Parliament yesterday passed taxation-r e l a t e d B i l l s which seek to facilitate implementation of various tax measures contained in the K2.2 trillion 2020/21 National Budget amid concerns from opposition that some measures are punitive.

The new measures include the K100 000 zero-tax threshold effective this month and input value added tax (VAT) on cooking oil.

The Bills, tabled in Parliament by Minister of Finance Felix Mlusu, included the Taxation (Amendment) Act and the Value Added Tax (Amendment).

T h e Ta x a t i o n (Amendment) Act contains increased withholding tax-free threshold for labourers from K15 000 to K35 000 and an introduction of 20 percent withholding tax on earnings from betting and gambling, among others.

Parliament also passed the VAT Act (Amendment) Bill that validates 16.5 percent input VAT introduced on edible cooking oil to allow manufacturers claim input VAT on their products.

While supporting the taxation amendments, immediate-past minister of Finance now Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesperson on finance in Parliament Joseph Mwanamvekha described some tax measures as punitive to taxpayers.

He said: “There are very poor people out there, majority of them are youths. They are energetic, but they are not employed. Now they have resorted to betting and

 getting very little. gambling for survival and they are

“Now if you apply 20 percent withholding tax on winnings then you are depriving them of economic well-being. We are saying that the K100 000 tax-free threshold should be extended to casual labourers and not only those in formal employment.”

Mwanamvekha told Parliament that neighbouring countries were not applying VAT on edible cooking oil; hence, if Malawi products are expensive due to VAT, people will resort to importing.

United Democratic Front (UDF) spokesperson on finance Lillian Patel feared the amendment will lead to the increase in cooking oil prices.

But Leader of the House Richard Chimwendo Banda, in his contribution, observed that farmers were still being exploited despite having zero VAT on edible cooking oil.

He said concerns from other members that farmers will struggle to get better prices on soya bean were misplaced because the VAT in question concerns cooking oil manufacturers who will also benefit from it as they will claim back.

In an interview, Mlusu said the Taxation Bill will empower Malawians to enjoy the taxes that have been introduced in the budget.

He said: “Malawian workers and those in informal sector such as casual labourers will be empowered in the sense that they will be getting K100 000 tax-free while casual labourers will now enjoy K35 000 tax-free up from K15 000 in the previous budget.”

Parliament also passed the Appropriation Bill to validate the legal spending of the K2.2 trillion National Budget

 Crossroads Hotel has confirmed that State House paid K12.5 million for accommodation for four guests at its Lilongwe unit.

The confirmation by one of the hotel’s directors Sameer Sacranie last evening comes amid calls by

 Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) for the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to establish whether public funds were used to fund $300 a night accommodation at the hotel for foreign guests whose mission was unclear.

Over the weekend, social media was awash with claims that State House was paying roughly K225 000 per night for four guests at the hotel’s Lilongwe unit.

Last evening, Crossroads Hotel issued a statement, saying the hotel has had no dealings with State House in connection with the said guests.

But the hotel company later withdrew that part of the statement, saying after checking their records; they had discovered that there was a cheque worth K12.5 million that was paid directly from a State House account.

Sacranie said after our enquiry, he had to check with responsible officers at the hotel and realised that

 indeed Mr. Miguel had paid a K12.5 million, which was cheque from State House. He said when he asked Miguel last night about the State House cheque, Miguel said he was doing some work for State House; hence, the payment for his stay at the hotel.

Sacranie,however, insisted that the K12.5 million, so far, was the only

 known payment from State House as Miguel had been paying on his own.

He said: “We have just noticed that one of the payments was a cheque from State House which was paid by Miguel.

“We thought it was his personal money, but when we were digging we found that one of the cheques, it was the only cheque, from State House because he has been paying cash all these days,” he said.

“In fact, I called Mr. Miguel this evening [yesterday] to my office and told him that we thought it was a personal cheque without knowing that it was a State House cheque and he said yes I gave a cheque of K12.5 million from State House because the activities I am doing here are funded by State House”.

Sacranie could not state the nationality of the four

 guests even when the standard practice in hotels is to have guests fill in their personal details, including having a passport scanned if they are foreigners.

According to Sacranie, they could not do so because the guests were locally booked by another guest he identified as Mr. Miguel of Chitundu Distributors.

“Mr. Miguel booked for

 them and paid for them. Who these people were we do not know so we recorded details for the one who was booking,” he said.

Sacranie said the guests were initially accommodated in suites that cost $350 per night, but were offered $300 after negotiations.

“They stayed in those rooms just for about seven to eight days before they asked to be moved to other rooms which cost $90 per night and they were in these rooms for about a month. Mr. Miguel, who booked them, was in a $300 room, but he has asked us to move him to a cheaper one and he is still at the hotel,” he said.

On whether the hotel was interested to know what business Miguel and the visitors were into after staying at the hotel for a long time, Sacranie said it was none of the hotel’s business.

He said: “If someone seeks

 our services, we assist them accordingly. Miguel paid for these services so why should we ask questions?”

