by Patrick Mawaya, Malawi, September 1997
THEME = SOCIAL CONDIT.
Malawi's population is divided into numerous minority groups each having its own identity, largely determined by linguistic, cultural, territorial and historical factors. No group comprises more than 20% of the population. There are no overt ethnic problems presently in Malawi, but undercurrents are being felt which, if not addressed, may lead to a real crisis.
Malawi, while still under British colonial administration, was divided into three administrative regions. These still exist today. The divisions follow the ethnic groups' areas. The Northern Region is composed of mainly Tumbuka speaking people; the Central Region - mainly Chichewa speaking people; and the Southern Region with people speaking Sena, Yao and Lomwe. There are also other minor ethnic groups found within the regions.
The struggle against colonialism came to an end in 1964, when Malawi attained independence. In 1966, the country opted to become a republic. Dr.Hastings Banda was Malawi's first Prime Minister, becoming first President of the newly-established republic. At that time, English was retained as the official language for business. Dr.Banda also imposed Chichewa as a local national official language, to be used alongside English. The strange thing was, that Dr. Banda did not speak Chichewa himself. During his time as President, he had to speak through an interpreter.
Dr. Banda also banned the use of Tumbuka in schools and on national radio. The people from the Northern Region, mainly Tumbuka people, were furious considering this to be a loss of identity. Discontent against Dr.Banda grew.
People also began to realise that there was inequality and uneven development of Malawi's social structures. The university was established in the Southern Region, with three university constituent colleges also in this region; a further two constituent colleges were established in the Central Region. The Southern Region is the hub for all commercial activity whilst the tobacco industry is centred in the Central Region. Tobacco remains Malawi's number one export, but is likely to be threatened by the worldwide anti-smoking lobby.
It's clear there's not much left for the Northern Region.
Although the Tumbuka language was banned, Christian Churches in the Northern Region continued to use it. Both the Catholic and the Protestant Churches said their prayers in Tumbuka. All hymns books were printed in Tumbuka.
When the Catholic Bishops published a Pastoral Letter in March 1992, criticising Dr.Banda and his government, the Letter, entitled "Living Our Faith", was published in three languages - English, Chichewa and Tumbuka.
In 1993, multiparty politics was accepted as a political system for Malawi. In May 1994, Dr.Banda and his Malawi Congress Party (MCP) lost the elections and handed over power to the United Democratic Front (UDF) of Dr.Bakili Muluzi.
Analysis of Malawi's political parties reveals they are formed along regional lines. The Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) has a majority of members from the Northern Region. Most MCP members come from the Central Region. The UDF has the majority of its members in the Southern Region. The 1994 election results also show that people voted along regional lines. AFORD scooped all the parliamentary seats in the north; the MCP won almost all the seats in the Central region and a few in the Southern Region; the UDF won most of the seats in the Southern Region, plus a few in the Central Region. The current situation is that no party has a majority in Parliament.
1) The UDF reintroduced the Tumbuka language on national radio. But political analysts say this was merely a propaganda ploy to win the hearts of the people in the Northern Region. Other ethnic groups then insisted that their languages must be used as well! So, what's the situation now? Malawi has one radio station, using two channels. Broadcasts are made in six local languages: Chichewa, Tumbuka, Lomwe, Yao, Sena, plus English. News reports are given out in all the languages.
2) The UDF government directed that the pupils' own local languages must be used in primary education (currently offered free). English remains Malawi's official language.
Tension is in the air. The Daily Times published a story which said the government forcefully retired principal secretaries coming from the MCP region, who sympathised with the MCP. The government's version is that these principal secretaries had reached retirement age.
There is no agreement as to which language will be the official local national language, alongside English.
END