AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS ARTICEL WAS PUBLISHED BY THE NATION ON SUNDAY
In a bid to be abreast of the times in this era of a very fast growing rate in science and technology, most service providers, ranging from mobile phone network providers to banks and other money institutions, always have new ideas to maximize the effectiveness of their services.
With mobile phone operators, they do everything possible to make sure they provide services which will be deemed to be the best by their subscribers. This appears to be the best marketing strategy.
One service provider that does not want to lag behind in terms of service delivery is the Malawi Posts Corporation (MPC). Considering that money sent through the telegram system takes a bit long to reach the recipient, MPC introduced one of the fastest ways of sending and receiving money branded FastCash Money Transfer.
The whole procedure can only take five minutes and the recipient will be brandishing the hard cash afterwards. The demands of the process are not very involving. In fact the one sending you the money can just tell you to go and collect the money the moment he finishes processing sending procedures.
With no strings attached, the process is a very convenient way of sending and receiving money. But much as the system is very convenient, it sometimes plays tricks with the recipients. This is largely due to the system itself and then the issue of power blackouts.
Sometimes you may go to the Post Office with the aim of receiving the money that has been sent to you only to be told that the information that you have been given is not correct.
For instance, the Postmaster will tell you that the ID number that you have been given does not match with any number on the computers. You insist that the sender of the money repeated the number several times to make sure you did not copy the wrong number and the postmaster – to help you? – advises you to come probably an hour later.
Yet you are supposed to use the money just now. So what is the essence of FastCash Money Transfer if one can not retrieve his money as soon as possible?
This is what happened to a certain colleague of mine. He was supposed to use the money for transport to a certain place where he had been invited for an interview but he could not get his money instantly.
The following day the young man went to the Post Office again to collect his monies but he was told that there was a power blackout and that the computers which contained all the information could hardly operate because there was no standby generator.
One wonders why MPC decided to introduce this ‘fast’ way of transferring money even in Post Offices where they have no alternatives in terms of power.
If MPC knew that the operation would be useless in cases of power blackouts, they should have mounted standby generators which would come into use in cases of blackouts.
It goes without saying that before a company introduces a service system, it first of all considers all the shortfalls of the system. I wonder whether MPC looked at the demerits of this system of transferring money in Post Offices that do not have standby generators.
It also appears that the implementation of the system has not been maximized because of the fact that computers sometimes fail to recognize certain information at first and then recognize the same information later..
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
On Minubis Seating Capacity
When early last year government made a directive that all minibuses operating on the roads of Malawi should start carrying a maximum of three passengers per seat, smiles flitted across the faces of many Malawians who commute to and from different places using public transport.
On the other hand, it was a directive that aroused so much apprehension within the transport industry up to reaching a point where minibus operators decided to pack their vehicles in their garages and refused to take them to the roads for a week or so.
Government was mostly concerned about the peril that the lives of Malawians using public transport, minibuses in this case, were exposed to. With four passengers occupying one seat, road accidents were a dime a dozen and they were difficult to control, usually because the vehicles were overloaded. In simple terms, it is very difficult for a driver to swerve back into the road an overloaded vehicle that has deviated from the road than a ‘lightly-packed’ one.
In another instance, if passengers are packed like sardines, almost with no breathing space, chances of survival in an accident are very minimal. This is because they are already under panic and any mishap is likely to cause more havoc as they will be scrambling for space through which they can escape.
Government put all these dangers under a microscope and finally ordered that passengers’ lives should no longer be put in danger without cause. And the decree has had practical positive results since it was implemented.
But now the journey to the much-abhorred past is almost complete: minibus operators have reverted to the old system of carrying four passengers per seat, and like before February last year, the victim remains the poor Malawian who cannot afford to acquire a personal vehicle, and subsequently turns to public transport.
And the paradox of the whole thing is that this usually happens in the presence of traffic police officers. No wonder they have recently been declared the most corrupt entity of government.
All the conductor or the drive of the minibus that is carrying four passengers per seat has to do at a traffic police check-point is palm-grease the officer/s and the trip continues without much as hard work. This is done at the expense of the lives of passengers who are usually gagged by the conduct of the law enforcers since the conductor or the driver will not hear the passengers’ pleas because he has already dealt with the “biggest impediment”.