Sacranie’s responses to our questions were more detailed than the statement which had only distanced State House from the sponsorship.

Reads the Crossroads statement: “The truth is that Crossroads Hotel has not received any local purchasing order from State

 House nor has it received payment from Statehouse as alleged in the said false story. As a law abiding business entity, Crossroads Hotel does not condone corruption and theft of public funds.”

In a separate interview last night, presidential press secretary Brian Banda said State House could not make a comment on the matter as this would be “dignifying fake news”.

Employees of Toyota Malawi Limited yesterday closed the company’s offices in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu to force management to effect a 40 percent salary increment.

The staff also want their employer to terminate contracts of expatriate staff whose shoes they claim Malawians can ably fit into.

In an interview, one of the representatives of the workers Robert Ngona said they asked management to give them the increment following an increase in the cost of living.

He said: “The issue has been there since February. We have approached management on the matter but they said they can give us a five percent increment which we do not want.

“So after several negotiations on the matter, nothing tangible has come out and that is why we have just decided to go on strike.”

According to Ngona, the workers are in a union which is represented by the Transport and General Workers Union, a grouping that advocates for fair working conditions of employees in the transport sector.

On the issue of expatriates, he said they want the company to employ local people and let the expatriates go to their respective countries as they are doing work that does not require them.

Efforts to source a comment from Toyota Malawi Limited managing director Kennedy Kabaghe were unsuccessful yesterday as he did not pick up our calls. On Sunday, he asked that he be contacted yesterday when in office.

According to a notice dated October 12 2020 from the Transport and General Workers Union secretary general Ronald Mbewe to Toyota Malawi human resources manager, the strike followed an unsuccessful conciliation meeting on October 6.

Employers Consultative Associ a t i o n of Malawi executive director George Khaki was also out of reach; hence, could not comment on whether there were other employers facing a similar predicament as Toyota Malawi amid Covid-19 pandemic impact.

Toyota Malawi Limited is the franchise holder for Toyota vehicles and Hino trucks in the country with a market share of over 40 percent in new vehicle sales.

 President Lazarus Chakwera yesterday highlighted initiatives his administration seeks to implement to improve environmental management in the country.

During his appearance in Parliament on September 10 to answer questions from legislators, the President pledged to make a special presentation on the environment after it was noted that the subject matter conspicuously missed from his maiden State of the Nation Address.

Yesterday, Chakwera took advantage of the State House Weekly Briefing to unveil the initiatives which includering-fencing the carbon tax fund to ensure it is solely used for environmental management related programmes.

His emphasis on management of the carbon tax fund comes against a background of reports that the immediate-past administration diverted about K1.2 billion from the fund for unrelated activities. The fund was deposited in the general purpose Account Number One contrary to experts’ recommendations to separate it from this account.

During the briefing, Chakwera boldly declared that his administration will protect the fund from misuse.

The President said his administration will establish a task force to coordinate efforts to address environmental management.

He said the task force will include experts in issues of water management, natural

 e n v i r o n m e n t a l management, climate change, mining, local government and finance. resource management,

Worried with over-dependence on biomass w h i c h s t r a i n s t h e environment, Chakwera said the task force will be mandated to come up with an action plan “for developing partnerships to leverage alternative energy sources that can sustainably meet demands exponentially rather than incrementally”.

Malawians both in urban and rural areas largely depend on charcoal and firewood as their main source of energy for lack of easy-to-get alternative sources. This has led to the sharp decline in the country’s forest cover.

Said the President: “Sadly, Malawi is losing forest cover at an alarming rate of about 32 000 hectares every year. The major driver of this loss is tree cutting for charcoal and firewood. To address this problem, my administration will be scaling up uses of alternative renewable energy sources.

“We will be promoting the development and adoption of alternative cooking energies such as briquettes, biogas and Liquid Petroleum Gas [LPG] as well as the growing of bamboos and fast-growing trees for sustainable charcoal production.”

He also indicated that his administration will look into reducing or removing taxes on materials that

 promote use of alternative energy sources such as gas stoves and briquettes. He said his government will embark on serious forest restoration programmes.

The President’s address was comprehensive as it touched on several areas, including checking what he described as chaos in the mining sector.

Chakwera noted with concern that mining is done illegally an

 anyhow without following set procedures.

The address also included promises in promoting fisheries, water resources and metrological services.

The President also committed to ensure that the thin plastic ban is effectively implemented.

He said: “To encourage citizen participation in this campaign against thin plastic use and littering, I am launching a National Clean-up Day for us to be part of the solution, not the problem.

“I call upon every Malawian to participate in the National Clean-up Day once the day is designated.”

The weekly briefing has become a tradition that every Monday State House provides an update to the nation on presidential engagements and also respond to questions from the press.

Yesterday’s briefing was the seventh in the series. Previous sessions were presided over by the President’s executive assistant and director of communication at State House Sean Kampondeni. However, this was the second time that the President graced the briefing.

