FOOD SECURITY TURNS POLITICAL

UNCLAS LILONGWE 000731

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/S

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON PGOV KDEM MA
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