The 2015 International Customs Day celebrations were conducted on January 26 in Mwanza led by the Malawi Revenue Authority.

The event was held under the theme, ‘Coordinated Border Management – An inclusive approach for connecting stakeholders’ and graced by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Honourable Joseph Mwanamvekha who was also the Guest of Honour.

The Minister recognises Immigration department for its role in Coordinated Border Management

In his keynote address, the minister said involvement of stakeholders in border management assists in clearing goods faster which in the medium term will greatly contribute to the improving of Malawi’s rank on Doing Business Index.

“As you aware, Malawi is on number 164 out of 189 countries on Doing Business ranking by the World Bank. Surely, this rank is worrisome and not competitive. But as Government, we are working tirelessly with local and multilateral organizations to improve the situation through Coordinated Border Management (CBM) and other interventions,” said Mwanamvekha.

He said with support from USAID Trade hub, Government established Joint Border Committees (JBCs) currently operational at Mwanza and Songwe border stations and assured the nation that very soon JBCs will be rolled out in other stations of Dedza, Muloza, Mchinji and Chiponde.

“The JBC’s have also enhanced efficiency in handling complaints and resolving queries between Government agencies and traders at the border. Without proper, coordinated border management, trade is cumbersome, and business cannot flourish and consequently, a country’s economy suffers.

“I would like to assure the business community and other interested groups in the country that the Government will continuously find more ways of improving the business environment by introducing favourable regulatory framework in order to encourage investment.

Speaking earlier, MRA’s Commissioner General Raphael Kamoto said the theme stressed the importance of working together for a common purpose at the border stations and beyond with a view to improve the people’s livelihoods.

“MRA has also has working relationships through MOUs with other countries, in this case Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania. Some of the provisions in the MOUs include joint border patrols, sharing information, coordinating border opening hours and eventually having one stop border posts. All this is aimed at maximising Coordinated Border Management roles in security and largely facilitation of trade,” Kamoto said.

The Authority’s Commissioner for Customs and Excise Shadric Namalomba said the day is celebrated annually on January 26 to commemorate the very first official conference of the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC) in 1952, which later became the World Customs Organisation (WCO).

“The day recognizes the role of customs officials and agencies in maintaining border security. It also focuses on the working conditions and challenges that Customs Officers face in their jobs,” Namalomba said.

The WCO currently has 179 members and as a Customs Administration, MRA chairs one of the global body’s six regions which is the Eastern and Southern Africa.

MRA presented WCO certificates of recognition to clearing agents, employees, organisations and community leaders who continue to play crucial roles in coordinated border management.

The event was, among others, also attended by the Police, clearing agents, Immigration Department, Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services, chiefs and several members communities surround Mwanza Border Station.

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• Feel short-changed after deal with govt

Barely a month after returning to work following their two months strike that paralysed the country’s justice delivery system, Judiciary support staff have threatened to down their tools again if government does not fulfil its promises.

Judiciary support staff during their current strike

Judiciary spokesperson Mlenga Mvula said in an interview yesterday that during the last meeting between government and a Special Working Committee on Conditions of Service of Malawi Judiciary, an agreement was reached that they should return to work while negotiations continued.

Said Mvula: “But since then [when they started work earlier in January 2015], government has hibernated, playing hide-and-seek and it seems not to be interested in the talks any more. We are willing to work and serve the country, but if the worse comes to the worst, we will have no choice, but to put down tools again.”

He warned government not to take things for granted because the employees have returned to work.

But Chief Secretary to the Government George Mkondiwa said despite the silence, government is doing everything to make things work.

Said Mkondiwa: “Apart from the silence, we have not been idle because we have finalised some documentation [on their demands] and everything is fine.”

But Mvula wondered what type of documentation government is working on that they cannot communicate to the Judiciary support staff.

Judiciary support staff are demanding three issues from government. These are salary increments, new vehicles for judges and house allowance.

Mvula said government admitted it was unable to deal with house allowances because of the country’s economic situation. But a few weeks ago, Treasury indicated that the issue of house allowances is unreasonable because the clean wage bill government introduced several years ago does not allow for a separate house allowance.

But, according to Mvula, government suggested that only a few Judiciary officers could be receiving allowances which, he said, was inappropriate.

According to the circular dated November 24 2014 signed by secretary for Human Resources Management and Development Sam Madula, government gave an average 18 percent salary increment effective July 1 2014.

Mvula said the circular is the one that provoked the strike as they were not in agreement with the contained proposals.

Meanwhile, it has been established that no salary increment was suggested to government before the Judiciary support staff resumed work. n

FAST FACTS

1. Judiciary support staff downed their tools on November 10 2014 demanding a salary increment after their colleagues in the mainstream civil service got a raise.
2. The strike lasted two months, paralysing the country’s justice delivery system.

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Delegates to a two-day Public Affairs Committee (PAC) All-inclusive Stakeholders’ Conference on reforms on Local Government Act (LGA) have punched holes into the law and have unanimously recommended that it is high time reforms on its provisions were made.

The stakeholders, who included representatives from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MoLGRD), civil society organisations (CSOs), traditional leaders, political parties and members of Parliament (MPs), agreed this at the end of the conference on Wednesday at Sunbird Mount Soche in Blantyre.

Chingota: There are gaps

The delegates were divided into four randomly constituted groups and responded to assigned questions that included the possible areas that needed  review in the LGA as well as operational guidelines on the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and Local Development Fund (LDF).

According to the delegates, some of the provisions in the Act that do not go together with the existing policies include the provision that gives powers to an MP to vote at the council as well as the tenure of the council chairperson and vice-chairperson.

Lucky Mbewe, Youth Empowerment and Civic Education (Yece) executive director, said the voting of MPs at the council level interferes with democracy as well as other activities at the council level because some MPs end up sidelining councillors who do not belong to the same party with them.

