Blantyre City Mayor Noel Chalamanda has asked residents of Blantyre City to support households that have been affected by floods in the country just as other individuals and organisations are doing

Chalamanda made the call on Friday at the Old Town Hall in Blantyre when he officially launched an initiative to mobilise Blantyre residents to donate resources to flood victims in the country.

Chalamanda in a symbolic presentation with Kisyuli (R)

The initiative, which has seen Blantyre City partnering with World Vision Malawi (WVM) to provide logistics to wherever the collected resources will be needed, is a response to President Peter Mutharika’s appeal for humanitarian assistance to alleviate suffering of people affected by floods.

Said Chalamanda: “It is a realisation that as much as other well-wishers from outside Malawi and far places within the country have come and are still coming forward to assist our dear brothers and sisters who have been affected by the floods, as residents of this beautiful city, we also have an obligation and the means to do something.

“Let us come together and give whatever we can to this cause so that our brothers and sisters affected by floods are assisted. This is the time to be generous.”

Speaking in an interview, WVM national director Robert Kisyula said his organisation will play its part and whatever God brings to their hands, they will make sure it is delivered to the people who deserve to be assisted.

People wishing to make a donation, which can include items such as clothes, blankets, plastic water buckets, food stuffs and kitchen utensils, should take their donation to Blantyre Old Town Hall during the one week period which ends February 6.

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South Africa-based international money transfer company, Mukuru, has said it will give 10 rand (K340) towards flood victims relief efforts in Malawi every time one of their clients sends money to the country.

A statement from the money transfer company said between February 1 and 7, every time a Mukuru client in South Africa, United Kingdom (UK), Europe and Canada sends money to Malawi, a donation of 10 rand will be made to the Gift of the Givers Foundation in support of their relief work in Malawi.
Mukuru clients in South Africa can use the dollar menu, Mukuru’s mobile app, at www.app.mukuru.com,mobi site on www.mukuru.mobi or call the company’s centre to make a transfer while those in the UK, Europe and Canada will need to use the website, www.mukuru.com, said the statement.

In Malawi, recipients can collect their money from any of NBS Bank, Post Dot Net or Nedbank Malawi branches.

Mukuru marketing manager Michael Cook is quoted in a statement having said the company has been helping Malawians transfer money home for the last three years.

“We have really come to love the country and the people. When we saw the damage that has taken place, we could not sit back and do nothing.

“This is at least a way for us and the Malawian diaspora to pull together and help those suffering from this natural disaster,” he said.

Due to flash floods caused by torrential rains, killing at least 170 people, damaging property and displacing hundreds of thousands, government declared a State of disaster in 15 districts, calling upon donors to support the country in its relief efforts.

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Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) says it intends to extend Kapichira Hydro-power Station to Phase III, which will add 40 megawatts (MW) to the power grid.

Escom’s current installed generating capacity is at 351MW against suppressed demand of 350MW.

To boost manufacturing industry: Kapichila II

The sole power supplier is currently in the process of engaging consulting services for a feasibility study for Kapichira Power Station Phase III.

Although the power supplier said it had funds for the consultancy in the current financial period, it has not outlined tentative timeframe for the implementation of the whole project, if the feasibility study turns out positive.

In December 2013, Escom increased its total capacity to 351 megawatts after commissioning Kapichira Phase II, which added 64 megawatts to the power grid.

In total, Kapichira Hydro-power Station has a generating capacity of 128MW.

While the recent incessant rains have overwhelmed Escom’s capacity, energy analysts have argued 64 megawatts added in 2013 was not enough to cater for the suppressed demand.

Malawi Institute of Engineers (MIE), a grouping of professional engineers from the public and private sector, said Malawi would enjoy a stint of adequate power supply due to the commissioning of Kapichira Phase II before slipping back to an energy deficit.

MIE noted that mining companies, which consume a lot of electricity, want to connect to Escom power grid.

It also argued that technically, the country is supposed to have some spinning reserve—an excess generation capacity to cover for eventualities like faults on machines.

Apart from the commissioning of Kapichira II, Malawi is also implementing a power revitalisation project under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which will help to modernise distribution, transmission and generation lines.

Millennium Challenge Account-Malawi (MCA-M) oversees the implementation of the five-year $350.7 million (K164 billion) power sector revitalisation project.

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Scores of people, including Blantyre City Mayor Noel Chalamanda, on Saturday braved a heavy downpour to grace a braii whose proceeds are expected to ease the plight of people displaced by natural disasters in Blantyre City and Rural.

