Monday, October 04, 2010

Malawi's Pitiful Progress

Praises lavished on the dead might not have any meaning apart from being the commonplace types of eulogies which most dead people receive. But in certain instances, it is impossible to avoid praising someone who has died.

Death brings foes together, and it even invites peculiar praises. This is a common phenomenon about it in general, but about extraordinary men, death only marks the inauguration of an era of remembrance.

There are individuals who continue being praised even though they have spent decades and decades in their graves. The mound of earth beneath which their bones lie might be negligible today, but their impacts among the human race continue being monumental.

Their short lives fail to be overshadowed by their long periods which they have been dead. And this is when death fails to have dominion.

Individuals like Mahatma Gandhi, Plato, Martin Luther Jnr (the politician), Martin Luther the theologian and many others continue having their impacts greatly felt in our lives today. Their wisdom has remained useful with the passage of time and their ideas continue shaping our lives in one way or another.

Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, Malawi’s first president is another individual who can never be removed from the list of remembrance.

“Dr. Banda is one such individual who is very central to the history of Malawi. His contributions will continue being felt as long as we live,” says Edison Njembe, a third year history student at Chancellor College.

Banda’s death was full of paradoxes and contradictions. It brought with it different explanations of his life which included both praises and rebukes, because he was a rare character. Perhaps, good men are those whose legacy should have such contradictions.

He passed on thirteen years ago, but a lot of information about him continues coming out. In his speech to members of the History Society of Chancellor College some time back, Kings Phiri, a professor of history, intimated that a lot of information regarding Dr. Banda’s life will remain hidden in the mist of time if those individuals who were so close to him, and obviously know something about the former leader which no one else might know, die without revealing what they know.

“There is a lot of information about Dr Banda that remains hidden somewhere because those who know it are unwilling to give it out,” said Phiri.

When it comes to Dr. Banda’s closest confidantes, the names of John Tembo and Mama Tamanda Kadzamira immediately invade the minds of many Malawians. These individuals somehow hold a good chunk of our history, and should they die without revealing it, ours will remain a country with a cloudy history.

It was known, or at least believed, among most Malawians that Dr. Banda never sired any child in his lifetime, even though he had the pleasure of living in sin with Kadzamira for the rest of his life after returning (or coming) to Malawi from Scotland.

And now one Jimu Jumani Johansson is in town claiming that Dr. Banda is his father and therefore he wants to change his name so that the name Kamuzu Banda should be reflected in it.

Well, it might indeed sound ridiculous that someone just springs from ‘nowhere’ and claims that he is the former dictator’s son. Yet, on the other hand, one fails to understand where the young man might have gotten all the courage from.

There is something that gives him confidence, and some people know it, only that they are just economical with the truth.

What more with Focus Gwede one of Dr Banda’s close confidante revealing that he saw the former president’s three children with one of them being Jumani.

Jumani’s ‘mother’ Mirriam Kaunda was recently reported to have bashed Jumani’s claims of being Kamuzu’s son. But, a relative of hers was also previously quoted as saying that in 1973, the year when Jumani was born, some strange things happened in the country to the extent that Kaunda had to go and live somewhere else for some time. There could be more to that than what the relative revealed.

A lot has been said about Jumani, with some people branding him someone out of his mind while others argue that there could be a speck of truth in his claims. But such issues like those of children’s paternity usually need something more than “mere tantrums and palliatives” (to borrow Hon. Nicholas Dausi’s cliché) to be solved.

Proof in such issues seldom comes from the justice that our courts of law offer. On the other hand, it can only be realized after a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test is carried.

And since this is what Jumani is fighting for, why don’t we give him the benefit of the doubt so as to clear the mist. After all, the young man said that he is ready to sponsor the test. Should things fail to work to his expectations, he is going to be the loser and no one else. It appears he knows something, for such an issue cannot spring from nothingness.

“Jumani wants to trace his roots, and he is confident the former head of state is his father. He is ready for a DNA test, which can be the only proof of his roots. Let him do it, why deny him the chance?” said an anonymous citizen in this publication sometime back.

After all, why isn’t there his father’s name on his birth certificate? What is the explanation for his ‘mother’s’ absence in 1973 when he was born? If his father is indeed a Malawian of Indian descent as his ‘mother’ claims, why wasn’t the so-called father’s name reflected on the birth certificate?

Perhaps, the way things are progressing, the path towards discovering the truth will soon be found. Maybe, we will no longer be debating on whether or not Jumani is indeed Kamuzu’s son.

Yet, it appears clearing the mist regarding Jumani’s paternity will just be another gateway to more claims from more people that they are Dr Banda’s children.

“If what Focus Gwede said is anything to go by, more people are likely to come out claiming to be the former head of state’s children. This is a huge possibility,” said Joseph Manda, a Zomba-based political commentator.

But in the face of whatever happens after now, the fact remains that ours will remain a country with a blurred history until some individuals who possess information that would be very significant to the whole country come out in the open and declare what they know so that Malawi can have a clear shape.

And in the case of the confusion surrounding Jumani’s issue, it appears it is only a DNA test which can put the matter to rest, otherwise, it appears there can never be a convincing explanation of the truth. Such matters are seldom sorted out in courts of law.

Foreignism in Malawian Languages

The process of translating texts from one language to another is something that gives headaches to all translators, whether amateurs of professionals. In Malawi, writers and broadcasters and all types of translators are mostly left with hard tasks of doing translations on their own and these tasks usually get even tougher in this age when technology is growing at an increasingly swift rate.

Searching for ‘very’ relevant translations usually becomes a hectic task and translators, especially those who do such a task impromptu, opt for whatever sort of translation even if it does not necessarily reflect the concept from the source language.

It is not only translators who face problems concerned with foreignism, but all native speakers of different languages. It beats any sound mind to think of how certain words that have been there from time immemorial continue bearing the foreign terminologies.

For instance, no Malawian language, not even the so-called national language, Chichewa, has native terminologies for English words like ‘degree’, ‘school’ and many more. It goes without saying that these words have been there for hundreds of years, yet we continue embracing them in their alien terminologies.

And one wonders why the superiority of our languages lies, if we continue embracing terminologies borrowed from foreign languages. Should we conclude that there is nothing that can be done about this “foreign language intrusion”?

It is however, understandable when it comes to certain scientific terms which continue being invented. But the fear is that if there are no terminologies for some of these words whose concepts have been and continue being applied in our local understanding, then there is nothing promising about the scientific terminologies.

When you listen to broadcasts in Chichewa and other local languages on the radio, you are assured of coming across words like ‘majisitiliti’ and suchlike. This substantiates the fact that English continues being a dominant language. And this becomes more unattractive when some terminologies which are being borrowed from English have their own respective translations in local languages.

On the other hand, this careless borrowing of words from other foreign languages into our native languages becomes a very big problem when the readers or those listening to broadcasts in the native languages do not know anything in the foreign language. They are left in suspense and subsequently fail to understand what is being said despite the fact that it is claimed to be in their (the audience’s) native language.

In countries like Tanzania, the department concerned with Language Research works tirelessly to come up with new terminologies for new inventions. Immediately a new word is effected, it is announced on the national radio and other media so that it can start being used. That is why in Kiswahili, Tanzania’s national language, you will find perfect translations for words like triangle, angle and suchlike.

This may show how serious the government of Tanzania and other governments that do the same thing are about their native languages. Of course, in Malawi there are too many languages, but Chichewa, being our national language needs to be looked into in terms of the use of foreign terminologies in it.

The centre for language research in Malawi can do something about the continuous use of foreign languages in our native languages, especially Chichewa. However, this will depend on whether or not it is adequately funded. It will also depend on the goodwill of those concerned. We need to be proud of our native languages.