Speaking when he opened the conference on Tuesday, MoLGRD principal secretary Kester Kaphaizi said the ministry commends the CSOs for the dialogue in the Local Government (Amendment) Act of 2010 which is largely regarded as retrogressive to the decentralisation process.

Kaphaizi said as such, there is a need for concerted effort and unity of purpose as a nation to ensure that the Local Government law is reformed to facilitate effective local governance and development.

PAC chairperson the Reverend Felix Chingota  said given the gaps in district councils which is usually read in the media, it is the inter-faith democracy watchdog’s view that transformative leadership at national level would not be complete without realising transformative leadership at local level. n

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Torrential rains that culminated into floods, killing more than 170 people, displacing over 200 000 and destroying property in 15 districts, has forced government to consider revising downwards this year’s projected 5.8 percent economic growth rate.

The devastation caused by floods has the potential of reversing all the gains made thus far, according to Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe.

“We will have to sit down and look at the gross domestic product [GDP] figures. It is quite possible that the figure might go down in view of the disaster,” he said in an interview yesterday.

GDP as defined by Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an aggregate measure of production equal to the sum of the gross values added of all resident institutional units engaged in production.

The downward revision of GDP is hinged on the fact that the sectors that were expected to drive the economy this year such as information and communication technology, electricity, agriculture, manufacturing, mining and water have been adversely affected by the disaster.

Malawi’s economy was this year expected to expand by about 5.8 percent, according to government and International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections, propelled by the expected good agriculture season and a buoyant manufacturing and mining sector.

Last year, the economy weathered storm and grew by six percent buoyed by robust growth in information and communication, electricity, gas, water and mining, among other sectors, according to Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM).

Ben Kaluwa, an economics professor at University of Malawi’s Chancellor College, said he is not surprised that government is contemplating revising downward GDP growth rate.

“The disaster has had a devastating effect on the economy and will eventually have a dent on GDP growth. The agriculture sector is expected to register a slow growth because most of the crops in the field have been washed away,” he said.

Agriculture is the main driver of the country’s economy, accounting for about 30 percent of GDP, which means that any disruption in agriculture has potential to slow down growth rates.

Since 2008, when Malawi registered a GDP growth rate of 9.8 percent, second only to oil-rich Qatar, growth has been fluctuating, according to government annual economic reports.

In 2009, the economy expanded by 8.9 percent and then dropped to 6.7 percent in 2010, before slumping again to 4.3 percent in 2011.

In 2012, the economy grew at a paltry 1.8 percent and eventually picked at 6.1 percent in 2013.

In his address to the nation on Tuesday, President Peter Mutharika said floods have caused a lot of damage and will bring many negative socio-economic effects to the economy.

He said preliminary assessment shows that the damage caused by flood disaster to the economy is estimated at K23.9 billion, which excludes the cost of the relief programmes currently underway.

“The growth for the country is largely driven by agriculture, manufacturing, electricity, water and mining sectors, among others. These have also been adversely affected by the floods, to the extent that the country is likely to achieve economic growth lower than 5.8 percent projected earlier for 2015,” he said. n

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The High Court in Lilongwe has given the prosecution in the shooting case of former budget director Paul Mphwiyo permission to have suspect Osward Lutepo examined by an independent doctor to determine whether he is fit to stand trial.

Lutepo is charged with conspiracy to commit murder alongside former minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Ralph Kasambara and four others. Lutepo did not show up to take plea yesterday.

Osward Lutepo (L)

The defence lawyers argued that the trial could not proceed in Lutepo’s absence in the event that he pleaded guilty and confused the whole case.

His lawyer, Osward Mtupila, submitted a medical report from Katoto Masm Medi-Clinic in Mzuzu diagnosing Lutepo with anxiety disorder with recurrent panic disorder.

“According to our observation, the patient needs specialist consultation [psychiatric] for more investigation and better management. The patient has been referred to Mzuzu Central Hospital,” the report submitted to court reads.

But Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Mary Kachale said much as the prosecution was not belittling his condition, Lutepo’s doctor had just made a general assessment that he had a psychiatric problem.

High Court judge Michael Mtambo said the court would allow a medical examination of Lutepo to determine if he was fit to stand trial, but in the meantime, his lawyer would have to be present and would be given an opportunity to cross-examine Mphwiyo after the others had done so.

The other accused persons, who include Macdonald Kumwembe who Mphwiyo identified as the shooter, Dauka Manondo, Pika Manondo and Robert Kadzuwa, all pleaded not guilty again to the amended charges.

Kasambara has been charged with an additional  count of attempted murder after Mphwiyo’s testimony identified him on the scene of the crime.

Meanwhile, John-Gift Mwakhwawa, who is lawyer for Pika Manondo, yesterday started cross-examination of Mphwiyo with a line of questioning indicating that the witness was involved in dubious deals before the September 13 2013 shooting at the gate of his Area 43 house. n

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About 20 civil servants are in a state of bafflement after the Accountant General made loan deductions from their salaries this month when they had not borrowed any money.

The civil servants, who have so far lodged complaints with the lending institution, Get Bucks, and the Malawi Police Service (MPS), are from Plant and Vehicle Hire Organisation (PVHO), the Judiciary, and Ministry of Information, Tourism and Culture.

Civil Servants

Our investigations indicate that a conman allegedly obtained pay slips of the civil servants then produced an identity document, usually a voter’s certificate, which he then used to obtain a loan.

In one case, the name of the civil servant as it appeared on the payslip was misspelled on the ID, but the conman managed to obtain the loan.

One of the victims, who opted for anonymity, said he was surprised to find that his payslip showed a loan deduction last month.

Said the victim: “Someone got a loan using my payslip of April last year and I experienced my first deductions last month.”

Lilongwe Police Station deputy spokesperson Kingsley Dandaula confirmed that one person, Dave Ngalande, 37, was granted bail last week in connection with the theft.

