One of the fast growing automobile repair dealers K Motors on Friday handed over three reconditioned ambulances to Thyolo District Hospital.
According to vehicle dealers, each ambulance cost them K15 million to be fixed from the stationed state in which they got them five months ago.
K Motors operations manager Marlon Mount told the journalists that as a company they believe in saving people’s lives hence the donation.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that service providers such as hospitals have the required tools to allow them work efficiently. Malawians gives us business and their well-being is our concern,” he said.
Director of Health and Social Services (DHSS) for the district Arnold Jumbe hailed K Motors sayi the assistance will help ease the challenges of transportation which the facility was grappling with.
Jumbe said: “These ambulances were almost at a point of being sold because they were not in a usable state.
“We will place them at strategic health centres to ensure the call for the service is easily met.”
He said the coming of the three ambulances the hospital now has six functioning ambulances which are saving 44 health centres.
K Motors repaired the ambulances in partnership with Chibuku Products Limited, which contributed K5 million to the cause.
Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda says lawyers working in the financial sector have a very critical role in helping the Malawi Government manage sovereign debt.
The AG said this in Mangochi at a sovereign debt conference co-organised by Malawi Law Society (MLS), Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) and Malawi Institute of Legal Education on Friday.
The conference was organized with an aim of finding a solution to ease the impact of soaring public debt.
Chakaka
Nyirenda, who was guest of honour, said in his keynote address that lawyers are the ones who advise on and draft the pari passu, negative pledge, maturity, currency, interest rate, the confidential clauses and cross-default clauses.
“Lawyers play a very important role in sovereign debts. They are the ones who advise on and draft the pari passu, negative pledge, maturity, currency, interest rate, the confidential clauses and cross-default clauses. They draft pledges and guarantees.
“The draft money bills that are presented in Parliament. They are the implementers of the law. We need to sincerely interrogate the role of lawyers in this country in ensuring sustainable public debt management for the development of our country,” Nyirenda said.
From the government side, the AG said, they shall remain supportive of these kind of initiatives so as they help find ways for delivering economic justice for all.
Despite receiving debt relief under the HIPC Initiative in 2006, Malawi quickly accumulated new debt and has now reportedly reached debt distress, thereby causing economic downturn.
As at December 2022, Malawi’s public debt hovered around K7.9 trillion.
Office of the Attorney General has assured Malawians of goodwill that his office and the office of the New Jersey prosecutors are working round the clock to have those who committed the €516,975.21 Barkaat Food LTD crime be arrested.
In a press statement, Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda says one of the fraudster has already been apprehended.
“In a further positive note, efforts are continuing in the United States of America by the Camden County New Jersey Prosecutors and the Police, where the Police have apprehended and charged one of the principal fraudsters. His trial is commencing next month. This is a warning to other criminals that they will not commit crimes in Malawi with impunity and hope to get away with it. We will relentlessly pursue them, as we have here, on behalf of the people of Malawi until monies are safely returned and the perpetrators are brought to justice,” reads the statement.
Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda
Thabo says his office will also vigorously pursue recovery efforts against individuals who have defrauded the country in the past leaving many thousands of people harmed because of the devastating impact of their activities until what belongs to Malawi is recovered from them and they are faced with justice.
The Office of the Attorney General has since received a confirmation over the receipt of €516,975.21 from Barkaat Food LTD.
In a press statement which the AG has released, this follows criminal proceedings commenced against Mr. Grünbaum in November 2022 by the Office of the Public Prosecutor, Munich.
“My office is pleased to announce the recovery of the sum of €516,975.21 on behalf of the Malawi Government and the Smallholder Farmers Fertilizer Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM) following the fraud committed by Barkaat Food Limited (Barkaat) and Bova Investments Corporation (Bova),” he said.
After being alerted to the fraud by red flags, the FIDOR Bank AG and the German authorities acted swiftly to intercept and freeze the funds in the bank account of one Andrei Grünbaum, an Estonian collaborator of Barkaat and Bova, in July 2022.
Significant achievements were registered in the matter by March this year.
Nyirenda says in May, 2023 the judgment against Mr. Grünbaum was made final, and proceedings for an order confiscating the funds from Mr. Grünbaum and directing restoration of the same to SFFRFM were commenced.
The proceedings were successfully concluded on Thursday, 17 August 2023, when the Munich Court directed that the €516,975.21 be repatriated to SFFRFM’s bank account in Malawi.