Sad to not also is the fact that while carrying four passengers per seat, instead of three, some minibus drivers over-speed as though they are carrying bales of clothes.
The avaricious desire to make more money in the “four-seat” lucrative minibus-transport business becomes the prevailing passion such that they instantly begin to yearn for another trip the moment the minibus starts off.
Although the fear for one’s life is the dominant image when it comes to minibus seating capacity, comfort too needs to be at the centre of consideration. It is very disheartening for a passenger to travel a journey of more than 100 kilometers on a worn-out minibus that is not even fit to be on the road.
Yet this is the very same minibus whose driver and conductor demand that three passengers per seat are not enough, but four. The passenger has no flicker of comfort and the whole journey becomes a burden on them.
Well, one might argue that on the part of worn-out, unfit minibuses, every passenger has the right which minibus to board. But the problem comes when one is in a hurry and wants to meet a deadline and they find that the next minibus to leave the terminal is the worn-out one. Do they have any choice in this case other than to jump onto the unfit vehicle? This is because minibus operators have their own special arrangement on which minibus is supposed to leave next.
But perhaps the blame has to be shifted onto the Road Traffic Directorate for issuing Certificates of Fitness (Cof) to vehicles that are not worth to operate on the roads of Malawi.
All in all, it is a clear fact that the prohibited seating plan in back in town. Minibus operators have reverted to the old system of carrying four passengers per seat despite government having abolished it last year, and traffic police officers are within the whole system and lack professionalism.
Of course, it should not be generalized here because there are others who are very competent and have no craving for bribes of whatever sort. Such officers need a pat on their backs.
But still more, reverting to the abolished system of carrying four passengers per seat in minibuses should not have been the case now. We were supposed to be moving forward in all aspects, not backtracking.
There are many issues that government needs to tackle now and the issue of minibuses carrying four passengers per seat should have been a dead letter now, but since it has resurfaced, government should have no option than to revisit it before it expands out of reach. Government needs to act quickly; the journey to the past is here again!
On the other hand, it was a directive that aroused so much apprehension within the transport industry up to reaching a point where minibus operators decided to pack their vehicles in their garages and refused to take them to the roads for a week or so.
Government was mostly concerned about the peril that the lives of Malawians using public transport, minibuses in this case, were exposed to. With four passengers occupying one seat, road accidents were a dime a dozen and they were difficult to control, usually because the vehicles were overloaded. In simple terms, it is very difficult for a driver to swerve back into the road an overloaded vehicle that has deviated from the road than a ‘lightly-packed’ one.
In another instance, if passengers are packed like sardines, almost with no breathing space, chances of survival in an accident are very minimal. This is because they are already under panic and any mishap is likely to cause more havoc as they will be scrambling for space through which they can escape.
Government put all these dangers under a microscope and finally ordered that passengers’ lives should no longer be put in danger without cause. And the decree has had practical positive results since it was implemented.
But now the journey to the much-abhorred past is almost complete: minibus operators have reverted to the old system of carrying four passengers per seat, and like before February last year, the victim remains the poor Malawian who cannot afford to acquire a personal vehicle, and subsequently turns to public transport.
And the paradox of the whole thing is that this usually happens in the presence of traffic police officers. No wonder they have recently been declared the most corrupt entity of government.
All the conductor or the drive of the minibus that is carrying four passengers per seat has to do at a traffic police check-point is palm-grease the officer/s and the trip continues without much as hard work. This is done at the expense of the lives of passengers who are usually gagged by the conduct of the law enforcers since the conductor or the driver will not hear the passengers’ pleas because he has already dealt with the “biggest impediment”.
Sad to not also is the fact that while carrying four passengers per seat, instead of three, some minibus drivers over-speed as though they are carrying bales of clothes.
The avaricious desire to make more money in the “four-seat” lucrative minibus-transport business becomes the prevailing passion such that they instantly begin to yearn for another trip the moment the minibus starts off.
