May
25
2022

Malawi-Scotland Governance Webinar Series

‘New Directions for Governance in Malawi’

Location Zoom
Update:

After the success of this eight part webinar series, we are actively considering what the next chapter in this governance strengthening work will be. As always we are keen to be led by Malawi. If you would like to feed your ideas in to our thinking, suggesting how best we could use the strength of friendship and mutual respect between Scotland and Malawi to support governance strengthening in both our nations, please contact David Hope-Jones at david@scotland-malawipartnership.org.

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Between October 2021 and May 2022, the SMP and MaSP co-hosted eight high-profile, digital webinars exploring governance strengthening in Malawi. Chaired by Assoc Prof Asiyati Lorraine Chiweza and Rev Prof Kenneth R Ross, each webinar featured one or more leading Malawian academics and governance experts, presenting their chapter(s) in this publication. Several webinars included a response from a leading figure in Scotland with expertise in this area and time for open debate and discussion. Learn more about the context of this work here.

The full video, chat log and slides for each webinar can be found below.

Webinar 1 - Governance in Malawi: An Introduction (27 Oct '21)

The SMP and our sister network MaSP, were delighted to invite anyone interested in governance strengthening to join the launch event of our exciting eight-part governance strengthening series, with Lord Jack McConnell.

As part of our ‘Years of Governance Strengthening’ campaign, the SMP and MaSP are sponsoring a new 400+ page, peer reviewed publication on governance in Malawi and hosting an accompanying eight-part high-level webinars series exploring governance strengthening.

This first session was an introduction to the series, with input from the three co-editors, Assoc Prof Asiyati Lorraine Chiweza, Prof Wapulumuka O. Mulwafu and Rev Prof Kenneth R. Ross. The Scottish response came from for First Minister of Scotland and co-signatory of the first Scotland-Malawi Cooperation Agreement, Lord Jack McConnell.

This session was co-chaired by the Chair of the Malawi Scotland Partnership Dr Anna Phoya and the Chair of the Scotland Malawi Partnership, Prof Heather Cubie.

Speakers included:

  • Associate Professor Asiyati Lorraine Chiweza is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political and Administrative Studies at Chancellor College, University of Malawi. She holds a PhD in Public Administration from Curtin University, Australia. She has authored several book chapters and journal articles, including in The Journal of African and Asian Studies, Development in Practice, and Public Administration and Development Alternatives. Her main research interests and expertise are in local governance and development, gender and governance, and public sector ethics and governance.
  • Prof Wapulumuka O. Mulwafu is Professor of Environmental History and Dean of Postgraduate Studies at Chancellor College, University of Malawi. He is author of Conservation Song: A History of Peasant-State Relations and the Environment in Malawi, 1860-2000 (Cambridge: The White Horse Press, 2011) and co-edited with John McCracken and Kings Phiri, Malawi in Crisis: The 1959/60 Nyasaland State of Emergency and its Legacy (Zomba: Kachere, 2012).
  • Rev Prof Kenneth R. Ross is Professor of Theology at Zomba Theological College, having earlier served as Professor of Theology at Chancellor College, University of Malawi, and as Chair of the Scotland Malawi Partnership. His books on governance in Malawi include Democratization in Malawi: A Stocktaking, co-edited with Kings M. Phiri and published in the Kachere Series in 1998. He is currently Series Editor of the Edinburgh Companions to Global Christianity (Edinburgh University Press) and an Advisor to the World Council of Churches.
  • Lord Jack McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, PC is a Scottish politician and a Labour life peer in the House of Lords, who served as the 3rd First Minister of Scotland from 2001 to 2007. Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2001 to 2007, he was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Motherwell and Wishaw from 1999 to 2011. McConnell became an MSP in the inaugural elections to the Scottish Parliament in 1999, later holding the positions of Finance Minister, and Education Minister. He was elected First Minister following the resignation of his predecessor Henry McLeish, and led the Scottish Labour Party to its second election victory in the 2003 Election. As First Minister, he implemented a ban on smoking in public places, signed the inaugural Co-operation Agreement with Malawi, and successfully bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games to be hosted in Glasgow. Now as a Peer, Lord McConnell remains commitment to continuing his work to tackle poverty in Africa and further developing the relationship between Scotland and Malawi.
  • Dr Ann Phoya is Chair of the Malawi Scotland Partnership (MaSP) and Chief of Party for the USAID-funded Organized Network of Everyone's Health (ONSE) Activity, is a public health nurse midwife who has worked for over 38 years in the Malawi Public Health Services, in positions ranging from nursing/midwifery practice to education, management, and policy. At the policy level, Phoya served in the Ministry of Health as Head of Planning and Policy Development, Director of the Sector-Wide Approach; Director of Nursing and Midwifery Services; and as a manager for Safe Motherhood and Family Planning projects. In addition to her current work, she is also President of the Midwives Association of Malawi.
  • Lady Prof Heather Cubie is Chair of the Scotland Malawi Partnership. She was a consultant Clinical Scientist in the NHS, based in Laboratory Medicine and R&D Director of NHS Lothian. She founded a national HPV reference laboratory, set up a Scotland-wide network of HPV investigators and established a national sample archive, the combination of which has meant that Scotland is a world leader in vaccine effectiveness and HPV expertise. She is currently a Senior Advisor to the Global Health Academy and Honorary Professor in University of Edinburgh and also actively involved in the Scottish Global Health Collaborative as a champion for volunteering from retired healthcare staff. Since retirement, Heather has been actively involved in cervical cancer screening and treatment in Malawi, which has one of the highest incidences and the highest mortality of cervical cancer in the world.

