STATEMENT FROM VEEP OFFICE AGAINST VIOLENCE AND INTIMIDATION

Vice President of the Republic of Malawi, Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, wishes to condemn in strongest terms the unfortunate scenes of violence and intimidation developing in this country. The attack on Honourable Patricia Kaliati and Honourable Noel Masangwi at the Parliament building in Lilongwe on Friday is most unfortunate and completely unacceptable.

The setting ablaze of Honourable Bon Kalindo’s car at his house is an act of barbarism and has no place in modern Malawi. The Vice President commends the Police for acting with professionalism and urges them to investigate and bring to book all the perpetrators.

When we voted for multiparty democracy in 1993, after a gallant fight against the brutality that existed at the time, we said goodbye to a dark age. We, as the people of Malawi, should not, therefore, allow any individual or group of individuals masquerading as democrats to take us back to the era of death and darkness in pursuit of their own selfish interests. The acts of the last 36 hours are primitive, uncivilized and satanic and have no space in modern Malawi.

The Vice President urges all peace-loving Malawians to resist this and to refrain from being used by selfish individuals whose aim is to tear our nation apart. No one should be threatened or intimidated for expressing their political, religious or any views at any time anywhere in this country. Our constitution guarantees all Malawians fundamental freedoms of choice and speech. This country belongs to all of us. Furthermore, the attack on women is a monumental shame and a colossal disgrace and must stop right now.

Secondly, what happened in the August house as the President was delivering the State of the Nation Address is both unprecedented and deplorable. We have to respect the leadership of this country regardless of any discontent we may contain in our minds from time to time.

We should always remember that the world is watching, and any disgraceful conduct paraded in the public space is projected to the whole world, thus denting our image of a peaceful and friendly nation. We must move forward promoting peace and harmony among all of us.

The engine of our country’s potential are the youth, considering that 64 per cent of the population are aged 24 years and below. Our youth should not be manipulated to indulge in activities that destroy their future. The Vice President is appealing to the youth to reject any attempts by anyone to use them for violence. The youth are a force of good and must be helped to focus on building the future of our nation. They should not allow themselves to be used as agents of terror. Dr. Chilima’s message to the youth: your lives are worth far much more than the pocket change that is offered by political thugs who mastermind such callousness.

The God that we worship and He who answers our prayers is a God of peace and love (1 Kings 19: 12 – 15). The Vice President is, therefore, urging all Malawians to remain as peaceful as always and ensure that peace, harmony and tranquillity continue to prevail in our country.

May God the Almighty continue to bless Mother Malawi and Us All.

Lunguzi

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Mera Chief Executive Officer, Collins Magalasi, said Tuesday the agreements are between Escom and Aggreko (78 megawatts), Escom and HE Power (41 MW) and Malawi and Zambia (20 MW).
Magalasi said the power from Aggreko diesel generators was already launched, adding that power from the other agreements is expected in the short to medium term.
The Mera chief said Escom officials are already at advanced stage with preparations regarding tapping of electricity from Chipata, Zambia.
“We should have this power in the next three months,” Magalasi said.
He added that Malawi a n s should expect the 41 MW power from HE Power which is constructing a hydroelectric power, plant on Bua River, in the next two and a half to three years.
According to Magalasi, the energy authority is also waiting for the finalisation of a power purchase agreement between Escom and the Energy Generation Company (Egenco) in addition to three others between Escom a n d solar power producers.
“What happens is that we, at Mera, are a final authority in this initiative. Once Escom and the independent power producers agree, they come to us for final approval. Once we approve everything, implementation of the projects may go ahead,” Magalasi said.
Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) Chief Executive Officer, Chancellor Kaferapanjira, recently urged Mera to act free from undue influence from both government and investors when approving t h e power purchase agreements.
Kaferapanjira said government gets political pressures from various constituencies and may want to influence some aspects of the market.
He said now that the market is open and IPPs are allowed to produce electricity and sell to Escom, as a single buyer, the IPPs may want high tariffs in order to commit to long-term investments.
“Mera should neither allow government to meddle in its decisions nor permit investors to charge exorbitantly high tariffs in order to recoup their investments quickly and make high returns,” Kaferapanjira said.
President Peter Mutharika recently indicated that Capital Hill has lined up a number medium—to long—term energy projects to help avoid a repeat of the 2017 electricity crisis.
Mutharika said, among others, government is pursuing a coal— fired power project at Kammwamba, which is expected to add an extra 300MW to the grid.
Other energy projects, according to Mutharika, include th 170MW Lower Fufu project to be commissioned by 2021; 200MW hydro power plant at Kholombizo on the Shire River to be commissioned by 2022; and a 350MW plant at Mpatamanga also on the Shire River to be commissioned by 2021.