Organised by a group of journalists under the banner of Media Action For Society, the event was held at Motel Paradise in Chirimba and scores of well-wishers flocked in to support the cause.

In his remarks, Chalamanda hailed the journalists for the initiative and said Malawians need to continue supporting each other in difficult times.

Chalamanda, who two weeks ago visited disaster-struck areas in the city, said the impact of the floods cannot be overemphasised.

Speaking on behalf of media owners, most of whom provided advertising space for the publicity of the event, Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) managing director Gospel Kazako hailed the initiative and encouraged journalists to continue with such charitable works.

Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Malawi Chapter chairperson Thom Khanje, who also headed the initiative, thanked the patrons for their support for the cause.

He said Blantyre City and Rural were identified as beneficiaries because most donations of relief items were concentrated in the twin Shire Valley districts of Chikwawa and Nsanje.

During the event, Portuguese conglomerate Mota-Engil announced a K1 million (US$2 123) donation to the cause. Several others, including Chalamanda, Ntcheu Bwanje South member of Parliament Goodwin Kanjere, Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) acting director-general Aubrey Sumbuleta and journalist Sylvestor Namiwa donated K50 000 each whereas H.S. Winehouse of Namiwawa made a donation of K30 000.

Several others also donated bags of used clothes and plastic plates.

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Former Big Bullets and Flames defender, Patrick Falawo, was named best sportsperson and 2014 Players’ Player of the Year in Cape Town, South Africa.

The 32-year-old, who plays for Blackpool FC in Cape Town, becomes the first South Africa-based Malawian to win the award which was established last year and is decided by fans.

Falawo, who also once played for Chilomoni Rangers, said it is a big honour for him to receive the trophy.

“I owe it to all the people who voted for me and to my country, Malawi.

“I won the award because of the people who voted for me. So it is my honour to thank them from the bottom of my heart.”

He also thanked his coach and teammates at Blackpool for allowing him to play in the Championship League and other important games that they won.

At Chilomoni Rangers, Falawo was nicknamed Pepsi before he moved to Big Bullets.

According to Falawo, the award was established by the Provincial of Cape Town to motivate grass roots footballers and fans.

Falawo, who beat two other contestants, is overjoyed to have been the inaugural winner and said although the award is mainly for the Cape Town Province, the recognition goes beyond the other provinces and the respect is embraced by other players.

“This trophy is going to give me more inspiration to up my game so that I can keep having great performances,” said Falawo who was congratulated by the Premier of the Cape Town Province.

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Former Silver Strikers hitman Chawanangwa Kaonga is set to play in Portugal in the coming season following an agreement between Chibuto FC and an unnamed Portuguese club.

Silver chairperson Macdonald Mafuta-Mwale told The Nation that Chawanangwa will be joining the Portuguese side in June this year.

“Chibuto has a sister club in Portugal which wants Chawanangwa’s services. The Portuguese club and Chibuto FC are sponsored by the same company. When officials of the Portuguese club watched a footage of Chawanangwa, they immediately expressed interest to sign him and I can assure you that come June, Chawanagwa will be in Portugal,” said Mafuta-Mwale.

He said it is good news not only for the player, but Malawi as a country as well.

“Portugal is a big step for him [Chawanangwa] and will offer him a platform to develop. We are happy for him,” he said.

According to the transfer deal, Silver will receive $15 000 (K7.2 million) this week from Chibuto as well as a cut when the player moves to the Portuguese club.

“The arrangement is that we have a stake in the player even if he is sold to other teams in Europe. It is a good deal and both parties are happy,” said Silver treasurer, Fred Kalonga.

Kaonga will be the second player from Silver to play in Portugal after Jimmy Ukonde, who went there and consequently changed his nationality.

Prior to his signing for Chibuto, Kaonga was wanted by Big Bullets, but the deal failed after their K3 million offer was seen as way below Silver’s value of K10 million.

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For the first time, Football Association Malawi (FAM) technical sub-committee last Friday met all national team coaches to review last year’s performance and plan the way forward.

FAM technical sub-committee head Moses Mkandawire, who is also the association’s first vice-president, Flames coach Young Chimodzi and his Under-20 counterpart Ernest Mtawali, described the meeting as fruitful and an eye-opener.

Mtawali demonstrates to the players how it should be done

“It was the first time we held a meeting jointly with all the national teams’ coaches—senior team, Under-20 and Under-17,” said Mkandawire.

He said they discussed issues that included identifying a clear philosophy of Malawian football that should start at junior level right up to the senior team.

