Malawi Congress Party officials in Kasungu has described the DPP led government as a failure in delivering on its promises.
The MCP officials made the remarks on Tuesday March 3,2020 when they held 13 whistle stop tours within the municipality of Kasungu aiming at sensitizing people to understand the 50%+1 election law which is expected to be used in the forth coming fresh presidential polls on May 19,2020.
Part of the crowd at whistle stop in Kasungu
Among other things the team which was led by the first deputy speaker of the national assembly, right Hon. Madalitso Kamatcheni Kazombo told the people of Kasungu that DPP has failed to deliver citing youth loans, women loans, the Kasungu Lilongwe road that it promised to work on but nothing has been done todate. They further mentioned of hunger that has hit the country yet the government is doing nothing to help the needy with relief good items, pointing at this hunger crisis as a result of DPP’ failure to invest in agricultural activities. They also spoke of the lowering down of many businesses saying its because the DPP has no welfare of the Malawians at heart. Here they urged the gathering to go and register in their large numbers when MEC announces and opens the voters registration process ahead of the elections and vote for Chakwera in large numbers on May 19,2020 saying this is the only way to make Chakwera president of this country.
On the issue of rumored alliance with UTM these MCP officials told their supporters to remain calm until the outcome is announced but urged them to campaign vigilantly for Dr. Lazarus Chakwera as he is the only remaining hope for Malawians if indeed Malawi has to change for better.
The team which had whistle stop tours in 13 centers had the first deputy speaker of the national assembly Hon. Madalitso Kazombo(MP for Kasungu East), Hon. Mike Bango(MP for Kasungu North), Hon. Jailos Bonongwe (MP for Kasungu West), Hon. Wazamazama Katatu, District chairlady for Kasungu and some Kasungu Born free members.
Dozens of women took to the streets of Malawi’s capital on Monday to protest against sexual violence after a series of alleged police assaults on women last year. About 90 protesters, most of them women, marched through Lilongwe in silence to mark She Decides Day – a global movement launched in 2017 after organisations that talk about abortion were barred from receiving U.S. government funding.
“I’m here because I am against men raping women each and every day,” said Eunice Kachimela, a 13-year-old student from Lilongwe.
“My friend was raped and we took the case to court, which made me so passionate. We need to speak up so things can change.”
Chimwemwe Mlombwa, one of the organizers, said some of the protesters chanted a traditional saying that translates as “every girl has a right to decide, don’t ruin her future simply because she is a girl”.
Young activists at the “She Decides” march against sexual violence in Lilongwe, Malawi
The march comes amid a rise in feminist activism in Malawi, where rape is widespread, but rarely reported due to stigma, lack of access to the judicial system and a cultural normalization of sexual abuse.
But the issue burst into the open last year when a number of women and girls accused the police of sexually assaulting them during violence that followed a disputed presidential election in May.
Malawi’s Women Lawyers Association has filed an application for a judicial review, arguing that a “failure to investigate promptly and take action against perpetrators violates the women’s constitutional rights”.
Police spokesman James Kadadzera said via WhatsApp message the force was currently investigating complaints from 17 women. “Everybody should be assured that we are doing all we can to make sure we finalize the investigations,” he said.
Among the protesters on Monday were a small number of female sex workers including Chiletseo Chakungu, 45, who arrived with traditional chitenje (African print fabric) wrapped around her waist and a skirt and fishnet stockings underneath.
“I had to wrap this around me because otherwise I would have been booed or harassed at the vendors market on my way here,” said Chakungu. “But I like wearing this and it’s my choice.”
On Thursday the 27th of February 2020, the Malawian parliament passed a bill into law that legalised the cultivation of cannabisin the country for medical and industrial use. This means that cannabis, also called Marijuana, would be legally cultivated for the production of medicines and hemp fibres in the industry.
Responding to an interview, Chauncy Jere, Director of Ikaros Africa and spokesman for Hemp Association of Malawi said: “there’s no denying that cannabis would be a lucrative industry and its demand is huge.” He further stated that the event forms “right steps to move the country’s economy forward.”
The bill was sponsored in the parliament by Kondwani Nankhumwa, the Minister of Agriculture. With this new passage, the Southern African country joins a league of other African countries that have taken conscious steps to tap into the economic potentials of the plant. Some of these countries have either relaxed the laws that criminalise the use of the plant or have completely legalised the cultivation of the plant. They include Lesotho, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Morocco.
This decision is also important because it will help the Malawian economy to bounce back from the contraction experienced in tobacco export – its main foreign earner – between 2017 to 2019. The tobacco industry had experienced a decline in demands as major players like British Tobacco and Altria gave up about20percentof their market value. This new law would be placing the plant as a key foreign earner for Malawi.
Cannabis plants have been grown since at least the 3rd millennium BCE. It is mostly used for recreation or as a medicinal drug. In 2013, it was estimated that about 2.7 percent to 4.9 percent of the global population (128 and 232 million people between the ages of 15 and 60) consumed.
Recognised by its consumers and tourists as the Malawian Gold, Cannabis grows more often on its own. It also serves as a source of employment for a large percentage of women and children who cultivate in rural areas, in addition to the men who handle the marketing of the crop.
Malawi is one of the largest producers of cannabis in Southern Africa. The Country has some of the best species of cannabis in the world which makes it out-play marijuana grown in other countries in terms of sales and relevance. Malawian cannabis has now flooded the marijuana markets in Kenya, Tanzania, and many other locales.
Cannabis is also used for spiritual purposes in Malawi. For years now, Malawi’s large Rastafarian community has been calling for the legalisation of the cultivation, supply and possession of marijuana. This is because smoking the plant is seen as a key tenet of the Rastafari movement. However, this new law does not state whether it can accommodate their demands.
