Go forward by going back

I ate my first mouse last weekend. In summary, this was a one minute experience with about 24 unique flavors, uncountable bones crunched and two near vomit moments. I managed to swallow the whole thing despite my better mental and guttural judgment.

This act of masochism was in part a protest of a recent article sent around by the Associated Press (picked up here and here, for example).

The first three paragraphs are fun and mostly harmless. But then comes to unecessarily canned and out of context “malawi is poor” fourth paragraph.

Malawi, with a population of 12 million, is among the poorest countries in the world, with rampant disease and hunger, aggravated by periodic droughts and crop failure.

The paragraph is not inaccurate (maybe the population, which is now above 13 M), but it is entirely unnecessary. I find it infuriating when the MSM spreads brainless generalizations of African countries.

Matt over at Aid Thoughts writes the reply that I wish I had written;

This sentence is copied onto the end of every single photo description in the article. It reflects the media’s preferred African stereotype. Yes, Malawi is poor, disease-ridden, and often hungry, but it is really defined by these things? If we’re going to start bringing more dignity to development, we’ll need to start with our newspapers.

America, with a population of 300 million, is one of the fattest countries of the world, with a frighteningly awful perception of poor countries, aggravated by a befuddled, profit-driven media.

Anyone who sabotages the economy is an enemy of the people and does not deserve to be in this country.

That is Malawi President Bing wa Mutharika, commenting on several South African nationals deported from Malawi for “sabotaging the economy and harming tobacco growers.”

International sugar prices are at record highs. This should help the Malawian economy  considerably, especially during a year when tobacco prices are low.

Going to any motor vehicle authority, I am reminded of Tolstoy’s opening line to Ana Karenina: “All happy families are alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

My trip to the Malawi Road Traffic Authority on Monday of last week was no exception. What follows is a user’s guide to obtaining a license in Malawi.

I was instructed by a police office that after being in Malawi for three months, I was required to obtain a Malawi drivers’ license. Monday, I finally decided to end my streak of procrastination and dive into the bureaucracy of registering myself as an officially licensed driver.

1. Arrive at the Road traffic authority as early as possible. ( I arrived at 8:20am)
2. Go to the door labeled “1 Application room / 5 Driving license collection”, where you are immediately told to go to Window #3.
3. Proceed to Window #3 and ask for an application. Don’t worry if it says “Learner’s License Application”…I was told that the form itself doesn’t matter.
4. Enter Door #2. Oops…”Test going on!” you are warned by the attendant.
5. Wait.
6. Ok, Door #2 open now, go in and submit your application.
7. After submitting your application, you are told to go to the un-marked door at the end of the corridor for “scanning and printing”. DO NOT CONFUSE THIS ROOM WITH THE ROOM LABELED “6 Photograph, Fingerprint and Scanning”
8. Wait in line to be digitally fingerprinted (all 10 fingers) and photographed.
9. Once your biometrics are in the database, proceed to “4 Cashier office, card receiving and Enquiries.” Don’t be afraid make physical contact with others as you protect your place in line waiting to pay MK 5270. (NB: never go to this room with an “Enquiry”…As with most of the signs, you are bound to go wrong if you trust their advertised services.)
10. With your payment receipt in hand, return to Door #2 and submit all paper work.
11. Obtain your temporary license at wait for “one to two months” for the permanent card.

The experience was a mixture of technology and speed at times, chaos and misdirection at others. All said, I can’t say that the entire experience was entirely more frustrating that what I have undergone in the United States.

Not published until September 29 of this year, William Kamkwamba’s The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (with Brian Maeler), is already on my reading list.

William, already a top blogger in Southern Africa, provides an example of an inventor and a man with a spirit for making dreams reality. I predict that it will be a worthwhile read for anyone interested in development, Arfica and invention. The power of human ngenuity should be a motivation for all of us who strive to improve living conditions throughout the world.

William’s home town is in Kasungu, Malawi, where I do a lot of my work. I hope to meet him once he returns to Malawi after an international tour of engagements.

Here is the twitter feed for The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: http://twitter.com/malawindmilbook

And here is a short clip of William at TEDTalks.

