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Malawi |
SOCIAL CONDIT.
The challenges ahead
Malawi’s poor will have to brace themselves for yet another challenging time under the country’s United Democratic Front (UDF) leadership. As long as the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAP) of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) continue, Malawians will have to tighten their belts. But the poor will have to tighten their belts even harder!
On 11 December 1998, during the 9th Consultative Group (CG) Meeting in Lilongwe, Ms. Barbara Kafka, the World Bank’s country director for Angola, Malawi and Zimbabwe, outlined a vision for discussion in the next CG meeting. The underlying goal of that vision was a growing economy, an increase in the living standards for all Malawians and an improvement in their abysmal social conditions. Two years on, the reality is the reverse of that vision. There is a crisis in every sector.
On 15 May 2000, Ms Kafka admitted during the CG‘s 10th Consultative Meeting: «The average Malawian’s standard of living is not improving; more than a fifth of the children die before reaching the age of five; less than half the population has access to clean drinking water. This is plainly unacceptable. We must find a way to make our programmes more effective». In his speech at the same meeting, Malawi’s President Muluzi said: «Poverty eradication is the central focus of my government’s economic policies. Our priority remains very much what we set out in 1994, namely, to improve the economy and make sure that the benefits of a growing economy are shared and distributed to the poorer sections of the community. Today. we remain committed to growth and to structural adjustment through the support of the IMF and the World Bank. We will also give high priority to improving budget allocation for health, education and other priority areas».
The President’s speech sounded more like rhetoric than truth. Critics lashed out at the President calling his speech «lies». They based their criticisms on what they see to be taking place in «high places»: corruption institutionalised; no efforts made to improve access to clean drinking water, education and the health services; development of Malawi’s infrastructure a non-starter; no efforts made to trim-down the cabinet.
The same day as the CG Meeting opened, Malawi’s civil society staged a peaceful demonstration calling for the country’s donor partners to really take the poor into consideration during their sessions. When asked what he thought about this demonstration, the Finance Minister branded the demonstrators as «copy-cats» of western thinking, apparently referring to similar incidents in Seattle and Washington. The reaction to the Minister’s statement was such, that the following day he was forced to apologise for his remarks!
Economic reforms
What’s been happening to Malawi’s economy? Under the SAP‘s, Malawi has been implementing a number of economic reforms which include: Deregulating and liberalizing the economy; reducing macroeconomic stability; redressing the socio-economic inequalities of the past, especially by opening up opportunities for smallholder agricultural projects and for girls’ education; allocating more resources to supporting the social sector.
Foreign donors have praised the Malawian government for its efforts but the feeling is more could have been achieved. The United States has said: «The real challenge now is to sustain and build on past achievements. This will require continued strong leadership and commitment». The United States noted certain areas where implementation has generally lagged behind or proved unsatisfactory. «There has been inadequate fiscal discipline and accountability of public resources; the implementation of civil service reform has been unsatisfactory; the implementation of policies conducive to investment and sustained economic growth has been lagging; Malawi’s fiscal policy has been too flexible and not credible; the budget is burdened by unauthorised and wasteful spending and the inability of parastatals to service their debts». All of which has a profound effect on efforts being made to reduce poverty.
Government’s new initiative
During the 10th CG Meeting, Malawi’s Government presented a new initiative to reduce poverty in the country. The new initiative, the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (IPRSP) re-confirms the Government’s commitment to specific poverty reduction areas and provides what can be described as a «road map» for concluding the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP). But not everyone is convinced or taken in by the Government’s initiative.
People know that Malawi’s external prospects remain fragile. The export outlook, in particular that of tobacco is highly uncertain, because since sales started in April, prices have been disappointing. Most tobacco farmers have been selling their tobacco at less than US $1.0 per kilo. Declining tobacco prices have forced the further decline of the Malawi Kwacha against the US dollar and since the devaluation of the Kwacha, prices of basic commodities have risen. Also, there’s been a decline in foreign aid.
Civil society wants to improve the lot of the poor. This means: Ensuring food security; guaranteeing an adequate distribution of incomes; providing access to land; combatting the impoverishment of women; fighting the high crime-rate; ensuring resources reach those who need them. The private sector wants to: Bring down high interest rates; reduce excessive taxation rates; ameliorate the country’s infrastructures; control the costs of transport; improve labour productivity; provide access to market information and appropriate technology. The Government aims to: Develop the private sector; support the budget; reform the public sector; find solutions to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This list is not complete but gives an idea of the challenges facing the country as a whole.
As Ms Kafka said on 17 May in Lilongwe: «The poverty in which the majority of Malawians live is something none of us is ready to accept, and the urgency of the situation sounds a warning bell for all of us».
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