Category: Government Policy

Tropical Storm Ana passed through southern Malawi in late January 2022, leaving devastation and destruction in its wake. Over 990,000 people were affected by the storm, according to Government figures, of whom an estimated 680,000 people are in the six hardest-hit districts of Chikwawa, Nsanje, Phalombe, Mulanje, Chiradzulu and Balaka. People’s access to food and livelihoods were significantly impacted by the floods, and many families lost their food stocks when their homes were destroyed, damaged or flooded. Education and health services were disrupted.

Through the Malawi Tropical Storm Ana Flash Appeal (February-May 2022) humanitarian partners aim to provide vital assistance to an estimated 542,000 people in the six districts hardest hit by Tropical Storm Ana, in support of the Government-led relief efforts. The Flash Appeal brings together the most time-sensitive and critical response activities of 44 partners—the Malawi Red Cross, 7 national NGOs, 26 international NGOs and 10 UN agencies. All of the work carried out under the appeal will directly complement the Government of Malawi’s relief efforts.

In the first month of the Flash Appeal (February), humanitarian partners reached 206,000 people with life-saving and life-sustaining assistance in areas impacted by Tropical Storm Ana. This includes 181,000 people who received food assistance, livelihoods or agricultural inputs, and close to 95,100 learners were provided with learning materials. Some 61,450 people were reached with emergency shelter and 54,670 people with non-food items (NFIs). At least 29,000 people received access to safe drinking water, and 2,500 accessed temporary sanitation or hygiene facilities, while mobile health clinic services reached 10,200 people and 2,700 women and girls received dignity kits in Chikwawa and Mulanje districts. The Logistics Sector assisted 15 partners with storage and/or transportation of relief items.

The Flash Appeal requires US$29.4 million, of which $5.5 million has been mobilized, including $3 million received from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). In order to ensure that partners can rapidly scale-up their response, it is critical that additional funding is received swiftly under the appeal. This is especially the case for sectors which need to procure supplies, some of which are facing imminent pipeline breaks.

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Media watchdogs in southern Africa are calling on the governments of Angola, Eswatini and Zimbabwe to do more to protect press freedom following the publication of the Freedom in the World 2022 Report which says those countries are among the most oppressive authorities to media in the region.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa said it was concerned that Eswatini and Zimbabwe authorities were strangling the media as published in the recent Freedom in the World 2022 Report.

Tabani Moyo is the director of Media Institute of Southern Africa.

“Eswatini is stubborn or notorious for shutting internet twice in 2021 alone in response to protests in that country. Zimbabwe mainly not free considering issues around proposals on the regulation of the (inter)net. But also remember that Zimbabwe is in the process of introducing the amendment of the Criminal Law Codification Reforms Act which seeks to criminalize the engagement of citizens with [foreign] embassies. Angola is in election season, its behavior, we will be watching closely. But also of interest were countries that were from southern Africa in terms of internet freedom,” said Moyo.

That was reference to Angola, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

“Zambia, in 2021 August, shut down internet during elections. Zimbabwe throttled the internet during this month when political parties were starting campaigning. Then you have a little bit of progression in South Africa, which is still within the free nations. And Angola being one of the countries on the look out due to the election season. Beginning of the year, I wrote projections on state of the freedom in southern Africa, and this report tallies [with] what I projected and actually affirming projections around trends that were likely going to see in 2022,” said Moyo.

Kindness Paradza, Zimbabwe deputy information minister dismissed the report saying it is “nonsense. Who has been harassed, detained, jailed or killed in the last 12 months?” he asked.

Tafadzwa Mugwadi is from Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ruling ZANU-PF party.

“Government has done adequate reforms to ensure that our journalists and media house continue to enjoy the space thus so far open in Zimbabwe under the second republic it is therefore mischievous, erroneous and a dangerous lie by the Freedom House to allege that there is no freedom of the media in Zimbabwe,” said Mugwadi.

When President Mnangagwa took over from the late Robert Mugabe in 2017 he promised that citizens would enjoy all freedoms enshrined in the Zimbabwe constitution. But his critics say that promise is still far from being a reality.

Source: Voice of America

Luanda – The Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Saturday night approved an amount of around USD 1.4 million for the operation of the Humanitarian Operations Centre (SHOC), based in Nacala, Mozambique.

