Malawi parliament has today passed the Financial Crimes (Amendment) Bill which seeks to amend the Financial Crimes Act.
Among others, the Bill makes it an offense for a person to knowingly or intentionally finance any other person to travel to a country for purposes of planning, perpetrating or participating in a terrorist act.
Speaking to members of the media, Minister of Justice Titus Mvalo said the Bill’s purposes further include providing or receiving terrorist training.
The house has also passed Mines and Minerals Bill which seeks to repeal the 2019 Mines and Minerals Act and establish a Mines and Minerals Regulatory Authority in the country.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) National Publicity Secretary Shadric Namalomba has quashed the press conference which Parliamentarians held in Lilongwe.
Earlier today Former and ousted DPP Publicity Secretary Nicholas Dausi held a press conference where they tackled what they called petinent issues surrounding the party.
Dausi, during the press briefing, told Mutharika to declare his intentions to contest during the forth coming national elective convention.
The brief briefing led by Dausi
But Namalomba said any press conference held within the party without the blessings of Mutharika is invalid.
But addressing the media in Lilongwe Dausi dowsed Mutharika for what he called sponsoring confusions
Dausi said they have information that all the endorsement for Mutharika to stand during the convention is a sponsored charade.
Of late there has been endorsement from Northern region block as well as centre.
But Dausi said all those endorsement currently taking place in the party is illegal and against the party constitution.
During the briefing, Parliamentarian Werani Chilenga announced that DPP Parliamentarians have endorsed Leader of Opposition Kondwani Nankhumwa as their candidate during the forth coming convention.
Malawi’s fast-rising Afro-Pop singer Pop Young real name Vitumbiko Chisoni is still receiving more support from his fans to continue singing his songs in ‘Tumbuka’ language despite some discouraging comments towards his career.
The Mzuzu-based artist who uses ‘Tumbuka’ language in most of his songs received discouraging comments on Monday after releasing his ‘ Sole’ video sung in ‘Chitumbuka’.
In the discouraging comments, Pop Young was told not to use ‘ Chitumbuka’ in his songs if he wants to go far in music.
But reacting to this, several people have backed Pop Young not to give up in his ‘Tumbuka’ songs as language is nothing to do with music.
Wrote social media influencer Kelvin Silungwe “After all, I think atumbuka si anthu oyerekedwa, koma anthu ongosalidwa chabe. Its like some people dont want to see anything good come of out the north. Nkhani ya language mu nyimbo si nkhani yowopsezerena. And the Tumbuka really sounds sexy in Afro songs.We stand with you Pop Young.”
“It is safe to openly add Pop Youngg to the list of fast rising stars.
“Like the late Wambali Mkandawire, the Collect star seems to have taken a grip on the tumbuka language to his songs. And that seems to be working well for him on the entertainment scene.
“Another thing is the fact that the young artist has proved to us that Tumbuka does go well with the Afropop genre.
“Of late, I have noticed that some of our artists, instead of fusing the local sounds to the genre, they try so hard to sound Nigerian, on the basis of trying to penetrate the international scene the way Nigerian artists have with the genre.
“Now the coming in of Pop Young and his team with the utilization of the local language, should be taken as a good step towards getting that cultural/traditional identity our songs deserve,” said journalist Aubrey Kalumpha.
University of Malawi student Propane Kaundo said: ” Pop Young get your flowers whilst you are still alive. Straightforwardly, this is what we call good music. I have just downloaded the recent dropped song from the youngster entitled “Sole”. I should admit that It’s one of the good songs that have been released this year.”
Roy View said :Pop young is a young star who is rising at a very fast rate with his Tumbuka afro beats. Just like Thondwa and Wambali Mkandawire (RIP)….Pop seems to be proud of Tumbuka language as almost all his songs have been done in Tumbuka.”
” I would like to send my congratulations to the Young king ( Pop Young) , and wish him a great Journey ahead.
“Was Watching his new Video, I call that Music and Quality, big up to him and his Management Team, he is truly on the right path,” wrote Musician Jay Jay Cee.
Pop Young recorded his first song ‘ Ndakusowa’ in 2016 and that is when the interest developed for him to actually make more music.
On his music list, he has several most loved songs sung in ‘ Tumbuka’ language such as ‘ Collect’ and the recent’ Sole’.
