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Article
Publication date: 4 March 2024

Sane Zuka

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of market-based approach to provision of housing to low-income households in urban Malawi.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of market-based approach to provision of housing to low-income households in urban Malawi.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was conducted in Blantyre, Malawi, between 2019 and 2022 and used both quantitative (household survey) and qualitative (in-depth interviews and document study) methods of data collection. Interviews were conducted with key players and investors in the housing sector. Household survey data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, which allowed the generation of descriptive housing valuables, whereas qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis.

Findings

This paper demonstrates that, rather than ameliorating the housing problems facing low-income households, the market approach to provision of housing in Malawi has worsened the housing situation in the country. This is so because the market approach to the provision of housing in Malawi is not only enforcing the logic of capitalistic accumulation in the housing sector but also supporting mechanisms of exclusion based on economic stratification within the community.

Research limitations/implications

Completeness of data over time as there is no market data bank available in the country.

Practical implications

The findings from this study suggest that some degree of state intervention in addressing the housing problem in Malawi is required.

Social implications

The study findings suggest that a market approach to the provision of housing can increase social inequality as low-income households face challenges in accessing housing.

Originality/value

There is a paucity of research on the effects of the market approach on the provision of affordable housing to low-income households in Malawi. This paper assesses this important policy gap and provides significant policy directions.

Details

International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8270

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 November 2018

Levi Zeleza Manda and Noel Drake Kufaine

Since the 1970s, Malawi has been a host to asylum seekers fleeing from liberation and civil wars in Mozambique, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and the…

Abstract

Since the 1970s, Malawi has been a host to asylum seekers fleeing from liberation and civil wars in Mozambique, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and the Zaire/Democratic Republic of the Congo (Makhema, 2009). As a signatory to international legal instruments governing refugees and asylum seekers, Malawi, whose constitution advocates for education rights for all, is obligated to host the refugees and provide for their needs such as pre-primary, primary, secondary and higher education, health, and security.

In this chapter, the authors discuss the history of refugee flows into Malawi and refugee education policy within the national education policies in Malawi. In particular, the authors argue that refugees are part of Malawi’s social and demographic reality and their education needs and rights should be factored into the country’s higher education policy and annual national budgets. The authors further make proposals for extending equitable higher education access to accommodate refugee applicants.

The authors conclude by recommending that, in order for Malawi to live by its commitments to serve all humanity without segregation, it should reserve a quota for refugees in public universities, or at least welcoming refugee applicants on local fees terms.

Details

Strategies, Policies, and Directions for Refugee Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-798-0

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 8 December 2021

Suzanne Temwa Gondwe Harris

When questioning the relationship between media, development, and democracy, especially in the ill-defined “Global South,” it’s important to go beyond the commonly held…

Abstract

When questioning the relationship between media, development, and democracy, especially in the ill-defined “Global South,” it’s important to go beyond the commonly held meta-narratives that frame these concepts as common sense. In a quest to investigate alternative characterizations of these terms, this chapter uses Ghanaian political economist Lord Mawuko-Yevugah’s (2014) theoretical framework of “developmentality” to explain how development has been used as an ideological instrument to promote the Western liberal media model in the “Global South.” Using a case study of Malawi, which is heavily dependent on foreign aid from the same countries who have defined and promoted this liberal media model aboard, raises important questions about a media model that is characterized by high objectivity and political neutrality on one side, but subjects countries to high levels of competition and free market principles on the other. By outlining the temporal sequence of events that have unfolded since the arrival of missionary media in the 1800s, the presence of international donors and the rise in non-governmental organizations, this chapter reveals how certain ideologies and practices have been legitimized through development to preserve the unequal balance of power between the “Global South” and their former colonial powers.

Article
Publication date: 16 June 2022

Aubrey Harvey Chaputula

This study aims to investigate the management of electronic records (e-records) in public universities in Malawi.

2582

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the management of electronic records (e-records) in public universities in Malawi.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted a case study research design that made use of predominantly qualitative research methods. Data was collected at three study sites, namely, Mzuzu University, Malawi University of Science and Technology and the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences. A purposive sample of three officers per institution (and nine in total) comprising executive officers, deputy university registrar, records clerk, information and communication technology (ICT) directors and ICT manager was attained. The researcher personally conducted the interviews with the research subjects with the aid of interview guides. Observations were also done, whose findings were recorded in the observation protocols. The data collected was transcribed in MS Word, coded and analysed thematically.

