African Regional Organization of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) has commended Qatar government over the amendment of its labour laws which is aimed at removal of restrictions to migrant workers ability to change employers at their choosing, following a notice period.
General Secretary, ITUC-Africa, Kwasi Adu-Amankwah who gave the commendation in a letter titled “Commendable steps towards the full protection of the human and labour rights of migrants by the state of Qatar” which was made available to newsmen said the removal of the employer permission regime will make employment relations more humane and also eliminate the slavery –like relationship tied to the kafala sponsorship employment system.According to him “the Gulf State of Qatar has also established a new national minimum wage, which is to be enjoyed by all categories of workers. This new minimum wage now stands at QAR 1800 (493 USD) for workers who are not provided with food and accommodation by their employers. Those that enjoy employers’ provision of decent accommodation but no food will earn QAR 1500 (410USD). Migrant workers whose employers provide food and accommodation will earn a minimum wage of 1000 QAR (274USD).
Director of Occupational Safety and Health Association in United Kingdom David Smith
All workers without discrimination will enjoy the national minimum wage. While noting that the government of Qatar has given employers up to six months to comply with the new regulations said failure to comply with the new directives will attract sanctions, which include suspending the operations of the company and suspending individual operations for those employing domestic workers. He commended the country for establishment of a Minimum Wage Commission and called on others Countries in the Middle East and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States to emulate these actions of the Qatar State which he said will secure the labour dignity of migrant workers.
Reacting to the development, Director of Occupational Safety and Health Association in United Kingdom David Smith said OSHA in UK are delighted to see that the Qatar Government has taken steps to put in place new regulations over the employment and payment of Migrant Workers.Nothing that the steps are welcome in a world where we need to recognize the importance of collaboration, well-being and safety.
According to him “There is a need for these steps to be taken in other countries too, so that as a global community we place the value of of human work at a higher level. Too many countries leave the safety and health of employees to the discretion of employers; and, in some instance employers take un reasonable risks with lives of their workers.”“In a world where all lives matter, more governments need to recognize the importance of Health and Safety Legislation, training and accountability.”
The Ombudsman has found that the appointment of Itaye as Macra Director Genaral was illegal and that those who facilitated his hiring acted outside their mandate. These are the then Principal Secretary in the ministry of Information, the then Board and then Malawi Statutory Cooperation Chief Mr Zangazanga Chikhosi. Chizuma says the whole process to hire Itaye was a mockery and a maladministration.
She adds that Redeployment of Itaye to Postal Corporation as Post Master General and to Lilongwe Water Board as CEO was illegal and a maladministration. She has therefore nullified his contracts including his current contract and she has directed the Macra Board to fill the position of DG at Macra. She has further directed the board not to pay Mr Itaye any benefits, and if that was done, it should be recovered.
The Ombudsman report, has however cleared Itaye on allegations that he is a convict, saying no evidence on this was found Martha Chizuma says her office investigated Irregular recruitment where it was alleged in the complaint that Mr Godfrey Itaye wasn’t supposed to be recruited when he was not fit for the position of Director General and when he was a convict after a scandal at a company he was working at, National Bank.
Godfrey Itaye
She adds the investigation also boardered on Tribalism where one Mr Lipenga was recruited for being a relation of Mr Ben Phiri and Irregular recruitment of Ruth Mgwede who was said to be a DPP party loyalist. She further says the report looked into Irregular recruitment Charles Fodya who is also said to be DPP follower too.
Furthermore the report tackled issues of Conflict of interest where Mr Itaye influenced recruitment of his relations
The Ombudsman has also nullified the employment of MacDonald Phoya at Macra for being illegular and illegal and has since directed that Macra fills the position before 31 June 2021.
The report has also faulted the appointment of a non qualified Board members at Macra, then.The report says the Board members could not articulate issues properly and could easily be manipulated by Macra Staff.
She says Malawians were given a raw deal by having such Board members. The Ombudsman has also found the recruitment of Mr Henry Shamu the then Post Master General (2017), as illegal.
The report says his contract was illegular, and that his appointment was made by a wrong authority.
She says the appointment of Shamu without interviews by the former President Peter Mutharika was illegal and unconstitutional. She has therefore directed that Mr Shamu should not be paid any end of contract benefits and if this was already done the money should be recovered.
The report has further faulted his redeployment from Malawi Postal Cooperation to Macra where he is currently Acting Director General. As remedy, the Ombudsman has declared it as null and void
The Ombudsman report has also found that the Macra Board rubber-stamped the appointment of Mr Benson Tembo at Macra as Digital Migration Director just to clear space at MBC for Mr Aubrey Sumbuleta to be promoted from Deputy Director General to Director General.
The report says what happened was irregular and Government and the Board knew they were breaching the law. She says the position was not established at the time and the movement of Tembo to Macra was illegal and a maladministration. She has since declared his appointment as null and void and she has directed the board to give the evidence of the same by 31 July 2021.
