By Pacharo Felix Munthali
Nchima estate, situated in Thyolo, 4254 hectares, owned by UK investors called Plantation and General Investment is a quiet place. Allocated south of Blantyre, the estate within it has two villages, Lipulo and Mtamangale supplemented by greenish scenery of tea radiating a kind of beauty never illusioned before.
With seemingly caring management, the estate if you are a visitor zooms out a motion picture that all in the estate is well.
But as you board off a vehicle and put your feet on ground, treading, in the estate, the real view that is rather perplexing and sobering comes into scrutiny. The inequality in the estate is just too much; the gap between the majority who form part of the labourers and the very few who are rich is just a chasm.
Bare-footed children with no or worn out shirts, some having their shorts or skirts hosting patches upon patches glean at you. They smile as if all is well. They don't know what the future has for them in stock. They look at the estate as if was created for them to die there, possibly die as poor as their parents.
A BIT OF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Nchima Estate is very old, so much that asking the workers all they manage is scratching their heads. It has always been there before 1900, it is a very old estate. Ever since the estate has been there, there have been all sorts of land disputes. There has always been shortage of land for the ordinary people.
As such the estate in 1981/2 donated "land to the villagers" after pressure had become too much to handle, says Moses Masanje, Tea Manager.
Also in 1993 there was another encroachment by the villagers into the estate by the villagers and it was tense - as a result the villagers were again given some lands.
Such is a kind of tale that spills a background of Nchima estate. The estate came earlier than villagers. "The villagers are there to offer labour," says one worker.
IMPLICATION ON CHILDREN
The children whenever they see cars or see food in their plates may be smiling; innocently in fact. But they don't know how their parents struggle, for the work of the whole day only to pocket a mere MK108.00, probably less than one dollar per day, a threshold set by the World Bank.
The children may be proud of their fathers, but they don't know how their future is like. With MK108.00 wage per day and having a family of seven children, owning an almost one-quarter of the football pitch, half of which is not health for growing crops, the money fall short of meeting all the expenses.
"If my son can be selected to secondary school, I don't know how I can pay his school fee," laments one woman who identifies her self as Make Joji about her son who is at Nchima Primary school, a school run by the estate.
ANY HOPE
The ordeal may be tearful; the future of the children gloomy, probably to some waiting for the past to somersault to the future, but there is light illuminating at the far end of the dark and bumpy tunnel.
The programme of Kudzigulira Malo is doing wonders. For the few that have been reallocated are singing successes. Those that are to be reallocated are anxious to be allocated to new places for a song of success to be sung.
"About US$1050 is allocated to a person of which 8% is for reallocation, 30% for land acquisition and 62% is for land development," says David Chinyanya, Community based Rural Land Programme Officer in Mulanje, Thyolo, Mangochi and Machinga.
Some are having bumper yields, selling the surplus. The money is helping the children to be looked after well - at least for a better tomorrow; a kind of tomorrow where the future parents are well informed, feed their children, they don't dream of working for some but for themselves.
Showing posts with label development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label development. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
OF VENDORS AND FLEA MARKET
By Pacharo Felix Munthali
It is an undisputable fact that the many times of life that the vendors clung to the streets, without any epitome nor lavish expression, made our once modest cities and, of course, our only municipality unhygienic to the degree that you could hardly walk more than 200 metres before you got entangled in a terrible malodorous.
The few toilets that are there are impaired to the extent that going into these toilets means ‘constructively’ putting your life at risk. As a remedy, after being architects of their own fate, the vendors and helpless citizens resorted to urinating on the walls of most buildings in our cities as if they were urinary drains.
Also, the ugly face that the benches brought to our cities cannot entirely be overemphasized either, hence the government needs to be pated on the back for the job well done. For removing hundreds upon fifties of vendors, which involved armed soldiers with millions of Kwachas being blown in the process, who can resist the temptations of joining the government on the dancing floor in jubilation?
Furthermore, the introduction of identity cards will surely help to discard the multitudinous population of illegal immigrants, who in the name of vendors are making a more decent living than their local counterparts.
Much as government is commended on the job not goofed, by successfully flashing out the vendors, I, for one, feels the whole episode of problems and expenses that were order of the day in our press before 15th April, 2006 could have been prevented long time back. Honestly speaking, until 15th April the question that kept on tommernting my brain had been: “who owns the flea markets?” I don’t mean that it was good to have the vendors on the streets nor that their should not occupy the flea markets, but the process that was involved in building the markets.