Findings

This study concluded that e-records are at high risk in public universities in Malawi. Irrespective of this situation, this study found that there were some areas for e-records to potentially thrive in public universities in Malawi.

Research limitations/implications

This study covers three of the six public universities in Malawi. Although public universities in Malawi have similar governance structures, there are some noticeable differences that distinguish one institution from the other. It is, therefore, possible that findings made in this study may not completely represent the prevailing situation in all public universities.

Originality/value

Studies of this nature have not been done before in public universities in Malawi. It is, therefore, hoped that besides filling the existing knowledge gap, its findings will contribute to policy and practical interventions that will lead to efficiency of the universities involved.

Details

Records Management Journal, vol. 32 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-5698

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 24 June 2022

Jean Grugel, Sarah C. Masefield and Alan Msosa

Health in low-income countries has become associated with the provision of minimum guaranteed public health services though Essential Health Packages (EHPs). How far do EHPs…

1213

Abstract

Purpose

Health in low-income countries has become associated with the provision of minimum guaranteed public health services though Essential Health Packages (EHPs). How far do EHPs deliver the human right to health for all? This study addresses this question through qualitative research into access to health care for vulnerable communities, using Malawi as a case study. This study shows that there are significant accountability gaps and perceptions of weak service provision in Malawi’s EHP in relation to some particularly marginalised (and stigmatised) groups that limit the right to health and the promise of “health for all”.

Design/methodology/approach

This study extends the body of qualitative work on EHPs in general and on Malawi in particular by exploring the perceptions of key stakeholders in relation to inclusivity and the delivery of health policies to particularly vulnerable groups. To do so, this study adopted an approach based on interpretive epistemologies (Scott, 2014). This study conducted largely unstructured interviews with a range of health stakeholders, speaking to stakeholders individually, rather than through focus groups due to the potentially sensitive nature of the topic.

Findings

The findings of this study are as follows: limited inclusion of civil society actors and local communities; local communities and local policymakers feel frustration with the gap between the promises of consultation in the EHP and the reality, and the difficulties of not having effective channels of communication; and exclusionary health practices for particularly vulnerable groups.

Research limitations/implications

There are limitations based on the qualitative methodology, and in terms of the particularly vulnerable groups – the authors studied two such groups (people with disabilities and those who identify as LBTQ) but a wider survey of vulnerable groups is needed to extend and confirm the findings.

Practical implications

Greater attention to the health rights of vulnerable groups would improve access and services, even in the context of resource restrictions. This study suggests that a deeper engagement with human rights-based approaches would pay dividends in terms of increasing access to health in Malawi, even within the constraints of the EHP process. Furthermore, without this, there is the risk that discrimination and exclusion will become more embedded in health policies, rather than progressively minimised.

Social implications

Without addressing these issues, there is the risk that discrimination and exclusion will become more embedded in health policies, rather than progressively minimised.

Originality/value

This paper makes an important contribution to the growing literatures on EHP in sub-Saharan Africa and Malawi in particular and to the importance of listening to stakeholder perceptions. It provides original data on stakeholder perspectives of the challenges associated with universalising health care in resource-constrained countries. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is one of the first papers to focus on the rights of disabled and LBTQ people in relation to EHPs.

Details

International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4902

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 May 2014

Patrick Mapulanga

– The purpose of this paper is to look at staff development and its challenges in the University of Malawi Libraries.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to look at staff development and its challenges in the University of Malawi Libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

A case study design was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data. University Budget Estimates from 2004/2005 to 2010/2011 financial years were analysed. Data from the University of Malawi Strategic Plan 2005-2009 were examined. Interviews were conducted with college librarians in the University of Malawi Libraries. Documentary evidence was also used.

Findings

Study findings indicate that staff development in the University of Malawi Libraries has emphasised on professional qualification in Library and Information Studies. However, due to financial constraints, the majority of the library staff lacks LIS professional qualifications. This study recommends that libraries should consider budgeting for continuing professional development (CPD).