Why Most Government Fear Local Polls

WHY MOST CENTRAL GOVTS FEAR LOCAL GOVTS


The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has finally announced that local polls will not be held on November 23, as initially planned, and the reasons given for the postponement might make sense. But, perhaps, there is something beyond all what is there on the surface. Maybe, there is something about Local Governments which most Central Governments fear, for it is not in Malawi alone where local polls have been treated such inconsiderately.


Malawi’s first democratic government showed some interest in local polls by strengthening local government institutions, but the elections were only held six years later. With the current administration, after the same six years, our final ray of hope was banked on the president and the Electoral Commission.

But, even if these local polls were to be held this year in November as per the earlier announcement, it seems their essence would be limited due to the little powers that the Local-Governments-to-be have finally been given.

Until towards the end of last year, there was little indication that Malawi would hold local elections, since there were no clear preparations for the costly event from concerned stakeholders. And the most peculiar thing remained that these stakeholders kept shifting the ball from one court into another, perhaps with the aim of letting others be held responsible for failure to hold the much needed elections, should they not be held – which they did.

And finally, the truth was told; the meaning of the unwillingness on the part of stakeholders clearly got vindicated by Parliament’s decision to pass an amended bill which now gives the president, in collaboration with the Electoral Commission, powers to decide on the date of the polls.

In line with the amended provision, the date was finally set and Malawians were eager to choose their local representatives. But now, it has been announced that the polls will not be there; and perhaps will never be there.

There is something peculiar about how Local Government elections are viewed in most African countries, Malawi inclusive. Most democratic governments in Africa are not utterly committed to holding these elections, and if at all they hold the elections, the state tries its utmost to suppress the powers of the Local Governments. And in the case of Malawi, since we attained our multiparty democracy some fifteen years ago or so, Local Government polls have only been held once – in 2000.

Asiyati Chiweza, a lecturer in Public and Administrative Studies at Chancellor College, writing in a book titled Government and Politics in Malawi, observes that: “Due to political changes that took place in 1994, the new Malawi government made the strengthening of Local Government institutions as a priority.”

But the fact that this first democratic government held the first elections in 2000 – six years later – implies that it, too, did not have the essence of the elections at heart, despite having shown initial interest.

And now, recently, Malawians were complaining that government should do something as soon as possible so that the essence of the local assemblies is not completely suppressed to such an extent that they may finally be universally considered to be less significant.

Until the amendment, there was a cloud of uncertainty hanging on the possibility of this country ever having the local polls again. Many individuals and stakeholders reached the point of announcing that government no longer considered local polls as a significant lot in democracy. And, with the date set, a sigh of relief was gladly heaved by Malawians, only to be disappointed again this time.

One significant thing to note is that in 2005, the polls were postponed indefinitely and there were myriad voices from NGOs and interested individuals blaming government for ignoring the ‘essence’ of Ward Councilors who, the NGOs and individuals argued, are usually very instrumental in development programmes especially at the local level.

The stark reality of the existence of Ward Councilors is that power is transferred from the state to the Local Government. Perhaps, this is why most governments appear to be non-committal as long as conducting local polls is concerned. Calling a spade by what its name, decentralization has an impact on the state: there is a risk of it becoming irrelevant in the long run.

But, this can usually be the case where a leader is not commanding support across the country; where most of their policies are being bashed by the majority of voters; where chances that the masses from some sections of the country may rally together and rebel against the state are high.

And at the moment, this appears to be the case with President Bingu wa Mutharika’s government which has come under fire from different individuals and stakeholders for some policies which are deemed to be not in the interest of the public at large. Perhaps, this is what might be compelling MEC to ignore Local Government polls.

Now, it is clear that the president is usually the one who has the final say on the possibility of having or not having the local polls, despite the ‘theoretical’ part of the amended provision that stipulates that the president shall decide on the date of the local polls in consultation with the Electoral Commission. Reading between the lines, the extension of the amended provision may be that if the president does not want the elections to take place, he can gladly do so without much as hard work.

However, of late, there wasn’t much silence on the local polls, although there wasn’t enough talk still, other than the theoretical date, which, but, was also not supported by tangible preparations. But, the fact that Goodall Gondwe some time back urged political parties to start campaigning for the elections was enough evidence for the conclusion that this was the year of the second Local Government polls since 1994.

But, the urge was not enough for the opposition MCP and UDF since they wanted something tangible; they wanted something which they would be sure will materialize. They are financially-challenged political parties, and, therefore, to them, starting to campaign then for the polls would be unwise, because anything could happen, including failure to have the elections altogether. And now, their fears have been vindicated.

After all, MCP spokesperson Nancy Tembo had this to say on the local polls: “Government does not want to commit itself and is not showing seriousness…. We do not know whether they (the local polls) will take place or not because we have been waiting since 2005.”

Tembo should be proved right now; there indeed will be no local polls this year; or maybe not even any other year from now, but wouldn’t this mean taking Malawians for granted? After, being tricked numerous times already, will Malawians accept to continue being in government without Ward Councilors?

They have already expressed their disappointment with most of their representatives in the National Assembly, who they argue, seldom visit them to solicit their views on matters of national interest.

Perhaps, this is one of the most compelling reasons why avoiding local polls this year was just impracticable; why November would have been the month of answers. Maybe, the Central Government has some fear for Local Governments.

“There is one important thing about local polls that has to be noted. Malawi, like many other modern states, is divided on a territorial basis between national and regional or local institutions. However the local institutions are barely functional, at least at the moment when there are no Ward Councilors, yet they are very significant if development is to trickle to the remotest part of the country,” observes a Master of Arts in Public Administration student at Chancellor College.

The student adds that as the situation is now, power is trickling from the state to the local institutions. “Essentially, Local Governments involve the distribution of functions at the local level between the levels of government, the means by which their personnel are appointed and recruited, and other administrative purposes. Now, in the absence of functional Local Governments, most of this is done by the state and it has absolute power over matters which would otherwise be handled by Local Government authorities.”

The implication is that in the presence of local assemblies, government’s power is limited. Perhaps this is why we only had local polls once during the Muluzi administration. Perhaps, again, this might be why we are not going to have local polls this year.

In most democratic states, within the leaders, there exists this fear of the state slowly becoming irrelevant and finally unpopular in the face of functional Local Governments. But, what matters most: the popularity of the state, or the welfare of the average citizen?

“With the local assemblies functioning fully, citizens are the ones who become more powerful. They unite behind their local authority and there is the likelihood of ‘defiance’ to the state. That is why many states hate Local Governments,” argues Joseph Manda, a political and social commentator based in Zomba.

One may argue that this has never been the case before, and there should be no need to surmise it now. To such an argument, Manda has this to say: “Well, that might be true, but we have to be aware that the more we penetrate into democracy, the more we learn new ideas concerning this system of government. Czechoslovakia got divided into Czech Republic and Slovakia because of the shift of power from the state to the people.”

Manda goes on to point out that as a matter of fact, decentralization to a certain extent weakens the effectiveness of a state on the international or global scene. “Such a state does not have sufficient machinery for entering into strategic alliances, and negotiating trade agreements. Of course, this cannot be the case in Malawi because as things are today, the Central Government will always be the most powerful,” he notes.

There are other people, still, who believe local polls are not that necessary in Malawi this time. They view them as an activity which will just drain government coffers when it has little impact on development.

“In the absence of this system, there is national unity. Central Government alone articulates the interests of the whole nation rather than those of sectional groups. Government addresses the common interests of the entire community. We are taken to be Malawians and our needs are duly addressed that way. So why should government spend millions of kwacha when we can do without these Local Governments?” argued a student at Chancellor College who did not want to be named.

