South Africa-based self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd ‘Major 1’ Bushiri and his wife, Mary, face fraud charges in connection with an alleged K4.6 billion (R102 million) fraud and money laundering.

Hawks, the special crimes unit in South Africa, arrested the prophet and his spouse yesterday.

The couple was arrested alongside another couple.

Bushiri’s identity was not revealed by the Hawks in a statement made available to The Nation, but his church, the Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) released a statement confirming the arrests.

When asked to confirm about the arrest, Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale inadvertently confirmed the arrest of the church leader and referred us to the statement the unit had

 released.

Reads the Hawks statement: “Four suspects, including a pastor aged between 25 and 39, have been arrested for alleged involvement in fraud and money laundering worth R102 million.

“The Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation members arrested the first couple on Saturday, the woman in Sandton and her husband at OR Tambo International Airport. The two, Willah Mudolo and Zethu Mudolo, have since appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court and their case was postponed to 30 October 2020 for formal bail application.

“On Tuesday, the team made a further arrest of another couple allegedly involved in the same case. The woman [39] was arrested at her home and her husband [37], after trying to evade the team, handed himself over at Silverton Police Station with an entourage of attorneys. The second couple is expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court soon.”

In a separate statement, ECG spokesperson Ephraim Nyondo confirmed yesterday that Hawks officers had requested Bushiri and his wife to report at their offices for questioning over a company known as Rising Estate.

Reads the ECG statement: “We are told as the prophet and lawyers were getting prepared for the 11am appointment, the Hawks went to their house before the 11am appointment and arrested the prophet’s wife only. We are told the prophet is on his way to the Hawks office to hand over himself.”

Bushiri and his wife were also arrested in February 2019 and face separate charges of fraud, money laundering and contravening the Prevention of Organised Crime Act for offences they allegedly committed from 2015. The initial case relates to exchange control regulations allegedly about foreign currency amounting to R19 million

 Principal resident magistrate Viva Nyimba has asked the State to expedite prosecution of the Ministry of Information alleged theft case involving former Cabinet minister Henry Mussa and former director of Information Gideon Munthali.

Nyimba, who yesterday adjourned the case to December 4 2020, said the two have a right to speedy trial.

The magistrate expressed his concern following an application by the State, saying such adjournments affect progress of the case. He also wondered why the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) was yet to give consent on the matter.

Mussa and Munthali were charged with theft by public servant and abuse of office in relation to the missing of three standby power generators and 10 computers at the Ministry of Information.

They appeared before the Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court yesterday for plea and possible commencement of trial, but State prosecutor Cecelia Zangazanga asked for an adjournment, saying the case file was still with the DPP who was yet to give guidance on the matter.

Zangazanga asked for three more weeks to enable the State commence prosecution.

In an interview after the adjournment, defence lawyer Powel Nkhutabasa said he hoped the time given will enable the State conclude its work.

He said: “We did not object to the adjournment because the State wants to sort out a few things. And if they are ready, we will proceed from there.”

Mussa and Munthali were arrested in mid September 2020 on allegations that they stole computers and gensets donated by Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority for use at the ministry’s offices.

Police recovered some of the items from the suspects. The two are currently on court bail

The World Bank has called on creditors and borrowers to collaborate to stave off the growing risk of sovereign debt crises triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement, World Bank chief economist Carmen Reinhart observed that while debt enables governments to have extra resources they need to invest in health systems, education and infrastructure, a debt problem makes all those ambitions suffer.

She said “That’s why it’s important to get the debt onto sustainable ground as quickly as possible.

“We can’t afford another lost decade.”

The bank’s call follows published 2021 International Debt Statistics (IDS) report indicating that the total external debt of Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), including Malawi, went up 9.5 percent to a record $744 billion in 2019 from the previous year.

Of this, the debt stock of DSSI-eligible countries to official bilateral creditors, composed by mostly G-20 countries, reached $178 billion in 2019 and accounted for 17 percent of long-term net debt flows to low and middle-income countries.

World Bank figures indicate that Malawi’s external debt stock has increased from $1.14 billion or 18.7 percent of gross national income (GNI) in 2009 to $2.23 billion or 32.5 percent of GNI in 2019.

Interest payments also moved up from $14.8 million in 2009 to $17.1 million in 2019.

The Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) conducted by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in May 2020 indicate that Malawi’s external debt portfolio remains sustainable over the medium-term.

Recently, IMF resident representative Farayi Gwenhamo said addressing debt vulnerabilities will require prudent fiscal policies hinged on the reorientation of public spending and increasing its efficiency; shoring up domestic revenue mobilisation, especially post Covid-19 and improving public finance management.

Meanwhile, Treasury figures show that the country’s public debt stock has risen to K4.1 trillion as at June 2020 from K3.4 trillion recorded in December 2019.

Ministry of FInance spokesperson Williams Banda said earlier in line with the debt sustainability strategy “we are opting for concessionary and foreign denominated loans, which are cheaper”.

Parliament has resolved to form an ad-hoc Privileges Committee to summon management of Pacific Group to explain the statement the private company issued on Blantyre City South East member of Parliament (MP) Sameer Suleman.

Last week, Mulanje Bale MP Victor Musowa (Democratic Progressive Party-DPP) moved a motion in Parliament on racial discrimination allegedly propagated by foreign nationals against Malawians in work and entertainment places.

In his contribution to Musowa’s motion, Suleman, without mentioning names, said besides racial abuse, some foreign nationals are grabbing prime land in cities and towns at the expense of Malawians.

He claimed that 80 percent of the whole of Limbe central business district in Blantyre  is currently owned by two individuals and that of the two, one of them owns over 50 hectares where he is doing fish farming.

Suleman, a DPP MP,  further claimed to have a petition from the people of Chiwembe Housing where the unidentified business individual “displayed such arrogance as to build a fence right on the main road”.

The MP further claimed that the individual is about to be given 48 hectares by Blantyre City Council and Ministry of Lands in the area known as Chigumula Forest.

