STATEMENT OF THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE OF MALAWI (ECM)

 

ON THE CURRENT POLITICAL SITUATION IN MALAWI

 

We, the Catholic Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi, would like to bring to the attention of the politicians, members of parliament and people of good will, our observations and concerns over the current political and social situation with specific reference to the reinstated Section 65 of our Republican Constitution, and our expectations on the debt cancellation.

 

We acknowledge the interpretation and validation of Section 65 by the Supreme Court of Malawi.  The ruling promotes and consolidates the respect for the rule of law and the spirit of constitutionalism that are among the key pillars of good governance.  This further cements the noble value of separation of powers as implied in the independence of the Judiciary, Legislature and the Executive arms of government.  We believe that this is a positive development in line with what we, Bishops, proposed in our vision of democracy contained in our Pastoral Letter of 1992 “Living Our Faith”.

 

However, reflecting on the aftermath of the ruling by the Supreme Court of Malawi, we are concerned with the mixed reactions and debate that are taking place in political and media circles.  Uncertainty, fear of the future and tension, as a result, have engulfed our Mother Malawi.  Issues like the calling for by-elections, the resignation of the State President, impeachment of the President and his vice, the impeachment of the Speaker of Parliament, if implemented, will wipe out all the gains that have been realized through our maturing democracy.

 

Last year (2006), Malawi reached the HIPC completion point that led to cancellation of its foreign debt by its multilateral donors.  The gains from debt cancellation can not be ignored.  We extend our thanks and appreciation to all those who advocated and campaigned for debt cancellation of Malawi and other poor countries.  We also thank the multilateral donor community for paying heed to the many campaigns here and abroad.

 

The above stated calls will derail all arms of government from their development agenda and adversely affect the gains achieved by the debt cancellation and the economy of our country.  On the other hand, the Legislature and the Executive will shift their focus from economic and developmental policies to matters of politicking and survival to the detriment of the poor masses.

 

With this uncertainty and tension, it will be very difficult to woo foreign investors to come to Malawi, thereby denying access to employment of the unemployed.  The shift in focus of the Executive and Legislature from the developmental agenda will deny the ordinary Malawian the benefits from the economic gains realized from the debt cancellation.

 

Realizing that when elephants fight, it is the grass on the ground that suffers, we want to reiterate that the tension and the uncertainty arising from this scenario would lead to the suffering of all Malawians who remain the primary right holders for all development and economic policies as in any democratic country.

 

We do appreciate that following the ruling of the Supreme Court, the political parties are in their right in submitting their petitions to the Speaker of Parliament and we understand the initial processes taken by the Speaker in writing the allegedly affected MPs individually.  We acknowledge all this to be in line with principles of natural justice.  Keeping in mind the moral responsibility of all parties to build up better conditions of living and promote the common good of all citizens, we propose the following questions for reflection:

a)      Should we all lose the gains from debt cancellation by financing the impeachment processes or by-elections at the expense of pro-poor expenditure areas like education, health, food security and mitigation of HIV/AIDS?

b)      Should we not wait to allow sobriety to rule in our hearts rather than jeopardize the development agenda that wants to promote sustainable livelihoods of the poor?

c)      Should we, in determining the future of the nation, leave all citizens of Malawi aside or rather give the Malawians the possibility to speak for themselves in the right way and at the right time?

 

Keeping in mind the mission entrusted to us as Shepherds of the Lord’s flock, we call upon all the politicians, religious and traditional leaders and all people of good will, to seriously reflect and consider the questions above.  We encourage the spirit of dialogue that has sustained our young democracy to this day.  We also call upon our fellow Malawians to exercise our responsibility as we face our present day circumstances.  We share these concerns, basing ourselves on the mandate of our Lord Jesus Christ:

 

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

Because He has anointed me,

To preach good news to the poor………

To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

(Luke 4:18-19)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Archbishop T. G. Ziyaye

CHAIRMAN, EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE OF MALAWI