The Malawi Leader, President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, who is also Commander-in-Chief of the Malawi Defence Force, on Thursday, bestowed the rank of General to the new Defence Force Commander Paul Valentino Phiri.
The ceremony took place at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe and in attendance was the Minister of Defence Honourable Harry Mkandawire.
New commander Paul Valentino Phiri
Chakwera appointed Lt General Phiri as New Army Commander replacing Vincent Nundwe.
“In exercise of the powers vested in him under Section 161(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi, His Excellency Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi and Commander-in-Chief of the Malawi Defence Force, has appointed Lt. General Paul Valentino Phiri as the Commander of the Malawi Defence Force, and has promoted him to the rank of General with immediate effect,” read the letter in part.
Until his appointment, Phiri was deputy Army Commander.
National Bank of Malawi (NBM) Plc has extended its Know-Your-Customer (KYC) exercise to August 31 to give customers more time to update their information.
NBM started the exercise mid-June and was scheduled to end on Monday, July 10, which caused panic among customers resulting in congestion in banking halls in almost all the service centers, fearing their accounts could be blocked.
But speaking during a press briefing on Wednesday, NBM Chief Risk Officer, Charles Ulaya said the process is a requirement because customers are dynamic in that their sources of income, addresses and other things captured within KYC may change periodically.
“Customers do not necessarily need to come to service centres as they can submit through emails in their respective service centres. The exercise is a requirement of our Anti Money Laundering (AML) Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) policy as well as the Financial Crimes Act which requires customers to update their information periodically. NBM policy requires high-risk customers to update KYC data every one year, two years for moderate-risk customers and low-risk customers every three years,” he said.
Charles Ulaya
Ulaya also said customers residing abroad or unable to visit the service centres in person, have to update their information online, while those whose details have not changed in the past three years need not to go to the Bank and update their KYC information.
“For customers with expired National IDs but no other alternative cards/ NRB replacement forms, they can still bring their expired National IDs together with the NRB updated form which has an attached QR CODE. For students that are not working, but transact above the minimum, they need to bring a scholarship letter, a letter from a sponsor or where they self- finance, an explanation on the same.”
“Students should also update their KYC information. Most are rated low risk. However, for those that engage in transfers beyond the minimum threshold they need to provide proof of source of funds. For customers that are doing small scale business, they can detail on the form the nature of the business they are undertaking,” he explained.
The news to extend the deadline has been welcomed by customers who earlier expressed their discomfort on the bank’s Facebook page.
“Thanks for the development,” reads a comment by Emmanuel Dillon.
The KYC exercise is expected to be carried out after three years, in accordance with the Financial Crimes Act 2023.
Business Partners International (BPI) Malawi, a fund manager that provides debt equity financing, has advised budding entrepreneurs to consider finding mentors to grow their businesses especially in a depressed economic, complex and challenging environment.
BPI Country Manager Akuzike Kafwamba said in an interview yesterday that mentorship offers access to the tools and expertise a business requires to grow.
“It is well proven that guidance and advice from a mentor can offer as much value as any other form of training, if not more. This is due to the support being tailor-made to the specific needs of the business and offering expertise that are lacking within the business. Guidance from a mentor with extensive experience can help to significantly shorten a less experienced entrepreneur’s learning curve, often saving valuable time and money.”
“It is therefore vital that a business owner knows how to seek appropriate mentors and consultants to help steer them in the right direction,” said Kafwamba.
BPI Country Manager Akuzike Kafwamba
He said entrepreneurs need to master some tips to manage to locate mentors easily, one of which is shared core values.
“Having clear core values is incredibly important to guiding your business. It informs how decisions are made, how teams are managed and whether the business is heading in the right direction. It stands to reason that mentors add the most value when they understand and align with their mentee’s core values.”
“The likelihood of finding a mentor that is willing to spend their time offering guidance is also far greater if you share the same values. When initially talking to prospective mentors, ask them about the values that drive their own companies, and take the conversation further if you find that their values echo your own,” advised Kafwamba.
He also said an informal approach encourages entrepreneurs to even call veterans in the particular industry to ask them a question and also build trust.
“A specific question to an industry veteran can start a wider conversation and may even lead to a visit to your business premises. Many professionals are also more willing to meet for coffee over a weekend or after hours when the pressure is off. In this way, the first contact with the mentor runs very little risk of being unsuccessful, and both parties are able to get a sense of whether it will be worthwhile to build a formal mentor/ mentee relationship,” explained Kafwamba.
“Trust is paramount to a successful mentorship relationship, as is mutual respect between the two parties. As a business owner you must feel completely comfortable sharing information on all aspects of your business with your mentor.”
“With this in mind, avoid finding a mentor among competitors – instead, seek out individuals in unconnected industries that may share the same methods or challenges. Retired, or semi-retired business leaders and entrepreneurs are often great mentors as they have seen it all and have the time to spare and are not affiliated to any competitors,” added Kafwamba.