But in a statement issued days later, the Pacific Group management said although Suleman refrained from directly naming the concerned party, they were convinced he was referring to Pacific Group given that it is the only entity that operates a  fish farm in Limbe, known as Chambo Fisheries.

The company demanded that Suleman should withdraw his remarks in Parliament where he made the accusations, stating that the remarks were damaging the company’s reputation and may cause people to rise against it.

However, during the parliamentary deliberations on Tuesday, Ishmael Ndaila Onani, MP of Dedza South (Malawi Congress Party) presented a motion using Parliamentary Standing Orders, saying Pacific Group violated the Parliamentary Privileges legal instrument that protects MPs from outside interference on matters discussed in Parliament.

He said: “Our privileges are being undermined by Pacific Group. Our colleague is living in fear, he cannot visit his constituents freely because he feels threatened.

“An injury to one of us, is an injury to all of us. Regardless of the different political parties we belong to, we are all MPs. We need to be fair and just, we need to be protected Honourable Speaker.”

Musowa concurred with Onani, saying threatening people for speaking out on ills happening in our societies should not be condoned, adding Parliament represents the poor people’s voice who cannot confront the rich.

MPs from both the government and the opposition benches supported the motion to summon the Pacific Group over their statement on Suleman.

The resolution was then passed with a resounding ‘yes’ vote.

Speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani Hara, who presided over the meeting, is scheduled to announce the ad-hoc committee any day from now.

Inspector General (IG) of Police, George Kainja has said increased cases of mob justice are a sign of a sour relationship between law-enforcers and the public.

The Police chief said this on Monday at Malawi Police Cottage in Mangochi  when he opened a strategic development plan, monitoring and evaluation workshop for research and planning coordinators drawn from the Northern, South Western and South Eastern regions of police.

He has since committed to introduce a service charter, improve service delivery and customer satisfaction questionnaire in all police stations to allow people to provide feedback on police conduct.

In an interview later, the Kainja said Malawi has registered many crimes recently due to the law enforcement agency’s failure to implement measures that accommodate views from the public.

Said the IG: “It is sad that we have registered cases of mob justice, violence, theft, murder and defilement, among others. This is due to poor relationship between police and the public.

“But, all these challenges will soon be over because for the first time in our history, we will have these tools to enable our officers engage with communities on their service delivery.”

Kainja said the workshop will provide participants with requisite skills and knowledge in monitoring and evaluation in line with the Police Service’s five-year strategic development plan spanning 2019 to 2024.

Luciano Nandolo, a participant from Ntcheu Police, said the workshop will help them learn new things which are relevant to their work as they strive to improve the Police Service.

Malawi College of Accountancy (MCA) students who completed their studies last year, have threatened to take the institution to court over its alleged failure to arrange their graduation ceremony.

The graduands, who are from all MCA campuses in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu, are demanding the college management to conduct their graduation by November 20 this year.

Graduands representatives on Tuesday claimed to have exhausted all means of dialogue and that there is no satisfactory response from MCA management.

In an interview, a Blantyre Campus representative Aubrey Ntasa claimed that some of them are being denied access to employment, further studies and promotions in their workplaces because they have not received their certificates.

He said: “We suggested to management that in line with Covid-19 preventive guidelines, graduation should be conducted in phases in our respective campuses.”

Ntasa said they further requested MCA management to give them their certificates and then hold a graduation ceremony later when the Covid-19 situation improves, but the college has done nothing despite giving them assurance.

“We thought MCA management would take advantage of the reduced new Covid-19 cases to organise our graduation ceremony in line with the reopening of schools,” chipped in another representative Daniel Ndhlovu.

The group has since given MCA management 72 hours to announce the date for the graduation ceremony.

In a separate interview, MCA principal Agrippah Phiri said the graduands have genuine concerns.

He said MCA management proposed to print the certificates and conduct a virtual graduation, but the institution is waiting for its board’s approval.

Said Phiri: “In the absence of their degrees, we are giving them transcripts as evidence that they have indeed completed their studies at MCA and some of the students have already been employed using those transcripts.”

Meanwhile, University of Malawi (Unima) students who completed their studies in 2019 have also threatened to hold demonstrations in all regions protesting Unima’s planned virtual graduation.

Malawi Professional Boxing Control Board (MPBCB) has written government asking it to allow fans to patronise bouts amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

While thanking  government for lifting the suspension on sporting activities, MPBCB says without fans the sport cannot sustain itself.

Said MPBCB president Lonzoe Zimba: “Unlike in the developed countries, local television Industry has not developed to the commercial levels to beam live bouts and make profits. As such, revenue is dependent on gate revenue. That is the reason we are appealing to government to allow fans.”

He said promoters have complained that they can only promote fights if the fans will be allowed to watch.

Zimba said as MPBCB they are ready to observe all Covid-19 guidelines such as physical distancing and mandatory wearing of masks.

“We will also have liquid hand soap in designated places within the venue. Boxers, doctors and or cornermen will be subjected to Covid-19 tests. We have put on checks to ensure we do not violate guidelines,” said Zimba.

Patrick Ngwenyama of Ngwenyama Boxing Promotions has since thanked MPBCB for seeking government intervention.

“As promoters, apart from playing a role in developing boxing we are also into business. We sometimes pay boxers K350 000 each for a fight but with no fans. It would mean incurring a huge loss. We need government’s blessings to allow fans,” he said.

Ngwenyama said that on average, a boxing match makes K4.5 million in Malawi and minus expenses they can result in K1.5 million  profits.

He said in countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa the situation is different because companies buy airtime on televisions to market their products, making it easy for promoters to retain profits even if fans are barred.

“We can’t say the same about Malawi. We have a huge boxing following who have been denied their favourite sport because of Covid-19 effects,” said Ngwenyama.

Minister of Youth and Sports Ulemu Msungama said his ministry will look into the request from MPBCB and determine the way forward.

The international press has been full of praise for Malawi netball export to Australia, Mwawi Kumwenda, following her impressive performance on Sunday as her team Melbourne Vixens won the Suncorp Netball Championship.

