A few days ago people demostrated against the Banks. It is important to remember that people did not have issues with Banks before the
change from Kamuzu's Government. Money was not a worry for Malawians. Malawians had a life and could afford luxury. Not a spoilt kind of
luxury but enough for happiness. The law defines a corporation as a person. In the end the corporation is treated with preference over
real human beings. And real people become slaves of corporation.
We might have interprated the great depression in the 30s US as a way of getting rich quick to the status the US is. But in my opinion,
while great prosperity followed the great depression, we don't have to simulate this depression on our land to get it rich for the seeds of what followed after the depression are still reaping their fruits on the land.
A simulated life created from human ideologies sooner or later will have so many loopwholes that require patching up. One might create an economy. But it might take everything in life to sustain it. Is life meant to sustain an economy or an economy to sustain life.
There was a time Malawi Government did not require donors. But we sold away our sources of income and let somebody else feed us. And we
wonder when they can deny us help for not a supporting a wrong in the name of homosexuality. We are still fighting prostitution, by the way.
There have been decisions made in the past on what to educate the students. That is create a work force to feel the need of the industry. Strimline the education system train workers. After creating
so many workers the market becomes flooded. For those who have been trained fewer trades, survival is hard. It is difficult as well for
the trained to come out and stand on their own. In the end we are filling up holes that have little outlet. No wonder we will end up with unemployment in vast amounts. I am glad Dr Bingu Wa Mutharika has provided facility for the youth to start businesses and required
training. I would love further first degrees be less specialised as possible. This creates a wider understanding for students and helps them overcome life problems better.
There is a health sector that is being destroyed by the western ideologies. It is good to have good health services. They do come with a price. And little by little we are changing a health sector from how it used to be caring for all people to caring for only the rich as is the situation in America which Obama is trying to sort out. Before we
can say, its expensive to care for all, we should ask how did we manage in the previous 30 years.
I think the drug shortage problem started with decentralisation of the drug distribution. The Central Medical Stores has been responsible for all the drug ordering and distribution. When they decentralised the
distribution system ie making the Central Medical Stores act as drug wholesale and each health center given a budgeted amount to purchase its
own drugs. Now here is where it I think it went wrong: with the late budgets approvals in parlament, the health centers had to go on their daily business and ordered without the money inorder to pay back when the budget is passed. So debts accumulated and began to be intepreted as mismanagement of funds(not ruling it out though). And so drugs stopped
flowing.
Here is what resulted:patients began to receive less care. And with the civil service after the government lost its source of income began to receive less and less compasation and became demotivated, even lesser care came to patients from clinicians. Insurance Corporation took advantage. Working with companies to insure its employees health.
While the health services are cheap for companies than individuals it is no problem for companies to insure its employees (by the way, the
better the position the better the care) the unemployed receive less and less care. Then it becomes a trend and a better option for health providers to work with companies than individuals. But who are suffering? The whole nation Malawi of which it is said that 58% are receiving less than K10,000 and around 1% it seems can afford the bills and its only because they are employed. And of these very few are trained enough to establish their own business without corrupt means given the conditions in banks and heavy taxation on the middle class. So Obama saw all these problems that there are major gaps in the population of the United States which are unreached. That's the path
we have been following. A stop and 180 degrees turn back would be helpful indeed.
To build the Malawi he built, Kamuzu wanted it to sustain itself without external support. He looked at all means so that his people
might have Food, Good Health, Shelter and Clothing. Four fundumental priorities of which money is secondary.
He built an economy so strong that at one time we exchange one USDollar to 1MwK. Except for fear of political persecution of which I believe Kamuzu himself is to so many ways might have been very innocent, Malawian People were happy.
While we require checks on absolute power, we don't have to change our culture, economy and way of life for they are nothing to do with democracy.
I think there are ways to solve the drug problem. Forget the decentralisation let the money problem be taken care of by the Central Medical Store's as it has always been. Private Clinics are the one's that buy. And Private clinics here shall mean those that charge for their drugs and treatment. The other health centers, concentrate for the accounting of their drug usage and distribution. This information is vital on predicting what the Central Medical Stores orders. With this setup, little by little patients will start opting for unpaid health centers so private clinics will see less and less the need to buy in bulk the medicine and so stop buying from the health centers corruptly. There might be facilities in place to allow health centers to sell to private clinics and provided its not starving its patients and every transction is accounted for both on the side of the private clinic and on the health center. For the private clinic to declare its source and the said source to confirm.
While this seems wasteful at a quick glance, at national level the expenditure on drugs is the same on a fixed/predictable/known population of Malawi. If it is rationalization, it is better for the Central Medical Store to control the distribution other than money control the distribution. Where do the Money to buy drugs come from? It is the same money that was supposed to be distributed that is now centralised. Better if th money changes a few hands and goes straight to buy the needed medicine than for it to circle around and come back the medicine.
Learning from the fuel shortage solution, while people had fear of its not going to be available tomorrow they would buy so much and keep at home. While the media spoke everyday about this shortage, the people's fear was kept fanned. With people buying more than they needed there was always less and less fuel to be distributed to more and more who came late to buy their share. It isn't really fuel shortage then; for the Government might be stretching its arms to sort this out already. So, let the media stay silent or atleast give assurance. Each person should buy at most a tank full which he will stay with a few days and others would be able to buy their share in this time and the government would have a predictable amount of fuel to import basing on a full tank of an average car for so many cars and so it should be easy to normalise the problem. It worked.
This same principal/concept should work in other areas where distribution is distabilised for fear of tomorrow's lack.