Category: National

By Patrick Ng’ambi:

Chiradzulu based Reggae and Dancehall Artist Fire star, real name Chisomo Ndalama is all set to officially release his much anticipated single entitled “Ine si mbumba ya Abraham” from “Lets Rock It” Riddim produced by Truemale at Grapes Records this coming Saturday on 27 August.

“Ine si mbumba ya Abraham” is a song which is acting as a reminder to us African people of who we are, who we have been and who we will always be, the Bantu people, Which is our true identity.

Speaking in an interview on Monday, Fire Star said he decided to name the song “Ine si mbumba ya Abraham” because of the message which the song is carrying.

“I was trying to express myself to the people about who really I am and where I am coming from,” Fire Star said.

He said he came up with the idea of writing the song after hearing a lot of black people calling themselves Israelites and that they are from the tribe of Israel, descendants of Abraham, Jacob and Isaac.

“A lot of people call themselves descendants of Abraham, Jacob and Isaac who in reality are not even their ancestors at all and those names are not even in our native language.

“So, the idea of the song was to remind the people who we are, the Ngoni, the Lhomwes, the Amasaii, the Zulu, the Yorubas, the Tumbukas, the San people, true tribes of our African nations and that we have our own traditions, culture and spirituality,” Fire Star explained.

The “Akufuna Rasta” hit maker added that he got the inspiration of tackling this particular concept from Anthony Makondetsa’s “Mbumba ya Abraham.” Song.

He said if Makondetsa could tell people that we are descendants of Abraham why not set the record straight and remind people that we are not descendants of Abraham.

“I wanted to set the record straight that “NO” we cannot be descendants of Abraham, we know our parents, our grandparents and our great great grandparents. We know our tribes, our home villages, our traditions and culture and it is different from the ones we read in the bible about Israelites,” said Fire Star.

In his view, the song which has been produced by Truemale of Grapes Records is not targeting Anthony Makondetsa or anyone but rather a black liberation song to the beautiful black people.

Lacted Kachala, a follower of the reggae dancehall artist said as Africans we have our own ancestors and the message in the song is pure and true black liberation.

“I cannot be “Mbumba ya abraham” no, those beliefs have enslaved black community for so long, we stopped being recognised on our own , our culture as africans has long been forgotten.

“We had our own way of worshiping God not all these stories brought about by white man, ever since we started copying European way of worshiping God, things have not been on our side. Wise up Africa,” Kachala said.

The song will be available on all streaming and downloading platforms and several radio stations across the country.

By Staff Writer:

Malawi’s Former President Dr Joyce Banda has reiterated that for Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) member States to be independent, they should attain economic freedom.

She made the remarks at the Santon Convention Centre on the invitation of University of Johannesburg in South Africa on Thursday where she delivered a keynote speech on the Commemoration of 30 Years of the SADC existence.

Banda said for this to happen, there should be an honest conversation on these issues within the community.

“My view is that SADC needs to look at where we have come from. The vision of our founding fathers who wanted to see a liberated Southern Africa from colonialists and apartheid, how we have evolved from SADCC to the SADC of today.

“Our plans of the past 15 years to achieve a common market and even a common currency remains a wild dream. As we examine where we are today, we should then draw our roadmap going forward,” writes Banda on her Facebook page.

She questions how nations can standby and see their citizens without hope, opportunities and while struggling to find their next meal.

The former president, who is a renowned global champion of women and girls empowerment, further challenged economies to have women sitting at the policy formulating tables.

Added Banda: “What role are women playing at regional level? Are we sitting at the policy formulating table. SADC has great achievements to show in the 30 years.”

BY Hannah Chimkulu:

The organisers of Tumaini Cocktail Night, the Tumaini Letu-Malawi says everything is set for the event that will take place on Friday, 26th August, 2022 .

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Thursday, Bright Malenga who is the Communications Officer for Tumaini Letu-Malawi confirmed that all preparations for the event are over.

Malenga says the aim of the event is to source funds that will go towards Tumaini Letu-Malawi youth programs at Dzaleka Refugee Camp.

“We have organized this fundraising as one way of preparing for the big event which is coming in November, our aim is to raise funds for Tumaini Letu Malawi Youth programmes at Dzaleka Refugee Camp,’’ he said.

Malenga called on all Malawians to take part during the fundraising cocktail which would happen on August 26 2022 at Orchid in Lilongwe.

One of the Artists who will be performing on this day, Sam Shaba said all preparations are in place and he was ready at the same time excited to give his best performance to Malawians.

“I have been preparing because I want to deliver to Malawians, I am looking forward to give the best performance on the stage because this is my work and I don’t joke when am on stage. So I am urging all my fans and everyone to come and be part of this concert,’’ he said.