During yesterday’s briefing, the President was accompanied by Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry Nancy Tembo, who answered some of the questions. Minister of Information Gospel Kazako was also in attendance

Multilateral lenders top Malawi’s creditors with the World Bank alone accounting for $1.01 billion (about K761 billion), or 42 percent of the country’s total external debt, latest figures show.

A latest annual public debt report compiled by the Debt and Aid Management Division in the Ministry of Finance also shows that at about $1.9 billion (K1.4 trillion) or 83 percent of total external debt, multilateral lenders continue to account for the largest proportion of the country’s external debt estimated at $2.4 billion (about K18 trillion).

This is compared to bilateral creditors who account for 17 percent of all external debt or $407 million (K305 billion) at the end of June 2020.

The report shows that the country’s top five external creditors are International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank at 42 percent, the African Development Fund at 15 percent or $364 million (K273 billion), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at 14 percent or $323 million (K242 billion), Export-Import Bank of China at eight percent or $197 million (K147 billion), and Export Import Bank of India at six percent or $139 million (K104 billion).

Based on the figures, it means that combined, the two Bretton Woods  institutions—IMF and the World Bank—account for $1.3 billion (about K1 trillion) or about half of Malawi’s total foreign debt.

In an interview  on Monday, Ministry of Finance spokesperson Williams Banda, while describing the World Bank loans as highly concessional, said the country has benefited from such resources over the years in sectors such as education, water and sanitation and infrastructure.

“We have put such money to good use by investing in durable or long-term assets and such resources are highly concessional in nature,” he said.

Other multilateral and bilateral donors include International Fund for Agricultural Development at $85 million (K63 billion), Opec Fund for International Development at $70 million (three percent), Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa at $60 million (K45 billion), Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development at $43 million (K32 billion), European Investment Bank at $43 million (two percent), Saudi Fund for Development at $22 million (K17 billion), Nordic Development Fund at $20 million (K15 billion), Abu Dhabi Fund for Development at $4 million (K3 billion) and Government of Belgium at $1 million (K750 million).

Economics Association of Malawi president Lauryn Nyasulu said: “The objective of multilateral institutions is largely to alleviate poverty and therefore, Malawi as a poor country has high chances of accessing more financing compared to bilateral donors.”

On his part, Centre for Research and Consultancy executive director Milward Tobias observed the challenge for the country is the poor use of borrowed resources.

The Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (Cosafa) has rallied its members to support FAM president Walter Nyamilandu’s bid to defend his Fifa Council post.

In a story published in The Herald of Zimbabwe yesterday, Cosafa president Phillip Chiyangwa is quoted as having drummed up support for Nyamilandu who went it alone in 2018 and defeated the Cosafa preferred candidate—South Africa Football Association president Danny Jordan—for the post.

“I appeal to all our member associations to support Walter Manda [Nyamilandu],” Chiyangwa is quoted as having said.

Confirming his decision to seek a fresh full term, Nyamilandu yesterday said: “Yes indeed… I will be defending my position as Fifa Council member at the elective general assembly which will take place on March 12 next year in Morocco.

“Having occupied the seat for two years, it is my desire to get a full term of office so that I can effectively contribute  to the development of football around the world.

“To this effect, my nomination has since been submitted by the Football Association of Malawi.”

FAM general secretary Alfred Gunda yesterday confirmed that the association has nominated its president.

“He is our very own and the current holder of the position and it was only proper that we support his cause,” he said.

On how Malawi has benefited from his tenure, Nyamilandu said: “As a member for the Anglophone speaking groups in Africa, I have lobbied and supported decisions that are pro-poor and these will directly benefit Malawi football both in the short and long-term.”

He cited the $1.5 million Covid-19 relief support from the world football governing body which has benefited players, officials, referees and clubs.

“I have also supported the increase in the number of participating teams at the World Cup from Africa to six, thereby giving  Malawi a higher probability of qualifying in the unforeseeable future.

“Using my influence, FAM also managed to complete construction of Mpira Stadium with state-of-the-art facilities after the project had stalled for a considerable period,” he said.

Nyamilandu pulled a shocker in 2018 when he defeated Jordan by 35 votes to 18 after two rounds of voting in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

The pair had been in a three-way vote along with former Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) president Leodgar Tenga, who dropped out in the first round.

The position became open following the resignation of former Ghana FA president Kwesi Nyantakyi, who was filmed by an investigative journalist allegedly taking a $65 000 (then about K49 million) bribe.

The anglophone countries have two slots in the Fifa Council and the first to officially declare his interest for the post was current TFF president Wallace Karia.

Meanwhile, according to The Herald, during the same Cosafa executive committee virtual meeting, it was  also  agreed to endorse the candidature of incumbent CAF president Ahmad Ahmad in the upcoming elections.

The CAF presidential elections are also scheduled for March 12 next year.

“Cosafa president Philip Chiyangwa welcomed members present and thanked all the member associations in the region for endorsing the candidature of president Ahmad Ahmad for a second term at the CAF General Assembly in March 2021,” reads part of the article which quotes the minutes.

