Malawi (1)

In view of the First Minister's trip to Malawi next Sunday, I was intrigued to see from this BBC report that Scotland and Malawi have something in common, in that the President of Malawi has built a palace which is somewhat over-budget and rather late in being delivered.

"Kamuzu Banda, Malawi's founding president, spent only 90 days in the palace which took 20 years to build and cost $100m. With its 300 air-conditioned rooms, it is set in 555 hectares (1,332 acres) of land outside the capital. When Bakili Muluzi, Mr Mutharika's predecessor, came to power in 1994 he refused to live there, condemning its "obscene opulence"."

Sounds vaguely familiar?