Malawi National Football team, the Flames have resumed training as they prepare to face Egypt in the 2023 AFCON Qualifier at Bingu National Stadium(BNS) in Lilongwe.
The two sides are meeting for the second time in a space of four days as they met at the Air Defense Stadium in Cairo last Friday.
Flames lost 2-nil at the hands of the Pharaohs to move to the bottom of Group D log table with 3 points from three games.
Meanwhile Flames coach Mario Marinica has expressed optimism that his side will do better on the home soil.
Marinica has been under fire following the team’s embarrassing style of play they showcased in Cairo.
Former head of State Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika has given unvalid justification on why he failed to attend the Operation Tigwirane Manja Campaign Conference for Former Head of States and Governments.
Malawi leader President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera in his quest to widen scope of Operation Tigwirane Manja Campaign invited all former heads of states who ruled this country since the dawn of multi party democracy to Sanjika Palace in the Commencial City of Blantyre.
But despite assurance by his personal spokesperson Shadric Namalomba of Mutharika availability he never turned up last minute.
Reasons cited for not attending Operation Tigwirane Manja Campaign conference are vage and unjustifiable.
Speaking on Times Exclusive Mutharika said the meeting was unnecessary because it needed technical people to come and attend such a meeting and not policians.
May be Mutharika forgot that politicians are key to any Government structures.
Mutharika although confirmed on times that he received official communication from President Chakwera inviting him to the conference but never gave valid reasons on why he failed.
Later in the interview he said there were other reasons confidencial on why he failed to go and attend the conference.
Malawians have branded Mutharika unpatriotic and lacking human heart on Tropical Cyclone Freddy.
It started as normal rains and little was known that something bigger will come out of it.
Soon after the devastation, we saw countries coming in with their condolences and plans on how they seek to respond.
King Charles III of the United Kingdom has not remained silent on the disaster which has claimed over 500 lives.
The king sent a message of condolence to President Lazarus Chakwera and people of Malawi following the loss and damage caused by Cyclone Freddy.
In a statement addressed to the President, King Charles said he can only begin to imagine the scale of suffering and loss as a result of the tragedies.
“I particularly wanted to convey our deepest and most heartfelt sympathy to the families of all those who have lost their loved ones,” reads part of the statement.
It adds that the King’s thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the appalling natural disaster whether through injury or the destruction of property.
To assist Malawi respond to the disaster, the United Kingdom has provided £1 million (about K1.3 billion) in lifesaving support to Malawi.
The UK’s emergency package of assistance comprises a team of emergency medical personnel, a team with international search and rescue expertise (ISAR), specialist boats, and urgently needed emergency relief items such as shelter materials and water filters.
This is in addition to the immediate support the UK provided to the Malawi Government at the Emergency Operations Centre in Blantyre when the cyclone hit. This included food assistance, staff and vehicles to help Government and the UN launch emergency operations.
In his statement, King Charles said: “I do hope the UK assistance we are providing will help Malawi through this difficult time.”
As various individuals and stakeholders continue providing support to survivors of Cyclone Freddy, the Association of Malawians in Ireland ( AMAI) on Saturday donated assorted items to Cyclone Freddy survivors in Malawi’s southern region.
The donation targeted camps in Chiradzulu district and one camp in Bangwe, Blantyre.
The items which include wrappers( Zitenje), basins, pails, clothes and chlorine reached to 305 households living in the camps.
Speaking in a separate interview, AMAI President, Henry Mkumbira Phiri, said the donation follows reports of challenges that various survivors are facing in camps.
“Upon receiving reports that survivors are facing a lot of challenges in camps, we decided to raise some funds so as to bail them out of these challenges,” said Mkumbira.
He said they raised the funds using two channels, the association’s main bank account and Gofund.
Mkumbira said through this, a total of K7.6 million was raised.
He said the association is still mobilizing funds so as they reach out to many camps.
“We are still mobilizing funds and we hope we will reach to many camps as it is not in Chiradzulu and Bangwe where survivors are facing challenges,” he said.
On his part, the association’s representative in Malawi Father Mathews Semba of Chikwawa Diocese hailed the grouping for raising the funds meant for charity.
“Let me thank the association for the recommendable job.
“To say the truth, we are greatly concerned with the devastation that Cyclone Freddy has brought to our friends in the Southern Region and we hope this will help a lot,” said Semba.
Semba was also quick to acknowledge, Archbishop Thomas Msusa of Blantyre Diocese for allowing his charges under Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM) to take part in the donation championed by Mandinda Zungu.
Ganizani James, a beneficiary and survivors chairperson also hailed the association for the donation saying it is a short in the arm as it will go a long way in alleviating their suffering.
