The Malawi government has warned its’ citizens living in South Africa against taking part in the on-going violent protests and looting that have erupted hot on the heels of the jailing of former president, Jacob Zuma.
The call was made by Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Rejoice Shumba, who said government of Malawi is monitoring events in that country since Friday. According to Shumba the Malawi embassy in South Africa is reporting that no Malawian has so far been affected by the civil unrest in there.About six people have died and over 200 have been arrested in the violence especially in Kwazulu Natal and Geuteng Provinces.
Former president Zuma handed himself in to start serving a 15-month-jail-term for contempt of court which has infuriated his supporters.
Looting in South Africa
South Africa deployed soldiers on Monday to quell violence that erupted in the wake of former president Jacob Zuma’s jailing, after days of riots left at least six people dead.
Police said disturbances had intensified and 219 people arrested as the controversial ex-leader challenged his 15-month prison term in the country’s top court.
Malawi’s pioneer mobile and ICT services provider TNM plc invested over MK31.5 billion in infrastructure during the year 2020 as part of its ongoing effort of developing a sustainable business in line with the company’s vision to be aligned with the global trends in digital transformation.
Addressing a virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) for TNM last week, TNM plc Board Chairman George Partridge said TNM plc will continue to transform its business by pioneering innovations that will transform the telecommunications sector in the country.
“Being pioneers of mobile telecommunications in this country since 1996, we take our role in innovations very seriously. I am glad to be part of this important phase of development in this industry that will contribute immensely to the development of individuals, businesses and the Malawi economy at large,” said Partridge.
Partridge (second right) addressing the TNM plc AGM
He also told the shareholders of the company that in 2020, TNM created wealth amounting to MK53.3 billion.
“We shared MK36.9 billion to our stakeholders, with the greatest portion being MK10.6 billion given to the Government through levies and taxes. Our employees got MK9.9 billion of the value that TNM had created in the year,” said Partridge.
Partridge also told the shareholders that TNM’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) focus areas continue to be in the areas of health, education and support for vulnerable groups saying the mobile company has contributed immensely through the traditional donations as well as providing connectivity to these important areas.
“TNM has contributed significantly towards the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in Malawi especially in the education and health sectors. TNM provided ICT equipment and connectivity solutions to the education sector to allow for continued access to education when physical teaching and learning was not possible.”
“TNM also contributed over MK150 million to the health sector to allow them access personal protective equipment (PPE), allow health personnel in the four central hospitals in Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Zomba to access connectivity for health surveillance as well as support for COVID-19 related issues. Our company continues to sponsor the TNM Super League which contributes enormously to the development of the most popular sport in Malawi, football,” said Partridge.
He said they are looking ahead with great optimism and courage noting that the telecoms penetration in Malawi at 48% is still low compared to the regional markets where penetration is greater than 90%.
“The smartphone penetration is also very low but growing at a rate of more than 240% since 2018. We still have over 55% of Malawi’s adult population which does not have access to financial services of any kind. This means that the potential for growth of our business is still enormous. With investments that we are putting in infrastructure development and continuous improvement of our business, we expect successful years ahead,” he said.
In 2021, Partridge observed, the macro-economic environment is expected to remain challenging, putting pressure on service revenue and margins.
“The volatile exchange rates and foreign currency scarcity will continue to increase the cost of our operations. The adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic that started in 2020 are expected to continue in 2021. However, the vaccination programs that have been rolled out are expected to provide a good base for economic activity and hence economic recovery”.
“We anticipate that there will be a surplus in the maize harvest, resulting in food security and providing our rural consumers surplus disposable income to spend on our services. We will continue to focus our attention on meeting and exceeding customer expectations by delivering outstanding customer experiences,” said Partridge.
Responding to a question from a shareholder on the declining of dividends that the company will declare to its shareholders, Partridge said the board was fully aware that the dividend growth between 2019 and 2020 declined and has been below inflation.
“The dividend growth dropped in real terms due to the decline in net profits available for distribution. The dividend policy of your company is to pay out between 40% – 60% of the distributable profits for that year.”
“The policy was framed that way to ensure that the company is able to invest in capital expenditure for future growth as well as it replaces old equipment and systems which may become obsolete due to advancement in technology,” said Partridge.
Patience Namadingo has apparently struck gold(or copper?) and is probably relocating to Zambia.
But the good talented Doc has a strange way of announcing his inevitable departure and bidding farewell to his local fans who stuck with him through thick and thin.
Instead of offering some diplomatic explanation laced with artistic motivation or even commercial incentives,Namadingo decided to bizarelly call out the motherland as being infested with haters hell bent on killing his thriving career.
Some of us have followed his career from its humble infancy when he burst on the music scene with the “Msati Mseke” hit that instantly catapulted Patience into national prominence.
Todate I play his CDs on nearly every long haul trip outside town especially YASYMON divided into 2 parts being “Strictly Gospel”and “Strictly (what’s labelled as) Conscious” (put simply,Strictly Secular).
