Dear Readers,
The themes for August 2025 were hard to come by, considering the surprises that occurred in the last ten days of July 2025. The challenging aspects of selecting running mates for 16 September 2025, combined with the hype generated by these surprises, created a significant obstacle that made writing quite difficult. The hopefuls for the running mates appeared to be left in the cold, revealing a considerable amount of advisory and independence within the key political parties. What is more encouraging is that presidential aspirants have managed to keep the parties intact for now. We can make predictions about what will happen as the campaign unfolds.
A critical lesson learned by the majority of us is the affirmation of the notion that “In politics, you don’t have a permanent friend or a permanent enemy”. The agenda for many political parties is to win the elections, and therefore they will try to bury their hatchets and focus on winning. We can only wish good luck to all presidential candidates and their running mates.
While we recognize that the campaign has been launched and the battle for the State House has begun. We know that we need to get to the state house. Our plea and prayer are that we campaign responsibly. The use of derogatory words, abusive language, and violence is not permitted. We must focus on the real issues and on how we can reduce poverty levels. We are among the poorest countries, competing with war-torn nations and yet we have never been at war. Perhaps our battles lie in our own laziness and lack of focus. Social media should not be a tool for harassment. Let us campaign in a responsible manner.
The last five years have also seen a civil society in the governance sector that has been dormant and lacked focus as a watchdog for the systems. A few organizations tried but were unable to move with the necessary desire. The glaring truth is that CSOs, led by NAP, asked the president to recall parliament on Tuesday, 5 August 2025, to discuss and amend a recently passed law because it impinges on people’s rights to vote, which calls into question our role as civil society. Civil society is the watchdog, and it does seem that our role in overseeing the many governance issues in Malawi has slipped from our grasp. This is just one example of many laws that we may not have given attention to, and we may wake up one day to find those laws being used against us. It’s not surprising that corruption continues to increase, with the ACB being silent and inactive on many issues raised regarding corruption.
We observe perpetrators of violence being protected by the system, and we also see civil society being quietly used. There are also individuals serving in the public sector, including CSOs, who are actively involved in partisan politics. This is an issue that must be managed because we are creating history, and before we realize it, this will become the modus operandi.
As civil society, we need to manage the mediocre, regardless of who is in power. We must seriously reflect on our role as civil society actors. We represent the interests of the people, and no matter what happens, we have a democracy to uphold. There are dictatorial elements emerging in the manifestos, and because civil society organizations (CSOs) are divided, these will become embedded in policies and laws. We envision a situation where NGOs in this country are not receiving foreign aid directly, leaving the government in control of our finances. We have buried our heads in the sand, believing that this issue will resolve itself. Mark this article and reference it after 16 September 2025.
We recently observed discussions and deliberation regarding the roles of CONGOMA and NGORA. As usual, we have noted with concern the conflicting responsibilities. We have systematically worked to weaken CONGOMA as a mouthpiece for NGOs and CSOs in Malawi. It would be naive to overlook the fact that the regulation of NGOs in Malawi emerged when they began questioning the infamous “open term,” which later became the “third term” during the Bakili Muluzi era. We vividly remember how tense the situation was. Some former cabinet ministers, to whom we openly expressed our concerns about the implications of this dangerous law, are now suffering, and we hope they recall our words.
Through CONGOMA, unity of purpose was ensured, and we remember the aspects of the Grand Coalition of NGOs as tools for engagement in addressing governance issues. Advocacy was a central theme in the sector. The current government, which has incorporated some of the most vocal critics of poor governance into the system, is now supporting this system. We need to wake up and revisit CONGOMA. We cannot be coordinated by a “regulator.” The regulator cannot advocate on our behalf, nor can it question itself. We therefore call upon the chairperson of the Governing Council of CONGOMA to critically examine what we are doing with CONGOMA. Sadly, we are prepared to pay the regulator millions to allow them to engage with us. We have become docile. We cannot pay the membership fees to sustain a coordinator who will not unite us when needed.
While on the subject, it’s important to revisit the code of conduct in NGOs. One significant weakness we need to address is the issue of whether paying for membership automatically qualifies an individual or organization as an NGO. Unfortunately, we are aware that this is a sensitive topic. Therefore, it’s crucial that we introduce a degree of sanity into the NGO sector. The World Association of NGOs (WANGO) provides an NGO Code of Conduct; please visit their website at https://www.wango.org to learn more.
The SADC People’s Forum convenes in Antsirabe, Madagascar, from 15 to 17 August 2025 under the theme “Reclaiming Our Future: Building Sovereign Economies, Advancing Debt Justice, and Amplifying People’s Power in the Face of Injustice and Neo-Colonization.” How are we preparing as Malawi for this important forum alongside the SADC Heads of Government meeting in Madagascar? We need to mobilize and participate in these forums as we build towards 2063.
Have a wonderful read!