In the most recent sign that contemporary Malawian politics is nothing but a display of convenience and uncontrollable thirst for power, former president Baliki Maluzi has thrown his support and encouraged his party, the United Democratic Front (UDF),  behind his once-bitter-enemy and current leader of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), John Tembo.

Tembo, formerly the head goon during the Banda years, has blood on his hands from the era of single-party rule. Maluzi spent years arguing for the end of one-party rule and several more years leading prosecution against Banda. Nevertheless, Tembo is gaining the support of MCP members and UDF members in advance of the May 19th elections.

This odd alliance is motivated by a shared dislike for current president and leader of the DPP leader, Bingu Wa Mutharika. During his five years as Malawian president Mutharika has constantly irked the political establishment by his independent manner of politics, often shunning the desires of the longstanding political brass. While certainly power hungry himself, Mutharika’s administration has made considerable strides to building a long-run strategy for development in Malawi. Of course this would not have been possible without the achievements of Maluzi as the man to lead the push for a multi-party state.

Most Malawians that I speak whith are not supporters of Mutharika’s DPP, however, they respect the achievemnets that Mutharika has made over the past 5 years. Nearly all feel that the MCP is old fashioned, Tembo’s past is dark and that Malluzi is an interminable populist. Enough people still have sympathies for the Banda years that when combined with the support for Maluzi and UDF, this could be a tight election.

See more here.

Mulanje Massif is one of the top five most spectacular places I’ve visited in the world.

While on my morning run today, I caught a glimpse of Mulanje Mountain. Though covered in clouds and opaqued by haze, the landmark was barely visible, its presence was stunning nonetheless.

This article from Elisabeth Rosenthal makes me wonder about the process by which farmers adopt new crops. In Malawi, where “Maize is Life,” there has been some adaption in crop production, but production of potatoes (called Irish potatoes) is limited and relative to maize, potatoes are definitely a luxury good.

This morning I went for a run to Mulunguzi Dam on Zomba Plateau.  From my house it is a steep uphill climb covering 7.3 miles. While the run is tiring, the reward of peaceful and quiet moments at the resevior made the climb worth it.

Over the past two years, Malawi has observed strong harvests for agricultural crops. An estimate 2.2 million tons of maize is required, annually, for domestic consumption. Many here cite the fact that Malawi has become and exporter of maize, with 2.7 million tons of maize production in 2006 and 3.4 million tons in 2007. This compares favorably to the 1.2 million tons harvested in 2005. Additionally, tobacco markets have thrived this year, with the dollar value of sales more than double that of last year.

Recent discussion in Malawian newspapers points to the success of the Targeted Input Subsidy Program (TIP) as the cause for the boost in maize production. Using support from the World Bank, DfID, Norway and the European Union, TIP provides a subsidy coupon, nominally targeted at smallholder farmers, on the purchase of fertilizer and seeds. The price of fertilizer, with the coupon, drops from 6500 Kwacha ($46.43) to 900 Kwacha ($6.43).  The program began after the 2005 crop failures. Approximately 1.5 million coupons have been distributed this year. 

The program has generated quite a lot of attention from the donor community, neighboring countries, and academics. Jeffrey Sachs has adopted the cause of TIP to show that countries throughout Africa can take steps to realize a Green Revolution for the continent.  

As a result of the successful crop seasons in recent years, international attention and praise has befallen President Bingu wa Mutharika and TIP. Back in December 2007, the New York Times published a Celia Dugger piece on TIP. Earlier this year, The Sunday Times (Blantyre) published an editorial by Glenn Denning and Jeffrey Sachs. Also, read a recent article by David Lepeska on the subject.

While it would be difficult to empirically establish causality between TIP and the bumper harvests of the past two years, it is equally difficult to convince oneself that this program has not positively affected the agricultural potential of smallholder Malawian farmers. Questions remain, however, as to whether or not the program can hold up politically without becoming excessively wasteful, whether the program will help to build the private fertilizer marker and innovation in seed technologies, and whether the program can sufficiently hold off the negative effects of a yet-to-come drought (as seen in 2005).