Although the fear for one’s life is the dominant image when it comes to minibus seating capacity, comfort too needs to be at the centre of consideration. It is very disheartening for a passenger to travel a journey of more than 100 kilometers on a worn-out minibus that is not even fit to be on the road.
Yet this is the very same minibus whose driver and conductor demand that three passengers per seat are not enough, but four. The passenger has no flicker of comfort and the whole journey becomes a burden on them.
Well, one might argue that on the part of worn-out, unfit minibuses, every passenger has the right which minibus to board. But the problem comes when one is in a hurry and wants to meet a deadline and they find that the next minibus to leave the terminal is the worn-out one. Do they have any choice in this case other than to jump onto the unfit vehicle? This is because minibus operators have their own special arrangement on which minibus is supposed to leave next.
But perhaps the blame has to be shifted onto the Road Traffic Directorate for issuing Certificates of Fitness (Cof) to vehicles that are not worth to operate on the roads of Malawi.
All in all, it is a clear fact that the prohibited seating plan in back in town. Minibus operators have reverted to the old system of carrying four passengers per seat despite government having abolished it last year, and traffic police officers are within the whole system and lack professionalism.
Of course, it should not be generalized here because there are others who are very competent and have no craving for bribes of whatever sort. Such officers need a pat on their backs.
But still more, reverting to the abolished system of carrying four passengers per seat in minibuses should not have been the case now. We were supposed to be moving forward in all aspects, not backtracking.
There are many issues that government needs to tackle now and the issue of minibuses carrying four passengers per seat should have been a dead letter now, but since it has resurfaced, government should have no option than to revisit it before it expands out of reach. Government needs to act quickly; the journey to the past is here again!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
More Should be Done on Foreign Exploiters
Minister of Labour Yunus Mussa’s warning to foreign investors who are exploiting indigenous workers should obviously have promised some light at the end of the tunnel for the indigenous workers, and above all, most if not all Malawians who are aware of the kind of exploitation that local Malawians undergo at the hands of the foreign investors.
His observation that some foreigners who are issued with Trade and Temporary Employment Permits (TEPs) come into the country as investors, only to up end being traders, is also timely.
But this is just the inception of a long and big task and the real fact hinges on what step the ministry is going to take next, now that the observations have been made.
In Malawi, we have been very much used to mere rhetorical speeches by the authorities and the trend has become a moral axiom, such that even if the speeches seldom translate into fruition, everything appears to be taken as normal. Threats are issued, memorandums of understanding signed, yet afterwards, no tangible change is seen on the ground.
It is an inevitable fact that President Bingu wa Mutharika’s first and primary priority is to steer this country out of the jaws of poverty to prosperity. He has repeated this now and then and in his capacity as the leader of this country, he has put into place calculated measures that will help him realize his dream; a dream that is supposed to be shared by all Malawians.
Any country’s success stems from the fact that its citizens are living comfortable lives so that they help in the development of their country as a whole. The citizens also need to live lives that are free from disease.
The president has always made certain that Malawians are not exploited by anyone in whatever way, yet from facts, this appears to be mere rhetorical speech which but appears to be taken seriously by some authorities as envisaged from what Mussa has done.
Mutharika has not hesitated to chase away cash crop buyers who want to exploit poor farmers who work tirelessly on their fields just to earn some little bucks. The president’s desire has always been that farmers and, of course, all Malawians in different occupations should reap what they deserve instead of some fellows capitalizing on something that they never toiled for.
It is clear that Malawi is one country whose bilateral connections with other countries are so strong that foreigners can easily enter into the country and start operating any kind of business they desire.
However, this is not the case in most African countries, where most of them have defined businesses that may be done by foreigners while some other businesses are reserved for the natives.
For example, in Ghana, foreigners are not allowed to operate small-scale businesses at the expense of locals. But this is so prevalent in Malawi such that locals succumb to the pressure and finally give up. Hence, they fail to develop their lives in their own country.
Foreigners have reached the point of even operating small businesses like restaurants and small retail shops whose capital cannot even exceed K50, 000. This is so sad! I must be understood here; I do not intend to mean that foreigners should not be allowed to operate businesses in Malawi.