Ahmad, from Madagascar, became CAF’s seventh president in March 2017 after he outfoxed long-serving Cameroonian, Issa Hayatou.

Vice-President Saulos Chilima has challenged local government councils to identify game-changing reforms to boost tourism and in turn create more jobs in the country.

The Vice-President expressed the sentiments at the start of his meetings with district, municipal and city councils from the Southern Region in Blantyre on Monday.

Writing on his Facebook page after meeting eight of the councils, Chilima—who is also Minister of Economic Planning and Development and Public Sector Reforms—described tourism as a pro-poor development strategy that can help tackle poverty in the country.

He said: “Tourism can fast-track the eradication of poverty in our country, especially when there is direct participation of specific municipalities and district councils.

“The poverty reducing impacts of tourism are well articulated in the tourism discourse.”

He said development of tourism is featuring high in the Tonse Alliance administration’s development agenda with special focus on councils located along the lakeshore.

The councils the Vice-President met were Mangochi Municipality, Mangochi District Council, Zomba City Council, Zomba District Council, Machinga District Council, Balaka District Council, Blantyre City Council and Blantyre District Council.

For Mangochi District Council and the newly upgraded Mangochi Municipality, Chilima challenged them to start envisioning Mangochi as a city through transformation that will have taken place through the reforms they are putting across.

He cited the proposed Mangochi International Airport, proper planning of both residential and commercial plots and the establishment of fish processing factories as well as boat assembly plants as critical.

Said Chilima: “For example, Machinga District Council is looking at tourism from the revenue base angle. The council is planning to improve and upgrade local tourism sites to generate revenue.

“To achieve this, the council plans to upgrade the Malape Hills and the Mawira Hotsprings tourism sites by, among other things, constructing roads and infrastructure around the sites.”

In the case of Zomba City Council, Chilima advised the council to explore means of curbing environmental degradation to preserve Mulunguzi Dam, the source of water for the city which is now under threat.

In a telephone interview after the meeting, Zomba district commissioner Smart Gwedemula described the meeting as a success.

“The meeting was very good and I would also like to commend the Vice President for picking out some areas that were lacking in our report,” he said.

He has rocked every party and every joint in South Africa and within the region, but now it is Malawi’s turn to have a feel of South African top music creator DJ Tira’s magic.

The South African DJ, who doubles as a record producer and singer, is expected to headline the Black and Gold arts, culture and digital innovation gala which has been organised by Entertainers Promotions (EP) scheduled for December 4.

EP’s director Tonderai Banda has confirmed of DJ Tira’s performance saying all agreements between the two parties were sealed. He said the South African artist will be joined by other local artists such as Lucius Banda, Tuno and DJ Nathan Tunes.

Banda said they will not rush to disclose the venue of the event as some logistical arrangements  are yet to be finalised  including getting on board some partners and additional supporting acts.

He said: “This is our way of announcing to the world that as EP we are still alive. It was important that we stick to our tradition of hosting big gigs and big-name artists. Now we present DJ Tira to Malawi.”

Two years ago, EP appeared to set new standards in event oranisation when they hosted the All-White Party in Lilongwe as part of the entertainment stable’s 50th anniversary. South African rapper Kwesta headlined the event.

Banda said during the Covid-19 induced hibernation they gave themselves time to work on creative ways of delivering events and has promised fun lovers  a complete party.

He said:“We have not lost any of our magic. In fact we are coming back better and stronger. This period of inactivity has allowed us to reflect on a number of things.

“Malawians should brace themselves for a great time. There are few names bigger than DJ Tira in music”

DJ Tira was born Mthokozi Khathi and the 44-year-old is owner of the Afrotainment record label which has over the years unearthed big name acts such as Big Nuz, DJ C’ndo, Dladla Mshunqis and DJ Fisherman.

Some of his popular songs include Iyandazi, Superhero and Woza Mshanami.

The Durban-based artist has seen his music influence grow over the years with a distinctive club feel known as Gqom which leans on the roots of kwaito, house and mapiano. 

Some fans of South African top club Orlando Pirates have protested the exclusion of their players, especially Malawian forward Frank ‘Gabadinho’ Mhango, from the list of nominees for the Premier Soccer League (PSL) Awards’ main categories.

According to the Sunday Times of South Africa, fans reacted strongly to the award nominees that were announced last Thursday, after no Pirates players made the cut for the awards slated for tomorrow.

Mhango, who was the joint-top scorer alongside Namibian forward Peter Shalulile, having scored 16 goals apiece, was tipped to be among the list of nominees.

Ironically, Shalulile made the grade for the Player of the Season Award alongside Samir Nurkovic (Kaizer Chiefs), Gaston Sirino and Themba Zwane (both Mamelodi Sundowns).

Reads part of the article: “Fans swiftly took to social media to voice their opinions on the nominations.

“Many fans, especially those of the Buccaneers [Pirates], felt the team played well this season and the players, especially striker Gabadinho Mhango, deserved to be on the list of names for the Player of the Season accolade.”

