Malawians are braced for fuel price increase .The Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) has announced an upward adjustment of fuel prices in the country effective midnight.
Making the announcement in Lilongwe, Motivation Speaker and now MERA CEO Henry Kachaje said Petrol will now be selling at K1,150.00 per litre from K899.20 per litre representing a 27.89 % increase.
MERA Chief Henry Kachaje
Diesel is now at K1,120.00 per litre from K899.00 per litre representing an increase of 24.72% while Paraffin is now at K833.20 per litre from K719.60 per litre, an increase of 15.79 %.
Kachaje attributes the rise to an increase of fuel prices on the international market and the weakening of the kwacha against major currencies.
Enekia Lunyamila scored the only goal of the game as Tanzania were crowned 2021 COSAFA Cup champions after a deserving 1-0 victory over Malawi Women’s Football Team, The Scorchers, in the decider at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in South Africa on Saturday.
The result means Tanzania who played the competition without losing any game, are regional champions for the first time.
Tanzania had the better of both the opening and the second half, but could not make that dominance count on the scoreboard.
The breakthrough for the Tanzanians finally came on 64 minutes when Enekia Lunyamila scored the winner from the rebound.
After the game, Scorchers coach McNerbet Kazuwa accepted defeat saying their oponents we’re just a better side on the day.
“First of all I would like to thank God for making us reach this year’s final. The girls did their best to claim the title but I have to admit that Tanzania were just a better side and they really played well today. They deserve the title,” said Kadzuwa.
Kadzuwa further urged Malawians not to loose hope but to give the Scorchers enough support in order to do much better in the coming competitions.
This was the first time for Malawi to reach the final and they did that in a spectacular way having defeated the hosts and defending champions South Africa 3-2.
Low literacy and income levels, geographical restrictions, lack of motivation to use technology, lack of physical access to technology, and digital illiteracy have contributed largely to the digital divide in Malawi. To bridge this digital divide, President Lazarus Chakwera has committed to implement a number of initiatives to ensure that digital services closer to the people.
On Friday, October 8, 2021, the Malawi Government embarked on an ambitious digital initiative that would provide free internet connectivity to selected public places to facilitate easy communication among people of Malawi.
The Ministry of Information, in conjunction with the Public Private Partnership Commission (PPPC), is rolling out the Public Free WI-FI initiative that Malawi Government’s Digital Malawi Project is implementing through the Commission. TNM and Office Mart are the service providers under this initiative
Minister of Information, Gospel Kazako, presided over the official public free Wi-Fi initiative launch at Blantyre Secondary School in Blantyre.
Recently, President Chakwera also launched the Malawi ICT EXPO organized by ICT Association of Malawi in the Capital City, Lilongwe where he highlighted ‘digitization’ as one the major tools for achieving wealth creation, food security and industrialization, the three focal areas of his administration.
Kazako launching free WiFi in Blantyre
President Chakwera further pointed out that one of the key tools in achieving the said focus areas is digitization. President Chakwera said the future of everything is digital and Malawi must not only be a part of it, but also be one of its creators. He said even those who are resistant to embracing new technology have been forced to see its uses during Covid-19 pandemic. A door of opportunity to normalize and democratize ICT usage has opened before us, and we must not waste it, the President had said.
When he officially launched the free public Wi-Fi in Blantyre, Minister Kazako said the Chakwera administration has always emphasized that there can never be a new Malawi without embracing new technologies and propagating delivery of e-services to the people.
The Chakwera administration is fully aware that delivery of e-services and adoption of new technologies is dependent on firstly and foremost addressing the key basic issues such as internet connectivity, proper ICT Infrastructure and digital skills.
Under the initiative, the Kamuzu and Chileka international airports will be provided the free Wi-Fi so that they are at par with other international airports around the world. Globalization demands the need to have an outward thinking on what others in various countries are doing as opposed to being limited to your own situation and conditions.
The Chakwera administration is also working overtime to ensure that hospitals and schools are also connected to Free Wi-Fi under this initiative, as a matter of urgency.