Supporting artists performing at the cocktail include; Welce, Msue, Joram Nyirongo and Sage poet.

By Chancy Namadzunda:

President Lazarus Chakwera has expressed optimism that the incoming second Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact project will transform the country’s infrastructure sector.

Last week the United States Government announced that it has approved a US$350 million (almost MK350 billion) package for Malawi’s second Compact through the directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)Board.

The signing of the new compact deal is expected to take place in Washington DC next month.

Writing on his Facebook page on Thursday afternoon, Chakwera says the second compact will focus on infrastructure development.

“This second Compact will go towards infrastructure projects, thus intensifying our ambitious nationwide program of building modern roads, in both urban and rural areas, that will spur economic growth and reduce the cost of transporting goods and people for generations to come,” writes Chakwera.

Chakwera observed that with massive investment in the infrastructure sector there will be strategic linkages between farms and markets thereby easing the movement of profitable goods by smallholder farmers.

He expressed optimism that the signing of the compact will open further investment opportunities into the country.

“Additionally, the official signing of the compact next month will open opportunities for further investment into Malawi, as it will signal to those investors we have been inviting here that our economy is fertile ground for sowing seeds for the future and that our agro-industrialisation agenda will soon have the supporting roads to bring prosperity to rural farmers and other stakeholders along the Agriculture value chain,” writes Chakwera.

This is the second time that Malawi will be benefitting from the MCC compact programme.

The first compact focused on improving the country’s energy sector by among other things enhancing the country’s power generation capacity by constructing additional power transmission centres as well as improving quality of power lines to reduce the amount of electricity power lost during the transmission process.

By Erik Chiputula:

Salima Sugar company has supported the 12th edition of Sand Music Festival with K10 million towards the festival slated to run from 30 September to 2 October 2022 at Kambiri Beach in Salima.

Speaking after presenting the cheque on Thursday, Salima Sugar Company Secretary Dr. Charles Thupi said the decision follows company’s interest in promoting the arts industry in Malawi.

“As a corporate citizen we decided that we should promote Arts and Tourism by working hand in hand with our colleagues from Impakt Invents that promotes tourism through Sand Music Festival” said Thupi

Thupi added that it also pleased his company to give out to the community in Salima where the Company is situated by rendering their support to the event which will take place within the district.

In an interview, Impakt Events Member Jonny Zembani Banda said they are pleased with the donation saying it will make a huge impact as they still look for more financial support.

“We are happy with this support as it will make a huge impact in our preparedness for the festival. The support we are getting from Salima Sugar Company in particular and the corporate world in general is an indication of trust these partners have in us and we promise to give out the best,” he said

By Chancy Namadzunda:

Leader of Opposition in Parliament Kondwani Nankhumwa has written President Lazarus Chakwera advising him to ask the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) to tap money from the Malawi Rural Electrification Programme (MAREP) Fund for the rehabilitation of Kapichira Hydro Power Station.

In a letter dated August 24, 2022, Nankhumwa said government can use funds which MAREP generates every year for the past two years, whichhave been dormant.

Recently, Parliament approved a K60 billion loan for the rehabilitation of Kapichira Power Station.

“Whereas this is good news, I am aware that the process of getting a loan from international financial institutions, including Bretton Woods Institutions such as the World Bank takes time, and it may be months before funds are released.

“In fact EGENCO, during its audience with the joint committees of Parliament, estimated that the soonest Kapichira Power Station may come back online is on 22nd December this year. This is also on the assumption that all key variables are in place. Experience, however, taught us that all variables are not always in their place in Malawi, and that it may take even longer before the issue of blackouts is fixed.

“Meanwhile, people continue to suffer relentless load shedding. The economy is not moving because businesses have no power and have stalled. Small-scale business operations such as hair dressing salons; barber shops, grain millers, and others have literally stopped due to lack of electricity.

“Your Excellency, I do not need to emphasize that power is integral to an economy and we cannot begin talking about social and economic development in an economy that does not have electricity. We cannot talk of attracting serious investors to an economy with intermittent power supply.

“Indeed, Your Excellency, one would wonder how your government will achieve its most talked about quest to create jobs for millions of youths in this country without power. Mr. President, this country is in a crisis,” said Nankhumwa

He said MAREP generates K20 billion every year and for the past two years and by now this funding purse is estimated to have over K50 billion considering that MAREP Phase 9 has not been rolled out due to issues of corruption in the awarding of tenders.

“EGENCO indicated that the rehabilitation project for Kapichira Hydro Power Station would require about K15 billion if taxes were not imposed on equipment and K17 billion with tax.

“I would like to make an appeal to you, Your Excellency, to ask the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) to tap from the MAREP Fund for the rehabilitation of Kapichira Hydro Power Station. Of course, MERA will have to first disclose how much money it has in this resource envelope for transparency and accountability sake.