Webinar 2 - “A Decade of Governance as ‘Roving Banditry’” (30 Nov '21)

Dr Henry Chingaipe presented the first chapter in the forthcoming New Directions for Governance in Malawi” book. This included a Scottish response from Sir Andrew Cubie followed by a Q&A and discussion, exploring the governance themes highlighted.

In this webinar Dr Henry Chingaipe set out the context for his work and explained his use of institutional-political economy analysis to explore the state of public finance mismanagement in Malawi and its developmental costs, with specific examples of mineral resource (mis) governance and the misallocation of public finances. Dr Chingaipe explored the roles of parliament, the Auditor General and the Anti-Corruption Bureau, and the weaknesses of social accountability mechanisms for public finance management.”

This event was chaired by Assoc Prof Asiyati Lorraine Chiweza, one of the three co-editors of the forthcoming publication, ‘Beyond Impunity: New Directions for Governance in Malawi’.

Speakers included:

  • Dr Henry Chingaipe is Director of the Institute for Policy Research & Social Empowerment (IPRSE). He formerly held academic positions at Chancellor College, University of Malawi, and at the Department of Politics, University of York. He studied Public Administration, Political Science and Development Studies at the Universities of Malawi, Cambridge (UK) and York (UK), where he completed his PhD. His research interests include governance and development, political economy analysis, public policy analysis, public sector reforms and the civic space.
    Henry has research interests in many areas straddling political science, public administration and development studies. In particular, he is interested in public policy and institutional analysis; development theory and practice; state theory and praxis; political theory and governance; democracy and democratisation; state-society relations; the politics of international aid and development effectiveness of aid; political economy of development; and programme design and evaluation.
    His other roles include:
    - Country Researcher for Malawi in a multi-country study commissioned by Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) on Anti-Corruption Commissions in Southern Africa, (2015).
    - Country Researcher for Malawi in a multi-country study commissioned by the Southern Africa Electoral Support Network and the European Centre for Electoral Support on prevention of electoral violence in the SADC Region.
    - Political Economy Advisor to the Tilitonse Programme in Malawi – a grant-making governance programme supported by a consortium of donors, including DFID, Norwegian Embassy and Irish Aid.
    Sir Andrew Cubie was, over many years, the Senior Partner or Chairman of one of Scotland’s established law firms. He specialised in Corporate Law. He holds or has held a number of non-executive Directorships in public and private companies ranging from investment trusts and corporate finance to manufacturing. He is the Chairman of Quality Scotland, VSO in the UK and the RNLI in Scotland, and one of the two Deputy Chairmen of the RNLI for the UK and Ireland. Andrew has been engaged in education issues throughout his professional career, having been Chairman of Governors of George Watson’s College, Chairman of the Court of Napier University and the Chairman of the Committee of University Chairmen for the UK. He was Convenor of the Independent Committee of Inquiry into Student Finance in Scotland (“the Cubie Committee”) which brought about the abolition of tuition fees in Scotland. He is a former Chairman of the Confederation of British Industry in Scotland, and of the Northern Lighthouse Board. He chairs the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework and also chairs the JNC of the Universities Superannuation Scheme. He serves as a member of the Management Board of Education Scotland, and is a Chairman of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education. He also is an advisor to the World Bank in Washington about Higher Education issues in India and South-East Asia. He has been a longstanding supporter of governance strengthening initiatives between Malawi and Scotland.