The amount was approved during the Council of Ministers of the organisation and should be used for the “provisional start-up” activities of the Centre, over a period of three years (2022 to 2025).

With this step, the organization intends to coordinate in advance the response to the risks of natural disasters that are becoming more frequent in the region.

In recent years, the southern African region has been experiencing an increase in the frequency, magnitude and impact of cyclones, droughts and floods that threaten to reverse development gains.

SADC approves 2022-2023 budget

At the meeting, which took place in Lilongwe, Malawi, SADC also approved the organisation’s Annual Corporate Plan and budget for the Financial Year 2022/2023, the amount of which was not disclosed.

These are documents to support the implementation of SADC priorities, under the terms of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) for the period 2020-2030.

At the meeting, where Angola was represented by a delegation headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, the situation of the Covid-19 pandemic was discussed, including the state of vaccination in the region.

Regarding Covid-19, Council members agreed that they should not lower their guard in the collective response, ensuring, among others, equitable access to vaccines, while taking steps to address the challenge of vaccine hesitancy and scepticism among the regional population.

SADC Industrialisation Road Map

The final communiqué states that the meeting, which was held on Friday and Saturday, also reviewed the status of implementation of the organisation’s member countries’ Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap for 2015-2063.

This, the document continues, is a standard agenda to boost industrialisation and trade, recognising that economic transformation and development depend on an industrialised and integrated region.

SADC advocates for strong economic linkages in which there is increased intra-regional trade on the basis of interconnecting member states’ markets.

Finally, the Council of Ministers commended the member states for their solidarity and support to the deployment of the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM), which is resulting in the improvement of the situation in Cabo Delgado.

The document stresses that in the case of Cabo Delgado (Mozambique), internally displaced persons are returning to their homes and resuming their normal lives.

SADC comprises South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Comoros Islands, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Eswatini, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Senegalese President and chair of the African Union Macky Sall has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek a lasting cease-fire in Ukraine. Sall’s talk with Putin comes just a week after Senegal abstained from a U.N. vote to condemn the Russian invasion. African nations have interests in seeing an end to the war but also in not upsetting Putin.

Sall’s request as chairman of the African Union Wednesday was a contrast to his actions as Senegalese president a week prior, when Senegal joined 16 other African countries in abstaining from a U.N. vote to condemn the Russian invasion.

Senegal is considered a beacon of democracy in West Africa, so the move came as a surprise to many.

“[Non-alignment] has been the default posture for many African countries over the years where they prefer not to get involved or not to get in between great power rivalries,” said Joseph Siegle, the director of research for the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. “And so, it isn’t a vote of support for Russia, but a vote for trying to maintain neutrality.”

Russia has a plethora of business dealings throughout the African continent. Senegal, for example, signed a $300 million deal with Russian oil company Lukoil just last year. The company also has operations in Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana and Nigeria. Russian mining companies are also active throughout Africa, from extracting diamonds in Angola to aluminum in Guinea and uranium in Namibia.

Most notably, Moscow is Africa’s leading supplier of weapons. Since 2015, it’s signed military agreements with more than 20 African countries.

Furthermore, private Russia military companies with close ties to the Kremlin have gained an increasingly strong foothold in African countries such as Mali and the Central African Republic.

So, while it may be in the best interest of many African countries to avoid tension with the Kremlin, leaders are beginning to feel the ripple effects of the war.

“Russia is a country that exports a lot of products, notably gas and raw materials like wheat,” said Abdou Rahmane Thiam, head of the political science department at Dakar’s University of Cheikh Anta Diop. “That can have an economic impact especially with regards to trade.”

Luckily, the African Union does have some sway, Thiam said.

“International relations are not only decided by major world powers — the African Union is still a regional institution. It can be considered an influential voice,” Thiam said. “Russia also needs Africa. It’s in their best interest to listen to the spokesperson of the African Union.”

In a statement about the call, the Kremlin referred to the invasion as a “special military operation to protect Donbass” and did not mention Sall’s request for a cease-fire. Instead, it stated that Russia was asked to safely evacuate foreign citizens and said both leaders had reaffirmed their commitment to further develop Russian-African relations.

