Aid Thoughts

Digesting the difficult decisions of development

Posts Tagged malawi

In which Malawi gives Madonna a spinning roundhouse kick

Apr 10

Posted by Matt in Africa, Worst practices | 1 Comment

norris_malawi

So Malawi was graced by another visit from Madonna recently. Somewhat miffed that she hadn’t received an invitation to go meet with President Joyce Banda, she wrote an overly-personal message to Banda (“Dear Joyce”) to ask if they could meet. To slightly complicate things further, the head representative of Madonna’s charity went after the President’s sister (who used to work for the Raising Malawi) and complained that the Material Girl wasn’t getting the right treatment from the government:

Madonna can continue her work here [even] if the politicians don’t want to welcome her because her work is all about the children who are here. The politicians can stay. Even donors are also surprised that government is treating Madonna like this when she is the biggest private donor in the country

In response, the Malawian government released an 11-point passive-aggressive smackdown. You can read the whole thing here, but one particular point stood out as being awesome and seriously bad ass:

7. If the argument is that because she is an internationally renowned star, and, therefore, Madonna believes she deserved to be treated differently from other visiting foreigners, it is worth making her aware that Malawi has hosted many international stars, including Chuck Norris, Bono, David James, Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville who have never demanded state attention or decorum despite their equally dazzling stature. [Emphasis added]

Boom.

Hat tip to Kim Yi Dionne at haba na haba, who has covered both Madonna’s PR gaffs and the government response.

norris_poverty

 

Tags: , , ,

How policies end: not with a bang, but a whimper

Jan 11

Posted by Matt in Africa, Aid, Development, Economics | 2 Comments

Masimba Tafirenyika describes how dire the food security situation in Malawi has become:

Once again Malawi finds itself in a tight spot. A food crisis set off by erratic rains, rising food prices and economic hardships is slowly unfolding. For the first time in several years, the country’s ability to feed its citizens is at risk. Sadly and unexpectedly, Malawi has lost its hard-earned status as an agricultural success story — it used to produce enough maize for its people to eat and still provide a surplus to neighbours. Many are now wondering what went wrong and whether there could be lessons for other African countries.

More than 1.63 million people, or 11 per cent of the population, are facing severe food shortages, according to the World Food Programme, a UN relief agency. Malawi needed $30 million to the end of 2012 to cover the shortfall.

As Tafirenyika hints, this stands in stark contrast to reporting on Malawi over the past few years, where it was heralded as a shining example of how to tackle food security. Five years, ago Celia Dugger wrote in the NYT how the country’s president, Bingu wa Mutharika, despite the protests of many, “ignored the experts” and subsequently dealt with the country’s hunger problems by drastically scaling up its fertiliser subsidy programme. Malawi subsequently enjoyed a spate of bumper harvests and many were quick to tout the large-scale subsidisation as being both a success and worth of replication in other countries. Most notable was the support of Jeffrey Sachs, who’s incessant belief that the fertiliser subsidisation was a policy holy grail led him to write an oddly-appreciative obituary for Mutharika, who died at the end of a thuggish, repressive and disastrous second term in office.

Meanwhile, hunger returns to Malawi, but we have not yet established a convincing narrative. Many economists (including a few on this blog) have pointed out, time and time again, that the fertiliser subsidy programme was fraught with pitfalls, both political and practical. While the recent crisis is probably too complex to fully substantiate these concerns, now would be an appropriate time for the fertiliser advocates to turn their attention to the food situation in Malawi, and begin to ask why. Otherwise, we risk touting a policy that might actually have been a complete failure, or at the very least lacked the sort of robustness that anti-hunger policies desperately need.

Tags: , ,

It’s good to be the president

Dec 23

Posted by Matt in Africa, Aid, Development, Governance | Comments off

history

Since the unexpected death of Bingu wa Mutharika, I’ve been rather hopeful for Malawi. While Mutharika had an incredibly promising start, his second term was marred with paranoia, aggression and growing signs of dynasty-building and patronage politics. Thanks to a heart attack, we were graced with Joyce Banda, the country’s first female president, who appears to be both modest and incredibly pragmatic, while naturally eschewing the big bwana syndrome while has characterized so much of Malawian politics.

Banda’s sudden appearance on the global scene has excited a lot of people. Perhaps unfairly, many consider her to be Malawi’s best chance of rising above the seemingly-endless cycle of dashed expectations. The Guardian recently ran a behind-the-scenes piece on her which, while captivating and well done, only serves to further entrench these hopes.