Vixens emerged triumphant after seeing off West Coast Fever 66-64.

Mwawi’s pictures were splashed in some major global news outlets.

In its Tuesday edition, The Guardian of England said Kumwenda put up a “technicolour display,” and “embodied everything on which Victorian netball prides itself”.

Vixens is based in the State of Victoria in Australia.

Reads part of the report: “While the Victorian influence on Kumwenda’s game was obvious, her own distinctive skill set, refined on the world stage in Malawi colours and during a stint with the Canterbury Tactix in New Zealand, was also on full technicolour display.

“In one standout moment in the second quarter, taking a seemingly impossible feed, she performed a graceful netballing arabesque, somehow balancing on one leg before duly sinking the shot—all without getting called for held ball.”

The Guardian continued to shower praise on the gangly goal shooter, saying matching up on one of the world’s premier keepers in West Coast Fever captain Courtney Bruce, Mwawi put in arguably the finest performance of her career on the biggest of stages, in the strangest of seasons.

Broadcaster Liz Ellis of BBC News Stroke aptly described the feat as “defying the law of physics”.

The Sydney Morning Herald (www.smh.com.au)  also had words of praise for Kumwenda in its October 18 edition.

 Part of the report read: “Player of the Match Mwawi Kumwenda defied the laws of physics to take a pass close to goal simultaneously on one leg and bending low to the ground.”

Vixens coach Simone McKinnis said Kumwenda’s performance was key to  the club’s championship victory.

“MJ [Kumwenda] got player of the match and deserved it.  MJ played a critical role. But also with the feeders not having any fear putting the ball over to MJ because she’s going to get it, and she did…and finished it really well, “ she was quoted as having said.

While much of the focus in the lead-up to the grand final was on Vixens retiring shooting stars Caitlin Thwaites and Tegan Philip, it was the hardworking Kumwenda who stole the show by converting 47 from 50 attempts to inspire her side to an emotive 66-64 win.

It was a great pay back performance for Kumwenda to her team which offered her a new contract despite missing action for the better part of last season due to a serious knee injury.

“I thank God for everything He has done for me. Mulungu si munthu. I am glad to be part of this successful team,” said Kumwenda in an interview from Australia.

Football Association of Malawi (FAM) technical director (TD) John Kaputa says he will be retiring at the end of his contract in June next year, ending over two decades romance with the association on various positions.

Kaputa, who has served as FAM TD for seven years, has since written the association, instructing them not to renew his contract and start searching for his replacement.

“It’s time for me to pack up and go. I wrote a letter to FAM informing them not renew my contract which is coming to an end in June next year,” he said.

However, his decision will have to get Fifa’s consent since the world football governing body is responsible for his appointment and perks.

“The job of technical director has indeed an influence of Fifa as well. But it’s up to FAM to write Fifa to explain to them that John intends to stop working with us. Fifa will give its opinion and its stand.”

Asked what will be his next move, the retired Malawi Defence Force (MDF) captain sounded cryptic.

“I have done my job, that’s what I can say. But those who want to tap from my knowledge, they will be able to do so,” he said.

Meanwhile, FAM general secretary Alfred Gunda, while acknowledging receipt of the TD’s letter, asked for more time before commenting on whether the association will accept the request not to renew his contract.

“There is still a long time between now and June next year. We will comment at an appropriate time. Besides, this is a contract issue which we cannot comment on in the media,” he said.

Kaputa, who is also Malawi Olympic Committee (MOC) general secretary, replaced the late Jack Chamangwana as TD in 2013 with Charles Manda as his assistant.

Apart from being regarded as one of the best Confederation of African Football (CAF) instructors in the Council for Southern Africa Football Association (Cosafa), Kaputa is also coaches’ instructors’ trainer.

He also had stints with Malawi national football teams and was briefly caretaker coach for the Flames in 1994 after the exit of Mathias Mwenda.

Kaputa was also in charge of the Under-17 national football team which qualified for the Africa Youth Championship and the Under-17 World Cup in 2009.

He was also part of the technical panel for the Under-20 national team which qualified for the 1999 Africa Youth Championship, which was led by German technical adviser Manfred Hoener.

The seasoned trainer later served as Malawi national football team full coach in 2004 before being replaced by Yasin Osman.

Before his appointment as TD, he served as Malawi Under-20 national football team coach and led the team at Cosafa Championship in 2011.

At MDF, Kaputa was also one of the officers that helped improve the institution’s sports department and its Super League football clubs—Moyale Barracks, Red Lions, Kamuzu Barracks and Mafco.

Commenting on Kaputa’s decision to quit at the end of his contract, soccer analyst Charles Nyirenda said the veteran coach could still contribute to the development of football.

“He has vast knowledge of Malawi football, an institution on his own, more especially when it comes to training of coaches. We can indeed still tap from his vast knowledge,” he said.

Two international non-governmental organisation (NGOs)—Oxfam in Malawi and ActionAid Malawi—have asked Treasury to raise corporate tax rate from the current 30 percent.

This comes at a time government needs more domestic revenue to finance its social services, infrastructure and development goals.

The two institutions have argued that government must continually balance the desire to offer a competitive tax environment for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) with the need to ensure that an appropriate share of domestic tax is collected from multinationals.

Malawi’s tax on corporations has been at 30 percent for years, but some tax experts argue that the rate is relatively lower compared to other neighbouring countries such as Zambia which is taxing corporate entities at a rate of 35 percent on income or capital.

In its latest country brief on Commitment to Reduce Inequality (CRI) index for 2020, Oxfam in Malawi says while tax is recognised as an important factor in decisions on where to invest, it is not the main determinant.

Reads the report in part: “FDI is attracted to countries offering access to markets and profit opportunities; a predictable and nondiscriminatory legal and regulatory framework; macroeconomic stability; skilled and responsive labour markets; and well-developed infrastructure.