Peter Mutharika has persuaded Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC), the UK’s development finance arm, to invest in the country’s energy and agriculture sector to help rebuild the country’s economy.
Mutharika said when he had an audience with a CDC delegation at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe on Wednesday.
He told the delegation that Malawi is a safe place where they can make huge investments.
“We are part of the Southern African Development (Sadc) and Common Market for East and Southern Africa (Comesa); we have access to Europe and we are also part of Everything But Arms (EBA), meaning that we have a huge market and you can export whatever products you may produce should they require export market,” said Mutharika.
“Investment is a huge market in as far as development is concerned and as such it should be encouraged,” said Mutharika.
In response, CDC Managing Director and Head of Africa, who led the delegation, Tenbite Ermias said CDC and Malawi have a long history which has seen a number of projects being supported and implemented and that they not currently pursuing any particular areas of investment but anything is possible.
“We will continue to support Malawi with a focus on investment. We have lined up several investment plans that we intend to support,” he said.
CDC Group has already financed investment projects in Malawi to the tune of US$30 million.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Corporation, Emmanuel Fabiano said the group would work with Malawi government on priority areas.
The group met the President to appreciate what Malawi is doing in relation to the support the country accesses from the group.
Fabiano said the group is already supporting the country through different sectors such as agriculture and energy among others.
“The meeting we had has been a fruitful one as CDC has pledged its continued support in various development areas which are a priority to Malawi. The group will among others help the country in the energy sector. We need a lot of investors in the energy sector,” said Fabiano.
Mutharika government expects the economy to improve with hope of direct foreign investments – as opposed to aid.

Aloysious Kaijuka has said illegal water connections are theft and culprits should be given stiff punishment.
He said this during a presentation to member of Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) benchmarking visit to Kampala, Uganda to appreciate the initiative being carried out by NWSC.
Kaijuka said “ illegal water connections should not be treated with kid gloves and Water Boards need to stand up to stamp out the malpractices.”
He said illegal water connections work to the disadvantage of the water supplying institutions.
“If you can calculate the loss of water through such acts you will find that a lot of money is being waste through illegal means and this should not be taken lightly,” Kaijuka hinted.
He said the awareness of communities the involvement of the Judiciary, police and the media is crucial in the drive to reduce the acts and community awareness is essential in the drive.
Commissioner of Police for Central Region, John Nyondo said the visit has provided an insight on how police could help the water boards to curb incidences of illegal water connections.
He said police involvement in such issues is very paramount and special officers need to be conversant with the issues should their investigations are done accurately.
“The Ugandan model of handle cases of illegal water connections seems to be a very comprehensive one and Malawi as a country we could copy some of the concepts and implement them fully,” Nyondo added.
He said LWB and Malawi Police Service need to development a strong partnership in order to address the issue of illegal water connections particularly in developing areas of the city.

The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) has expressed concern over the tendency of exaggerating the extent of disaster damages by both the traditional and social media, saying the malpractice causes unnecessary fear and panic to the general public.
DoDMA’s Director of Response and Recovery Paul Kalilombe said this when he addressed members of the press after visiting areas that were reported to have been heavily affected by the Thursday earthquake in Nsanje.
“The pictures that were sent to our office were so disturbing, they depicted an unimaginable extent of damage, this forced us [DoDMA officials from Capital Hill] to visit the areas to see for ourselves and you can imagine how costly it is. If people do not have facts about disasters, they better leave it to people on the ground and get the right information,” said Kalilombe.
He said as opposed to reports of enormous damage over the social media, only one household in Lambwe Village, in Senior Chief Malemia’s jurisdiction, was damaged by the earth’s shaking that occurred at exactly 10:49 am.
Senior Chief Malemia concurred with Kalilombe, saying the damage was not as huge as reported by the media.
“10 pupils from Dinde Primary School sustained minor bruises and walls of a house belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Kamfumbi collapsed,” said Malemia of the earthquake, measured 5.4 on the Richter scale, according to the Department of Geological Surveys.
Meanwhile, 60 year-old Malita Kamfumbi, whose house collapsed, has appealed for urgent assistance.
“We are destitute as a family, we have lost all our belongings and we have no shelter, we are sleeping on an open ground. I only urge authorities to assist us with whatever they deem necessary, as you can see, my husband has been very ill, and there is nothing he can do about the situation we are in,” said Kamfumbi.
Kalilombe said the Kamfumbis will get the much needed assistance through the Nsanje District Council.
The Pictures below show Kalilombe addressing members of the press and Kamfumbi in front of her damaged house.