Maybe this is just another reason why this government may never want local polls to be conducted. Perhaps, government put into consideration all these premises and discovered that the best thing to do is not to hold the elections. But, the question which will continue haunting the president together with the Electoral Commission is: why then don’t they come in the open and express their point so as to have a thorough analysis on the same from the public?

According to Chiweza, in the abstract of his Democratisation Conference 2009 paper titled Centralization and State Formation in Rural Malawi, “decentralisation is believed to contribute to state formation processes through the devolution of power to the lowest unit of society facilitating Local Government’s pursuit with the central state for a new shape of the state.” In this case, perhaps government is afraid of this devolution of power.

One important thing about Local Government is that it is more effective than Central Government in providing opportunities for citizens to participate in the political life of their community, just as Andrew Heywood observes in his Politics book.

He adds, “As power tends to corrupt, centralization threatens to turn government into a tyranny against the individual…. But decentralization comes in to redress the problem because it protects liberty by dispersing government power, thereby creating a network of checks and balances on the state as well as on itself.” Thus, it is only governments that want to clasp absolute power that tend to ignore local polls.

And, as Chancellor College political scientist Blessings Chinsinga notes: “It is well known that the country (Malawi) quickly degenerated into an authoritarian regime because it had weak or no constitutional safeguards to facilitate the development and entrenchment of the culture of constitutionalism.”

And, if local polls are not held as soon as possible, then Malawians may be forgiven for fearing that the country may finally degenerate into an authoritarian regime.

Above everything, it is a practical fact that decentralization results in the power of the state being limited, and this is what most governments in the world fear about this type of government. But to another extent, decentralization is the best way of governance for all people.

It is one way of incorporating every citizen in governance since their participation is duly considered from the grassroots all the way to the state. That is why we were upbeat that this year would not collapse without Malawians electing their Ward Councilors, their representatives in whom they can have the ultimate trust, since they will interact with them on a continuous and consistent basis.

After all, one of the arguments for the essence of local polls is that decentralization is effective for the reduction of poverty due to inherent opportunities for higher popular participation and increased efficiency in public service delivery. Yet, as analysts have observed before, the executive arm of government and Parliament may not be keen to have elected councilors for fear of competition for the legislators.

In fact, some time back, one legislator was quoted as saying: “Because councilors are in touch with the grassroots everyday, they may own development projects and may challenge MPs during general elections.”

Perhaps, this is just another of the numerous reasons why governments fear local assemblies, and would rather do without them or just tramp over them using unrealistic provisions.

Some road accidents are avoidable

Some road accidents are avoidable


Death is life’s hardest reality. It saddens the hearts of the bereaved, yet on the other hand, it is a perfect tool for sharpening our understanding. It is a silent visitor that gropes into human affairs with no compassion and leaves us regretting, even in circumstances that were totally beyond our control. We typically think there was something that we would have done to save the deceased’s life – and sometimes, indeed such a possibility would have been there.

Death, surely, is for human beings, and therefore, all human beings must die. Nevertheless, its most disturbing irony is that it comes parked with all sorts of things that impel all sorts of explanations, even if it was expected; and even those that take others’ lives are in constant awe of death. That is why, for centuries, man has failed to understand death, because it does not change.

The death of a loved one is always painful – even if it is a hated loved one. No man in his normal sanity celebrates death. Even when a dangerous criminal is dying on the gallows, amidst shouts from witnesses, there always is that fear and pain of death, and you are then left concluding that only at this point, death has dominion.

The soaring rate of road accidents that are occurring on roads of Malawi is always giving Malawians ulcers. Travelers are in perfect fear of a darker future likely to dawn on them in the course of their journey. The pride of death is now complete and it has found numerous ways of visiting its victims. While in the past, deaths were very rare occurrences, now they are a dime a dozen. They have become common tragedies in human existence.

The most painful thing with most road accidents that take place on roads of Malawi is that they are a direct consequence of negligence and recklessness, habitually, on the part of drivers. How does a driver who spent his good time at a driving school enter a main road – or just any other road – without first checking whether or not a car is coming in either direction?

One thing that appears to be a very big problem that is contributing to road accidents, which could be avoided, is that most drivers who have the authority to take their vehicles to roads and streets are not competent enough to do such daring jobs. Driving has become one of the most ‘viable’ careers and nowadays, the majority of youths who finish their Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) desire to do driving.

And most of them acquire driving licenses even without having fully and competently finished their driving lessons. The corrupting influence of money is needlessly leading to loss of lives that would successfully contribute towards the development of this country.

Driving is both a theoretical and practical career, though most of its tenets may involve practice. Therefore, it is crucial that someone is certified a driver only after having satisfied all the requirements of driving.

It appears there is the tendency of taking driving as the easiest career among many Malawians, yet in actual sense, this is supposed to be the most involving profession because its application deals with human life. Every driver must be conscious of the fact that he is dealing with the irreplaceable thing that is only given out once. Thus, it makes sense that someone meditates thoroughly before joining the “driving profession”.

It goes without saying that most Malawian roads are in better conditions now due to constant renovations that are going on across the length and the breadth of the country, and road accidents were subsequently supposed to be the last thing to claim human life.

After all, statistics show that most road accidents in Malawi take place on roads that are in good conditions other than on those that are in dilapidated states. This is usually because of carelessness on the parts of most drivers. For instance, the numerous road accidents that take place on the well-constructed Chipembere Highway in Blantyre begs the question of what has gone wrong with drivers who use the road, all of a sudden.

Everyone, especially drivers, should take a leading responsibility in taming road accidents. With the ever-increasing rate of industrial development, traveling is inevitable among the average Malawian, and the easiest mode appears to be by road. Thus, all those who travel need to be guaranteed of their safety; otherwise, this dark future connected with road transport on Malawian roads is scaring.

Moreover, it appears, the current trend on these road accidents, indeed, portends a future that is likely to be darker than the present, with more and more threats on lives of Malawians.

HIV/AIDS and Education in Malawi

On 1st December last year just like any other 1st December the whole world was commemorating the deadly pandemic HIV/Aids and there were different gatherings tackling many issues regarding this global tragedy.

Currently, the whole world is facing a painful reality of the devastating effects of this human calamity. And since the theme for last year’s commemoration was “Universal Access and Human Rights” it was very alluring to focus only on areas that appeared to be “closely related” to this theme, ignoring other equally significant areas which the pandemic has not spared.

In essence, World AIDS Day was first commemorated on 1st December 1988. Among other things it involved and continues involving raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. This day is quite vital as long as reminding people that the impacts of the pandemic are still raveling is concerned.

Sometime back the international media reported that global leaders had pledged to work towards universal access to HIV/Aids treatment, prevention and care; recognising these as fundamental human rights. In Malawi, to a greater extent, some exclusive progress has been made in increasing access to HIV/Aids services, yet greater commitment is still needed in areas to do with human rights.

That is why sometime back, Vice President honourable Joyce Banda pointed out that if stigma and discrimination are not clearly scrutinized, many infected people will not come out in the open to disclose their status and thus, live traumatized lives.

It is a foregone conclusion that as this deadly pandemic continues claiming a substantial number of lives worldwide, the consequences are affecting different sectors of the society and one of these sectors, arguably, is education.

Education is basically taken as the basis of every country’s development and by implication, it is obvious that a crippled education system will demoralize the development of the country.

Children lose their parents to the pandemic, or they may just have their parents infected; the children themselves may be infected; teachers and other officials in the education sector are affected; at the household level, the impact is just too high; and the overriding impact is the reduction of human capital, which is at the centre of any kind of development.

“Of all the sectors, education is the worst affected by HIV/Aids, and Malawi continues losing teachers to this pandemic. That is why a course on HIV/Aids has been incorporated into teaching curriculums in all levels of education,” said a member of the Teachers Union of Malawi (TUM) sometime back.

