Well, in a very broad sense I would attribute this result of 0.10 cents a day to a political propaganda. However, here you have to take this term propaganda I am using pretty broadly. I mean we have to critically look at the Malawian poverty from the basis of a whole doctrinal system of today’s world social and political system and not simply from Malawi’s socio-economic perspective. I see a demonising factor somewhere on this research report, a group that is making people hate and fear the governments, which you might think is a little contradictory but its not. We have heard and seen plenty of alleged activities and decisions wrong with Bingus government from the start. But that’s not what we have to be worried about. What we have to be worried about is the one thing that’s right about it, namely, it’s potentially influenceable by the all Malawians.

 

Bush and Tony Blair plus the opposition and NGOS in Malawi are never going to get things together and challenge anything to alleviate poverty for the betterment of all Malawians and they won’t have a thought in their heads except doing what they know best. Corrupting poor people’s minds and building bridges between the rich and the poor. A perfect utopia.  All they want to do is get all Malawians hate and fear Bingus government. Again not surprisingly, in view of such developments, intellectuals, writers, clergymen, journalists, and politicians are all increasingly becoming aware of the phenomenon and are failing to acknowledge anything.

 

What’s in the report is complete irrelevancies, like whether we can trust Bingus government to care for the poor Malawians. What’s that got to do with anything? The report is total meaningless .Incidentally, that’s only half true. Bingu government is not cracking up and driving Malawi with a backward development. It’s just the fact that we Malawians are experiencing a change in running of government. The tightening up on monetary flow within government departments never seen before is going up. The aspect of government is going up. That’s not just for control, although it’s partly for that. It’s also because its part of the way of transferring resources to the poor, which is virtually never discussed. Its gat to be on front page article everyday.

Umphawi ndi umenewo but Majority of Malawian are lazy chifukwa

• 6 Koloko a.m.  you will find the in a Chibuku Tarven


• 12 koloko aledzera akungolalata


• 6 koloko p.m. agona some of the still at Chibuku Tarven


• Some of then just sit phwiiii! waiting to be fed by those working either locally or overseas.


• Even Businesses close at 5 pm

Chifukwa chake we are living on 10cents or less per day

To answer the question; yes it is a sinking ship. Nyasaland now I can see that you are the kind of a person who follow Bingu with an empty head (sorry i couldnt find a proper word). The report is a true reflection of a situation on the ground. Even 10c quoted is too much. People actually live on 0c in the rural areas. All along we were talking of a poor person as somebody living on a less than $1 per day but look at what Bingu's govt is saying as a cut off point: MK44. Is MK44 equivalent to $1? And then they (Bingu and his govt) are saying that more than half of the population is leaving on less than MK44 and concluded that those are the poor people. Since it is approximately 50% therefore his govt has achieved something which the previous govts failed. Whom is he fooling here? What you should know is that at the moment every passing day it is worse than the previous. Next time you will hear that the cutoff point is MK20 with an exchange rate to a dollar of MK220. Malawians are really foolish people. Do you know how much MK44 is in dollars? In case you have forgotten your maths: it is 27c. And yet with your stupid information minister, you go on air to rebuke Prof Kanyama? I support Bingu's economic policies but what he has done so far is not something we should be clapping hands at.

As for Rawn, Malawinas are somehow lazy but with a reason. You cant expect somebody in Malawi to work like you in UK or USA or wherever you are as long as it is a developed country. You know the reason so I dont need to explain.

awmygawd,

The 10c is in a report and was disclosed at a workshop. The ministry of information headed by one of the most dull people in Malawi, Patricia Hule Kaliati, wanyere yayikulu yofika pogonana ndi driver wake; anatsusa ndipo mawa lake kutulusa report yoti 50% ya aMalawi ndi amene amakanika kupeza MK44 patsiku. Kaya akufuna kutiwuza ife anthu ophunzira kuti $1 panopa ndi MK44. Akanangokhala chete chifukwa report ya Prof. Kanyama is well detailed and is very fair to govt by saying people in rural areas are living on 10c per day. Otherwise ndikanakhala ine ndikanena chilungamo choti kumudzi anthu amakhala on 0c per day.

Pope wrote:

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His report is well detailed, but the govrmnt has silently put it under the table.Theres no political will to digest it.Pr George Kanyama Phiri is a well learned man who could not bring trash to the public.For your info,most of my work involve the rural mass and the truth is what the paper said.....10cents per day or even 0cent a day during december to march period.

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Is the report widely available (e.g on the internet for download)? Has it been picked up by any international journals & organisations (because if he is right, this is big. Think about the implications of his findings on poverty reduction strategy and the way poverty is measured)?

I haven't heard of the professor, but you obviously hold him in high regard so I assume his reputation is solid. Unfortunately that is not enough. The report should be able to stand on its own (detail and all). Proper peer review will give it the credibility it needs. Until that happens, the report is just another opinion someone expressed at some work shop some place in Malawi.

Mulopwana wrote:

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awmygawd, It is not just an opinion made by the Prof. Kanyama. The report was based on a study (research) carried and analysed using all the statistical tools available on this planet earth. I feel your professional background makes it difficult for you to understand the issue here. Otherwise I dont understand what you wanted to put forward on the above quoted paragraph.

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Molupwana, first of all, you have no idea what my professional background is, second, anyone with a partial tertiary education should know it is standard procedure for academic research to be published for peer review, third, I did not say that Prof Kanyama's work is just an opinion, per se. What I did say is that his work should undergo the process all research must go through in order for it to garner the credibility (if any) it deserves. If you are an appropriately qualified economics expert and have seen the report for yourself, you are perfectly justified in endorsing it. Sadly, I haven't seen the report and so far, I have come across absolutely no evidence that suggests that it has been accepted by the wider academic community.

 

This is not to question Prof Kanyama's integrity or competence, but research that hasn't been properly scrutinised isn't worth the paper it's written on. I believe you are aware of the South Korean genetics research fiasco that took place recently.

 

I'm not writing his findings off. In fact, I will accept his findings should his work go through the process unscathed. But for now, until its status is appropriately elevated, the report is just another opinion someone expressed at some work shop some place in Malawi.

-- Edited by awmygawd at 17:34, 2006-06-08

Anyway it looks like you dont want to face the reality. But whether you like it or not more than 50% of the population is leaving on less than 10c in Malawi. Instead of trashing Professor Kanyama's report you should be thinking of what to do inorder to improve the situation. Go to the rural areas and see how miserable people are and I tell you, you will cry. The situation is so pathetic.