“Like in Brazil, they have samba, in Spain they have tika-taka, so it was proposed that the coaches and the technical director [John Kaputa] should brainstorm and come up with our own type of football that we should be identified with,” said Mkandawire.

He also said the meeting noted with concern that Malawian players’ market is now only in Mozambique, where a number of key and promising players are flocking to. He described the development as retrogressive.

“A special committee comprising FAM GS [SuzgoNyirenda], Mtawali, Flames assistant coach Jack Chamangwana and the TD was set up to look into that.

“Since the time he was in France, Ernest has been involved in facilitating trials for players in Europe and South Africa such as Gift Zakazaka, the late Jonathan Lungu, Robin Ngalande, Chance Gondwe, Peter Mgangira and some current Under-20 players. We felt he could use his links in Europe to do that, so too Jack in South Africa,” added Mkandawire.

According to him, the meeting also recommended the need to closely monitor the performance of foreign-based players to widen choice when selecting national team players.

A suggestion was also made to keep the national junior teams active even in the absence of tournaments.

“We are currently going through turbulent economic challenges and it might not be possible to enter all competitions, but then we can come up with cost-effective measures such as arranging friendly matches and mini-tournaments with neighbouring countries. By so doing, there will be sound transition,” said Mkandawire.

However, he said for all these proposals to be achieved, there will be need for support from all soccer-loving Malawians and, crucially, the private sector.

On the performance of the national teams, Mkandawire said all the teams’ weaknesses and strengths were raised and the coaches were open to criticism and suggestions were made on how they can improve on the weaknesses and build on the strengths.

Chimodzi and Mtawali said their hope is that they will have more such meetings in future.

“If we can be having such meetings regularly, then surely I can foresee our football making strides. The challenge, though, is to start implementing whatever was agreed,” said Chimodzi.

Others who attended the meeting were Kaputa, Under-20 assistant coach Gerald Phiri, Under-17 coach DeklerkMsakakuona and his assistant Elia Kananji.

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A court official in Mzuzu has been sentenced to 24 months imprisonment for forging a cheque and 18 months for duping the court of K300 000 (US$637).

Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) spokesperson EgritaNdala said in a statement on Friday that the official, John Kumwenda, an accounts assistant responsible for maintaining fees account at the Mzuzu Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court (CRM), forged a cheque and obtained K300 000 from the fees account.

Said Ndala in outlining the particulars of the case: “In 2010, the Anti-Corruption Bureau received a complaint alleging that John Ndomondo Chigwere Kumwenda, an accounts assistant responsible for maintaining fees account at the Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court in Mzuzu, forged a cheque and obtained the sum of K300 000 from the fees account.

“The Anti-Corruption Bureau investigated the matter and confirmed the allegation. He was taken to Mzuzu Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court.”

Kumwenda was charged with one count of forgery and one count of uttering a false document contrary to Section 364 and 360 of the Penal Code respectively.

On January 27 this year, the court found Kumwenda guilty of both counts and convicted him.

He was later sentenced to 24 months and 18 months imprisonment with hard labour on the two counts respectively. The sentences will run concurrently.

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In a latest development, Moyale talisman Gastin Simkonda will not join Big Bullets (BB) on loan as it has transpired that he is among those going on a peacekeeping mission in DR Congo soon.

Bullets general secretary Harold Fote yesterday said they got communication from Malawi Defence Force (MDF) authorities at the weekend that only Kamuzu Barracks playmaker Harvey Nkacha will be loaned out to them.

Gastin Simkonda

“They [MDF] were prepared to release both, but after further consultation, it has transpired that Simkonda will not make it. So, we will have to do with Nkacha and we are not complaining as we already have a number of good strikers,” said Fote.

This means Bullets have only made two additions to their initial squad for the continental showcase having also signed striker ChiukepoMsowoya as a free agent.

Bullets are slated to face Club Fomboni on February 14 away in the Comoros in their preliminary round first leg.

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Football Association of Malawi (FAM) executive committee has decided to shelve confirmation of participation in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations until CAF clarifies the dates.

FAM president Walter Nyamilandu said the decision was made at a meeting held on Saturday in Blantyre in view of the dates set by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) that the opening qualifiers will be held in June, which will be within the current financial year whose allocation FAM has already exhausted.

CAF announced recently that the opening qualifiers of the 31st edition of the continental showcase will be held on June 8 and 16.

However, Nyamilandu said the meeting agreed to take part in the Championship of African Nations (Chan) and the Cosafa Cup using funds that are available such as the K50 million from Carlsberg Malawi Limited and part of funding from Fifa.

“We are not certain about Afcon because the dates were only posted on CAF website, but we did not get an official memo on the same.

