MALAWI: New Cabinet & more – 7th Jan 2025

Muli bwanji from BA! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 7th of January twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

President Lazarus Chakwera appointed a new cabinet, effective on Wednesday the 1st. Some of the most notable changes are that Ken Zikhale Ng’oma is no longer leading the Ministry of Homeland Security. He was appointed as the Minister of Mining, and was replaced by Ezekiel Ching’oma.

The statement also shows that the President has divided the Ministry of Education into two, namely the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education. Comments on social media indicate that some locals feel that dividing the Ministry of Education was unnecessary and will only worsen government expenditures.

Speaking of the president, an investigative article by The Nation Newspaper released on Sunday the 5th alleges that he fired Wilson Banda, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi, on Saturday the 4th. According to the article, an anonymous authority from the Capital Hill in Lilongwe in the Central Region confirmed the news and said the Office of President and Cabinet (or OPC) is currently preparing a statement for the public.

True to their word, on Tuesday the 7th, the OPC released a statement confirming that the President had appointed MacDonald Mafuta Mwale as the new Governor of the Reserve Bank, and that Dr Kisu Simwaka would be the Deputy Governor.

The letter said nothing about officially firing Dr Banda, but instead thanked him for his service.

On Monday the 6th, the police in Lilongwe arrested some government officials for defrauding the executive of about 275 million dollars through Salima Sugar Company. It was involved in the Greenbelt Authority Initiative, which seeks to champion large-scale commercial irrigation in Malawi.

The individuals include Joseph Mwanamveka, an MP and former Finance Minister; Collins Magalasi, the ex-CEO of the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority and former Presidential Advisor on Economics, and Lloyd Muhara, the ex-Secretary to the President and Cabinet.

The police are also looking for Henri Njoloma, the former Greenbelt CEO, who is currently on the run.

The police also arrested MP Sameer Suleman on Tuesday the 7th. Peter Mchiza, Suleman’s lawyer, told local news that the police charged Suleman with libel. The reason behind the arrest is that, during a podcast interview, Suleman said that Richard Chimwendo Banda, the Minister of Culture and Local Government, and Steve Mulondela, a fellow MP, hired thugs to kill him. The two are demanding 300 million Kwacha, which is 173 thousand dollars, as compensation from Suleman.

There were accusations that the government was silencing its opposition since, if Suleman is found guilty, he will not be allowed to contest in this year’s elections, which he intends to do as an MP.

In other news, fuel is still scarce, with more queues developing at several fuel stations nationwide. On Friday the 3rd, the Ministry of Energy announced that it had procured over fifty million liters of diesel and petrol from Abu Dhabi through its agent, the National Oil Company of Malawi (or NOCMA). They said this is an emergency purchase meant to supplement the routine fuel imports of NOCMA and other licensed importers.

According to the Ministry, over 1,400 trucks are expected to transport fuel into the country, starting with eighty trucks that will arrive on Thursday the 9th.

The statement also said the government is working towards having a long-standing fuel supply agreement with Abu Dhabi.

The fuel shortages are mainly caused by a lack of forex, which is still an issue. Forex became scarce in twenty twenty-three, and the Reserve Bank introduced measures to control its expenditure, such as setting limits for forex transactions for bank users.

A leaked memo from the National Bank, which is one of the biggest in Malawi, says the bank has removed its requirement to pre-approve all forex transactions on Visa cards, effective Monday the 6th. However, they still want clients to notify them at least seven days before they need substantial amounts of forex, like when they’re traveling.

The letter was released on Friday the 3rd, but some comments on social media show that some customers still can’t make forex transactions online. We’re not sure if other banks will make similar adjustments.

Schools opened on Monday the 6th for the second term of the twenty twenty-four/twenty twenty-five academic calendar, but some schools in Nsanje District in the Southern Region are sheltering over 2,700 Mozambican households who fled their country due to political instability — a story we covered in our previous episode. On Monday, Mphatso Nkuonera, the Spokesperson at the Ministry of Education, said they were aware of the situation and that they were working on a way forward.

Moreover, Dominic Mwandira, the Nsanje District Commissioner, said they have identified forty-six hectares within the district where they can build over 500 tents for the refugees.

On that note about older episodes, recall that we mentioned that the Electricity Generation Company (or EGENCO) said locals would not have any power outages this year because they had prepared a strategy to prevent blackouts. However, on Wednesday the 1st, EGENCO backtracked on its word.

They released a statement saying locals should expect prolonged blackouts over the next twenty-five days because they are facing technical challenges at their Kapichira and Nkula Power Stations, which have forced them to reduce power generation. The stations are both located at different points in the Shire River, which stretches across several districts in the country.

They said a turbine mechanical failure has led to Kapichira operating at a fifty percent capacity, while Nkula is operating at eighty percent.

Next up, locals from Nkhata Bay District had a terrible start to the year, as heavy rains accompanied by strong winds damaged some houses in the district, making some people homeless. On Thursday the 2nd, Chisomo Kambandanga, the Spokesperson of the Nkhata Bay District Council, said the council is still collecting numbers of the affected households. He said it was a difficult process as the many areas within the district had been affected.

However, it’s not all dark and gloomy in Malawi since some families welcomed their bundles of joy on Wednesday the 1st. According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, a little over 1,500 babies were born on New Year's Day, compared to 1,600 babies born on the same day in twenty twenty-four.

Lilongwe District topped the list with over 200 births, followed by Mangochi District in the Southern Region, which had nearly 130. Only one baby was born in Likoma District in the Northern Region.

The country’s overall population is over twenty-one million, but the UN predicts it might reach fifty million by twenty fifty.

The Film Association of Malawi elected a new leadership board, but film enthusiasts are questioning whether they made the right move. On Sunday the 5th, local news announced that Dorothy Kingston, a socialite, was elected as the new Film Association President. She got sixty-six votes against her competitor, Flora Suya, an award-winning actress, who only got fifteen.

The news quickly trended on social media as many questioned Kingston’s credibility in handling her new role since she had no experience in the film industry. Others came to her defense, and said her success as a socialite means she has business skills she could lend to the role.

Nonetheless, the film sector started the new year with a new movie, True or False, which came out on Friday the 3rd. Local news said the movie tells the story of Mbumba, a famous musician trying to make a comeback, who has an interview that reveals secrets from his past. It digs deep into betrayal, love, and other complex emotions.

The film has been out since twenty twenty-four, but was only screened at selected venues, including the Euro Film Festival and the Malawi Film Festival. But now, its directors, Beatus Ble Msamange and Spy Msiska, have released it for free public viewing on YouTube.

It features notable local actors, including Joyce Chavula, who is an award-winning actress.

Check it out with the link in our show notes!

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

Thanks for sticking around for this episode of the Rorshok Malawi update! Thank you for your support, shares, and feedback. Got ideas, suggestions, or just want to say hi? Just drop us a line at info@rorshok.com.

Here’s to another year of keeping you on the loop with what's going down in Malawi. Happy twenty twenty-five!

Pitani bwino!