“All of these factors will influence the long-term profitability of a project”

In an interview on Tuesday, Oxfam in Malawi country director Lingalireni Mihowa said for a country like Malawi, every opportunity that allows to progressively collect more tax from rich individuals such as corporates should be capitalised “and it is important to do so”

She recalled that in 2014, Malawi reduced corporate tax for certain sectors from 33 percent to 30 percent and that such an adjustment left a huge gap on the government revenues that the country has not been able to fill ever since.

“If anything, the country needs to adjust its corporate tax upwards to raise a bit more revenues from these corporate individuals as opposed to introduction of many more consumption taxes on basic needs such as water, electricity, sanitary pads for women, which heavily burden the poor,” said Mihowa

The 2020/21 National Budget projects a domestic revenue target of K1.179 trillion, but economic experts are skeptical about such a target, saying if anything, Treasury will accumulate more arrears

They argue that the overall fiscal deficit of K755 billion in this fiscal year could even be higher than planned.

In the same budget, government has also re-introduced a 16.5 percent value added tax (VAT) on refined cooking oil, among others, despite a general outcry from consumers and others to scrap off such a tax on a basic commodity.

According to Oxfam’s CRI Index of 2020, Malawi’s tax policies are more progressive

The country’s overall score has also dropped in in recent years as the burden of taxation has fallen more on to the poorest segment of society.

Speaking separately, ActionAid Malawi programme specialist responsible for accountability and public services Yandura Chipeta, whose organisation is also aggressively involved in tax justice campaign, also noted that corporate tax collection

Nyasa Big Bullets are having three training sessions daily as they prepare for the 2020/21 season scheduled to kick off on November 21.

The People’s Team has been camping in the lakeshore district of Mangochi as they look forward to kick-start their TNM Super League title defence campaign.

In an interview yesterday, Bullets assistant coach Peter ‘Mjojo’ Mponda said the players are undergoing strenuous training due to the lengthy period of inactivity.

He said: “The players have gone for about nine months without playing football; hence, being put through rigorous training with emphasis on improving their fitness levels.

“Our first session for the day starts at 6am, the second at 9am and then the final one at 3pm.

“The guys are responding well and we believe that at the end of this training camp, we will be ready to start the season.”

The camp training started on Monday and will last nine days.

Mponda also said they have a full squad.

Head coach Callisto Pasuwa was quoted by MBC Radio 2FM as having said that they will also work on team bonding and spirit.

The Zimbabwean tactician, however, bemoaned the period between now and the start of the season on November 21, saying it is not enough for adequate preparations.

“It is not enough and its dangerous for players as they risk getting injured. We should have been given six weeks or more.

“Anyway, we will overload the players while trying to manage their recovery,” said Pasuwa.

Zainab Maida and her family could still have been holding double temporary settlements if the community did not manage a dyke constructed in her area in 2012.

For the past 10 years she has been in marriage, the 40-year-old mother of five continued to shift back and forth during and after the rainy season as a result of Lipimbi River breaking its banks, which usually displaced many households in the area.

“Every rainy season, we were forced to move to upper land at Mbalame Village where we will live with relations for fear of losing lives and property if we remained where all the water from Lipimbi River gushes through,” Maida recollects.

She and her family would stay away for three to four months before continuing with their lives, adding that on return, the first assignment would be to reconstruct their shuttered shacks which they called home.

Maida said there was no difference between the shelter they used to stay at Mbalame and the one back home at the flood-prone area because both were nothing but temporary dwelling units.

“We had a mud and mortar house which we could renovate after the rainy season, and at Mbalame, we used to construct a shelter made of reed, grass and plastic sheets which we had to reconstruct at the beginning of each rainy season.

“We did all this to avoid losing our land at Makanjira while at the same time saving our lives and the little property we possessed,” she explained, with a smile plastered on her face.

Maida’s predicament was not restricted to her household alone as almost 80 percent of the population in the area of group village head Makanjira was reduced to such a situation as attested by vice-chairperson for Makanjira Area Civil Protection Committee Sheik Alhaj Mubarak Saidi.

He observed that not many people could build long-term relationships with their neighbours nor could they raise livestockto sustain their livelihoods.

“Moving back and forth was very involving. One could not even think of constructing a house because they were sure that come rains, they will have to abandon their nice houses for fear of being washed away,” Saidi explained.

He said people were not willing to leave permanently because that is their ancestral land and that prospects of acquiring land elsewhere were almost non-existent.

“The places where we used to run to were just for refuge purposes. This is our home and we know nowhere else as home, so it was a bit harder for us to give up on this land,” Saidi added. 

He attributes the construction of the dyke to permanent resettlement which has seen mushrooming of decent houses built with baked bricks and roofed with corrugated iron sheets throughout the area, which used to be a death trap during the rainy season.

A tour through Makanjira Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Makanjira, which directly faces Lipimbi River, showed a good percentage of newly- constructed houses fit for permanent structures.

One of the aspects of human life that has greatly improved in the area since the dyke was constructed is socio-economic development at household level.

Saidi said before the dyke was constructed, uncertainty rocked community members of Makanjira resulting in many of them failing to engage in meaningful household development activities such as farming and livestock production.

He said: “You might agree with me that the pillars of household economic development lie in things such as livestock.

“In the absence of that then, there cannot be sustainable development because an average household’s economy begins with crop and livestock production followed by businesses.”

The dyke has indeed contributed to national development considering that out of 50 households, at least 25 to 30 are raising livestock.

“I have personally bought 10 cows from my farming over the past eight years, something that would not have otherwise been possible before the dyke was constructed,” said Saidi.

Additionally, over 4 000 households which were usually affected by the overflowing of Lipimbi River now have reclaimed their livelihoods and have settled in one place.

Nevertheless, while the dyke at Lipimbi River takes all the credit for facilitating reconstruction of people’s lives, one common issue that affects dykes in many districts was community participation and willingness to manage the structure so that it continues to protect such communities.

