Malawi seeks aid from Qatar

from The Peninsula

DOHA • Mohammed Sidik Mia, Minister of Irrigation and Water Development of Malawi is currently here seeking support from Qatar for development of the Southern African country, especially its poverty-stricken Muslim community.

During his week-long stay in Qatar, Mohammed Sidik is expected to meet the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture, the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and officials from various chartable organisations in the country.

His visit is hosted by the Venessia Petroleum company, chaired by Dr Abdul Aziz Bin Mohammed Bin Jabor Al Thani.

Talking to The Peninsula yesterday, Mohammed Sidiq said, Qatar, with its enormous economic resources, can offer a lot towards the development of Malawi. "Malawi is rich with natural resources but they are not explored properly. We have to go a long way to take the country out of underdevelopment. We have great hopes from Qatar, being a prominent nation in the Middle East, especially for the uplift of the poor Muslim community in Malawi," said Sidik.

Sidik represents the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in Malawi. Malawi has a secular democratic system of government, based on free elections, said Sidik. Muslims constitute 20 to 25 per cent of the total population and a majority of them are supporters of the ruling party. Christians are the dominant religious community in the country.

Poverty, unemployment, shortage of educational and professional training facilities are some of the major problems facing the Malawian community in general, and the Muslims in particular.

The spread of HIV/Aids is another major challenge facing the country, as in the case of several other African countries. Poverty and unemployment are the main reasons behind this phenomenon, since they are forcing women to illegitimate sexual relationships, just for the sake of survival, he noted.

"International aid is flowing to Malawi thanks to the economic policies of the present government. But aid comes with tags attached to it," commented Sidiki

" Being a representative of the Muslim community in Malawi, I am appealing for help from our Muslim brethren here. Unfortunately we have been excluded from the generous assistance being provided by the Gulf countries," he said.

He said the Muslim community in Malawi has been struggling hard to preserve its religious and cultural identity under the dominance of the majority community. Due to the lack of educational facilities, Muslim children have been forced to study in institutions run by the other community which in most cases ends up in losing their Islamic identity.

Sidik invited the Qatari investors to explore the rich investment potential of Malawi, in areas like tourism and agriculture. "I am happy to come here as a guest of a leading company in Qatar," he said. During the visit, Sidik is being accompanied by his wife Aabidah