The Ombudsman has also nullified the position of Fearless Mululu who was recruited as Director of Internal audit.
The report says the position never existed at Macra. Mululu’s position has been nullified and he has been told to lay his queries with the Macra Board and that no Malawians’ tax money should foot his claims.
Malawi’s Deputy Speaker of parliament Madalitso Kazombo has called on African governments to work on creating more opportunities for the youths , and opening up new ways to engage more with those in diaspora that includes creation of Diaspora constituencies. He was speaking at a radio interview he held with activist and broadcaster Allan Mandindi that aired on Manchester based Radio Africana
Kazombo said it that it is unfortunate that Africa as a continent still lags behind in development and most of its inhabitants are still living below poverty level despite being a continent full of mineral resources . He said, himself as a young politician, it is his wish to see more African government creating environments and opportunities for the youths to flourish. “ The youths have the energy , they have the talent , the challenge with African youths now is that even if they are educated , opportunities are not being given to them unless they are connected to somebody either politically or in one way or another . We also have companies, not opening up job opportunities claiming they want someone with years of experience while the youths are not even being given opportunity to gain that experience “ said Kazombo
The Deputy Speaker also touched on the issue of Africans living in diaspora and how best they can be included in the policy making for their respective countries . He said , he was an admirer of the hardworking spirit of those living in diaspora and is very much aware of the economic benefits that the diaspora provides through remittances and even investments back home .Kazombo said time has come when African governments need to treat Diaspora as constituency “ What I mean is that we need to have a diaspora representative in our parliaments, someone who can be speaking on behalf of the diaspora and having opportunity to debate issues as well as participate in all parliamentary deliberations just like any member of parliament would do” Kazombo went on to say , the world has become one global village and the diaspora cannot be ignored anymore.
On how best Africa can work towards its development – Kazombo said time has come when Africa need to up its game so that it can compete on the level of other continents trade wise . He said they are some basic issues that need to be quickly rectified such as lack of proper infrastructures such as roads , persistent energy problems , lack of good communication facilities , things which he described as catalysts in driving economy forward . Kazombo also said its time for Africa to stop wasting time in unnecessary wars that has helped nothing but deter us from focusing on development . He said that it is unfortunate that the youths are always the victims as they are the ones often being used in all these wars.
Parliament has today, 12th April, 2021 started conducting a three-week long Parliamentary Training Programme (PTP) for second cohort of the 2019 to 2025 Members of Parliament. The training aims at sharpening Members’ knowledge with a view of enhancing their contributions in the House.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the training, Speaker of the Malawi National Assembly, Right Honourable Catherine Gotani Hara, MP, described the PTP as a very significant training for Members of Parliament. “It is therefore, imperative that we give our best, deliberate to the highest degree and come up with solutions that are in the best interests of spearheading development and ending poverty in Malawi. We can only do this, if we are willing to continuously grow and nurture our skills and our knowledge,” said the Speaker.
Speaker Gotani Hara
She further indicated that the PTP should have taken place in the very first few months of Members’ election into Parliament. However, it has been delayed by several factors, such as a lack of resources, competing schedules with various other activities and the worst of it was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Despite these delays, the lessons to be learnt remain as relevant today as they could have been last year. I therefore urge you all to take a keen interest in the training and ensure that you acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to be imparted from this training programme,” she added.
On her part, the Clerk of Parliament, Mrs. Fiona Kalemba said the PTP is the most comprehensive capacity building programme for Honourable Members of Parliament. “I am well aware, that all Members have been involved in various capacity building trainings and workshops. I wish to, however, say that while these trainings and workshops were essential, none were as long, as detailed and as comprehensive as this PTP,” the Clerk of Parliament said.
some of the parliamentarians in attendance
Among others, the training will cover various courses including the State and Governance Architecture, Parliamentary Procedures and Practice, Code of Ethics and Conduct for Members of Parliament, Research and Communication skills in Parliament, Communication Skills for Parliamentarians and National Economy and Policy Analysis with a Focus on Finance, National Budget and the Role of the National Planning Commission. The training has targeted all Members of Parliament except Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Presiding Officers (The Speaker and two Deputy Speakers) and has been divided into 4 cohorts. Since 1994, Parliament of Malawi has conducted the TPT for all cohorts. Previously, the training was being facilitated by the University of Malawi, Chancellor College in Zomba.
Exactly on 8th May, 2020, news had gone viral like a Harmattan bushfire, about the nullification of the 21, May 2019 Presidential elections results. The Supreme Court of Appeal, passed the declaration of holding immediate Fresh Presidential Elections within 150 days in’ lieu of May 2019 results.
In Africa, Malawi became second after Kenya for nullifying presidential results for being marred with irregularities. In respect to this landmark and historical ruling, which dictated that no new party or presidential candidates should be allowed taking part in these fresh polls, political parties had started mobilizing themselves and formed alliances.
