Catholic bishops slam govt over food crisis, corruption

Malawi's seven Roman Catholic Bishops on Sunday criticised the government for not being aggressive enough in tackling corruption and the crippling food crisis, news reports said.

The pastoral letter read out at every Catholic church in the country said: "At this time when we are celebrating the rise of Jesus Christ, let us remember social evils confronting our country such as scarcity of maize, corruption, political violence, and the AIDS menace."

"We have been surprised that over the years cases of corruption have been on the rise and yet only cases involving ordinary people go to court, those involving senior officials are never taken to court ... Ordinary people are severely punished in small cases. God does not want this type of segregation."

The bishops also said: "We will be very pleased to see the government tackle the hunger crisis."

The bishops' call comes in the wake of severe food shortages which has struck at least three-quarters of Malawi's 11 million people, leading to reports that at least 300 people have starved to death since January and 503 people have died of cholera since November. New maize crops are also being eaten before they are ready, leading to further shortages.

The sharp rise in the number of cholera deaths is partly attributed to people eating whatever they can find, regardless of hygiene. President Bakili Muluzi has already declared a national disaster and in February Vice-President Justin Malewezi told officials from the International Monetary Fund that the government needed US $21.6 million to avert disaster.

Without being specific, the bishops' letter also referred to controversial attempts to allow the president to stand for re-election for a third term in 2004. "The constitution must be changed only after the electorate have been consulted through a referendum on important issues," it said.

Reports said a similar letter in March 1992 by eight bishops was credited with leading to democratic and human rights reforms in the country which eventually saw "President For Life" Kamuzu Banda replaced by Muluzi. When that letter was issued, the bishops were rounded up. The government's reaction to Sunday's letter was not immediately clear.