Two officials from the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) have told the court that they cleared cheques worth billions of kwacha during the Cashgate period between April and September 2013 based on a memorandum of understanding (MoU).

The officials said the MoU between the government, commercial banks and the central bank expressly gave instructions that all government cheques be cleared; hence, votes for ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) ended up being overdrawn against allocations approved by Parliament.

The central bank officials disclosed the details in their testimony yesterday in the ongoing K2.4 billion Cashgate case involving government officials, among them former Ministry of Finance budget director Paul Mphwiyo and former Accountant General David Kandoje and contractors.

Votes custodian at RBM, Judith Masangwale, who was a bank teller at the time of Cashgate in 2013, told the court that she was aware that there was an MoU that the government entered into with banks to clear its cheques.

She said it was not her duty to check the legitimacy of the payment.

Said Masangwale: “The government operates on a deficit, on anticipated revenue. I know that even if the government had no money, we still had to clear the cheques for payment.”

She said RBM was responsible for debiting government accounts and crediting commercial banks for the cheques to be honoured.

During cross-examination, Masangwale also admitted having no knowledge of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis), the government’s centralised electronic payment system. She said she did not know how it functioned.

The 16th witness also admitted into evidence letters introducing several government accountants as signatories, among them Auzius Kazombo, Fletcher Kaizo, Roosevelt Ndovi, Clemence Madzi and the former Accountant General himself.

She also tendered images of cheques which she cleared as bank teller among them one amounting to K21 million to Makhausi Construction and K244 million to Stadal Building Contractors whose signatories were Ndovi, Kandoje and Madzi.

In her testimony, the 17th witness, Mirriam Samala, who works as counter operations officer at RBM, said during Cashgate there was no cheque list from the government for the central bank to clear and that any cheque which came through was cleared.

After Cashgate, she said, this has been introduced, allowing for verification if the government accounts have sufficient funds before submitting the cheques to the supervisor for clearing

When Andy Kaonga, lawyer for the second accused person, Kandoje, queried how they are able to tell if the cheque is on the list, Samala said this is indicated in the system before they start processing.

The court also learnt that RBM took part in the process of submitting witness statements with defence lawyers implying their testimony could have been tampered with.

The two witnesses from RBM confirmed that the witness statements were submitted to the central bank’s legal department as a standard practice but insisted the ‘meaning’ was not changed just the words.

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Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has warned city and district councils against diverting resources to support political party activities, cautioning management that they risk punitive measures if they do not comply.

While the communication has not specified the beneficiary political party, the trend over the years has seen political parties in power getting access to vehicles and other resources of local councils as well as parastatals for partisan activities.

Governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters have on numerous occasions been seen aboard vehicles belonging to government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) travelling to and from political functions, including State events presided over by President Peter Mutharika.

In a memo dated March 14 2018, the ministry’s principal secretary (PS) Kiswell Dakamau said the ministry has noted with concern that some councils deliberately continue diverting resources such as vehicles, fuel and funds to support political party activities.

He said the practice contravenes provisions of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) which emphasises on the need to use public resources for the intended purposes and also Local Government Act (LGA) which prohibits officers from acting in a way that causes the council to suffer disruption of operations.

Reads the memo in part: “Council resources are meant to be used for development activities at the grassroots for the benefit of local communities. Hence, the practice of diverting not only deprives the citizenry development projects but also contravenes the Public Finance Management Act.

“You are, therefore, called upon to desist from the practice of being lured by political party functionaries to use council resources to support political activities. Failure to respect this directive will result in meting out of disciplinary actions as stipulated in the PFMA and LGA.”

The ministry has since warned city council chief executive officers (CEOs) and district commissioners (DCs) to discontinue the practice of using the council resources to support political party activities.

Recent findings of a Local Government Accountability and Performance (LGAP) assessment showed that half of the country’s 35 local government councils have serious financial issues and audit queries on their expenditure.

In an interview on the development, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Kondwani Nankhumwa said he directed Dakamau to issue the memo after noting increased abuse of public resources in city and district councils.

He said: “Government will not condone abuse of public resources by officers who want to serve individual political party interests. We have noted an escalation of abuse of public resources for political ends in most district and city councils.

“My ministry will reinforce discipline to protect the interests of taxpayers and ensure that funds and other resources allocated to the councils are meant to serve the people and improve service delivery.”

On action to be taken against controlling officers failing to adhere to the directive, Nankhumwa said based on the outcome of the disciplinary hearing and the gravity of the issues such officers must expect either to be surcharged, suspended, interdicted or indeed dismissed.

But reacting to the memo, one of the human rights defenders Gift Trapence, who has been championing the campaign against misuse of public resources, said while it was a welcome move by the ministry to warn the officers, the same should also be extended to all MDAs, including Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) and Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera).

He said: “Again, it should not just be on paper, but we want real action to be demonstrated. What has been promised should be enforced and implemented.”

There have also been incidents of governing political parties siphoning money from parastatal organisations for their activities.

Last week, the High Court of Malawi dismissed an application by the DPP to discharge a case where five civil society organisations (CSOs) dragged the party to court to reimburse K13.5 million solicited from city councils and a water board during the party’s fundraising dinner and dance dubbed Blue Night last July where President Peter Mutharika was the guest of honour.

