Madonna, adopting? – president

LUSAKA – Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika said he had not been in the loop about US pop diva Madonna’s plans to adopt a 13-month-old boy from the impoverished southeastern African country.

“All I know is what you people have written in the newspapers but otherwise I have not been officially briefed on the Madonna issue,” said Mutharika. Mutharika is in charge of the 120 000-strong civil service and all principal secretaries and ministers report to him.In an apparent reference to protests that Malawi had flouted its own laws to grant Madonna an interim adoption order, Mutharika told reporters late on Wednesday that some of the country’s legislation was outdated.”Some laws in Africa and Malawi …are outdated and are sometimes absolutely useless.”Some of the laws that we adopted from colonialists are in fact counterproductive and if applied, a country like Malawi cannot develop and forge ahead.”Madonna defended her adoption of David Banda on Tuesday, saying she and her British filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie had begun the adoption process several months ago and acted “according to the law like anyone else who adopts a child.”The 48-year-old was granted an interim order to adopt the poor farmer’s son by a high court in Malawi last Thursday after spending a week in the poverty-stricken country to assess AIDS projects she had funded.Malawi’s parliament will debate new adoption rules next year to streamline adoption procedures for foreigners.Under Malawi laws, expatriates adopting a child have to live in the country for 18 months and are monitored by social workers before they get full adoption rights.The Human Rights Consultative Committee, an umbrella organisation of 67 Malawian rights groups, will on Friday argue in a high court that Madonna should have been a resident of Malawi first for 18 months before qualifying as a candidate for adoption.Nampa-AFPMutharika is in charge of the 120 000-strong civil service and all principal secretaries and ministers report to him.In an apparent reference to protests that Malawi had flouted its own laws to grant Madonna an interim adoption order, Mutharika told reporters late on Wednesday that some of the country’s legislation was outdated.”Some laws in Africa and Malawi …are outdated and are sometimes absolutely useless.”Some of the laws that we adopted from colonialists are in fact counterproductive and if applied, a country like Malawi cannot develop and forge ahead.”Madonna defended her adoption of David Banda on Tuesday, saying she and her British filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie had begun the adoption process several months ago and acted “according to the law like anyone else who adopts a child.”The 48-year-old was granted an interim order to adopt the poor farmer’s son by a high court in Malawi last Thursday after spending a week in the poverty-stricken country to assess AIDS projects she had funded.Malawi’s parliament will debate new adoption rules next year to streamline adoption procedures for foreigners.Under Malawi laws, expatriates adopting a child have to live in the country for 18 months and are monitored by social workers before they get full adoption rights.The Human Rights Consultative Committee, an umbrella organisation of 67 Malawian rights groups, will on Friday argue in a high court that Madonna should have been a resident of Malawi first for 18 months before qualifying as a candidate for adoption.Nampa-AFP