Citizens for Transformation (CFT) Commander-in-Chief Timothy Pagonachi Simbega Mtambo has appealed for young Malawians to capitalise on creativity as a way to fish out Malawi in the pool of abject poverty as he appreciated the strain unemployment has created in Malawi. He made the call when he was the Guest of Honour at a Mr and Miss Luanar Event on Saturday
Clarified Mtambo, “I appreciate that as a country we are passing through disheartening moments and one of the key socio-economic issue at hand is the evershrinking space for employment. Our country has strong employment bottlenecks and our innovativeness remains a panacea if we are to diversify productive spaces in our economy where fresh graduates can be absorbed into and make a significant mark to our economy. Unemployment as a central issue among others is doing us a good harm”.
The Malawi Human Rights Defenders Coalition founding chairperson and former national unity minister further said, “Let us live in unshaken belief of hope and futurism. Let us not look down on ourselves as the knowledge that is gained here has the capability of creating an upper middle income and industrialised Malawi as envisioned by the Malawi’s development blue print – the MW2063 Agenda”.
The recent Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network Vice Chairperson challenged the students to seize opportunity in every challenge saying knowledge of metaphysics is applicable in the economy loci. “Let us embrace any opportunity of the moment including capitalising on our precious talents and skills to be effective players in all fronts where there is need for calibration. Be it entertainment or sports” preached Mtambo.
In the speech’s dying moments Mtambo popularly famed as Comrade for his 2019-2020 revolutionary fireworks in the political circles revealed and shared the national pain Tropical Cyclone Freddy inched on the Southern strip of Malawi and desolated many households in the month of March. “On a sad note, we all understand the troubled sea Malawi is sailing through. Cyclone Freddy is a mighty monster” remorsed the former Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation Executive Director. Prayed Mtambo, “May the Almighty Lord, Our Father, console all bereaved hearts and steer us in hope for an eminent prosperity en masse”.
Commenting on the speech, LUANAR entertainment director, Henry Batson, a fourth-year bachelor of agri-business management student thanked Mtambo, the guest of honour, for the mindset changer. Said Batson “As students we are greatly humbled to have listened to such a wonderful master craft. Comrade Mtambo has indeed perfectly put it succinctly the reality of the need to underline the Information Age. We promise to put these challenging tint bits to practice. Indeed, innovation is blood. From the speech, one sober youth is able to easily find the calculus of inspiration fineness and implementation keenness. Truly Mtambo is a true moving object”.
The occasion witnessed delightful music crystals from Phyzix, Don Tarz, Same Cris and Zonke.
Eric Mkandawire, a second-year bachelor of agribusiness management student and Catherine Mpoza, a third-year bachelor of agri-economics student were crowned as Mr. LUANAR and Ms. LUANAR respectively. Welcome Joseph and Racheal Huwa emerged the First Prince and First Princess respectively. Peter Mwantobwe and Zaithwa emerged as the Second Prince and Second Princess respectively. Five male students and five female students competed in the pageant.
The event takes place every semester as one way of promoting interactions of purpose in the academic lives of the students in readiness for their professional pursuits.
Spark 10, FPAM, Metfie and Chilco supported the activity among others.
President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has described the 2023 Tobacco Marketing Season as one that is going to satisfy tobacco farmers in the country following the impressive prices fetched by the first lot of leaf at the market .
As at 10:20 am, the highest price recorded was $2.60 with most of the leaf going at an average price of $1.40.
Speaking at opening of the 2023 Malawi’s gold marketing season at Auction Floors in Lilongwe on Wednesday, Chakwera said the good prices is an indication that despite growing voices against the crop globally, Malawi’s economy still leans heavily on tobacco as a major forex earner.
The president assured that his administration will keep supporting tobacco growing in the country crop with necessary regulatory frameworks and more markets for it to continue benefiting Malawi’s economy.
He then called on tobacco companies to fairly maintain and upscale the pricing structure across the buying season so that hardworking farmers find a decent income from their labour.
“I continue to call for compliance to environmental sustainability, human rights, governance and Agricultural Labour Practices (ALP).
“My administration will continue reinforcing a sanitized value chain characterized by best practices from growers, market operators, grower associations, transporters and other stakeholders.
“That way, we can all be assured of a profitable marketing season that benefits farming households in particular and the economy in general,” said Chakwera.
On his part, Minister of Agriculture, Samuel Kawale,disclosed that his Ministry has managed to source more tobacco buyers, and the number is currently at 10, with 2 more expected to join the market shortly, all to ensure that farmers are getting good prices.
Kawale further revealed that his Ministry has finalized a new tobacco bill that will be presented in parliament in June. Once passed into law, it will see tobacco farmers benefiting more from the crop than the buyers. In the meantime, the government will ensure that all tobacco buyers adhere to the set farm gate price of the crop.
Total volume projected for this year’s marketing season is 125 million kilograms.