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A rights group called Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) has accused the Malawi Police Service (MPS) of failing to successfully investigate cases of abductions and killings of people with albinism.

In a statement issued yesterday and signed by chairperson Timothy Mtambo, his deputy Gift Trapence and secretary Mwiza Nkhata, the HRDs have said the failure shakes their trust in the police service.

The remarks follow the missing of a man with albinism, Macdonald Masambuka, 22, of Nakawa Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Nkoola in Machinga District in February.

From 2014 to date, 21 persons with albinism have been killed and over nine cases of abductions have been reported. Three of these cases have been recorded in the last four months.

The HRDs have since said they are deeply concerned by the rate at which attacks on persons with albinism continue to happen in the country.

“While our brothers and sisters with albinism continue being killed and attacked, authorities choose to do business as usual, with little or no urgency in their protection and response,” it reads in part.

They have since called on government to accord the issue the attention and priority it deserves.

“We also call upon all stakeholders and the general citizenry to work together in dealing with the most requisite haste,” it adds.

Meanwhile, MPS deputy national spokesperson Thomeck Nyaude has said while they are accountable to the public, they cannot always divulge information about investigations.

In April 2016, A United Nations (UN) independent expert on the rights of persons with disabilities Ikponwosa Ero said the atrocities were rendering persons with albinism an endangered group facing a risk of systemic extinction over time if nothing is done.

Amnesty International also released an 80-page report titled We Are Not Animals to be Hunted or Sold: Violence and Discrimination Against People with Albinism in Malawi which detailed how people with albinism are suffering in the country.

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Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Samuel Tembenu has asked leaders from Least Developed Countries (LDC) to take issues of intellectual property seriously as they contribute to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Speaking during the official opening of a week-long training in Lilongwe on intellectual property rights in the global economy for LDCs, Tembenu said protection of copyright as a form of intellectual property has shown enormous economic benefit to countries as measured in terms of their gross domestic product (GDP); hence, leaders need to take the issue seriously.

“Here in Malawi, a study by the National Statistical Office [NSO] showed that the copyright industry contributed 3.4 percent to GDP, surpassing such areas as mining, transport and construction. Similar studies in Kenya and Tanzania revealed 5.2 percent and 4.6 percent of their GDP from copyright,” he said.

Tembenu said the progress of any nation hinges on its ability to promote and harness the ingenuity and creativity of its people, therefore, protection of industrial property forms such as patents, trademarks, designs, copyright and related rights is needed.

World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo) representative Kifle Shenkoru said the training has come at the right time as delegates will discuss 19 policies and strategies in intellectual property and share how they can carry them out in their countries.

“In most LDCs, there are no intellectual property institutions. As LDCs, we are not promoting innovations which are at the core of development. This training, therefore, will help us come up with strategies which can put those in motion and we would chart the way out in the countries,” he said.

He added that the training will give participants an opportunity to discuss ways of strengthening intellectual property institutions.

The training has drawn participants from LDCs in Africa and Asia, among them Malawi, Tanzania, Cambodia, Bhutan and Rwanda.

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Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) has taken a swipe at Electricity Generation Company (Egenco) and Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) for extended load shedding despite the provision of diesel generators.

In an interview yesterday, Cama executive director John Kapito said the country is sailing through troubled waters despite having diesel generators which were expected to reduce load shedding hours to a maximum of six hours per day.

He said: “Instead of moving to a better level we are going backwards, and this is coming at a time when consumers have accepted high electricity tariffs which Mera [Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority] approved.”

The reaction follows Escom’s request for Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, Water and Development to increase the level of water flow in Shire River to allow Egenco generate enough megawatts (MW) for power supply.

The letter, signed by the corporation’s chief executive officer Allexon Chiwaya, argues that the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development recently decided to reduce the flow of water to 110 cubic metres, a decision the corporation wants reversed until end May this year.

According to the letter, Egenco is supplying 170MW instead of 220MW from the hydro generation, creating a deficit of 50MW and leading to prolonged load shedding of 10 hours per day for domestic customers and two days per week for industrial customers.

But in a separate interview, Egenco senior public relations officer Moses Gwaza said it is not Escom’s responsibility to request the ministry for increased water flow.

He said: “Egenco was negotiating for the water through its own mechanisms. You may wish to know that the issue of water is not for Escom but rather a responsibility of Egenco.

“I am pleased to say that by Saturday, we obtained the approval to increase the flows to 120 cubic meters per second. With the increased water flows we expect to have normal supply with the load shedding as previously implemented by Escom.”

But in her remarks, political commentator Emily Mkamanga blamed the two institutions for opting for a short-term solution to ending blackouts.

It is expected that 20MW will be added to the national grid from Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (Zesco) and another 23MW from Aggreko which will plant its machines at Chinyama.

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Pen Malawi, through its female poets, has honoured Professor David Rudabiri with an excellence award for his contribution towards the promotion of poetry in Africa.

The ceremony to honour the retired literature professor took place at Protea Ryalls in Blantyre on Sunday night.

Speaking during the ceremony, Pen Malawi president Alfred Msadala said the award is befitting for Rubadiri as he dedicated his whole life to teaching poetry and promoting it among intellectuals.