To a large extent I share these expectations, and was happy to hear that Banda had decided to sell off the presidential jet and cut the presidential salary to less than what an Oxford post-doc makes in a year. Then I chatted to my mother the other day, who pointed out to me that while watching a BBC show on the posh London hotel Claridge’s, she had spotted Ms. Banda’s husband, having booked for 11 nights with his entourage of fifteen people (it happens at about the 11 minute mark here). Indeed, it appears that Ms. Banda also stayed at Claridge’s during her first state visit to the UK, during which she made the announcement about selling off her jet. While rates for a basic room at Claridges are roughly £400, its suites (which the programme suggests the Bandas stayed in) can be as expensive as £3,000 a night. The doorman proudly quips “it is Mr. President,” referring to Joyce Banda’s husband, noting he had been to Claridges before.

Perhaps the Banda’s get a special a discount, or the donors ponied up the cash for their London stay, or perhaps Richard Banda has a good pension from serving as Malawi’s Chief Justice. Maybe it’s reasonable to expect heads of state to enjoy a little luxury. Still, it’s awfully good to be the president (or at least the president’s husband).

Tags: , , , ,

In which Malawi’s government decides to uphold the constitution

Apr 8

Posted by Matt in Africa, Governance, Political Economy | Comments off

Say hello to Malawi’s first female president and Africa’s second female head of state. This post could also be titled “Exogenous governance shocks, Malawi edition.”

Tags:

In which Malawi’s government decides to ignore the constitution

Apr 7

Posted by Matt in Africa, Governance, Political Economy | Comments off

Update: despite earlier signs that the Government would try and block her constitutionally-mandated succession, Joyce Banda has been sworn in as the new president of Malawi, so crisis averted (well, for now). 

It has been over a day since Bingu wa Mutharika suffered a heart attack, and while the Government has still refused to release official confirmation that he has died, the public instead received a chilling indication that Mutharika’s regime will not go out without a fight.

As Kim Yi Dionne pointed out yesterday Malawi’s constitution clearly specifies that the Vice President is first in line for succession in the event that the president dies or is incapacitated. Malawi’s VP, Joyce Banda fell out of favor with the ruling party DPP some time ago, making the prospect of her assuming power unpalatable for Mutharika and the rest of the president’s Cabinet

For a long time the Government remained silent, both on the state of Bingu’s health (despite an alarming number of reports that he is dead, perhaps even before he made it to the hospital) and on the matter of his succession. This has made everyone uneasy – stalling on the Government’s part suggests that they are planning an strategy to block Banda’s succession. Perhaps to put a little bit of pressure on the Government to behave, both the British and American governments announced that they expected Banda to assume the office ASAP.

That silence was broken today when a subset of the cabinet, led by Information Minister and all-around-nefarious-person Patricia Kaliati, announced that Joyce Banda was ineligible due to her behavior while in office (video here – hat tip to Kim), including starting her own political party (which she did after she was thrown out by Mutharika). While they did not announce who the actual successor would be and would not reveal any information about Bingu wa Mutharika himself, this is a clear indication that the Government plans to circumvent the constitution.

It’s getting late in Denmark, so I’ll just offer a few thoughts before signing off:

Normally, I am wary of donors getting to involved in the decisions of recipient governments which are democratically elected, for fear that donor commitments will crowd out the natural accountability generated at the polls. This is quite different – we have a government which is very clearly going to choose to abandon its democratic principles and the international community might have the ability to make that decision too painful to bear.

Here are some options: donors could immediately and credibly rally behind Joyce Banda, not necessarily because she is the best candidate for president, but because Malawi’s constitution makes it clear that she is is the successor. Credible support can come in the form of donor dollars – no government which does not respect this succession should receive aid – the aim should be to make the decision very, very stark for the DPP. If this was combined with the threat of an odious debt sanction – where no new contracts signed by the Government will be enforced in courts, the squeeze might be even tighter.

What donors should not do is fall back on simple rhetoric about accountability. It has to be a clear choice – money flows if Banda succeeds. Money stops if she doesn’t. For it to be credible, donors need to be prepared to walk away – I fear that they won’t be.

Tags:

Malawi’s president and the art of diplomacy

Mar 7

Posted by Matt in Africa, Governance, Political Economy | Comments off

From the BBC:

Mr Mutharika said he has intelligence reports that some Western donor nations were working with local non-governmental groups (NGOs) to hold street demonstrations and vigils against his rule.

“I will not accept this nonsense any more,” Mr Mutharika said as he opened a road in his home tea-growing district of Thyolo in southern Malawi.

“If donors say this is not democracy, to hell with you… yes, I’m using that word, tell them to go to hell,” he said on Sunday.

