What Chakwera should address

President Lazarus Chakwera is this Friday expected to deliver a State of the Nation Address (Sona) during the State Opening of Parliament with stakeholders stating that a concrete plan on addressing hunger should be highlighted.

Responding to The Nation’s question on what the President should prioritise in the Sona, commentators said in separate interviews that food insecurity has reached crisis levels and Chakwera should prioritise the issue because it has far-reaching implications on citizens’ ability to participate in development activities.

In his response, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) executive director Michael Kaiyatsa said he expects the issue of food crisis to take prominence as at least 4.4 million Malawians are facing hunger as per the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee report.

“Most Malawians are food-insecure and are surviving on maize bran. The President needs to acknowledge that there is a crisis,” he said.

Besides hunger, Kaiyatsa said the President should also update the country on the status of the austerity measures announced late last year.

He said: “The feeling is that the measures are not being implemented and the President was the first to violate his own promise [to suspend travel until March this year when he travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo last month].

“If they are being implemented, we need to know how much we have saved as a country.”

Human Rights Defenders Coalition chairperson Gift Trapence also said Chakwera should come out clear on how the country will address the issue of hunger.

“The government should outline measures on how they will manage food insecurity, especially in the Southern Region where the rains are erratic.  It is important for the government to have concrete plans on this,” he said.

Trapence said the hunger situation is worsened by poor access to markets of State produce trader Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc), arguing it is important for the government to state what they are doing to ensure that poor Malawians are able to access maize.

He said: “The President should also state the roadmap or steps the government will take to manage the country’s economic recovery.

“The cost of living has been very high. It is important for the government to bring proposed measures on how they plan to grow the economy and create jobs among the youth.”

National Advocacy Platform chairperson Benedicto Kondowe said he expects the President to demonstrate that efforts were being made to address hunger in the country.

He said: “One of Malawi’s major concerns is recurring food insecurity, driven by factors like unpredictable weather patterns and limited access to modern farming techniques.

“This over-reliance on rain-fed agriculture leaves the country vulnerable to droughts and floods, exacerbating food shortages.”

Kondowe said the Sona should also highlight efforts being made to improve education and health sectors as well as the fight against corruption.

He said addressing hunger is crucial for breaking the cycle of poverty and achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture chairperson Sameer Suleman said the hunger situation demands that the President  declares a State of Disaster to prompt donors to support.

“We are seeing people eating grass, tubers, maize bran and other items. There is need to make a call so that donors can come in to help,” he said.

On his part, economist Christopher Mbukwa said he expects the President to outline steps the government is taking to improve exports, develop mining and mega farms to boost foreign exchange earnings.

“We need concrete steps and not promises,” he said.

Mbukwa said Chakwera also needs to state how the country will handle the growing fiscal deficit and also embark on debt restructuring.

The President is expected to open the 2024/25 Budget Meeting of Parliament this Friday.

The meeting comes at a time when Malawians are reeling from the impact of the 44 percent kwacha devaluation in November last year that pushed up the cost of living.

Mvac stated that 4.4 million people are in need of food aid due to poor harvest worsened by drought in some parts of the country and Cyclone Freddy, especially in the Southern Region, which caused flooding that washed away maize as it was maturing.

Meanwhile, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs is currently implementing the Lean Season Food Insecurity Intervention under which vulnerable households are being given a 50 kilogramme bag of maize and cash transfers.

The Budget Meeting will run up to April 5 2024 and is expected to debate the 2024/25 National Budget.