“Poetry is what it is today due to his contribution. He literally went across Africa teaching and promoting poetry,” he said.

Msadala said the Sisters Award to Rudabiri, therefore, is a reminder to the younger generations that they have a great man that they can look up to for inspiration.

One of Rubadiri’s former students, Professor Susan Kiguli, said she and her fellow Ugandans take Rubadiri as their own as they started studying his works from secondary school.

“Our relationship with Professor Rubadiri dates way back. Actually, many think he is Ugandan due to the immense work that he did at Makerere University. He is a household name in Uganda as far as poetry and literature are concerned,” she said.

“I had my personal contact with him in 1991 at Makerere University where he taught us poetry. He literally changed the landscape of literature in Uganda.”

Kiguli, herself an associate professor at Makerere University, says Rubadiri’s dedication to teaching poetry goes beyond a job.

She then read three poems in Rudabiri’s honour.

The poems were Rubadiri Rules, The Mountains In Zomba and No Longer A Voice In The Wilderness.

Then finally one of the female poets, Grace Sharra, made the citations: “Today, on March 18, the Sister Award of Excellence has been awarded to Professor David Rubadiri for his contribution as a pioneer of poetry in Africa.”

With the citations, patrons that graced the occasions gave out a loud applause. The award will be handed over to Rubadiri, who was not present during the function due to poor health this week.

Rubadiri published various poetry books and novels, including No Bride Price, An African Thunderstorm and Begging Aid.

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Local reggae outfit Black Missionaries say preparations for the upcoming album Kuyimba 11 pre-launch show are on course.

The Chileka-based band has returned to the studio for the first time in three years since they dropped Kuyimba 10 in 2015, and their fans across the country will be anticipating the upcoming album.

The band’s front man Anjru Fumulani says the recording of the 11-track album should be done within two weeks as the band has set its eyes on April official launch.

“The process has delayed because our producer, Amos Mlolowa, is now based in South Africa. This has meant him travelling here to do the recording which at times has proved difficult because of his other commitments,” he said.

The band will on March 30 hold a pre-launch show at Motel Paradise in Blantyre as they try to build the hype for the album which is being recorded at Mlolowa’s Active A Studio in Ndirande Township, Blantyre.

“Once we are done with the recording, we will select three songs which will be released to radio and TV stations for promotion airplay. We have planned to release the songs simultaneously with their videos,” he said.

The album will also see the return of keyboardist ChizondiFumulani on the lead vocals on yet-to-be revealed three songs, having starred in a similar role on two songs in the previous album.

Initially, the band announced plans to release the album in 2017 but due to what the band’s manager Ray Harawa called “the unavailability of producers” they were forced to shelve their plans.

“The production will reflect on how much we have learnt and improved during the three years we have been away from the studio. The band has come up with a totally new style in Kuyimba 11 and we are keeping that as a secret till the day of the launch,” said Harawa.

Harawa, who also manages cousin to the Fumulani brothers Anthony Makondetsa, revealed that the Mbumba Ya Abraham star will also be releasing his album later this year.

“This year people will have to experience the best from these two Chileka giants. We are bringing our fans the best that they have never experienced before,” he said.

Though Makondetsa records as an individual artist, he is an ever present figure when the Black Missionaries are holding live performances. He has over the years endeared himself to music lovers with his energetic live performances.

He released MbumbaYa Abraham in 2012 and the album performed well on the market and was accorded massive airplay on the country’s radio and TV stations.

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In a bid to give his forthcoming album,Mtendere, an international touch, gospel singer Peter Sambo last week crossed the borders to Lusaka in Zambia to record new songs with award-winning gospel vocalist Ephraim.

The Tachilowa Chaka China hitmaker is making final touches to his new album expected to be out mid this year. He has also hinted at a possible collaboration with another celebrated Zambian gospel artist Abel Chungu.

Announcing on Facebook, the Monga Mufunira star wrote: “Lusaka, Zambia; I am in your city tomorrow. Any friend around to welcome me?”

In an interview from Lusaka on Saturday, Sambo said he is in Zambia for personal ventures and arranging talks with Chungu who is based there for a possible collaboration.

He said: “I am in Zambia for both music and personal ventures. I will not say much on collaborations but apart from Ephraim, I am trying to do works with Abel Chungu, and planning a Lusaka concert and of course building a fan base.”

Commenting on the collaborations, the Ndife Nyali hitmaker said it is a move that both artists hope will be the beginning of a great friendship between the two countries as fans from Malawi and Zambia are going to be more aware of music from beyond their borders.

He added: “This is my fifth album besides a DVD collection. Other featured artists include urban artist ‘Sir’ Patricks and Ndirande Anglican Voices.”

In reaction, gospel music lover Pilirani Thawani said she anticipates a power music collection as Sambo features the cream of Zambia’s gospel music industry.

“I can’t wait for this album; Peter is very good and really sharp. I am happy to see him working with other serious gospel singers on the African continent in the likes of Ephraim and Abel. This will make the album enjoyable,” she said.

Among the songs in the 14-track album is a revised version of Tachilowa Chaka China which he collaborated with Dan Lu and is being recorded by OBK and Yesaya who did his previous album Monga Mufunira.