Unscrewing the whole mayhem blow by blow, from the word go, the whole issue, to some extent, was mauled by lack of thorough consultation between the vendors, on one hand, and the government on the other. Although we understand that it is the duty of the City Assemblies to ensure that our cities have better amenities, which in this context are flea markets, I feel the vendors being the direct beneficiaries were supposed to be in one way or the other.
It is a no longer a secret that every time government said they consulted the vendors, the latter would accused the government for giving false information in media. Gerald Chimutu, one of the vendors who went to Zimbabwe to learn from their counterparts, lamented in the Weekend Nation of 15-16 July, 2000 that the-then responsible minister told the press that construction of the markets was underway whilst the beneficiaries (vendors) were ignorant of the take off. Mind you, this was project planning period, yet disagreements had already overshadowed the whole process. Also, in the Daily times of 10th February 2006, Grant Phiri, chairman of Lilongwe vendors complained that the city Assemblies did not understand their problems at the same time, he said the problems were not forwarded to the right authorities. This translates that there was lack of direct communication between the beneficiaries (the vendors) and officials of Assemblies responsible.
These lamentations by the vendors cannot arise from the blues, hence sum up the depth of lack of consultation on the part of the government in as far as establishing of flea markets was concerned.
Whether it was negligence on part of planners or not it is not the bone of my contention in this article. Rather, the bottom line is that the assemblies forgot that issues of development that involve the whole range of people with different levels of thinking, reasoning, perception to the problems at hand are very sensitive.
As already stated, the whole higgledy-piggledy which was there before 18th April was preventable had it been that the vendors were involved from the beginning.
Sad to say, the vendors’ perception of their problems and their perceived solutions were either overlooked or intentionally neglected from the start. Even if there was any consultation, I feel it was a kind of Top-Down approach where the government just imposed solution on the vendor’s problem .As a result, it is not surprising that these magnificent markets, sooner than later, would have transmuted into national monuments. Why? This would have been like that as the vendors tried to ignore government’ directives since their perception of the problem was considered not worthy.
Back to issue of involving the vendors. This involvement would have empowered the vendors to share their opinions and identify their needs and problems, both among themselves and the city assemblies. Consequently, this would have enabled the vendors to have influence in decision-making, resulting in establishing of a general consensus between the vendors and the government. In the same regard, once both parties (the vendors and government) made a joint decision on the flea markets, it is unquestionable that such decision would have resulted into a more effective and readily acceptable solution.
The participation of the vendors in the project planning and implementation would have instilled the spirit of ownership, since the solution suggested would have been seen as more as more relevant to their needs.
In the same vein, the current issue of inadequate space would have been easily dealt with as the vendors would feel the ownership of the market. Unlike the current wrangles between the vendors and the government, where the latter was forcing the former to get into the market, which forced the press Trust to bring to halt the project. But if the participatory approach was used, it would have attracted more donors so as to the market being enlarged to accommodate the growing number of the vendors.
Last but not least, even though the vendors have been reallocated to their respective designated places there is still room for consultations. The government should call for constant meetings with the vendors. These strings of meetings might centre on issues like sanitation, security, inadequate space as well as other simmering issues that the vendors deem as problems.
Finally, the government through its assemblies should be aware that much as we are under the rule where people’s inputs are highly appreciated, the same tradition should follow suit in development projects where direct beneficiaries should be heard. In other words, people must be involved in their development projects if the realization of development for people not on people is to materialize.
It is an undisputable fact that the many times of life that the vendors clung to the streets, without any epitome nor lavish expression, made our once modest cities and, of course, our only municipality unhygienic to the degree that you could hardly walk more than 200 metres before you got entangled in a terrible malodorous.
The few toilets that are there are impaired to the extent that going into these toilets means ‘constructively’ putting your life at risk. As a remedy, after being architects of their own fate, the vendors and helpless citizens resorted to urinating on the walls of most buildings in our cities as if they were urinary drains.
Also, the ugly face that the benches brought to our cities cannot entirely be overemphasized either, hence the government needs to be pated on the back for the job well done. For removing hundreds upon fifties of vendors, which involved armed soldiers with millions of Kwachas being blown in the process, who can resist the temptations of joining the government on the dancing floor in jubilation?