One of the snapshots read: “Wait, no Mhango in the PSL awards nominations? After his 16 goals? Lol!”

Another one read: “This is a scam! Mhango should have made the list!”

The Orlando Pirates hitman will find solace in the Golden Boot Award which will see him and Shalulile cart home R25 0000 (K1.25 million) each.

He is also in contention for the Goal of the Season Award whose winner will be announced at the same event. The award goes with a R50 000 (about K2.5 million) prize.

Mhango was not available for comment yesterday. Last month, the South Africa Football Journalists Association also snubbed the Flames forward for its similar award.

Revered former Flames striker Esau ‘Black Mamba’ Kanyenda and football analyst Kelvin Moyo said while Mhango might have been betrayed by lack of consistency—especially when he went on a seven-game goal drought—he deserved a nomination.

“I think it could be because his form only picked when Pirates appointed German coach [Josef Zinnbauer] before it slumped when the league resumed, but I feel he still deserved to be among the nominees,” said Kanyenda, who missed the 2002 PSL Golden Boot Award by a whisker after scoring a goal short of the eventual winner Gilbert Mushangazhike.

On his part, Moyo said: “His form slumped in the final phase of the league. He was under pressure such that his form deepened and he nearly lost the race for the golden boot. But that said, in all fairness, he deserved to be among the nominees.”

Minister of Justice Titus   Mvalo says Malawi will start guiding countries with serious human rights violations on how to imporove their records.

The minister told a media briefing in Lilongwe on Monday that the country is ready to start offering resolutions on how member States can improve human rights records in their countries in its new role as United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) member.

Mvalo said Malawi’s election to the council is a testimony that the country has acted on many of the 199 recommendations it received from the last session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) held in 2015 in Geneva.

Said the minister: “We will gain a lot of steam by being a member of the council. We will be able to sponsor resolutions in the council. It will be one of the States monitoring and assessing human rights violations. We think this will put us on the map.”

Mvalo explained that through the role, Malawi will be expected to participate and contribute to the council in initiating resolutions in collaboration with other countries and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as enhancing an exchange of information on good practices and lessons learned, among others.

Meanwhile, civil society organisations (CSOs), including Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) and Centre for the Development of People (Cedep) have said government needs to put its house in order and ensure the country is leading by example in improving and upholding human rights.

CHRR acting executive director Michael Kaiyatsa said government should live up to the recommendations which the 2015 UPR session made for the country.

Among others, the Geneva summit recommended that Malawi should enact the Access to Information Act (ATIA), Gender Equality Act (GEA) and that it should improve prison conditions. It also recommended that Malawi Government should ensure security and safety of journalists and human rights activists.

While commending the government for meeting the ATIA and GEA requirements, Kaiyatsa in an interview expressed worry that the government is yet to implement some of the critical recommendations such as abolishing the death penalty, improving prison conditions and protecting journalists, among others.

He said: “Malawi has been elected into the council because it has managed to act on some of the recommendations such as the Gender Equality Act. But it needs to implement other recommendation which were made. We still have  over-crowded prisons.

“We also have seen journalists being victimised during the course of their work but we have not seen anyone who victimised journalists being arrested. Government should act on some of the recommendations.”

On his part, Cedep executive director Gift Trapence said now that Malawi is on the global spotlight, it needs to focus on improving minority and children’s rights.

Responding to some of the concerns,  Mvalo said: “As has always been the case, Malawi shall ensure the promotion of human rights and its mechanisms by widening the space for engagement and dialogue with civil society, and national human rights institutions, among others.”

Malawi’s five-year human rights record will be reviewed in early November this year. Mvalo said government is optimistic of scoring higher marks because it implemented almost all the recommendations which were made last year.

Malawi Olympic Committee (MOC) has distributed assorted items and cash amounting to K19 million to cushion effects of Covid-19 among 21 sports associations.

The items included rice and sugar and cash amounting to K250 000 to each association that included boxing, basketball, netball and squash.

The donations have been going on for the past week in Lilongwe, Salima, Mzuzu and Blantyre.

In an interview, MOC committee member Osbourne Banda said the support is aimed at helping sports recover from the ruins of Covid-19.

Local sports is just resuming after almost a seven-month suspension as the country battled to suppress the spread of the virus.

Said Banda: “We are in the process of resuming sports activities that is why we are giving out this support.”

He said the beneficiaries of the donations are athletes and administrators as “both have been affected economically by the pandemic”.

Basketball Association of Malawi president Masawani Jere said the donation will motivate athletes as they return to the fields.

“The health of an athlete is very important. So, the foodstuffs and other donated items will help us motivate the athletes,” he said.

Rumphi District Council chairperson Harry Mnyenyembe has asked well-wishers to support Rumphi District Hospital, saying the council is failing to meet the hospital’s financial needs.

He made the call on Saturday when members of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (Sacco) from Northern Region-Chapter 3 donated three oxygen cylinders and curtains to commemorate International Credit Union Day.