(CCJP), an arm of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), has added its voice to calls demanding the immediate resignation of Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe and Local Government Minister Kondwani Nankhumwa for their role to arrange K4 billion ‘budget by-pass’ fund to legislators.
The CCJP has since slamed government misallocation of public funds to 86 Members of Parliament as a way of allegedly thanking them for shooting down the Electoral Reforms Bills, and called for “servant leadership” in the country .
In a statement made available to Nyasa Times , CCJP said ‘this misallocation and wanton sharing of tax payers’ money at a time the National Budget is constrained and cannot perform properly, is both unethical and immoral.’
The statement was signed by CCJP National Office, CCJP Archdiocese of Blantyre, CCJP Archdiocese of Lilongwe, CCJP Dedza, CCJP Mzuzu, CCJP Karonga, CCJP Mangochi, CCJP Zomba and CCJP Chikwawa.
It was released following a meeting by the National and Diocesan Coordinators of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) on March 7 2018 at Eber House in the Archdiocese of Blantyre for CCJP Coordinators’ Ordinary Meeting.
“It raises a lot of questions on the integrity and commitment to good governance by the current regime,” it reads adding that “We are appalled by Parliament’s sin of cooperation in supporting illegality and impunity disregarding its constitutional obligation of providing oversight over the Executive arm of the Government.”
CCJP said it is unethical to spend huge sumexpenditure without knowing the source, conditions attached and subsequent approval of Parliament.
“This is a clear portrayal of total mismanagement of public funds and evidence of a leadership that is corrupt and lacks integrity,” reads the statement in part.
The Catholic Church has also renewed calls for the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to investigate the matter.
“We join all who call for the Anti-Corruption Bureau to thoroughly investigate and clear the mist regarding the source of the funds as well as the criteria that was used by the concerned Ministers to select the 86 members of Parliament earmarked for the expenditure of the funds.
“As CCJP, we strongly denounce this act of the Executive for initiating this unpleasant expenditure and Parliament for legalizing an illegal expenditure,” reads part of the statement.
Gondwe insisted the money was from taxes, grants and borrowing and was saved from re-adjustments of the 2017/18 budget that saw cuts to the development budget.
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development KondwaniNankhumwa could not immediately comment on the call by the influential church to resign.
But University of Livingstonia (Unilia) political analyst George Phiri has said the ideal situation would be for President Mutharika to fire Gondwe and Nankhumwa.
Another political commentator from Chancellor College Ernest Thindwa said while the call is necessary, the feasibility of Gondwe resigning is doubtful, arguing Malawi is a society where voluntary resignation is not practised.
The religious grouping did not spare the opposition members of parliament who at first, condemned the practice but later joined in to share the proceeds of dubious funding.
“We further condemn the greedy traits Opposition members of Parliament have displayed to the Nation by supporting illegality and impunity simply because they were included on the list of beneficiaries,” reads the statement.
Capital Hill has argued that the money, termed quick grant project, is meant for rural development.
At first, the money was reportedly earmarked for only 86 constituencies belonging to the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators and those who supported the quashing of the Electoral Reforms Bills in Parliament last December. Each constituency was earmarked to receive K40 million,the issue and debate ensued, Nankhumwa, as Leader of the House, said the money would be distributed equally among the 193 constituencies, with each constituency receiving K20 million.

