The Ministry of Homeland Security says it will soon engage the Inspector General of police on the next course of action for motorcycle operators that are still failing to comply with the rules and regulations that were put in place to inorder to reduce road accidents across the country.
This follows the expiry of a six-month period on 31st January 2022 which was given to the operators to comply with all the stipulated safety guidelines.Principal Secretary for the ministry, Kennedy Nkhoma has told reporters that they will meet the Inspector General of Police in due course to do a postmortem of the campaign.
However, one of the operators in the city of Lilongwe Laurent Mzembe acknowledges their failure to comply with rules but adds that it due to financial hiccups.
In August 2020, government gave the operators six months to register their motorcycles and sort out other issues that contravene traffic rules.
Pamoza Tingakwaniska, a local Non-Governmental Organization has underscored relevance of linking youth clubs with Chiefs in Karonga District saying it is key in helping to spread messages about Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) amongst youths in the District.
Project Officer for the organisation, Gomezgani Mhango revealed this during an interface meeting for Fiska Ulato project aimed at briefing chiefs on the project and linking them with youth clubs at Mwangulukulu in the District. “When youth clubs are linked with traditional leaders, the clubs will have power and will be involved whenever communities have public gatherings to spread messages about sexual reproductive health to other youths in their communities,” she said.
Mhango has since expressed satisfaction with the response from chiefs saying they have showed willingness to help. “We are impressed with their response because they are saying that they are willing to help in one way or another and they have assured us to act as a bridge between all concerned parties,” she said. Mhango has since pointed out that when Chiefs are active and willing to work with the organisation, there will be great outcome and the project will be sustained well.
In a separate interview, Village Development Committee (VDC) chairperson in Mwangulukulu, Precious Mwakisulu expressed gladness with the coming of the project in the area. “Here most of the youths seem not to know SRHR, so your coming is timely as it will enlighten them on rights concerning their sexual reproductive health,” he said.
On his part, Principal Group Village Head Mwangulukulu said the chiefs are happy with the coming of the project as it will tackle relevant issues. “This organisation’s coming to our communities is very good and we are happy with it because you will be tackling serious issues that are happening here like early pregnancies and we hope that most of the youths will grasp the message about sexual reproductive health and make proper use of it,” he said. Pamoza Tingakwaniska Youth Organisation is implementing Fiska Ulato Project with financial support from Bruekmann Foundation, Germany
Barely a month after the Northern Region Water board (NRWB) announced their 2022 implementation plan of extending 25 kilometers of its main pipeline from Chintheche to Kande, MCP MP for the constituency Dr Zikhale Ng’oma has secured a partnership deal with another well wisher to fix about 80 sink boreholes in the areas of Traditional Authority (TA) Malengamzoma, Fukamapiri and Zilakoma in Nkhatabay district.
Faizal Abu and family have responded to an appeal made by member of Parliament for Nkhatabay south, Dr. Kenneth Zikhale Reeves Ng’oma to help the people of constituency with portable water after hundreds of years they have been consuming on river and lake water.
In an interview on Wednesday Dr.Zikhale Ng’oma said he is now happy that one of his campaign promises is being fulfilled. He promised the people in this area that once voted as their parliamentarian he will address the water problem which all his predecessors had failed to address.
“This has been my all time dream that the outstanding water challenge in my constituency will come to an end one day. I am very grateful that they elected me and their vote did not cast in vain. By the end of this year the whole constituency will be anointed with portable water,” said Zikhale.
He added that: “while the Northern Region Water Board (NRWB) comes into my rescue to have my constituency with piped water from a 25 kilometer stretch of their main pipeline from Chintheche to Kande by the end of this year, Pacific Boreholes is on the ground renovating about 80 sink boreholes across my constituency with funding from my Blantyre based development partners Faizal Abu and family to a tune of K20 million.”
Zikhale has further condemned ill comments by some people who have described the availability of government development partners; donors and sponsors in his constituency as unqualified reason to cerebrate. He said such comments are coming from people who do not understand how a legislator works and what are his roles?
While advising them to understand the roles of a legislator and its impact to government and donor initiated developments Zikhale has appealed to the people in his area to be united and have their focus on developing their areas when doors are wide open for them. Meanwhile, team leader for Pacific Boreholes, a contractor which is renovating these sink boreholes, James Nsusa told Impact media that the project is expected to wind up in the next two weeks.
Dr Zikhale Ng’oma
Nsusa has however applauded Dr. Zikhale for his warm welcome of this partner in his constituency describing him as man of focus. “We will be winding up this project in the next two weeks. We are covering the areas of TAs Fukamapiri, Malengamzoma and Zilakoma with 80 boreholes across the constituency up to the boundary with Dwambazi. However, I am very grateful to the MP for the warm welcome, he is a man of focus and we have agreed will his appeal that Pacific should only leave after all renovation works have finished,” he explained.
