Thursday, December 15, 2011

NEW INQUIRY: THE DEVELOPMENT SITUATION IN MALAWI

In July 2011 mass demonstrations against unemployment, high food prices and fuel shortages in Malawi resulted in the deaths of 20 people. Combined with the use of state resources for personal gain and the lack of political freedom, Malawi has entered a political and economic crisis.
In April 2011 the UK's Ambassador to Malawi was asked to leave the country for
criticising its leadership
. In July, DFID suspended general budget support
to Malawi worth £19 million
in response to economic mismanagement and poor
governance. DFID had allocated £373 million to Malawi for the period
2011-2015
. Its budget there was projected to rise from £90 million a year
in 2011-12 to £98 million in 2014-15
. The World Bank, the EU, the African
Development Bank, Germany and Norway have all suspended or ended general
budget support to Malawi.


Analysts have warned that unless the situation changes, Malawi risks
becoming a fragile Analysts have warned that unless the situation changes, uly 2011 mass demonstrations against unemployment, high food prices and fuel shortages in Malawi resulted in the deaths of 20 people. Combined with the use of state resources for personal gain and the lack of political freedom, Malawi has entered a political and economic crisis.
In April 2011 the UK's Ambassador to Malawi was asked to leave the country for
criticising its leadership
. In July, DFID suspended general budget support
to Malawi worth £19 million
in response to economic mismanagement and poor
governance. DFID had allocated £373 million to Malawi for the period
2011-2015
. Its budget there was projected to rise from £90 million a year
in 2011-12 to £98 million in 2014-15
. The World Bank, the EU, the African
Development Bank, Germany and Norway have all suspended or ended general
budget support to Malawi.


Analysts have warned that unless the situation changes, Malawi risks
becoming a fragile Analysts have warned that unless the situation changes, uly 2011 mass demonstrations against unemployment, high food prices and fuel shortages in Malawi resulted in the deaths of 20 people. Combined with the use of state resources for personal gain and the lack of political freedom, Malawi has entered a political and economic crisis.
In April 2011 the UK's Ambassador to Malawi was asked to leave the country for
criticising its leadership
. In July, DFID suspended general budget support
to Malawi worth £19 million
in response to economic mismanagement and poor
governance. DFID had allocated £373 million to Malawi for the period
2011-2015
. Its budget there was projected to rise from £90 million a year
in 2011-12 to £98 million in 2014-15
. The World Bank, the EU, the African
Development Bank, Germany and Norway have all suspended or ended general
budget support to Malawi.


Analysts have warned that unless the situation changes, Malawi risks
becoming a fragile Analysts have warned that unless the situation changes, Malawi risks becoming a fragile state.
Poverty rates are high: 74% of the population live on less than $1.25 per
day and 90% on less than $2 per day. Malawi is off-track for most of the
Millennium Development Goal targets.


The Committee invites submissions on:

* How the UK can best help to improve opportunities for economic
growth, job creation and meeting the Millennium Development Goal targets in
Malawi

* The role of DFID in protecting civil liberties including freedom of
expression and access to justice

* The conditions under which the UK should continue to provide
development assistance to Malawi

The deadline for submitting written evidence is Monday 20 February 2012.

Written evidence submitted should:

Be no longer that 3000 words in length

* Have numbered paragraphs

* Avoid the use of colour or expensive-to-print material

* Be provided electronically in MS Word or Rich Text format (No
PDF's) by e-mail to
indcom@parliament.uk>.

If submitted by e-mail or e-mail attachment, a letter should also be sent
validating the e-mail. The letterhead should contain your full postal
address and contact details

Submissions can also be sent by post to International Development
Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London, SW1P 3JA.


A guide for written submissions to Select Committees may be found on the
parliamentary website at:
http://www.parliament.uk/commons/selcom/witguide.htm
>

Please also note that:

* Material already published elsewhere should not form the basis of a
submission, but may be referred to within written evidence, in which case a
hard copy of the published work should be included. If a number of
published documents are sent to accompany written evidence, these should be
listed in the covering email.

* Written evidence submitted must be kept confidential until
published by the Committee, unless publication by the person or
organisation submitting it is specifically authorised.

* Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committee. The
Committee normally, though not always, chooses to make public the written
evidence it receives, by publishing it on the internet (where it will be
searchable), by printing it or by making it available through the
Parliamentary Record Office. If there is any information you believe to be
sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would
result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in
deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.

* It would be helpful, for Data Protection purposes, if individuals
wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details separately in
a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in
which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to
third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000.

* Select Committees are unable to investigate individual cases.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

Committee Membership is as follows:

Malcolm Bruce MP, Chair (Lib Dem, Gordon), Hugh Bayley MP (Lab, City of
York), Richard Burden MP (Lab, Birmingham, Northfield), Mr Sam Gyimah MP
(Con, East Surrey), Richard Harrington MP (Con, Watford), Pauline Latham
MP (Con, Mid Derbyshire), Jeremy Lefroy MP (Con, Stafford), Mr Michael
McCann MP (Lab, East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow), Alison McGovern
MP (Lab, Wirral South), Anas Sarwar MP (Lab, Glasgow Central), Chris White
MP (Con, Warwick and Leamington).

Specific Committee Information: indcom@parliament.uk /< mailto:indcom@parliament.uk%20/ > 020 7219 1223/
020 7219 1221 Committee Contact:
fukia@parliament.uk /020 7219 2738

Media Information:
daviesnick@parliament.uk/ 020 7219 3297

Committee Website:
www.parliament.uk/indcom
>

Watch committees and parliamentary debates online:
www.parliamentlive.tv
>



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reports are available from the Parliamentary Bookshop (12 Bridge St,
Westminster, 020 7219 3890) or the Stationery Office (0845 7023474).
Committee reports, press releases, evidence transcripts, Bills; research
papers, a directory of MPs, plus Hansard (from 8am daily) and much more,
can be found on
www.parliament.uk
>







Vanessa Hallinan | Committee Assistant to the International Development
Committee and the Committees on Arms Export Controls

| House of Commons | Committee Office

| 7 Millbank | London SW1P 3JA |

telephone: +44 (0)20 7219 1223 |

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