Nicholas Dausi has said s dissemination of effective, timely and accurate public communication through utilization of information and communication technologies (ICT) is key to the socio-economic development of the country.
Dausi said this on Wednesday at a launching ceremony of the ministry’s website held at the Department of E-government’s offices in Lilongwe.
He said that as a policy holder of communication, the ministry has a sacred responsibility of serving people with public information about different developmental projects government is undertaking.
“We must have timely and accurate flow of information for the people if we want to develop the country and this website should be an effective tool to aid that,” Dausi said.
The minister added that the website should be user friendly for easy utilization and access to varied content on development issues.
Dausi, therefore, called for inclusion of content beyond the communication sector, citing natural disaster as one of the issues in need of immediate attention.
“An emergency like fire or floods can strike at a moment’s notice. This website must be ready to be the first line of defence in giving out relevant information for desired responses.
“This can calm and control residents by getting them to safety and also direct emergency services’ personnel to areas that require help,” the minister said.
The Department of E-government under the ministry provided the expertise for developing the website. The launch marked the official handover of the website to the sister Department of Information that will be responsible for content management.
The minister, therefore, called on the two departments to work together to ensure that the website has up to date features and information that responds to the dynamic ICT sector and current needs of people respectively.
Principal secretary for the ministry Erica Maganga, directors of E-Government and Information Maganizo Chipula and Gideon Munthali respectively were some of the officials present at the launch.
The website locator is www.ict.gov.mw

There was chaos in Dowa with people blocking the Dowa Boma- Dzaleka Road and setting ablaze a house belonging to a woman suspected of abducting a five year old girl after the body of the girl was found lying in state on a river bank, a few metres from the suspect’s house.
It is reported that on Friday last week, a five year old girl, Monica Chunga went missing on her way back home after knocking off from Chanju Nursery School.
According to an eye witness who refused to be identified, rumours went round that the girl was being held by a woman residing around the Boma.
This angered some people who on Monday organized themselves, vandalized the suspect’s property and killed her livestock which included pigs and goats, prompting police to fire teargas to quell the situation.
But the situation got worse around 5:20 pm on Tuesday after it was reported that the girl’s body was found lying in state on a river bank, a few metres from the suspect’s house.
Hundreds flocked to the scene and later blocked the road before setting ablaze the house of the suspect. This was before police came and fired teargas to disperse the crowd and restore order.
Dowa Police Public Relations Officer, Richard Kaponda, confirmed that the girl’s body was indeed found in the afternoon of Tuesday, with all parts intact.
He said police had taken it to Dowa District Hospital but would take it to Kamuzu Central Hospital for postmortem to establish the cause of death of the child.
The Police Publicist further said police were hunting for people who had torched the suspect’s house and said once apprehended, they would face the law.
He said so far, police had arrested four people suspected to have vandalized the suspect’s property on Monday and were hunting for those who had torched the house on Tuesday.
Kaponda said the police would wait for the results of the postmortem to investigate the matter.

Police have said a file on the investigations of businessman Misozi Charles Chanthunya, accused of murdering a pregnant Zimbabwean girlfriend, who was extradited back home from South Africa last week, has been sent to the officie of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to decide the way forward.
Police cautioned Chanthunya on charges of murder and was on Saturday taken by investigators to Lake Malawi resort district Mangochi the alleged crime scene to obtain information.
National Police deputy spokesperson Thomeck Nyaude said the DPP will decide on whether to prosecute Chanthunya and confirm the appropriate charges.
“Police completed investigations and it is now up to the DPP,” said Nyaude.
Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs spokerspersin, Pilirani Masanjala, confirmed that the Police file on Chanthunya has been received and that they have analysed it.
“ Now a committal certificate as to be issued so that Mr Chanthunya should be committed to the High Court for trial,” said Masanjala.
Chanthunya made headlines in September 2010 after the businessman skipped Malawi borders after his 25-year-old Zimbabwean girlfriend Linda Gasa went missing for almost a month.
The second-year Malawi College of Accountancy student was later found entombed in the 34-year-old Blantyre businessman’s private cottage in the southern resort town of Mangochi.
The married Chanthunya reportedly went to the Lake Malawi resort district to discuss with Gasa, his secret lover, about her five-month-old pregnancy. He wanted her to abort but she refused.
That was the last the two were seen together before the Blantyre businessman eluded police to skip the borders and the accountancy student was found entombed in the bathroom, decomposing.
An international man-hunt was launched with false sightings in South Africa, the United States and Cuba.
He was arrested in South Africa in 2010 but the suspect has been fighting extradition but arrived in the country last Thursday afternoon from South Africa after he agreed to face charges in the country.
Before he fled the country, Soche Police in Blantyre invited Chanthunya twice when Gasa’s family reported her disappearance and he was allowed to go on both occasions.
Peter Chikwemba is the CID officer who handled the Chanthunya file when he was first arrested and let scot free. He was later transferred to Karonga.

