The High Court in the capital Lilongwe through Judge Violet Chipao has on Tuesday dismissed an application by former Solicitor General and Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Justice Reyneck Matemba,that National Crime Agency (NCA) officials from the United Kingdom (UK) should not testify in the corruption case against him.
Matemba submitted that formal procedures were not followed to have witnesses and evidence from NCA presented in court.
Matemba said there was a need for the office of the Attorney General to make a request from the Home Affairs office in the UK, asking for evidence and witnesses from NCA.
Matemba
Judge Violet Chipao ruled that the Anti-Corruption Bureau can use informal means to ask witnesses to testify.
One of the NCA officials has since started testifying in the case.
Matemba is answering charges of failure to declare interest in the vetting and approval of the $7.875million Police ration packs contract awarded to Zuneth Sattar.
Newly appointed Finance and Economic Planning Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda has challenged the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) to triple its K1.5 trillion revenue collection target.
Chithyola said this after visiting the MRA headquarters in Blantyre on Tuesday, where he outlined a new strategy to revamp the country’s economy and fiscal discipline through government expenditure controls.
Chithyola visiting MRA
The Minister said he is upbeat that no matter what, the Malawi Revenue Authority can surpass its current revenue targets.
Chithyola-Banda said he was optimistic that MRA has personnel who have the acumen to deliver to his expectations.
“MRA can triple its current revenue collection,” Chithyola-Banda said.
The minister then said he was geared to serve in the current position as Minister of Finance and that he had employed a ‘Four F Strategy’ namely; Forex, Fuel, Food and Fertilizer which are four critical challenges the Malawi economy is currently facing.
On his part, MRA Commissioner General John Bizwick said the strategy could be realistic with a tax-compliant society, a favorable economic environment, efficient implementation of reforms, and integrated tax collection systems like Msonkho Online.
On October 7, 2023, President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera appointed Banda to become the Minister of Finance replacing Sosten Gwengwe who is now the Minister of Trade and Industry.
A Human Rights Activist based in South Africa Sir Charles Ben Longwe, has accused Attorney General Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda of being behind stopping planned demonstrations which were slated on 25th October, 2023 as illegal.
Ben Longwe said he has noted with a great concern that Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda for the first time in the history of the demos since 2021 has described the planned protests calling for the resignation of President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera as unlawful.
Activist Ben Longwe
He said President Chakwera promised Malawians that if he fails to govern Malawi in the interest of all, he will resign, now he has clocked three years in government asking Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda that is this not unlawful? Speaking through an audio clip circulating in various social media platforms, Ben Longwe has claimed that Malawi has no fertilizer, no maize, people are just being killed and disappeared, the Malawi Kwacha has been devalued more than any other government that has ruled the country, asking Chakaka-Nyirenda to tell Malawians whether President Chakwera is lawful or unlawful.
Longwe said the office of the Attorney General is there to advise government on legal matters claiming that Chakaka-Nyirenda has failed to arrest and prosecute corrupt businessman Zuneth Sattar alleging him to have bought for him a house in London challenging him to prove him wrong. He has reminded Chakaka-Nyirenda that he once told Malawians that if he fails to recover money that went into a butchery for fertilizer procurement to Malawi, he will resign, asking him that is the promise unlawful?
The Activist has advised Chakaka-Nyirenda that the MCP led government is leaving and going saying there is no way it can bounce back into government in 2025 and once the MCP is ousted from power, he will be answerable to many questions than answers. He said all Malawians are very angry with the MCP led government, maize is at K65,000 per 50 Kilogram bag and in some other areas K55,000 assuring the MCP led government that rigging the 2025 elections will be almost zero. “MCP led government’s Plan B of rigging the 2025 elections has failed, Malawians are all angry with the MCP and are not ready to give votes to President Chakwera for him to bounce back as the country’s leader in 2025,” said Longwe. Ben Longwe said activists have been warning Minister of Homeland and Security Dr. Kenneth Zikhale Ng’oma to slow down on refugees and asylum seekers, saying today he has become unlawful for entering into the book of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on crimes against refugees.
He has claimed that cases which are being transferred from Malawi courts to other countries, are a clear demonstration that Malawi has no government and if there is one, which government as there is no judiciary in Malawi.
Pioneer of Mindset Change Project, Bantu Saunders Jumah, says Malawians cannot allow people who messed up the country to bounce back into government in 2025 saying there is no better corruption, corruption is corruption.
Jumah said former President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika was gifted by the grace of the Lord but failed to use the grace properly, the leadership was taken away from him to someone else because he was promoting corruption and nepotism in government.
He said President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera saw the grace of the lord bestowed in him when 20 million people trusted him to change the country from a corrupt nation to prosperity, he has failed to use the grace properly and Malawians won’t vote for him in the 2025 elections.
Bantu Saunders Jumah
Speaking through his Facebook page followed by millions of people across the African continent, Jumah said it is sad that two leaders who messed up the country Professor Mutharika and Dr. Chakwera wants to stand in the 2025 elections. Jumah said President Chakwera and his MCP grace has been removed, K30 billion meant for 2022/23 Affordable Input Programme (AIP) was stolen in a butchery so too East Bridge Company of Romania for fertilizer saying no one was arrested and prosecuted in court.
He said in just 3 years in government, President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera and his MCP led government has borrowed over MK 5 billion public debts and this has never happened before in the history of the country and will never happen in the future. The Mindset Change Project pioneer observed that K5 billion public debts have disappeared for which generations to come are going to repay forthe debts incurred by their forefathers out of doing nothing for the country but development of their pockets
He said voting for Professor Mutharika and Dr. Chakwera to bounce back into government will be betraying the future of the country and if the two want to come back, they should confess and apologize to the country over their atrocities they committed. “Professor Mutharika must confess and apologize for the disappearance and killings of innocent people such as Robert Chasowa and Issa Njaunju while Dr. Chakwera must confess and apologize for the abduction and theft of property belonging to refugees, Malawians will vote for them for a renewed commitment,” said Jumah.
He said Malawi in 2025 needs fresh blood and new people and not people that have misused and abused the country, if DPP and MCP comes back, their tribes will enjoy assuring them that Malawians are not ready to vote for them in 2025 for presiding over corrupt governments.
President Dr Lazarus Chakwera on Tuesday announced hiring of 10,000 health workers as one way of closing human resources gap
“Closing the Human Resource Gap by hiring over 10,000 additional Health Surveillance Assistants, as well as increasing the number of Assistant Environmental Health Officers, Community Health Nurses, and Community Midwife Assistants. And since I became President in 2020, we have recruited 1,578 using resources from both Government and Partners, which is already over 10% of the total target, and we will continue steadily on this path until the Roadmap is fully realized, ” he said.
Chakwera said his Government intends to Improve Health Financing by improving mobilization, integration, and cost-effective utilization of resources.
“This is why I have been aggressively raising money for our health system around the world, including the billions we secured for Malawi through the Global Fund and other financiers,”
The president said he has already been topped on the agenda Cop28 meeting which focuses on health.
“The The President of COP28, which is taking place in the United Arab Emirates next month, also recently informed me that one of the days of the conference this year will be focused on health, and so we must make the most of these opportunities to mobilize resources for Malawi’s health sector,” he said.
