Blue Eagles FC have booked themselves a place in the Castel Challenge Cup quarter-finals after a convincing 3-1 victory against Kamuzu Barracks(KB) in a game that was played at Civo Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
Richard Rapson opened the scoring for Eagles in the 26th minute after connecting well a free-kick by McDonald Lameck
Laurent Banda scored the second goal for Eagles, connecting with a header a corner-kick taken by Rapson in the 63rd minute before Christopher Gototo scored the third goal for the Area 30 side in the 83rd minute.
KB got their consolation through Zikani Yona who scored from the penalty spot after a handball incident in the added time.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Member of parliament for Mulanje South West, George Chaponda has criticised the Tonse Alliance-led Government for cancelling the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) which was established by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government together with the International Monitory Fund (IMF).
Chaponda said the cancellation was not asked by the IMF but it was the Tonse-led government which requested it and it has taken from 2020 to 2023 to restate the same in this year’s agreement.
Chaponda
Said Chaponda:”The inflation rate was at 7.4 percent, but now it is at 30 percent, the debt was at 8 trillion , now is at 12 trillion.”
Chaponda further said the price of fuel was less, economy in Malawi was growing and the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) was going at fast rate during the DPP government.
He lamented that in this Tonse-led government , things are not working and the government is exposed to many things, corruption featured and all the bad excessive travels which made them delay the restatement.
Chaponda also said the devaluation has gone higher from 25 percent to 44 percent which has made Malawi to become a poorest country.
He described that the people in his constituency are dying of hunger since they cannot afford to buy maize and fertilizer as the bag of maize is now at k43,000 to k45,000 .
“Fertilizer was at k15,000 during DPP regime and now is at K107 ,000 , others are selling it at k110,000 and the civil servants their salaries are low compared to the taxes they are deducted , for example a primary school teacher is receiving k160,000 which is not enough compare to tax deducted. The 10 percent which has been included in this mid year’s budget review will not help for a person to survive,”said Chaponda.
He added that the Tonse-government is full of talking but implementation is zero, whatever they say is full of lies.
In his sentiments, Malawi Congress Party (MCP) secretary general who is also a member of parliament for Lilongwe Mpenu Eisenhower Mkaka touched on the issue of expanding Malawi’s export basket which comprise of good services to the neighbouring countries for export inorder for the government to get forex.
He said the president has signed a deal with Israel to export young people up to the age of 35 to go and work in farms in Israel .
“We are talking about five thousand youth that are planned to go to Israel to work with possibility to expand this figure to around ten thousand. negotiation are still in progression,” he said.
He said that through exporting youth to Israel, the country is going to have direct dollar injection ,amounting to 90 million dollars, since the youth will open their accounts here in Malawi.
The legislators are contributing their ideas on the mid-year budget review which finance minister Simplex Chithyola Banda presented in the August house amounting to 4.3 trillion supplimentary budget.
Social media Analyst Daniel Dube has applauded Leader of Opposition in Parliament Kondwani Nankhumwa for standing in the house and raise concerns regarding the labour exportation of 221 Malawian youth to Israel.
It all started with the debate on Thursday when Nankhumwa brought the matter in the national assembly but Leader of the House Richard Chimwendo Banda vehemently denied that Government was exporting labour to Israel demanding Nankhumwa to withdraw the allegation which he refused to do so.
Chimwendo Banda demanded evidence from Nankhumwa and as this was not enough, Speaker of the National Assembly Catherine Gotani-Hara hammered the last nail on to a coffin giving Nankhumwa up to Monday,November 27, 2023 to bring to the house tangible evidence on the matter he brought before Parliament.
Daniel Dube
A plane from Israel landed on Friday at the Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) in Lilongwe putting the whole matter as raised by Nankhumwa to the open.
Several media houses reported on the story prompting Government through the Ministry of Labour proving Nankhumwa right that Government has embarked on labour export of its youth to Israel.
Writing on his face page, Daniel S Dube says the matter of exporting Malawian youths to Israel requires a national consultation as well as a sober debate with Government through the Minister of Labour.
He says the Labour Ministry should explain the labour processes it followed and also explain how Government recruited the youths and legal framework of the agreement.
Dube says reading from the Ministry of Labour’s statement, “Government stated that this deal involves the private sector and the Government” and that Malawians need to know which companies are involved and when they were involved.
He says Malawians need to know insurance to the youths in the event of death, long-term financial benefits at the end of their employment and transparency with respect to the profit of the private companies they will make out of the youths working in Israel.
“The best for Malawi is not to send its productive youth outside to a war zone but creating jobs within the country,” says Dube.
He has however, called on the Government of the Tonse Alliance to reflect deeply on the arrangements made before the country is find itself isolated and targeted as a state supporting Israel war effort and the national legal institutions such as the Law Society of Malawi, the National Chambers of Commerce, Human rights organizations and Trade Unions to weigh in the important issue.
