By Deogratias Mmana:
Malawi is today celebrating 60 years of independence and President Lazarus Chakwera will preside over national prayers at the Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe.
In a stocktake of the past 60 years thus far, analysts have shared mixed views on a number of issues.
Executive Director for Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) Michael Kaiyatsa said the period gives a varied picture of notable progress in some cases and ongoing challenges in others.
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On a positive note, he said Malawi has experienced peaceful transfers of power through democratic elections, which demonstrates a commitment to democratic principles.
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However, he said challenges such as high levels of corruption, political patronage, limited transparency and inefficiencies in public administration continue to affect governance effectiveness.
Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) said the transition from one party rule under the Malawi Congress Party brought political stability and infrastructure developments.
However, the country continues to grapple with issues of constitutionalism, political legitimacy and politics of patronage as a new form of corruption.
“Economic development has been hindered by widespread poverty, data manipulation, and policy inconsistencies, while corruption, nepotism, cronyism remain the order of the day,” CCJP National Coordinator Boniface Chibwana said.
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He said the fact that there is increased citizen activism signals a demand for accountability and reflects that Malawians are frustrated with unmet democratic promises political parties make before attaining power.
Publicity Secretary for the Political Science Association Mabvuto Bamusi said during the years, there has been a widening gap between the rich and poor in economic terms, in education, in health and other sectors.
He added that although the country has established institutions and legal frameworks for delivering human rights, financial and capacity building challenges continue compromising the services from such institutions.
He however admitted that during the one party era, corruption issues were seldom heard of.
On the education front, board chairperson for the Civil Society Education Coalition (Csec) Limbani Nsapato said one of the positives is the increased access to education at various levels, particularly in primary schools.
He said for instance, on July 6, 1964, when the country gained her independence, primary school enrolment was 359, 841 while secondary school enrolment was 5,951 and university enrolment was 180 against a national population of 4,032,371.
He said 60 years later, enrolment has increased to 5,298,456 at primary level, 485,650 at secondary level and 74, 200 at tertiary level.
“In total, school enrolment has increased 20 times from less than 400,000 in 1964 to around 8.4 million in 2024. This is no mean achievement, and we owe it to the efforts of previous governments in ensuring that more and more citizens access the right to education,” Nsapato said.
He said the biggest low is the high illiteracy rate in the country.
Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu said Malawi continues to do well on governance.
“We have been rated as one of the best governed countries in the world and this is a great foundation for other national aspirations. With good governance, rule of law has room to flourish, fight against corruption can yield results and government can be held accountable to the people,” he said.
He also cited progress in energy, transport infrastructure development, schools, health centres, institutional housing and welfare initiatives among the key areas in which Malawi has made progress.
“Such is a nation on a recovery path. We need to do more in areas of production and value addition to drive import substitution, strengthen our foreign reserves, stabilize our currency. In turn, this will build our economic resilience. Such an environment will create jobs for our youth and pacify the country politically,” he said.
