Malawi Congress Party: National Adress by right Hon. Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, President of Malawi Congress Party, delivered at MCP Headquarters in Lilongwe, Saturday June 8, 2019 (08.06.2019)

Malawi: United Transformation Movement – Press Statement (07.06.2019)

Malawi: Malawi Electoral Support Network (MESN) – Pre-Election Statement on the 2019 Tripartite Elections (18.05.2019)

Malawi: UN responds to humanitarian needs, gradual shift to recovery and strengthening resilience (01.05.2019)

In early March, heavy rains and flooding linked to the cyclone killed 60 people, displaced nearly 87,000 people and affected around 870,000 persons.

LILONGWE, Malawi, May 1, 2019 – United Nations agencies in collaboration with the Government of Malawi, national and international agencies have reached over 400,000 persons affected by the impact of Cyclone Idai. The flood affected populations have received immediate life-saving relief support including food, medicine, shelter, protection services and other non-food-items such as water, sanitation and hygiene supplies.

In early March, heavy rains and flooding linked to the cyclone killed 60 people, displaced nearly 87,000 people and affected around 870,000 persons. The Government of Malawi declared a State of Disaster on 8th March and subsequently launched a Flood Response Plan and Appeal on 28th March to support life-saving humanitarian interventions in 15 affected districts.

The flood response plan appeal has received US$ 25.6 million funding contributions and pledges out of a total requirement of US$ 45.2 million. Based on lessons learnt from the 2015 flood response, early recovery efforts have been integrated in the response plan to reduce further risks and mitigate the impact of future shocks.

UN Resident Coordinator, Maria Jose Torres, said the UN and partners triggered their support to the response almost immediately after the floods had hit, including, using prepositioned relief supplies. Additional support to the Government of Malawi’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) includes facilitating coordination and information management to enhance the response operations. An Emergency Operations Centre is established in the Ministry of Homeland Security to facilitate coordination of field operations.

“We assisted the government to rapidly assess the immediate needs to inform the humanitarian response,” said Torres. “Beyond addressing the immediate needs, we are also supporting the Government to assess post-disaster recovery needs that will inform early to long term recovery interventions in the affected areas.”

A Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) has been undertaken by the Malawi Government, UN, World Bank and European Union to assess damages, losses and priority recovery needs and costs. The data and information collected will inform the Government’s flood recovery plan.

“In tandem with the emergency response, we are also working with all sectors to support the affected communities’ gradual transition to recovery. This includes the UN’s support to DoDMA’s decision to provide a return home package to displaced populations who have expressed interest to return to their homes. This move aligns well with the country’s national resilience building,” said Torres.

Within the framework of One UN, several UN offices, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), International Organization for Migration (IOM), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Women, World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office (UNRCO) and World Health Organisation (WHO), are supporting the response in various ways that reflect their respective mandates and specialized expertise.

Below are more details on UN support to the response:

• Over 91,000 households (over 410,000 people) provided with food or cash in nine districts. The food basket provided to 75 per cent of the people reached, comprises of a 50kg bag of maize, 10kgs of pulses and 2 litres of vegetable oil, while cash transfers of MK 18,000, equivalent to the value of the food basket, is provided to 25 per cent of the population reached.
• As of 11 April, with UN support, the number of people reached with integrated health services in flood affected districts is 82,394. Other assitance includes screening, immunisation, reproductive health services and treatment of people in internally displacement sites through mobile.
• Across the country, a total of 51,081 children (23,009 boys 28,072 girls) have been screened for malnutrition and 1,811 children (942 boys and 869 girls) with Severe Acute Malnutrition were admitted and treated through the Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition programme. Of these, 121 children were admitted from the various camps. Mass screening and active case findings are on-going focussing on eight prioritised floods affected distrcts ( Balaka, Chikwawa, Machinga, Mangochi, Mulanje, Nsanje, Phalombe, and Zomba).
• 10,000 dignity kits have been distributed targeting vulnerable pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and adolescent girls in displacement camps in the affected districts. The kit contains soaps, underwear, sanitary pads, sanitary cloth, wrapping cloth, tooth paste, shavers, plastic bucket and plastic cups among others. Additional 4,200 dignity kits have also been procured and will be distributed in the coming days.
• Reproductive Health (RH) kits to prevent maternal and neonatal deaths have been distributed to nine flood affected districts. The RH kits include individual clean delivery kits, equipment and medicines for assisted delivery and management of unsafe abortion among others.
• Messages on prevention and reporting of sexual and gender based violence are being dissmeinated through community and national radios including theatre.
• A total of 54,209 people in 17 sites reached with safe water as per agreed standards through provision of water containers, treatment chemicals, and water trucking.
• A total of 51,691 people in 19 sites reached with services as per agreed standards through the installation of emergency latrines and bath shelters separate for men and women. Also, hygiene messages have reached more than 45,000 people.
• About 47,000 displaced people reached with shelter and non-food items in four districts.
• About 180,000 people are planned to be targeted with early recovery interventions in six districts, with interventions including removal of debris and solid waste management, support for reconstruction of homes, provision of agricultural kits including farm implements to enable winter cropping, distribution of small livestock to increase the asset base of farmers and cash-based interventions to enhance the provision of basic household needs of the affected population.
• A total of 28,812 learners (15,149 girls, 13,663 boys) in 143 schools in six districts provided with education supplies, temporary learning spaces and teachers, school meals and sanitation facilities. In addition, 2,731 Early Childhood Development (ECD) children (1458 girls, 1273 boys) supported with ECD kits and tent classrooms in 19 camps in five districts.
• In line with the ‘Leave No One Behind’ principle, the Age, Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming (AGDM) tool was used to engender the humanitarian response through the clusters to ensure that life-saving support indeed reached the most disadvantaged and the furthest behind first.

