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SPECIAL REPORT: Women Play Key Role in Ensuring African Democracy

NNPA NEWSWIRE — While the top three candidates this year are all men, women have again taken a leadership role in ensuring free and fair elections and they’ve been largely responsible for what’s believed to have been an electoral race free of determinative manipulation.

Published

6 years ago

May 24, 2019

Oakland Post

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

LILONGWE MALAWI, AFRICA – May 25, 2019 — Throughout this southeastern African nation of nearly 20 million residents, the strength and resiliency of women is on display 24 hours each day. The sustainability of democracy in any nation can be evaluated by the inclusive leadership roles performed by women in its social, political and economic life.

According to statistics from the World Population Review, nearly half (49.1 percent) of Malawi’s population is comprised of women – several of whom work as many as three jobs while providing needed care for their husbands and families.

When the nation’s one-party era ended in the early 1990s, giving way to a democratic system, the nation’s fairer gender was at the forefront of social transformation.

Having elected a woman twice in its relatively short Democracy – H.E. Joyce Banda, as president — the country now awaits the results from the 2019 Tripartite election.

While the top three candidates this year are all men, women have again taken a leadership role in ensuring free and fair elections and they’ve been largely responsible for what’s believed to have been an electoral race free of determinative manipulation.

“The last election in 2014, we were just being informed and had a lot of trust in government but there were so many rumors of [corruption] and the president was sworn in during the night, it wasn’t a day event, and we felt there was no one here to fight for our rights,” said Kettie Kamwangala, the country director of Medobal Health, a company that provides healthcare solution in partnership with Malawian businesses and the nation’s Society of Medical Doctors to offer direct access to expert surgeons in India.

“This year, we had our eyes opened and we made sure that we were included from the beginning of the process in the printing of the ballots which was done in Dubai,” Kamwangala said.

As she sat alongside her colleagues, each of whom joined her in monitoring this year’s election, Kamwangala spoke favorably of authorities who worked to ensure that there was no interference with the election process, particularly making certain that ballots were properly delivered and counted.

NNPA President and CEO, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., invited Kamwangala and other Malawian women leaders for an open discussion while the ballots were being counted after a historic voter turnout across Malawi.

“The Malawi Defense Force and the Malawi police have done a really good job securing ballots,” Kamwangala said. “Most polling stations didn’t open at 6 a.m. as it was supposed to, but at 6:30. However, those that opened late stayed open late,” she said.

With isolated incidents of individuals attempting to bribe voters and some other complaints, Kamwangala said she and her team were able to direct election monitors to areas that could have been compromised.

“We were able to go to places and we observed that everyone could clearly see which vote went to which candidate and that no one was denied the right to vote,” Kamwangala said.

“Everyone had to sign off on the election sheets that went to the Tally Center,” she said.

Although some polling stations had overseers who would not allow Kamwangala and the rest of her monitors access to printed sheets where machines were failing, she said that also didn’t stop her team.

“We worked throughout the night until they allowed us to get the sheets. We were on the ground and we know how these polls come out and how the voting is done,” she said.

As the Malawi Election Commission certified more ballots and counting reached the 80 percent mark, Kamwangala said stories of election rigging began.

“We’re not worried,” she said.

“There was one officer in the village of Chichewa where, unfortunately, evidence showed he was involved in rigging, but he and another officer are now in police custody,” Kamwangala said.

And, that’s largely due to the diligence and hard work of Kamwangala and Malawian women, who have slowly become the nation’s pillars of democracy.

It is also why, during a closing speech at a Women’s Conference, Thenjiwe Mthintso, the Republic of South Africa High Commissioner to Malawi, continued to encourage Malawian women to remain firm.

Mthintso called for a non-negotiable attitude toward gender equality.

“Gender equality should never be something we negotiate,” Mthintso said.

“These are the issues every woman should stand behind and not let anyone try to reduce their importance. Women are able to do great things given the opportunity,” she said.

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#NNPA BlackPress

Recently Approved Budget Plan Favors Wealthy, Slashes Aid to Low-Income Americans

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The most significant benefits would flow to the highest earners while millions of low-income families face cuts

Published

13 hours ago

March 21, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown

BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent

The new budget framework approved by Congress may result in sweeping changes to the federal safety net and tax code. The most significant benefits would flow to the highest earners while millions of low-income families face cuts. A new analysis from Yale University’s Budget Lab shows the proposals in the House’s Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Resolution would lead to a drop in after-tax-and-transfer income for the poorest households while significantly boosting revenue for the wealthiest Americans. Last month, Congress passed its Concurrent Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2025 (H. Con. Res. 14), setting revenue and spending targets for the next decade. The resolution outlines $1.5 trillion in gross spending cuts and $4.5 trillion in tax reductions between FY2025 and FY2034, along with $500 billion in unspecified deficit reduction.

Congressional Committees have now been instructed to identify policy changes that align with these goals. Three of the most impactful committees—Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means—have been tasked with proposing major changes. The Agriculture Committee is charged with finding $230 billion in savings, likely through changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. Energy and Commerce must deliver $880 billion in savings, likely through Medicaid reductions. Meanwhile, the Ways and Means Committee must craft tax changes totaling no more than $4.5 trillion in new deficits, most likely through extending provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Although the resolution does not specify precise changes, reports suggest lawmakers are eyeing steep cuts to SNAP and Medicaid benefits while seeking to make permanent tax provisions that primarily benefit high-income individuals and corporations.