He adds that Malawi need to be able to maintain bilateral relationships with anyone without involving itself in complex global diplomatic issues where the long-term effects may harm the country.
Hamas attacked Israel and killed 1,300 Jewish people and took some hostages of the Jews in an ambush which was atrocious and wrong and in response, Israel killed 12,000 Palestinians prompting the Israeli Government to cancel 90,000 Palestinians work permits meaning that they can no longer return to work in Israel.
India and Malawi are supplying the bulk of the labour in Israel and media reports indicate that Sri Lanka has agreed to send 10,000 farm workers to Israel.
Speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani-Hara on Tuesday dismissed allegations which was made by Leader of Opposition Kondwani Nankhumwa that the Government of Malawi has agreed to send young Malawians to go and join the Palestine-Israel War.
In her ruling, Gotani Hara said the so- called evidence which the Leader of Opposition submitted in Parliament does not in any way supports his assertion that Malawi Government is sending some youths to join the said war.
Nankhumwa and Speaker Gotani Hara
Gotani Hara ordered the so-called evidence brought by the Leader of Opposition be withdrawn and such utterances be expunged from the record of the House met on November 23, 2023.
“I order the so-called evidence brought by the Leader of Opposition and the Hansard that captured this matter be circulated to all Hon. Members and members of the press,” reads Gotani-Hara’s ruling on the matter.
In his comment, Pioneer of Mindset Change Project Bantu Saunders Jumah, said it is sad that the same Government which released a statement proving Nankhumwa’s allegation right that it has embarked on labour export to Israel, booing Nankhumwa for exposing the secret deal.
Jumah said all Malawians are suspicious on the purported labour export to Israel because it was done in secret and had it been Nankhumwa not revealing it, no Malawian would have to come to know that Malawi is exporting labour to Israel except only the families approached for the secret deals.
He said the Parliament particularly those sitting on the Government benches made Nankhumwa to look stupid for exposing the secret deal reminding Malawians that History is the best teacher that Malawi started sending its youths to Israel in 1963 who graduated into a notorious armed wing of the Malawi Congress Party-Malawi Young Pioneers (MYP).
The Mindset Change Pioneer observed that silence by the MDF and Malawi Police Service (MPS) on the MCP training its youth at Mtakataka Police Training College in Dedza is a grave concern and is speaking for itself that democracy in Malawi is under threat.
“In 1994 Malawi made a declaration that never again shall the country go back to one party state and dictatorship and no political party is entitled to have its own military youth, where is the MCP getting all of these powers” said Jumah.
He therefore, demanded the Malawi Judiciary to clarify in the Constitution where there is a clause that political parties must own armed wings training its youth at a government institution advising Malawians to remember the blood of people that brought in the hard-won democracy in Malawi.
Malawi Congress Party regional chairman for the centre, Patrick Zebron Chilondola has warned other Political Parties that they will not grab a parliamentary seat in central region in the forthcoming elections.
Chilondola made the remarks on Monday during sworning ceremony for newly elected Member of Parliament for Dedza central constituency Willard Gwengwe who won by- election on 6th November 2023.
Chilondola said Gwengwe’s victory is a great achievement to the party and it’s a warning to whoever stands before the party that they will be crushed, saying MCP is not a party to play with because its a ruling, conservative and unbreakable party.
He also lamented that every party in the world has got its base and anybody can not play with it in the central region because it’s the party’s yard.
In his sentiment leader of the house Richard Chimwendo Banda said it’s exciting moment for the party to have one more member after they lost another member in parliament.
Patrick Zebron Chilondola
Banda urged Gwengwe as a well experienced legislator that he should continue to dedicate his work and serve the people that elected him into office but also above all to serve the nation.
Banda said:” we come here yes with our political parties but we have the nation to serve, we have our people to represent therefore I wish him all the best.”
He added that they are happy that the party remains strong, saying MCP continues to prevail and is doing very well in many parts of the country.
On his part the winning legislator Willard Gwengwe said he will try as much as possible to be the bridge between the government of Malawi and the people of Dedza central constituency.
He said:” it was a tight race and am so hopeful that all the people even those who didn’t vote for me, I will try to unite them and work hard , so that development works in Dedza central constituency are indeed achieved.”
The newly elected legislator promised to be a game changer agent and he will not in any case work in an isolation saying he will try as much as possible to be with people in times of sorrow, development works as well as in times of happiness they we will always be together as a family of the people Dedza central constituency.
Gwengwe added by assuring the people of the constituency that in any case he will not run away from them saying they will be together in all times.
Malawi electrol commission conducted a by-election on 21 November 2023 in Dedza central constituency after death of Daniel Chiwere who died in July 2023. Gwengwe won the by election with 7988 votes, while independent candidate Jacob Kaumphawi got 7395 votes and Democratic Progressive Party Andrew Kowedza got 395 votes.