Practical implications

Staff development requires continuous funding and time. This study recommends the CPD approach to staff development in academic libraries. The study also recommends the introduction of an education levy to benefit skills and training needs for higher education institutions.

Originality/value

There is dearth of literature on staff development in academic libraries in Malawi. This paper seeks to recommend CPD.

Details

The Bottom Line, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0888-045X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 April 2020

Luis Gadama, Chrissie Thakwalakwa, Chimwemwe Mula, Victor Mhango, Chikosa Banda, Stephanie Kewley, Alyson Hillis and Marie-Claire Van Hout

Sub-Saharan African prisons have seen a substantial increase in women prisoners, including those incarcerated with children. There is very little strategic literature available on…

Abstract

Purpose

Sub-Saharan African prisons have seen a substantial increase in women prisoners, including those incarcerated with children. There is very little strategic literature available on the health situation and needs of women prisoners and their circumstantial children in Malawi. The study aims to explore this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative exploratory study using in-depth key informant interviews with senior correctional stakeholders (commissioner of prison farms, senior correctional management staff, senior health officials and senior officers in charge) (n =5) and focus group discussions (FGD) with women in prison of age between 18 and 45 years (n =23) and two FGD with correctional staff (n =21) was conducted in two prisons in Malawi, Chichiri and Zomba. Narratives were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings

Three key themes emerged and are as follows: “hygiene and sanitary situation across multiple prison levels and subsequent health implications for women”; “nutritional provision and diets of women and children in prison”; and “women’s access to prison-based and external health services”. Divergence or agreement across perspectives around sanitation and disease prevention, adequacy of nutrition for pregnant or breast-feeding women, health status and access to prison-based health care are presented.

Practical implications

Garnering a contemporary understanding of women’s situation and their health-care needs in Malawian prisons can inform policy and correctional health practice change, the adaptation of technical guidance and improve standards for women and their children incarcerated in Malawi.

Originality/value

There is a strong need for continued research to garner insight into the experiences of women prisoners and their children, with a particular emphasis on health situation.

Details

International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-9200

Keywords

Abstract

Subject area

Leadership; Political Economy; Strategy; Entrepreneurship.

Study level/applicability

Masters in Business Administration (MBA); MPhil in Strategic Leadership.

Case overview

On 5 February 2016, South African entrepreneur Jannie Van Eeden faced a dilemma about whether to expand his current businesses or not. He had to choose between focusing exclusively on hospitality and tourism or dividing his time and resources between the tourism business and expanding his existing logistics business. Expansions to his logistics business would entail investing in a warehouse and supplying fresh produce to the lodges in the wider area of Lake Malawi where he was based. Van Eeden realised that he needed to take into account the political economy of Malawi in unpacking the contextual variables related to his decision. Various stakeholders’ roles are illustrated in the case, for example the government’s role in enabling entrepreneurial businesses as well as the investments made by foreign organisations and international donors.

Expected learning outcomes

Development of leaders who can take contextually intelligent decisions. Insights into conducting Political Economy analysis to enable doing business in Africa.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code

CSS 7: Management Science.

Details

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, vol. 7 no. 4
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2045-0621

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 May 2016

Steven William Kayuni

In September, 2013 following a police tip, a government accounts clerk was found with huge sums of cash amounting to US$300,000 in his car, and a week later, Malawi’s Budget…

Abstract

Purpose

In September, 2013 following a police tip, a government accounts clerk was found with huge sums of cash amounting to US$300,000 in his car, and a week later, Malawi’s Budget Director (Treasury Official) was fatally shot outside his home. These two incidents unravelled what would later be famously known as the “Cashgate Scandal” that leading to revelations of fraud amounting to US$32 million, an amount representing almost 1 per cent of Malawi’s annual GDP in merely six months. As a result, donors withdrew their annual 40 per cent budgetary support. A lot of people (almost 70) in both public and private sector found with both cash in local or foreign currency were arrested. An independent audit report by Baker Tilly, a British accountancy firm, revealed that the fraud and theft was with such sophistication that cheques were issued to private companies for services that had not been rendered to government. Those cheques were cashed, and money was distributed among several people. Those arrested were charged with offences ranging from corruption, abuse of office, theft, theft by public servant, tax evasion and money laundering. This paper aims to analyse the cashgate scandal. It explores the first conviction of these cashgate case series which also happens to be the first ever conviction on money laundering offence in Malawi. It further explores the law likely to apply to the cashgate scandal case series, the opportunities that have been lost and likely stifling implications on the future of the fight against corruption and money laundering offences in Malawi. All law enforcement actors such as the prosecution, defence and the courts have that duty to clarify and implement the common interests of Malawians, namely, the prescriptive purposes of the law in accordance with the expectations of an approximate process that guarantees attainment of human good, i.e. justice.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents the desk research of various journal articles and reports on money laundering in general and Malawi. Further, an analysis of the first money laundering conviction is presented.

