MALAWI: Salary Increase & more – 25th Jan 2024

Muli bwanji from BA! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 25th of January twenty twenty-four A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

In our last episode, we mentioned that there were speculations that the government was about to increase the minimum wage. Well, on Thursday the 25th, the executive announced the new minimum wage rates for general and domestic workers.

They will now be earning eighty percent more, from fifty thousand Kwacha or thirty dollars to ninety thousand Kwacha or a little over fifty dollars a month. Domestic workers' minimum wage has also been increased by thirty-eight percent from thirty-eight thousand Kwacha or twenty-three dollars to fifty-two thousand Kwacha or thirty-one dollars per month.

The law will only come into effect on the 1st of next month, so people can expect to see their increases in late February.

There are calls for changes in the education sector as well.

Last year, nearly thirty thousand candidates expecting to sit for their secondary school exams this year failed to pay their exam fees, despite the Malawi National Examinations Board (or Maneb) extending the payment deadline by two weeks.

Quality Education Activists, including Limbani Nsapato and Benedicto Kondowe, said the government's expectation for candidates to pay to sit for exams contradicts their own policies to increase access to education. They believe that abolishing exam fees will bridge the inequality gap, and allow for more access to education.

They suggested that the government should alternatively allocate some resources to Maneb, so the Board doesn't have to rely on exam fees for some of their operations.

A few weeks ago, the government banned imported maize from Tanzania because it might have been exposed to the Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease, which was prevalent in the country then.

On Saturday the 20th, Dickxie Kampani, the Secretary of Agriculture at the Ministry of Agriculture, said they have been communicating with the Tanzanian Plant Health and Pesticides Authority, who recently presented evidence demonstrating that the disease had been contained.

Kampani said that, following this development, "local traders are now permitted to import maize from Tanzania", but only after they get the necessary import authorization and documentation from both Malawian and Tanzanian authorities.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Tourism is looking for partners to help deliver this year’s Malawi International Tourism Expo (or MITE), and also promote tourism development in the country.

On Tuesday the 23rd, Vera Kamtukule, the Minister of Tourism, said they are open to receiving funds and ideas or innovations. She said that, apart from welcoming international buyers and travel media, MITE twenty twenty-four will also serve as a platform to leverage strong partnerships the Ministry created with the global travel trade. It will also focus on “expanding the horizons to embrace growing tourism markets in India, China, Italy and France.”

MITE twenty twenty-four will be held at the Bingu International Conversation Center from the 25th to the 27th of April.

Still on the government, the Ministry of Health recently shared statistics on the impact of malaria and the populace, and they show that children under five are the worst affected, even in districts where interventions to contain malaria are already underway.

In twenty twenty-two, nearly eight thousand children below the age of five got infected with malaria. But in twenty twenty-three, the figures almost doubled as they neared sixteen thousand.

John Sande, Coordinator of the National Malaria Control Program, said Nkhata Bay district recorded the highest number of cases, followed by Neno and Mzimba North. But Sande attributed these statistics to a low uptake of the malaria vaccine, among other interventions. He suggests that communities be mobilised, so they take malaria interventions seriously.

The Ministry of Health also shared some exciting news on Wednesday the 24th. They said they are constructing three health posts in hard-to-reach areas in Dedza. They are expected to start operating in June.

Martias Joshua, the Chief of Health Services Reforms in the Ministry, inspected one of the posts and said the Ministry is satisfied with the progress so far. He said the posts are almost done, with everything ready as early as March.

Senior Chief Kachere in Dedza said his people were walking long distances to access health facilities. He was happy that this would be history very soon.

Here are two quick facts about living in Malawi: 1. The police and military always clear the road of any vehicles for the presidential convoy. 2. All vehicles and individuals wait for funeral processions to pass as a sign of respect.

On Friday the 19th, President Chakwera left his residence at Sanjika Palace and headed to Chileka International Airport via the Magalasi Road. Unfortunately, trouble ensued when he got to the Henry Henderson Institute (or HHI) roundabout, where a funeral procession was heading to the HHI cemetery across the road.

The police and military ordered the funeral procession to wait for the presidential convoy to pass, but the mourners quickly overpowered them and went on their way.

The presidential convoy was forced to wait, but they also had to sit through multitudes hurling insults at them for disrespecting the funeral.

Some police officers might be in trouble following the incident. Local news reports that, just hours after it all happened, some senior officers were transferred and swapped to different cities.

For instance, Richard Luhanga, the Region Commissioner for the South West Police, was transferred to the Northern Region Police under the same position, and Noel Kayira replaced him.

Rumor has it that the transfer of civil officers to “outskirts” regions like the north is a sign of demotion.

Nonetheless, Chakwera’s trip has raised eyebrows. On Friday the 19th, when the incident with the mourners happened, he was on his way to board a flight to the Democratic Republic of Congo to attend the inauguration of President Felix Tshisekedi, scheduled for the next day - Saturday the 20th.

However, on Friday the 19th, the news outlet Voice of Congo published the names of the official delegates who were invited and expected to attend the inauguration of their new president — and Chakwera’s name wasn’t on the list. In fact, no delegate from Malawi made the list. So, what were Chakwera’s plans in Congo?

The president’s move was called into question, as there might have been disappointment, with people only receiving the news after Chakwera had left. Some users on social media joked that they would have blocked his Congo flight.

The Facebook page for the Media Institute of Malawi Southern Africa (or MISA) - Malawi Chapter has been hacked.

The Institute wrote a statement notifying the public and its members on Tuesday the 23rd. They said their Facebook page had been "compromised" by unknown individuals, and urged locals to be aware of posts that do not reflect MISA's ideals and advocacy work, saying they are from the hackers and not them.

They have since advised stakeholders to stop interacting with the page until it is recovered. This especially applies to people who may want to send sensitive messages through their Facebook page.

In sad but trending news, a family is mourning the loss of three children who died from poisoned food. Their parents ingested the food too, but luckily survived. They have been admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre.

Local news said the incident happened in Mbayani township. Authorities are yet to find out who poisoned the food.

In sports news, the Netball Association of Malawi (or NAM) appointed a new coach for the national team, the Queens, effective Wednesday the 24th.

Joana Kachilika, a former Queens defender and captain, has replaced Peace Chawinga Kalua, who served as the Queens’ coach since twenty nineteen.

The NAM management has asked the technical panel (which includes coaches) to identify and develop youthful talent. They believe this will help with the transition and regeneration process that will happen when the senior team retires.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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Pitani bwino!