The Humanitarian Country Team, comprising humanitarian and development actors, continues to monitor the situation, in addition to supporting the Government of Malawi to address the current emergency through coherent planning for short-term interventions that meet basic needs, and medium -and long- term programming that increases the coping capabilities of communities and households. These joint efforts reaffirm the shared commitment by the UN to strengthening the humanitarian-development nexus to achieve collective outcomes, improve community resilience, and ensure that no one is left behind.

Malawi: Situation Update, 30 March 2019 (30.03.2019)

Humanitarian Chief completes visit to Malawi: An immediate food crisis has been averted, but the root causes of food insecurity and other humanitarian needs must be addressed (02.03.2019)

Malawi: Government to distribute over 430,000 bags of maize to food-insecure households (22.09.2018)

The Government of Malawi, through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA), will from the month of September 2018, undertake a once-off maize distribution exercise targeting acute food-insecure households in 26 districts of the country, pending the final Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) report and development of the 2018/2019 Food Insecurity Response Plan.

Speaking in Blantyre when he presided over the launch of the once-off distribution, Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Joseph Mwanamvekha said a total of 432,729 bags of maize [21,636.5 tonnes] will be distributed to 432,729 food-insecure households in 26 districts of the country.

“Each food-insecure household will receive a 50kg bag of maize and this will be followed by the MVAC response,” said Mwanamvekha.

The once-off distribution comes after the country experienced prolonged dry spells and a severe outbreak of Fall Army Worms, which rendered many households food-insecure.

The relief maize will be distributed to households in Blantyre, Neno, Chiradzulu, Mulanje, Thyolo, Phalombe, Mwanza, Machinga, Mangochi, Balaka, Zomba, Chikwawa, Nsanje, Karonga, Mzimba, Rumphi, Chitipa, Dowa, Mchinji, Kasungu, Ntchisi, Dedza, Ntcheu, Lilongwe, Nkhotakota and Salima.

Malawi: Banned entry of Malema and Chishimba, because the DPP fears the TA Conference!

That the Transformation Alliance are planning to become a Political Party seems to stressful for the Republic of Malawi. This can be said, since the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, Hon. Grace Obama Chiumia ordered that two foreign speakers to a TA Conference we’re banned from the Republic. This is the Zambian politician Saviour Chishimba and the South African politician Julius Malema. TA must really upset the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the President Peter Mutharika, who is struggling in with the Cash-Gate and the Maize-Scandal, that has run the Republic.

The Malawian ruling party and President Mutharika must fear the possible TA becoming a single political party instead of a political pressure group. Since the pressure group has enough power to get two foreign high-level politicians to its conference. They would question the corruption and the problematic institutions lacking procedures to secure food storage. Just take a look!

“BLANTYRE – Transformation Alliance (TA), a political pressure group, has announced that it has invited South African and Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema, and controversial Zambian politician Saviour Chishimba, to its first national conference end of August ahead of the 2019 elections” (…) “Chishimba is a darling to Malawians for being a whistle blower of the controversial maize deal between state grain trader, Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc), Zambia Cooperative Federation (ZCF), a government agency, and private company Kaloswe Commuter and Courier Ltd” (Kamanga, 2017).

“Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have threatened to take action to force the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) pay back the money it received from councils and parastatals during the blue night fundraising dinner held at Kamuzu Palace. According to reports, DPP solicited money from Blantyre City Council (BCC), Mzuzu City Council (MCC) and Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) totalling K13.5 million. Gift Trapence: The reports sparked anger among CSOs who demanded that DPP must pay back the money it got from the institutions” (…) “As Civil Society Organizations we are not going to allow having that impunity and we are warning the ruling party it will return that money come rain come sunshine,” said Trapence. He further urged President Peter Mutharika not to allow party members to be “insulting” the citizenry when they demand answers on issues of national interest” (Bisani, 2017).

“Chakwera will join Julius Malema a well -known politician in South Africa, a firebrand agitator who is revered and disliked in equal measure as another speaker will be Zambia’s leader of United Party (UP), Saviour Chishimba and that he has already confirmed his attendance. TA spokesman, Leonard Chimbanga could not confirm or deny about Chakwera attending the conference late alone making a keynote address, but confirmed that the leader of opposition has been invited to attend the conference. “He has been invited since we share similar views on matters of national interests,” he said. Meanwhile, some officials within the alliance have told Nyasa Times that the pressure group is working on turning into a political party ahead of 2019 elections apart from working underground to forge an alliance with other political groupings including Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and Peoples Party (PP)” (Malawi Voice Reporter, 2017).

Clearly, the Malawian government are afraid of the TA. They fear what the opposition pressure group TA can gain from this conference. That is why they have banned the Zambian politician UP Chishimba and South African EFF Malema is barred from entering the country. This proves the problems Malawi government has with it’s opposition. Peace.

Reference:

Bisani, Luke – ‘CSOs threaten demos over blue night donations’ (16.08.2017) link: https://malawi24.com/2017/08/16/csos-threaten-demos-blue-night-donations/

Kamanga, Penelope Paliani – ‘Malawi’s pressure group invites Malema and Zambia’s Chishimba’ (14.08.2017) link: https://southernafrican.news/2017/08/14/malawis-pressure-group-invites-malema-and-zambias-chishimba/

Malawi Voice Reporter – ‘Kunkuyu’s Transformation Alliance Party Teams-Up With MCP Ahead Of 2019 Polls’ (16.08.2017) link: http://www.malawivoice.com/kunkuyus-transformation-alliance-party-teams-up-with-mcp-ahead-of-2019-polls/

H.E. President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika to Hold a Press Conference on 2016 UNGA Trip (18.10.2016)

Recent Corruption Cases: “if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.”

“A man who has never gone to school may steal a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.”

― Theodore Roosevelt

Thieving never stops through systematic and planned behaviour of state officials and government men and woman who wishes a short-cut to earning the big-bucks. It is an international problem. Again I will, blatantly address recent cases because this is something that doesn’t stop. Because of the greed and wish to be rich, in our time and before people and leaders isn’t happy with an ordinary life; they want to live in luxury instead of in normal household. Therefore they go to the extent of making sophisticated ways of trading and using government funds to steal and corrupt systems on their own behalf. Instead of delivering the service and institutions the citizens are supposed to have gained with this money and taxes. Here are some cases!

Back in time the Olympics we’re also corrupt:    

“The fact is that even this Olympic truce often broke down,” says Large. “Famously in 364 BC when soldiers from the city of Elis actually invaded the Olympics grounds in order to retrieve protection rights over the games, that had been taken away from them in the years before. So there was a bloody battle going on right during the wrestling competition” (…) “The Spartans were also a problem,” adds Large. “They had been banned from the Olympics for many years. They themselves thought the Olympics, in any event, were not bloody enough for their taste. But they did show up in the 420s and they got themselves banned once again for extra-curricular fighting.” (…) ““It’s often assumed somehow these ancient Games were purer than the modern ones,” Large concludes. “In fact, if anything they were even more corrupt, perhaps.” (Woolfe, 2016).

Cashgate of Malawi continues:

“Seven cabinet ministers are reported to be  implicated in the  K577 billion (about $856 million)   financial analysis report of what has been dubbed the Capital Hill ‘cash-gate’ scandal, named after the seat of government” (…) “He added that he had not received any names in connection with the audit query as yet” (…) “Last week I sent Chief Secretary to Auditor General [to get names] b,” said Mutharika, adding that he did not have any name of a minister” (…) “Where they  [media] get the names I don’t know,”he said” (…)“If anybody has got names please bring them to State House, I would like to see them and action will be taken,”Mutharika said after being asked by one citizen during the program  when he will act on the rotten ministers and cronies” (Chiluga, 2016),

In Guyana:

“Speaking about perceptions currently enveloping the political atmosphere in Guyana, Rohee said the subject is of importance to any society. “Perception is important in any society. As they say, perception is reality, and I’d like to emphasise that. And we can’t view that selectively; it is a general, universally accepted social and psychological phenomenon, that perception is reality,” he said” (…) “It is not for me to say that. Why should I say that? That is a general perception out there,” (…) “Said he: “They are helping to reinforce that perception; when we were in government and now that we are in the Opposition. And now the government is being driven by media houses to deal with that matter by setting up SARU [State Asset Recovery Unit]. So let’s take it from there.” (Singh, 2016).