Furthermore, the introduction of identity cards will surely help to discard the multitudinous population of illegal immigrants, who in the name of vendors are making a more decent living than their local counterparts.
Much as government is commended on the job not goofed, by successfully flashing out the vendors, I, for one, feels the whole episode of problems and expenses that were order of the day in our press before 15th April, 2006 could have been prevented long time back. Honestly speaking, until 15th April the question that kept on tommernting my brain had been: “who owns the flea markets?” I don’t mean that it was good to have the vendors on the streets nor that their should not occupy the flea markets, but the process that was involved in building the markets.
Unscrewing the whole mayhem blow by blow, from the word go, the whole issue, to some extent, was mauled by lack of thorough consultation between the vendors, on one hand, and the government on the other. Although we understand that it is the duty of the City Assemblies to ensure that our cities have better amenities, which in this context are flea markets, I feel the vendors being the direct beneficiaries were supposed to be in one way or the other.
It is a no longer a secret that every time government said they consulted the vendors, the latter would accused the government for giving false information in media. Gerald Chimutu, one of the vendors who went to Zimbabwe to learn from their counterparts, lamented in the Weekend Nation of 15-16 July, 2000 that the-then responsible minister told the press that construction of the markets was underway whilst the beneficiaries (vendors) were ignorant of the take off. Mind you, this was project planning period, yet disagreements had already overshadowed the whole process. Also, in the Daily times of 10th February 2006, Grant Phiri, chairman of Lilongwe vendors complained that the city Assemblies did not understand their problems at the same time, he said the problems were not forwarded to the right authorities. This translates that there was lack of direct communication between the beneficiaries (the vendors) and officials of Assemblies responsible.
These lamentations by the vendors cannot arise from the blues, hence sum up the depth of lack of consultation on the part of the government in as far as establishing of flea markets was concerned.
Whether it was negligence on part of planners or not it is not the bone of my contention in this article. Rather, the bottom line is that the assemblies forgot that issues of development that involve the whole range of people with different levels of thinking, reasoning, perception to the problems at hand are very sensitive.
As already stated, the whole higgledy-piggledy which was there before 18th April was preventable had it been that the vendors were involved from the beginning.
Sad to say, the vendors’ perception of their problems and their perceived solutions were either overlooked or intentionally neglected from the start. Even if there was any consultation, I feel it was a kind of Top-Down approach where the government just imposed solution on the vendor’s problem .As a result, it is not surprising that these magnificent markets, sooner than later, would have transmuted into national monuments. Why? This would have been like that as the vendors tried to ignore government’ directives since their perception of the problem was considered not worthy.
Back to issue of involving the vendors. This involvement would have empowered the vendors to share their opinions and identify their needs and problems, both among themselves and the city assemblies. Consequently, this would have enabled the vendors to have influence in decision-making, resulting in establishing of a general consensus between the vendors and the government. In the same regard, once both parties (the vendors and government) made a joint decision on the flea markets, it is unquestionable that such decision would have resulted into a more effective and readily acceptable solution.
The participation of the vendors in the project planning and implementation would have instilled the spirit of ownership, since the solution suggested would have been seen as more as more relevant to their needs.
In the same vein, the current issue of inadequate space would have been easily dealt with as the vendors would feel the ownership of the market. Unlike the current wrangles between the vendors and the government, where the latter was forcing the former to get into the market, which forced the press Trust to bring to halt the project. But if the participatory approach was used, it would have attracted more donors so as to the market being enlarged to accommodate the growing number of the vendors.
Last but not least, even though the vendors have been reallocated to their respective designated places there is still room for consultations. The government should call for constant meetings with the vendors. These strings of meetings might centre on issues like sanitation, security, inadequate space as well as other simmering issues that the vendors deem as problems.
Finally, the government through its assemblies should be aware that much as we are under the rule where people’s inputs are highly appreciated, the same tradition should follow suit in development projects where direct beneficiaries should be heard. In other words, people must be involved in their development projects if the realization of development for people not on people is to materialize.
EMPOWERING THE YOUTHS
By Pacharo Felix Munthali
Malawi leader, President Dr Bingu Wa mutharika, is possibly a bigger dreamer than himself. He seems to dream like someone who dreams everything he does or achieve. Some have said that even before people knew that one day he would assume the role of the first citizen of Malawi, he had already dreamed of being one.