In all seriousness, the media and donors often fail to acknowledge that local NGOs are often headed by members of the opposition or those with close ties to it. While Mutharika’s response is absurdly vitriolic, if outside forces are supporting these NGOs then his concerns aren’t entirely unfounded.

Tags:

Time inconsistency, Malawi edition

Feb 16

Posted by Matt in Africa, Governance, Political Economy | 2 Comments

In The Guardian on Wednesday, Bingu Mutharika responds to claims he is becoming autocratic:

“What they are trying to do is to draw a parallel between the leadership of Zimbabwe and Malawi. There is no basis for that. That is totally unfair and uncalled for. I have been very democratic.

“From 2004 until now, there is no single political prisoner in a Malawian jail. Is that consistent with the restriction of democracy in this country? We have been very democratic, we have been very patient. I have asked the opposition to come and see me but they refuse.

“It is simply not true. Because if it were true, all these people would have been rounded up. None of them have. They are free now. If indeed Malawi was starting to be a police state, would they still be walking free? That’s the question.”

In the Guardian today:

A prominent critic of Malawi’s president has been jailed in what activists say is the latest sign that the country is turning into a police state.

Ralph Kasambara, a human rights lawyer and former attorney general, has spent three nights behind bars after a fracas at his law practice in Blantyre.

Tags:

Sentences to ponder, Madonna edition

Jul 22

Posted by Matt in Africa, Aid, Development | 1 Comment

A few governments have released (mainly inane) statements of condemnation of the government’s crackdown on the urban protests yesterday. Madonna, of all people, released a statement which might accurately capture donor sentiment:

“I am deeply concerned about the violence today in Malawi, especially the devastating impact on Malawi’s children. Malawi must find a peaceful solution to these problems that allows donors to have confidence that their money will be used efficiently.”

Think of all the poor souls out there not meeting their disbursement targets!

Hat tip to haba na haba.

Tags: ,

Take me to the riot

Jul 19

Posted by Matt in Africa, Development, Governance | Comments off

The fertilizer subsidy is people!

Tomorrow will see a spate of peaceful demonstrations across Malawi to protest the country’s recent decline in economic governance and Bingu wa Mutharika’s creeping authoritarianism. For an excellent summary of events leading up to these protests, see Kim Yi Dionne’s post here. You’ll find a few pieces on the growing problems in the country on this blog.

There are some reports of pro-DPP (the ruling party) gangs going around and beating up the odd person, and there is some concern that there could be violent intimidation at tomorrow’s rally.

As a former civil servant of the Malawian government, this is all making me a little sad. My thoughts will be with the protesters tomorrow, who have every right to make their case without being bullied by an increasingly stubborn and belligerent government.

As two (now) British-based bloggers, we’ll do our best to bring any new information to light, although Kim is already several steps ahead of us with info on the coming protests.

Tags:

DFID calls Malawi’s bluff

Jul 14

Posted by Matt in Africa, Aid, Political Economy | 1 Comment

They blew it up!

I wrote before about how both Malawi and DFID were in a bizarre bluffing game over the recent expulsion of the British High Commissioner following the leak of a memo criticizing Bingu wa Mutharika’s government. It seems that we’ve reached the end of the game, with the British Government moving first:

Malawi will no longer receive general budget support from the UK Government, Andrew Mitchell announced today.

General budget support is used to allow governments to deliver their own national strategies for poverty reduction against an agreed set of targets. This has now been suspended indefinitely.

The Development Secretary took the decision after the Government of Malawi repeatedly failed to address UK concerns over economic management and governance.

This is, of course, a load of toff. DFID has put up with Mutharika’s authoritarian streak for several years now. Maybe this is the underlying reason behind Mitchell’s decision, but this would not have happened nearly as soon without the diplomatic crisis several weeks ago.

Still, this is a pretty amazing reversal of what looked to be an incredibly robust relationship during Mutharika’s first term. This all changed when the election cemented his position. Ironically, the British have (in part) to blame for this by helping fund the fertilizer subsidy which made him so popular.

As I explained before, the more successful the aid is rerouted, the less successful this action will be at actually incentivising change. Life will be less painful in the short run, but what about the long run?

Of course, DFID takes a moment to take as much credit for past progress as possible:

The UK has helped improve food security in Malawi for over seven million people a year by providing them with high yielding maize and legume seeds via the Farm Input Subsidy Programme.

UK support to strengthen the health service has helped save the lives of 3,200 pregnant women and 40,000 children since 2004. UK funding has built over 3,200 primary school classrooms and 4,800 toilets since 2001, helping keep more girls in school.

Hat tip to Kim Yi Dionne for the link.

Tags: ,