US embassy cable - 05LILONGWE731

UNCLAS LILONGWE 000731 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/S 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, ECON, PGOV, KDEM, MA, Agriculture/Food Security, Political Issues 
SUBJECT: FOOD SECURITY TURNS POLITICAL 
 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: The looming food crisis has become a 
political hot topic recently, with both the President and his 
opponents accusing each other of deserting the poor. The 
latest flare up is over the opposition's failure to support a 
new humanitarian fund promoted by the President.  This is 
sure to be only the first salvo in the political battle over 
hunger, as the food crisis promises only to grow over the 
next few months. End Summary. 
 
2. (U) President Mutharika kicked off his Feed the Nation 
Fund (FNF) Sunday August 21 at the New State House, where 
many prominent politicians and buisnesspeople made donations 
to the Fund.  The President says the FNF will act 
independently from government as a western-style non-profit 
organization, aimed at helping Malawians facing a food 
shortage. The board of directors of the Fund is composed of 
many prominent, but primarily apolitical, members of the 
business community. Of particular note is the number of 
influential buisnesspeople from Malawi's South Asian 
community, with whom the government has had little 
interaction to date. 
 
3. (U) The President says he has put forward the idea of the 
FNF as an example of how Malawi should increase its 
self-reliance.  He says Malawi should do everything it can to 
address its food-security problems internally, and only then 
go to the donors for assistance. However, the President and 
his government have had problems articulating the concept and 
goals of the FNF in a country lacking a strong history of 
local voluntary humanitarian organizations. 
 
3. (U) The President has insisted that the Fund will be 
apolitical.  However, he has also  chastised the opposition 
for not supporting the FNF, accusing them of failing to help 
the poor. For its turn, the opposition has questioned whether 
the FNF will act as a political tool of the President's party. 
 
4. (SBU) The issue of food security is the most pressing 
problem currently in Malawi. As such, it is sure to be 
exploited by all political parties as the current crisis 
deepens. However, it does seem that the President's new FNF 
might indeed perform apolitically.  While there have not been 
discussions of how the Fund will actually administer the 
donations it receives, the composition of its board of 
directors is encouraging. That said, the fund itself and food 
security in general are issues that are of growing political 
importance as the food crisis deepens. 
EASTHAM