Findings

Malawi is still struggling with enforcement of money laundering offences.

Research limitations/implications

There was no quantitative research involved. Further, being the first case for litigation and conviction, not much has come up on Malawi’s money laundering practice. Actually, this is likely to be the first article on money laundering and analysis of the cashgate heist.

Social implications

The paper serves as a learning process for future prosecutions.

Originality/value

The paper offers a new and novel approach to the fight against money laundering offences and organized criminality in Malawi. Before the Treza Senzani Judgment, Money Laundering Law in Malawi had never been tested before the Courts. Through an exegesis of the Malawi law as regards these offences, the paper adds value to the research and fight against money laundering. It further offers insights into legal interpretation and policy formulation that would enable law enforcement agencies in Malawi to succeed in the fight against such criminality.

Details

Journal of Money Laundering Control, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1368-5201

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 February 2022

Vincent Jumbe, Victor Mhango, Adamson Muula, Ruth Kaima, Luntha Rosemary Chimbwete, Apatsa Mangwana, Benjamin Msutu, Lisa Tembo, Charlotte Bigland, Stephanie Kewley and Marie Claire Van Hout

Prisons in the sub-Saharan African region face unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Malawi, the first prison system case of COVID-19 was notified in July…

Abstract

Purpose

Prisons in the sub-Saharan African region face unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Malawi, the first prison system case of COVID-19 was notified in July 2020. While prison settings were included in the second domestic COVID-19 response plan within the Law Enforcement cluster (National COVID-19 preparedness and response plan, July–December 2020), they were initially not included in the K157bn (US$210m) COVID-19 fund. The purpose of the study was to assess prison preparedness, prevention and control of COVID-19 in Malawi..

Design/methodology/approach

A multi-method situation assessment of the COVID-19 response and human rights assurance of prisoners and staff was conducted in a large prison complex in Malawi. Qualitative research underpinned by the Empirical Phenomenological Psychological (EPP) framework consisted of interviews with key informants such as prison health personnel, senior prison staff, penal and judicial policymakers, government and civil society organisations (n = 14) and focus group discussions with consenting male (n = 48) and female prisoners (n = 48) and prison wardens (n = 24). Prison site visits were supported by detailed observations based on the World Health Organisation Checklist for COVID-19 in prisons (n = 9). Data were collected and analysed thematically using the EPP stepwise approach and triangulated based on Bronfenbrenner’s model conceptualising COVID-19 as a multi-level event disrupting the prison eco-system.

Findings

The results are presented as MICRO-MESO level individual and community experiences of incarceration during COVID-19 spanning several themes: awareness raising and knowledge of COVID-19 in prisons; prison congestion and the impossibility of social distancing; lack of adequate ventilation, hygiene and sanitation and provisions and correct use of personal protective equipment; MESO-MACRO level interplay between the prison community of prisoners and staff and judicial policy impacts; medical system COVID-19 response, infrastructure and access to health care; COVID-19 detection and quarantine measures and prisoner access to the outside world.

Originality/value

This unique situation assessment of the Malawian prison system response to mitigate COVID-19 illustrates the dynamics at the micro-level whereby prisoners rely on the state and have restricted agency in protecting themselves from disease. This is due to severe structural inadequacies based on low resource allocation to prisons leading to a compromised ability to prevent and treat disease; an infirm and congested infrastructure and bottlenecks in the judicial system fuelling a continued influx of remand detainees leading to high overcapacity. Multi-pronged interventions involving key stakeholders, with prison management and line Ministry as coordinators are warranted to optimise COVID-19 interventions and future disease outbreaks in the Malawian prison system.

Details

International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-9200

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 3000