Above all areas, it is at the household and community level where the consequences of the HIV/Aids pandemic are fully felt. It precipitates poverty; and generally poor people are educationally disadvantaged.

Across Malawi, it has been observed that the classes of people that are most vulnerable are those that are the most economically well-off. And as they die, families are left with struggles galore and poverty finally overtakes them, thereby failing to educate the children. If they are still alive (but sick) concentration on the education of children is lessened as the attention is shifted from everything to them.

In other instances, when parents die, there is usually the mismanagement of finances by those in whom the welfare of the orphans has been entrusted, ultimately resulting in the orphans failing to acquire the kind of education they would be able to if their parents were alive. This again is a human rights issue, and to a certain extent, it is being sufficiently tackled by concerned stakeholders.

Aids also destroys human capital in the education sector just as it does in any other sector. People’s accumulated experiences, skills and knowledge built over a period of years are destroyed because their efficiency does not remain the same after they have been attacked by the pandemic, even before their death.

“HIV/Aids patients have reduced productivity and therefore need to take care of themselves in every way feasible so that they balance the efficiency of their bodies,” reads a report published by the Dalcon Medical Journal.

Though there are other things that affect education, it may be reasonable to theorise that much as HIV/Aids is not suitably put in the limelight when addressing issues of low education standards in Malawi, the pandemic at present poses the greatest challenge to sustained quality education whose virtues attached stakeholders are always extolling. Educationists point out that the structural implications of HIV related mortality on teachers and other civil servants in the education sector are projected to be very severe.

A number of studies have been carried out using HIV prevalence rates and other demographic and epidemiological data in a number of countries, including Malawi, to project the future of the pandemic and one of the conclusions of the studies is that during the projection period of 2003 to 2011, with Aids still rocking the education sector, there would be a demand to train 60 percent more teachers.

And the question is: which institutions would be used in the process if the ones that are already there are already incapable of achieving the needed requirement. Or perhaps, our last hope should be in the five universities to be built sooner or later.

The education sector is unlike many other sectors, though it finds company with others like the health sector. It has to remain functional irrespective of the human hours lost to absenteeism and death.

For instance, estimates on the impact of the pandemic on the public sector in Malawi show that vacancy levels in government ministries continue rising more especially in the Ministry of Education. This generally poses the challenge of how the ministry can remain competently functional in the face of this human resource gap, yet there is no option on the part of the ministry other than to continue training Malawians with the few human resource available.

Well, even though HIV/Aids was discovered many years ago, it appears in Malawi, it is only now that it has caught us napping. But we cannot sit down, fold our arms and wait for “come what may”. There is need for government and stakeholders to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on education.

The challenge for government and all those involved in the education sector is to provide the required data, help consolidate the design and implementation of policies and programmes that can help deal with the pandemic in order to sustain the required quality education for all Malawians.

To another extent, it appears the way we understand how HIV/Aids is affecting educational provision in Malawi is generally poor, even by those who seem to be directly “absorbed” in the education sector.

There is a need that educationists and other concerned stakeholders acquire adequate knowledge base which can make a tangible difference in schools and other educational institutions. Otherwise, our fight against HIV/Aids so as to create a conducive education environment appears to be struggling.

Football is no individual game

Football is no individual game

BY ANANIYA ALICK PONJE


In any kind of sport where more than one individual make up a team, it is impossible for one individual to be the sole contributor to the team’s success; yet in football, especially with our national team, for many times, there are some individuals who take themselves to stand out of the rest because of their talents.

It is absolutely true that there are footballers who are more skilled than others on the pitch. This usually is as a result of experience, or just inborn potential. And there are others as well who may not be as competent as others, but they too make up the whole team and are as important as anyone else.

It is oftentimes the nature of football for some players to be more famous than others and this is the case world over. These players are in most cases strikers or midfielders who score goals. It is rare for a defender to be as famous as a striker who scores goals; even if in reality the defender undertakes a harder task than the striker.

More often than not, the fame that goes with strikers is usually inspired by fans who adore the strikers so much while ignoring the contributions of the rest of the team who are as significant as anyone else.

Success in football seldom emanates from one individual’s skill, whatever the case. It is a direct result of concerted efforts of all players. Defenders have their own task of shielding the opposing strikers from scoring and midfielders have their own task of balancing the game so that the defence and the striking force have proper recipients and suppliers.

But, in spite of the fact that every player on a football pitch is an important lot, some players have the audacity of lifting themselves so high that they reach the point of thinking that a team cannot win if they do not play. Well, he might indeed have some extraordinary talent, but he himself scores goals because he is playing with others.

Not even the world footballer of the year will play alone on the field against a full rival team and expect to score. In fact, even for strikers’ goals to be appreciated there is need for the rival team not to win. If a striker scores six goals and the rival team scores seven goals, the six goals will not make any sense. But if the striker scores even one goal and the rival team does not score any goal, the single goal will be of much significance.

This is where the defenders become as important as anyone else, because if they let the opposing strikers penetrate them and score goals, the single goal scored by their striker might be meaningless. Even for the strikers to score there is need for the midfielders to supply good passes, and to balance the game properly. Hence, no one individual player can claim to hold the key to a team’s success.

Yet in Malawi, with both the national team and clubs, some players oftentimes behave as though they are the only important ones in the team. They sometimes boycott games and it has to take the coach and other involved individuals to coax him. This is an insult to other players in the team, because they conclusively view themselves as less important. In this case, it is impossible for such players to play to the very best of their abilities.

In fact, a single player’s success cannot be attributed to him alone. There are many other individuals involved. There is the coach, the people who surround him where he comes from, the fans who offer support as he progresses to score on the field and many others. That is why it does not make sense for one footballer to take himself as the carrier of a team’s success.

Even the most talented player will seldom deliver to the best of his ability if he is playing among a bunch of incapable players. Concerted efforts come from a combination of capable players on the pitch. Thus, no footballer should take himself as more important than the rest.

Searching for hidden talent

The youth are oftentimes told that they are leaders of tomorrow, but they themselves feel that their leadership would rather start now. In churches, the youth are taken to be the basis of the future church, likewise in politics. But in sports, especially football, the youth are better placed to be leaders of the moment.

It is during the period of his youth when most people are most competent as footballers, yet in Malawi, it appears the future of the youth in football is as slim as it is in politics. It is very common to find that the national squad, and of course many other football clubs, have the average age of thirty, and one wonders who is going to take forward the team if the aging footballers retire.

Of course, experience is one such important aspect which most coaches go for in selection of players for a match, but a mixture of the experienced ones and the upcoming ones would do a great deal of justice to the future of the team.

One problem with people who are interested or concerned with football is that they seldom go into the remote villages to identify the hidden talent that is there. One of the main aims of the Presidential Sports Initiative was to unearth that hidden talent in the remotest parts of the country where the prospective footballers are seldom exposed.

As the presidential football tournament was kicking off at district level, top officials from the football fraternity were not very much concerned with going to the pitches to identify the unalloyed talent that is there in the ‘villages’.

Most of them became concerned only when the games at district level were approaching the final stages. In this case, many young men with potential could not be identified because there was no scout to identify them.

It was impossible for all the talented young men to have their teams reach the final stages even at district level and their talent will remain hidden.

The problem with most coaches is that they want to incorporate into their respective teams players who have already been perfected, and it becomes difficult in the case where no one is willing to perfect them.

Another problem is that most coaches are satisfied with the squads they have because most football players have the tendency of taking some years off their real age such that a 35-year-old footballer will comfortably claim that he is 25. And in this case coaches are also comfortable with the players they have, thinking that they will be able to perfect them only to be frustrated by the footballers’ instantaneous retirements.

