APAM’S k1bn joy
In this interview, our News Analyst MERCY Malikwa gets Association of Persons with Albinism (Apam) national coordinator Overstone Kondowe’s reaction to the K1.7 trillion national budget Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Joseph Mwanamvekha presented in Parliament last week.
Q
: In March this year, Apam held vigils to demand government’s commitment towards protecting persons with albinism and greater funding for the National Action Plan launched in June last year. Does the proposed budget address your demands?
A
: As you may know, the budget for the action plan was put at K4 billion across four years. What it meant was that every year, government has to release through Parliament a vote of about a billion kwacha towards this cause. I am glad that in this year’s budget, we have seen that kind of allocation. It is a big milestone. In Africa, only Kenya and Nigeria have budgets with specific vote lines for the protection and promotion of rights of persons with albinism. It is a high point because we have several disabilities in Malawi such as blindness and physical challenges, but these have never received attention the way the national budget has considered the needs of persons with albinism.
Q
: What steps are you going to take to ensure the allocated amounts serve the desired purpose?
A
: Actually, we have already started seeing the fruits of government’s commitment. Before the presentation of this budget in Parliament, almost K350 million had already been disbursed between July and August. This followed K250 million and K87 million
[disbursed earlier]. We are happy that the situation on the ground is as good as this. We can only hope that it continues in the years to come.
Q
: Apart from the funds allocated in the national budget, what needs to improve if the State is serious about protecting persons with albinism in the country?
A
: Even though we now have a disability fund in the national budget meant for small and medium-scale loans to persons with disabilities, a community where Apam also belongs to. We are assured that our constituency will also be served through the trust fund. It is our hope that Apam will be given a permanent representation in the commission which will be disbursing these funds to ensure that we are not forgotten. The same applies to the National Action Plan. We hope that the coordinating unit will comprise permanent representation of Apam to manage issues of accountability as well as monitoring. We believe that there is nothing for us without us. We trust that if we are represented at the decision-making table, our community will achieve the desired change in terms of access to these funds and vital services.
Q
: Recently, there has been a reduction in the number of reported crimes against PWAs in Malawi. What would you attribute this development to?
A
: Surely, the development is evidence of the impact of the interventions different stakeholders are executing in the country. Since the start of the release of the funds for the implementation of action plan, there have been a number of countrywide interventions by different players, including awareness activities, patrols, security alarms and relocation of students with albinism from day schools to boarding schools. All these have contributed to the decline in the reported cases.
We may not say that this has happened in a vacuum or without any kind of intervention, but it appears levels of awareness are on the higher side now. It appears that communities are appreciating that persons with albinism and their body tissues are just the same as anybody else’s. Another important aspect to the decline in the attacks on persons with albinism could be the correlation that was there between the May 21 Tripartite Elections and cases of attack. We are now in the post-election period and possibly this could also explain the decline.
Q
: Since the start of attacks on Malawians with albinism in November 2014, how many court cases have been completed?
A
: It is difficult for an entity like us to say how many cases have been completed. I think that can be best answered by the Ministry of Justice, but as Apam, we know that 165 cases have been reported and 25 of them have been homicide cases. n