The album new album according to Sambo, features many notable names in the likes of Lulu who features in Ndinu Thandizo, Allan Chirwa in Ndamuyesa Yesu, Limbani Simenti in Woyera, Tebogo of South Africa in I am Not Going Alone and Ephraim from Zambia in Mercy and Grace.

Other albums to Sambo’s credit include Pa Calvary (2002), Tachilowa Chaka China (2004), NdifeNyali(2009), and Monga Mufunira(2012).

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Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has warned city and district councils against diverting resources to support political party activities, cautioning management that they risk punitive measures if they do not comply.

While the communication has not specified the beneficiary political party, the trend over the years has seen political parties in power getting access to vehicles and other resources of local councils as well as parastatals for partisan activities.

Governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters have on numerous occasions been seen aboard vehicles belonging to government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) travelling to and from political functions, including State events presided over by President Peter Mutharika.

In a memo dated March 14 2018, the ministry’s principal secretary (PS) Kiswell Dakamau said the ministry has noted with concern that some councils deliberately continue diverting resources such as vehicles, fuel and funds to support political party activities.

He said the practice contravenes provisions of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) which emphasises on the need to use public resources for the intended purposes and also Local Government Act (LGA) which prohibits officers from acting in a way that causes the council to suffer disruption of operations.

Reads the memo in part: “Council resources are meant to be used for development activities at the grassroots for the benefit of local communities. Hence, the practice of diverting not only deprives the citizenry development projects but also contravenes the Public Finance Management Act.

“You are, therefore, called upon to desist from the practice of being lured by political party functionaries to use council resources to support political activities. Failure to respect this directive will result in meting out of disciplinary actions as stipulated in the PFMA and LGA.”

The ministry has since warned city council chief executive officers (CEOs) and district commissioners (DCs) to discontinue the practice of using the council resources to support political party activities.

Recent findings of a Local Government Accountability and Performance (LGAP) assessment showed that half of the country’s 35 local government councils have serious financial issues and audit queries on their expenditure.

In an interview on the development, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Kondwani Nankhumwa said he directed Dakamau to issue the memo after noting increased abuse of public resources in city and district councils.

He said: “Government will not condone abuse of public resources by officers who want to serve individual political party interests. We have noted an escalation of abuse of public resources for political ends in most district and city councils.

“My ministry will reinforce discipline to protect the interests of taxpayers and ensure that funds and other resources allocated to the councils are meant to serve the people and improve service delivery.”

On action to be taken against controlling officers failing to adhere to the directive, Nankhumwa said based on the outcome of the disciplinary hearing and the gravity of the issues such officers must expect either to be surcharged, suspended, interdicted or indeed dismissed.

But reacting to the memo, one of the human rights defenders Gift Trapence, who has been championing the campaign against misuse of public resources, said while it was a welcome move by the ministry to warn the officers, the same should also be extended to all MDAs, including Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) and Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera).

He said: “Again, it should not just be on paper, but we want real action to be demonstrated. What has been promised should be enforced and implemented.”

There have also been incidents of governing political parties siphoning money from parastatal organisations for their activities.

Last week, the High Court of Malawi dismissed an application by the DPP to discharge a case where five civil society organisations (CSOs) dragged the party to court to reimburse K13.5 million solicited from city councils and a water board during the party’s fundraising dinner and dance dubbed Blue Night last July where President Peter Mutharika was the guest of honour.

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Amref Health Africa has partnered with the Malawi College of Health Sciences  (MCHS)  and Ekwendeni College of Health Sciences(Ecohs),  to provide eLearning training courses for nurse-midwife technicians.

The two pilot colleges plan to enrol about 40 students each on the two-year course starting June this year who will graduate with a diploma in nursing and midwifery.

The targeted nurse-midwife technicians, who will become registered nurse-midwives after completion of studies, are expected to continue working at their respective health facilities as they are upgrading to avoid distracting health service delivery to communities.

In a press statement issued at the weekend, Meriam Kalyolyo, Amref Health Africa e-learning project mamager said the programme has comeabout in response to the critical shortages of health workers, particularly the nursing and midwifery cadre, due to, among other
reasons, limited number of existing training slots for the cadres, inadequate resources for training and withdrawal of health care workers as they upgrade their profession.

She further said by design, the e-learning approach expedites scaling up of a number of learners enrolled in the programme as they are not limited by facilities, infrastructure or instructors in comparison to traditional classroom based learning.

“E-learning is a self-paced study method that uses computers and other devices to access content anywhere and anytime. It has been proven to be efficient, effective, and cost-effective approach to training health workers in Africa and across the globe,” said Kalyolyo.

According to Kalyoyo, under the programme, e-learning resource centres have been set up in eight health facilities, which will be supported by MCHS and ECOHS.
In an earlier interview, Amref health systems advocacy manager Benedict Chinsakaso bemoaned Malawi’s
continued loss of trained medical personnel to other countries.

He called on the need for government to report on the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Code of Ethical Practice on InternationalRecruitment of Health Workers which aims at controlling labour migration within the health sector in less developed countries which he said will help retain staff in the health sector.

Currently, Malawi’s nurse to patient ratio stands at 34 to 100 000 (1: 3 000).