William Sanudi, Lipimbi Dyke Management Committee said they realised that the relationship between beneficiary communities and the dyke needed to be symbiotic, whereby people safeguard the facility so that it continues to protect lives.

“We agreed to plant trees along the dyke to re-enforce it and as you can see that there are bluegum and acacia trees. When these trees grow, we plant new ones and sale the old ones so that the money can assist in sustaining the dyke management committee,” he said.

The group recently put beehives in the nearby woodlot created along the dyke as one way of enhancing economic growth for the committee members.

Humphrey Magalasi, assistant district disaster risk management officer for Salima District Council commended Makanjira Area Civil Protection Committee for maintaining the dyke and exploring its uses by utilising its economic potential.

During a study tour by Phalombe District Civil Protection Committee to learn how the dyke was constructed and managed, he observed that community participation was key to its maintenance.

“Sometimes district councils decide to construct dykes in some areas without the involvement of community members in planning and implementation.

“This leads to lack of community ownership which affects sustainability,” said Magalasi.

Phalombe is one of the flood-prone districts and every year, an average of 22 000 households are rendered homeless due to heavy rains.

Florence Harawa, Phalombe District Council assistant district disaster  risk management officer said over the past years, a number of dykes have been constructed in the district, noting that not many of such structures have produced desirable results compared to the Makanjira dyke in Salima, which has facilitated resettlement.

She said lessons from the study tour would inform an improvement in the way Phalombe District engages community members in the construction and management of dykes.

“The trip to Salima has revealed a number of things in the way the council ought to engage concerned communities to effectively contribute in the construction and management of dykes in a particular area,” said Harawa.

For Angella Banda, life has not been easy.  Like many housewives in Malawi, she used to depend on her husband for everything required by her household.

“As farmers, we used to spend the whole farming season doing piecework in the fields of wealthy neighbours instead of attending to ours. As such, we could not feed our children from one harvest to the next,” says the mother of three.

Her family was a laughing stock because she used to beg food from neighbours in Nakoli Village, Traditional Authority Mpama in Chiradzulu.

She discarded the begging bowl in 2015 when she joined Talandira Poultry Cooperative. The group discusses income generating ideas, including modern farming methods, business management and poultry rearing.

The same year, the group received support from Sustainable Agricultural Productivity Programme (Sapp) from the Department of Agriculture Extension Services in the Ministry of Agriculture.

The programme funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad) offered Banda nine hens and one cock which have multiplied.

“Within a year, I passed on 20 chickens to two farmers in my group. I have since sold some to buy seven goats and four pigs which will soon multiply,” she brags.

Banda’s family now has food throughout the year, thanks to manure from the animals which she applies to her crop field to improve soil fertility and moisture retention.

Banda plans to build a better house to wave goodbye to her grass-thatched hut.

“As a cooperative, we want to help all interested farmers in our area to realise that livestock farming is just as beneficial as crop production,” she adds.

Cooperative chairperson Henry Jonathan says most members no longer live hand-to-mouth and their livelihoods are changing.

“We couldn’t afford fertiliser worth K23 000 for a bag weighing 50 kilogrammes, but now we rely on manure from poultry and livestock to harvest more from the same barren fields where yield was dwindling,” he explains.

To achieve their shared goal to beat hunger and poverty, the group has dos and don’ts.

They remain in business despite the Covid-19 pandemic which requires them to stay at home, avoid big gatherings and stay far apart.

The group owns a shop where they sell dressed chickens, with a slaughterhouse currently under construction.

Margret Nkuziona, agriculture extension development coordinator in Mbulumbudzi Extension Planning Area, says members of Talandira cooperative are determined to end poverty.

She says: “Through Sapp Village Challenge Fund, the group has asked for facilities to help them expand their territory. They started rearing chicken in one village, but now have reached three.

“They appear keen to improve livelihoods in their area and they have become role models to many farmers given what they have achieved.”

According to Sapp coordinator Rex Baluwa, the programme seeks to alleviate poverty by promoting rural livelihoods.

Livestock farming is one of the strategies to ensure rural households have enough food and money to shed poverty.

He explains: “We want to ensure that rural Malawians can afford their needs through the various agricultural activities in their areas.

“We encourage the integrated homestead farming where farmers use manure to restore soil fertility in their farm lands and also sell livestock to purchase fertiliser and other farm inputs.”

The Nobel Peace Prize this year was awarded to the World Food Programme (WFP). In its announcement, the Norwegian Nobel committee emphasised that “providing assistance to increase food security not only prevents hunger, but can also help to improve prospects for stability and peace”.

The WPF indeed appears to be a worthy winner of this prestigious award. It is the world’s largest humanitarian agency, and currently assists over 100 million people in 88 countries.

What is perhaps not always widely known is that the WFP is also the frontline United Nations agency responding to emergencies caused by conflict, climate shocks, pandemics and other disasters. And it is currently involved in addressing ongoing emergencies in 20 countries, the majority of these emergencies have been fuelled by conflict.

The agency has also in recent months warned the international community that acute hunger in the 88 countries in which it operates could reach 270 million people by the end of the year—an 82 percent increase on 2019.

For many years, world hunger was on the decline. More food was being produced around the world and access was gradually improving. But since 2014, the number of undernourished people or people facing chronic food deprivation, has been on the rise.

Latest estimates from the Food and Agricultural Organisation suggest that 9.7 percent of the world population (or slightly less than 750 million people) was exposed to severe levels of food insecurity in 2019. Indeed, in all regions of the world except Northern America and Europe, the prevalence of severe food insecurity has increased from 2014 to 2019.

But even this is only a part of the story because an additional 16 percent of the world population, or more than 1.25 billion people, experience food insecurity at moderate levels. And this group, which is moderately food insecure, does not have regular access to nutritious and sufficient food, even if they are not necessarily suffering from hunger.

Some countries, such as Yemen, are on the edge of famine and Covid-19 is making hunger even more acute in large parts of the world. Thus, the scale of the problem of world hunger is enormous, which makes this year’s Nobel Peace Prize even more relevant and timely.

