About Us

Brief Background

In response to the Catholic Bishop’s letter and the solidarity of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian and other religious bodies, Malawi went into a process of political transition¹ to multiparty democracy (PAC Constitution 2007). Through this unprecedented process the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) was established through which Christians and Muslims are affiliated. The organisation was instrumental in maintaining negotiations with the Presidential Committee on Dialogue (PCD) appointed by the late Dr Banda. Stiftung BTI Report (2022:17) asserts that “one of the oldest and most active is the interfaith and interdenominational Public Affairs Committee (PAC)……comprises faith-based organizations (FBOs) across mainstream Christian denomination (Catholic, Presbyterian and Anglican) and Pentecostal groupings as well as Muslims. PAC is vocal on political issues and draws particular attention to corruption and governance”  PAC  remains  a  key  civil  society  organization  in  the  field  of   political  governance, electoral process, peace  and  security , human rights  which  contribute  to  the enhancement of  social  cohesion.

Malawi’s Peace Architecture discourse is largely influenced by electoral conflicts and contentious political governance issues. Such matters of national interest have, since PAC’s inception, occupied special place in its interventions.  Several independent authors recognize the organisation’s unique role. Stiftung BTI Report (2022:15) states that “the clergy continue to speak out against government excesses and exert influence through the Public Affairs Committee. From time to time, faith-based organizations (FBOs) issue pastoral letters or statements on salient issues, such as corruption, significant policies or electoral matters”. As regards public dialogue on governance issues, there is overwhelming evidence that All-Inclusive Stakeholders Conference provide safe space for stakeholders to define their own solutions at various critical junctures (Dzinesa 2022). The overall PAC work   was also recognized at UN level in 2017. The   High-Level UN Meeting at UN Headquarters had this to say on PAC: “Moreover, in many contexts, so called infrastructures for peace can complement the contribution accountable and transparent institutions make to enabling peace. In Malawi, UNDP  and the EU provide  technical and financial support to the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) to play the role of ‘insider mediators’ in public dialogue. By strengthening systematic national-level mediation capacities to enhance public dialogue and facilitate consensus on issues of contention, PAC builds local capacities for violence prevention and conflict transformation.” Therefore, advocacy/lobbying, dialogue facilitation, mediation and civic education are the main characteristic of PAC’s work supported by UNDP/EU since 1995. Accredited to AU ECOSOCC, the organisation also contributes to African Peace Security Architecture (APSA) and African Governance Architecture (AGA) through ECOSOCC as a platform. On the mediation front, UNDP (2017) states that “since 2012, the United Nations has supported PAC and its leadership as ‘insider mediators’ – playing the roles of intermediaries between national leaders and as advocates for peace”. The UN Interagency Task Force on Religion and Development Report 2019 recognized that “there is a trend of misusing religious rhetoric and using teachings selectively to justify discriminatory views and practices based on “religious half-knowledge”.

PAC’s  programme – Dialogue Facilitation, Mediation   and Civic Engagement Towards the 2025 Electoral Process – builds upon the previous successes such as settlement of disputes on hijab dress code, Islamic messaging billboard misunderstanding, dialogue with Head of State, Presidential Candidates signing peace declaration for electoral stalemates dialogue facilitation, advocacy on permanent planning commission which is Malawi Agenda 2063 supported   by UNDP, EU and UN since 2014. It is however distinct from the previous ones in different ways. First, the formulation of the programme has been strongly influenced by the successful high-level dialogue/mediation interventions on both religious and political disputes in Malawi and recognition from government agencies such National Intelligence Services, Department of National Unity, and PAC’s acceptability by the Former Head of States (gravitas and convening power). This means that the potential for PAC to mobilise the populace remains high. In short, acceptability of PAC by the governing party and opposition has become a strong asset. Second, the demand that PAC holds public dialogue through All-Inclusive Stakeholders Conference has risen. Third, there is a holistic approach to strategic interventions. Advocacy strategies feed into political party engagement for dialogue facilitation/mediation, but at the same time lobby for marginalized groups in addition to selling Peace Declaration to be signed. Same fora will be used for different contents required for priority areas. At every level of implementation, lobbying as a strategy is used for mobilizing citizen participation by equipping stakeholders with information and materials. These are complemented by media/social media campaign.

At domestic level,  PAC’s role  is in line with the constitutional provision, Section 13 (l), which calls for the “adoption of mechanisms for peaceful settlement of conflicts through, among other strategies; conciliation, and mediation to ensure that the country is secure and democratically mature”; and  also MGDS 111 (2017-2022) which calls  on “ the  role  of  CSOs to implement  some  specific activities in various sectors and complement government’s oversight accountability functions to safeguard  the interests  of  Malawians”  ( Government of  Malawi, 2018. p 69).

Advocating for Transformative Leadership in Malawi