Caption: Kalyolyo; eLearning has proven to be efficient, effective, and cost-effective approach to training health workers.

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Treasury has given an outline of the forthcoming 2018/19 National Budget projected at between K960 billion and K1 trillion that it will focus more on youths with emphasis on employment and training.

Secretary to the Treasury (ST) Ben Botolo gave the hint during the launch of the 2018/19 Pre-budget Consultations Meetings in Blantyre yesterday.

He said: “The 2018/19 National Budget has to respond to all sectors of the economy. As we are doing this, we will be crafting a budget which will be very responsive to the youth to make sure we tackle the issue of employment, get jobs for the youth and train them

“We notice that the economy has attained significant stability with inflation maintained at single digit. However, in 2018/19 we should pursue national policies that aim at attaining economic growth, the guiding blueprint being the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy [MGDS] III.”

Botolo said government has set out the macroeconomic targets, fiscal and monetary policy measures and debt sustainability targets to be achieved by the end of the fiscal year.

In his contribution, Economic and Tax Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Malawi (Icam) chairperson Andrew Chioko, while cautioning government to monitor expenditure and debt, said electricity outages and erratic water supply remain a challenge to the 2018/19 National Budget implementation.

“If you look at government, there is a tendency to spend on things that are not necessary. There was an outcry last year where government bought very expensive vehicles, if we had saved on those vehicles, and bought less expensive vehicles, those funds could have been utilised and channelled to other important sectors such as health and agriculture,” he said.

The projected K1 trillion budget will be lower than the K1.3 trillion in the current financial year ending on June 30.

But Chioko said the reduction in the 2018/19 budget was expected following the poor performance of domestic revenue collection in the 2017/18 financial year.

He attributed the country’s poor domestic revenue performance to the energy crisis being experienced with no end in sight.

Said Chioko: “It [the downward revision] is expected in the sense that if you look at the way the economy has performed. The lack of consistent supply of electricity, water problems and the cost of doing business has increased. Manufacturing companies have not done well.

“So, obviously you can see a reduction in profits with a result decrease in taxes from MRA [Malawi Revenue Authority]. I presuppose that in terms of losers or winners, I don’t expect a decrease in tax deductable issues. I should not expect a decrease in tax rates because the pool we have is limited because there is a limitation to what government can push considering the limited base.”

International Labour Organisation (ILO) statistics put youth unemployment rate in Malawi at 23 percent, slightly higher than the national unemployment rate which is pegged at 21 percent.

On the other hand, figures from the African Development Bank (AfDB) show that 50 percent of the youth in Malawi are projected to be unemployed by 2025 going by the recent increase in unemployment.

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Civil society organisations (CSOs) have unveiled plans to hold nationwide protests on April 27 2018 to express displeasure with government’s handling of the K4 billion allocation to members of Parliament (MPs) and other issues.

In a statement issued yesterday, the CSOs said their decision follows inconsistencies, illegality and a cloud of suspicion that characterised the K4 billion ‘miracle money’ pay-out that raises governance and accountability questions.

Through the demonstrations, which the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) and others are supporting, the CSOs want to force cancellation of disbursement of the K4 billion fund, and push for the resignation or dismissal of Cabinet ministers Goodall Gondwe (Finance, Economic Planning and Development) and Kondwani Nankhumwa (Local Government and Rural Development) over their roles in the scam.

The statement is signed by Human Rights Defenders Forum (HRDF) chairperson Timothy Mtambo, his deputy Gift Trapence, Robert Phiri of PAC and Charles Kajoloweka of Youth and Society (YAS).

The statement has been endorsed by the quasi-religious group PAC, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), Centre for the Development of People (Cedep) and YAS.

The demonstrations are set to be held under the theme For How Long Shall Malawians Continue To Be Taken for Granted? Loss of Public Trust in the Current Administration: Time to Reclaim Our Destiny.

The CSOs argue that the K4 billion allocation is illegal and not in the best interest of Malawians, hence the need to immediately cancel it.

The CSOs have also asked the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to investigate allegations that government bribed some MPs from the opposition parties to frustrate the Electoral Reforms Bills through rejection, abstaining or absenteeism during last November sitting of Parliament.

Besides, the protests will also be held over continued blackouts and

government’s K45.2 billion bailout to State produce trader Agricultural Development and

Marketing Corporation (Admarc) without seeking parliamentary approval in 2017.

On continued blackouts, the CSOs feel Electricity Supply Corporation

of Malawi (Escom) and Electricity Generation Company of Malawi (Egenco) have failed to effectively supply electricity amid purchasing and hiring of generators.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) led government has also been challenged to free taxpayer-funded Malawi Broadcasting Corporation and act on all proposed reforms by PAC and the Law Commission’s report on the review of electoral laws (2017).

In a separate interview, Mtambo said time to worship impunity is over and it is high time Malawian reclaimed their destiny.

He said: “The time for impunity worshipping is over! We have massaged evil for so long.  The honeymoon is over!”

PAC executive director Robert Phiri, who also signed the statement, confirmed that PAC had endorsed the demonstrations.

Minister of Information and Communications Technology Nicholas Dausi could not be reached for comment, but presidential adviser on Non-Governmental Organisations Mavuto Bamusi said he was not surprised with the move.

