RSS Feed
April 12th, 2013 
Peter Nolan
On Friday it emerged that the president, who has worked hard to woo foreign
donors to Malawi after a rocky relationship under her predecessor, had not
authorised the excoriating missive.
In the email, Mr Mwanyongo admitted sending it out without checking with the
presidential press secretary or Mrs Banda first.
“I had thought we needed to move quickly to respond to Madonna’s
outbursts,” the email read. “Her team has gone flat out to tarnish
(the) image of the president. I thought I had to be vigilant and tell them
off! Oops, I goofed, the President is mad with me.”
He added: “I wholeheartedly believed that it was incumbent upon me to
protect the president from unfair criticism.”
The fierce statement was greeted with consternation by Madonna, who said she
was “saddened” by the president’s behaviour but insisted she would
not be put off from her charity work in Malawi by the “ridiculous
allegations”.
Her spokesman hinted darkly of repercussions, however, saying that he had
already been contacted by several foreign donors concerned by the spat.
Emily Banda, the president’s chief liaison with foreign donors and charities,
said although she regretted its tone, the president would not be apologising
for the statement’s sentiment.
“Madonna came to Malawi and promised a girl’s academy but two or three
years later, she has not fulfilled her promises,” she said. “Then
she claims to have built 10 schools when in reality they are just classrooms.
“We are disappointed by Madonna’s behaviour.”
Steve Sharra, a Malawian blogger, said many Malawians still believed the
president had sanctioned the fierce statement. She is also known for her
sometimes blunt delivery – and this year accepted the offer of help with her
communications strategy from Tony Blair’s African Governmance Initiative.
Mr Sharra said many thought she was only distancing herself now because of the
suggestion foreign aid might be compromised. Britain is Malawi’s biggest
foreign donor, providing some £115 million in funding in the past year.
“Many people were flabbergasted when that statement came out and were
worried that it might damage the image of the country that Joyce Banda has
worked so hard to turn around,” Mr Sharra said.
Emily Banda dismissed the suggestion other foreign donors might be put off. “Malawi
may be a poor country but we have our rules to follow and our integrity to
protect. Provided other donors respect that, they are most welcome,”
she said.
A source in the foreign aid community agreed that the Madonna row was a side
issue. “There are so many bigger things to worry about it,” she
said.
Views: 0
Posted in 