Webinar 3 - “Citizen Trust in Malawi” (15 Dec '21)

In this webinar, Mr Joseph J. Chunga and Prof Happy M. Kayuni presented the second chapter (“Two Decades of Governance in Malawi: Examining Citizen Trust in Malawi from 1999- 2019”) from the forthcoming publication ‘Beyond Impunity: New Directions for Governance in Malawi’, which he co-authored with Prof Happy Kayuni.

With Prof Happy Kayuni, in this chapter, Joseph Chunga explored: the concept and governance consequences of political trust; good governance in Africa; a brief background to governance in Malawi; general trends of trust in Presidents, Parliament, Police and Courts from 1999 to 2019; and the consequences of (loss of) citizenry trust and the implications on state legitimacy and prospects for democracy.

There were then reflections from Prof Robert Mattes, of the University of Strathclyde, followed by an open Q&A and discussion, exploring the governance themes highlighted.

This session was chaired by Assoc Prof Asiyati Lorraine Chiweza, one of the three co-editors of the forthcoming publication, ‘Beyond Impunity: New Directions for Governance in Malawi’.

Speakers included:

  • Mr Joseph J. Chunga is a research fellow at the Centre for Social Research at Chancellor College, University of Malawi. He is a PhD candidate in Politics at the University of Cape Town and holds a Master’s degree in Political Science and a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration. His research spans a wide range of topics around democracy and governance including elections, public opinion, political economy, and constitutionalism.
  • Prof Happy M. Kayuni is Professor and Dean of Faculty of Social Science in the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College and holds a PhD (Political Science) from the University of Western Cape, South Africa. He also taught undergraduate as well as postgraduate programmes in the University of the 9 Western Cape and Cape Peninsula University of Technology. He has authored several journal articles and book chapters in the following areas: political governance, gender in politics, public sector reform and management, ethnic identity and international relations
  • Prof Robert Mattes was born and educated in the United States, spending 25 years researching and teaching in South Africa, before moving to Strathclyde in 2016. His research focuses on issues and challenges of sustaining democracy, by studying voting, public opinion, and elected legislatures, in the developing world in general, and Africa and South Africa in particular. Prof Mattes works on issues of democratization primarlily through the tools of survey research but also employ other methods of institutional analysis. He is co-founder and Senior Adviser of Afrobarometer, a regular survey of public opinion in 35 African countries (www.afrobarometer.org) and co-founder and co-Principal Investigator of the African Legislatures Project, a study of legislatures and legislators in 17 countries(www.cssr.uct.ac.za/alp). Prof Mattes is also the founder and Principal Investigator of the South African National Election Study, a longitudinal series of post-election surveys dating back to South AFrica's first democratic election of 1994 (www.cssr.uct.ac.za/daru/sanes).

Webinar 4 - “Impunity versus Constitutional Legality” (26 Jan '22)

In this webinar we were delighted to be joined by the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, Lord Jim Wallace, who was due to have been visiting Malawi in January but sadly this wasn’t possible due to Covid restrictions.

In this session, Prof Garton Kamchedzera presented his chapter ‘Impunity versus Constitutional Legality in Malawi’s 2019-20 Presidential Election Case’. Dr Kamchedzera argues that the nullification of the results of the Presidential election in 2019 and ordering of fresh elections within 150 days from 3 February 2020 was a unique rejection of impunity and mediocrity.