“Your Excellency, your government cannot be waiting for money from somewhere else to solve this electricity crisis when MAREP has money just lying idle. This money is enough to rehabilitate the Kapichira Hydro Power Station as a crisis measure while processes to obtain money from the World Bank or elsewhere are obtaining. The reconciliation can be done later.

“You must note, Your Excellency, that there cannot be any MAREP without a solid ESCOM or EGENCO because MAREP thrives on the backbone of these two institutions. Let us, therefore, start by solving the Kapichira Hydro Power Station problem first before we can extend electrification to other areas through MAREP.

“This power crisis, Your Excellency, must be attended to with speed because already, we have lost time. I hope this is a timely suggestion, and I pray that it is implemented without delay,” said Nankhumwa.

By Staff Writer:

Illovo Sugar (Malawi) plc has relaunched the ‘Everyday Chef online cooking competition’ second series and K8 million will be up for grabs in the 8-week campaign.

The company has announced that the winner of the competition will walk away with K5 million with the second placed pocketing K2 million card and the third placed winner going home K1 million richer.

Illovo Sugar Malawi limited said it is a must for the contestants to use Illovo’s refined and dark demerara sugar as part of their ingredients.

The decision to initiate the second series comes following the success of the inaugural edition launched last year in August 2021.

At the relaunch, Illovo Sugar (Malawi) plc’s Managing Director, Lekani Katandula said the company found it befitting to reintroduce this initiative following its success, saying this year’s competition will also have shopping mall activations.

“The Everyday Chef campaign enabled our consumers to interact with the brand by increasing awareness of refined and dark demerara sugar as they shared their recipes thereby contributing to higher brand engagements.”

“Furthermore, the initial campaign allowed us to grow our Facebook community, which is in line with our strategy of continuing to be more consumer centric. As a business, we understand that ‘amazing things happen when you listen to the consumer’. The promotion has been relaunched in order to excite our consumers and engage them in a fun and creative way while cooking and baking using the different varieties of sugar produced by Illovo,” said Katandula.

The campaign kicked off on 11^th August 2022 with a cooking competition in order to select five judges who would then become the judges for the competition.  The five judges who were chosen to oversee this year’s campaign are Ipyana Mwagomba, Thobekile Nthinda, Dyson Chikolera, Portia Alimoyo, and Nelson Dhiba.

Just like last year, the promotion will primarily be conducted online and run through Illovo’s Tseketseke brand Facebook page. Each week the company will give consumers a challenge to showcase either their baking or cooking skills which they will then have to share on the Facebook page.

The recipe with the most likes on a weekly basis will automatically be entered into the final ‘Cook-Off’ competition that will be hosted at the end of the 8-week campaign.

To complement the online efforts, shopping mall activations will be running simultaneously during weekends.  The shopping mall activations will be hosted by the five chefs who were chosen during the kick off competition of this year’s campaign.

The shopping mall activations will further enlighten consumers on the multiple uses of the white refined and dark demerara sugars produced by Illovo.

During the current promotion Illovo will run in-store sales promotions and shoppers who will buy three or more kilograms of Tseketseke sugar will stand a chance to win assorted instant prizes such as T-shirts, Aprons, cooking utensils and many more.

The winner of last year’s campaign was a Lilongwe-based businesswoman, Manase Munthali who beat seven other cooking and baking contestants in the finale. The runner-up was Chinsinsi Daudi who went away with K2 million while Hajrah Kusweje was third and walked away with K1 million.

By Staff Writer:

National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc has concluded its ‘Transact and Win Promotion’ with five customers winning the last five VIP tickets for the Kizz Daniel concert on Saturday at Lilongwe Golf Club.

The Bank launched the promotion earlier this month and has seen 20 customers winning Standard and VIP tickets to the show they are sponsoring with K40 million in partnership with  Epic Lifestyle.

Throughout the promotion period, the Bank has been conducting activation shows in Zomba, Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzuzu and Mangochi with local artists performing at the shows.

NBM plc Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager, Akossa Hiwa said the Bank decided to sponsor the event as a way of creating time to interact with the customers, promoting the recently updated M0626 Digital +, as well as NBM plc brand visibility.

She disclosed that the promotion has helped to promote digital transactions among its customers.

“Since the promotion started, we have seen an increased number of POS transactions and as a Bank we are happy that our customers are using plastic money which is safe and convenient. We are also happy that most people have been buying tickets to the concert through our digital platforms like the recently improved Mo626 Digital+ and Mo Pay where they have been enjoying massive discounts, some as high as K15,000 depending on the type of ticket,” she said.

On the entertainment circle, Hiwa said the concert has helped to provide a platform to the local artists.