All I mean is that they should perhaps deal in big businesses which will bring forex into the country; for what does the nation benefit from foreign traders operating restaurants in the suburban areas of our country?
These are businesses that are supposed to be operated by locals, but when these foreigners come onto the scene, they tramp over the locals to such an extent that the locals fail to cope with the pressure and finally just give up.
For the improvement of their lives, native Malawians need to be given the first priority as far as the welfare of their lives is concerned. Lives of Malawians cannot improve if they are not allowed to have a chance of operating small-scale businesses in their own country.
After all, government has always been committed to giving locals loans under the Malawi Rural Development Fund (Mardef) so that local Malawians should engage in small-scale businesses for the betterment of their lives. The natives fail to prosper in the small-scale businesses because they compete against foreigners who import cheaper goods from their home countries.
It is not my aim to precipitate hatred between Malawians and foreigners, but rather to truly assess a very crucial, yet delicate issue, that is neglected by many. Many people, including government, know what local Malawians in small-scale businesses go through, but they deliberately ignore everything, while they have the power to act.
Let us face facts here: what should Malawians trade in if the small-scale businesses are being done by foreigners? One would expect the foreigners only to trade in big businesses like wholesale shops, manufacturing industries and to be contractors, just to mention a few.
Government can do something about the increasing number of foreigners operating small businesses in this country because this is exploitation just wearing a new face. The fight against poverty cannot be successful unless native Malawians who should develop this country have a chance of operating small-scale businesses.
This is an issue that needs to be confronted and examined with a sober mind; otherwise, we will wake to a rude awakening one day to find that no Malawians can be found operating any kind of business in their own country.
His observation that some foreigners who are issued with Trade and Temporary Employment Permits (TEPs) come into the country as investors, only to up end being traders, is also timely.
But this is just the inception of a long and big task and the real fact hinges on what step the ministry is going to take next, now that the observations have been made.
In Malawi, we have been very much used to mere rhetorical speeches by the authorities and the trend has become a moral axiom, such that even if the speeches seldom translate into fruition, everything appears to be taken as normal. Threats are issued, memorandums of understanding signed, yet afterwards, no tangible change is seen on the ground.
It is an inevitable fact that President Bingu wa Mutharika’s first and primary priority is to steer this country out of the jaws of poverty to prosperity. He has repeated this now and then and in his capacity as the leader of this country, he has put into place calculated measures that will help him realize his dream; a dream that is supposed to be shared by all Malawians.
Any country’s success stems from the fact that its citizens are living comfortable lives so that they help in the development of their country as a whole. The citizens also need to live lives that are free from disease.
The president has always made certain that Malawians are not exploited by anyone in whatever way, yet from facts, this appears to be mere rhetorical speech which but appears to be taken seriously by some authorities as envisaged from what Mussa has done.
Mutharika has not hesitated to chase away cash crop buyers who want to exploit poor farmers who work tirelessly on their fields just to earn some little bucks. The president’s desire has always been that farmers and, of course, all Malawians in different occupations should reap what they deserve instead of some fellows capitalizing on something that they never toiled for.
It is clear that Malawi is one country whose bilateral connections with other countries are so strong that foreigners can easily enter into the country and start operating any kind of business they desire.
However, this is not the case in most African countries, where most of them have defined businesses that may be done by foreigners while some other businesses are reserved for the natives.
For example, in Ghana, foreigners are not allowed to operate small-scale businesses at the expense of locals. But this is so prevalent in Malawi such that locals succumb to the pressure and finally give up. Hence, they fail to develop their lives in their own country.
Foreigners have reached the point of even operating small businesses like restaurants and small retail shops whose capital cannot even exceed K50, 000. This is so sad! I must be understood here; I do not intend to mean that foreigners should not be allowed to operate businesses in Malawi.
All I mean is that they should perhaps deal in big businesses which will bring forex into the country; for what does the nation benefit from foreign traders operating restaurants in the suburban areas of our country?
These are businesses that are supposed to be operated by locals, but when these foreigners come onto the scene, they tramp over the locals to such an extent that the locals fail to cope with the pressure and finally just give up.