In Malawi, it is possible for a football player who was 25 years old last year to retire the following year due to old age and one wonders where the other years to come up with the ‘old age’ have come from. Thus, it is important for coaches to ‘guess’ the real ages of their players so that they can go about searching for the younger talent as they expect the older ones to retire soon.

During the last World Cup tournament, Ghana had one of the youngest squads in the competition and they showed that they had a lot of talent. Perhaps this was in virtue of the fact that when younger men are employed on the field, they work extra hard so that they should establish themselves in the team.

Above everything, identifying hidden talent is one thing that does not usually happen in Malawi. Low-level tournaments that take place in remote areas of this country can provide a very suitable base for talent identification.

Malawi is not a country without talent in terms of football. We have a lot of young men in the remote areas who can transform football in this country; they only need to be identified.

On Increasing Cases of Abortion

Human life has for times without number been put to some fatal test by human beings. In many circumstances, we have found ourselves debating on issues that deal directly with human life; with the debate centering on whether at some point in time, such life which was always described as sacred by the late Pope John Paul II should be terminated or not.

One topic which has drawn mixed reactions from different individuals and stakeholders is abortion. Up to now, it appears it is very difficult for global dwellers to reach a consensus and agree on one thing regarding abortion: whether it should be legalized or not.

And right here in Malawi, cases of women or girls procuring abortions continue disturbing the country’s values. The perpetrators are arrested, yes, but why does their arrests fail to be a deterrent to others with similar thoughts? Perhaps, it is because most women do not really understand that procuring an abortion is as good as committing murder.

Abortion is defined as a human action carried with the chief aim of preventing the continuation of a human life. This implies that by all means, abortion results in death of some sort.

Professionals in biological science unanimously agree that any organism which exhibits the seven traits of life which include metabolism, excitability, conductivity, contractility, differentiation, growth, and reproduction is living, and is living according to its own kind.

During each stage of development within the mother's body, the zygote, morula, blastocyst, embryo, and fetus all exhibit these traits of life. The mere fact that because the intra-uterine organism is in a process of development and is unseen does not warrant the view that it does not possess life; life in accord with its nature, in this case human life.

Since the zygote possesses all of the seven traits of life, all biological scientists agree that life begins at conception. They identify this already objective fact of when life begins.

In fact, there is no other point at which life can begin. Whatever the circumstance, there is never any non-life stage that finally develops into a life-stage during a pregnancy. Such a concept is completely foreign to biological life. That which has life now or any other time had time from the very beginning.

In other words, it is an established scientific fact and a logical one as well that there is no other developmental stage in which life begins other than the moment of conception.

Whatever one's spiritual or unspiritual presuppositions may be, these biological facts cannot be denied by any person of sound reason. Human life is not definable in terms of stages of development. At all stages of development, human life is present. Therefore, destroying it at any of the stages is to destroy a human life, a living person.

“The beginning of a single human life is from a biological point of view a simple, straightforward matter – the beginning is conception. This straightforward biological fact should not be distorted to serve sociological, political, or economic goals,” Argues Dr. Watson Bowes of the University of Colorado. His view is corroborated by Dr. Micheline Matthews-Roth, a Research Associate at Harvard Medical School who notes that it is scientifically correct to say that an individual human life begins at conception.”

“Each of us has a unique beginning, the moment of conception. Our entire being is contained in the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) in the very first moment of fertilization.” This is noted by Dr. Jerome Lejeune, Genetics Professor at Rene Descartes University of Paris.

However, on the other hand, it may be unreasonable to rush to conclude that abortion is always completely wrong. There are some women who feel they have a good cause for performing abortions, especially in cases where they might have fallen pregnant after being raped. But still here, it is still the case that human life (which has to be protected whatever the case) is there.

So in this case as well it may only be reasonable to preserve human life since the sovereignty of life supersedes any other factors which may inspire an abortion.

It is true that children, especially babies, are expensive. They need clothes, food, diapers and many other things. But still that does not outdo the value of human life.

It does not take God or religion to determine that, just basic rationality. Children have no control over the personal and social lives of their parents at the time of their conception; consequently, they should not have to pay the ultimate price for someone else’s mistakes.

A child conceived in rape is still a child. A baby with health challenges is still human. Perhaps those who feel like aborting a baby because they did not conceive it voluntarily should consider keeping it until deliverance when they can let it out for adoption.

Religiously, the bible teaches us not to commit murder. God Himself is the source of life. Thus, to reject life is to reject the source of life and is to reject God, who is the very source and author of life.

Let abortion remain illegal whatever the circumstance. Ron Paul a U.S. Politician, astutely believes that a fetus is a human life, and that a fetus deserves the same legal protections afforded to all human beings. He observes that human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception.

And Peter Singer, a Professor of Philosophy strongly believes that a fetus is a human life, and that a fetus deserves the same legal protections as everyone else. Thus abortion should remain illegal, at least here in Malawi. Human life should not be out to test by human beings.

Friday, October 01, 2010

The Role of Assistant Referees

Sometime, last year, it was reported in the media that some Southern Region Football League (SRFL) games were played using less than three officiating referees and these were competitive.

Personally, I have witnessed a number of competitive football matches played with only the central referee, without assistant referees who are as crucial to the match as the central referee himself/herself.

Games, especially those involving clubs in Divisions, where they are supposed to qualify for places in the regional leagues, such as the SRFL have for many times been played with one official because they are not taken seriously, yet FIFA laws stipulate that every competitive football game has to have at least three officiating referees.

Under FIFA laws, the results of such games played with less than three officials are not eligible for standing for a competitive tournament. A minimum required number of officiating referees is three and a maximum of four per set.

However, in a friendly game, the central referee may be enough but still more it is advisable that assistant referees are there to mitigate the burden of only the central referee running across the field.

Assistant referees are very significant as long as strict observation of the whole progress of the game is concerned. Due to lack of concentration or because of being too hasty, mistakes in identification of undisciplined players may occur in the absence of assistant referees.

An assistant referee is one of several officials who assist the central referee in controlling the match. The fourth official assists administrative or other match related tasks as directed by the referee. A fifth official may be assigned as a replacement should one official be unable to continue.

Hence officiating a game using only the central referees subsequently removes all these tasks. However, it has to be acknowledged that assistant referees do not have the mandate to make binding decisions, but still they are an important lot to the game.

Without the assistant officials the officiating system is never complete, thereby rendering a competitive game unlawful. An assistant referee may help in player management during free kicks, as well as provision of visual assistance during penalty kicks.

The fourth official simply assists the referee at all times, and his duties are largely at the discretion of the referee. In usual practice, the fourth official assists the referee with administrative functions before, during and after the match; assessment of players’ equipment and ensuring substitutions are conducted in an orderly manner.

But, most football games, even those involving Super League Teams are played without this fourth official, and it is only the assistant referees who help in conducting substitutions.

In practice, the fourth official becomes a key member of the officiating team, who can watch the field and players and advise the central referee on situations that are going on out of his sight.

In the 2006 World Cup Final in Germany, the fourth official played a significant role when he informed the central referee of the actions of France’s Zinedine Zidane who head-butted Italy’s Marco Materrazi and the central referee finally sent the Italian off.

In a situation where an assistant referee is unable to continue officiating, the fourth official comes in. and in a situation where the referee is unable to continue, the fourth official replaces the referee directly, or the senior assistant referee replaces the referee, with the fourth official in turn taking an assistant’s position.

Therefore it is dangerous to start a match with only the central referee because there might be a lot of confusion should the referee get incapacitated. In most cases in Malawi, some competitive games are played without assistant referees because of insecurity.

Since it is usually the assistant referee who will raise the flag to signal that a player is off-side, it is the same assistant referee who is thrown at the receiving end of criticism both from fans and supporters.

