Fuel Shortages & more –20th July 2023

Muli bwanji from BA! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 20th of July twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

Long queues have become commonplace again due to the fuel shortage. Fuel scarcities started last August because of a lack of foreign exchange which is used to import fuel, and shortages have been a recurring issue ever since.

Last weekend, motorists started panic-buying fuel after hearing rumors that it would go missing again.

By Monday the 17th, the rumors were confirmed as fuel stations nationwide did not have petrol, but were able to supply diesel. Local news reported that fuel stations in Blantyre, Zomba, and Lilongwe city only had diesel, while most stations in Mzuzu did not have both petrol and diesel.

The Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (or MERA) is yet to reveal when the shortage might ease. However, on Tuesday the 18th, they started sharing fuel delivery schedules on their social media accounts. They said the deliveries are determined by the Oil Marketing Companies and may be changed without prior notice.

The link to MERA's Facebook page is in our show notes, in case you want to keep up with the fuel deliveries.

Local banks’ moves were called into question as they might be controlling payments and purchases made in foreign currency. One individual took to Twitter and shared that his card kept declining when he attempted to pay for his Microsoft Package subscription, which costs about fifty dollars. When he called his banker, they asked him to submit copies of his National ID, ATM Card, and account number, as well as screenshots of the payment he was making. They said this information would be sent to their authorities for approval but the bank denied his request days later.

Many people admitted having had similar incidents with other local banks.

The forex shortage is also affecting the entertainment scene.

On Tuesday the 18th, organizers of the Mingoli Bash announced that they wouldn’t be able to jet in Jamaican singer Alaine to perform due to the forex shortage. Alaine was meant to headline the event, which is scheduled for Saturday the 22nd in Lilongwe.

However, the organizers quickly added that they will be bringing South African artist, DaliWonga, to replace Alaine. They confirmed that DaliWonga had already been paid, but this didn’t comfort everyone.

On Saturday the 15th, Multichoice’s GoTV, the entertainment broadcast satellite company, increased the prices of their packages, effective the 1st of August. They didn’t say why.

The GoTV Lite package used to cost about twenty thousand Kwacha, or nineteen dollars. Now it costs twenty-four thousand Kwacha or twenty-three dollars.

You can get the full, adjusted price list in our show notes.

In other news, Paul Mphwiyo has gone missing ahead of a court case that could potentially send him to prison for over ten years. Mphwiyo was the Budget Director in the Ministry of Finance during Joyce Banda’s reign from twenty twelve to twenty fourteen. He is one of the nineteen people on trial for the twenty thirteen Cashgate scandal; Malawi's largest corruption scandal involving millions in stolen funds.

The police think Mphwiyo disappeared because, last month, the Supreme Court of Appeal denied Mphwiyo's request to restart his trial because a new presiding judge had been appointed.

According to police investigations, Mphwiyo boarded a plane from Kamuzu International Airport to Blantyre. He drove to Ryalls Hotel but left on foot ten minutes later. The police cannot trace him. Mphwiyo’s wife Thandizo reported him missing on the 26th of June.

This year, Malawi will participate in the commemoration of International Gun Destruction Day, after a five-year break.

The United Nations commemorates International Gun Destruction Day on the 9th of July to encourage governments to reduce gun violence by responsibly disposing of surplus firearms.

On Tuesday the 18th, Peter Kalaya, the National Police Spokesperson, said Malawi will observe the International Gun Destruction Day commemoration on Thursday the 27th and will destroy guns that had been recovered and confiscated from criminals. He urged locals to surrender illegal firearms to the police, ahead of the exercise.

Moving on, the results for the twenty twenty-two twenty twenty-three Public Universities Selection are out.

Form Four secondary school students sit for their final exams, known as the Malawi School Certificate of Education (or MSCE) exams, to determine whether they can go to college or not.

Once the MSCE results are in, the Ministry of Education coordinates with the National Council for Higher Education (or NCHE) to conduct a merit-based selection to admit high-performing students to the country's best public universities. The remaining students then apply to private universities for higher education or retake their MSCE the following year.

On Tuesday the 18th, the NCHE announced that they received nearly twenty thousand applications, but less than nineteen thousand were eligible for the merit-based selection. They said they selected over eight thousand students for public universities. This represents a 46% selection rate.

They said this year’s selection represents the highest number of merit-based selected students in the country’s history. They also said the number will go up, as they are currently conducting medical examinations for special needs students, who are yet to be selected for public universities.

Maranatha Academy, a local secondary school, had the highest number of students selected for public universities. Over three hundred students from Maranatha Academy were selected to six of the country's universities, while the lowest-ranking school — Marist Secondary School — had a selection of a little over seventy students.

Still in news on education, two students are participating in the final rounds of the 15th Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Competition in Geneva, Switzerland. It runs from Monday the 17th to Friday the 21st.

The two - Teuka Tembo and Bentry Nyondo - are third and fourth-year students studying for an Honors degree in Bachelor of Laws from the University of Malawi (or Unima).

Enoch Chilemba, an Unima Staff Representative, said the university is among the top six African universities and twenty-four of all universities that qualified for the finale.

In entertainment news, fans are excited to see Nigerian musician Ayra Starr perform in the country.

Last Thursday, Ayra shared tour dates for her first headlining tour. She said she had opened stages for artists like Kelly Rowland, but now she felt she was ready to have her own show. Her Malawi performance is scheduled for the 15th of October, which is also when Malawi commemorates Mother’s Day, but there are no details on the venue or city of choice.

However, Ayra’s performance in Malawi was put into question as her announcement seemed like an invitation for local event managers and promoters to book her, but the industry cannot afford her or provide the stages she's used to.

Last December, Alpha Arts event managers hosted the Miss Malawi pageant. Jescar Mponda took the crown, while Hlezipe Chikhwaza and Roberta Kanjelo won first and second princesses. The winners were supposed to be awarded one million, 800 thousand, and 500 thousand kwacha each, or roughly one thousand, eight hundred and five hundred dollars. However, on Tuesday the 18th, local media revealed that they were yet to honor these prizes. Despite this, Alpha Arts announced that they are making preparations to open registrations for thetwenty twenty-three pageant.

Alpha Arts' spoke person Tina Kendricks blamed entities who failed to honor their pledges. She said that this has caused their team to use their own funds to gradually give the winners their prizes.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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Pitani bwino!