He said despite explanations from Gondwe on the reasonability of the K4 billion, the CSOs have chosen a different path.

On Friday, Gondwe met the CSOs leaders—Trapence, Mtambo and Kajoloweka—where they reiterated their position on his resignation. Gondwe refused to step down.

Bamusi said it was surprising that the CSOs have decided to bring in other issues that are not related to the K4 billion.

“All I can say is that this is a politically motivated march. Nonetheless, they have got the right to demonstrate just about anything. One begins to see some kind of connection between what PAC intended to do after the failure of the 50 +1 issue in Parliament,” he said.

Both President Peter Mutharika and leader of opposition Lazarus Chakwera recently defied a seven-day ultimatum from the CSOs over the K4 billion allocation. In an earlier interview, Chancellor College based political analyst Ernest Thindwa urged the CSOs to start engaging the masses more on issues of national importance.

The K4 billion issue—that initially saw 86 legislators mostly affiliated to the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its working partners getting about K40 million each—came to the fore during the Mid-Year Budget Review Meeting in Parliament in February.

But Nankhumwa clarified that both sides of the House decided to distribute the money equally, meaning that each of the 193 legislators would now receive K20.7 million.

However, the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) later made a U-turn, saying it does not want to be party to the fund.

Capital Hill has long argued that the money, described as Quick Grant Project, is meant for rural development, but the CSOs feel Gondwe’s conduct on the matter is beneath his resume and a betrayal of citizens’ trust as the country’s purse keeper.

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, under Vote 120, had an approved K11.4 billion in the approved recurrent budget for which Gondwe sought an increment of K2.2 billion. However, the K4 billion is not part of the increment.

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Pressure continues to mount on Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe to step down following his dealings in the controversial K4 billion allocation to legislators.

The latest to demand Gondwe’s head is the governance arm of the Catholic Church, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP).

Besides demanding the resignation of the Cabinet minister, CCJP is also calling on President Peter Mutharika to take appropriate action against him.

Gondwe has challenged those making the demands, saying unless they prove to him he committed a crime he would not throw in the towel.

But in a communiqué issued at the end of an ordinary meeting for its national and diocesan coordinators held in Blantyre, CCJP, a division of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), said it noted with concern government’s misallocation of the public funds to the members of Parliament (MPs).

“In our view, this misallocation and wanton sharing of taxpayers’ money at a time the national budget is constrained and cannot perform properly is both unethical and immoral.

“It raises a lot of questions on the integrity and commitment to good governance by the current regime. We are appalled by Parliament’s sin of cooperation in supporting illegality and impunity; disregarding its constitutional obligation of providing oversight over the Executive arm of the government,” reads part of the communiqué titled  A Call for Servant Leadership–A Principle of Integrity.

The communiqué was signed by CCJP national coordinator and diocesan coordinators from the Archdioceses of Blantyre and Lilongwe and dioceses of Dedza, Mzuzu, Karonga, Mangochi, Zomba and Chikwawa.

CCJP said the minister’s conduct was clear evidence of a leadership that is corrupt and lacks integrity.

“We join all who call for the Anti-Corruption Bureau [ACB] to thoroughly investigate and clear the mist regarding the source of the funds,” reads the communiqué.

In an interview last week, Public Affairs Committee (PAC) described Gondwe’s action as an “extremely dangerous scandal” warranting an immediate resignation.

The quasi-religious body observed the action was tantamount to selfishness and was a crime Malawians should be ashamed of.

“That is a crime because public money was at stake. The taxpayers should have been agitated upon hearing their money was being abused to serve political party interests,” said PAC spokesperson Father Peter Mulomole.

He added: “That is a serious financial scandal and the minister should have voluntarily resigned as soon as the issue was unearthed. If it was in other countries the resignation would have been immediate but in Malawi people in power are immune,”

Mutharika, alongside Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president and leader of opposition Lazarus Chakwera, also defied a seven-day ultimatum some civil society organisations (CSOs) gave them over the issue.

Since the issue came to light late last month, various stakeholders have called on Gondwe to step down.

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The Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development has revised downwards 2017 and 2018 growth projections to an average of four and 4.5 percent, respectively.

Initially, Treasury had projected 2017 growth prospects at 6.4 percent while initial projections for 2018 were pegged at six percent

In an interview yesterday, Secretary to the Treasury Ben Botolo said: “We are expecting a growth of four percent for 2017 and four to 4.5 percent in 2018. The main issue is that while inflation rate has been on the decline, the economy must also rise, which pushes up factors of production, including labour and capital, which is now used to the full capacity to increase economic growth.

“To sustain this inflation trend, we should ensure that our fiscal policy should speak to the monetary policy of the Reserve Bank to avoid counter-acting what the central bank is doing.”

This is not the first time that government has revised downwards its economic growth projections. Last year, the projections were also revised downwards to 2.9 percent from five percent.

And in 2016, the economic growth rate was also revised downwards from an ambitious six percent to 3.1 percent largely due to adverse weather conditions that reduced harvest by over 30 percent. Malawi is an agro-based economy.