The then ruling political party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was shaken, but soon accepted the judgement and re-joined the presidential race with the United Democratic Front (UDF), thus Prof Arthur Peter Mutharika and Atupele Muluzi, as president and running-mate respectively.
The Malawi Congress Party (MCP), UTM, People’s Party (PP), Umodzi Party (UP), People’s Progressive Movement (PPM), Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) and the Transformation movement and some other political parties formed one political front and branded it the ‘Tonse Alliance’ Only Sinosi Mbakuwaku Kuwani led the Mbakuwaku Movement for Development (MMD) without any political coalitions. The Tonse Alliance was a very big force to reckon with, as the major competing political parties had now became political bedfellows.
All political parties had their campaign promises, but the alliances automatically made these campaign promises a package of one solid promise. By 23 June, 2020, the fresh polls were held and the Tonse Alliance was led by Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera as torchbearer and Dr Saulosi Klaus Chilima as running mate, had been declared victorious in the polls by the Malawi Electoral Commission’s (MEC) Chairperson Chifundo Kachale announced saying, Chakwera had defeated Mutharika with 58.57 per cent by amassing 2.6 million votes, of the 4.4 million votes cast. “I declare President of the Tonse Alliance, Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera as the winner of the June 23, Fresh Presidential Elections,” said Kachale at National Tally center in Blantyre.
Malawians saw President Chakwera taking the swearing in ceremony at a momentous occasion that took place at BICC in Lilongwe the heart and capital city of the country. “It’s an honor for me to stand before you today and take oath of office as the 6th President of the Republic of Malawi. “It’s an honor for me to see Malawi bringing in a new era that we all wanted, for this to happen I owe it to you all. “I would like to assure Malawians that all the campaign promises made during the time the Tonse Alliance was canvassing for support will turn into fruition,” he said amid a visibly happy crowd that went on singing, ‘Chakwera pa Chiwongolero’ (Chakwera on the driving seat).
The president assured those people who did not support him not to fear anything as he will not be vengeful. “I do feel like Lazarus, I have come back from the dead,” he said referring to a biblical character of the same name. “There is no cause for fear because I will be your president and my policy for inclusivity means we are building a new Malawi for all of us,” he assured his critics. Since Chakwera became president he has repeatedly made publicly his stand that all promises will be fulfilled but one after the other. “It’s a matter of time, I want to assure my fellow Malawians that whatever was told as our campaign promise will be delivered, but it requires patience, as others were for a short term while others long term.
Chakwera appointed a lean cabinet of only 31-member cabinet of 23 full ministers and nine deputies as promised during campaign, in order to save resources in the national purse, and divert the same resources to other equally important developmental projects that deserve the citizens.
Renowned Social Political Commentator, Humphreys Mvula says The Tonse Alliance has started well on its political administration the country, and adds that Chakwera should not lose track with the opposition which will try to patch holes and throw spanners to cheap political mileage. “The DPP and UDF now the opposition wing will not speak good of the Tonse government as losing an election is something very bad especially where you are the immediate former ruling party. “The Chakwera administration should not be derailed with such wind, because the opposition will throw spanners everywhere in order to win back the government bench in the next polls slated for 2025,” Mvula said. “I can courageously, say that the operationalization of Access to Information Bill is a landmark accomplishment because the 12 years DPP rule it failed to take course. “Coupled with the implementation of the Agriculture Input Programme which is pro-poor planned, where a bag of fertilizer is being bought at only K4, 495 that will see Malawi becoming Africa’s food basket again like it was during the Kamuzu Banda Era,” he said.
Mvula adds that Chakwera has a respect of the constitution by making it a habit to be appearing in parliament to answer questions from members of parliament unlike previous presidents. Chancellor College Political Scientist, Mustapha Hussein, conquers with Mvula that the Tonse Alliance is in the rightful pace in its administration. “We have seen the suspension of all District Commissioners for the first time in a bid to practically fight corruption in the country, and we have seen a full funded Ant-Corruption Bureau which vindicates that the president is very committed to end corruption, as they promised during campaign,” he said.
Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Gospel Kazako, says Malawians should take their hearts down and watch the Tonse Alliance government implementing its promises. “It’s only nine months down the line, and one budget since the Tonse formed government, I am sure that you will all agree that no government can achieve all its promises with only one financial year budget. “The tenure of office is five years, lets judge after a reasonable number of years of Tonse governance in Malawi, and rest be assured that time for change has come, because one of the Super HI-5 pillars is prospering together and not leaving someone behind,” he said. Meanwhile government has upwardly adjusted tax free bracket to K100, 000 for salaried employees which has increased their disposable income to ease economic hurdles, this has seen many increasing their minimum wages as well. Despite Covid-19 pandemic that has caused a huge havoc on the socio-economic life of many Malawians, The Tonse Alliance is delivering its campaign promises concludes Mvula. Mana/mln