Through proper connectivity, health officials can interact with other professionals and experts in different countries and seek guidance and knowledge on critical medical areas without going there physically and even transfer of medical records from one hospital to another in times of referrals can be done online.
President Chakwera and his government are also keen to see that schools and libraries are connected to reliable internet and this has an obvious result of allowing learners to access vast information. The world is more open and connected now, and there must be no resistance to the adoption of ICT for whatever reason. ICT is now a necessity and not an option at every level, and today even businesses that fail to adapt to new technologies are dying natural deaths.
The growth of ICT has even changed how products are marketed and purchased. The provision of WI-FI in the marketplaces will enable traders to appreciate the trending market prices, place their orders online, explore potential export markets and even advertise their products.
MCP PLEDGE
What President Lazarus Chakwera and his MCP administration are implementing today with regard to ICT and digitalization is based on a well thought through strategy as contained in the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) 2019-2024 manifesto.
Under the manifesto, it was the vision of the MCP government is to develop a vibrant, competitive and efficient ICT industry.
More specifically, the MCP pledged to create an enabling environment for the growth of ICT and telecommunication as a key strategic sub-sector of the economy; reduce the cost of ICT services, through among other things, securing access to the new submarine infrastructure along the East African coast and review the taxation regime of the industry; promoting effective competition in the industry by allowing new entrants as a strategy to boost coverage and lower the cost of services.
The MCP also committed to extend broadband internet connection to all urban and rural centres through extension of fibre optic cable network to these areas to enhance access.
In June, President Chakwera officially launched the National Fibre Backbone Phase II.
The MCP had also pledged to remove all tariff and non-tariff barriers on internet facilities (including laptops and computers, cables, modems, routers etc.) in order to reduce the price of broadband internet; and connect all government offices and public facilities such as universities, colleges, secondary schools, hospitals, security installations to broadband internet.
As Malawi continues to encourage its people to get the Covid Vaccine, NBS Bank has donated money to the tune of K9.6 million kwacha to help accelerate vaccine programmes especially in the rural districts of the country. The donation has been made to a group called Malawi International Covid-19 Response group (MICRG) , a diaspora well wishers group that has been at the forefront of various Covid 19 preventative initiatives at an event that took place at the banks offices in Lilongwe.
Speaking to reporters after making the donation , NBS Bank head of Marketing Tamanda Longwe said the bank felt the need to help after being approached by the Diaspora group and also upon realisation that, there was a lot of stigma around Covid Vaccination. Longwe highlighted that it is her bank’s wish that the message encouraging people to get vaccinated should be equally disseminated to the very rural areas as it is happening with urban areas as a lot of beliefs and conspiracy theories are putting people off getting the vaccine. The donation was received by Dr Parth Patel , Secretary General of the society for Medical Doctors who are working alongside the Diaspora Response group.
According to the Response group Co-founder and UK Chairperson Edith Chikago Parker, the group were thankful to NBS for the timely gesture highlighting that this will go a long way in helping more Malawians to get vaccinated.
“On behalf of fellow Malawi International Covid-19 Response Group members we are very delighted and honoured to have secured funding towards Malawi’s Rural District Covid-19 vaccination Acceleration programme. We are very grateful to NBS for their financial support, this initiative couldn’t be possible without their intervention. We deeply appreciate their willingness and determination to adhere to their strong Corporate Social Responsibilities”
Tamanda Longwe presenting cheque to Dr Patel
On why the response group started this initiative , Edith Parker said as members of the Malawian diaspora, they understand the importance of supporting Malawi in critical times and Covid proved to be a critical situation .Members of the group have worked hard to volunteer time; resources; expertise, and managed to partner with the Society of Medical Doctors of Malawi(SMD) and NBS Bank to push for the safety of families in the rural districts.
“We thank the government of Malawi for granting us an opportunity to support Malawi’s Covid-19 Vaccination deployment strategies. Our message is clear, please don’t hesitate! go and get vaccinated” added Parker.