According to several studies, conflict is an important driver of severe food crises and famines, and under-nutrition is particularly a major problem in situations of prolonged conflicts and in countries and regions with weak institutional capacity. Syria, Yemen and South Sudan are illustrative examples of the close linkages between social and political unrest and hunger.

People living in areas prone to, or affected by, conflict tend to suffer from many types of deprivation. Food insecurity is one of them.

I work in the field of information technology (IT). Technically, before we start any IT project, we do what is called IT business analysis.

This is precursor phase to project management—concerned with understanding the business need or problem that the intended IT project seeks to address.

One of the key components of IT business analysis is to methodically justify why the project is necessary. Usually, such a justification is in terms of the financial benefits that the project brings to the company or organisation.

This means that the total money spent on the project should be less than the money expected to be saved or generated as a result of the output from the project being implemented.

Of course, exceptions are allowed. Some projects may have no direct financial benefits but are justified on the basis of other compelling going concern reasons like the need to comply with some regulatory requirements. Another exception would be where the project is done purely to support some other strategic objective of the business and a few other allowed exceptions.

Let us now turn to our jobs. Do you have a business case for the existence of your job? Does your being there add more value than the total cost of your employment, including not just your salary but the utilities you consume and the cost of providing all supporting, administrative and human resource services towards you?

Can you measure your impact and compare it with the total cost incurred because of your being there in the company or organisation?

Not everyone will return a positive answer. Some employees will conduct this analysis and realise that they are in fact just draining company resources without adding much value.

The easy cases are those of sales and sometimes marketing staff. Most of these employees can directly measure the amount of money they make for their employers every month or year. However, if you carefully list your activities and determine their impact, you will be able to estimate how much value you bring to your company even for those jobs not in the direct revenue making lines.

The underlying message here is that we all need to be constantly conscious that by drawing a salary every month, we are consuming resources and the money of the owners or shareholders of the company that we work for.

We, therefore, have a big obligation to return the favour a number of times. If we do not do this, we contribute to the disorder in the world. As responsible citizens of our country and world, we have an obligation to contribute positively towards the world order.

A few years ago, I had a friend who was in charge of setting up a brand new commercial division for his company. He was a very visionary, spirited, organised and hardworking executive. He assembled a great team and had great business development plans for the project.

Unfortunately, results were slow to come by and this was no reflection on his effort and zeal. He kept complaining and expressing guilt on the fact that he and his team were drawing much more cost than the money they were making. It was pleasing to see that after many months of hard work, he began to see great results of his sweat and he gained much more satisfaction in what he was doing.

I have big respect for this friend. I have met very few people that think so deeply about the impact that they are personally making in their job. Can we all spend time once in a while to reflect on and examine the value of our impact in the jobs we are employed to do?

This way, we will be able to identify ways of maximising our impact and therefore, our superiors will be more delighted with our working for them. Responsible employers should be able to reward such a dramatic change—but even if they do not reward, do not do good only because you expect good in turn.

Do good for its own sake. Good luck as you measure the impact that you make in your job!

Most commercial banks in the country have invested heavily in information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure in apparent bid to give customers convenience through roll out of cutting edge products.

Through their investments in ICT infrastructure, today commercial banks provide electronic and mobile banking solutions that enable customers to transact from any corner of the world and, above all, at customers’ convenience.

But while the banks continue to invest heavily in infrastructure as well as human capital to improve customer experience, it would appear there are some bad apples in the various commercial banks out to frustrate the processes.

Issuance of automated teller machine (ATM) cards and handling of customer queries or complaints are some of the areas where commercial bank customers tend to get frustrated.

It was little wonder when The Nation published a story in the Business News section under the headline ‘Poor service chokes financial sector’ based on findings of the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) Financial Institutions Supervision reports for the period 2014 to 2018. Briefly, the report showed that poor customer service continued to dominate the list of complaints addressed to the regulator of financial services.

For instance, in 2018, out of 203 complaints received, 89 were related to poor customer care, 63 were due to financial abuse while 10 cases were due to lack of financial awareness and capability on the part of consumers.

While the National Switch (Natswitch) facility was supposed to be a game-changer for allowing commercial bank customers to use any ATM machine, the initiative turns into a nightmare when one’s ATM card gets captured—for whatever reason—at a third party bank ATM. The situation worsens where a third party ATM does not dispense cash and a customer wants a reversal or refund. It is a nightmare.

In one recent case, a friend confided that he had deposited cash into an NBS Bank plc account of her sister. He said for a week his desperate sister could not access the cash and upon enquiring from the bank learnt that the account was dormant or inactive. Ironically, though, the bank accepted a deposit into the so-called ‘dormant’ or ‘frozen’ account and even deducted fees from the money deposited.

In yet another incident, a month ago another friend had his Standard Bank ATM card captured at NBS Bank off-site ATM at Biwi Triangle Total Service Station in Lilongwe. It took him three weeks to get his card back. He never got it back and as the third party bank was still holding on to his bank and Standard Bank simply replaced his card.

Two or so years ago, I waited for over a month to have a transaction reversal after my account was debited, but the ATM of a third-party bank did not disburse the cash. I ‘attempted’ to cash from a National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc ATM at Bunda Turn-Off Puma Service Station in Lilongwe using a Nedbank Malawi (now MyBucks Banking Corporation) ATM card. For a month, the two banks pushed me from pillar to post. I wondered how many other customers suffer in silence, besides the money not earning any interest during the 20-plus days the banks withheld it.

Banks can do better in the management of the refunds for abortive transactions than is the case now when one has to lodge a claim or complaint. 

If the ATM machine has not issued money, should it not be automatic to credit the funds back into a third party customer’s account? When it is within one back, the reversals are automatic why not apply the same to interbank transactions?

It would also be prudent if the regulator, RBM as well as Bankers Association of Malawi make it mandatory for commercial banks to put working contact numbers to enable customers contact responsible officers.

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic and its precautionary measures, most notably social distancing, commercial banks have moved to decongest the banking halls by restricting the number of customers at any given time. While this is commendable, most banks are giving customers a raw deal by letting them stand in the sun outside the banks waiting for their turn. Surely, it is not asking for too much to provide chairs and a gazebo for the comfort of customers.

Still on Covid-19 precautionary measures, while the banking halls are decongested, there is hardly any social distancing in some of the queues outside. It is like the banks feel one can only contract the virus inside the banking hall and not outside.

Time is money. It is high time banks spared customers from the banking nightmares.

FAM has clarified that the association’s executive committee (ex-co) will appoint Under-20 national team assistant coach from a list of coaches recommended by head coach Patrick Mabedi.

FAM technical director (TD) John Kaputa made the clarification yesterday following concerns from National Football Coaches Associations (NFCA) on reports that the former Kaizer Chiefs assistant coach had picked former Flames captain Joseph Kamwendo as his assistant and Stevie Madeira as the team manager.

NFCA complained to FAM that Kamwendo is not qualified since he holds FAM C licence when the position requires someone with a CAF B badge.

Reacting to the concerns, Kaputa faulted NFCA for jumping the gun when the appointments have not yet been made.

The TD said the FAM executive committee is the appointing authority for the posts and not the coach.

He said:“Mabedi was appointed as Under-20 national team coach by government after successful interview. According to procedure, I gave him the list of qualified coaches from where he has to recommend at least five coaches he would like to work with.

“As of now, he has not done that. All that is circulating is just a rumour. I am yet to meet him on the matter. But once he submits the list of the names of the coaches he would like to work with, I will present the list to the FAM technical and youth subcommittee. They in turn will submit the names to the FAM ex-co which is the appointing authority.”

Kaputa said NFCA should have waited for the process to conclude before reacting to the rumours.

Despite media reports on the appointment of Kamwendo, Mabedi has refused to comment on the issue, saying he is not yet done.

However, former Flames captain Peter Mponda supported the decision to pick Kamwendo, saying it would help develop his coaching career.

“JK needs to be close to people such as Mabedi. It will benefit him and the country,” he said. n

President Lazarus Chakwera has ordered a review of all land laws enacted in 2017, blaming them for the country’s chaotic scramble for land by both individuals and businesses.

The President issued the directive in Parliament in Lilongwe on Wednesday during his second session of Questions to the President.

He was responding to a question from Chitipa South member of Parliament (MP) Werani Chilenga (Democratic Progressive Party-DPP) who wanted to know what the President’s administration, ushered in office through the court-ordered June 23 Fresh Presidential Election, will do to ensure that contentious issues in land-related laws are sorted out.

The MP reminded Chakwera that while wearing the hat of Leader of Opposition in Parliament, he (Chakwera) in 2017 led the then opposition bloc to walk out of the House in protest over some provisions in the laws.

In his detailed response, the President said: “Firstly, I am directing the Ministry of Lands to review all the land laws to address the flaws in the legislation and those laws must be brought for amendment at the next sitting of the House.

“Secondly, to help in this review process, I will see to it that the pilot phase of the land reforms implementation is completed before the end of the year so that the lessons from that process inform the law process.

“Thirdly, consultations are underway on the three contentious issues; sale of land to foreigners, existence of freehold land and the piece of legislation on customary land.”

Chakwera specifically cited the Registered Land Act, Forestry Act, Local Government Act, Public Road Act and Malawi Housing Act as the laws to be reviewed.

He said consultations were already in progress on the required amendments.

The President said that apart from challenges that have emerged in the implementation of the laws, the laws were also contested by several stakeholders, including some traditional leaders mostly due to inadequate consultations.

During on Wednesday’s session which started at 2pm, Chakwera was scheduled to respond to nine questions, but he took another five supplementary questions due to time limitations.

In response to questions on measures the government intends to take to assist millions of Malawians threatened by hunger as a result of poor harvest due to floods in some areas and drought in places such as Balaka, he said government had prepared a response based on the vulnerability assessment survey.

Addressing the media after Question Time to the President, Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Kondwani Nankhumwa said he was satisfied with the way the opposition had asked the questions and was looking forward to future questions to the President.

He said: “It’s a new phenomenon, there are a lot of things that are going to be learnt along the way but I am impressed by the quality of the questions.”

Since 1994 when the Constitution provided for the President to appear in Parliament and answer questions from MPs, the country’s first multiparty era president Bakili Muluzi (1994-2004) appeared in Parliament once to take the questions.

Chakwera is the second President to take questions in Parliament while Muluzi’s successors Bingu wa Mutharika (2004-2012), Joyce Banda (2012-2014) and Peter Mutharika (2014-2020) did not fulfil the constitutional provision.

Parliament has amended the Constitution to shift the voting day in general elections from the third week of May every five years to the third week of September.

The shift, to be effective from the 2025 general election, is one of the new developments to affect Malawian voters in parliamentary, presidential and local government polls following the passing of the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill No. 5 in Parliament on Tuesday.

The Bill was being considered in the House under the constitutional provision that the general elections be held on a Tuesday of the third week of May.

Considerations for the shift to the third week of September came about because dry and warm weather conditions would be more friendly to citizens, as opposed to May, whose challenges include rainfall, cold weather and logistical challenges such as rain-damaged roads.    

As presented by Minister of Justice Titus Mvalo in Parliament on Tuesday, the Bill also sought to align the concurrent conduct of elections for presidential, parliamentary and local government elections (tripartite) following last year’s fresh presidential elections which created a one- year gap between the presidential and the other two elections.

The Bill sought to regularise the presidential elections case consequential orders set by the Supreme Court of Appeal on how elections should be held in the country.

This means the tenure of the current cohort of members of Parliament (MPs) has been extended by one year, as the tripartite elections will be held in 2025 instead of 2024.

The Bill also provides that the Judicial Service Commission will be nominating candidates for the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson who will be appointed by the President and the presidential election re-run will be held in the event that no candidate amasses outright 50 percent+one majority in an election.