To examine the potential real-world impact, Yale’s Budget Lab modeled four policy changes that align with the resolution’s goals:

A 30 percent across-the-board cut in SNAP funding.
A 15 percent cut in Medicaid funding.
Permanent extension of the individual and estate tax cuts from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Permanent extension of business tax provisions including 100% bonus depreciation, expense of R&D, and relaxed limits on interest deductions.

Yale researchers determined that the combined effect of these policies would reduce the after-tax-and-transfer income of the bottom 20 percent of earners by 5 percent in the calendar year 2026. Households in the middle would see a modest 0.6 percent gain. However, the top five percent of earners would experience a 3 percent increase in their after-tax-and-transfer income.

Moreover, the analysis concluded that more than 100 percent of the net fiscal benefit from these changes would go to households in the top 20 percent of the income distribution. This happens because lower-income groups would lose more in government benefits than they would gain from any tax cuts. At the same time, high-income households would enjoy significant tax reductions with little or no loss in benefits.

“These results indicate a shift in resources away from low-income tax units toward those with higher incomes,” the Budget Lab report states. “In particular, making the TCJA provisions permanent for high earners while reducing spending on SNAP and Medicaid leads to a regressive overall effect.” The report notes that policymakers have floated a range of options to reduce SNAP and Medicaid outlays, such as lowering per-beneficiary benefits or tightening eligibility rules. While the Budget Lab did not assess each proposal individually, the modeling assumes legislation consistent with the resolution’s instructions. “The burden of deficit reduction would fall largely on those least able to bear it,” the report concluded.

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A Threat to Pre-emptive Pardons

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — it was a possibility that the preemptive pardons would not happen because of the complicated nature of that never-before-enacted process.

Published

14 hours ago

March 21, 2025

Oakland Post

By April Ryan

President Trump is working to undo the traditional presidential pardon powers by questioning the Biden administration’s pre-emptive pardons issued just days before January 20, 2025. President Trump is seeking retribution against the January 6th House Select Committee. The Trump Justice Department has been tasked to find loopholes to overturn the pardons that could lead to legal battles for the Republican and Democratic nine-member committee. Legal scholars and those closely familiar with the pardon process worked with the Biden administration to ensure the preemptive pardons would stand against any retaliatory knocks from the incoming Trump administration. A source close to the Biden administration’s pardons said, in January 2025, “I think pardons are all valid. The power is unreviewable by the courts.”

However, today that same source had a different statement on the nuances of the new Trump pardon attack. That attack places questions about Biden’s use of an autopen for the pardons. The Trump argument is that Biden did not know who was pardoned as he did not sign the documents. Instead, the pardons were allegedly signed by an autopen. The same source close to the pardon issue said this week, “unless he [Trump] can prove Biden didn’t know what was being done in his name. All of this is in uncharted territory. “ Meanwhile, an autopen is used to make automatic or remote signatures. It has been used for decades by public figures and celebrities.

Months before the Biden pardon announcement, those in the Biden White House Counsel’s Office, staff, and the Justice Department were conferring tirelessly around the clock on who to pardon and how. The concern for the preemptive pardons was how to make them irrevocable in an unprecedented process. At one point in the lead-up to the preemptive pardon releases, it was a possibility that the preemptive pardons would not happen because of the complicated nature of that never-before-enacted process. President Trump began the threat of an investigation for the January 6th Select Committee during the Hill proceedings. Trump has threatened members with investigation or jail.

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Reaction to The Education EO

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Meanwhile, the new Education EO jeopardizes funding for students seeking a higher education. Duncan states, PellGrants are in jeopardy after servicing “6.5 million people” giving them a chance to go to college.

Published

14 hours ago

March 21, 2025

Oakland Post

By April Ryan

There are plenty of negative reactions to President Donald Trump’s latest Executive Order abolishing the Department of Education. As Democrats call yesterday’s action performative, it would take an act of Congress for the Education Department to close permanently. “This blatantly unconstitutional executive order is just another piece of evidence that Trump has absolutely no respect for the Constitution,” said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) who is the ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee. “By dismantling ED, President Trump is implementing his own philosophy on education, which can be summed up in his own words, ‘I love the poorly educated.’ I am adamantly opposed to this reckless action, said Rep. Bobby Scott who is the most senior Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee.

Morgan State University President Dr. David Wilson chimed in saying “I’m deeply concerned about efforts to shift federal oversight in education back to the states, particularly regarding equity, justice, and fairness. History has shown us what happens when states are left unchecked—Black and poor children are too often denied access to the high-quality education they deserve. In 1979 then President Jimmy Carter signed a law creating the Department of Education. Arne Duncan, former Obama Education Secretary, reminds us that both Democratic and Republican presidents have kept education a non-political issue until now. However, Duncan stressed Republican presidents have contributed greatly to moving education forward in this country.

During a CNN interview this week Duncan said during the Civil War President Abraham “Lincoln created the land grant system” for colleges like Tennessee State University. “President Ford brought in IDEA.” And “Nixon signed Pell Grants into law.” In 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush which increased federal oversight of schools through standardized testing. Meanwhile, the new Education EO jeopardizes funding for students seeking higher education. Duncan states, PellGrants are in jeopardy after servicing “6.5 million people” giving them a chance to go to college. Wilson details, “that 40 percent of all college students rely on Pell Grants and student loans.”

Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) says this Trump action “impacts students pursuing higher education and threatens 26 million students across the country, taking billions away from their educational futures. Meanwhile, During the president’s speech in the East Room of the White House Thursday, Trump criticized Baltimore City, and its math test scores with critical words. Governor West Moore, who is opposed to the EO action, said about dismantling the Department of Education, “Leadership means lifting people up, not punching them down.”