“So, it was agreed that we seek clarification whether Afcon qualifiers will run concurrently with Chan, because we find it awkward that they should be held within the same period,” said Nyamilandu.

He added that the meeting agreed to buy a bus for the national team using the grant from Fifa.

“Using the same grant, it was also agreed that we complete the lower part of Chiwembe Technical Centre, in particular the hotel project and construction of a wall fence at the land that we acquired in Lilongwe,” he said.

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Ever since thugs robbed him of his tobacco sales three years ago, Stanford Bengo has developed a progressive phobia for carrying cash around.

This phobia was not eased when his earnest attempt at opening an account was snubbed by a bank for lack of proper identification. Since then, he has always viewed banks more as a hassle than a convenience.

And so, when a group of eagerly enthusiastic young men stormed Nsalu Trading Centre in rural Lilongwe, singing the mobile money gospel on market recently, Bengo was an enthusiastic listener.

Not that he had prior knowledge of mobile money, but was excited when the group, aided by booming music atop a mobile van, explained how one can use one’s mobile phone as a banking facility.

“I am a typical villager. Banks always give me chills because, apart from the fact that I have to go into town to withdraw or deposit my money, I also cannot write so I am a little embarrassed when it comes to banking business. Add this to the fact that I have no identification card,” he explained as soon as he had registered for mobile money accounts on both his Airtel and TNM networks.

“My friend, this makes my life very, very simple,” he smiled, as he returned to man his cassava stall.

Despite it being a fairly new phenomenon in Malawi, mobile money as a system of moving money, is becoming the norm other than an alternative.

ChidiOkpala, head of Airtel Money at Airtel Africa, notes that the spread of mobile telephony in the face of the exclusion of many people from the formal financial system because of socio-economic challenges has given impetus to the mobile money wave.

“For, although only about 10 percent of people with primary or no education have bank accounts, compared with 55 percent of those with tertiary education, the number of people using mobile phones in Africa is the highest in the world, according to a recent study on financial habits by Gates Foundation, World Bank and Gallup World Poll,” he explains.

According to Okpala, mobile money is a substitute both for brick-and-mortar banks and the transfer of cash through, say, bus drivers, as has been the case in many parts of Africa.

And because it empowers people who cannot get to a bank branch or an automated teller machine (ATM) to seek financial services, its availability helps remove the bias of the banking system towards the educated.

According to local mobile money expert and banker, Daud Suleman, the lure of mobile money is one that cannot, and should not, be ignored.

“Look at these statistics: since banking started in Malawi, all the banks combined have managed a total base of 1.2 million customers yet in its two, short years, mobile money has already registered 1.5 million users,” he said.

Suleman noted that users are pulled to mobile money due to its convenience and accessibility.

“We should note that while banks have a combined total of slightly over 170 branches  countrywide, mobile money currently has over 10 000 agents and the number keeps growing,” he said.

Suleman says, to keep up, banks need to be more innovative and find creative ways of making the mobile phone a centre of the banking experience.

“Banks need to find ways of making people use the phone for more things than just sending and receiving money and buying airtime. They should make the mobile phone the central point of the banking experience because nowadays people are more familiar with the mobile phone than they are with paper.”

Suleman notes that M-pesa was successful in East Africa because it took advantage of an existing culture of people sending each other money via minibuses.

“What it did is that it just created convenience within that context. In Malawi, we have to find a context in which money moves. What is the money culture? And then build on that. That way we are not reinventing the wheel, but enhancing what people are already doing,” he said, noting that the biggest challenge remains to win over sceptical customers.

“Customers still need to be educated about the benefits of mobile money services and, financial services, in general. The reality is that people who understand the value of savings, or the importance of budgeting, tend to use these services more wisely and more often,” says Suleman.

Enter FHI 360, who are implementing a USaid-funded project called Mobile Money Accelerator Programme (Mmap), which focuses on scaling usage of mobile money to boost financial inclusion in Malawi.

This project comes in view of the many people who remain unbanked yet have access to a basic phone that offers them the opportunity to bank and protect their income through mobile money.

The awareness campaign included road shows, which were implemented in the six project districts of Mchinji, Lilongwe, Mzimba, Rumphi, Mangochi and Blantyre, such as the one encountered by Bengo at Nsalu Market in Lilongwe.

The main objective of the shows was to create awareness and demand for mobile money services.

FHI 360 involved mobile network operators, Airtel Malawi and TNM in the exercise with over 2 500 new registrations being realised during the exercise.

