MALAWI: Rain & more – 18th Apr 2024

Muli bwanji from BA! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 18th of April twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

Malawi received its highest recorded rainfall since nineteen sixty after the Chintheche Area in Nkhatabay District received about 270 millimetres of rain on Saturday the 13th. Unfortunately, the rains caused flooding in several areas.

A disaster risk assessment conducted in the district showed that the floods affected over 125 households. Authorities expect these figures to rise since the rain is still falling and their assessments are still underway.

Chisomo Kambandanga, the Spokesperson for Nkhatabay District, said the rains have been falling since last Thursday and that most houses have collapsed, leading to the displacement of many people. He said most of them are living in schools now.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services has been having trouble printing passports after Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda, the Attorney General, canceled a contract with TechnoBrain, which produced passports for Malawi in twenty twenty-one.

On Monday the 15th, Frank Namangale, the Spokesperson at the Ministry of Justice, confirmed that the government hired E-Tech—a local information and communications technology firm—as the Immigration Department’s passport system supplier.

However, the Department’s procurement processes have been called into question. On Wednesday the 17th, Raphael Msowoya, the E-Tech Managing Director, confirmed their new contract with the government but said he could not give more details. Charles Kalumo, the Director General of the Immigration Department, referred the media to the Attorney General, saying his office does not deal with procurements, but the Attorney General refused to speak with the media. Kate Kujaliwa, the Public Relations Manager at the Public Procurement and Disposal Authority, said her office did not handle the government’s contract with E-Tech.

The whole situation raised concerns, making the deal look shady.

In other news, Malawi officially opened its first embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Thursday the 18th. Nancy Tembo, the Foreign Affairs Minister, signed the deal with Israel Katz, the Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister. David Bisnowatty, a former member of parliament for the Lilongwe City Center, will be the Chargé d'affaires for the embassy.

The development is contrary to news that was shared on the government’s Facebook page saying the embassy would be opened in November. Nonetheless, the move might not be wise, considering that Israel is at war and currently at loggerheads with other countries because of that. There are fears that this might have bad implications for Malawi.

Speaking of embassies, the US embassy announced that Reyneck Matemba, the Solicitor and Principal Secretary of Justice; John-Suzi Banda, the former Director of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Agency; Mwabi Kaluba, the former Attorney for the Malawi Police Service; and George Kainja, the former Inspector General of the Malawi Police Service; have been banned from entering the USA for their involvement in corruption. The statement says the four abused their positions by accepting bribes and other valuable articles from businessperson Zuneth Sattar—in exchange for awarding a government contract.

The embassy has also banned the four men’s wives.

However, the ban was called into question as Vice President Saulos Chilima and Zuneth Sattar have not been banned, and they were implicated in the case as well.

The season for tobacco sales is finally here. On Monday the 15th, the Chinkhoma Auction Floors in Kasungu held its first twenty twenty-four auction. Reports showed that a kilogram of tobacco was going for three dollars, exciting farmers who made it to the auction early in the morning. Last year, the opening prices were at two dollars and forty cents per kilogram, so this slight change is a positive sign for tobacco farmers.

Local reports say that the biggest winner was Nyasa Tobacco, who managed to scope the highest prices and sales as early as 9 AM. They were selling burley tobacco.

The Southern Region tobacco market opened on Thursday the 18th at the Limbe Tobacco Auction Floors. The maximum prices were three dollars and eleven cents per kilogram.

Abiel Kalima, the President of the Tobacco Association of Malawi Farmer’s Trust, said the prices are exceptional. He said if the rest of the season keeps this momentum, then more people might grow tobacco next year.

Tobacco is Malawi’s biggest foreign exchange earner. Last year, it earned over 280 million dollars.

If you have Benylin Paediatric Cough Syrup in your cabinet, please check the batch number to make sure it isn’t unhealthy. The Competition Commission for the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (or COMESA) recalled Benylin with batch number 3-2-9-3-0-4 because it has high levels of Diethylene glycol. If you have a cough syrup with this batch number, return it to your supplier. You should get a new one.

The Nigerian National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Zambia’s Medicines Regulatory Authority and the Kenyan Pharmacy and Poisons Board issued public notices on the 10th, 11th and 12th of April.

Mphatso Kawaye, the Chief Executive Officer of the Pharmacy and Medicines Regulatory Authority, confirmed the development and urged health facilities, pharmacies, and the public to return the product to the supplier

Don’t be surprised if you hear your favorite radio programs on other stations. The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (or MBC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (or MOU) with fifteen community radio stations across Malawi. The MOU allows several MBC radio programs to air on the community radio stations.

George Kasakula, the MBC Director General, said the MOU helps them reach rural areas that are often underserved due to technical constraints. He also said the contract builds a collaborative spirit among the media.

Ronald Tembo, the Head of the Universal Services Fund at the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (or MACRA), praised the collaboration, saying it helps close the information gap in Malawi.

On that note about collaboration, regulators in the information and communication technology (or ICT) sectors across Africa gathered in Lilongwe for the 13th Smart Africa Council of African Regulators meeting.

At the gathering, Thokozani Chimbe, the Legal Affairs Director of MACRA, said they wanted to create a single ICT network for Africa. Once successful, the ICT gadgets and services, like buying data, will be much more affordable in Malawi and the continent at large. She said the Smart Africa meeting addresses the accessibility to ICT infrastructure, the availability and affordability of ICT services, and the establishment of regulatory frameworks that can help African countries work together.

Well-wishes are pouring for legendary musician, Lucius Banda, who is currently in South Africa undergoing treatment for a kidney problem. It’s not clear when he landed in the country or in which hospital he is, but old stories in local media show that Banda has been sick for months now.

On Tuesday the 16th, Banda shared a picture of himself on social media. A part of the caption read: “Jesus is what gives hope in this hard time.” His fans rushed to the comment section, sending him their regards and hoping for his quick recovery.

Well-wishes are also pouring in for multi-talented artist Q. Malewezi, but it’s not because he’s sick. On Monday the 15th, Q told local media that the President appointed him as the Special Advisor to the President on Creative Industries. He said his role will be to help bring a new understanding of the creative sector - what it is contributing to the nation and what can be done to support it.

Art enthusiasts across Malawi have since shared their excitement on social media. Dennis Imaan, an entrepreneur in the creative sector, said that having a youthful creative representative in the President’s office demonstrates a commitment to embracing innovation and inclusivity.

On a low note, Moses Dossi, the former Minister of Sports, died in Blantyre on Thursday the 18th. He was also a legendary football commentator known amongst locals as the man on the touchline.

Locals caught wind of the news when Moses Junior, Dossi’s son, posted a picture of him and his father on Facebook with a caption that said rest in peace. Later on, Susan, Dossi’s daughter, confirmed her father’s death. She said he died in the early hours of Thursday but did not say why.

Football lovers have since been sharing their condolences on social media.

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

Do you know that besides the Malawi Update, we also do others? Our latest ones are the Arctic Update, about the area north of the Arctic Circle, and the Ocean Update, about the 70% of the world covered in salt water. The other ones are all country updates, we have a selection of countries from Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe. Check roroshok.com/updates to see the full list. Find the link in the show notes as well.

Pitani bwino!