This year, growth prospects have been dealt a big blow with the combined effects of dry spells and fall armyworms attack that could shutter this financial year’s growth prospects. The current drought is estimated to cut maize production by 40 percent or 210 740 tons while army worms could reduce output by 10 percent or 73 201 tons.

In an earlier interview, Centre for Social Concern (CfSC) economic governance programme officer Lucky Mfungwe said the projected growth rate was too optimistic unless strategies were put in place to take care of climate change effects.

He said: “The growth rate would hardly be reached in this context as agriculture alone is a major contributor to the country’s GDP [gross domestic product]. In addition, the dry spells may lead to hoarding of maize which would be one of the factors to push maize prices up.”

Read more stories on Pre-Budget Consultations in Business News Section

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The Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa)-Malawi Chapter has called on citizens to familiarise themselves with the Access to Information (ATI) Act to fully utilise its benefits.

Misa-Malawi chairperson Tereza Ndanga was speaking in Mulanje District on Monday when the organisation held a sensitisation meeting on the recently enacted ATI Act with district executive committees (DECs) and local level actors to help them appreciate the importance of the Legislature.

She said: “Just because the law has been championed by journalists, people think it will only benefit journalists. But the general public stands to benefit more because they can access any information they need for the enjoyment of a particular right.”

Ndanga added that once in practice, the Act will also remove fear from people in holding public officers accountable and in that way, foster development.

She said: “In some districts where we have visited, we found that people are scared to ask for even the basic information. With the coming of this Act however, it’s different. People can now ask, for example, how much money they received as Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and follow up on how it has been spent.”

Ndanga then disclosed that this is why as Namisa, they plan to visit selected villages across the country and sensitise them to the same.

“Right now, as we continue to push for the commencement date of the Act from the Minister of Information and Communications Technology, we plan to sensitise beneficiaries and public officers that will provide the information,” she said.

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Police in Blantyre have arrested Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) security guard and a minibus driver on suspicion that they stole over 650 kilogrammes of the power utility’s copper wire worth over K8.7 million.

In an interview yesterday, Blantyre Police Station spokesperson Augustus Nkhwazi identified the guard as Daston Konzani who is suspected to have conspired with friends on Sunday night to steal bags of copper wire at Escom Chichiri Power House.

“While on duty, he connived with some criminals to steal copper wires. Before they could make away with the items, security officers interrupted,” he said.

Nkhwazi said police rushed to the scene after receiving a call from an officer at the power station.

“One of Escom security officers informed the police about the incident. Police rushed to the scene and arrested the guard together with the minibus driver James Mpasu. Two others fled the scene and are at large,” he explained.

Police have since confiscated the copper wires and the minibus which will be used as an exhibit in court. Konzani, 40, comes from Samuti Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Chimaliro, while Mpasu, 38, comes from Dzungu Village in T/A Bvumbwe, both in Thyolo.  The two will appear in court soon to answer charges of theft contrary to Section 278 of the Penal Code.

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Occupational health and safety (OHS) is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health  and rights of people at work.

Every workplace has to institute measures to maintain a hazard-free environment by exercising strict safety and health practices at the workplace.

While many view occupational health and safety as an extra burden or cost to their operations, it adds value to your organisation and demonstrates goodwill to protect the health of employees and clients.

The main objective is not to incur more costs but to retain good health and safety of employees that will in return be more productive.

The money the employer would have spent on ill-health, compensation costs, court proceedings and absenteeism is greatly reduced once you have a working safety and health system.

Even non-governmental organisations, construction firms, private companies, hospitals, factories and agricultural companies should incorporate safety in their activities and procedures.

Any workplace should have safety provisions in place so that their employees, communities and environment are not at risk of being harmed by their activities, but rather they are enhanced and improved.

But little do most employees in Malawi know what is expected of their employers to guarantee their safety at the workplace.

This might be the case because the field of occupational safety and health is not widely recognised though the Safety and Health Directorate has been in existence for so many years in the Ministry of Labour, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development.

Most workers are subjected to hazardous conditions that pose a risk to their safety.

It is important that workers should know the obligations of their employers towards their own safety.

The employees should also uphold their duties towards achieving a safe working environment.

To begin with, every employer should be conversant with their duties as per the requirement of the occupational safety, health and welfare act of Malawi laws of 1997.

The Labour Act contains provisions that are meant to assist in ensuring and upholding a safe and healthy working environment.

Employers should make provisions that every employee is given enough training or induction of what he or she is expected to do.

They should also be given appropriate protective clothing in relation to their jobs.

Personal protective equipment can vary depending on the job engaged.

But the minimum safety requirement is: working suit (an overall or jacket and pair of trousers) and safety boots. Other jobs require special wear to protect eyes, ears, head and hands.

Once these personal protective equipment is issued to the workforce, it is the responsibility of the workers to properly use them and maintain them in good condition at all times.

It is within the rights of the employees to refuse work that will jeopardise their health.

Provision of protective wear is just a step towards ensuring the safety and health of the persons that are employed in various workplaces.

I implore the employers to ensure that their workforce is protected at all times.

Employees also have a duty to work in a safe and hazard-free environment through liaising with their line managers to improve workplace safety.

Safety should be a priority in whatever employees and employers do.

Let us work together to improve the safety and health of the Malawian workforce by upholding safety and health practices and standards at all times.