BPI Malawi further urges the budding entrepreneurs to be willing to learn new things.
“Any form of mentorship will be of little use if the entrepreneur is not open to suggestions and new ways of doing things. Good mentors usually have little time to spare, and therefore will be unlikely to continue with mentees who are too rigid and unwilling to take on their advice.”
“It is possible to hold on to the vision for your business while being open to different paths for reaching one’s goals. Keep this in mind, and make a point of conveying to prospective mentors that you are willing to learn,” advised Kafwamba.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is smoothly and steadily transitioning to become a very popular drama group in Malawi. I thought I could rest writing about the former ruling party this week, but I have failed to resist the temptation.
For starters, it is important to contextualise issues. Malawi Congress Party (MCP) ruled this country for about 31 years before Dr. Bakili Muluzi won the first democratic elections in 1994.
During his time as president of this country, Muluzi used to mock MCP saying the party will end like curtains because the United Democratic Front (UDF) will rule Malawi for many years. History is well documented that because of greed by some leaders in UDF, the party’s rule ended after Prof. Bingu wa Mutharika “stole” the government from them and formed his own DPP to become the new ruling party through the back door of course.
Unfortunately, that was the beginning of the end for the UDF while MCP which according to Muluzi would end like curtains was still intact and a formidable opposition. Fate be it, Mutharika died while in office (may his soul continue to rest in peace) which like the way DPP became the ruling party, the death meant that Joyce Banda who had formed her People Party (PP) would ascend to the throne and automatically make her party the ruling one.
However, PP’s stint in government was short lived as JB lost presidential elections to DPP’s Peter Mutharika in 2014. Sadly, that also put the PP on death bed. Surprisingly, MCP which Muluzi had declared doom against it, that it will end like curtains, remained a strong opposition party both in the National Assembly and outside.
Since Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera’s triumph in the constitutional court sanctioned presidential elections in 2020, the country has seen more drama from DPP than its new role as the opposition party. Chakwera’s win shocked APM who had vowed and swore that Malawi Congress Party will never rule this country “over my dead body.” At least, we know that he is still alive at Page House while MCP is in government.
In fact, they have even failed to agree on who will be the Leader of the Opposition to the extent that courts were involved. Not only that, even sitting plan in Parliament has been subjected to courts’ decisions. Three years down the line, the DPP had degenerated into a flip-flop grouping with members behaving like headless chickens. Instead of providing checks and balances to the government, they are fighting daily.
Several camps have emerged in the once mighty DPP and press releases and news conferences to castigate each other are the order of the day. Court appearances have become a norm. Being in opposition is not for the faint hearted. MCP, which was built on four cornerstones of Unity, Loyalty, Obedience and Discipline, remained strong opposition for 26 years. If one has to strictly look at the three parties, UDF, DPP and PP, you will discover that they are one and the same including characters. Most of their members have been frogging from UDF to DPP then to PP and back to DPP.
Ku opposition mkowawa and liberal political parties such as UDF, PP and DPP have no spine to survive long. Wishing Members of Parliament gathering at Page House in Mangochi to “force” APM to accept the endorsement as a presidential candidate in 2025 well. The only anticipated achievement of such a meeting is the death of the DPP
About 44 Members of Parliament under the former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) say they will not support any candidate who will contest against Peter Mutharika at the party’s elective conference which will be held in July next year.
A representative of the MPs Victor Musowa made the remarks after endorsing Mutharika for the 2025 polls during a meeting held at Page House in Mangochi on Wednesday afternoon.
Musowa said the MPs have agreed to throw their weight behind Mutharika because he is what people at the grassroots want.
“As MPs we will campaign for Mutharika and we will not support any other candidate because it is only Mutharika who is trusted by Malawians at the moment,” said Musowa.
DPP 2025 Presidential Candidate Peter Mutharika
The legislator said following Wednesday’s meeting, they are hopeful that Mutharika will make an announcement very soon regarding his candidature.
On his part, Blantyre City Central legislator Chipiliro Mpinganjira also agreed with Musowa’s remarks saying they want to encourage Mutharika to accept endorsements from several members of the party who want him to lead the party in the 2025 Tripartite Elections.
“Mutharika has the track record to lead the country. When he was elected as President in 2014, the country was going through economic problems due to Cashgate as some donors had withdrawn their aid and funding. But under his leadership, he steadied the economy.
“So, with the current situation, we need him to fix the economy. Due to so many aspirants, DPP is divided. But with him the candidate, there will be unity in the party, ” said Mpinganjira.
Some of the MPs attended the meeting include Shadric Namalomba, Jappie Mhango,Dr. George Chaponda, and Mary Navicha.