Source: Voice of America

The Catholic Church in Malawi has accused the government of being weak on corruption in a rare letter of criticism released Sunday in churches across the nation. Authorities say they have received the letter and would investigate the issues raised.

The letter, written by local bishops, highlights several areas where the administration of President Lazarus Chakwera has allegedly failed to improve. Among those is the fight against corruption, which the church says the government has failed big time.

It says the current administration is led by weak and indecisive leaders who are failing to utilize their powers to govern the country.

Father Henry Saindi is the secretary-general of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi — an assembly of Catholic bishops in the country.

“We just had revelations recently about people who are politically connected involved in the plunder of public resources with the support of some civil servants,” he said.

The bishops said in the letter that it is concerning that a president who campaigned against corruption continues to keep his ministers and aides involved in the practice.

The letter did not cite specific examples. But in January, President Chakwera declined to fire a cabinet minister, Kezzie Msukwa, who was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau.

The bishops issued the letter as the church commemorates 30 years since it issued another pastoral letter which helped Malawi change from a one-party system of government to a multi-party system of government.

George Phiri, a political analyst based in Mzuzu, says the pastoral letter should be a wake-up call for the government.

“Because Malawians have lost trust in Tonse Alliance government since they have even failed to accomplish or implement promises which they made to Malawians. It’s very clear that now they have to learn from this pastoral letter and begin addressing those issues critically,” he said.

Other issues the pastoral letter highlighted are the government’s failure to stop plunder of public resources by foreign nationals in partnership with corrupt politicians and civil servants.

The Church also says it is concerned with interference by the president’s office and cabinet in the operation of state-run companies and organizations.

Malawi’s government spokesperson Gospel Kazako told the state-run Malawi Broadcasting Corporation that the government will consider issues the Catholic Church has raised.

“Most of the things that have been highlighted in the pastoral letter are things that certainly will attract our attention. We respect the Catholic Church,” he said. “There are few things that we have already done, there are few things that also are on the drawing board. I think what is required is just to make sure that we get in touch with them and then be able to engage, so that we can brief them on where we are on certain things”

But Phiri, also a former political science lecturer at University of Livingstonia, says the government should not pretend that things have ever been better.

“Because it’s like the government has been addressing these issues. The government has not been addressing these issues raised by a pastoral letter. Otherwise the church would not have raised these issues if the government had already started delivering according to the pastoral letter,” he said.

The Catholic Church also said there is a need for a multi-sector approach to address the issues raised in the letter, and not rely on the government alone.

Source: Voice of America

The European Union plans to take the unprecedented step of funding weapons purchases for Ukraine, EU officials said on Feb. 27 as the bloc announced a raft of new sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The EU’s plan to fund weapons purchases will use millions of euros to help buy air-defense systems, anti-tank weapons, ammunition and other military equipment for Ukraine’s armed forces. It would also supply things like fuel, protective gear, helmets and first-aid kits.

“For the first time ever, the European Union will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and other equipment to a country that is under attack,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said of the weapons purchases, calling it a “watershed moment.”

Von der Leyen expects the measure to be endorsed by EU leaders along with other significant moves — a ban on pro-Kremlin media outlets RT and Sputnik, the closure of EU airspace to Russian planes, and sanctions against Belarus.

She said RT and Sputnik are part of the “Kremlin’s media machine,” and the EU is “developing tools to ban their toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe,” von der Leyen said.

They will “no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our union,” von der Leyen said.

The closure of the EU’s airspace comes after many individual European countries along with Britain and Canada announced they would ban Russian planes. The EU airspace ban will prohibit flights into or over the EU by “every Russian plane — and that includes the private jets of oligarchs,” von der Leyen said.

The EU also will hit Russian ally Belarus with sanctions for facilitating the invasion. The regime of Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka had been “complicit in the vicious attack against Ukraine,” von der Leyen said.

New restrictive measures will hit Belarus’s most important sectors, including tobacco, wood, cement, iron and steel.

The measures come on top of EU sanctions announced Feb. 26, including cutting some Russian banks from the SWIFT interbank messaging network, banning all transactions with Russia’s central bank, and added restrictions on Russian oligarchs.

The measures also follow Germany’s decision to commit 100 billion euros ($113 billion) to a special armed forces fund and to keep its defense spending above 2% of GDP from now on.

Source: Voice of America