Malawi has started distributing free maize and cash to more than four million people facing food shortages largely because of the impact of Cyclone Freddy, which washed away thousands of hectares of crops in March.

The move comes in response to a recent report that said the situation is expected to worsen until the next harvesting season in March 2024.

According to a report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, the number of people projected to face hunger this year in Malawi has increased to 4.4 million from 3.9 million last year.

Charles Kalemba, commissioner of the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma),  said the hunger response effort for this year would cost Malawi about $226 million.

“We were able to raise about $78 million that we are going to use as cash transfers and government will provide 165 000 metric tonnes to cover the deficit,” he said.

Children affected by Cyclone Freddy in Mulanje look on as a military helicopter carry medical supplies to Muloza on the border

Cyclone Freddy also hit Mozambique and Madagascar.

It killed hundreds of people and displaced more than 650 000 people.

The cyclone washed away 179 000 hectares of crop fields in the Southern Region just close to the harvesting season.

Maurine Likoswe is one of the farmers whose maize field was washed away in Chilobwe Township in Blantyre.

Likoswe said she is excited about the relief programme, but is hoping the assistance reaches all the beneficiaries.

She said: “We are happy and eager to receive that donation, however we wish to call upon this government to do things differently from the way other governments have been doing.

“Sometimes, what happens is the real beneficiaries are sometimes left out and people who do not deserve to receive the items end up receiving,” said Likoswe.

Kalemba said everything is in place to curb any form of corruption.

“We will not tolerate corruption. We will not tolerate theft, and we will not tolerate fraud. Just as we did last year, a number of councilors were arrested, a number of chiefs were arrested, and officers were arrested. We are going to arrest again anyone who tries to misdirect the aid that is going to the people who are vulnerable,” he said.

Kalemba said people in the Southern Region where Cyclone Freddy hit the hardest will receive the relief maize for six months.

People in other districts will receive the maize for a period of between two and five months until the next harvesting season in March.

“Because of the intensity of hunger that we are noting, in different places we may have to push some councils that we were supposed to start in December or January to push them to start in November and see how we move,” he said.

In the meantime, the Dodma chief has advised people against selling the relief maize, saying those doing so will be arrested. nNational Construction Industry Council (NCIC) has decried the continuing existence of poor quality infrastructure in the country and dared the industry’s players to adhere to standards.

The council has since introduced several instruments to facilitate the improvement of the construction industry and ensure adherence to standards.

NCIC chief executive officer Gerald Khonje made the remarks in Blantyre yesterday during a workshop the council organised for professionals in the construction industry to discuss a number of challenges there.

He said: “When you look at the quality of infrastructure, there are quite a number of challenges.

“We have some infrastructure which is of good quality, but we also have some infrastructure which is of very bad quality.”

Khonje said the Malawi Infrastructure Delivery Management Standards (MIDMS) launched this year, among others, provides guidelines on how projects should be planned, designed, executed, maintained and disposed of.

He said the quality of infrastructure could be compromised at any stage of construction due to several factors. 

Khonje also cited poor planning, flaws in procurement processes, a failing budget and ‘unethical’ conduct of some individuals as some of the factors affecting the construction industry in Malawi.

Architects and Quantity Surveyors Institute board member Ethel Chitsanthi acknowledged that the quality of infrastructure in Malawi is not impressive and there is need for improvement.

She said: “I think that maybe [it is because of] some of the people who perform the duties, for example, are not done by the professionals.

NCIC launched MIDMS on August 23 this year to respond to poor project planning and management which often results in poor quality infrastructure in the country.

The tool is a guide to all construction industry players to implement quality infrastructure as it will close the knowledge gaps that have hitherto hindered quality.

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