Dr Namadingo: Malawians hate me
Namadingo’s adulation for God is evident in “Mulipo” where he reaffirms his belief in the existence of the Almighty.
“Ali Dele” nkulinga utayenda naye subtly exploits a popular Chewa proverb figuratively linking it to his own journey with Christ.
Trekking up to the Northern States, a fluent date with Tumbuka in “Mnganileka Uli” reveals Namadingo’s bilingual nature.
Marriage being a recurring major theme for local music finds itself at the heart of “Wapeza Chabwino”
For me, it’s in “Kumkhudza” where Patience displays his mastery at story telling with an apt rendition of the biblical woman with haemorrhage who touched Jesus in a desperate bid for healing mercies.
“Bukuli” prefaces the New Testament.
And Namadingo’s appreciation of the synoptic gospels is brought to bear in “Kwazaka Zaka” in reference to Jesus’ healing of a paralytic man at Bethesda on Sabbath.Listening between the lines,here Patience almost advocates arrogant responsive approaches he’s now becoming infamous for.
So too in “Onani” where the miracle of walking on water is extrapolated into contemporary life in order to surmount pessimistic attitudes.
My daughter loves “My Man” incidentally because it’s the only song in Jazz and English.Her vernacular isn’t too great afterall.But Jesus is indeed THE MAN!
“Waima” Maria is my favourite for its vivid and dramatic portrayal of Christ’s unconventional birth.I bet Patience can as well eke out a living from acting.
Initially, I didn’t quite grasp what message “Walira” mwana ( the 11th and final song in the “strictly gospel” part) seeks to convey.(But it seems to suggest that if you want to eat in peace feed the hungry around you)
Suffice it to highlight that the common denominator of the teachings his songs dare to advocate relates to:
HOW YOU FINISH MATTERS MORE THAN HOW YOU BEGIN
Just listen carefully to the last stanza of each and every one of his songs should you require proof.
Having started small, Namadingo must never forget where he came from and must owe a huge chunk of his apparent success to the Malawian fans including Yours Truly lest he finishes his race badly.
Many are the Malawians who migrated to the diaspora for the right economic or other reasons but who never looked down upon the motherland generally despising her in scathing & dismissive language.
Whatever issues Namadingo is going through with local promoters,fellow artists, regulators etc he must at the very least show RESPECT for us fans.
Maybe Namadingo must pull down the insensitive post and apologise to the fans then I might just hazard an analysis of the “strictly conscious ” Side B of WASYMON
Otherwise some of us fans have been lost and have already seen his last show or bought his last CD.
**This post first appeared on David Kanyenda Facebook and views expressed are those of the author***
Malawi national team hopes of reaching the next stage in the on going Cosafa Cup in South Africa suffered a huge set back as the Flames went down 2-0 to Mozambique in an exciting encounter that took place at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Mozambique scored first from the spot through a controversial penalty that was converted by Victor Junior in the 54th minute.
The Mambas doubled their lead through Francisco Simbene who tapped in a loose ball after goal-keeper Ernest Kakhobwe failed to clear a free kick from the right.
Malawi came closer to scoring in the early minutes of the game through Khuda Muyaba and Schumacher Kuwali but Mambas goalkeeper Ernan Suluane made fantastic saves to deny the Flames an early lead.
Coach Meke Mwase made a number of changes in the second half which saw Taonga Chimodzi coming in for Chikoti Chirwa and Vitumbiko Kumwenda paving way for Muhammad Sulumba.
Mwase also brought in Mecium Mhone and Ndaziona Chatsalira for Schumacher Kuwali and Rafiq Namwera respectively but still failed to get back into the game.
In another Group B encounter, Namibia beat Zimbabwe 2-0 to take the Brave Warriors to the top of Group B with 6 points.
Following their victory against Flames, Mozambique are now on second position with 4 points followed by the guests, Senegal who have so far accumulated 3 points.
Zimbabwe are on fourth position with 2 points and Malawi are at the bottom with 1 point.
Mphatso Magaleta stole the show after bagging a brace to give the struggling Ntopwa Football Club a 3-0 win at Mzuzu Stadium against Mzuzu Warriors
Ntopwa drew the first blood in the 20th minute through Levison Chabwera after a break down in communication in Warriors defense.
The Amaghetto kids scored their second in the 70th minute through Magaleta before he completed his brace in the 87th minute.
Ntopwa
The Bangwe Township-based side went into the match after playing 15 matches without a win in the 16-team TNM super league
Speaking after Saturday’s victory, Ntopwa coach Karen Chaula said she was very excited with the victory and urged her charges to work even harder in order to get another victory as Ntopwa meets Moyale Barracks on Sunday in the TNM super league.
In the top-flight, Civo Service FC ended a three game winless run following their 1-0 victory against Chitipa United.Lankeni Mwale scored the lone goal for the civil servants
Karonga United were also 1-0 winners against Red Lions FC at Mpira Stadium courtesy of Anthony Mfune’s goal.
