MALAWI: Tonse Alliance withdrawal & more – 16th July 2024

Muli bwanji from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 16th of July twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

Locals don’t know what to expect for the twenty twenty-five presidential elections because Saulos Chilima, the country’s then-Vice-President, died in a plane crash last month.

In twenty twenty, Chilima and President Chakwera joined two political parties – the Malawi Congress Party and the United Transformation Movement (or UTM) – and formed the Tonse Alliance to unseat then-President Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (or DPP).

On Friday the 12th, Felix Njawala, the Spokesperson of the UTM, announced UTM’s withdrawal from the Tonse Alliance at a news conference in Lilongwe. He said they will focus on fulfilling Chilima’s agendas and making a plan for next year’s elections.

On Tuesday the 16th, UTM announced that they will hold their first rally in Ntcheu district on Sunday the 21st. This will be their first gathering since the passing of its founder, Chilima, and since their departure from the Tonse Alliance.

The rally is themed Forever In Our Hearts, and will be an emotional and sentimental event aimed at celebrating the life and legacy of Chilima. Local news said this rally might be a pivotal moment for members of UTM as they navigate life without Chilima.

But perhaps a new leader for the UTM might be in sight. On Monday the 15th, Dalitso Kabambe, former governor of the Reserve Bank, resigned from the DPP. He didn’t say which party he will join next, but rumor has it that he might replace the late Chilima as the UTM leader.

UTM is yet to comment on the matter, and Kabambe has refused to give local media any more details.

Meanwhile, the Malawi Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (or MISA Malawi) is already preparing for the elections. MISA is an organization that defends and promotes media freedom, among others.

On Monday the 15th, they announced that they are drafting a manual on the safety and security of journalists. Golden Matonga, the MISA Malawi Chairperson, said the manual comes as a response to physical, verbal and digital attacks that journalists have been facing. They believe these numbers will soar during next year’s elections.

So far, the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa has stepped in and provided financial support to help develop the manual.

Some new stats were released this week. The first ones show that Malawi still has a long way to go to bridge its digital divide.

On Thursday the 11th, Daud Suleman, the Director General for the Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority, said Malawi has fourteen million registered SIM cards, but only a million of those are in smartphones. He also said the country’s internet access is at thirty-four percent.

This reflects very badly on the country’s digital advancement, especially since it is one of the key areas in achieving the Malawi twenty-sixty-three vision, which emphasizes digital growth and inclusion. The vision is a strategic document that outlines the government’s model for turning Malawi into a wealthy and self-reliant nation by twenty-sixty-three.

The second statistics were from the Malawi Police Service (or MPS), and they show that the country isn’t doing so well on the mental health front either. According to data collected between January and June this year, 281 people have committed suicide. This indicates a twenty-eight percent increase from last year’s 220 suicide rate.

When questioned by local media, Harry Namwaza, the Deputy Spokesperson for the National Police, said debts and relationship issues are the main causes of suicide. He also mentioned family conflicts and drug and substance abuse among youths.

Namwaza emphasized the need for counseling, especially for men, who represented 246 of the 281 cases.

In trending news, the Zambia Drug Enforcement Commission (or DEC) caught two suspects – an American and a Russian – who were found smuggling over forty-two million Kwacha or twenty-four thousand dollars worth of Malawian bank notes.

A press release from the DEC said the notes were being sent to America through the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Zambia, Lusaka. The DEC coordinated with the Immigration Department and the Bank of Zambia and found that the two men had other currencies hidden in their hotel room in Lusaka.

The DEC said they are currently investigating the two suspects.

Speaking of money, residents of Machinjiri Area 11 in Blantyre contributed twenty million Kwacha or nearly 11.5 thousand dollars to fix a road in their area. The road is about 150 meters long and is used by people from nearly one hundred households.

Khuze Nyengo, one of the residents leading the project’s operations, said the community members contributed about fifty thousand Kwacha or roughly twenty-nine dollars each to fix the road, which gets really bad during the rainy season. Nyengo revealed that, before this, the community would put huge rocks on the road, but that wasn’t a long-lasting solution. Now, this project will help them put concrete on the road.

Harvey Usi, the project’s engineer, said he is positive that concrete will offer a permanent solution to road users.

Moving on to health news, some locals said they have been getting a new strain of flu. It causes severe headaches or migraines, fever, body aches, and general body weakness, and takes weeks to heal. Those who have experienced it say it feels like malaria.

Last week, neighbouring country Zambia said they had recorded over 4,500 COVID-19 cases between January and June, leading locals to question whether the supposed flu is in fact COVID-19. Zambia’s local news said those who suffered from COVID-19 experienced the same symptoms described here, such as a weird flu or cough that feels like malaria.

No one knows what’s going on, but some locals have already started wearing masks when out in public. The Ministry of Health has yet to comment on the matter.

Let’s talk about art! There is a new art school in town. The Copyright Association of Malawi (or COSOMA) launched a new school called the Investment School of Creative Arts on Thursday the 11th in Mangochi. The school was launched through the Association’s Copyright Fund and with funding worth forty-two million Kwacha or nearly twenty-four thousand dollars from the NICO Group, which is the country’s leading financial services provider.

Chimwemwe Mhango, the Board Chairperson of COSOMA, said the school was created to help young Malawian creatives learn how to conduct their art as a business. The COSOMA Board handpicked fifty creatives for the launch of the school and a two-day training. Some of them include musicians Kell Kay and Saint, comedian Che Mandota, and writers Brian Itai and Sam Banda.

In energy news, the Electricity Supply Corporation is currently disconnecting electricity for all post-paid customers with bills over thirty days old.

They announced this on Wednesday the 10th through their social media pages. Their statement said they will conduct the exercise from Monday the 15th to Wednesday the 31st.

Make sure you pay your bills to avoid having your electricity disconnected.

In our last episode, we mentioned that the First Discount House (or FDH) Bank undertook a system upgrade exercise last Thursday. Their statement said their systems would be unavailable until Monday the 8th. Unfortunately, their systems are still down.

On Friday the 12th, a statement signed by William Mpinganjira, the bank’s Chief Executive Officer, said they encountered technical difficulties while upgrading their banking system. According to them, their team of top-tier technical experts is working on the issue. They didn’t say when people should expect things to go back to normal.

Currently, FDH customers are unable to access their money through physical, mobile, and online banking services. The auto-teller machines aren’t dispersing any cash, and people are forced to spend hours on a queue inside the bank to get their cash. Unfortunately, this isn’t always helpful, as the bank sometimes does not have any network.

Meanwhile, Standard Bank is getting ready for its Be More Race happening on Saturday the 20th in Lilongwe. The Be More Race is an annual charity and health and wellness event where locals run a marathon for a social cause. This year, the theme for the race is Why We Run, and all the proceeds from the event will be used to support the children’s Cancer Learning Centre at the Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe.

Standard Bank is currently giving out race jerseys for all registered participants at their headquarters in Lilongwe. Unfortunately, it’s too late to register for the race now, but you can always join in on the fun and watch for free.

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

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Pitani bwino!