“It is our responsibility as a council to support this hospital, but we have limited resources,” said Mnyenyembe.

He also said the facility’s guardian shelter is dilapidated and the toilets and bathrooms are not in good condition.

The hospital’s chief nursing officer Bonnifacio Ndovi said the hospital struggles with oxygen supplementation for patients because it has six oxygen concentrators only.

“Each ward has one concentrator and we struggle when we have more than four patients that are critically ill and need oxygen supplementation,” he said.

Chapter 3 Sacco director Ammon Moyo said they noted the challenges and donated the items worth K1 million to ease some of the problems.

Chapter 3 Saccos includes Kawiruwiru, United Civil Servants, Mzuzu University, Timbiri and Rumphi Teachers Sacco.

International Credit Union Day falls on a third

Thursday of October.

Communities from traditional authorities Mwakaboko, Kilupula and Kyungu in Karonga have commended the involvement of traditional leaders in the fight against gender-based violence (GBV) in the district.

Speaking on Monday during a meeting with traditional leaders organised by Evangelical Association of Malawi, Nthambo Primary School mother group chairperson Esther Mbotwa said most GBV-related cases emanate from harmful cultural practices whose custodians are the traditional leaders.

She cited cultural practices such as chithola minga, kusingilira (pre-arranged marriages) and vilingo, (marriage inheritance) saying they are fuelling GBV.

“The involvement of traditional leaders will enhance the fight against GBV,” said Mbotwa.

Mwandambo Village Development Committee (VDC) chairperson Joseph Mogha said poverty was another cause of GBV as some parents marry off their children early to get money.

“We are struggling to terminate marriages involving 19 girls because their parents collected money from the bridegrooms,” he said.

Acting group village head Mwangolera said efforts to end some harmful cultural practices are underway.

“We will formulate by-laws to protect girls from early marriages and end some forms of GBV. However, there are some cultural practices such as lobola which cannot be eradicated,” he said.

On his part, Karonga District Evangelical Association of Malawi project coordinator Dumisani Nungu said involving traditional leaders will address root causes fuelling GBV cases against girls and women in the district.

The association, with funding from Norwegian Church Aid, is implementing Timazge Nkhanza Project in the district.

Nsanje District Council Relief and Rehabilitation officer Blessings Kantema says they have started disseminating information to people living in disaster-prone areas to vacate to the upland.

In an interview yesterday, he said they have engaged both village and area civil protection committees in the district’s nine traditional authorities on the exercise.

“People should relocate to safer places before the rainy season,” said Kantema.

He also said they have developed a district disaster contingency plan that will guide them on how to handle the situation.

Senior Chief Malemia has since encouraged his subjects living in flood-prone areas to relocate to the upland.

“It is difficult to help people affected by disasters. So, I encourage people to find better settlements before the rainy season,” he said.

Makoko Area Civil Protection Committee chairperson Elitta Kampala thanked Concern Worldwide for training them on how they can deal with disasters.

“Now we know how to report disasters to relevant authorities,” she said.

Nyachikadza Area Civil Protection Committee chairperson Shadreck Nyamtontholo asked the Metrological Department to introduce mobile messages to disseminate weather updates.

Some community members say they will relocate upland.

Maria Njira from Traditional Authority Malemia said she will find a better place to relocate to.

Nsanje is one of the disaster-prone districts in the country.

Anglican Diocese of Upper Shire Bishop Brighton Malasa says the diocese will turn its 55 schools into private institutions if the Muslim community does not withdraw the hijab demand.

The bishop said this during a ground-breaking ceremony for a Saint Luke’s Church project in Balaka.

Said Malasa: “We met as Diocesan Standing Committee yesterday [Saturday] and resolved that if pressure from the hijab task force exerted on our schools [on] the hijab dressing code does not subside, then we will close all our schools [40 primary and 15 secondary schools].

“We have since written government communicating the same because we feel we are being forced to accept the hijab dressing code.”

He said as a church, they are emphasising that all those who want to attend their schools should wear uniforms.

The bishop’s remarks come after a standoff on hijab at Mmanga Primary School in the district refuses to die.

In a separate interview, Muslim Association of Malawi Hijab Task Force spokesperson Abdul-Salaam Fadweck said the task force was formed to fight for the Muslim girls’ right to wear hijab in schools.

He said: “We are not breaking any law by advocating for the hijab dressing code for Muslim girls in schools. If the Anglican Church met and resolved to close their schools, then they are missing the point altogether.

“The task force will only be dissolved if the the hijab dressing code is determined.”

In September last year, community members rioted against the school’s refusal to allow Muslim girls wear the hijab. The protests forced the Anglican Church to close the school for nearly a month.

However, mediation talks to pacify both school management and the Muslim Hijab Task Force have not been successful.

Communities around Kumbali Country Lodge in Lilongwe have bemoaned the torching of facilities at the premises, saying besides workers risking losing their jobs, the incident will negatively affect early childhood development in the area.