This scares the referees away, especially when they know that a team involved in the game where they are supposed to officiate has violent fans. In other instances assistant referees fail to turn up for their duties because their financial welfares are not duly taken care of.

Refereeing is a job and referees need to be paid justifiably for the same. So, if they get peanuts or do not get paid at all altogether, their will to officiate will definitely be sapped.

There are a number of areas that need to be looked into so that referees get the attention they deserve. Competitive games need to be seriously considered in terms of officiating and this can be done by ensuring that there is enough security for referees during games and the welfare of referees is improved.

Otherwise we will have a rude awakening one day to be told that ten competitive games that have already been played do not stand to be competitive because they were played with one or two officiating referees.

Are the Poor God's Favourites?

In Christian circles, especially where more technical aspects of some church doctrines are concerned, there is the notion of liberation theology being preached, with preferential option for the poor. In Christian theology, liberation is understood as a movement which understands the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of emancipation from unjust social or economic conditions.

And many churches today preach liberation messages to their flock.

Liberation Christian messages are also described as the prophetic response to oppression. It is further seen as a critical reflection on praxis in the light of the word of God whereby the gospel of Jesus Christ is related to the economic and social conditions of the masses.

Biblically, material poverty is referred to as a “scandalous condition” that goes against human dignity and consequently the will of God. As such, it is clearly condemned. However, it is not regarded as something out of the ordinary because it is practiced in human relationships.

Liberation theology takes the existence of poverty as lack of solidarity in human relations and in communion with God. It is therefore seen as an expression of sin and lack of love. During the time of Jesus, according to liberation theology, the materially poor had a special familiarity with him and he called them ‘blessed’ in Matthew Chapter 11 verse 5.

In his answer to the Baptist’s question, he said: “… and the poor have good news preached to them.” And this, according to those who advocate for liberating the poor, vindicates the fact that the poor have special consideration.

Yet still, there are people who believe that the preaching of liberation theology has very negative effects on the welfare of humanity. Many churches that emphasize on liberation messages usually meet a lot of criticism from different quarters who take such messages as aimed at exploiting the poor “while pretending to liberate them.”

The Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT) has made repeated appeals to the church “to focus its attention on the plight of the poor as the pole of reference in its theology, and to make the poor both the point of departure in as much as God’s concern for the poor is the axial theme of the bible as a whole.”

And most churches have adopted this plea by EATWOT and focus much of their preaching on liberation of the poor. However, the problem appears to be that the poor in the current context are only liberated theoretically in that they are only given hope that “their reward is greater in heaven.”

In fact, most liberation theologians argue that the poor are a privileged channel of God’s grace. John Calvin, one of the most influential theologians whose teachings are held to date, observed that if nothing is done for the poor “would God not say why have you suffered so many poor to die of hunger, and you certainly had gold to minister to their support?”

Essentially, liberation messages’ social actions – where they are practical – are based upon the Bible scriptures describing the mission of Jesus Christ as bringing a sword (social unrest) as in Isaiah 61:1, Matthew 10:34, Luke 22:35-38 and Matthew 26:51-52, and not as bringing peace (social order). This biblical interpretation is understood to be a call to action against poverty to effect Jesus Christ’s mission of justice in this world.

The story of Lazarus and the rich man in the book of Luke in the bible is another subject of liberation theology which is taken to imply that the liberation of the poor is in heaven where their comfort will be restored.

Isaiah 61:1-2 records: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me; because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.” From this passage, liberation theologians aim at liberating the poor from their poverty which is not only a divine imperative but the obligation of the entire world.

In liberation messages, there is this perception that the poor will be given over the wealth that they are lacking now. Since it is an ethical theology that grows out of social awareness and the desire to act, liberation expresses the hopes of oppressed peoples and the realization that they are seen not as a passive element, but as an agent of righteous change in history and fulfilling prophesy.

John de Gruchy, a liberation theologian, argues that to be consecrated to the poor of the land means to have opted for those who not only are the favourites of the Lord but who will also inherit the land and wealth which God gave to this world.

Even the world’s most renowned theologian Martin Luther once said: “All over the world like a fever, freedom is spreading in the widest liberation movement in history. The starting point is our objective situation as oppressed and dependent peoples.”

But the truth is that no one could be neutral in the face of injustice. God does not take sides, even though liberation theology tries to imply that he sides with the poor.

Theologian Wolterstorff once argued that “the poor are not romanticized: they are not praised; they are blessed. And they can turn their blessings aside. Blessings are pronounced upon those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Yet, not all the poor do so.” This implies that poverty is not a gateway to heaven.

Even the understanding from Luke 16 where we find the story of the reach man and Lazarus is that no distinction is made between the rich and the poor; upon judgment, only those who will be found without any fault are the ones who will be honoured, not necessarily those who were poor.

The problem with liberation theology is that it has the potential of making the poor abandon all enthusiasm of working towards achieving something because they may think their poverty is a gateway to heaven.

A Review of Xala, a Novel by Sembene Ousmane

African literature often tends to portray different themes that are directly connected with the traditional beliefs of African communities. This is vindicated in the works of native Africans writing about Africa as well as non-Africans involving different portrayals of Africa in their works.

It would not be a misrepresentation of facts to point out that the most influential literature portraying Africa and its traditional beliefs first took centre stage in the wake of the end of colonialism, where colonial masters handed over power to native Africans to take over the leadership of their respective states and map the way forward for themselves.

Matter-of-factly, colonialism became the inspiration for most literary writers, both African and non-African. Much as African writers mostly drew their inspiration from the corrupting influence of colonialism and have consistently fought to “preserve” the reality of colonialism in their works, perhaps so that history should not be twisted, some have taken another twist and have concentrated on portraying the hangover of colonialism that keeps haunting most African states.

This is where the leaders masquerade as Africans while in actual sense they are characteristically the same ones who exploit their fellow kinsmen and engage in the very same “corrupting” influence of power that was typical of the colonialists.

In Xala, Sembene Ousmane, a Senegalese, is mostly concerned with using the supernatural as a liberating tool for the oppressed and a punitive strategy for the oppressors. Though the type of plot in the novel is that of social realism, the notion of the supernatural occupies the whole flow of events in the novel such that everything else revolves around it.

Xala is a story of El Hadji Kader Beye, a Muslim businessman living in Dakar, Senegal, who suffers a terrible misfortune after his third marriage, after being struck by a xala which is translated by Ousmane himself as “impotence”. El Hadj fails to consummate his marriage and becomes an object of ridicule. He is to learn later that the beggar who sings daily outside his office is the one who engineered the impotence because he oppressed him some time back.

The novel attempts to portray the exploitation that the local Senegalese were going through while at the same time prophesying that such exploitation would soon be over and the oppressed would finally tramp over the oppressors. El Hadj can be taken as a symbol of the elite or the working class who oppress the poor; the beggar the whole fraternity of the poor; and the impotence a symbolic representation of the poor’s means of struggle.

El Hadj’s rapid fall from the sublime to the ridiculous is what controls the plot of the novel, and this fall which is necessitated by some supernatural influence of the xala which is beyond natural science, symbolizes the triumph of the oppressed over the oppressors. These oppressors are taking away the land of the poor, as it is seen where El Hadj grabbed a piece of land from the beggar.

Since in the novel, the influence of the supernatural is on the estate of marriage where it causes so much anarchy at the end, reaching the point where El Hadj is deserted by his wives and children while the beggar and his colleagues take over El Hadj’s property, it can also be intimated that this marriage symbolizes the structures that are there that are used to oppress the poor. And these structures are supposed to be destroyed so that the poor reclaim their positions in society.