For the improvement of their lives, native Malawians need to be given the first priority as far as the welfare of their lives is concerned. Lives of Malawians cannot improve if they are not allowed to have a chance of operating small-scale businesses in their own country.
After all, government has always been committed to giving locals loans under the Malawi Rural Development Fund (Mardef) so that local Malawians should engage in small-scale businesses for the betterment of their lives. The natives fail to prosper in the small-scale businesses because they compete against foreigners who import cheaper goods from their home countries.
It is not my aim to precipitate hatred between Malawians and foreigners, but rather to truly assess a very crucial, yet delicate issue, that is neglected by many. Many people, including government, know what local Malawians in small-scale businesses go through, but they deliberately ignore everything, while they have the power to act.
Let us face facts here: what should Malawians trade in if the small-scale businesses are being done by foreigners? One would expect the foreigners only to trade in big businesses like wholesale shops, manufacturing industries and to be contractors, just to mention a few.
Government can do something about the increasing number of foreigners operating small businesses in this country because this is exploitation just wearing a new face. The fight against poverty cannot be successful unless native Malawians who should develop this country have a chance of operating small-scale businesses.
This is an issue that needs to be confronted and examined with a sober mind; otherwise, we will wake to a rude awakening one day to find that no Malawians can be found operating any kind of business in their own country.
Clear the Subsidy Mess
Although the farm input subsidy coupons have already started being distributed, it seems there are still some anomalies in the programme. Up to now, to a certain extent, the programme appears to have brought so many divisions, doubts and complications among Malawians.
Since the good gesture came onto the scene, it has been rocked with corruption and mismanagement subsequently ending up benefiting the wrong people while those for whom it was meant cry foul. Of course, it is likely that every new system that is being introduced may involve some anomalies, but these anomalies are supposed to be a stepping-stone for the betterment of the system.
Hence, it is not normal to observe that four years or so after the subsidy programme was introduced, complaints from different quarters continue coming out as regards management of the system.
At one point, the clergy in Blantyre were given coupons which they were supposed to distribute to their faithful. Obviously, this should not be one of the objectives of the programme. It is clear that there are rules that govern the programme and no one would expect to find a rule that stipulates that the faithful are supposed to benefit from the programme.
If it is there, then it is totally misplaced! The whole thing appeared to be just a political move aimed at wooing the support of the faithful since that was prior to the last general elections. Otherwise, there is no other argument that can justify such an action.
But was whoever gave the clergy the coupons double-sure that they would be duly distributed to the faithful? The only problem in Malawi is that everything that is being done by, about or for politicians becomes political even if it was not naturally political at the onset.
That is why politics sometimes dominates events that have nothing to do with the same. Religious activities are politicized; funeral ceremonies are politicized; development programmes are politicized; everything in Malawi falls under politics.
Last year Bob Khamisa was accused of giving coupons to UDF’s Phillip Bwanali and the former minister was stripped of his position after the scandal was uncovered. But what would happen if the truth about Khamisa’s action remained underlying? Obviously it would be as though nothing happened at all!
And it should be the case that Khamisa was not the only one who was involved in that kind of scam. In fact it was revealed that cabinet ministers had been given a certain number of coupons which they were at liberty to give to whoever they desired.
It is obvious that those cabinet ministers who had estates used the coupons to buy subsidized farm inputs (which were meant for the poor) for their cash crops while the needy Malawian somewhere continued basking in the agony of poverty precipitated by hunger.
This should really be pathetic! Such is the irony of the farm input subsidy programme. Sometimes the richest has access to the same while the poorest continues crying foul.
Another big problem which has rocked the farm input subsidy programme is that of ghost villagers. It has been observed several times that village headmen include on the list of beneficiaries names of villagers who are non-existent, with the aim of embezzling farm input subsidy coupons which they would sell afterwards.
This is a very serious problem because it is theft by all means and must be dealt with as such. It is significant that everyone including traditional leaders and politicians and the clergy know who is supposed to benefit from the subsidized farm inputs.
If what government said at the very onset of the programme is anything to go by, the poor people are the ones who are supposed to benefit from the programme, (not politicians, village headmen or the clergy).
