Heatwave & more – 12th Oct 2023

th of October: 2023

Let’s kick off this update with some news about the weather.

Malawi is experiencing a heatwave, and the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services (or DCCMS) has warned that it will persist into the weekend.

On Wednesday the 11th, the DCCMS released a statement saying that the temperatures for areas along Shire Valley will reach forty-four degrees Celsius or 111 Fahrenheit, while the Northern, Central, and Southern parts will have temperatures ranging from thirty-four to thirty-seven Celsius, or ninety-three to ninety-nine Fahrenheit, and the Lakeshore areas will experience between thirty-nine and forty degrees Celsius or 102 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

They have advised people to stay indoors as the weather may cause heat strokes and heat exhaustion. They said the temperatures will be at their peak between 11 AM and 3 PM, and will be at their worst and highest on Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th.

Moving on, on the evening of Saturday the 7th, news broke out that President Chakwera had made a minor change to his cabinet by switching the Ministers of Finance and of Trade and Industry.

Sosten Gwengwe was appointed as the Minister of Finance last January, and the economy has gotten significantly worse under his leadership, with the price of goods soaring and forex being in short supply.

President Chakwera has now moved Gwengwe to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and taken Simplex Chithyola-Banda from that Ministry, to replace Gwengwe and become the Finance Minister.

However, Chakwera’s move has been called into question as old news articles resurfaced, showing that Banda had a ‌record of mismanaging funds and abusing office. For instance, when he worked as a Member of Parliament for Kasungu East, he stole 75 thousand US dollars from an HIV and AIDS project financed by the Global Fund.

His educational and work background was also put into question, as it is not related to finance. Banda holds a Degree and Master of Public Administration and has only worked in non-finance roles. People feel he is worse than Gwengwe, and doubt that taxpayers' funds will be safe under his watch.

In other news, locals living in Neno District will have to endure living with damaged roads since the Roads Authority has terminated a contract to build a twenty-kilometer road that was meant to be constructed along the Ntcheu-Tsangano-Neno-Mwanza stretch.

On Wednesday the 11th, Reverend Matilda Matabwa, the Board Chairperson for the Roads Authority, said the contractor was behind schedule, as they were supposed to have finished their construction works in February. However, the construction hasn’t even started.

Matabwa said they will terminate contracts with all non-performing contractors as they make the government lose billions of Kwacha.

Despite these glitches, on Thursday the 12th, President Chakwera said he is committed to improving road infrastructure in the Southern region. He said the Roads Fund Administration has funded the Blantyre City Council to implement a road infrastructure improvement program to construct, rehabilitate, and upgrade roads.

President Chakwera said this is in line with the Malawi twenty sixty-three Vision, which has the transport sector as one of its priorities.

Malawi is performing well on the human rights front, considering that it has been re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council. Malawi also topped the voting for African nations with 182 votes, with Ghana coming in at 179, and Burundi at 168.

The Human Rights Council upholds and advances fundamental freedoms globally. According to a UN statement dated Tuesday the 10th, the new elects will serve for three years, starting from January twenty twenty-four.

Malawi was elected into the UN Council in twenty twenty and started its three-year term in January twenty twenty-one. It has retained its position alongside other countries like China and France.

A fuel tanker caught fire in Zomba on Tuesday the 10th. At around 8 PM in Chinamwali township.

Thankfully, the fuel tanker was empty. Still, a fire ambulance rushed to the scene and was able to put the fire out. According to reports, the fire affected just a part of the tanker, so there wasn’t serious damage.

The truck might have been empty due to the fuel shortage.

On Friday the 6th, the government assured that the fuel situation would stabilize across the country starting that Friday. They said they were expecting huge amounts of fuel, especially petrol, and that by Monday the 9th, the fuel supply should be back to normal.

While the shortage has eased, some fuel stations still don’t have the commodity.

Musician Atoht Manje died suddenly just after performing at the University of Livingstonia in Rumphi.

According to reports, after delivering a stunning performance around midnight, Atoht Manje told his colleague, a musician called Saint, that he wasn’t feeling too well, and that he was going to lie down in his car. In the early hours of Sunday the 8th, Atoht Manje was found unconscious in his vehicle. No one knows what happened.

The government, through Richard Chimwendo Banda, the Minister of Local Government, Unity, and Culture, helped with the funeral processions for Atoht Manje’s burial, which took place on Monday the 9th.

Another artist, Zeze Kingston, was meant to release his song titled Kusangalala meaning To be happy on Monday the 9th. But, on Sunday the 8th, Serato Media, his management team, released a statement saying they had postponed the release date to Monday the 16th, in honor of Atoht Manje, who was, according to the statement, a friend and supporter of Zeze’s music.

In sports news, football player Tabitha Chawinga is still making the headlines.

A few weeks ago, we mentioned that she had signed a contract with the French team, Paris Saint Germain or PSG. The team played against Manchester United on Tuesday the 10th, and this made Chawinga the first Malawian woman football player to play in the Union of European Football Associations games, commonly known as the UEFA Champions League. Furthermore, Chawinga scored a goal in the match, making her the first Malawian woman to do so.

Shortly after the match ended, Chawinga took to her Facebook page to thank her fans for their support.

Another person making the headlines is Edward Chimenya, a businessman from Lilongwe, since he earned a record-breaking win at Premier Bet, a local sports betting company.

According to local news, on Wednesday the 11th, Chimenya won 242 million Kwacha—over 200 thousand dollars—by placing multiple bets in a game by Premier Bet called Aviator. Chimenya vowed to never stop gambling—and it seems he has the track record to prove it. According to old newspaper articles, Chimenya was among the first people from Lilongwe to win a bet in twenty seventeen.

Locals from the Chewa tribe are set to have their own gathering, a few weeks after the Lhomwe people had their own.

The gathering, called Mkumano wa Achewa meaning the gathering of the Chewa people, has been officially set for this weekend. Dr Numeri Geresomo, the Secretary-General for the Chewa Heritage Foundation (or CHEFO), said the celebrations will start on Friday the 13th and go through to Saturday the 14th at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe. He said that, although the day celebrates Chewa people, the function offers individuals of all tribes an opportunity to gather, interact, and learn about each other’s cultures.

CHEFO unites Chewa people from Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia.

Aaaaand that’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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Pitani bwino!