“Apart from the promotion shows in which we have been engaging the local artists, the actual Kizz Daniel show on Saturday provides them a chance to network with international artists to grow their talent and skills,” she said.

During the final draw, Berton Marrega, Dennis Njiko, Khumbo Shaba, Malera Simbeye and Rabecca Tembo won the  VIP tickets.

By Staff Reporter:

Listed NBS Bank plc has recorded a half-year profit after tax jump from K4.4 billion to K5.1 billion representing a 16 % increase over the same period last year.

In a statement signed by NBS Bank plc board Chairman Vizenge Kumwenda, Director Matthews Mtumbuka, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kwanele Ngwenya, and Chief Finance Officer, Vera Zulu, the improvement, amidst the current environmental challenges, is due to flexibility in strategy implementation which has enabled the Bank to focus on high revenue generating activities.

“The Bank continues to deliver a positive performance, responding effectively to a difficult operating environment with renewed focus on building resilience and a solid platform for future growth. Having successfully completed the first 5-year strategy covering the period 2017 to 2021, the Bank is driving further growth through a new five-year strategy (2022-2026) to increase market share and enhance efficiency. The strategy, which is being delivered through a detailed road map with clear targets will deliver a superior digital offering and deeper customer engagement,” reads the statement.

The growth in profit-after-tax follows the growth in the profit-before-tax by 19 percent to K7.7 billion for the six months compared to a similar period in 2021 of K6.5 billion.

Growth of loan book and effective management of investments in money market instruments also improved net interest income by 23 percent to K18 billion compared to 2021 when it was at 14.6 billion.

However, non-interest revenue registered a decrease of eight percent to K5.7 billion on a prior year performance of K6.1 billion due to some once-off income realized in the prior period.

“Operating expenses registered a 19% growth to K15.5 billion from prior year expense of K12.9 billion due to changes to compensation structure affected in the second half of 2021 and increased investments in our operating systems aimed at increasing revenue generating activities. Impairment charges improved significantly to K0.5 billion, down 61% from K1.3 billion in 2021 due to enhanced portfolio management,” reads the statement in part.

According to the statement, NBS plc registered a 61 % growth of customer deposits to K281 billion from K174 billion while Loans and advances grew by 85 percent to close at K106 billion and money market investments growth was 12 % at K211 billion from K188 billion.

“The economic outlook for the second half 2022 is challenging. Just when the world was recovering from the Covid 19 crisis, Russia invaded Ukraine sending the global economy on yet another unpredictable course. As a result, various institutions projects that the economy is expected to grow by an estimated average of 2.37 % in 2022 from an initial Government projection of 4.1%.”

“Inflationary pressures are likely to rise throughout 2022 due to global turbulence caused by the war in Europe and the continuous resurgence of new variants of the Corona Virus. The Bank maintains robust capital and liquidity positions and is well-placed to pursue opportunities for growth in 2022,” reads part of the statement.

Meanwhile, the Bank’s Board of Directors has recommended payment of an interim dividend of K2.47 billion representing 85 tambala per share which represents a 41 percent growth.

By Eric Chiputula:

The main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has failed to register a win in Tuesday’s Local Government by-elections.

On Tuesday the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) conducted the by-elections in Shire Ward in Balaka, Lupembe ward in Karonga and Wenya ward in Chitipa.

Announcing results at Katoto Secondary School hall in Mzuzu, MEC Chairperson Justice Chifundo Kachale declared the elections free and fair and that the Commission has not received any complaint from the 15 contesting candidates in all the three wards.

However Kachale said in Karonga police have arrested one person who was giving hand outs on polling day to influence voting.

From the official results, the governing Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has managed two seats while the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) has managed one seat.

In Wenya ward MCP candidate Ronald Kayira has been declared winner after collecting a total of 1, 663 votes after beating four other candidates from Freedom party, AFORD, UTM and DPP while in Lupembe ward in Karonga another MCP candidate Elisha Winga has been declared winner after amassing 1, 591votes beating three other candidates from AFORD, DPP and UTM.

In Shire ward UDF’s Dickson Wasili has been declared winner after amassing 2,545 votes beating five other candidates from the DPP, MCP, Umodzi Party, AFORD and an independent candidate.

The Commission has, however, expressed concern over women’s failure to participate in the just ended by elections. Of the 15 candidates in the three wards all were male, a development which MEC Chairperson has described as worrisome.

“Of all the 15 candidates that that contested in the three wards, there is no woman or person with disability standing. This comes at a time when the Commission has been steadfast in encouraging the special interest groups to stand in elections by offering a discount on nomination fees. The absence of women candidates triggers thoughts that maybe the nomination fees incentive comes late in the process when the targeted population has already been eliminated by the process,” said Kachale.

Kachale has since urged political parties to put in place measures to encourage women, the youth and persons with disabilities to participate in elections.