He said some of Ngalande’s alleged victims include PVHO and Judiciary employees from Blantyre.

The increasing reports of civil servants distancing themselves from the loans prompted the Department of Human Resource Management and Development (DHRMD) to report to police for further investigations.

Ngalande has since been charged with forgery contrary to Section 356 of the Penal Code, uttering a false document contrary to Section 360 of the Penal Code and obtaining money by false pretence.

The suspect will appear in court in February for hearing.  n

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Floods that have affected 15 of the country’s 28 districts have opened doors for some unscrupulous individuals who are cashing in on relief items for personal gains.

While some are walking from their homes to camps where victims are being accommodated to benefit from items being distributed to the victims, various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have set up initiatives that are collecting money to help the victims with.

Vincent Makolo, head teacher at Konzere Primary School in Chikwawa where there is a camp for displaced individuals, said in an interview on Friday the camp is accommodating 1 326 people from six villages, but when the disaster occured, it was taking care of people from 21 villages.

He said most of the people that came at first were not affected by floods in any way, but they were just following their colleagues when they heard relief items were going to be given to them. He said the unaffected people ended up getting survival kits.

Said Makolo: “At first, we received 20 survival kits containing cups, plates, pots, soap, among other things, as well as maize flour and we distributed these to the people from 21 villages. But when we conducted an evaluation and realised most of the people are not flood victims, we negotiated with them and sent them back to their homes.”

He said had it not been that there were no intruders, things could have been better.

Similar cases were also reported at Bangula Primary School camp in Nsanje where there are about 6 502 people as victims, some of whom cannot walk due to injuries sustained after walls collapsed on them. The people have to scramble for food with those coming to the camp every time there is  delivery of items.

“We are lucky we are being provided with food and medication, but the biggest problem being faced is that people from villages surrounding our camp are coming to the camp every time well-wishers bring us things. In some cases, our fellow [flood] victims end up getting nothing,” said Christina Wyson from Kalidozo Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mlolo in Nsanje, a victim in a plaster of Paris (PoP) due to a dislocation joint.

Paul Chiunguzeni, commissioner for the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma), said in an interview affected people in camps are usually registered and the centre manager keeps a record which is used when giving out food and other items.

“Food rations are being sent to centres according to registered individuals and if people who are not affected are getting items meant for affected individuals, it is not appropriate as the food is supposed to be given to victims only,” he said.

On NGOs that have set up initiatives to collect funds to assist flood victims, Council for Non-Governmental Organisations in Malawi (Congoma) chairperson MacBain Mkandawire said there are no special mechanisms put in place to ensure that there is abuse, but that in such a crisis the assumption is that people will operate according to ethics. n

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Parliament is on Wednesday next week set to consider the recommendation of the Executive arm of government to confirm Paul Kanyama as Inspector General (IG) of the Malawi Police Service.

Leader of the House Francis Kasaila said in an interview yesterday that Kanyama’s confirmation will be among the business the House will consider during the Mid-Term Budget Review sitting from Monday next week.

Paul Kanyama

To be confirmed, Kanyama will need support from a simple majority of the members of Parliament (MPs) present and voting, according to Section 154 (2) of the Constitution.

The provision adds that even after the confirmation, the IG’s performance will be monitored constantly by the Public Appointments Committee (PAC) of Parliament— a standing committee of the House that provides oversight on the administrative decisions and functions of the Executive.

President Peter Mutharika appointed Kanyama about two months ago to replace Lot Dzonzi who was appointed Deputy Permanent Representative of Malawi to the United Nations in New York, United States of America. n

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National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust has encouraged Malawians to engage in “active citizenship’ if they are to realise what they yearned for in the May 20 2014 Tripartite Elections.

Nice Trust national programmes manager Grey Kalindekafe said this in Mulanje  on Saturday when he officially opened the second training and planning workshop for the Southern Region district civic education officers (DCEOs).

Kalindekafe: They should deliver

He observed that the biggest challenge facing the country is failure by the electorate to follow up on promises, let alone demand transparency and accountability from elected leaders.

Kalindekafe said this creates an impression among elected leaders that “they are on holiday” until the next election.

He emphasised: “The most pressing thing among Malawians now is to see their elected representatives facilitating delivery of democracy and development, which they were yearning for prior to the polls. But without the meaningful participation of citizens in the democratic process, there can’t be sustainable development at all levels of governance.”

Kalindekafe said in view of this, Nice Trust is geared to enhance the ability of Malawians to participate in public life, including democratic decision-making processes and to empower them to exercise their rights and responsibilities at all levels. n

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Mzuzu City Council (MCC) has named a road leading to Northern Region Water Board (NRWB) offices Bloemwater Street in honour of the 17-year-old relationship between NRWB and the South African water utility.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony of the street on Tuesday, Mzuzu City deputy mayor Frazer Chunga said the council is reciprocating the honour that South Africa bestowed on Malawi by naming a road leading to Bloemwater offices Mzuzu Street.

Chunga (R) and Maboe (L) unveil the
road name

Bloemwater board chairperson Matlhogonolo Maboe thanked the council for naming the street after their water board, saying they would not have been honoured without the relationship.

NRWB chairperson Peter Mwanza said 30 employees at NRWB have already visited Bloemwater to tap skills in water development, distribution and treatment.

NRWB supplies potable water to Mzuzu City and main towns and district centres in the Northern Region. n

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Never mind the rhetoric that comes from climate change extremists, but it helps to pay attention to some of their utterances. I do and like many others in the economic profession, agree that gross domestic product (GDP) is just some number that falls short of telling the truth about the quality of life for the average person. While numbers don’t lie, it is also fact that they can mislead. There are a lot of hidden costs that come with economic activity and lead to development that is destructive to the environment.

Now let us start by paying attention to some of the environmental risks. Our economic growth has generally been very high, number wise, but there is some serious soul-searching. Recent floods just motivate the docile mind in me to take a new picture.

In 1998, the city of Lilongwe had a population of slightly above half a million. Within a decade, it had risen to over a million. It has exceeded Blantyre city. Blantyre too has risen and edging closer to a million. Mzuzu is rising very fast. There is a rapid wave of urbanisation. The rapid growth of Lilongwe has led to a high demand for housing and its rental prices, like its population growth have risen annoyingly. If you look at the overall picture, population of the country is fast rising. This has serious implications for our GDP if our economic activities are viewed with a sustainability eye.

Consider the massive construction that has taken place in main cities to meet the high demand for housing. From a strict economic view, the benefits are very clear. Jobs, predominantly in the informal sector, have been created. Think of communities that sell bricks, casual laborers at construction sites. Profits and jobs for operators of building shops. What else would one wish for? It is all part of economic activity that is contributing to GDP. It leads to high growth and sometimes jobs being created. Taxes are paid to government through imports of building materials and associated value added tax (VAT), assuming the usual culprits fighting off its electronic filing respect tax laws. And if landlords paid their fair share of taxes, it gets even much better. Government can then provide services much-needed to enable more investment. That’s the story a hardcore liberal macroeconomist will often share.

But is this green enough? This is where the climate change extremists appear sober and noble. It is at this point that one must begin to pay attention to such level of growth. Is it sustainable? Is it green enough? The construction boom comes with bricks that use firewood. The Dzalanyama Forest is fast becoming some bare land because it is a source of firewood for bricks. It is also catchment area for water that supplies Lilongwe City. Water shortages in Lilongwe are fast becoming a normality as a result of deforestation of catchment areas suffering rapid deforestation to support housing development in the city. So what would you make of high construction GDP in this case?

If this is not enough, the construction industry that has grown so fast is using a lot of timber, mainly for roofing. Most of properties being developed in all urban centers are directly linked to depletion of Chikangawa, Zomba and Dedza forests and the subsequent destruction of habitat for wildlife while we try fine-tune the eco-tourism lullaby. Most mountains are now becoming bare and increasing the risk of flooding.

So why does green GDP matter? The reality is that there are costs to any economic growth. For Malawi it is now a question of how much cost can we tolerate or absorb? The starting to quantify the cost is to think of environment as an irreplaceable good. You can only have a Chikangawa or Dzalanyama forest once in its originality or risk destruction of water sources for the cities of Lilongwe and Mzuzu. How much does it cost businesses and households to go without water at the expense of activities that destroy the environment?

I don’t think we have balanced economic reality with environment destruction. The risk remains in high GDP becoming history if the environment is completely especially loss of farm lands in the wake of subsistence farming the core of livelihoods.

As part of on- going reforms, I reckon environment protection should be a key priority than short-term gains. It does make sense to mine uranium or some metals at Kanyika, non-renewable as they are for short-term gain that nourishes import cover. Reforestation and development of green building guidelines are our imperatives for GDP growth that is sensitive to environment protection.

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Discarded goal-shooter Linda Magombo-Munthali has, in what may vindicate Mwawi Kumwenda’s boycott, revealed how Malawi Queens players are suffering in silence in fear of the Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) iron-fisted reign.

Munthali said the Rosy Chinunda-led NAM clique has created a system that cracks down on players who speak out; taking advantage of their desperation for national team call-ups that earn better at around K2 000 daily training allowance and for $50 (K24 000) daily foreign trip stipend compared to K50 000 ($100) monthly perks for clubs.

Malawi netball Queens

“The players have no other source of income, so they opt to suffer in silence fearing they will be dropped. When called up for the 2013 Africa Netball Championship, I told NAM that I first needed my 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games dues. I wrote the former Sports minister, Sports Council and the Malawi Olympic Committee (MOC) on the same, but no one responded. I have never been called up again,” said Munthali.

While she earns an income elsewhere, Magombo-Munthali said for most of the players, Queens call-ups are their only hope of survival.

Justifying her boycott of the Queens trip to New Zealand last November, Mwawi said: “It pains so much that my colleagues are suffering in silence for fear of being dropped from the squad.”

The New Delhi allowances were only paid three years later, in January 2014, at a 2010 exchange rate. The players did not get $500 each for 10 days as agreed, but NAM deducted K29 000 (around $60 ) from each for shoes the association bought, but were rejected by the players because they were inappropriate.

“I am not afraid to speak out because I speak the truth. These people can even impose players on coaches. That is why they cannot hire someone like Peace [Chawinga Kalua] who stands her ground,” she said.

The Nation

has seen a letter Munthali wrote to NAM and the Ministry of Sports on December 28 2013, demanding New Delhi allowances after meeting NAM, MOC and ministry officials at Capital Hill the previous day when it was agreed that allowances should be paid by January 10 2014 by MOC.

“The mistakes of MOC for buying inappropriate shoes despite specifications provided by NAM should not be transferred to the players. We should not be victimised at all on this, as the inappropriate shoes were returned in 2010. We hope this will be resolved as soon as possible without either party having to seek legal redress on the issue,” part of the letter read.

No player could even utter a ‘no comment’ response when The Nation contacted them. Even some club officials and coaches contacted feared granting interviews, saying: “Akangomva athana nafe.”

—Nowhere to complain—

NAM has amassed so much power after changing the constitution to restrict voting to its executive committees, dormant netball committee chairpersons—even when netball in such areas barely exists, a source traced the root of the problem. Players and coaches, who bear the brunt, do not vote.

“Players have nowhere to complain. Linda [Magombo] was dropped for fighting for the others and now it is Mwawi. The association puts its senior officials as team managers, who instead of relaying issues of players concerns, gag them right in camp. They are like spies as they report players as being trouble-makers,” said another former player.

Article 14 of the NAM constitution says: “Each regional netball committee, the National Coaches Committee and the National Umpires Committee shall be represented at the association’s general meeting by the chairperson and secretary or their representatives appointed by their respective committees, and each shall be a voting delegate.”

That the Mwawi issue remains unresolved despite Youth and Sports Minister Grace Chiumia promising to intervene is, according to Munthali, the fact that government, Sports Council and the Malawi Olympic Committee (MOC) side with NAM; hence, the association has no one to hold it accountable.

Sports Council executive secretary George Jana on Monday insisted that issues of players are under respective associations, adding: “It may seem that council and government side with sports associations and I think it is only fair that this is so. As you may appreciate, these are organisations that operate on the basis of policies which the teams are also governed through.”

—NAM arrogance—

In Mwawi’s absence, Queens have gone on an eight-game losing streak, but Jana insisted that the Queens “have not really declined in standards, rather we have not improved either”.

On return from test series in England last month, Chinunda insisted that Queens will move on without Mwawi, adding that there are other factors contributing to the team’s slump such as inadequate preparations.

When asked about Magombo’s claims on Monda , Chinunda said: “All issues you are raising are not true. Our players are at liberty to, as long as they have facts, even talk to reporters. No one can be dropped for speaking out. After all, how many times does the national team travel? It is for this reason that we encourage our clubs to improve on incentives. When in camp, players can channel their grievances through captain, vice-captain and second vice-captain.”

She claimed that Munthali was not dropped from the Queens, but that she is busy with her well-paying job. However, Munthali still plays for Complex Tigresses.

The NAM boss could not explain why the ongoing cases have not been referred to the association’s national disciplinary committee as stipulated in Article 15 of its constitution.

Acting chairperson of the NAM disciplinary committee, Daud Mtanthiko, insisted that while they serve interest of all netball stakeholders, their role is more of advisory and reactive, adding that going out to sniff at possible cases would be overstepping their mandate and be like “micro-managing NAM”.

With NAM and government refusing to see something wrong with the Queens, there are fears that Mwawi issues, which Munthali has backed, will remain unresolved and the players will continue to honour call-ups out of desperation. At stake is the Queens fifth place in the world and number one in Africa going to the 2015 World Cup this August in Australia.

The post Exclusive: Reign of terror in Malawi Queens appeared first on The Nation Online.

Big Bullets FC have opened an account with NBS Bank from which they are hoping to raise K10 million towards their CAF Champions League preliminary round first leg assignment against Club Fomboni in Comoros Islands in the weekend of February 13.

Bullets general secretary Harold Fote said the account was opened at Blantyre Branchon Wednesday and the number is 0020981070012.

Malawi’s CAF flag carriers: Big Bullets

“In the short term, the target is to raise K10 million within the next two weeks to go towards the trip to Comoros Islands, but in the long term we are looking at raising K100 million.

“In essence, we are projecting that if an estimated one million fans and well-wishers can deposit K100 each, it would translate to K100 million. We are, therefore, appealing to all our supporters and well-wishers to contribute the little they can,” said Fote.

He claimed that through zonal supporters’ committees, Facebook page and the media, they have already started mobilising fans and well-wishers to assist towards the cause.

Fote assured that the funds would not be abused as the account has four signatories, namely club chairperson Kondie Msunganma, treasurer Alex Gondwe, main supporters committee chairperson Bruce Tambwali and trustees chairperson James Busile.

Bullets need about K30 million for their Comoros Islands foray.

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Silver Strikers talisman Chawanangwa Kaonga is set to start a new lease of life at Mozambican club FC Chibuto after the two clubs agreed on a $15 000 [about K6.5 million] transfer deal.

Silver chairperson McDonald Mafuta-Mwale yesterday said Kaonga successfully completed trials and is set to sign a contract.

Has made it in Mozambique: Kaonga

“Kaonga is not coming back. He passed the trials and we have already agreed the terms with his prospective club, all that remains is the payment so that we instruct FAM to issue clearance,” said Mafuta-Mwale.

Last week, two other Silver Strikers players—goalkeeper Charles Swini and midfielder Frank Banda—also signed for another Mozambican top league side Club De Costa Songo on a one-year loan deal valued at $10 000 [about K4.3 million] for both.

Meanwhile, another Silver player, Lameck Kachimanga, has turned down an outright offer from another Mocambola League side TNHFC.

“What we had agreed when I went there for trials is not what the club is offering,” said Kachimanga.

He said in view of the development, he has opted to see out his contract at Silver up to December this year.

Mafuta-Mwale confirmed that Kachimanga had indeed turned down the Mozambican club offer after failing to agree on contractual terms.

He said another Silver key player Blessings Tembo is still attending trials at Costa Dol Sol in Mozambique.

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The Mary Waya Netball Academy’s final national camp will conclude today at the College of Medicine (CoM) Sports Complex in Blantyre where the best 16 participants will receive awards.

The camp involved about 40 girls unearthed through netball clinics held in Karonga, Salima, Kasungu, Lilongwe, Mangochi, Balaka, Chikhwawa, Neno and Blantyre.

Some of the players captured in action

The initiative, sponsored by Old Mutual to the tune of K5 million, started in December 2013.

“We will give prizes to the best shooter, centre, attacker, defender and goalkeeper. We will keep the nature of the prizes under wraps for now because we want to surprise them,” said the academy’s director, Waya.

According to Waya, they have invited coaches of reputable netball clubs in the country to sample the unearthed talent and probably rope some of it into their squads.

She said the rest will return to their homes to be used as ambassadors during the next netball clinics that the academy will be conducting every three months in the country’s three regions

The Nation

visited the camp training on Wednesday when the academy’s manager Annie Kapatuka-Sanga was drilling the young girls alongside Alliance Capital Sisters coach Jean Matola, Diamonds centre Bridget Kumwenda and Thunder Queens players Joana Kachilika and Emily Jere.