Malawi International Covid-19 Response Group (MICRG) was launched in January 2020 to support the Government of Malawi in implementing sustainable Covid-19 management strategies. It is aimed coordinating the diaspora resources including knowledge, skills and abilities in supporting sustainable Covid-19 Management strategies. The Group is working in partnership with the Society of Medical Doctors on the rural public awareness campaign which launched on 1st October 2021.The rural district civic Education Programme is a successful tried and tested pilot by SMD which was carried out in Mchinji. The project will see SMD deploying its doctors nationwide to sensitise the rural districts to increase vaccination uptake.
Explaining why the group had to focus on rural districts PR & Communications Lead Tikhala Chimpango explained that the strategy to focus on the rural population was born out of the realisation that the proliferation of the Covid-19 messaging in Malawi has largely focused on modern media.
“This had resulted in an unbalance uptake of information between the urban vs the rural creating a 2-tier society scenario,” Chimpango said. Her remarks were echoed by Society of Doctors in Malawi, chairperson Dr. Victor Mithi who explained that the project of providing CoVID-19 vaccine access to the rural communities is very critical for Malawi because of the low vaccine uptake in the rural areas yet the cases are increasing daily currently at 3% compared to 89% in the Western world.
The International response team believes The only way of preventing the disease from spreading among the rural masses is to motivate them by using peer motivators. Through this programme, they intend to create a demand of Covid-19 vaccine thereby increase the vaccine uptake and reduce the spread of the disease in rural communities. They argue that the previous emphasis on cities and towns has ended up compromising the uptake in the rural areas.
The Society of Doctors in Malawi thanked the international response team for their tireless efforts in helping Malawi during the pandemic “We are very happy that the Malawi International Covid-19 Response Group has been able to stand with us as they have demonstrated their passion for their families in Malawi. We believe that their effort shall also motivate Malawians to work together to solve their own problems. Our sponsors NBS Bank has demonstrated true ethics of the community bank for the people of Malawi which we would like other corporates to emulate in order to protect the lives of their customers” said Dr Mithi
According to recent data from Ministry of Health Malawi has 2976 active cases of Covid . the cumulative confirmed cases are 61639 with 56144 total recoveries . In terms of the vaccination data, a total of 1 054 636 doses have been administered in the county with people receiving either the AstraZeneca Vaccine or the Johnson and Johnson one .
British Council Malawi has announced that High Court Judge Dorothy Alethea DeGabriele has been given a Commonwealth Scholarship Award . She will be heading to UK to study for a Phd. Gabrielle has made a name for herself after how she handled the just finished Business Mogul Thom Mpinganjira attempt to bribe Judges case. The award however, is not linked to her performance on the said case.
Judge DeGabriele has been described by many Malawians one of the best legal minds in Malawi. Making the announcement, British Council Malawi congratulated DeGabrielle for the award. An Introductory Message from DeGabrielle said “”My name is Dorothy Alethea DeGabriele, a Judge of the High Court in the Criminal Division in Malawi. I have worked in the Justice and Governance sector for over 20 years. Apart from working as a professional magistrate at all levels, I was also a Chairperson of the Industrial Relations Court, a Governance and Justice adviser for the Department for International Development on the Safety, Security and Access to Justice Program and a National Coordinator for Juvenile Justice. I am a member, and current chairperson of the SADC Electoral Advisory Council; a high-level body that advises on the management of elections and electoral reforms in SADC countries. After graduating with LLM in Law and Development in 2010 (University of London), I desired to undertake a PhD study and the Commonwealth Scholarship Award has made that possible”.
Judge Dorothy Degabrielle
According to DeGabrielle, she will be undertaking a PhD study (Law) at the University of Warwick. Her area of study is around Governance and effective electoral justice systems, looking at the role of courts throughout the electoral cycle. She says she persuaded that this area of research will positively impact on governance institutions in terms of formulating policies, fostering, and broadening legal and socio-political dialogue.