“The funds have now been received by SFFRFM. The successful outcome of the case is a testament to the robustness, effectiveness, and efficiency of the German justice and legal system, ” reads the statement.
Chakaka has since thanked the Malawi High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (His Excellency Dr. Francis Bisika) and his staff for providing quick support to SFFRFM in July 2022 and the Malawi Ambassador to Germany (His Excellency Father Joseph Mpinganjira) and his staff for providing support to the recovery process all through.
The AG has also thanked the former German Ambassador to Malawi (His Excellency Ralph Timmerman) for his support at that crucial time.
The Attorney General has since commended President, Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, for his guidance and encouragement in pursuing the recovery efforts that have now borne fruit.
The AG has also commended Prosecutor General for Munich, his Deputy, and the Office of the Chief Prosecutor Munich 1 and their teams for their good judgment in the type of proceedings to commence against Mr. Grünbaum.
The AG has also commended Mr. Thomas Weith (Deputy Prosecutor General, Munich), Florian Weinzierl (Senior Public Prosecutor, Munich Chief Public Prosecutors Office), Mr. Joachim Ettenhofer (Chief Prosecutor, Office of the Prosecutor General Munich), Mr. Hans Kornprobst (Chief Public Prosecutor, Office of the Prosecutor Munich I), Ms. Alendra Rothe, (Senior Public Prosecutor, Office of the Prosecutor Munich I), Mr. Martin Weigl, (Senior Public Prosecutor, Office of the Prosecutor General Munich), Ms. Petra Wagner, (Senior Public Prosecutor, now judge of the Patent Court, Munich) for the good work.
TNM Mpamba Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of TNM Plc has become the first mobile telecoms network service provider in Malawi to offer cash loans using mobile phone wallets.
Speaking to journalists on Friday, the company’s General Manager Christopher Sukasuka said the loan attracts a prorated interest rate of 6%, a penalty of 0.5% and access fee of 10% where customers exceed a prescribed repayment of 30 days.
He said the maximum amount currently allowed is K20,000 as cash from an agent or through bank or in form of electronic wallet value, but the cap will increase over time.
“This is the smartest way to manage finances in these hard times. It takes away the stress from customers, as it is the easiest overdraft to get, accessible 24/7 on your phone wherever you are, ” he said.
Sukasuka, flanked by TNM Plc Chief Executive Officer Michel Hebert and Managing Director of Huawei Malawi Gu Mu, the official TNM technology partner said the key eligibility requirement is customers who have used Mpamba for 90 days and satisfying KYC requirements.
“An interest rate of 6 percent per month, prorated, will apply and a penalty of 0.5% may accrue where customers exceed a prescribed repayment period of 30 days.
“Such interest will be necessary to cover the service costs when customers exceed 30 days before crediting their wallets. The funds will be deducted from the same Mpamba wallets,” he said.
Sukasuka said apart from the option of cash advances, the facility dubbed ‘Mpamba Kankhe’ will provide overdrafts for payment categories such as utilities, merchant (POS) payments, satellite television subscriptions, airtime and bundle recharges and Person-to-Person (P2P) transfers.
On his part, Gu Mu said Huawei is working hand in hand with TNM Plc to transform the telecoms landscape in Malawi by offering life-changing innovations such as the latest loan product.
Established in 1995, TNM is the oldest telecommunications company in Malawi.
While some are in their comfort zones with only 24 months plus remaining to the date of the next polls, this is not the case with the firebrand legal practitioner-cum politician Gift Nankhuni.
Nankhuni is not new in the political circles because he was the one who came trailed current Lilongwe City Centre Constituency legislator Alfred Jiya whose area has been split into five constituencies.
Politically, Nankhuni has an upper hand because he is already famous in the area.
Nankhuni
Nankhuni is well known to be a development conscious man who knows how to connect with his people.
No wonder on Saturday, the revered politician hit the ground running by meeting and distributing party materials to all delegates and these includes chairperson, secretary general and treasurer.
In an interview, Nankhuni said he decided to meet with all the delegates as one way of launching the partnership which will go till the voting period.
He said: “The function took place in four centres and these were Chatata, Kauma, State House and Tambalale. We met all the areas in the new City Centre Constituency. All the 9 delegates The key message was to people that ‘ am not distributing sweets, am serious.”
Nankhuni also encouraged people to be patient with Dr Lazarus Chakwera who is laying a good foundation for Malawi after the mess that the country has been in.
To appreciate the people, Nankhuni distributed party clothes and other things to the party delegates.