The communities were benefiting from a nursery school that was built within the lodge’s compound.

Speaking in an interview on Monday, one of the residents, Annie Sabiti, said they were shocked by the fire incident.

She said people have been living in harmony with the owners of the lodge and they never imagined that others could set the structure on fire.

Sabiti said: “Children will suffer the most as their school has been burnt.

“The quality of education the children were getting was far much better than elsewhere.”

Kumbali Country Lodge executive director Guy Pickering said the school was benefiting about 80 children.

He said: “But now the children have nowhere to go. Early childhood development is key to a child.

“It will take time to renovate the nursery school since income generation has been affected.”

On Sunday, some residents, who had allegedly encroached the area under the lodge, torched buildings and cars at the lodge after their structures were demolished.

The encroachers, who were allegedly selling land to other developers, were ordered by the court to vacate the area, but they resisted until they were evicted by force.

 United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres has appointed Nyovani Madise, one of the country’s female professors, to be among 15 global scientists to draft the 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report.

 Her appointment comes barely weeks after President Lazarus Chakwera stated that there are few qualified women in the country to be considered for public appointments.

In interview yesterday, Madise said she was thrilled to be appointed among some of the world’s best scientists to draft the global sustainable development report.

She said: “I am very happy to be nominated to do this important and global report which will give guidance to countries on how to accelerate achievement of the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals].”

Madise said she feels satisfied to have been appointed through a fair process, having submitted her curriculum vitae following a request for nominations for scientists.

A statement published on the UN website states that the appointments, which have incorporated scientists from a diverse

 background, were done following thorough consultations.

The statement further states that the scientists, through the report, will inform the follow-up and review of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs.

Reads the statement in part: “The report aims to strengthen the science policy interface and to serve as a strong evidence-based instrument to support policymakers in promoting poverty eradication and sustainable development.

“The next global sustainable development report will be published in 2023, feeding into the high-level global review of the 2030 Agenda at the United Nations in September of that year.”

Madise, who is African Institute for Development Policy head for Malawi office and director of research and development policy, will serve in the UN role alongside other scientists from Trinidad and Tobago,

 Qatar, Russia, Botswana, Senegal, Japan, Australia, Peru, Philippines, China, Sweden, India, Germany and Canada.

A former professor at the University of Southampton, she complet ed her undergraduate degree in Mathematics at the University of Malawi in 1983 and later moved to the United Kingdom where she pursued a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in social statistics at the University of Southampton.

An adviser to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Madise received an honorary higher degree from the University of Aberdeen in 2016 in recognition for her work in research on Africa’s healthcare system.

Apart from working as lecturer at the University of Malawi and senior research scientist at the African Population and Health Research Centre in Kenya, Madise has also held other key senior positions in various institutions.

She has, among others, been associate dean research in large, deputy head of school, university lead for equality diversity and inclusion, director for public policy and director of the centre for global health, population, poverty and policy at the University of Southampton.

Madise also sits on advisory committees such as the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council and Research Council Norway, among others.

She has also previously served on the Wellcome Trust Public Health and Tropical Medicine inter view committee and UK Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.

 New United Kingdom ( U K ) H i g h C o m m i s s i o n e r David Beer says Britain will continue supporting Malawi’s efforts to fight climate change and the reform agenda as one way of strengthening the two country’s bilateral arrangement.

The envoy said this yesterday soon after presenting his letters of credence to President Lazarus Chakwera at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe

Said Beer: “We have discussed many areas of collaboration between the UK and Malawi, not least the importance of climate change and I was inspired by the President’s speech yesterday. We spoke on joint commitment to building on Malawi’s advocacy and voice internationally and supporting Malawi’s fight against climate change.”

He said his government

 is committed to supporting the country ’s reform agenda which has set high expectations among the people and the international community on what the current administration will deliver during its tenure.

“We do support the country through aid by supporting a range of programming in fighting corruption and in capacity building, among others,” said Beer.

He further said the UK is also committed to supporting the promotion of trade links with Malawi.

Beer has assumed office this month, having succeeded Holly Tett who is expected to take up another diplomatic service appointment, according to information on the UK Government website. He previously served as Malawi country director for the Department for International Development (DfID), which has since become the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The UK recen t l y announced an investment of up to £90.6 million (about K90.6 billion) over five years of between 2018 and 2023 to provide direct benefits to 1.7 million poor and vulnerable people in Malawi.

 President Lazarus Chakwera has thrown his weight behind preliminary Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) investigations into alleged abuse of public funds to pay hotel bills for some guests whose mission in the country has remained hazy.

The President’s position, expressed through presidential press secretary Brian Banda, follows calls by Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC  and Youth and Society (YAS) for expedited investigations into the matter. and Youth and Society

Banda on Monday described reports of State Residences paying bills for the guests at Crossroads Hotel in Lilongwe as “fake news”, but yesterday he said the President’s attention had been drawn to allegations of abuse of funds at Plot Number One.

