Kondwani Munthali -Malawi

I was out of the country for a whole good eight days, though stressful trip but I managed to have ample time to watch television sample the internet and follow on issues around the World. There was the report of Chris Brown and his alleged fight with Rihanna. Interestingly, Rihanna is now the victim, according to all versions and Brown, taken as a soft boy after Usher has seen his world crumble. Endorsements have been canceled left, right and centre. While domestic violence is a crime, perhaps the crowds of judges who have lashed out at Chris needs to give a dude some time and go through the issues properly. For one there was a fight yes, but what caused it we will know when justice starts its machinery, otherwise I saw it last time when Akon danced with a girl in Trindad, some big phone company rushed to make its cancellations, but seriously nobody wanted to know what the girl was doing underage in a club of 18. Of course for Brown, hey its time to control the emotions, otherwise with...

Registered Voters: Southern Region: 2,639,783 Central Region: 2,463,703 Northern Region (Minus Rumphi): 827,777 “For the North, it has always found itself on the wrong side of political tide because they fail to unite and understand that you can only claim what you own. They don’t own the Government and I moved in to bring that balance they have rejected Aford,” Chakufwa Tom Chihana told me in an interview soon after 2004 general elections. Now its seems the battle for 2009 elections will be fought in the Northern Region, with its 700,000 votes probably delivering a verdict on who becomes a President come 19 May, and probably who forms a largest coalition in Parliament. Northern Region has 31 seats and its voting influence extends to three more constituencies in Kasungu North, North North and North East while in Nkhotakota it managed to influence Nkhotakota North constituency, bringing in a total of 35 seats to bargain with. Posterity has not favoured the region in terms of its decisio...

So in earnest the journey towards our fourth multiparty general elections starts today. Malawi has been blessed as one of the few stable democracies in Africa and the most peaceful on the contienent. Never have we experienced any typre of violence. Of course the political drama already started with real and staged party conventions, staged and real party primaries and more importantly former President Bakili Muluzi's dream to start all over again as a President. I have written my analysis of the many issues that sorroung the three potential candidates names State President Bingu wa Mutharika, Leader of Opposition John Tembo and the former President and UDF candidate Bakili Muluzi. Much of it has come to pass and I am very glad. Yes, I said DPP has no structures to manage itself through primaries, I am glad two Ministers recalled my discussions with them and called me. For UDF how they can managed the situation of Muluzi will be entirely to them. For MCP it seems they have changed i...

Excerpts from my book: African Health Systems; The local solutions that have long impact, developed as part of my field work during my Nieman Year to be published by the end on 2009: The problems of accessing World Health Organisation (WHOAFRO) are a reflection of the many systems of Government that have all been characterised with poor leadership and bogged down by very few home grown ideas. A respected Malawian Dr. Habib Somanje is part of the office, though readily accessible during his days as director of preventive health in the Ministry of Health, efforts to locate him within the WHO offices took more than 103 days and thanks to his coming to Malawi in Janaury 2009 I was able to get his email contact for the first time. Decision making is the biggest problem in African health systems that even those that can make life saviong decisions on diseases like cholera have to sometimes wait for a central authority to release some basic treatments. International decisions have failed Afri...

Happy New Year!! Most people have written a lot about different issues and at the centre of it all remains simple issues that we did not solve in 2008. Darfur is a scar on International consience the same with Somalia and DR Congo. The shame of conflicts in Sri Lanka, Afghanstan, Iraq, Columbia and even Zimbawe still stares and remains with us all as human beings. Gaza decided to be a new way of changing our focus from Obama's day, Tuesday 20th January, 2009. But today, Malaria, AIDS, TB and even cholera is still a challenge killing thousands of Malawians and Africans. Today is just a greeting to you all and wish you happy Obama day this Tuesday and appeal to Hamas and the Israel's to give peace a chance. I asked a freind of mine from Jordan why did Hamas terminate the six months ceasefire, Hamza thats the name of my freind gave me enough excuses to fill out two pages. To me, when you start talking solutions are found. Guns are never a solution. Nothern Ireland is an example Ha...

I last met the Late Mary Kaphwereza Banda, my teacher for years on November 23 at Johannesburg's O.R Tambo. She was coming from graduation of one of her daughters. She proudly told me "aliyonse akumalizga masters mwana wane." She was very proud of her daugthers, her achievements and as Bakili Muluzi put it rightly at her role in the history of Malawi. In September before primaries for Lilongwe City Central, she told me she was yet to make a decision to contest though there was pressure for her return. I dismissed her jokingly that that was a politicians white lie. She invited to me to a tour of her properties. I had attended Walani brefiely in the 90's and my niece is at Peter Pan. I have some distant cousins at Mount Sinai. We ended our tour at her office at Mount Sinai it was lunch hour. She had a meal prepared at the school, an ordinary nsima with some green vegetables and meat. She refused me to have it and offered to buy me lunch at a "proper resturant"...

First published in Nation on Sunday 21 Dec. 2008 Malawi sacrifices 7,000 to save tobacco ..DDT can eradicate Malaria-WHO by Kondwani Munthali Top civil servant in the Ministry of Health Chris Kang’ombe on Wednesday admitted that the country’s reliance on tobacco has affected the fights against malaria as there are resistance to the adoption of use of Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane (DDT) spraying which is proven to eradicate the fatal disease. DDT was banned due to environmental and toxic effects, but the World Health Organisation has recognised that spraying the insecticide can eradicate malaria, as since the ban there has been increase in the incidents of malaria in South America and Africa. “I would say yes it is a difficult choice, either we forgo all the foreign exchange that the country depends on tobacco or we accept to continue sacrificing 7,000 lives that we lose due to malaria,” Kang’ombe said. He said the Ministry had started the process of consultations and it was still o...