Executive Director, Andrew Kavala, identified some of the deceased as Wilfred Mbumpha and Tchayi M’bumpha from Chikwawa, Peterkins Mlotha, Witness Phiri and Kehennah Zimba from Mzimba.
He also cited unidentified elderly woman and man from Nsanje and Dedza who were also victims within the stated period.
Kavala said the organisation believes that there are so many older men and women who are being killed in silence in the country.
He then asked government to enforce legal standards that challenge and replace stigmatizing and dehumanizing attitudes and behaviour saying, “the elderly are just like any person who needs to enjoy inclusive and equitable rights that above all guarantee dignity.”
The Executive Director, therefore, appealed to relevant security enforcement organs to ensure that all perpetrators of the barbaric acts are brought to book.
Commenting on the matter, Malawi Police Service Deputy Spokesperson, Thomeck Nyaudi acknowledged the occurrences of the malpractice, attributing them to various factors including mob justice and allegations of being responsible for blocking rains and practicing witchcraft.
“As police, we have been receiving reports of such nature. However, I must indicate that the cases have not increased to that far as Manepo is alleging,” he said.
Nyaude said to the effect, the police have embarked on sensitisation campaigns to areas susceptible of the malpractice to raise awareness on adverse effects of the abuse and murder of elderly men and women in the country.
“We want to sensitise people to be responsible enough so that they should desist from taking the law into their hands. If they have pertinent issues with the elderly, they should report to police for appropriate action,” he advised.

Dr Saulos Claus Chilima said on Monday government will not allow innocent people to suffer because of few selfish individuals who deliberately construct structures in risky areas and advised Lilongwe City Council to demolish houses constructed illegally along Lingadzi River.
Chilima was speaking when he visited 138 families at Mtandire in Lilongwe that were affected when Lingadzi River swelled and flooded following rains that have been falling for the past three days in the district.
Lingadzi River flooded starting Sunday evening. Due to structures that are constructed close to the river, some of the water in the flooding river was blocked forcing a big mass to stray into the settlement, washing away and destroying houses and household items including food.
So far, over 600 people have been affected from the 138 affected families and 12 houses have been destroyed.
“Last year, we were here to sympathize with families which were affected by floods that occurred that time. We had warned people against constructing houses in risky places, but it seems they do not heed the advice,” said Chilima.
“There are some people who construct their houses and brick fences along the river which is a water path. In the end, the structures block water, forcing it to stray into houses of innocent people making them suffer in the end,” he pointed out.
The Vice president cautioned that government will have no choice but to demolish all structures that have been constructed in wrong and risky places which is against laws of Lilongwe City Council.
“There are no laws that allow residents to construct houses in risky areas. Government will tell Lilongwe City Council to enforce its laws by demolishing houses that block water and make innocent people suffer,” said the Vice President.
Wherever the Vice President has gone to see the disaster situation, especially the floods, he has always warned Malawians against constructing in risky areas and advising them to settle in safer places to save their lives and property.
He said the country has gone through a number of floods, but observed that some of the effects of these floods could have been avoided if people had taken heed of government’s constant advice.
This reporter observed that due to the swelling of Lingadzi River, some houses that had been built close to the river had water flowing on both sides if not surrounded by it.
One of the victims, 51 year old Medson Longwe, whose house had flooded water passing by its doorstep at the time of Chilima’s visit, said when things are normal the river main stream flows about 300 metres away.
“In the past three days, the river has been swelling, and last night, we saw water flowing into the house. It went up to at least 60 centimetres high (about two feet), soaking a sofa set, flour and other items, fortunately there has been no loss of life,” said Longwe.
He added that altogether there were 10 children and dependants when the water ambushed them on the night of 4th and 5th February.
The Vice President said just because this time around there has not been any loss of life, people should not deliberately provoke the situation, warning that water is dangerous.
He donated some blankets and plastic pails to some affected families, pledging more relief assistance from government and its partners to reduce the shock on the affected families.