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Following the footsteps set by USA for Africa three decades ago, where various artists released the all time charity hit We Are the World, Malawian musicians have released a single in aid of flood victims.

USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa) was the name under which 44 predominantly US artists, led by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, recorded the hit single We Are the World in 1985.

Lulu (C), Piksy and Young Kay (R) on stage

The song was a US and UK number one hit.

This super group was inspired by Bob Geldof’s Band Aid.

The considerable profits from the enterprise went to the USA for Africa Foundation, which used them for the relief of famine and disease in Africa and specifically to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia.

USA for Africa also held a benefit event, Hands Across America, in which approximately seven million people held hands in a human chain for 15 minutes along a path across the continental United States. Participants paid $10 (about K5 000) to stand in line and the money raised was used to fight hunger and homelessness in Africa.

The combined revenues raised from the sales of We Are the World and Hands Across America was almost $100 million (about K50 billion).

And borrowing a leaf from this phenomenal success, local musicians, led by Lucius Banda have recorded and released Ndi Mitima ya Chikondi, a single aimed at offering compassion to the flood victims in their hour of need.

Skeffa Chimoto, Lulu and Wendy Harawa are some of the artists that have joined the Balaka North parliamentarian in the song.

Done from a first person viewpoint, Ndi Mitima ya Chikondi can best be described as an appeal for compassion.

Lucius opens the song with: Kuyesera kugona tulo sitikubwera, kuganiza abale akuvutika/M’bale wanga walira, nane ndilira nawe/zooneka pano ndi zatonse/Kumaliza tsiku ndidzipita kunyumba kukapeza anthu ndi nyumba kulibe

He is joined by Skeffa, Lulu and Wendy on the chorus: Ndimitima yachikondi, tigwirane manja/Atsogoleri atsogole kuonetsa chikondi, tonsefe titsate mbuyumo, tafedwa tonsefe tafedwa

The Jamming Machine, as Skeffa is fondly called, brings in an emotional element when he sings in the second verse: Akulira mama Malawi, chikhalire sanazione/sabata imodzi anthu ankhaninkhani kupita ndi madzi/A Malawi dzikoli ndi lathu/akuzunzika ndi abale athu

Lulu, who has produced the song, chips in with this verse: Awononga madzi sanaone nkhope/sanaone chipani, sanaone mpingo…mavuto ngatonse/nthawi yopweteka Malawi/banja lonse kutsala kamwana.

And Wendy brings in the feminine side of the disaster by highlighting the need to put special attention on women, especially those that are pregnant: Ganizana ana ang’ono, amayi oyembekezera/ganizani okalamba, nanga olumala

The structuring of the song creates a sense of continuous surprise and emotional build-up. It paints a picture of the life of the victims of the floods.

“The single is about the floods that have displaced thousands and killed some of our brothers and sisters across the country. After this, musicians will hold one big show at Lilongwe Golf Club on Sunday where we will perform the song for the first time.

“At the show, many other artists who were not part of the recording will perform with us as we raise funds for the victims. It will also be put on CD and sold so that we raise as many funds as possible,” said Lucius, who is spearheading the project.

Producer Lulu says the idea is to move and motivate Malawians to spend the little they have on helping those affected by floods.

“The song has been composed and created as musicians’ response to the natural disaster that has befallen us. The song basically calls on people to help with the little they have.

“Soldier came up with the tune and we all welcomed it and started working on it as a team and everybody came up with a stanza and sung it at Mathumela Studio,” Lulu explained.

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Malawian stage and screen personality Flora Suya, whose acting prowess has captured imagination has moved closer to her dream of showcasing her talent across Africa by starring in a Zambian production. Suya, who gained continental attention with her work in Seasons of a Life and The Last Fishing Boat dramas directed by Charles Shemu Joyah, took the lead female role in Chenda, a Zambian drama that revolves around a scorned wife who is struggling to keep he rman despite living with a husband who is cheating on her. The film is directed by Owas Ray Mwape of Owas Crystal Films Productions. Suya recently sat down with Art Matters’ Ogova Ondego for this candid interview.

Flora Suya

You have just returned to Blantyre from Lusaka where you starred in your first foreign film alongside Zambian actors Owas Ray Mwape, Mingeli Palata, Dambisa Lunda and Adora Mwape; how did you find your work in Zambia?

Zambia was great. The people were amazing and I loved every minute of it. The guys I worked with are passionate about what they do and I fell in love with them the moment I got on set.

What’s the title of the film in which you starred and what’s it about?

The tile of the film is Chenda. It is the latest movie I have featured in. I was Chenda, a proud wife whose inability to bear children drives her husband into an affair with a view to getting a child. Although Chenda doesn’t confront the offending husband when she discovers the affair, she plans her own revenge.

What do you hope to gain from the Zambian experience?

The Zambian work will give me a new platform to showcase my talent. Our film industry is very slow compared to other countries like Zambia, Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, just to mention a few. I believe that practice makes one perfect so I took this opportunity to also improve my talent before I try it across Africa.

When did you start acting and what are some of the highlights of your work so far?

I started acting in 2005 at Wakhumbata Ensemble Theatre where I did three productions. I featured in my first movie at First Dawn Arts in 2007. It was calledSeasons of a Life. I also work with Nanzikambe Arts in stage performances. So far, I have featured in three productions; one was a collaboration with Theatre Kostanz of Germany. I featured in my second movie, The Last Fishing Boat in 2011. It was also directed and produced by Charles Shemu Joyah of First Dawn Arts of Blantyre, Malawi. Chenda, an Owas Crystal Films Productions film of Zambia, is the third movie in which I have starred.

What are some of the plays you have taken part in?

At Wakhumbata Productions, I starred in Memories of Love in which I played Natalie, a girl who unknowingly falls in love with her half brother; Sweet and Sour in which I played Vitima, a wife who believes in voodoo and uses it to bring back her husband when he leaves her for another woman and Bleeding Heart where I played the role of a woman who regrets marrying and who, in an attempt to find love and affection, gets involved in multiple affairs. I also played a house maid in Seasons of a Life and fisherman’s wife in The Last Fishing Boat. I played Wangechi, a labourer’s wife who negatively influences her husband to make decisions that lead to their exploitation by the rich in a Nanzikambe production I Will Marry When I Want. InThe Messenger, I played a village woman and narrator. I narrated a true story that part of Malawi believe in. People there do not believe in God. They believe in their ancestor called M’bona. This is the play that we performed in Germany. In Third Life, I play a girl named Mongei who is in love with her best friend’s fiancé.

Have you won any awards, nominations, accolades, so far?

I have three nominations: Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) in 2010 and 2013 as Best Actress in a Lead Role. I also have a nomination at Malawi Women of Distinction Awards in the Arts Category as one of the women who have contributed a lot in the arts. The award ceremony has not happened yet.

Who do you consider to be the best director you have ever worked with so far?

I have worked with several directors but I will always remember Khumbo Bazuka Mhango, Charles Shemu Joyah and Owas Mwape. They are great directors. They are very patient and accommodating.

How about the best cast so far?

The best cast is the Chenda cast. They were amazing. They made my stay easy and fun. We communicated well in everything and we had one objective; to have fun and bring out the best and put a smile on the director’s and the producer’s faces.

All right; how about the best production?

Seasons of a Life

, no doubt.

Where do you see yourself in, say, two-three years from now?

I want to have my own production company and work across Africa.

What drives you, makes you tick, motivates you?

The passion I have for acting is my driving force. When I’m not acting, I feel like a part of me is missing. I get motivated by people like Tyler Perry who struggled to make it but they never lost hope. They teach me that quitting is not an option. What makes me tick is the vision that I have in my future as an actress and the fact that I know I have a rare talent. I’m calling it rare because I know many people can and do act and I know that I am very good at what I do and I have no restrictions when it comes to acting.

Please say something about your family background; how has it or is it shaping your career?

I thank God for my family. Being an actress in a religious family is not easy because people have their reservations but my family is very supportive. When I started acting they were worried because of the things that people associate actors with. I gave them my word that I would not disappoint them or be a disgrace to the family and they took my word for it. They are happy that they did.—Reproduced from Art Matters

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There are a lot of questions that have come to Blantyre City Council (BCC) from the media and members of the public, especially residents of Blantyre City.

The questions are: Why is Blantyre City in total darkness at night? Where are the street lights? Why are the traffic lights always not functioning? Why is Blantyre City stinking?

In short, all these questions border on the provision of public services by the council. It is undisputed that these are genuine questions and concerns. But without necessarily being on the defensive as a council, the same questions could be put to the media and members of the public. The council has a mandate and responsibility to provide public services in the city, but in all fairness, people benefiting from these services also have a responsibility to protect and safeguard the facilities.

Security lights

At one point, Blantyre City had street lights in most of the streets. Masauko Chipembere Highway had lights all the way. The M1 Road from Kandodo Corner Shop to Kameza round-about as well as the road from Clock Tower via Magalasi to Chileka Airport.

Then Kenyatta Road from Kamba to Limbe and all the way to Chigumula had street lights. The question is where are these street lights? Some of the lights were vandalised not only once, but several times after they were replaced.

It remains a puzzle what the vandals do with the poles. The council tried to use concrete poles, but this did not stop the criminals. Some of the unpatriotic residents even sent an anonymous letter warning the council that they will never allow a certain portion of the road to the airport to have lights because it is their hiding place at night.

Traffic lights

The story is almost the same with traffic lights. The council has always endeavoured to have working traffic lights, but few days after fixing them, vandals would come to break them. In some cases the vandals have even removed the poles that hold these lights.

Sewer system

As already alluded to, there has been an outcry that Mudi and Nasolo streams produce a stench due to the sewage that leaks into the water. This is very true and there is no denial on the part of the council.

However, the question that has to be addressed is: What happened to the sewer system? As much as Blantyre City has an old sewer system which was meant for a smaller population, vandalism has worsened the situation.

For example, the handles holding the main sewer pipe that passes through Chiwembe Township were vandalised. Definitely, if one sold any item out of the metals that were stolen, the money fetched shouldn’t be more than K10 000. But for the council to replace it and put back this king size pipe, it needed not less than K18 million. That is the reality on the cost of vandalising.

Good citizenship

One thing that is baffling is that the accusing finger always points at BCC forgetting that these vandals live within our communities. The residents buy these stolen materials thereby encouraging them to continue with this malpractice.

At this stage, there is a need to stop the blame game and join hands to arrest this problem. Residents should take responsibility of public facilities that the council erects in the city. If the council and the residents can work together, vandalism can be stopped. There is need to report to law enforcers any suspicious people in our communities. The council is losing a lot of revenue replacing these vandalised facilities instead of channelling the little available resources to new development initiatives.

The council is determined to continue providing services to residents despite these challenges. But together—the residents and the council—Blantyre City can be a better place to live and do business.

As a council, there is already a belief and conviction that its vision is slowly being realised of making Blantyre a city of choice in the Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) region with a conducive environment where people shall take ownership, live, do business and prosper.

The Author is Blantyre City Council Public Relations Manager

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A team of Unicef and government officials are busy trying to organise flood victims at Chantulo camp. Then, a young teenage girl appears at the camp. She is soaked, visibly weary, but manages to throw herself on a verandah of the only house close to a tent that has become her home for the past 10 days.

Earlier this month, Malawi was hit by devastating floods that left 174 000 people displaced, across 15 districts, mostly in the Southern region. Most children have stopped schooling. 181 schools were literally converted overnight into homes for flood victims.

A man in his 40’s, Samisoni Damiano, introduces the girl: “That’s my second born daughter arriving from school.”

The team later learns, through Damiano, that the 17-year-old girl, Alinafe, is the only pupil remaining at the school. Fourteen of her school mates have withdrawn from class due to the floods that have rendered roads impassable for such children.

“She is in Standard Seven at Phanga Primary School. I am happy because she is always determined to be in class regardless of the circumstances,” Damiano added.

Phanga Primary School sits seven kilometres from Chantulo camp. Within that distance, Alinafe has no choice, but to cover two kilometers of a path covered with muddy water to and from school. Alinafe will have to endure these conditions for at least a month if she is to remain in school. She vows, however to remain in class as long as the road conditions allow her.

“I face so many challenges even during the dry season, but this time it’s worse. I arrive at school dirty, wet and tired. My books are soaked. I dread returning home. Just the thought of walking the same path affects my concentration in class,” says Alinafe.

According to Alinafe, the conditions of the roads have improved in the last few days.

“You are lucky you found the water levels knee-high. If you had come three days ago, you would have struggled because the water levels were waist high, but I was still going to school,” she adds.

Her father Damiano says he knows the danger his daughter is exposed to every morning on her journey to school. He says even when he discourages her from leaving, Alinafe defies her parents and steps out of the tent.

“She insists on going to school. When she can’t make it because of heavy rains, she is angry and won’t talk to anybody. She just loves school,” he discloses.

Sometimes, her father, escorts her a small part of the way to verify the condition of the path. Alinafe finishes at 1pm in the afternoon everyday and walks for about three hours to reach home. Her father makes sure to wait for her at their meeting point so he can accompany her back home. He does this especially on days when the water levels start rising while his child is in class.

“She is hardworking, determined and hungry for education and I have no choice, but to sacrifice a little for her,” said Damiano.

On this day, Alinafe did not take any food in the morning. She ate nothing at school and there are no signs that she will have something to eat before retiring to bed. That has been the story since Damiano and his family relocated to the camp after losing almost everything, including food to the floods.

Alinafe’s mother, Mumderanji, laments the loss of a 50 kilogramme bag of maize to the floods. The flour from the maize could have helped the family for several weeks while hunting for food.Mumderanji has no clue as to where the next meal for the family will come from. It just means, young and hungry Alinafe will have to think of the distance she will have to cover again to make it to class.

Mangochi is a district where education, particularly girls, is lagging behind. Girls face so many challenges to complete their education successfully. Forced or arranged marriages have been a common feature with many of the parents failing to appreciate the importance of education.

Alinafe aspires to be a nurse. Perhaps she will accomplish her dreams. She certainly understands the value of an organisation like Unicef and its commitment to girl’s education.  Unicef is now on ground to ensure that school-in-the-box kits reach as many children as possible and improve quality of life in the camps. So far Unicef staff have distributed 813 school-in-the-Box kits to children affected by the floods. A further 50 school tents have been set up for 17 500 affected children.

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Malawi was recently devastated by the largest floods in living memory. Three weeks later people are still struggling to get on with their lives and preparing as best they can for a difficult future ahead, like the arrival of a new baby.

Berita didn’t run when the floods hit. She didn’t run because there was nowhere to go : Makhanga, a cluster of villages with a population of 5,000, rests on what can barely be called a hill, but is nonetheless on slightly higher ground than the vast plains of south Malawi. But Berita also didn’t run because she was eight months pregnant.

The water came during the night. At 3 am Berita woke up : there was water in her house, licking the blanket on which she slept. Slowly, slowly, it crept up. Ankle deep, knee deep… until midnight when it reached her home’s window sill. It ate up the corn fields that feed the village. It contaminated the wells that sustain the families. It blanketed the local clinic with thick, oozy mud which clung to drugs, to instruments, to everything.

There was nowhere to go but up ; there was nothing up but trees. Mathias, Berita’s husband, hauled his heavy wife and their five children up onto the branches, still drenched from the heavy rains. They stayed there for four days. The baby kept kicking.

And then it was time. Early on Thursday morning, January 22^nd, 13 days after the floods came and went and stole all of her possessions, Berita felt the baby was ready, even if she was not. « We went to the clinic, but it was closed. There was no one there to help. I was told to wait, that a helicopter was coming, that it could take me to another clinic », she recalls. By that time, Makhanga village had become an island cut off from the rest of the country, apart from a slow trickle of aid dropped from the air.

« When we landed we were told there was a woman in advanced labour, but nobody to deliver the baby. So it was up to me », says Clive Kasalu, a Malawi nurse and midwife working for Doctors without Borders (MSF). Clive had an emergency delivery kit and 14 years experience under his belt, so he felt confident. But still, « we had to improvise a bit », he says. Only parts of the clinic had been cleaned up during the three days that MSF had a team at work in Makhanga. Clive enlisted an assistant to « run up and down to get us water » while focusing on the suffering mother.

Within an hour, berita was engulfed by birthing pains, sweating and clinging to the bare bed while her husband Mathias, the village’s headman, waited outside, worrying – it’s taboo here for fathers to attend a birth. And then, at noon, Makhanga had one more villager : a healthily screaming, hungry, 2.9 kg baby girl.

Three weeks after the floods hit, Makhanga remains an island of trapped inhabitants. While MSF is regularly bringing medical relief by helicopter, helping villagers get on with their lives, the consequences of the worst floods in Malawi that any elder can remember will be felt for months. « I am glad to have my new baby », says Berita. « But we don’t have enough food, we don’t have clean water, we don’t have any clothing ». Her brick and mud house – built a year ago – is still standing, but bears the scars from the great flood. It’s crowded too, because relatives who lost their homes have found refuge there : there are now 13 people living in a one-bedroom house. Her family’s field, recently planted, was wiped clean of all hope for the coming months’ crops.

Life trudges on.

The now one-week-old baby girl has yet to receive a name.

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