On Tuesday, March 8, 2022, President Lazarus Chakwera engaged officials from Ministries of Lands, Transport and Public Works, Home Land Security, Account General and Education at the Presidential Delivery Unit ( PDU ) to establish why completion of various projects was delaying.
The President could not hide his frustrations and called the delay shameful.
He said mong other delayed Projects that have frustrated him are construction of 10,000 Security Institutions Houses, three Teachers’houses in Mchinji, Rumphi and Chikwawa, 14 primary Schools in urban areas, 29 girls’ hostels science laboratories and library blocks.
He however, demanded better coordination among officials and enforceable timeline from the official of the above mentioned Ministries so as to ensure that these projects are concluded within given timeframe.
Keturah’s is fine – says former manager ‘Pemphero Mphande’
By Chimwemwe Banda
Former manager for Afro-jazz musician ‘Keturah’ Pemphero Mphande, says the artist is fine amid concerns that she might be going through depression.
On Tuesday social media was awash with concerns that the musician is going through mental health problems following the deactivation of her Facebook account.
Before deactivating the account the ‘Moyo Uno’ hit-maker made a worrisome Facebook post which read; “I was once alive. Thank you.”
While some people described the post as a publicity stunt, many people took it seriously and requested Mphande to check on her former artist.
However writing on his Facebook page on Tuesday evening, Mphande said the musician was fine but could not come out clear on wether she was indeed going through mental health problems.
“I love Keturah and she has always had a special place in my heart. Unfortunately I cannot say much as she hasn’t said much herself and it’s her private life. I have no right over what she says.” reads the statement in part.
Mphande further assured his followers and Keturah’s followers that the two are fine but urged the fans to continue praying for them.
“I wanted to let you know I have met her (Keturah) and she is fine. She will be ok. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Don’t forget to pray for me too,” he says.
The two have been seen together in different places despite ending their business relationship on 13 December last year-fueling rumours that their relationship was beyond music.
Organisers of the Nzika-Pamtsetse Charity Bonanza have disclosed that all is set for the competition slated for Bingu National Stadium (BNS) in Lilongwe this weekend with an aim of raising resources for flood victims
Team Leader for the organisers; Nzika Flood Response, Counsel Gift Nankhuni told reporters in Lilongwe that everything is set for the bonanza to take place and urged fans to come in large numbers to support their teams and the flood victims.
Following the draw conducted on Tuesday, TNM Super league defending champions Nyasa Big Bullets will face Lilongwe giants Silver Strikers and Civil Service United will host Mighty Wanderers in an early kick-off.
Winners of the first matches will meet on Sunday in the final of the competition whereas the losers will face each other in the third-place play-off.
The Nzika Flood Response with support from TNM and NBS Bank have organised the bonanza with an aim raising funds for supporting survivors of floods and downpours caused by Tropical Storm Ana.
Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare Patricia Kaliati on Tuesday described the act of stripping women naked as illegal and barbaric.
Kaliati expressed her sentiments in Lilongwe during the 2022 commemoration of the International Women’s Day in Lilongwe.She said there is no justification for stripping women naked, and warned everyone who will be caught indulging in the malpractice that the law will take its course.”It is sad to note that most of the videos that go viral on social media the ones on the forefront are fellow women, women let’s love and protect one another,” she said.
On this note Kaliati further condemned chiefs that stir the act of stripping women as a way of shaming them after being caught committing adultery.Acting UN Coordinator who is also Resident Representative for UNDP Shigeki Komatsubara said they are committed to advance the welfare of women in the country.
He said the commemoration of the women’s Day is an important way of raising the voice of women on matters that affect them and to further increase awareness on challenges and injustices that women face.
Mkango Resources has successfully produced neodymium and praseodymium-enriched rare earth carbonate from the final stages of hydrometallurgical piloting at ANSTO in Australia, it announced on Monday, for the Songwe Hill rare earths project in Malawi.
The AIM-traded firm described piloting as an “integral part” of the feasibility study for Songwe, adding that it had completed flotation piloting and all six hydrometallurgy pilot campaigns, testing all aspects of the processing flow sheet.
It said the final piloting stage produced rare earth carbonate grading 55% total rare earth oxides (TREO) equivalent, enriched in neodymium and praseodymium oxides, which together made up 31% of the rare earth oxide content in the carbonate product.
Neodymium and praseodymium are “key components” of permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and many electronic devices, Mkango said, with prices for those oxides rising by 85% and 135%, respectively, over the last year.
The rare earth carbonate produced at Songwe would feed Mkango’s proposed Pulawy separation plant development in Poland.
Technical aspects of the feasibility study for Songwe were close to completion, the board said, with the majority of engineering workstreams now 100% complete, and most other key work streams more than 90% complete.
Negotiations of the mining development agreement with the Malawi government were also said to be “well-advanced”.
That agreement would confirm the fiscal and legal terms for project development, and was expected to take up to three months to finalise, at which point the results of the feasibility study and valuation metrics would be announced.
In the meantime, Mkango said it would advance ongoing discussions with potential strategic investors and off-takers, and work with its brokers, project finance advisor Terrafranca Capital Partners, and US-based strategic advisor Jones Group International.
The company also recently engaged EIT Raw Materials to further support financing discussions in Malawi and Poland, to provide support within the framework of the European Raw Materials Alliance.
“Completion of piloting is another major milestone for the development of Songwe and the related Pulawy separation plant in Poland, as Mkango moves towards finalisation of the feasibility study for Songwe,” said chief executive officer William Dawes.
“This puts Mkango in a rare class of having an independent rare earths project at this advanced stage of development.
“Through its investments across the supply chain, Mkango is uniquely positioned to be a future producer of rare earth oxides, recycled alloys and magnets, the latter through its 42% strategic interest in short loop rare earth magnet recycler, HyProMag.”
