People of the South

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reports that more than 6 million people in the southern African countries of Angola, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Malawi are facing severe food shortages.

People in Southern Africa are in the midst of the so-called lean season, which starts at the end of January and lasts until the end of March. It is a period, just before the next harvest in April, when food stocks are at their lowest.

The SADC Gender Ministers meeting registered one other significant gain - commitment to an addendum to the SADC Gender Protocol on Gender and Climate Change. The swirling floods in Mozambique that hit Mauritius at the time of the meeting leave little doubt that climate change is upon us. But there has been considerable bureaucratic inertia to reopening the SADC Gender Protocol now that two thirds of the signatories have ratified the instrument that is officially in force.

NGOs have again led the way, pressurising governments to acknowledge that no instrument on gender equality can ever be totally closed. Like Constitutions, regional protocols must constantly respond to the needs of the day. These reflect in our choice of words, and of emphasis. In the end, as I learned last week, no task is more important than continually pushing the boundaries of the gender discourse in our beloved region.

When the Rains Come

French illustrator, Malika Favre was commissioned by MUM’S to illustrate this colourful and educational children’s book titled When the Rains Come. The book showcases the daily life and the challenges facing Malawians, particularly mothers, nurses and women of Malawi. The illustrations come with writings by author Tom Pow and is aimed at raising funds

Luanda — The Southern Africa region has recorded remarkable progress toward promotion and development of women, said Friday the secretary general of the Organization of Angolan Women.

Luzia Inglês Van-Dúnem “Inga” said this at the first Executive Meeting of Socialist International Women (SIW), held on November 2 in Rabat, Morocco.

The official, who attended the event in the capacity of vice president of SIW for Southern Africa, quoted the election of the South African Nkosana Dlamini-Zuma for the post of the Commission of African Union (AU).

The officials also mentioned the Malawian Joyce Banda who became the second woman to lead an African nation, after the president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson.

Luzia Inglês said that women in Africa continue to struggle to be the vanguard of equality, who are represented in the legislature, executive and judiciary, and keep on breaking down the walls of intolerance, misunderstanding, ignorance and other prejudices.

An Encyclopaedia of the Social and Political History of Southern Africa’s Languages (Publishers, Palgrave Macmillan, UK)is calling for entries for an edited volume, .

Brief Description of the Encyclopaedia

This volume is designed as an interdisciplinary collection of articles (entries) that would double as a handy and accessible reference on the subject of southern African languages within the broader context of the region’s pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial developments. The focus is on the social and political history of the covered languages, meaning their significance for ethnic, immigrant and social groups, as well as for various political projects, as they have unfolded during, roughly speaking, the last three centuries. In the Encyclopedia, the elements of linguistic description will be limited to a bare minimum necessary for positing the languages in a manner that is scholarly sound, but easily intelligible to the average reader. In this way, the stage is given to the social and political history of these languages.

Territories and States with Languages Covered

The Encyclopedia will cover over 220 languages in the following states and polities included in the concept of Southern Africa used in the Encyclopaedia: Angola (AO), Botswana (BW), Comores, Lesotho (LS), Madagascar (MG), Malawi (MW), Mauritius (MU), Mayotte (YT), Mozambique (MZ), Namibia (NA), South Africa (ZA), Swaziland (SW), Réunion (RE), Seychelles (SC), Zambia (ZM) and Zimbabwe (ZW).

Malawi has opened up negotiations on the economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the European Union, which have been deadlocked since 2002.

The new round of negotiations may see President Joyce Banda’s administration change the status quo and sign the free trade agreement.

“We have opened up negotiations and consultations on EPAs. We can’t ignore the issue anymore like the previous administration, and President Banda will pay attention to this,” said the country’s trade minister John Bande. The EU extended the deadline for African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, which includes Malawi, to negotiate the EPAs from 2014 to 2016.

President Bingu wa Mutharika, who died after a heart attack in April this year, had refused to sign the agreement, demanding that rural roads, health and education facilities be taken care of before signing an EPA

‘Do not shy away showcasing your talent’, Zahara

South African jazz queen Zahara, real name Bulelwa Mkutukana, says Malawian youth should emulate her by showing up their talents. She was speaking to journalists in Lilongwe on her arrival for a series of shows marking Standard Bank’s forty-two years of banking in Malawi

“I am where I am because of my talents’, said Zahara, 24 while encouraging the youth not to shy away from showcasing their talents.

The youthful singer, songwriter and poet said the fact tickets for her shows were sold within days after announcing of her performances signify the love Malawians have for her music and how they are ready for her shows which be alongside Malawi’s legendary Wambali Mkandawire.

South Africa and Malawi have agreed to facilitate greater private sector interaction in order to boost trade and investment between the two countries, Deputy International Relations Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim told reporters on Friday.

Ebrahim was speaking after a meeting of the Joint Commission for Cooperation between South Africa and Malawi in Pretoria on Friday. Ebrahim co-chaired the meeting with Malawi Foreign Minister Ephraim Mganda Chiume Chiume.

“We have noted with great satisfaction the noticeable progress that has been achieved in strengthening the political and economic cooperation between our countries,” Ebrahim said.

“Of significance is the increasing number of legal instruments that are being negotiated to facilitate our partnership. In this regard, we agreed to speed up the negotiations so that these instruments could be signed during 2013.”

Officials from the two foreign ministries will meet every six months to check up on progress in the trade agreements between Pretoria and Lilongwe.

REPORTS that President Jakaya Kikwete and his Malawian counterpart, Madame Joyce Banda, have assured nationals of the two countries that no bullet will be fired over the border dispute along Lake Nyasa is indeed a relief to citizens of both countries.

Citizens of the two countries can now breath a sign of relief following the announcement by the Malawian Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Patric Kabambe, sometimes last month (July) that the entire Lake Nyasa (named Lake Malawi by their country) belongs to Malawi and that Tanzanians must be very clear about it.

Malawi Checks China’s African Advance

All Chinese-run businesses outside Malawi’s four major cities have to close down after a new law barring foreigners from trading in outlying and rural areas. This store, in Lilongwe, will have to apply for a new licence to trade. Credit: Claire Ngozo/IPS

LILONGWE, Aug 4 2012 (IPS) - The move in Malawi to close down Chinese businesses outside of the four major cities has been condemned as xenophobic by rights organisations. A new law enforced Jul. 31 barred foreigners from carrying out trade in Malawi’s outlying and rural areas.

The Investment and Export Promotion Bill required traders to move to the southern African nation’s major cities Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzuzu and Zomba. The law is an attempt to protect local small-scale businesses from competition from foreign traders.

Two prominent civil rights organisations, the Centre for Development of People and the Centre for Human Rights Rehabilitation (CHRR), have warned the Malawian government against encouraging the victimisation of foreign traders.

“We are worried about the increasing xenophobia sentiments and attacks on foreign nationals who are doing legal business across the country,” the executive director of CHRR, Undule Mwakasungula, told IPS. He argued that the way Chinese traders were being treated was in violation of their human rights.

“Malawi should not be perpetrating xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals under the pretext of protecting the interests of local businesses.”

The new legislation comes immediately after Malawian traders in some rural areas grouped together in May and convinced local government authorities to force out Chinese traders.