Economic experts in the country have advised the Government to come up with food price ceilings if Malawi is to make a good progress in recovering her economy.
This is according to Betchani Tcheleni, an econominist at Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS).
Tcheleni is of view that Malawi can improve her economy if the food price reduction is put at heart by authorities.
“When the food price is high, nothing works at all. Prices of everything go up as well. So we are urging the government to consider the reduction of food prices, said Tcheleni.
Betchani Tchereni
Tcheleni said it is obvious that , challenges Malawi is facing will run throughout the year due to a number of reasons that include impacts of the devastation caused by Cyclone Freddy.
Another economic expert at Catholic University Hope Kawaye also echoed Tcheleni.
Recently, the World Bank has released prediction report that predicts that a majority of Malawians are likely to be pushed into poverty.
On the other hand, the 17th Malawi Economic Monitor recounts that Malawi has faced a material loss and damage of $505 million and production losses equivalent to GDP loss of 0.5 percent for 2023.
Minister of Labour Agnes Nyalonje has urged authorities in the country to establish concerted efforts that can help the elimination of violence and harassment in Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
Nyalonje made the remarks on Thursday in Salima on the sidelines of a half day workshop targeting Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) on the International Labor Organization convention 190 which focuses on elimination of violence and harassment in work places.
Agness Nyalonje
According to Nyalonje, 89% of Malawians are employed in informal sectors where working environment is unfavorable to most employees.
The Minister added that if Malawi embraces the ILOs convention 190 there will be a huge change on issues of harassment and unfavorable working conditions.
“Let us establish concerted efforts that can completely eliminate violences and harassments in working places,” said Nyalonje.
In her remarks, President for Employers Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAM) Annie Chavula, described the meeting as progressive in addressing labour related challenges.
“The meetings like this one are important and there is need to conduct them more frequently so that we have a conducive working environment for everyone,” she said.
In its action to end the rise of sexual harassment cases among female employees in the country, in 2018 the Malawi Government launched Ndiulula campaign, which is aimed at promoting the spirit of reporting harassment cases in work places about.
But still there is no hope as currently,only 45 sexual harassment cases have been reported, a development which shows that the vice is still on rise.
National Bank of Malawi (NBM) Plc says it has made tremendous strides in the usage of cardless features on all digital platforms from March this year when the bank launched the ‘Mo cardless Withdrawal Promotion’.
NBM Card Services Manager Stewart Tepelunde, spoke during the final promotion draw at the Bank’s head office in Blantyre on Wednesday that the promotion has increased usage of the cardless feature on all digital platforms with numbers of used tokens up by 34 percent, and the number of tokens generated growing by 80 percent.
NBM Card Services Manager Stewart Tepelunde
“It has been a very successful promotion because we have managed to reach the objectives that we set at the onset. We have grown the numbers by 34 percent which is quite high. There is more coming because the digital platforms that we present to our customers have many features and cardless withdrawal is just one of them. We are going to add more functionality on the platforms and will have more promotions,” said Tepelunde.
Tepelunde added that the promotion has also managed to increase awareness and encourage the usage of cardless withdrawal feature while rewarding participants on the number of tokens redeemed.
Kunozga Mlowoka emerged as a grand winner and walked away with K1.5 million, Afonso Vincent got K1 million as the first runner-up, while Miraj Twaha Allie took home K750, 000 on the third place.
The Bank also awarded K30, 000 to 20 winners, while other customers won 15 T-shirts and 15 mugs for the June monthly draw.
Users with the highest number of redeemed tokens on either Mo626ice, Mo626Digital+, Mo626Wallet, or BankNet360 emerged overall winners in the promotion which ran from March 20 to June 30, 2023.
NBS Bank Plc plans to incentivize both existing and potential customers to open new accounts and increase deposit balances using the ‘Savings Always Wins’ promotion which is reaching out to a wider audience in an interactive manner while emphasizing the benefits of saving and winning with the Bank.
The promotion which started in June has three tiers on minimal deposits to ensure representation of customer segments. The first band has a minimum deposit of K50,000, while the second has deposits ranging from K100,00.00 to K499,999.99, and the last one consists of deposits above K500,000.00.
NBS Bank Head of Marketing and Customer Experience Tamanda Ng’ombe Longwe
Grand winner in the first band category will walk home with K1 million and K3.5 million for the second band category winner while the third band category winner will be K6 million richer when the promotion closes in October this year.
“Customers who make a single deposit within any of these bands will gain entry into the promotion. To be eligible for the monthly draw prizes, customers must consistently deposit amounts falling under each tier monthly. The prizes will only be available and valid after two months of these consistent deposits while at least maintaining the minimum balance of that tier,” said NBS Bank Head of Marketing and Customer Experience Tamanda Ng’ombe Longwe.
She said additional deposits during the promotion will count as a second entry, increasing the customer’s chances of winning in the draws.
“Customers should also note that consistency in deposits of their respective bands monthly, are the only way they can be eligible for the grand prize. Customers can also move from one band to the next by depositing an amount greater than the minimum deposit for the higher band. For example, a customer in Band 1 who deposits and maintains a balance greater than MK 100,000.00 will be considered part of Band 2. However, customers cannot lower their balances below their initial deposit to gain entry into the competition. Therefore, a Band 3 customer cannot drop down to Band 2,” explained Ng’ombe Longwe.
The Bank plans to maintain customer excitement and raise awareness by having two bi-weekly draws with multiple winners receiving small prizes. The Bi-Weekly draws will be done in the middle of the month as well as month end. The two draws for the monthly prizes will be conducted in the final two months of the promotion leading to the grand prize draw, according to Ng’ombe Longwe.
A Blantyre based businessperson Waza Mazibuko said he was excited with the promotion and wants to participate.
“I do not have an account with NBS Bank but this promotion has excited me and I will open an account with them so that I participate in this promotion,” said Mazibuko.
The promotion was launched on June 25th and ends on October 20th this year.
United Transformation Movement (UTM) Secretary General(SG) Patricia Kaliati has called on the National Registration Bureau (NRB) to scrap the K2 500 fee for national ID replacement or renewal.
Kaliati made the call on Wednesday in Dowa at an electoral laws consultative meeting which drew together commissioners from the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), officials from NRB and political party representatives through the Centre for Multiparty Democracy.
“Considering the economic challenges that the country is facing, it is obvious that a lot of Malawians, especially those that lost their ID cards in the Cyclone Freddy disaster will not manage to replace them due to the fees attached. This means a lot of people will not be able to vote, ” said Kaliati.
Patricia Kaliati
She further called on the NRB to work on their inefficiencies and intensify civic education for more people to register for the national ID, failing which, it will be deemed as an attempt to rig the election.
In his response, NRB Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Homeland Security Mphatso Sambo said discussions are ongoing to remove the national ID replacement fees as well as the police report requirement.
According to the new Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Act, registration for the 2025 general election slated to commence on September 2024 will only be based on national IDs.
