MALAWI: Rain & more – 9th May 2024

Muli bwanji from BA! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 9th of May twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

The twenty twenty-three/twenty twenty-four rainy season is coming to an end, but the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services (or DCCMS) said Lake Malawi might continue swelling because fifty percent of its catchment area is in Tanzania. Tanzania, like other East African countries, is experiencing heavy rains.

Lucy Mtilatila, the Director for DCCMS, told local news that districts in the north like Chitipa and Karonga might continue receiving rainfall. On the bright side, she said that the recent Cyclone Hadaya, which hit Tanzania, will not affect Malawi because it has weakened.

The Reserve Bank (or RBM) lost nearly 540 billion Kwacha, or a little over 310 million dollars, in the twenty twenty-three/twenty twenty-four financial year, mainly due to losses related to foreign exchange rates.

Mark Lungu, the spokesperson for the RBM, told local media that the Treasury gave the RBM a promissory note worth 600 billion Kwacha – or 345 million dollars – to make up for the loss. He said the funds will help restabilize the central bank.

Local news outlets revealed that the RBM has been registering losses for a while now, due to forex rate losses, Kwacha devaluations, and repeated depreciations, despite registering profits and asset growth. It seems the bank is struggling to keep up with the economic shocks.

Speaking of the RBM, on Friday the 3rd, the central bank hiked its Liquidity Reserve Requirement (or LRR) ratio on domestic deposits, and local banks responded by raising their lending rates to twenty-five percent. The LRR is what the RBM requires local banks to store at the central bank at the end of the day.

The RBM said they had to raise their LRR to meet the market's growing money supply. They said it grew by almost nine percent, but did not say what it was like before.

Since Monday the 6th, commercial banks, including the National Bank and Standard Bank, announced their new lending rates, effective immediately.

Godwin Ng’oma, the Manufacturing Committee Chairperson for Malawi’s Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said they are yet to calculate the impact of the adjustment. However, he said they feel the bank’s adjustments came a little too quickly.

Saulos Chilima, the Vice President, had all his corruption charges dropped. The Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested him in twenty twenty-two and accused him of asking for a bribe from Zuneth Sattar, a UK-based businessman, to facilitate the awarding of government contracts to Sattar’s companies. He was out on bail. But on Tuesday the 7th, Judge Redson Kapindu confirmed that the government ordered the court to dismiss Chilima’s case immediately because Masauko Chamkakala, the Director of Public Prosecutions, issued a certificate of discontinuance for Chilima’s case.

Last week, Kondwani Nankhumwa, resigned from his position as the Leader of Opposition in Parliament after establishing his own political party, the People's Development Party, ahead of the twenty twenty-five presidential elections. He was the Leader of the Opposition under the Democratic Progressive Party (or DPP).

On Tuesday the 7th, the DPP announced that they had appointed George Chaponda, a Member of Parliament, as their new Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. Mary Navicha has stepped down from her role as the Leader of the DPP in Parliament and the party appointed Lonnie Chijere Chirwa, another MP, as their new Commissioner in Parliament.

The Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (or Admarc), the government’s trader for local crops, announced that it would start buying crops from locals in the Southern Region this month.

A statement released on Tuesday the 7th said that Admarc received government funding worth twenty-two billion Kwacha or thirteen million dollars to buy maize, soya beans, paddy rice, and beans. In an interview with local media on Tuesday the 7th, Dan Makata, Admarc’s CEO, said the purchase will start with the Southern Region, and then proceed to the Central and Northern Regions.

Recall that in March, President Chakwera declared a State of Disaster in twenty-three of the country’s twenty-eight districts following the impact of the weather phenomenon El Niño, which caused either heavy rainfalls or droughts thus leading some locals to lose their crops. To support the affected households, the country needs 600 thousand metric tonnes of maize.

In development news, the Kanengo Power Substation in Lilongwe has doubled its power supply, thanks to the Japanese government, who worked on a project worth twenty-three billion Kwacha or over thirteen million dollars.

The handover of the project took place on Tuesday the 7th, and Youichi Oya, the Japanese Ambassador, said the upgrading of Kanengo Substation demonstrates Japan’s commitment towards Malawi’s development agenda. The project will help the Electricity Supply Corporation to connect more customers to its power grid.

Ibrahim Matola, the Minister of Energy, expressed gratitude, saying Japan’s contribution helps Malawi achieve its goal of increasing its electricity generation capacity by twenty twenty-five.

Lilongwe is in for another development, as their City Council officially handed over a 4.7 billion Kwacha or 2.7 million dollar road and bridge construction project to their contractors, Projex Group and Master JV. The constructions are meant to establish a link from Lingadzi Bridge along Cherub at Area 47 to the Presidential Way at Area 18.

During the handover, Richard Banda, the Mayor of Lilongwe City, said the project will help ease traffic, which has been a longstanding issue in the city. He said the project will especially benefit residents of Area 49.

The 1.5-kilometer or one-mile road construction will take a year.

In previous shows, we talked about the government sending several thousands of Malawians to work on Israeli farms a few months ago.

Austin Chipeta, the President of the Association of Malawians Living in Israel, told local media that forty-five workers were arrested by immigration authorities for leaving their designated farms without permission. They even went as far as seeking employment at a biscuit manufacturing company in a nearby town because they wanted better jobs.

On Wednesday the 8th, Moses Kunkuyu, the Minister of Information and Digitalization, said the Israeli government has since deported the youths back home. He said that the first group of four arrived in the country on Tuesday the 7th, and the remaining ones will arrive during the course of the week.

The 3rd of May is World Press Freedom Day. This year, the theme was Guardians of Democracy: Championing Media Independence for Credible Elections. On Saturday the 4th, local journalists gathered in Mangochi township to celebrate the day.

The celebrations kicked off with a Freedom March from the PUMA filling station to Fort Johnson Hotel, followed by a debate on media freedom and a Gala Dinner and Award Ceremony. One of the highlights was Moses Kuknkuyu, the Information Minister, joining the march, which can be seen as a sign of solidarity with the media.

Speaking of press freedom, Reporters Without Borders’ twenty twenty-four World Press Freedom Index says that Malawi has done better compared to last year, moving from position eighty-two to sixty-three on the global list, which ranks 180 countries. This is a sign that the country has made notable improvements in promoting and safeguarding media freedom.

Norway ranked first on the list, while some of the lowest-ranking nations include Yemen and Palestine, with Eritrea being at the bottom.

According to the report, the media is facing increasing threats due to political pressures across the globe.

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

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Pitani bwino!