And so, as the story of the mobile phone and its contribution to bridging the digital divide in sub-Saharan Africa continues to unfold, the device’s revolutionary role in facilitating transactions and wealth distribution in the region is shaping up in an unprecedented way.

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Members of Parliament (MPs) started their business of the Mid-Year Budget Review Meeting with leader of opposition Lazarus Chakwera insisting that the President should have declared a State of Emergency instead of a State of Disaster.

Responding to a ministerial statement which Minister of Transport and Public Infrastructure Francis Kasaila delivered in the House at the start of the four-week meeting, Chakwera argued that a State of Emergency in floods-ravaged areas could have made a difference in the response to those affected.

Chakwera: More could have been done

He said government should have involved Parliament to give it the necessary powers to act quickly.

Said Chakwera:“More could have been done by Parliament or the relevant committee to declare a State of Emergency.”

Government earlier reacted to Chakwera’s sentiments on a State of Emergency with derision.

Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Samuel Tembenu said in an earlier interview President Peter Mutharika opted for a declaration of State of Disaster as a more prompt reaction requiring less procedure that also preserved human rights.

Tembenu said according to Section 45 (3) of the Constitution, declaration of State of Emergency would have required approval from the Defence Committee of Parliament. He added that a State of Emergency has a shorter life span of 21 days.

But Chakwera shot back and said: “This is the worst disaster that Malawi has experienced in recent memory. It is important that we stand together, it is not time for scoring cheap political points.”

In his contribution, People’s Party (PP) leader in Parliament UladiMussa condemned government for its late response to the disaster, especially in Salima where flooding took place earlier than districts in the Southern Region.

He also pointed out that many affected households were being ignored because they did not have a double tragedy.

“The assistance, when it comes, is focusing on families whose crops and houses were washed away, but those who have houses intact are not being assisted,” claimed Mussa.

Chitipa South MP WelaniChilenga, who also chairs the Climate Change Committee of Parliament, condemned the poor flood warning system and information dissemination.

“Heavy rains and flooding took place on January 12, but response only came in three days later. In future, flood mitigation measures need to be taken seriously,” Chilenga said.

In his statement, Kasaila said 361 000 people needed immediate food assistance and government would contribute 14 000 metric tonnes of maize from the Strategic Grain Reserves.

Government has so far collected K85 million in its local bank account opened for disaster response and K99 million in its foreign currency denominated account, according to data published by the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma).

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Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe has allocated an additional K1 billion towards the disaster relief programme following flooding and damage to property in 15 of the country’s 28 districts.

The extra money, which comes after the initial K500 million that government pumped into the programme, will be factored in the revised estimates that Gondwe is expected to present on Friday as part of the Mid-Year Budget Review report.

Goodall Gondwe

However, the expected allocation towards disasters is far below the required K38 billion (about $81 million) for a full response which could leave the 200 000 displaced people vulnerable and at risk of hunger and diseases in the camps where they are seeking shelter.

According to the fifth disaster situation report jointly compiled by the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma), as of January 30 2015, the Preliminary Response Plan (PRP) only had 21 percent of the required funding, which includes resources from government and other partners.

“The PRP has been funded at 21 percent, with big gaps in critical humanitarian sectors, which needs confirmed financial support in this first stage of the emergency response,” the report reads.

But Gondwe said in an interview yesterday, government was assured of assistance from various partners.

“The allocation in the budget will be the government’s contribution towards the disasters,” he said.

So far, governments of Zambia, Japan, South Africa, Canada, Germany, Norway, Iceland and United Kingdom have made cash donations towards the relief programme.

Local stakeholders, including the private sector, have also provided some resources towards the disaster in one of the best coordinated humanitarian responses in recent times.

The PRP also estimated the need for $17.9 million (about K8.41 billion) for 26 000 metric tonnes of maize.

The relief efforts still need $3.8 million (about K1.78 billion) to cover health requirements, $8.4 million (about K3.9 billion) to cater for logistics requirements and $1.8 million (about K846 million) to cover water and sanitation requirements.

In an earlier update on the disasters, Vice-President Saulos Chilima, who is also minister responsible for disaster response management, said the country needed at least K5 billion to rehabilitate and provide relief to the victims of floods and hailstorms. But he had indicated that the figure was just a base and would rise on further expert assessments.

Then, government had announced that it had in its budget K500 million for disaster response that was in the proposed estimates of the 2014/15 budget.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), in an update on the disasters and quoting Dodma, said 638 000 people have been affected nationwide with 174 000 people displaced in three most affected districts—Chikwawa, Nsanje and Phalombe—as of January 30.

