When the COVID-19 pandemic mercilessly hit Malawi as part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019, several actors came in full force to join hands in responding to the issue. Among them, was one group led by one son of the soil, Onjezani Kenani through mobilization of resources locally and abroad. The impact of such support is still felt years down the line.
Similarly, when Cyclone Freddy made a landfall on Malawi like a double-barreled gun, Malawians in unison, rose up to the occasion to support in all manner the victims. I vividly remember when almost the entire Malawi Land Rover fleet camped in Blantyre and surrounding districts reaching out to each and every ravaged and impassable corner with the needed support. By the time, DoDMA and international assistance was rolling in, the Land Rovers were making a return trip with impeccable and impactful results.
When I look back and reflect at these two cases that ploughed in several billions of Kwacha in support, it proves one thing to me and hopefully to you as well. That indeed local Philanthropy is alive and kicking in Malawi and has potential to even outgrow its current confines. Further to this, impact of climate change on Malawi and the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and outbreaks of conflict like in Eastern Europe have all exacerbated global poverty and Malawi is not spared and these need immediate and new approaches in addressing them.
As you may be aware, for years, our government, non-government organisations and development partners, have used several approaches to localize development aid and ensure that a greater share of funding goes directly to local actors and frontline communities, but progress continues to be painfully slow and at times, some steps backwards. Whilst the goal has been to address poverty but sadly, it is the poverty winning the war by dictating its terms of warfare. In the process, Malawians like some PoWs, have now been or being turned into some sort of PoDRs (prisoners of debt relief).
Ironically, when I check the rear-view mirror, I get astonished to see a backlog of unfilled commitments including a pledge towards climate finance, made by the international humanitarian, philanthropic, and development system which are likely not to be fulfilled anytime soon. The bitter pill and reality from all this is that our hope for support from entirely the global north might not be the best option for now for various reasons.
Against this backdrop of gloom, however, lies another story. One of hope and possibility. Just like how Malawians harnessed the power of local Philanthropy towards Covid19 and Cyclone Freddy, the story lies in the actions of individuals, organizations and networks that have come to reject externally imposed solutions and believe that another way is possible. An approach, according to its engineers, and local champions like Comic Relief, FCDO, Tilitonse Foundation or IM Swedish Development Partner, that centers people and communities as actors, decision-makers and investors in their own development processes and societies.
To put this story into action, the approach calls for a bit of time for reflection and soul searching. For once, the approach calls for some sober time to allow for a debate that questions international development and more especially the current international funding system that needs and must be re-shaped to be more locally-owned and locally-led if significant strides towards are to be achieved for a just and compassionate world as being championed by IM Swedish.
For years, we have had such players like IMF, World Bank and other development partners, like some form of a celebrity chef, deciding what Malawians need to eat or not to through some form of templates that are never discussed. I will try to avoid some discussion on structural adjustment program!
To further put this into perspective and especially from a Malawian perspective, take into consideration the traditional funding that Malawi has enjoyed over the years through bilateral arrangements that come along with international NGOs from the global north for instance. These for decades, have worked with the local Malawian counterparts through funding arrangements that have inherent and built in conditionalities and even purpose to which such funding can go and not go for.
Having experimented with such for decades, these new schools of thought as emerging, are inspiring the rest to try out tested new ways of deciding and doing that are emerging around the world, that advances dignity, equity and trust – and that recognize the resources and inherent power of communities.
The proponents are calling for a challenge to disrupt, democratize, and reimagine the development system by putting forward a call for action that entails us to turn around, or what is called Shifting the Power, to advance the agenda that puts communities in charge of their own development. Malawi just needs that now.
Through an advancement of some power neutral interactions, kindly be reminded that those who seek to ‘be helped’ like Malawians, have much more power – knowledge, skills, networks – than they are given credit for. Play your part today in whatever role, to make #ShiftingThePower a reality for Malawians and the rest of the overlooked agents of change.
Kumbukani is writing in his capacity as a development practitioner and Shifting The Power advocate.