He said: “The President welcomes and supports this investigation by an independent law-enforcement agency as

 the best way to separate facts from fiction on the basis of evidence so that Malawians can be assured of the truth from an objective perspective that is free of interference from interested parties.”

While Banda on Monday denied that State Residences paid the hotel bills, one of the directors of Crossroads Hotel, Sameer Sacranie, told yesterday’s The Nation that State Residences paid a cheque of K12.5 million through a cheque

 to the hotel for the guests.

Ye s t e r d a y, HRDC described the conduct of State Residences on the matter as suspicious.

In an interview, HRDC national chairperson Gift Trapence said an explanation to taxpayers eager to know the truth would help on the matter.

He said: “State House should be honest and tell the nation the truth about this saga. Giving contradicting information is not only raising suspicions, but justifies

 the allegation as being true.

“HRDC is, therefore, callin g up on the government to be open on the matter and should not lie to the very same voter that ushered them into power.”

During a media briefing in Lilongwe on Monday, ACB director Reyneck Matemba said the bureau would investigate the matter which he observed had generated public interest.

YAS executive director Charles Kajoloweka said he hoped that the graft-busting body will fast-

 track its investigations and keep the public updated on progress.

“We are comforted by the fact that the ACB has already instituted preliminary investigations into the matter. The conflicting information between State House and Crossroards Hotel on these allegations is raising more questions; hence, the need for the intervention of an independent authority

 ACB,” he said.

The four foreign guests were booked at Crossroads Hotel in Lilongwe in July under the name Miguel Elias of Chitundu Distributors based in Blantyre.

Sacranie sa id the guests, who include Elias and were still at the hotel on Monday, had booked suites worth $300 per night each for eight days before moving into rooms pegged at $90 per night for the rest of the days.

B a s e d o n r a t e s provided by Sacranie, our calculations show that if the visitors booked for eight days at $300 and $90 for 30 days, cumulatively the bill would be about K27 million ($35 500).

But Sacranie only confirmed a K12.5 million payment using a State Residences cheque. He said Miguel was settling the other bills in cash.

Reports The Nation could not independently verify suggest that the four are security experts allegedly in the country to train some officers from Malawi Defence Force (MDF), Malawi Police Service and National Intelligence Service.

Miguel is allegedly the consultant who brought the vi s i t o rs in the country for the purported assignment.

Both MDF and police had not responded to our questionnaires on the matter by press time.

The Nation Facebook search established that there is Miguel Andre Elias who appears to be a staunch supporter of Chakwera’s Malawi

 President Lazarus Chakwera returns to Parliament today to answer questions from members of Parliament (MPs) in his second appearance since he took office.

He first appeared in the House for question time on September 10— the first time a Malawi president had honoured the constitutional requirement since the country’s second president in the democratic dispensation, Bakili Muluzi, did the same in the early days of his administration.

Parliament spokesperson Ian Mwenye in an interview said the President will take his seat at 2pm, to be followed by the Speaker’s procession which will enter the House before the Question and Answer session begins.

He said: “The President will appear in the House as required by the Constitution and under parliamentary Standing Order 70 (A). It will be a very normal process, the Speaker will announce it’s time for

 questions to the President and the questions have already been submitted to the Speaker.”

Mwenye added that nine questions have been submitted to the President through the Speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani Hara and will be followed by supplementary questions.

Among the questions from a list The Nation has seen, Chakwera will be asked about his government’s foreign policy by Zomba Chisi MP Mark Botomani in relation to the decision to establish an embassy in Jerusalem, Israel.

The President will further be asked by Nkhotakota North East MP on why his administration has recalled from retirement former public servants, which seems to be contrary to the philosophy to employ more youths.

The same MP will also ask Chakwera when the administration will implement the proposed duty-free week and reduction of passport application processing fees to K14 000 as pledged during the Tonse Alliance campaign.

Zomba Lisanjala will also ask the President on what he is doing to avoid electoral related violence in 2025 which he said is already marring current by-elections while Zomba Central will ask the President about government’s plans to avert economic challenges for the public when the

 Headquarters is moved to Lilongwe from Blantyre. Immigration Deapartment

State House Press Secretary Brian Banda in a separate interview reiterated that Chakwera was committed to the rule of law; hence, will continue the practice.

He said: “His Excellency the State President Dr Lazarus Chakwera will continue going to Parliament to answer questions from members of Parliament because he is required to appear in Parliament by law.

“He will be in Parliament tomorrow because he believes in the importance of performing this duty not only as a matter of principle to fulfill a promise he made to Malawians but also as a matter of law to fulfill the requirements of the Constitution.”

When Chakwera appeared in Parliament last month, among others, he was asked several questions on the contentious risk allowances for teachers in public schools, planned construction of official residences for MPs, the country’s plans to open a new embassy in Jerusalem, Israel, gender, fertiliser subsidy programme, fight against corruption, environment, economic growth projections, among others.

Analysts then hailed the sixth President of the Republic, who then was accompanied by his deputy, Saulos Chilima, for ably responding to the questions