The report also gives the figure of 79 deaths and 153 people missing in Nsanje District.

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Two people who in 2013 attempted to sell a three-member family at K150 million (US$318 471) in Mzimba north of Malawi, have been sentenced to seven years imprisonment with hard labour (IHL).

The two—Levison Manota, 23, of Suzumire Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Kachere in Dedza and Pearson Dzimbiri, 42, of Namiwa Village, T/A Chimaliro in Thyolo— were handed the seven-year sentence by the Mzuzu Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

They were found guilty of conniving to sell Ibrahim Kantandi, 36, of Kulemera  Village, T/A  Kapalamula in Dedza, his wife, LovenessSachokera, 31, and their two-year-old child.

Northern Region Police spokesperson Maurice Chapola said yesterday the two planned to trade in human parts as a way of making quick money, a development that tempted Dzimbiri to trick the family of Kantandi that if they went to Enukweni in Mzimba they would prosper through a booming bricks business.

However, when they got to Enukweni, the two convicts started looking for markets to sell Kantandi’s family.

One of the people they approached for the human parts deal reported the matter to police. Detectives then disguised themselves as potential buyers to arrest the two.

Said Chapola: “Police detectives from Mzuzu posed as potential buyers and they started negotiating with the convicts on the price of the three individuals who were offered at K150 million. They negotiated to buy them at K120 million (US$ before the officers revealed themselves as police officers and arrested the convicts.”

The two were charged with kidnapping and abduction with intent to murder contrary to Section 261 of the Penal Code.

The offence attracts a maximum sentence of 10 years IHL, but they denied the charge during hearing. The State paraded seven witnesses who testified against them.

In mitigation, the convicts asked for the court’s leniency, saying they were first offenders, but the State pleaded for stiffer sentences to reform the two and also bar others from committing such offences.

Magistrate Austin Banda concurred with the State that cases of human parts trade are gradually increasing and there is need to curb them. He went ahead to give the seven-year sentence.

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Finance, Economic Planning and Development Minister Goodall Gondwe yesterday said government is not clinging to the old version of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis) software saying it is still working to migrate out of the system.

Gondwe: We are working day and night to close the gap

Gondwe, speaking at a news conference at Capital Hill in Lilongwe, said government would tender for software companies to bid to supply a new package, but hinted that the process could take four or more years for the new software to be effective.

“We are quite surprised to hear that we are clinging to the [epicol 7.3] software. We have to tender so that people should apply and no decision has been made yet. We don’t want to sustain Cashgate, no. In fact, we are working day and night to close the gaps,” said Gondwe in reaction to media reports.

The minister, while referring to studies by experts from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said migrating to new software would take a bit of time before it becomes functional.

Commenting on the adverts in the print media on withdrawal of the advert seeking suppliers of the new system, Gondwe said the withdrawal is because government needed to do a lot more such as add on specifications of the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to address the current system’s weaknesses.

“We know that the current system has deficiencies and our policy is to enhance the efficiencies such as speed and particularly we need to have a new server to increase the capacity of the present epicol 7.3 software,” added the minister.

On his part, Accountant General Thomas Makiwa stated that the withdraw of the advert in the press is meant to enhance it as the initial one was devoid of some key information to the potential suppliers.

Makiwa estimated that government envisages to have a successful bidder begin working in May and that the consultancy will take a minimum of six months before the new system fully functions sometime in July 2016.

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Female members of Parliament (MPs) through the Women’s Caucas, plan to send a delegation to disaster-stricken areas to assess impact and ensure fair distribution of relief to the victims on February 5 and 6.

While appreciating efforts by government and donors in assisting the estimated 200 000 displaced persons, the Women’s Caucas pointed out that there are still more people who are desperate and have not received any support.

Briefing journalists in Lilongwe on Friday, chairperson of the Women’s Caucas, Jessie Kabwila, said the committee would send two teams to the eastern and southern parts of Malawi where many have been displaced.

Said Kabwila: “We plan to reach out to all districts affected. We are very worried because the disaster has put women and children in a difficult position and some are not getting enough support.”

Nsanje North MP Esther Mcheka Chilenje, who is also First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, said more support is particularly needed in her constituency and most parts of the Lower Shire which have been completely cut off from accessibility.

Another member, Lillian Patel, MP for Mangochi South Constituency, expressed worry that the current disaster policy is more concerned with victims affected in lower places than in upper lands.

Zomba Central MP Patricia Kayinga Nangozo said the disaster has also not spared the city.

Mzimba North MP Agnes Ngalonje added that the floods have also hit hard parts of Karonga, Nkhata Bay, Rumphi and Mzimba.