Even though in 1999 his party did perform miserably, less than Kamlepo Kalua's Tchwee Mwana Tchwee sloganed party, with age catching up with him at a splinting fashion, his dream neither faded nor did he look back – had hope in his dreams.
During the Media chat he had a month ago, the president put it lucidly how he wishes he had a media center, where journalists could go to interact and find all sorts of information for the success of the profession. The old man keeps on dreaming, even though he might be at turbulent time - he still find way to divert out of the forest of political uncertainty and build a paradise in Malawi, though at times it look more of illusion than reality.
Now at a time when the youths are plunged in all sorts of human miseries, with punishing unemployment blocking their thinking veins, the president seems to have plans for them as well – at least not misusing the youths politically.
As the National Youth Policy stipulates: "the youth profile in Malawi shows lack of basic opportunities available to them, although they constitute a large sector of population," yet they are the ones facing lots of impediments.
This has been compounded by the presence of a range of adverse conditions that impinge on the youth; the most seriously being poverty."
But the National Youth Policy with lack of multi-sectoral approach cannot achieve its goal of seeking "to develop the full potential of the youth and to 'promote' their active participation in National development."
Such scenario amongst a colossal of reasons culminates in "youth non-involvement in decision making."
For long time the youths have been told that they are the leaders of tomorrow. But the question is still unanswered, when does tomorrow come? What is tomorrow? There are time you find a very senior official, be it a politician or otherwise, telling a group of school leavers some of them in late twenties or there about, that their tomorrow shall come.
The political field is another area that is drowning the youths into an abyss of hopeless and uncertainty. You find someone in the youth league from twenties until he or she gets sixty, yet they call that one a youth, whose tomorrow is coming. When is tomorrow coming?
With our educational system up to the universities that emphasizes on finding white-collar jobs, it means more graduates looking for jobs flood the market, each year escalating the problem almost already out of hand. For MSCE holders more are languishing in their homes, jobs have grown legs to be found. The question of capital for them to start their own business seems to not have any immediate answers.
The dream of president Bingu Wa mutharika shouldn't have come at the right time. During the occasion he put it lucid that there are many youths looming around the streets not knowing what to do, as they are many of them than the jobs available.
At a time when to have a business loan you need a collateral that favours only the elites in the country's commercial banks, for the youths to be empowered and stand on their own the only way to achieve that is through availability of ordinary people friendly loans.
As the president put it, he wants to establish Malawi Development Bank with the aim of developing "local business men" that happens to be ordinary Malawians.
With the bank he said: "you can get a loan somewhere and the bank will guarantee" to this far the bustling problem of collateral as an obstacle will be silenced.
As other countries are boasting of owners of the giant Search Engine Google in their thirties here, we are having people in their thirties, forties and there about doing nothing. It is a pity that politicians are using some of the country's youths, in various ways some of which are detrimental to their future. In the end the youths are giving in not by choice but because of circumstances beyond they muscles resulting in accepting politicians to misuse them.
The country needs the youths that have been empowered – the youths who can be visionary and dream what they want their country to be like in the years to come. With the Malawi Development Bank, done the way it is said if it manages to crawl from cobweb of dreams into reality, chances have it that the youths can forget about the past miseries and look forward to a prosperous tomorrow. At least everybody with some doses of pragmatism can keep on dreaming, letting those dreams crawl in the process.
But how does the country dream? The does not need the escalation of the very same businesses that all and sunder do. People must be innovative. Copying each other can not help the nation. The said Malawi Development Bank must encourage the people to bring unique ideas for the business, not selling mandasi in the whole neighbourhood.
As the president dreams so should the Malawians. All should think of what they can do for their country. The youths if given the capital, they should be encouraged. Our education system must change – it should groom students to be entrepreneurs, not as someone who will be employed as a boss at a certain organization, company or government. It's only the visionary that excels ion this world of ruthless liberalization, and involving the youths in all this is a key.
Malawi leader, President Dr Bingu Wa mutharika, is possibly a bigger dreamer than himself. He seems to dream like someone who dreams everything he does or achieve. Some have said that even before people knew that one day he would assume the role of the first citizen of Malawi, he had already dreamed of being one.
Even though in 1999 his party did perform miserably, less than Kamlepo Kalua's Tchwee Mwana Tchwee sloganed party, with age catching up with him at a splinting fashion, his dream neither faded nor did he look back – had hope in his dreams.
