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Malawi |
FAMINE
The hunger situation in Malawi has reached the stage of being described as a human tragedy. But there are contradictions in this situation...
Many people go to bed hungry these days, but there are happy people about — i.e. the few who control the price of grain. They are happy with the exorbitant prices charged to the poor people of Malawi. You see, food shortages in Malawi have reached a crisis stage.
There are many cases of starving people. Women with babies on their backs are to be seen at entrances to many restaurants in the urban centres, begging for food scraps. Indeed the situation has become so drastic that intending diners in these restaurants are finding it difficult to enjoy a meal when the majority of people are suffering.
The whole country is effected
On 14 February 2002, priests of Lilongwe Catholic Diocese held a crisis meeting at Bethany Prayer House in Lilongwe, to discuss the food situation in the country. The priests noted that «famine is touching practically all the country.»
According to the press release issued at the end of their meeting, the priests said: «In some of our parishes, elderly people who haven’t left their village for a long time, now struggle to get to our churches and sit down saying that they have come to die. They have no food and no means to buy food.»
In Dowa District, 50 kilometres from Lilongwe, people are feeding themselves by digging roots and eating leaves, sometimes with disastrous consequences for their health. On Estate 21 of Press Agriculture in Kasungu District, 120 kilometres from Lilongwe, towards the Northern Region, one of the tenants went to buy husks. He was sold husks mixed with sawdust. He and his family reached Madisi Hospital in good time and narrowly escaped death.
According to Sister Rita Hieble, Co-ordinator of Tikondane Project for Street Children of the Catholic Diocese of Lilongwe, in Lilongwe, the number of children running away from the villages because of hunger has increased. They prefer to be on the streets. The traditional coping mechanisms do not work in this situation. Working for food is hardly possible when the famine has reached such a scale.
This is not the only problem. People have to sell off their livestock. Chickens, which would fetch more than 100 Kwacha (US $2), are now sold for 30 to 40 Kwacha (less than US $1). Goats are being sold at less than 300 Kwacha (US $6). And cattle are being sold for as little as 1,500 Kwacha (US $30). Money as a medium of exchange is no longer acceptable. Those selling their livestock prefer the barter trade where they are paid a pail of maize in exchange for one goat.
No more food security
Malawi has reached a desperate situation. At their 14 February meeting, the Catholic clergy noted that, «While maize is being sold at some points, it is available in such small amounts that it can only be bought in very small quantities. People often spent time queuing up to get their turn to buy 10 or 20 kgs of maize. Others are hoarding and selling at exorbitant prices, sometimes for as much as 1400 Kwacha per 50 kgs.»
There were hopes that the supply of maize would not be a problem, as the government had ordered maize from South Africa and Uganda. However, reports also appeared indicating that maize was being sold at night in various Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporations (ADMARC) depots. This meant people could not buy anything the following morning. Foul play was suspected. This was after the government banned all private maize traders, and mandated ADMARC with the responsibility of ensuring maize was available to all rural areas. But maize never reached the rural areas -– it was stuck in the urban centres.
On 6 February, the National Bank of Malawi (NBM)’s Economic Newsletter stated: «The availability of food remains one of the immediate major economic problems the country faces, and tough measures levelled against the private sector will breed corruption. Bottlenecks in transportation and distribution of maize still remain, and an official ban imposed on private traders has worsened the problem of availability, typical of any service and commodity that is not open to private participation.»
The NBM said the government must allow private maize traders to get back into business, and must remove the surtax on maize flour until harvest-time, in order to address the on-going food crisis. Private traders are bringing in maize flour from South Africa, and the government is charging a 25% surtax on the maize flour, thus increasing the price of maize flour even further.
Response by the Religious institutions
Religious Institutions have been responding to the hunger crisis in the country. A number of initiatives have been started. Feeding centres have been opened in many religious institutions and health centres. St. Gabriel’s Mission Hospital of the Catholic Diocese of Lilongwe at Namitete in Lilongwe, (100 beds) has stopped charging fees for its services and is offering free food for both outpatients and those who are staying in the hospital. Sister Justina Morn of the Carmelite Order is the Sister-in-Charge. She says the hospital started the feeding programme on 1 February and this will run until people have harvested their crops.
Since the introduction of the services, the hospital is daily treating close to 500 people from surrounding areas, most suffering from malnutrition. Sister Justina: «It is both adults and the young ones who are suffering from malnutrition. A poor diet causes all sorts of diseases. We are hoping that our gesture can make a little difference in their lives.»
In Mchinji District, on the Western Border with Zambia, the Christian Churches and the Muslim community have recognised the needs of the local people. They have set up an emergency feeding centre where each church group and Muslim community takes turns in feeding a large number of people.
President’s Insensitivity
Criticism has been expressed about President Bakili Muluzi’s insensitivity to the situation. On 14 February, on his return from a three-week visit to the United Kingdom and the United States of America, President Muluzi denied that people were dying of starvation. A reporter wanted to know what the government is doing to ease the plight of those dying of starvation. The President insisted that he wanted to have the numbers of those who had died, and said it was the Media that was spoiling Malawi’s good name.
The priests of Lilongwe Diocese have challenged the situation and have appealed for special government intervention. They suggest that all Members of Parliament should report about the real situation in their constituencies; that the government should declare the famine a national disaster; that the government should exercise price controls and slash the price of maize; indeed, the government should subsidise the price of maize; that the international community should be urged to quickly assist Malawi’s population in this human crisis.
The priests condemned those who, having bought maize at very low prices, are now selling the maize and reaping huge, but illegal and immoral profits. They also spoke out against the fact that maize has been sold to people of means, and to other countries, when it was known the harvest would be poor. They criticised the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which had pressurised ADMARC into sell the country’s strategic reserve of maize, and used the proceeds to pay off Malawi’s debt, rather than replacing the maize with a fresh reserve stock.
The fact is, Malawi is in dire need of assistance to alleviate the human tragedy of hunger that has befallen the country.
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PeaceLink 2002 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement