Malawi Civil Society organisation have asked the government of President Joyce Banda to swiftly act on what they call governance lapses within 30 days or risk a campaign against citizens from paying tax. The group operating under the resuscitated umbrella called Grand Coalition has faulted the JB government for being “seen to be irresponsible to […]
On 4th August 2013 I was one of the two panellists on Capital Radio’s Sunday Roundtable – a weekly current affairs programme tackling socio-political and economic issues affecting the Malawi. The theme was service delivery, concentrating on water and electricity supply. The programme theme followed a horrendous week of water shortages in Blantyre city where residents […]
The Daily Times newspaper of Friday, July 26, 2013 had a screaming front-page headline: “JB defies court order”. The story is on President Joyce Banda’s decision to go ahead with elevation of Traditional Authority (TA) Chikowi, in Zomba, to a senior chief on the following Saturday, July 27 in an apparent disregard for a court order […]
The British High Commissioner to Malawi Michael Nevin has described the wealth amassed by former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika as a wake up call to Malawians. Nevin made the remarks in an interview on Friday in Lilongwe on the sidelines of the Extra-Ordinary General Meeting organised by the Youth Consultative Forum (YCF). Mutharika had several accounts both with local and foreign commercial banks […]
Parliamentary Chief Whip for opposiiton United Democratic Front (UDF), Dr Clement Chiwaya has said heavy handedness by police officers towards leaders of opposition parties will dent the human rights record of the Joyce Banda administration. Recently, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) penned the Inspector General of Police, Lot Dzonzi, expressing concern over what it has called […]
The Public Affairs Committee (PAC) has called for an end of politicians changing parties when government changes, saying the development affect governance. Sheikh Imuran Shereef Mahomed, acting chairperson of PAC, a civil society, interfaith organisation made up of the main Protestant, Catholic and Muslim faith groups in Malawi, said on Wednesday at the opening the […]
President Joyce Banda has said in one year she has been in office after taking over form authotatalian rule of late Bingu wa Mutharika, her administration has repealed most of the oppressive laws that impinged on peoples’ freedoms and rights. Banda, delivering the State of the National Address at the New Parliament Building in Lilongwe, […]
The Public Affairs Committee (PAC), an umbrella organisation for major faith communities represented in Malawi has reacted angrily to President Joyce Banda’s failure to sign the to sign the Table Mountain Declaration media accord. The committee says the manner in which President Banda has behaved in handling issues surrounding media freedom and governance over the last few weeks is […]
Does giving aid entitle donors to have a say on who should lead? The opinion expressed recently by western donors in Malawi, favouring and supporting President Joyce Banda, whom most critics and analysts have concluded is simply their puppet, is out of order and must be denounced. The announcement adds a new dimension to the […]
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesman Nicholous Dausi has apologised for the party’s past mistakes during its time in government. The party has since regretted its grave sins which include the economic mess, human rights violations, threats to close down newspapers, banning government advertising in some media outlets and passing repressive laws. ”We may have made […]
Recent remarks by Vice President, Khumbo Kachali, on the need for John Kapito to be prosecuted for crimes he allegedly committed during the Bingu regime is detrimental to our democracy, an institution that needs a proper push by our political leaders. Utterances on the political podiums are in the domain of millions of Malawians who […]
Veteran politician Green Lulilo Mwamondwe has accused government’s fierce critic John Kapito of being ignorant of what bad governance entails, saying the human rights activist and consumer advocate should visit some countries to get a sense of what he is talking about. Mwamondwe, who is former deputy high commissioner to Zimbabwe, claimed Kapito wanted cheap […]
International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Christine Lagarde has predicted that Malawi’s GDP is more likely to double in 2013 due to reforms the Joyce Banda administration has made since April 2012. Lagarde was speaking on Friday at Kamuzu Palace in the capital Lilongwe after she had an audience with President Banda and other top government officials […]
Representatives of the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) on Wednesday met Malawi President Joyce Banda at Sanjika Place where they largely highlighted concerns and reservations which Malawians have on her administration. President Banda was sworn in as Malawi president in April after the sudden death of president Bingu wa Mutharika in April. According to the organizers […]
Malawi has ranked 17 in the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance released on Monday in London. The Ibrahim Index, ranking 52 African countries according to 88 indicators grouped under safety and the rule of law, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity and human development. Malawi ranked 7th in the southern Africa, according to […]
There is no doubt that Malawi is a very different country with Joyce Banda in State House – a country that is returning to the path of democracy, constitutional government and respect for human rights. It is a reality acknowledged in a new report by the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), entitled The […]
British government has been persuaded to reinstate its general budget support for Malawi following brave reforms ” for the better carried by new President Joyce Banda, according to MPs on the International Development Committee. In a report released on Tuesday and seen by Nyasa Times from the House of Commons website, the committee’s chairman, Sir Malcolm Bruce, recommended that […]
Part 1: media freedom after 1994 The role played by opposition parties and politicians in the current political crisis has not been sufficiently analysed. This has implications for current human rights and civil society campaigns. Those people with short memories think Bingu wa Mutharika is solely to blame for recent abuses of human rights and […]