The xala also works as a deterrent of undesirable behaviours where because of it, El Hadj spends a lot of money in trying to heal himself of the impotence. Yet, it is someone close to him – the beggar – who has brought the misfortune in his new marriage. The spending is basically aimed at impoverishing him.

All in all, Xala is one of the best African novels ever written. And among Francophone African writers, Ousmane is unique because of his working class background and limited primary school education. These two aspects might have provided for him the context within which to write and the understanding of different classes of people: the working and the non-working class; the poor and the rich; the oppressors and the oppressed; and the educated and the uneducated. Thus, as one reads the novel, it endears itself to him/her because of its diversity.

Justice needed in the Balaka accident

BY ANANIYA ALICK PONJE


The story of a woman who was killed by a police car together with her baby in Balaka recently, is one that cannot be buried today. It is a story that should not be left to go with the corpses, for life is a commodity that deserves the highest level of reverence, at least here in earth.

Life is most precious gifts God has endowed mankind with. It is the beginning and the end of everything. Nothing exists in human beings if at the beginning there is the absence of life. Every human activity pivots around life. And above everything, life is the most sovereign gift from God. That is why living people always try their utmost to make sure a human life is not at a risk of being nipped out.

We have hospitals and other places where life can be sustained because the significance attached to life supersedes every human phenomenon. People are willing to do everything within their ability as long as it means saving a life. People travel to far-flung areas and spend millions of kwacha just because they know how precious life is and do not want it to be lost in an instance that can be dealt with.

People in countries where war has erupted run away to different places to seek refuge. They do not care about what they leave behind as long as they are sure there is a possibility of getting out of harm’s way. This is in virtue of the fact that life is everything to a human being. As long as there is life, everything is possible.

People run away from earthquakes and other natural disasters because life is the most precious thing man ever receives from God. They cannot afford to lose their precious lives without putting up some effort to escape. They are mindful of the fact that while they can manage to acquire again what they lose in any situation, a lost life can never be replenished.

They quite well know that they can lose expensive cars, houses and everything that they own and acquire them again. But there is one thing that they need to fight tooth and nail to sustain: life.

Yet some individuals do not care about human life and have the audacity to take it with careless abandon. They kill their fellow human beings as though they are slaughtering livestock at an abattoir. Such is the human mind. He can destroy with all carelessness something that took someone decades and decades to build.

It is very painful to a parent, and of course every well meaning person, to know that their relation or friend has been killed by a fellow human being.

Thus, the conduct of some police officers, of recklessly taking the lives of their fellow human beings, is heartrending and requires the greatest reproach that it deserves. For times without number, we have heard of suspects dying in police custody, mainly due to heavy beating by the officers; and on a few occasions, we have heard of trigger-happy police officers shooting to death innocent people.

I have used the word “innocent” because there hasn’t been any serious situation which would compel the police officers to kill a person. I gather that the greatest that police officers are supposed to do if things are getting out of hand is to shoot the pressuring individual/s in the leg so as to incapacitate them.

But now people are no longer safe at the hands of the police. The very same people who were supposed to give citizens the ultimate security have turned against them and are always eager to pull the trigger.

It pierced deep into my heart, and I know into the hearts of many others, to read in the media recently where it was revealed how two people were carelessly killed by a police vehicle in Balaka. Our country is already being afflicted with numerous maladies, including the devastating pandemic, HIV/Aids, and a death precipitated by a police officer should have been the last thing to happen.

I fail to believe what the police said that the driver of the fateful car will not be prosecuted because he was not in the wrong according to traffic reports. Why shouldn’t the courts be left to take care of the whole thing other than some police officers who might just be trying to shield their workmate saying it was the woman who was in the wrong?

No one is above justice, and the driver of the fateful car should be tried so that his claimed innocence should be clear.

It should have been left in the hands of the courts to decide who was necessarily wrong in whole fateful incident. Life is not something to toy with and it should not be taken anyhow. Every life that has been lost, especially in a road accident needs to be accounted for. And the lives of the unlucky woman and her child should not be exempted.

Hiding to be caught

(TRUE LIFE DRAMA)


BY ANANIYA ALICK PONJE


Some events that happen in life are difficult to understand; they simply must be accepted as trying to explain them might not come up with anything tangible. We sometimes find ourselves in circumstances that we never thought we would ever find ourselves in, because nature is the best controller of human progress. There are destinies which we are meant to reach. They may only be delayed, but they cannot be denied.

Some time in 2004, something happened in my life that I will never forget. It changed my whole perception of why people find themselves on the wrong side of the law even if they have not committed any crime. All what I used to think was that for someone to be found in prison, the only logical conclusion is that they have broken the law. But I learnt in this year that life has a lot of ironies and paradoxes.

We all walk with a load of crimes on our heads; it only takes the hand of misfortune to expose them. These include crimes which we never committed, but fate can have a way of placing us on the wrong side of the law.

Thus, what happened to me in 2004 still fails to convince me that that was the way things were supposed to be. I was a form three student at Palm Private Secondary School in Chitipa and things were going on very well until this other day when students at the school vandalized school property.

It all started as a joke. We were not amused with the kind of meals that we were being served with. So we decided to “teach the administration a lesson they would live to remember.” After discussing amongst ourselves the way forward, some proposed that we should destroy the school property by breaking the bulbs and window panes, and setting the desks on fire.

Some of us were against the idea, but our voice could not matter because the majority was in support of it. At noon, we took our lunch and went about our daily progress as though nothing was wrong. The vandalism was supposed to take place at night.

One of us who were against the suggestion of vandalizing the school property informed the administration of the impending destruction that was about to befall the school. No one knew that the administration had reported that matter to police.

It was agreed among ourselves that no one should try to remain behind in our “noble” mission of teaching the administration a lesson.

“Whoever tries to remain behind will do so at his own risk. We have all agreed on what we are going to do and whoever wants to show faithfulness to the administration will be dealt with in a way he will live to remember,” I vividly remember these words having been said by the ring leader.

Night time came and after taking our supper, we gathered together to map the way forward. We were divided into three groups: the attack was supposed to be from different angles. It was systematically planned.

Those of us who did not want to be part of the vandalism team were around eight altogether. We decided to hide as our angry colleagues went to do their destruction. Everyone was ordered to have a stone in his hand.

As the journey towards the tragic mission began, my fearful friends and I escaped and hid in a certain bush that was near the school blocks. Our aim was that if the police came to apprehend the vandals, at least we should not be part of them.

In our hideout, we could hear bulbs and window panes breaking with explosive sounds. Within minutes, the whole school campus was completely dark, and the police arrived in a few minutes. The unruly students ran away before they could set the desks on fire.

The police tried to shoot in the air but apparently, there was no one at the campus.

After some minutes, it was calm again. My hiding colleagues and I decided to move out of our hideout. But the moment we found ourselves in the main path leading to the school’s main campus, two police officers asked us to stop. We could not believe what was happening.

My friends ran away while I decided to be submissive. I stopped and one police officer grabbed me by my hand.

“Where are you coming from?” he asked me.

I was confident enough to tell him the truth. “I was hiding in that bush because I did not want to be part of those who were vandalizing the school property,” I said.

“So you mean you are a student at this school?” he asked again.

I answered in the affirmative. He them told me to follow him to a Toyota Land Cruiser that was packed at a distance. I later learnt that I was taken to be one of the vandals and to them my crime was clear.

I was taken to the police station where I spent a night. The following morning I was released and was taken to the school administration where I was told that I should reapply for my place at the school two weeks later as everyone else would do. I was also told that I had a case to answer, even though I did not make any statement at the police station.

When I reapplied for a place at the school two weeks later after it had reopened, I was given a letter that indicated that I was dismissed from school because of being part of the team that destroyed the school property. I tried to convince the administration that I was not one of them, but my pleas could not change the cut and dried decision of the administration.

