Maravi

(NYASATIMES) Bingu’s popularity ratings boosted after deporting economic saboteurs

COMMENT - What Malawi needs is a massive unionisation of ordinary workers. Let not one shop operate in the country, unless they sign an agreement to only hire unionised workers. If they don't - don't give them a license, if they renege, revoke their license to operate. I am not at all for xenophobia or any kind of anti-Indian sentiment. However, there are real underlying issues here, and unless well-meaning, humanitarian people take them up and fast, less scrupulous individuals will run with them. Malawi is being exploited, not by Indian shopkeepers, but by corporate capital and colonial era landholdings, which have more rights than the entire electorate, which directly undermines democracy and the consensus of the population that the government has the right to rule. Unless there is a government in place that protects the rights and opportunities of the Malawian citizens, and not transnational corporations/donors, there will be no development, no social stability, and no economic growth that means anything to any ordinary person in the country.

Bingu’s popural ratings boosted after deporting economic saboteurs
By Nyasa Times
Published: September 14, 2009

The popularity of President Bingu Wa Mutharika has soared after the deportation of four executives of tobacco buying companies. This has led to some analyst questioning whether Malawi was a xenophobic inclined country.

Nyasa Times correspondents in the capital city Lilongwe and the commercial capital, Blantyre reports that mostly labourers were rejoicing at the deportation of the executives.

In an interview with Nyasa Times, some guards who work for Group 4-security service hailed President Mutharika and asked if he could extend the deportation leaf to foreign company executives who are paying Malawians very meager salaries.

“I am happy with what Ngwazi (Wa Mutharika) has done. It shows he loves his people. But my plea is that he should also come and look at our plight especially we who work for such company’s like Group 4″, said a man who only identified himself as ‘Anijo’ working for Group 4.

In Limbe, workers for Asian owned companies welcomed the President’s action and called on him to deport all Asian businessmen who were violating the minimum wage requirement.

“I get paid K700 per fortnight, yet our shop makes thousands a day. When we complain, bwana just tells us to find a job elsewhere. And the biggest problem is with Malawians. There is always someone ready to take over your job the minute you leave”, said a worker for one of the Indian owned shops. [I hear a call for UNIONS! - MrK]

Some workers at a bakery commended Wa Mutharika and hoped that this would instill fear in foreigners who are abusing Malawians.

“Dr. Mutharika is my hero. We need him to do a lot more to these foreigners. They come here as investors and end up abusing Malawians. We are treated like dogs in our own country,” Feston Namaona.

Some of the notables who have hailed Mutharika for the deportation include the president of the Economics Association of Malawi, Thomas Munthali and renowned economist Mabvuto Bamusi. Meanwhile, some sections of society have questioned whether Malawi is a xenophobic country. Brighton Thole, law student said he could not understand the excitement of Malawians at the deportation of the foreign executives.

“I am not saying the President is wrong, but I am wondering why Malawians are so happy with the action. This drives me to believe that to some extents Malawians might be holding far right nationalist ideologies,” he said.

However, another Law student Peter Daka described the excitement as a feeling of the real emancipation from the colonial yoke.

“What the President has done is to tell the world that much as we can be poor, we are not going to tolerate insubordination of any kind from multinational companies. Bingu has brought back our pride as Malawians,” said Daka.

Meanwhile, the two main opposition political parties, MCP and UDF have reserved their comments on the deportation. MCP President John Tembo is on record to have said deportation of tobacco buyers was not the solution to the current low tobacco prices. An effort to speak to the MCP leader proved futile as his phone went unanswered. But an MCP insider told Nyasa Times that his party would make its stand known on the deportation soon.

A Lilongwe based political analyst however, doubted if MCP would issue contrary views following the public approval of the deportation.

“Politics is about mass popularity and you wouldn’t go against that. If MCP says they will make a statement, I don’t think it would be to the contrary. The best they can do is to remain silent like their UDF counterparts”, he said.

Tobacco fetches over 75 percent of Malawi’s foreign exchange earnings. Over 80 percent of Malawians are directly or indirectly employed by the tobacco industry, which contributes up to 30 percent of the country’s GDP and at least 23 percent of all tax collections.

Labels: BINGU WA MUTHARIKA, GROUP 4, LAND REFORM, NATIONALISATION, NEOCOLONIALISM, NEOLIBERALISM, TOBACCO, TRADE UNIONS, UNIONS

posted by MrK @ 8:13 PM