MWA PRESS RELEASE
Statement from Malawi Washington Association Regarding D.C. Malawian Community Involvement in Government Financial Decisions
Silver Spring, MD November 22nd, 2015: The Vice President of Malawi, Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima and Madam Mary Chilima met members of the Malawi Washington Association (MWA) and Malawian community in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, November 17th, 2015. They were accompanied by Malawi’s minister of Agriculture, Hon. Allan Chiyembekeza M.P. The officials were hosted by Malawi’s official representatives at the Malawi Embassy to the United States which is under the leadership of Ambassador Necton Mhura. Some members of the Malawian press however, have falsely reported that the Malawian community in D.C. arranged this meeting at a price tag of $10,000 (MK5.7m) but were “stunned” when they were told by the Vice-President that the venue cost was too expensive for the government to pay due to austerity measures.
MWA would like to take this opportunity on behalf of our membership and Malawians living in the area, to clarify the level of the organization and community’s involvement in arranging the meeting. Chilima was in the country to attend meetings for Compact2025 but he took the advantage of this visit by also taking the time to engage with the Malawian Diaspora who were invited to meet with him by the Embassy of Malawi, who are the representatives of the Malawi government.
MWA’s role was limited to notifying the public about the meeting and to voice the community’s collective sentiments to the Vice-President. Board Member and former President, Eddie Naming’ona, also stepped in as Master of Ceremony upon request by the Embassy staff. Therefore, any discussions about the arrangements, logistics, budget or venue were between the Embassy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Vice-President. MWA became aware of all the arrangements, including change of venue and costs through communication sent by the Embassy or government officials to the public, which included MWA.
We would like to bring to attention of the press that when Malawian officials visit in their official capacity it is the role of the government or the organization inviting the official to make arrangements and/or bear the financial burden of whole or parts of their itinerary. Therefore, it would be improper for MWA or the Malawian community, who did not plan the meeting, to foot the bill. This is why the invitation to the meeting and change of venue both came from the Malawian Embassy.
It is also why when MWA disseminated embassy communication to the public electronically through e-mail social media, it was made clear that the invitation was from the embassy. Furthermore, copies of the embassy correspondence were distributed publicly. At no point did MWA nor Malawians in the D.C. area claim responsibility for organizing this meeting. Reading the communication from MWA and/or the Embassy should have eliminated any speculations staff writers about who the organizers were and curbed any accompanying speculations about the intentions of the community here.
As Malawians who regularly send remittances to Malawi to assist family members, you would be hard pressed to find Malawians in D.C. or United States who don’t have direct knowledge of the situation in Malawi. As a community, we raised thousands of dollars for emergency flood relief to assist fellow Malawians.
To imply that we are not sensitive or are indifferent to the suffering of Malawians is ludicrous. To imply that we are not budget conscious is equally problematic. MWA has planned the annual DC Malawian independence day celebration events through the generous contribution of the Malawian community in the DC area for the past several years which includes a picnic, party (dinner/dance), and meeting at a quarter of the cost. Accustomed to working with a tight budget and limited resources, the plausibility that MWA would suddenly lose all cost sensibility is fantastical. First, a $10,000 price tag for a 2 to 3-hour event in DC costing of $10,000, would raise flags because it is above-the-market pricing. Oftentimes, the embassy graciously allows us to use the same embassy room office to help us cut costs because, like MWA, they are aware of the cost of room rentals in D.C. This quote has therefore either been inflated by the staff writer who is unaware of the usual costs of events in D.C. or is indicative of a planned event factoring in costs inclusive of a first-class a dinner with premium liquor which was an unlikely case. Second, the idea that MWA or any other community members would find an extravagant venue and force the Embassy to comply with the price tag is equally dubious because we do not have control over the embassy’s budget.
We would further like to highlight that MWA is non-profit/ non-governmental organization that does not participate in partisan politics for ethical and legal reasons. As such, it has been our practice not to fund any government officials or political leaders’ visits. The law also restricts political activity that registered organizations can undertake even if there was interest in doing so. However, we do welcome and encourage anyone wanting to meet with our engaged community to have dialogue with us during their visits and in turn, we assist where we can. As an example, we may assist by publicizing Malawian events or meetings, providing information about logistics, or recommending hotels and/or venues. However, as a non-profit all our services are voluntary and done with the hopes of advancing our country.
We would like to remind the press that decisions about the standard operating procedures for officials by embassies falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign affairs. Whilst we have a good working relationship with the Embassy and collaborate with the Embassy on matters of common interest including, planning of events, we are not a part of the financial decision making structure of the Embassy nor the Malawi government. Rather, Foreign Affairs is charged with setting the protocols for expenditures and logistics for all embassies. It is plausible that the Embassy staff in DC were simply following long standing procedures that have been practiced across administrations that haven’t been changed. This means that if there was concern with the price-tag of the event, it should have been considered under the umbrella of much needed civil reforms to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The responsibility for this leads back to the government itself who is charged with spearheading comprehensive civil service reforms.
Overall, the Malawian community here commended the embassy and the Vice-President for arranging what they felt was a productive meeting in an intimate setting that allowed for candid dialogue. The community in DC also commended the Vice-President for rejecting the $10,000 room. However, we are dismayed that some members of the press wanted to use this well-intended act as an opportunity to slander unsuspecting members of the Washington DC community who became implicated by simply attending the meeting. As a community and concerned citizens, we who do our utmost to support our government officials who take time out of their schedules to meet with us. However, we would like for media reporting about such meetings to be accurate and productive. In future, we welcome any members of the press to fact-check information about events with members of MWA Board rather than rely on misinformation.
MWA is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1994 to unite Malawians in the USA and look after the interests of Malawians in the U.S and in Malawi. More information about MWA can be found at www.malawiwashington.org and the organization can be contacted at secretary@malawiwasingon.org.
