President Of Malawi Now TRADING His Citizens TO ISRAEL...

Blantyre, Malawi – The departure of hundreds of Malawians to Israel to work as farm labourers has sparked a debate within the Southern African country, which is looking to raise much-needed foreign currency amid a cash crunch.

Details about the programme were first made public on November 23 by Kondwani Nankhumwa, leader of the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party as he spoke in parliament, questioning the secrecy of the deal and describing it as “an evil transaction”.

“[The] government has gone into such an agreement with Israeli companies when it is fully aware that there is war. No sane parent can send his or her child to work in a country that is at war,” Nankhumwa told journalists after.

The move comes after months of Malawi facing a forex shortage that has disrupted businesses and led to the scarcity of essential commodities like fuel. The country is also experiencing a cost-of-living crisis further exacerbated by the central bank devaluating the national currency, the kwacha, by 44 percent “to counter supply-demand imbalances”.

In November, President Lazarus Chakwera suspended foreign travel for government officials – the latest drastic measure to conserve funds in the country.

The recent move is, therefore another attempt by the government to create jobs for its youthful population – half of Malawi’s 19 million people are 18 or below – and generate foreign exchange. According to the authorities, only 9 percent of its 20 million people are formally employed.

In November, the IMF pumped in $174m into the country as an extended credit facility. That same month, the government of Israel gave out a $60m aid package to Malawi to prop up its economy.
On November 25, the first tranche of 221 workers left for Israel. Subsequent flights are expected in the days to come, according to a statement from the Ministry of Labour, which did not mention numbers.

That aid and the dispatch of workers mark a new chapter in diplomatic ties between Malawi and Israel, which date back to the 1960s. For decades, Israel sent doctors and agricultural experts to Malawi. Malawis have also gone to Israel to study agriculture, which remains a major source of revenue for the country.