Some quarters have since welcomed the development approach which Dr.Zikhale is working on saying it is effective. Nkhatabay south constituency has had 4 members of Parliament since the dawn of the multiparty democracy for the past 27 years but barely a half way to his first five year term Dr.Zikhale has already made an impacting difference with his predecessors while he has just secured another solar electricity contractor to implement solar electricity to all the markets and along the main road across the constituency.
In his remarks with impact media in our earlier interview, councillor for Mbamba Ward Esau Chinyimba, said that water is life was mare rhetoric among many people from Nkhatabay south in memorial because for the people in his area water has been death sentence since they consumed raw and direct from the rivers and a lake.
He said this affected them negatively. “We are all told that water is life but for the people of Nkhatabay South Constituency water is a death sentence because people in the area have been suffering from various waterborne diseases after consuming water direct from rivers and the lake,” he said.
Chinyimba said after hearing the news that this challenge will no longer be an issue people in the area are very grateful to Tonse government and to Dr Zikhale Ng’oma, for tirelessly working towards addressing these long overdue challenges.
The councillor further applauded the honourable member for his unending engagements with various development partners and service providers which has seen NRWB responding to bail the people of his constituency with portable water while UNICEF has also responded to renovated another borehole at Chifira Community Day Secondary School.
The success of Malawi National team at the Africa Cup on Nations tournament made several individuals and companies pledge so many things in order to try to motivate the boys . One company, Kelfoods pledged that it will give the boys eggs. The pledge has finally been honoured.
Kelfoods has honored its pledge of a crate of eggs to each player and each member of technical staff from this month to December this year.
Kakhobwe receiving the eggs on behalf of the Flames
At a ceremony at the company’s premises, Revenue officer for the compan, Roweena Osman, said the Flames represented the country well at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon where it finished in the knockout stage; hence, the gesture.
Representing the Flames’, goalkeeper, Ernest Kakhobwe, said the team will aim to do better in future tournaments than what it has done in Cameroon as a payback to all well-wishers and the nation as a whole.
Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) has hailed the Competition and Fair Trade Commission (CFTC) for swiftly moving to protect consumers by exposing uncompetitive trading engaged by Nico Life Insurance Company and Goodwill Funeral Services.
Cama executive director John Kapito shared the sentiments in an interview on Tuesday in reaction to CFTC’s decision to fine the two firms for engaging in business practices deemed to be uncompetitive.
He observed that consumers continue to suffer by paying high tariffs as a result of uncompetitive practices that are common on the market.
“These two are just an example of service businesses which are conniving to rip off consumers. We encourage the CFTC to investigate other cartels on the market who rip off consumers,” said Kapito.
In June last year, the CFTC launched an investigation into alleged anti-competitive and unfair trading conduct by some players in the provision of funeral services.
The probe followed a complaint submitted to the commission by some funeral service providers alleging that Goodwill Funeral Services sealed an agreement with Nico Life Insurance Company Limited to exclusively provide funeral services to members of the Medical Aid Society of Malawi (Masm).
But in a statement, CFTC announced that they deliberated on the evidence gathered in the case and found that the conduct and decisions by Goodwill and Nico Life resulted in the prevention and distortion of the funeral services market.
The statement signed by CFTC acting executive director Apoche Itimu indicated that the commission established that the agreement between Nico Life and Masm did not contain anti-competitive clauses and further that following the entry into force of the agreement, Masm ceased to deal directly with funeral service providers who were to deal directly with Nico Life.
She, however, indicated that the commission found that although the written agreement between Nico Life and Goodwill did not contain anti-competitive agreements, they had an oral agreement that was anti-competitive and further that they made decisions and engaged in concerted practices that were anti-competitive in violation of Section 32(1) of the Competition and Fair Trading Act.
Itimu said: “The findings of investigation revealed that following the agreement between Nico Life and Masm, Nico Life and Goodwill decided that Goodwill would be the only approved funeral service provider for Masm members.”
She said the commission noted that Nico Life and Goodwill reached this agreement without affording other providers the opportunity to be registered by Nico Life.
“Where members obtained funeral services from other funeral service providers other than Goodwill, Nico Life would only process their payments if the claims were made through Goodwill [their competitor]despite that they had no subcontract with Goodwill,” she said.
In light of the findings, the commission ordered Nico Life to open up to other funeral service providers by entering into agreements with them through competitive bidding processes and a fine of K500 000 for engaging in anticompetitive conduct.
CFTC has also ordered Goodwill to pay a fine of K68 736 941 being financial gain generated from engaging in the anticompetitive conduct.
When drawn to comment on the matter, Goodwill Funeral Services managing director Anderson Green Mankhusu acknowledged receiving communication from the CFTC.
“Our board will meet to determine way forward so that we respond within the time the CFTC has given,” he said. Nico Life Insurance Company chief executive officer Eric Chapola was yet to respond to our query on the mater by press time.