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Victor Limbani may struck a priceless goal for Big Bullets that won them the Bantley Ballpoint and Exercise Books Bonanza against Red Lions on Saturday, but now that the euphoria has died down, the blossoming midfielder finds himself in a tight situation of choosing between Bullets and Silver Strikers.

Limbani swung up field to plant home a well-curled free kick from Bashir Maunde in the 62nd minute, which was enough to earn Bullets K1.5 million winner’s prize and a trophy whereas the Zomba-based soldiers got K500 000.

Allowed to choose team: Kumwenda (R)

However, Blantyre United technical director Lawson Nakoma yesterday said Limbani and Tizgowere Kumwenda will now have to choose between Bullets and the Bankers following the expiry of their loan deal.

“Although they continue to feature both players, they were supposed to revert to us and we gave Bullets up to February 1 to state their position on the two players, which they did not until yesterday [Monday February 2] when they wrote a letter in which they have made some proposals.

“But then Silver have also approached us officially expressing interest in both players and the players will have to choose which team they want to join. We are meeting this afternoon to discuss the proposals from Bullets and Silver, and depending on the outcome, we will advise the players accordingly.

“But the final decision will have to be made by the players themselves,” said Nakoma.

Bullets already registered the two players for the CAF Champions League, but Nakoma warned that failure to cooperate on the matter would lead to United asking CAF to deregister both players.

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With just four games each to wind up the Southern Region Football Association (SRFA) Premier League title race, leaders FC Surestream and Cobbe Barracks are still in tight contention having both won their games at the weekend.

Surestream registered a 5-1 demolition of Ndirande Icons at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre on Sunday. On Saturday, Surestream beat Prison United 3-0 away in Zomba.

Previous encounter involving Surestream (in white)

Cobbe on the other hand, beat Poly 3-0 on Sunday in Zomba and after coming from behind to beat BNC Produsak 2-1 the previous day at Kamuzu Stadium.

The two teams are still separated by four points, with Surestream sitting pretty at the pinnacle with 98 points.

On Saturday, the old-capital fans braved a heavy downpour as Surestream charmed their hearts with a display characterised by a pass-and-move game which culminated in a 2-0 lead at half time through their marksman Bernard Chimaimba.

Blessings Zamani-Phiri scored the third to seal Prison United’s fate.  Prison United assistant Coach Jameson Piringu blamed the loss on the wet conditions, saying it affected his team’s rhythm.

However, Surestream were woeful against Icons on Sunday and the result was not a true reflection of the game.

Tony Biasi and Chimaimba scored a brace each while Patrick Phiri scored the other goal. Osman Balala struck Icons’ consolation with a beauty as the academy led 2-1.

Icons coach Fletcher Chirwa said his team started well but lost the plot when they conceded the second goal.

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Malawian artists are a one-stop-shop: they solely handle their bookings, publicity and even plan their own events.

In an ideal world, all these hustles would have been heaped on the artists’ managers. Malawian musicians have cried foul over the indifferent attitude of the corporate world towards the sector and moaned about how hard it is to make music a business in Malawi.

Maskal: I don’t have to worry about bookings, adverts and logistics

But is their handling of the art good enough to spark an interest from stakeholders?

In separate interviews, music manager Kimpho Loka and long time music promoter Jai Banda say Malawian musicians lack professionalism in the way they handle the art, noting that having no manager is a sign of unprofessionalism.

Said Banda: “A musician does not have to negotiate some deals all by himself. By doing that, they do not look serious and lose concentration of their art.”

And Loka stated: “Negotiating deals, say with the corporate managers, needs someone with negotiation skills and it doesn’t look professional that an artist should directly be involved. Only in Malawi does that happen.”

The two agree that, besides being professional, having a manager allows an artist to concentrate on their art.

“Management of an artist is a hectic task and it does an artist no good to do that alone, they end up managing bookings and other elements and lose out on their rehearsals ending up with sloppy performances,” said Loka.

On his part, Banda noted that when artists have managers, they concentrate on song-writing, recording and rehearsing and that brings quality to their music because they put in more effort.

Maskal, one of the few local musicians with a manager, concurs with Loka and Banda, saying that as people with talent they do not have to handle issues to do with management as that is at times stressful.

“What I do now is write songs, record, rehearse and perform at shows. I don’t have to worry about bookings show adverts, logistics as they are taken care of by managers,” said Maskal.

Maskal says musicians lack the ability to trust someone with their career.

“Sometimes artists do not trust anyone that they do not want their business to be handled by anyone,” said the ZilindiIwe hit-maker.