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Board chairperson of the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom), I would recall that what I assured the nation, in the presence of President Peter Mutharika, during the commissioning of 55 megawatts (MW) diesel generators in Blantyre in January this year, is not what is happening on the ground.

If I were the former Reserve Bank of Malawi governor, I would recall that I assured Malawians that switching on the mega-generators would reduce hours without power from 24 to just six, which is not the case now as the haunting blackouts are back to torment people connected to the national grid.

Oh yes bwana Ligoya, after putting a smile on the faces of millions of Malawians, including the whole President, I would find a quick solution, not excuse, because the country is racing back to the dark days of more than eight hours without power.

And while my corporation has swiftly announced that “the extended load shedding” is due to shortage of electricity available from Electricity Generation Company (Malawi) Limited (Egenco), I would accept that Escom has failed to live up to its promise by keeping consumers in the dark about this until this in eventuality  went out of hand.

How I wish I were Ligoya, because I would realise that what the consumers want is improved electricity supply as I promised on that bright sunny morning—not the age-old blame games with Egenco or who-so-ever it may concern.

Unfortunately, I am not the one who made the false promise.

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The Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) has asked Treasury to consider reducing and rationising taxes to boost businesses’ productive capacity.

Speaking yesterday in Blantyre at the start of the 2018/19 pre-budget consultation meetings presided over by Secretary to theTreasury Ben Botolo, MCCCI private-public partnership manager Hope Chavula said the move could help to grow the industry, which has stagnated in the recent past despite improved macroeconomic environment.

Said Chavula: “Neighbouring countries are discussing reducing taxes such as corporate taxes to attract investments in their countries. Even developed countries such as United States of America (USA) have reduced their corporate income taxes from 35 percent to 21 percent. There is also need to rationalise taxes so that there is a level playing field.

“This could make local production attractive than importation of final products. For instance, inputs that attract input taxes where final imported products are free. Where inputs are subjected to value added tax [VAT] refunds, resources are not available.”

Among MCCCI’s tax proposals include income tax rates which the private sector lobby group said should not have differences on personal or corporates, calling for the removal of 35 percent tax bracket on salaried income in excess of K3 million per month.

The chamber also made proposals to have the 20 percent withholding tax on gross insurance broking commission received from insurance companies reduced, saying this does not equate to corporate tax assessed at the end of the period.

On the insurance sector, the chamber proposed that the stamp duty at 80 tambala per K200 of cover be reduced and have a flat rate introduced, which could also improve insurance penetration.

“We would like government to maintain excise tax on tobacco at current $15 [K10 900] per mile and not discriminatory for a minimum of three-year predictable regulatory environment.

“This will mitigate issues of illicit trade in tobacco products as well as improve on inconsistent application of excise tax in the non-alcoholic beverage category,” he said.

Institute of Chartered Accountants in Malawi (Icam) chairperson of economic and taxation committee Andrew Chioko said widening tax base by re-introducing tax compliance could help increase the tax base and also urged Treasury to re-think on tax penalties, which are a hindrance to investments.

Government has in recent years been relying on domestic revenues for the implementation of the national budget due to dwindling donor support.

For instance, in the current fiinancial year, government has projected it will collect K980.3 billion in domestic revenue, which is 19.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

In his remarks, Botolo said taxation issues are sensitive.

“It is possible that we can decrease our corporate tax but you will find that we are not collecting as much as we can so we need to balance. The whole idea is we want the investors to benefit while at the same time the public service not to suffer but to continue,” he said. n

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Malawi will attend the 13th edition of CII-Export and Import (Exim) Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership in New Delhi next week.

This year, Malawi will be participating as a country partner and will hold a session focusing on investment and trade opportunities available in the country.

The country’s delegation will be led by Vice- President Saulos Chilima, and so far, 37 participants from the public and private sector have confirmed their attendance.

In preparation for the meeting, the two countries organised a business meeting last week in Lilongwe attended by Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism Henry Mussa and Indian High Commissioner Suresh Kumar Menon, among others.

During the meeting, Mussa urged the Malawi delegation to speak with one voice when in India.

”Let’s be united and we should go to India and sell Malawi investment and trade opportunities. We should come back with deals that will make a huge difference to the country.”

In an interview, Menon said this is the first time Malawi is being given a status of guest country and is sending a high-powered delegation.

“In India, there are so many opportunities and the Malawi delegation should lure a lot of Indian investors so that they should also come and participate in the forthcoming Malawi Investment Forum 2018 to take place in June,” he said.

The first CII-Exim Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership was held in 2005.

The initiative was launched by CII in partnership with Exim Bank of India and with the support of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Over the last 12 editions, the conclave has emerged as the pioneer event in building partnerships and enhancing the economic engagement between the two regions.

The effectiveness of CII Exim Bank Conclave was recently best assessed by Pranab Mukherjee, former president of India and the then minister of External Affairs in his keynote address at fifth CII-Exim Bank Conclave in 2009.

Mukherjee said: “The conclave has become a prestigious event for Indian and African governments and industry to meet and explore new avenues of partnerships.

The annual gathering enables the Indian and African leadership to take stock of the progress of the partnership and address future needs with regard to trade. n

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