The Scottish response was given by Lord Jim Wallace Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, former Deputy First Minister and Advocate General for Scotland.

This session was chaired by Assoc Prof Asiyati Lorraine Chiweza, one of the three co-editors of the forthcoming publication, ‘Beyond Impunity: New Directions for Governance in Malawi’.

Speakers included:

  • Prof Garton Kamchedzera is an Associate Professor in the University of Malawi. He holds a PhD (Cambridge University), an LLM in Law and Development (Warwick University), and an LLB (Hons) (University of Malawi). He specializes in applied law and development research nationally and internationally on child rights, human rights-based approach to programming, governance, and trust-based approaches. His publications include Article 5: The Child’s Right to Appropriate Direction and Guidance (2012).
  • Lord Jim Robert Wallace, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, PC, QC, FRSE (born 25 August 1954) is a Scottish politician serving as a Liberal Democrat life peer in the British House of Lords since 2007. He served as the Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 1999 to 2005, having served twice as acting First Minister, in 2000, in the aftermath of Donald Dewar's death and in 2001, following Henry McLeish's resignation. He was formerly Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 1992 to 2005 and Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords from 2013 to 2016. Wallace served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Orkney and Shetland from 1983 to 2001 and a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Orkney from 1999 to 2007. He also served as Advocate General for Scotland from 2010 to 2015. He is currently the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

Webinar 5 - “Electoral Violence and Democratic Governance” (23 Feb '22)

In this fifth webinar in the series Assoc Prof Fidelis Edge Kanyongolo presented his chapter ‘Legal Responses to Electoral Violence and Democratic Governance in Malawi: The Case of the 2019 and 2020 Elections’. Prof Kanyongolo’s analysis addresses the nature and effects of the legal responses, identifies some of the contextual conditions that shape them and briefly outlines their effects on democratic governance institutions and processes. He notes the paucity of legislative action to prevent or respond to election violence in Malawi and discusses the historic perceived bias of the police in favour of the ruling party and its limiting effect on administrative and law enforcement responses to the violence.

This session was chaired by Rev Prof Kenneth R. Ross, one of the three co-editors of the forthcoming publication, ‘Beyond Impunity: New Directions for Governance in Malawi’.

Speakers included:

  • Prof Kanyongolo is a leading authority of law and good governance in Malawi and has worked with Scotland for many years. He has taught at the University of Malawi since 1986, latterly as Associate Professor of Law specializing in constitutional law and jurisprudence. He has previously served as Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Malawi (2008 to 2010) and member of the Council of the Catholic University of Malawi (2007 to 2010). His research interests focus on the interplay of law and politics in Malawi, especially in the framework of constitutionalism, democratic governance and development.
    Among Prof Kanyongol’s publications are co-authored articles in the Journal of International Constitutional Law and the Journal of Modern African Studies and co-edited books including Democracy in Progress: Malawi's 2009 Parliamentary and Presidential Elections (Kachere, 2010) and Democracy Tested: Malawi’s 2019 Tripartite Elections (Pretoria Univer­sity Law Press, forthcoming).
  • The Scottish response was given by Dr Gerhard Anders, Senior Lecturer in African Studies & International Development. Dr Anders’ research focuses on globally circulating ideas about development, good governance, international criminal justice and the rule of law, tracking the everyday experiences of government officials, lawyers and others involved in the production and diffusion of administrative and legal knowledge. He is the author of 'In the Shadow of Good Governance: An Ethnography of Civil Service Reform in Africa' (Brill 2010) and co-editor of 'Corruption and the Secret of Law: A Legal Anthropological Perspective' (Ashgate 2007) and 'Transition and Justice: Negotiating the Terms of New Beginnings in Africa (Wiley-Blackwell 2014).

Webinar 6 - Panel event: a) trust in election management bodies; b) violence against women in elections; c) choice of electoral systems; d) 50-50 Campaigns – Gender Equality (29 Mar '22)

In this sixth webinar in the governance series we were delighted to have four brilliant speakers from Malawi and Scotland. This panel-style digital event will explore a number of key governance themes, including: trust in election management bodies; violence against women in elections; choice of electoral systems; and gender equality.