Banda and Loka said most musicians are not ready to pay an extra cost to their art.

“Most artists cannot afford to pay a manager while others just want to take out what they have and they resort to managing themselves,” said Banda.

He concurs with Maskal that artists are always suspicious that someone is ripping them off even with a proper contractual agreement.

“Sometimes it is because artists do not want to adjust their brand. When a manager comes and tells them to behave in a certain way, they feel that is threatening their freedom and independence,” he said.

Is it worth the hustle for an artist to hire a manager?

All of the interviewees agree that having a manager is more rewarding than not having one.

“When one gets a good manager, he strikes great deals. And can make far than when working alone,” said Loka.

The post Music: Business without managers appeared first on The Nation Online.

When Bubile Banda, 19, started experiencing persistent stomach pains at Edingeni Health Centre in Mzimba, she knew that her time to deliver had come.

Sorrow gripped her. Not because of the pain she was going through. But she was not sure if she would deliver successfully without the assistance of trained birth attendants.

“At around 8am [on January 21 2015], we called for the health worker to attend to me during delivery. But to my anguish, no medical personnel was in sight,” she says, speaking from her hospital bed at the maternity ward.

In an open defiance against government’s ban on unskilled birth attendants, Banda literally turned to one of them, Lilly Nyirenda, to deliver her in the hour of need.

But she might not be wrong, entirely.

Her case seems to be an entrenched culture at the hospital which has elevated Nyirenda, a guardian, to the level of that promised saviour for most of the expectant women.

“The medical person came hours after I had delivered. The only job he did was to register the new delivery. If it was not for our chairperson [Nyirenda], I don’t know what would have become of me,” explains Banda.

Nyirenda, 51, was elected chairperson by her fellow guardians to act as a link with the medical personnel.

During her three-week stay at the clinic, guarding her expectant daughter Diana Kayuni, Nyirenda claims to have assisted eight women to deliver.

“My duty is to act as a link with the midwives when we have emergency cases. But out of eight maternity cases we had for three weeks, none of them have been attended to by the health workers. They came after the women had delivered,” she claims.

Women have lost confidence in the health care system at the clinic.

TinayanuKasalu, a guardian, says they are patronising Edingeni Health Centre for two reasons: To benefit from birth certificates the hospital issues and to be close to a hospital in case of emergencies.

“Otherwise we don’t see how a hospital is any better from traditional birth attendants,” she says, adding: “We are deliberating on abandoning this hospital for Embangweni [Mission Hospital] where women are attended to properly. But the challenge is that it’s very far.”

Edingeni hospital in charge Douglas Matemba pushes blame on the women.

He says some of these women were referred to Mzimba District Hospital, but did not want to go and opted to deliver on their own.

“As you might be aware, we have challenges with transport in referring cases to Mzimba District Hospital. So, most of these women fail to meet costs of transport.

“For example, we referred Banda to Mzimba because we were suspecting that she might have a stillbirth. But she didn’t go. At night when she was due for labour, they didn’t even phone us. It was in the morning that we discovered that she had given birth at our hospital,” he says.

Matemba says some women are afraid to go to Mzimba because of their foreign nationality, thereby resorting to self-delivery while at the clinic.

“This hospital serves a population of 50 000. Of these, three-quarters are Zambians,” he says.

Edingeni Health Centre committee says it is aware of these malpractices.

“The problem is that we have one nurse. We need more nurses here. We have written reports to the district health office several times on the issue, but the answer has been that they will send us nurses,” says Binna Sakala, treasurer.

Spokesperson for Mzimba District Hospital Raymond Kawaye says the district’s health office (DHO) is not aware of such cases.

He says the DHO will investigate and institute appropriate measures to discipline all concerned health workers.

“This is news to us. The only case similar to that was at Jenda Health Centre, but it was a misunderstanding. As for Edingeni, we have not received anything like that. But we can’t just rule out because it’s something that has to do with one’s attitude. It’s now up to us to investigate the matter.

“If it happens to be true, we will definitely institute disciplinary measures to the concerned health workers because we don’t condone such practices,” he says.

Medical Council of Malawi registrar and chief executive officer Abel Kawonga says regulations do not allow that women should deliver without the attendance of skilled health workers.

“A hospital should not be a danger for its users. It is supposed to help people in time of need and not become a death trap,” he says.

Kaonga says the council will deploy staff to the health centre to investigate the matter.

“If we find that the hospital has few health workers then we will close a section lacking staff. But we will also engage the ministry and nurses’ council on the matter,” he says.

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