U.S. Ambassador Alan Eastham’s Speech at the 2008 Independence Day Celebration

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon. Henri Mumba, other Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, Officials of Government, Colleagues of the Diplomatic Corps, Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I’m very pleased to welcome you, our many friends and colleagues, to celebrate American Independence Day with us. 

Honorable Minister, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
This week, Americans mark the 232nd anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, a document that proclaimed not only our political independence but that also outlined freedom and independence means to us, including permanent, unalienable rights; the right to be left alone to pursue the blessings of liberty and individual and collective sums of happiness; and the principle that government exists by the consent of the governed, not the other way around. 

These universal concepts are our essence – as real today as they were 232 years ago, even though the world has greatly changed.

In his second Inaugural Address, President Bush said, “It is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture” and to “seek to help others find their voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.” 

We firmly believe that from freedom and from liberty, in pursuit of happiness – springs the dynamism and economic activity that develops a nation, as well as the political and social order that secures it. 

Here in Malawi, Madam Minister, we are honored to be a partner in your efforts to strengthen democracy, to advance economic growth and development, and to aid in confronting health and education challenges. 

At the current time my government is providing about $100 million annually to assist the people of Malawi, and our level of engagement and assistance continues to expand.  At this time last year, I mentioned our work with Malawians under the Millennium Challenge Account Threshold Program, including activities to fight corruption and improve fiscal policy.  A year later, Malawi can take real pride in having been selected by the Millennium Challenge Corporation – or MCC – as eligible to negotiate a Compact Agreement.  This is an important achievement and offers an opportunity for Malawi to address its greatest development needs with potentially substantial new flows of assistance

Unlike many development programs, Malawi’s MCC Compact will be designed and implemented primarily by Malawians who will decide which sectors to address and how to address them.  I would like to commend the work already accomplished by the Malawian team towards determining the economic constraints that might be addressed by an MCC Compact, and towards laying the essential foundation for broad consultation throughout Malawian society.  .  It will be important, Madam Minister and colleagues, to maintain the forward progress of the past four years in political and economic governance to see this project to completion. 

It will take some time before the impact of an MCC Compact will be felt in Malawi, but the effects of the United States’ work with your Government in the health sector are already well established – and they are likely to grow. 

I am proud that the United States is working so effectively with Malawi to address the daunting health challenges that face the country.  We are working together in addressing HIV/AIDS, both in treatment, where we’ve made tremendous progress, and in prevention, where much, much work remains to be done.  We are also working closely in the fight against malaria and in addressing maternal and child health challenges.  We are especially proud of our support for Malawi’s new first-line treatment drug, now being provided to Malawians throughout the country, and maternal and child death rates are beginning to drop significantly.

In addition to our extensive bilateral health programs, the United States is the largest contributor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.  Our interventions in these areas contribute to long-term development and productivity – which opens a much better future for all Malawians. 

Our activities in education and economic development are smaller in monetary value, but no less important in laying the foundation that will sustain Malawi’s growth and poverty reduction in the longer term. 

One of the country’s greatest challenges is to supply sufficient classrooms, well-trained teachers and learning materials for its 3.3 million primary school children.  With an average teacher to student ratio of one to 88, and a classroom to student ratio of one to 104 – the challenge is obvious.  We are pleased to be able to support training for thousands of teachers and offering opportunities for students to increase enrollment dramatically.  One recent innovation involves radio broadcasting of professionally designed, curriculum-linked programs directly into classrooms, using hand-crank radios that were distributed to every primary school in the country.  Begun only six months ago, this quality instruction is now reaching nearly one million students every day, and is energizing both students and teachers through innovative and accessible new learning approaches.

Madam Minister, you have joined us today to celebrate American Independence Day.  It is proper to note that Malawi secured its own political independence forty-four years ago this month.  However, I submit to you that Malawi remains in a difficult struggle to secure its economic independence. 

The US government is working diligently to empower Malawians to take hold of their own economic destinies.  We are encouraging entrepreneurial Malawians through programs such as those that assist small fish, dairy and coffee farmers, and others that target vulnerable households to increase their food security and incomes.  Like you we are heartened by the good harvests that Malawi has enjoyed in recent years. 

Nonetheless, this nation remains highly dependent on rain-fed agriculture and is therefore extremely vulnerable to drought and the devastating effects of hunger.  Malawi’s manufacturing and processing sector remains small.  The country continues to rely on the kindness of strangers for up to 40 percent of its national budget. 

Malawi has taken substantial steps in achieving macroeconomic stability, and I commend the Government for this progress.  Inflation and interest rates are down and economic growth has been strong.

Much work remains undone however.  Is the effort to improve the business environment continuing, or has momentum been lost in the face of bureaucratic inertia?  Are Malawian markets attractive to investors – be they foreign or domestic?  Or are short-term considerations leading Government back to the days of continual, short-sighted interference in the markets, as opposed to wise efforts to develop Malawi’s people and thereby its economy?    

I pose these questions, Madam Minister, not in accusation, but out of genuine concern.  It has been said that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.  Continued vigilance is equally needed to protect the conditions necessary for economic vitality.  The threats posed to Malawi’s economic sovereignty are real and they must be addressed with a view to securing the foundation that the country requires to achieve sustained growth, and break loose of its reliance on donor assistance. 

The coming year will be one of the most crucial in the nation’s brief history, and I challenge Malawians everywhere to consider the national significance of the next several months. 

A visiting political scientist from the United States recently said that “Malawi is not in a crisis … (and that) Malawi is facing its challenges not with violence but with rules and laws.”  As I told the Malawi Law Society recently, it seems sometimes in fact that the rule of law – or the rule of injunctions – is so frequently applied here as to be virtually a rule of lawyers.

As a diplomat representing my country, I am not here to prescribe but to observe and communicate on behalf of my government.  But it seems to me on this July day that diligent attention must be devoted by all those who participate in political life here to the successful – free, fair, open, transparent, and credible – completion of the elections scheduled for May of next year.  There is very little time left to achieve a successful election, and it is high time that all Malawians devote themselves to that objective.  In my view, that is the way to get back on the development fast track, both politically and economically, in Malawi.    More shouting, name-calling, and impasse will not put Malawi in a position to meet the challenges that are coming in the next few years.

My observations lead me to this conclusion Madam Minister – Malawians love democracy.  As in any growing democracy, it is under constant threat, but once tasted by the people, it is not easily sacrificed.  That is its strength. 

Malawians not only love democracy – but they know it and understand it intimately.  They have fought for it – and they have died for it.  This is a proud nation – with a bright future ahead.  I am proud of the hard work undertaken by my countrymen to help Malawi build and secure its future.  And you, Madam Minister, can take great pride in the work and perseverance of your countrymen in consolidating your own political liberty and economic freedom, and making your own way successfully into the future.

Madam Minister, on this day when we as Americans celebrate a cherished document that established our unalienable rights, I also salute Malawi, for it too has tasted liberty – and I look forward to celebrating Malawi’s independence three days from now.

So, please join me as I raise my glass in a toast to the continued good health of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Malawi, Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika, and to the health, prosperity, and well-being of the Malawian people, that they too may enjoy the benefits of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

To the President--

Thank you.

And now it's my great privilege to introduce the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon. Henri Mumba