During the Media chat he had a month ago, the president put it lucidly how he wishes he had a media center, where journalists could go to interact and find all sorts of information for the success of the profession. The old man keeps on dreaming, even though he might be at turbulent time - he still find way to divert out of the forest of political uncertainty and build a paradise in Malawi, though at times it look more of illusion than reality.
Now at a time when the youths are plunged in all sorts of human miseries, with punishing unemployment blocking their thinking veins, the president seems to have plans for them as well – at least not misusing the youths politically.
As the National Youth Policy stipulates: "the youth profile in Malawi shows lack of basic opportunities available to them, although they constitute a large sector of population," yet they are the ones facing lots of impediments.
This has been compounded by the presence of a range of adverse conditions that impinge on the youth; the most seriously being poverty."
But the National Youth Policy with lack of multi-sectoral approach cannot achieve its goal of seeking "to develop the full potential of the youth and to 'promote' their active participation in National development."
Such scenario amongst a colossal of reasons culminates in "youth non-involvement in decision making."
For long time the youths have been told that they are the leaders of tomorrow. But the question is still unanswered, when does tomorrow come? What is tomorrow? There are time you find a very senior official, be it a politician or otherwise, telling a group of school leavers some of them in late twenties or there about, that their tomorrow shall come.
The political field is another area that is drowning the youths into an abyss of hopeless and uncertainty. You find someone in the youth league from twenties until he or she gets sixty, yet they call that one a youth, whose tomorrow is coming. When is tomorrow coming?
With our educational system up to the universities that emphasizes on finding white-collar jobs, it means more graduates looking for jobs flood the market, each year escalating the problem almost already out of hand. For MSCE holders more are languishing in their homes, jobs have grown legs to be found. The question of capital for them to start their own business seems to not have any immediate answers.
The dream of president Bingu Wa mutharika shouldn't have come at the right time. During the occasion he put it lucid that there are many youths looming around the streets not knowing what to do, as they are many of them than the jobs available.
At a time when to have a business loan you need a collateral that favours only the elites in the country's commercial banks, for the youths to be empowered and stand on their own the only way to achieve that is through availability of ordinary people friendly loans.
As the president put it, he wants to establish Malawi Development Bank with the aim of developing "local business men" that happens to be ordinary Malawians.
With the bank he said: "you can get a loan somewhere and the bank will guarantee" to this far the bustling problem of collateral as an obstacle will be silenced.
As other countries are boasting of owners of the giant Search Engine Google in their thirties here, we are having people in their thirties, forties and there about doing nothing. It is a pity that politicians are using some of the country's youths, in various ways some of which are detrimental to their future. In the end the youths are giving in not by choice but because of circumstances beyond they muscles resulting in accepting politicians to misuse them.
The country needs the youths that have been empowered – the youths who can be visionary and dream what they want their country to be like in the years to come. With the Malawi Development Bank, done the way it is said if it manages to crawl from cobweb of dreams into reality, chances have it that the youths can forget about the past miseries and look forward to a prosperous tomorrow. At least everybody with some doses of pragmatism can keep on dreaming, letting those dreams crawl in the process.
But how does the country dream? The does not need the escalation of the very same businesses that all and sunder do. People must be innovative. Copying each other can not help the nation. The said Malawi Development Bank must encourage the people to bring unique ideas for the business, not selling mandasi in the whole neighbourhood.
As the president dreams so should the Malawians. All should think of what they can do for their country. The youths if given the capital, they should be encouraged. Our education system must change – it should groom students to be entrepreneurs, not as someone who will be employed as a boss at a certain organization, company or government. It's only the visionary that excels ion this world of ruthless liberalization, and involving the youths in all this is a key.
Monday, June 16, 2008
THE WTO-DEVELOPING COUNTRIES' DILEMMA
By Pacharo Felix Munthali
As the May 19 swiftly approaches, it is highly expected that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) secretariat will be hosting ministers aimed at finding a "breakthrough in the global trade talks," which the WTO Director General Pascal Lamy has described as talks seeking "an outline deal on Doha Round."
The negotiations aimed at striking a global trade deal started in 2001 in an attempt to bring about smooth flow of exports around the world, with greater emphasis on offering developing countries a conducive environment which can help them deal with grappling poverty culminating in the developing countries being easily integrated into the world economy.
Over the years of heated debates, the Doha Round which is intending at freeing global trade and extending the benefits of the globalization to developing countries, it seems is aloof from bringing about a win-win conclusion.