Of course, other few students who were suspected to have been ring leaders were also dismissed, but to me, I found justice to be lacking in this word. I told myself that there is no justice system that is completely just. And the case I was told I was going to answer never came to be.

Reflecting on Muluzi's Pitiful Progress

REFLECTING ON MULUZI’S PITIFUL PROGRESS

They that have an insatiable desire to get more often get less, for life is no respecter of human decisions. It is something packed with all sorts of paradoxes and contradictions. And for former president Bakili Muluzi, at least for the moment, life appears to be nothing but a pitiful voyage that has thrust into the mist of time all his past moments of glee.

BY ANANIYA ALICK PONJE

If this life that we live is to have a noble meaning, all of us need to have courage in our greatest moments of sorrow. Then afterwards, glee will shine upon our faces as we finally break through so that peace may ultimately become our companion.

Yet, in the midst of life, peace is no commonplace commodity; it resists the temptation to be the overriding entity in human affairs. Thus, sorrow oftentimes finds it way in, especially if we allow it to be part of our progress.

And if this life were some kind of progress in which human beings can apply the basic tenets of logic, after serving this country for ten years, with or without all faithfulness, former president Bakili Muluzi was supposed to be having a peaceful rest at his BCA residence now. He would be engrossed in a life bursting with pleasure and comfort; a life in a land of a gentle breeze and bowing bloom.

But Muluzi’s current state of affairs defies this conventional prediction. It is one crammed with pain and misery; a life driven by the impulse to survive, even if it is a mere existence.

“Life tests us all; it gives us the grand opportunity to survive and down moments are great opportunities for us to start afresh,” wrote an American pastor in a religious essay.

But in all truth and fairness, Muluzi’s present progress is one that cannot be even envied by a slave, for what is life if one lacks inner peace. What is life if all one can think of once they wake up in the morning is the probability of chances that are there that they will be acquitted in a corruption case; or how to deal with a broken marriage; or still what to do to improve one’s health.

And as if these problems are not enough already, there are wrangles in the once mighty United Democratic Front (UDF), a party that won him the first democratic presidential seat. That again should be a robber of peace; a cause of worry for the former head of state.

Of course, it is usually the nature of Malawi politics for its players to seldom have peaceful rests. But, for Muluzi things are beyond that, for we all know that most former politicians find themselves in states of agony after squandering their ‘political’ money with all extravagance, only to be left hurting at the end.

Yet, Muluzi has money – and perhaps money to burn. But in the midst of all the money that he has, it is glaringly obvious that there is one supreme thing that he lacks, which is peace.

“Since elections in 2004, I have not been a free man,” confessed Muluzi recently.

Such is the irony of money. It fails to buy the most important necessities of life; they are all given to all of us free of charge. That is why even if Muluzi might have millions and millions of kwacha, still peace will be that distant commodity to him as long as all or any of the bitter developments that are keeping him company refuse to shift.

Some people, especially those he is intimate with, have said those kind words that heal deep wounds, to him, so that he may conceive the illusion of peace that calms the situation a little bit. But are these kind words healing tomorrow’s sorrows, or they are just weakening today’s enthusiasm?
“Problems of life often teach us how to be strong; they are not there to bring us down or to shame us, for it is when we defeat them that courage becomes an important aspect of our lives,” writes John Parker in the introduction of his book called The Splendor of Troubles.

But for Muluzi, it is hard for most of us to accept that his current troubles will strengthen him. After all, for what should they strengthen him? He is out of politics where strength and courage are the most important requirements.

Essentially, the former head of state is being prosecuted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) – which ironically, it is his own administration that established – because of being suspected to have diverted into his personal bank account donor funds amounting to K1.7 billion. Whether he indeed did it or not, only justice can tell; but the point remains that the man is not at peace.

“I have been a haunted person in this country. In 2006, I was charged with the so-called corruption that I diverted donor money into my personal account,” Muluzi was recently quoted as saying.

Such a bitter revelation from the horse’s mouth categorically implies that things are worse for him. The revelation is not only a call for sympathy, but also a form of catharsis that will ease the situation for a little while.

It is typically the personality of most politicians – even those that have retired – to be economical with the truth, even if it is a kind of truth that is affecting their lives. But Muluzi has defied this traditional prediction and has come out in the open to say that to him, peace is like gold dust.

And offering him sympathy may help him find peace as finding relief in your problem is fine. But it will not cure the problem; it will only rest it for some time.

To add salt to Muluzi’s wounds, his marriage with Patricia Shanil came to a bitter end recently. The former first lady emptied the contents of her heart and said she had divorced Muluzi because she wanted peace of mind.


“The former lady instructed me to speak on the issue. She said she walked out of marriage because she wanted peace. She said she did not want anything from the former president. All her clothes are still at the BCA residence,” said Women in Law in Southern Africa (Wilsa) Malawi executive director Seodi White.

The paradox of Shanil’s decision to leave Muluzi is that in her search of peace of mind, it is obvious that she has left the former head of state in a more confused state. In her search of peace, she has left the former head of state searching for more peace.

Marriage is not affair that comes to an end like a job contract; it is supposed to be taken as a life-long commitment between husband and wife. And a decision to terminate a marriage affair is never made on the spur of the moment. It may take a long period of consideration and consultation to reach that painful decision of parting ways with one’s spouse. Yet Muluzi is a victim of divorce for the second time. He first separated with Annie, his wife of 30 years, in 1999.

Above everything, marriages seldom end after positive mutual agreements – and things are always worse where one of the two parties complains to have been a victim of lack of peace. And marriage ties severed in a court of law often tell of a kind of repression that has been going on in one or both of the parties.

But, does Muluzi deserve our sympathy?

Perhaps all of a sudden, we may not sympathise with him much. Maybe we should ask him to remember where he is coming from, and why he created the mess he has got himself into in the first place. Or is he just a victim of the invisible hand of fate that chooses not who to visit?

But still more, maybe we should sympathise with him, as we are not fully aware whether he created any mess for himself or not.

And even if he did, perhaps it is incumbent upon us to let justice take its course as it always does. But on our part, maybe we should let mercy be in our hearts, for mercy is greater than justice; it is better than a chemist’s drug and a surgeon’s knife. Mercy heals wounds which no drug in the world can. That is why people need loving the most when they deserve it the least.

On the other hand, if Muluzi is the architect of his own agony then all his positive struggles will be meaningless. All what will be left in history books when he is gone is a hazy and miserable statement of a leader whose rest after ruling was characterised by pain and suffering incited by his own hands.

Muluzi’s health is also something that invokes or may invoke our sympathy. If truth be told in its fullness, the way the man walks, stands, speaks and sits tells a story of a troubled soul that is waiting for that craved moment of restoration. The agony reflected on his face is vivid for all to see.

It is in sickness when the presence of a loved one is most valued. But Muluzi is suffering in the absence of her. Even when he was in hospital in South Africa, Shanil was somewhere in Balaka at her village spending her time with her mother and father.

She even reached the point of dragging her husband to court for failure to pay her K2 million as government allowances for taking care of him when he was receiving medical treatment in the UK last year.

“I discussed this issue with him many times and we did not agree. That is why I went to court. I wanted the money to help my children,” Shanil was quoted as saying.

If in such a situation, we may confidently say there was peace between the two, then there is no such thing as a lie in this world. Why would such a family matter that deserved all confidentiality find its way into the public domain if there was mutual peace in the family?

Above all, it is clear that Muluzi is living in great agony, with all the problems that are haunting him. He came out in the open to say that he is not at peace, but such a message does not make the mare go. It may only act as a catharsis but even a catharsis has never been known to rob tomorrow of its sorrow.

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