.

The government started the proceedings in February this year following investigations which allegedly revealed that large amounts of money were externalised on or by instructions of Banda and his former official hostess Cecilia Kadzamira and her sister, Mary. Banda's lawyers have applied to the High Court in London seeking an award of costs and an inquiry into the damages suffered by Banda and other defendants.

5. VENUE SHIFT FOR SADC CONFERENCE

Almost throwing in the towel and giving in to public criticism against hosting the forthcoming Southern African Development Community summit in the bare and hollow Comesa hall in Blantyre, government has quietly decided to shift it to a hotel.

Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Aleke Banda confirmed the change in venue of the summit saying this became necessary because government had realised it was going to be expensive to carry out renovations to the Comesa Hall. But unofficial sources within the organising committee of the summit said the abrupt change of plans came about because the contractor hired to do renovations to the hall to make it hospitable for such an important forum could not do the job in the short time they were given.

Earlier plans unveiled by Banda were that government had set aside K15 million (US$1 million) for renovating the hall which is sited in the Trade Fair grounds in Blantyre. The unplastered structure, built with funding from the European Union, stands in very unattractive surroundings with untended grounds and dried up lawns and has no adequate parking area for the envisaged huge numbers of delegates to the summit.

The summit is scheduled for September 8 and is expected to attract all the 12 heads of state from the grouping and more than 500 delegates. To overcome the shortage of suitable accommodation in the city, Banda last month appealed to the private sector to surrender some of their guest houses to accommodate the delegates.

With the acute shortage of upmarket accommodation facilities in Blantyre, Banda said some of the delegates would have to be accommodated in Zomba and Mangochi, 70 kms and 200 kms away from Blantyre.

6. GERMANY CUTS AID TO MALAWI

Germany on July 14 announced a 33 percent cut in its government's financial assistance to Malawi. DR Elin Horn-Vormsctag, head of the sub-Saharan division in the ministry of economic co-operation, said the cut follows a reduction in the German government's budget for foreign assistance.

Horn-Vormsctag, leading his government's delegation on aid talks in Malawi, said following the cut in aid, Germany would give Malawi 33 million DM (about K284 million) under the financial co-operation for the 1997/98 fiscal. He said the cut in aid has not only affected Malawi but all other developing countries who receive aid from Germany. He also said the German government will maintain its technical assistance to Malawi at about 40 million DM (K344 million) as was the case last year.

An official in Horn-Vormsctag's delegation said the cut in aid had come about because of problems at home, one of which was unemployment and the fact that some people do not pay tax. In his speech, Malawi Economic Planning and Development Minister, Aleke Banda, asked for external debt relief from its multilateral and bilateral financing agencies.

7. CHAKUAMBA ELECTED NEW MALAWI CONGRESS PARTY PRESIDENT

The man who languished for 13 years in jail at the hands of the Malawi Congress Party regime, Gwanda Chakuamba, on July 22 caused upsets at the MCP convention by succeeding his jailer, Kamuzu Banda as new party president. Chakuamba, who had earlier championed the cause of a merger with the Alliance for Democracy, which was shelved at the forum, was swept into power by a staggering 426 votes cast by the delegates against his main rival John Tembo's 129 votes.

Tembo, whose stance over the thorny issue of the merger has remained elusive and has been seen as fomenting anti-merger sentiments, now becomes the vice president of the party. Dr Peter Chiwona, a new name in MCP's upper echelons, took over the position of secretary general.

Retired medical practitioner, Dr Hetherwick Ntaba, who performed a sterling job as party publicity chief, was elected as treasurer general. Former career broadcaster, James Chimera becomes publicity chief while former secretary general, Lovemore Munlo was elected party legal advisor.

8. ARMED ROBBERS MURDER BUSINESSMAN

A gang of armed robbers on July 27, murdered a Blantyre grocer, Faction Pandama, after robbing him of cash and an assortment of grocery items. Police said about six gunmen broke into the deceased's grocery store and shot him as he tried to scare them away. They said the robbers left with cash and property worth more than K30,000 (US$2,000).

After the incident, neighbours and relatives rushed Pandama to hospital but he was pronounced dead on arrival. Blantyre police said as of July 28, no one had been apprehended in connection with the incident but that investigations were still under way to bring the culprits to book.

9. POLICE IMPOUND THIRTEEN 90KG BAGS OF MARIJUANA

Police in Salima, central Malawi have impounded 13 bags of marijuana, each weighing 90 kilogrammes, destined for the country's commercial city, Blantyre.

This is the biggest catch of marijuana so far in the district, according to the district's police chief, Maxwell Kachitamanja. He said police were tipped off by their colleagues in Nkhota-kota district, north of Salima, that a vehicle loaded with marijuana was travelling towards Salima. Police said they arrested four of the five people in the vehicle.

Nkhota-kota and Mzimba districts in central and north Malawi, respectively, are believed to be the source of most of the marijuana grown in Malawi. From these districts the stuff is shipped to Blantyre from where it finds its way out of the country via Zimbabwe. A number of Zimbabwean truck drivers have been apprehended in Malawi in connection with transporting the illegal drug.

10. MCP VICE PRESIDENT EYES STATE HOUSE

Newly-elected opposition Malawi Congress Party president, Gwanda Chakuamba, has openly declared that as leader of the party, his ultimate aim was to rule the country.

Addressing his first rally since he was swept to the party's leadership, Chakuamba, who endorsed his full support for the merger with the Alliance for Democracy saying it was the only winning formula for the 1999 elections, declared that he was ready to be voted out of office if the majority of the members of MCP were not comfortable with the proposal to work hand in hand with Aford.

He said that given the support for the merger from the grassroot level, his party and Aford, which control the centre and north, whose seats outnumber those of the south where the ruling UDF holds sway, would be assured of victory.

Chakuamba challenged that unless there was divine intervention, the UDF could not win a seat in the north. He, however, bemoaned the deceitful behaviour of some of his party members whom he accused of hypocrisy.

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From: AfricaNN@inform-bbs.dk (Africa_news Network) Date: Mon, 28 Jul 1997 18:15:54 +0200 Subject: MALAWI NEWS ONLINE #33 Message-ID: <1262350302.104721429@inform-bbs.dk>

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar

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