Marred by more break downs in talks than agreements leading to successes, the WTO has huge task hovering over its secretariat.
In 2003 in Cancun the talks intended at forging the agreements on the round's objectives collapsed after a strong North-South divide on agricultural issues, where the middle-income and poorer developing countries rejected the deal which they viewed as very unfavorable.
The latest being the talks in Geneva in 2006. This one failed to bring an agreement on reducing farm subsidies and lowering tariffs, a scenario that forced Pascal Lamy to formally suspend the Doha Round.
Amongst the most treasured issues by the developing countries are agricultural market access and agricultural subsidies.
Although agriculture constitutes 8% of the world trade, it represents the main source of income for approximately 2.5 billion people, the majority of whom are those in the developing countries. In the developing countries fifty out of every hundred individuals make their living from farming and agriculture. In some instances it goes to as far as eighty people out of every hundred, a scenario which Malawi becomes a good example.
To this end agriculture and levels of poverty have direct linkage. It is no wonder that three-fourth of 2.5 billion people who are trapped below a threshold of a dollar per day work and live in the rural areas, with agriculture being their main income earner..
Between 80 to 90% of Malawians live in the rural areas and depend on agriculture. According to Malawi Growth and Development Strategy 65% of the rural people live below the poverty line. Agriculture therefore plays a vital role in fight against poverty, which is also a central aspect in Millennium Development Goals.
With such revelations of taxing poverty and relatively lower production coupled by less capabilities to successfully compete on the world market, farmers from the poor countries are finding it an uphill to compete with excessively subsidized exports from the European countries, USA and even Japan.
They see it as suicidal to open up they markets which they view as likely to cripple even further their already incapacitated local industries, which mostly are agro-based.
Despite Doha Ministerial Declaration extensively reflecting the concerns of the developing countries that, "SDT for developing countries shall be an integral part of all elements of the negotiations so as to be operationally effective and enable developing countries to effectively take account of their needs, including food security and rural development," the past experience with the trade liberalization during the last decade ore so has shown that these have led to renouncing to policy tools that can foster development while not redressing imbalances that allow for massive subsidization and protection of agriculture in major developed countries.
This is further re-affirmed by the fact that developed countries face less pressure to open up their markets.
The WTO rules have not prevented developed countries from resorting to trade-distorting, domestic support and export subsidies, with the developing countries – who mostly rely on heavily on tariffs and border measures to protect and support their agriculture, have been pressured to open up their markets and reduce their trade barriers to the entry of agricultural products. Such a tendency is coming in because of ongoing round table discussions, as well as due to top down policy advice emanating from donors and international organizations.
Among a colossal of outstanding issues, there is "sensitive product" issue that developed and large developing countries would like to protect, with the group of six namely US, EU, Brazil, Canada and Australia having hot disagreements amongst themselves on joint proposal. The disagreements will surely have either a positive or negative impact on the plot of smaller countries like Malawi, which exports to Europe.
While "Tropical Products countries" like Cost Rica are pushing for faster liberalization of their products to the EU, the ACP countries are haggling for a lower libaralisation process, especially for the products which the ACP exports to the EU under preferential terms. With these conflicts between the rich and the poor, the rich between rich, and the poor between the poor, it re mains a conundrum that will need a bottom up solution, not the closed door meetings in the Green Rooms with hope that the developing countries will rubber stamp everything because they depend on the very rich countries for aid.
With the fragile and undiversified economy that Malawi has, which wholly depends on agriculture, as May 19 approaches for the conclusion of the talks as Pascal Lamy puts it, the landscape looks very bumpy than ever. The developed countries with their highly protected agricultural sector have bashed the submissions by the chair of the negotiating committee on agriculture Crawford Falconer, who suggests that a minimum requirement cut of tariff by the developed countries should be 54% against 36% for the developing countries, a move which was welcomed by the developing countries.
It seems to be the hardest period. With EPA negotiations hitting a gridlock, oil prices soaring records high, and now the WTO negotiations becoming unfavorable to the developing countries, this moment is possibly the most trying for the countries in the caliber of Malawi.
As May 19 is at the door stop, Malawi is facing a dilemma. The Western governments are the ones that fund a better part of its budget, its industries are fragile, the local farmers have little abilities to compete with their Western counterparts, yet anyhow rejection of the deal may bring another chaos. It remains to be seen how the outstanding issues will be resolved.
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