MALAWI: Fuel Prices Won’t Increase & more – 10th Sep 2024

Muli bwanji from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 10th of September twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

Last week, locals almost started panic buying fuel after hearing rumors that the prices might be increased by thirty percent. The rumors started after some bodies, including the Consumer Association of Malawi, said it would be sensible if the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (or MERA) increased local fuel prices, as they are currently lower than they should be.

However, on Wednesday the 4th, MERA released a statement denying rumors, urging the public to disregard any information that said otherwise.

This brought some calm among locals. Fuel, which had started being scarce in some gas stations, became available again.

erienced a system shutdown at: 11:40

The power was out for a few hours and was restored the same day.

There are concerns about men’s mental health following the latest report by the Malawi Police Service on Suicide Cases recorded between January and June this year.

According to the statistics, the lowest suicide cases for men were recorded in March and April, with thirty-three deaths for both months. May saw the most cases, with fifty-one deaths.

Women, on the other hand, reported significantly lower suicide cases. For instance, their lowest number was five, which was recorded in March, and the highest was seven, in April.

From January to June, there were thirty-six women’s suicide cases while men’s were 240. Compared to the same period last year, the statistics were higher for men as the suicide cases were at 256 but there were lower cases for women with thirty deaths.

There are concerns about why men’s suicide cases are higher than women’s. People on social media assume it’s because men don’t talk about their issues the way women typically do.

People who own shares in the Telecom Networks Malawi (or TNM) on the Malawi Stock Exchange will not be getting any dividends.

A financial statement by TNM, signed by its chairman Ted Sauti Phiri and Lekani Katandula, the TNM Chairman of the Audit Committee, said TNM made 2.6 billion Kwacha, which is about 1.5 million dollars, in profit after tax in the June twenty twenty-three - June twenty twenty-four period. However, the telecommunications company had decided to prioritize recovery from shocks such as the Kwacha depreciation, hence their decision not to give out dividends.

There are concerns that TNM might be going under, especially because this is the second time they’ve made such a decision in two consecutive years.

Meanwhile, financial institutions seem to be doing great. On Thursday the 5th, the Old Mutual Investment Group announced that they are planning on building a five-star hotel in Blantyre in partnership with the Public Sector Pension Trust Fund.

According to Alfred Majamanda, the Director for the Old Mutual Group, the hotel will be called Cresta Lifestyle Hotel, and is worth forty-three billion Kwacha or nearly twenty-five million dollars. It will be constructed in three years and will be located at the Kristwick industrial site, between the Clock Tower and Ginnery Corner Stretch.

James Kumwenda, the Trust Fund Chairperson, said they are investing locals’ pension funds, which are well over 375 billion Kwacha or 216 million, into this hotel because it’s a long-term investment that guarantees better returns. This move has raised questions since it might be weird that the Group wants to get into hotels as that doesn’t align with their offerings. However, they might know what they’re doing since they've been in business for decades.

In other news, the Southern Africa Research and Innovation Association (or SARIMA) hosted its Annual Conference in Mozambique from Tuesday the 3rd to Thursday the 5th. It gave the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences an award for the Organizational Growth in Innovation Management.

SARIMA is an organization that brings together Research and Innovation Management practitioners across the Southern Africa Development Community to strengthen their disciplines and capabilities.

On Friday the 6th, another university, the Malawi University of Science and Technology (or MUST) announced that it will be hosting its second Cultural and Research Innovation Festival.

It will take place at the MUST Campus in Thyolo on the 4th and the 5th of October. Some of the planned activities include artistic exhibitions, and traditional dances. It will also feature various innovations by MUST students.

They are currently inviting interested exhibitors and traders of artistic items who would like to showcase their own artistic works at the event. For more info, follow the link in the show notes!

The Malawi Engineering Institution, the country’s registered body for all local engineering professionals, is getting ready to host its annual conference. It will take place on Thursday the 13th and Friday the 14th in Mangochi under the theme Evaluating The Engineering Profession – Driving The Attainment of Malawi twenty sixty-three.

According to the flyer they shared on their Facebook page, some of the topics that will be discussed include Collaborative Contracting, Payment Security, Political Risk, and Regulatory Uncertainty.

Check out the flyer with the link in our show notes!

Another body, the Institute of Marketing in Malawi, is preparing to host their annual Marketers’ Conference in Mangochi from the 31st of October to the 2nd of November.

George Damson, the Vice President for the Institute, said the theme for this year’s conference is Innovate to Elevate: Leveraging Technology for Marketing Success. He said they have invited popular marketers from other countries to speak at the event. He said these people will share insights on how technology is redefining the marketing landscape and empowering local businesses to achieve success.

He also revealed that the event will also double as a graduation ceremony for the twenty twenty-four cohort of the Digital Marketing Program, which is an initiative that the Institute of Marketing in Malawi delivers in collaboration with the Marketers Association of Zimbabwe.

In trending news, Tabitha Chawinga, a local women’s footballer, was nominated for the Ballon d’Or, making her the first Malawian nominee for the prestigious award.

Her nomination follows her outstanding performances for the French Paris Saint-Germain last season, where she scored twenty-nine goals with fourteen assists in thirty-eight matches. She ended up winning the twenty twenty-three Player of the Season award and a Golden Boot.

Fleetwood Haiya, the President of the Football Association of Malawi, congratulated Tabitha and said she is representing Malawi and making everyone proud. According to social media commentary on the news, many locals agree.

Meanwhile Temwa, Tabitha’s sister, became the first player to score in seven consecutive games in the National Women’s Soccer League in the US, where she plays for Kansas City.

Despite this, her team suffered major losses and ended up in position three of fourteen in the US Women’s Top Flight matches. She told local media that she felt conflicted because, although she scored many goals, her team didn’t perform very well, making it hard for her to celebrate her win properly.

Meanwhile, the Flames - the men’s national football team - had a little blooper after losing their passports in Mali.

In our last episode, we mentioned that the Flames had several training sessions in preparation for their Africa Cup of Nation qualifier matches. On Monday the 19th, they had a training session at the Stade Du Mars 26 in Mali

After the training session, a Flames officials went to buy ice for the team. He used a private taxi because there was heavy traffic at the time, and the team’s bus would have been inconvenient.

Local news said the official forgot a bag in the taxi which contained passports for the Malawi delegation. The bummer is he only discovered he forgot the bag after returning to the hotel with the ice. Unfortunately, he could not remember the taxi driver and had to report the issue to the police.

Lucky enough, the taxi driver was kind enough to deliver the bag to the Flames team at the stadium a few hours later.

And that’s it for this week!

Thanks for tuning into the Rorshok Malawi Update. You can find us on your Spotify, Apple podcasts and all the other platforms as the Rorshok Malawi Update.

Pitani bwino!