In Trinidad:

“CENTRAL Division police arrested a building contractor on Friday as he attempted to bribe a Local Government councillor who had cautioned him about substandard work on a project in the district” (…) “The Fyzabad contractor was arrested at the office of People’s National Movement (PNM) councillor for California/Point Lisas, Alif Rodney Mohammed, at around 10 a.m” (…) “Mohammed said he was offered a $1,000 bribe to turn a blind eye to shoddy work on a project in his electoral district” (Kissoon, 2016).

In the Philippines:

“THE Office of the Ombudsman affirmed the indictment of Cebu Provincial Board Member Celestino “Tining” Martinez III and former Bogo City treasurer Rhett E. Minguez over allegedly irregular release of fertilizer fund amounting to P6 million in 2004” (…) ““As signatories, respondents should have raised reasonable questions on the legality or regularity of the transaction,” said Morales in her order” (…) “The Ombudsman also dismissed Martinez III from government service over the same case” (…) “In 2004, the Bogo City Government received six checks totaling to P6 million from the Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas for the procurement of fertilizer for rice and corn in 2004” (…) “Government auditors, in their 2006 report, said the foundation failed to liquidate the money. COA’s Audit Observation Memorandum also noted that the foundation failed to submit a list of previous projects implemented and that no accomplishment reports were submitted” (…) “State auditors also pointed out that officials failed to make representations with Sikap Yaman for the liquidation of the P6 million, while the Commission on Audit (COA) named the foundation as the supplier of 250 bottles of overpriced liquid fertilizers in Tuburan in 2004” (Dalipe, 2016).

In Ukraine:

“Ukrzaliznytsia Head Wojciech Balczun. He wrote: “We will change railway tickets booking system. Also discussed this topic during the board meeting. Moving in the direction of the elimination of so called “commercial booking”, the huge source of abuse and corruption. Like when it is impossible to buy a ticket while trains are going empty” (…) “The commercial agent should take all risks. In one form or another there will be a reservation for vulnerable groups and government authorities. Majority of tickets for the open!” Ukrzaliznytsia CEO stressed” (Censor.net.ua, 2016).

So as seen now the cases are all over. It is one continuation from before from Malawi as the President are wondering how the Media got the hold of names involved in the greatest scandal with government funds except for the Zambian Maize fiasco. The others are proof of how old the corruption of back to ancient Athens and their Olympics. Also actions in the Guyana, Trinidad, Philippines and Ukraine; so the tales of corruption happens everywhere and showing tales that isn’t the Fox News crap or something else biased nonsense. This is just common corrupt behaviour. And there are always more! Peace.

Reference:

Chiluga, Zawadi – ‘Malawi President to act on corrupt gangsters in cabinet: ‘Give me names of 7 cashgate ministers’ (09.08.2016) link: http://www.nyasatimes.com/malawi-president-act-corrupt-gangsters-cabinet-give-names-7-cashgate-ministers/#sthash.VgmukkdB.dpuf

Censor.net.ua – ‘Ukrzaliznytsia to change railway tickets booking system: majority of tickets to be availabe for open sale, – Balczun’ (10.08.2016) link: http://en.censor.net.ua/news/401159/ukrzaliznytsia_to_change_railway_tickets_booking_system_majority_of_tickets_to_be_availabe_for_open

Dalipe, Gerome M. – ‘Ombud affirms graft rule on Martinez’ (04.08.2016) link: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2016/08/04/ombud-affirms-graft-rule-martinez-489427

Kissoon, Carolyn – ‘Contractor held: offered bribe to councillor’ (06.08.2016) link: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20160806/news/contractor-held-offered-bribe-to-councillor

Singh, Raven – ‘Rohee rocks the boat –confirms PPP corrupt perception; declares ‘perception is reality’ (05.08.2016) link: http://guyanachronicle.com/rohee-rocks-the-boat-confirms-ppp-corrupt-perception-declares-perception-is-reality/

Woolf, Christopher – ‘The ancient Olympics were dirty, violent, corrupt affairs. There was even regular ‘doping.’’ (05.08.2016) link: http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-08-05/ancient-olympics-were-dirty-violent-corrupt-affairs-there-was-even-regular-doping