This session was chaired by Rev Prof Kenneth R. Ross, one of the three co-editors of the forthcoming publication, ‘Beyond Impunity: New Directions for Governance in Malawi’.

Speakers included:

  • Mr Martin Limbikani Mwale gave a summary of his co-written chapter: ‘Trust in Election Management Bodies, Participation in Demonstrations and Willingness to Pay Taxes: Evidence from Malawi’.
  • Dr Ngcimezile Mbano-Mweso summarised her co-written chapter: ‘Violence against Women in Elections in Malawi: The Role of Women Leaders as Game Changers’.
  • Mr Ernest Thindwa, summarised his chapter: ‘Malawi’s Choice of Electoral System and Reform Agenda Quandary’
  • Susan Dalgety gave the response from Scotland. Susan is a respected Scottish journalist. In her regular column in the Scotsman, Scotland's national newspaper, she writes about women, politics, the world. She is also a contributor to The Spectator and her first book The Spirit of Malawi was published in February 2021. Susan is a Trustee of the SMP and worked on the first Scotland-Malawi governmental agreement with then First Minister Jack McConnell. Since 2007 she has been a freelance governance adviser with a specific focus on gender equality, working with Scottish NGO the Active Learning Centre and its Malawi partner, the Women’ Legal Resources Centre (WOLREC).

Webinar 7 - Panel event: a) Opposition in Multiparty Malawi; b) Security Sector Governance; c) Executive Supremacy and the Armed Forces (27 Apr '22)

In this seventh webinar in the governance series we heard from three brilliant speakers from Malawi. This panel-style digital event explored a number of key governance themes, including: Opposition in Multiparty Malawi; Security Sector Governance; and Executive Supremacy and the Armed Forces

This session was chaired by David Hope-Jones, CEO of the Scotland Malawi Partnership.

Speakers included:

  • Dr John Chipembere Lwanda presenting his co-written chapter: 'The Fate of Opposition in Multiparty Malawi (1994 -2020)'. This chapter contributes to the debates on the role and effectiveness of the opposition in Malawi.
  • Prof Dan Kuwali presenting his chapter: 'Auditing Security Sector Governance in Malawi'. This chapter explores the National Security Policy and how to enhance security sector governance in Malawi.
  • Hon Dr Mphatso Jones Boti Phiri presenting his chapter: 'Executive Supremacy and the Armed Forces: A Case Study of Public Finance Management in Malawi'. The primary purpose of this chapter is to consider the extent to which public finance management in the Malawi Defence Force has adhered to principles of good governance.

Webinar 8 - Panel event: a) Ethnicity and Regionalism; b) Natural Resources; c) Covid-19 and Governance; d) Faith Perspectives (25 May '22)

In the eighth and final webinar in the governance series we heard from five brilliant speakers from Malawi. This panel-style digital event will explore a number of key governance themes, including: Ethnicity and Regionalism; Natural Resources; Covid-19 and Governance; Faith Perspectives.

As this was the final webinar in the series, there was opportunity for an open discussion about what happens next, and how we can use the bilateral relationship to strengthen governance in both Malawi and Scotland.

This session was chaired by Assoc Prof Asiyati Lorraine Chiweza, one of the three co-editors of the forthcoming publication, ‘Beyond Impunity: New Directions for Governance in Malawi’.

Speakers included:

  • Dr Paul Chiudza Banda presented his co-written chapter: 'Ethnicity, Regionalism, and Nation Building Challenges in Post-1994 Malawi: Whither a Federal State System?'
  • Prof Wapulumuka O. Mulwafu presented his chapter: 'Rights Without Responsibility:Governance Crisis in the Management of Natural Resources in Malawi'
  • Dr Gift Wasambo Kayira presented his co-written chapter: 'Pandemics, Politics and Governance: Contestations over State Management of Covid-19 in Malawi'
  • Dr Mzee Hermann Yokoniah Mvula presented his co-written chapter: 'Malawi’s Governance Crisis in Theological Perspective: A Tale of Two Cultures'