Has it been this long since my last post. Apologies.

I'm trying to recount what has happened to me in the last month, but everything has been coming up blank. Work has been slow. The reason is that we have no money. The reason is that the government hasn't passed the budget. The reason the government hasn't passed the budget is because the opposition is convinced that members of government have broken Section 65 of the constitution. They have refused to pass the budget for 2 months, all the while trying to bring up this issue. Every day in the newspaper, you read, from a member of the government. "The opposition doesn't care about the poor in the country. They don't want the budget to be passed. They need to remember that they are here for the people." Then you will read a statement from the opposition saying, "The government is trying to erode democracy. We need to discuss Section 65. This is not about not wanting to pass the budget. Its about democracy. We can't allow democracy to be eroded." Around and around the merri-go-round we go. (You can also use a ferris wheel for that analogy, if it suits you better.) This has literally been occuring in the newspaper every day. Front page news everyday! And you thought American politics was ridiculous...

Finally, yesterday, the government passed the budget, but only after the opposition forced them to sign an agreement that Section 65 will be dealt with. If it is (they agreed to this before, but the government balked. That was last year), then the government might lose most of its seats. I don't know if this actually means anything, since Malawi is going to elections next year. The question I have now is, what will the newspapers write about now?...

One more comment, Malawi employs a British style government. Thus if the budget is not passed, theoretically, they should have a vote of confidence and go to elections. But in a country that can't afford to go to elections, except every five years with some funding from donors, I'm not sure if the system can work...