Additionally, the Bill has also clarified the voting age dilemmas that existed by stating that all 18-year-old citizens may register to vote or those who will attain the age of 18 on the voting day may be eligible to register to vote.

Being a constitutional amendment, the Bill required a two thirds majority vote of MPs present and during the vote, 161 MPs voted for the Bill, one voted against while 25 were absent.

The Constitutional Court ruled during the presidential election nullification petition case that winners in general elections should amass 50 percent+1 votes.

Mvalo also presented amendments to parliamentary and local government elections so that members of Parliament and ward councillors get elected by a simple majority (first past the post)

He indicated that it would be expensive to hold several parliamentary and local government elections rerun when candidates fail to amass the majority of votes (50 percent+1).

The Bills entail that only presidential candidates should be elected with majority votes 50 percent+1.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesperson on legal matters in Parliament Bright Msaka, while supporting the Bills, said MPs and ward councillors do not exercise executive powers, hence subjecting them to the majority vote was wrong.

In an interview, he said: “There was confusion on how the Malawi Electoral Commission interpreted the laws governing elections. In applying the court’s interpretation of the 50+1 majority for presidential elections, the  Malawi Electoral Commission also applied that to members of Parliament.

“However, constitutionally and jurisprudentially, it is very uncommon to subject members of Parliament to the 50+1 majority votes. The philosophy that guides the election of the President and the philosophy that guides elections of members of Parliament and councillors is different.”

Msaka clarified that the President has the jurisdiction over the whole country, while MPs have a restricted jurisdiction to their own home area.

On the constitutional amendment, especially on the age of eligible voters, he argued that the issue needed to be decided by a referendum. But Mvalo argued that there was no need for a referendum, as the Supreme Court of Appeal interpreted clearly that Parliament just needed to make amendments.

On the amendments to the Acts of Parliament, Mvalo said the majority of MPs and ward councillors win with narrow margins, hence subjecting them to the 50+1 majority vote rule will lead to country-wide multiple election reruns which may be unsustainable economically.

Mvalo said: “Such developments will lead to elections being costly, hence we needed to make the amendments. The case was pertaining to the presidential election and by extending the 50+1 majority votes to members of Parliament, it would have been unintended by the court”.

He explained that had the court wanted the 50+1 majority votes to be extended to parliamentary and local government elections, it could have explicitly stated in black and white —that the majority vote is across all elections.

Leader of the House Richard Chimwendo Banda said it was pleasing that the laws have been aligned to do away with complications that may arise due to inconsistencies in the legal framework, adding that President Lazarus Chakwera may assent to the Bills to ensure that the coming parliamentary by-elections are not subjected to 50 percent +1 majority vote.

In total, on Tuesday Parliament passed eight Bills—three on elections and five loan Authorisation that seek to uplift lives of Malawians in rural set ups to spur economic growth in sectors such as agriculture, natural resources, management, development and tourism.

It became clear yesterday that nothing will change President Lazarus Chakwera’s decision to establish a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem, Israel, despite that it violates a United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution.

Malawi will become the only African country to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital following in the footsteps of Guatemala in South America and the United States of America (USA) which recognised it in December 2017.

The UN Security Council resolution does not recognise the city as Israel’s capital due to a long standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The African Union (AU) has also previously passed several anti-Israel resolutions.

Taking questions in Parliament during his second Question Time to the President, Chakwera said Malawi is a sovereign State and free to make independent decisions on who to relate with.

He was responding to a question from Zomba Chisi member of Parliament (MP) Mark Botomani (Democratic Progressive Party-DPP) who sought to know the motivation behind the Tonse Alliance administration’s focus on Malawi’s diplomatic relations with Israel.

The President said his decision was not new as Malawi, during the one-party regime of founding president Hastings Kamuzu Banda, also had diplomatic ties with Israel until 1994 when Israel’s residential base moved from Lilongwe to Harare.

He said: “Our bid to reenergising existing relationship with Israel and establish residential diplomatic missions should not be regarded as something new in our foreign policy.

“Israel is a great nation and a leader in many fields of human endeavours, including science and technology, agriculture, education and human development. These are attributes which Malawi wants to learn from and improve Malawi’s prospects as a nation.

“Our commitment to improve the relationship is therefore grounded in our own national interests.”

On whether his government consulted the UN, Chakwera said he was aware about the UN resolution, but told the House that relations between member States are governed by statutes and that decisions members make are independent.

But the President’s initial response attracted supplementary questions with Mulanje South West MP George Chaponda (DPP), a former minister of Foreign Affairs in the DPP administration, drawing comparisons between the new policy and Malawi’s previous support for apartheid South Africa.

Said the MP: “My worry is that we live in a global village and what we do impacts on us. During the one-party State, the late Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda took an independent position of honeymooning with apartheid South Africa and decided not to follow what the Front Line States were pursuing.

“As a former minister of Foreign Affairs, when we go to forums such as Sadc and so on, Malawi is treated like a pariah. By taking the position which you have said, by siding with Israel, recognising Jerusalem, are you taking into account the facts that this nation could be isolated by others?”

However, Chakwera dismissed Chaponda’s view, saying his recent State visits to Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia demonstrated that the country is enjoying better relations and has a good standing within the region.

During the question time, Nkhotakota North East MP Martha Lunji Chanjo (DPP) also asked the President to explain the rationale behind his administration’s decision to hire retired public officers as it appeared to counter the Tonse Alliance promise of creating one million jobs for the youth.

In response, Chakwera said his administration “only re-engaged three retirees to tap from their knowledge”.

The President said the arrangement was unlike what was happening in previous administrations when individuals were brought into the civil service on political grounds. He said the re-engagement of the three is meant to instil discipline in the civil service and cannot demoralise anyone or deny youth jobs as the MP claimed.

Taking another series of five questions, including one on fears of food shortages, the President ordered Admarc to open markets and make maize available for purchase to avoid hunger.

He also told Parliament that he directed the release of 30 000 metric tons from the Strategic Grain Reserves.