After the success of the Tambala Night that was held in the city of Birmingham last year, The Opposition Malawi congress Party (MCP) Diaspora Wing UK chapter are back and this time they have announced that another Tambala Night is in the offing and will be held in the British city of Derby.
Speaking to our reporter , the Spokesperson for MCP diaspora Wing Chalo Mvula confirmed the news and highlighted that this will probably be the biggest Tambala Night ever , the wing has done in the UK “ We are leaving no stone unturned , the constitutional court has given us opportunity to have fresh presidential elections and our focus is to have Dr Lazarus Chakwera be the next president. To make that possible we have to mobilise enough resources and Tamabal Nights are usually one of the resource mobilisation events for our party” said Mvula
MCP president Dr Lazarus Chakwera with Diaspora Spokesman Chalo Mvula
The Tambala Night has been scheduled to take place on Saturday April 25 at Polish Centre in the city of Derby. Tickets for the event which are going at £20 a ticket are already on sale “ the event is in April , we want to give people enough time to prepare. The tickets are already on sale and the response has been overwhelming and i would encourage people to secure their tickets now so that they don’t miss out” added Mvula
It is expected that the event will feature some well known Malawian Singers,DJs and other performers , of which the list will be unveiled soon. MCP diaspora Wing has been at the forefront of engaging Malawians who are living in diaspora to be active politically. It works hand in hand with the party in Malawi. The Wing has several chapters in USA, Canada, Ireland and South Africa and operates under the name Malawi Congress Party Diaspora network.
Mvula also reiterated that the aime of the event is to fundraise enough money so that the party should be able to provide enough election monitors , an area which created a loophole for DPP to rig the last election. He urged people in the UK or in Diaspora to buy the tickets even if they will not attend the event as part of fundraising for the party. Those interested to get the tickets can contact the Wing through its facebook page
Chartered insurer, Masautso Malaicha, who has 25 years working experience in general insurance and currently working as underwriting manager at General Alliance Insurance Company, was voted in as the new Institute of Insurance in Malawi (IIM) and was unveiled on Saturday during the Institute’s annual Charter Dinner at Mount Soche Hotel in Blantyre.
Outgoing president Mwase (left) introduces new leader Masautso Malaicha
Malaicha served as vice-president to outgoing president Maclonex Mwase, who works for Britam insurance company as Country Sales Manager, and will be deputized by Mphatso Kamzingeni Zulu — also for General Alliance Insurance Company.
The new president pledged that he shall endeavor to volunteer his hours of service in line with IIM’s goal of supporting a range of professional noble causes the Institute has provided to the industry in particular and to the economy of Malawi in general.
In cognizance of the fact that the world undergoes constant evolution and change in many aspects, the Charter Dinner was held under the theme ‘Leading at the Edge, the Future Ready Insurer’.
“Best organizations embrace risk management concepts as an integral part of the culture,” Malaicha said.
“Today’s organizations continually face new challenges; legislation; regulations; required data for decision making will be missing or unobtainable; people will be uncooperative and resources unavailable.
“There is a lot of regulation now than before hence organizations should not fail to identify, access and manage important risks.”
He said the insurance industry, just like the rest of the economic organizations, are eroded with solvency issues, Cyber risks, high costs of third party liability and litigation claims costs and other pandemics.
“We need to understand risks our businesses are going through and avoid major losses,” he continued.
He pointed out that members should be continuously aware of risks organizations might face and take steps to mitigate of deal with their potential impact and save organizations from extinction should serious risks materialize.
Malaicha called on the members that they need to underwrite risks properly as well as proper risk categorization of fire and engineering risks to avoid unpleasant surprises for their treaty reinsurers.
He also impressed on the members that there is need to innovate and control business lines which are not profitable, such as the continued rise in litigation claims in motor third party liability — especially the pain and suffering.
“On the other side we need to handle claims professionally and beat our service level standards.”
IIM also awarded successuful candidates who had undergone insurance diplomas at their education centre situated at Malawi Posts Corporation campus at Chichiri in Blantyre.
He said the IIM will continue its dialogue with the Chartered Insurance Institute, which had stopped their education centre from administration of examinations, to resume in view of its vast membership and performance.
So Malaicha implored on IIM patron, Eric Chapola of NICO Life and NICO Pension and his executive who are pursuing the path to resume administration of examinations not to be weary but to get renewed with more strength to resolve the issue.
“We will continue to organize training packages both to be facilitated by our local technic and international expertise and we will increase visibility of insurance courses to the public through awareness programmes in schools and the media.
On his part, the outgoing president highlighted that in 2019 the Institute organized successful projects such as the hosting of the he Annual Lake Conference; the annual sports gala held in June and Educational Trainings.
The institute also held a quiz competition, won by Kingfisher Insurance Brokers, that was sponsored by Old Mutual Malawi for the 9th consecutive year and has pledged to continue supporting.
IIM sought partnership with willing insurance organizations in 2013 to provide 2 to 3 months internship for IIM College students who have at least completed their diploma so that they are prepared for employment once they complete their studies.
“I am pleased to note that more students have been employed through this initiative and the incoming president has assured me that this initiative will continue.”
During his tenure of office, Mwase said his committee promote education and intensified training for members facilitated by local and international experts.
The committee also disseminated information to the public through various channels to increase insurance penetration in Malawi which was around 1.4% in 2018, which current rate is around 2.01%.
The other members of the new committee are education secretary Wongani Banda (Britam), his deputy Lawrence Mtambalika (Reunion), honorary secretary Hastings Kapesa (Reunion), his deputy Herbert Chimombo (General Alliance), treasurer Chifundo Mtali, deputy Linda Chanda (UGI), events officer Dennis Masasa (Britam), his deputy Peter Phiri (UGI) and legal officer Gloria Mbendera.