There are many other anomalies in the programme which cannot be exhausted. Somewhere some needy Malawians who were supposed to benefit from government’s subsidized farm inputs failed to do so because the inputs had run out at selling depots while the coupons were still with the beneficiaries who but never benefited.
This automatically begs the question of where the farm inputs, especially fertilizer, had gone when the quantity sold was supposed to be proportional to the number of coupons produced.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon government to clear the mess that is rocking the programme. It will smack of negligence and laxity on the part of government when Malawians see that the mess that was there when the subsidy programme was just being introduced is still there up to now, especially considering that President Bingu wa Mutharika admitted that the mess is indeed there.
Since the good gesture came onto the scene, it has been rocked with corruption and mismanagement subsequently ending up benefiting the wrong people while those for whom it was meant cry foul. Of course, it is likely that every new system that is being introduced may involve some anomalies, but these anomalies are supposed to be a stepping-stone for the betterment of the system.
Hence, it is not normal to observe that four years or so after the subsidy programme was introduced, complaints from different quarters continue coming out as regards management of the system.
At one point, the clergy in Blantyre were given coupons which they were supposed to distribute to their faithful. Obviously, this should not be one of the objectives of the programme. It is clear that there are rules that govern the programme and no one would expect to find a rule that stipulates that the faithful are supposed to benefit from the programme.
If it is there, then it is totally misplaced! The whole thing appeared to be just a political move aimed at wooing the support of the faithful since that was prior to the last general elections. Otherwise, there is no other argument that can justify such an action.
But was whoever gave the clergy the coupons double-sure that they would be duly distributed to the faithful? The only problem in Malawi is that everything that is being done by, about or for politicians becomes political even if it was not naturally political at the onset.
That is why politics sometimes dominates events that have nothing to do with the same. Religious activities are politicized; funeral ceremonies are politicized; development programmes are politicized; everything in Malawi falls under politics.
Last year Bob Khamisa was accused of giving coupons to UDF’s Phillip Bwanali and the former minister was stripped of his position after the scandal was uncovered. But what would happen if the truth about Khamisa’s action remained underlying? Obviously it would be as though nothing happened at all!
And it should be the case that Khamisa was not the only one who was involved in that kind of scam. In fact it was revealed that cabinet ministers had been given a certain number of coupons which they were at liberty to give to whoever they desired.
It is obvious that those cabinet ministers who had estates used the coupons to buy subsidized farm inputs (which were meant for the poor) for their cash crops while the needy Malawian somewhere continued basking in the agony of poverty precipitated by hunger.
This should really be pathetic! Such is the irony of the farm input subsidy programme. Sometimes the richest has access to the same while the poorest continues crying foul.
Another big problem which has rocked the farm input subsidy programme is that of ghost villagers. It has been observed several times that village headmen include on the list of beneficiaries names of villagers who are non-existent, with the aim of embezzling farm input subsidy coupons which they would sell afterwards.
This is a very serious problem because it is theft by all means and must be dealt with as such. It is significant that everyone including traditional leaders and politicians and the clergy know who is supposed to benefit from the subsidized farm inputs.
If what government said at the very onset of the programme is anything to go by, the poor people are the ones who are supposed to benefit from the programme, (not politicians, village headmen or the clergy).
There are many other anomalies in the programme which cannot be exhausted. Somewhere some needy Malawians who were supposed to benefit from government’s subsidized farm inputs failed to do so because the inputs had run out at selling depots while the coupons were still with the beneficiaries who but never benefited.
This automatically begs the question of where the farm inputs, especially fertilizer, had gone when the quantity sold was supposed to be proportional to the number of coupons produced.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon government to clear the mess that is rocking the programme. It will smack of negligence and laxity on the part of government when Malawians see that the mess that was there when the subsidy programme was just being introduced is still there up to now, especially considering that President Bingu wa Mutharika admitted that the mess is indeed there.
Debate: Was DPP Right to Fire Mkandawire?
No, the decision was ill-timed
BY ANANIYA ALICK PONJE
News that ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Director of Political Affairs Harry Mkandawire’s had been fired from the party must not have come as any new to many Malawians who were keenly observing the path on which he was treading. And his subsequent decision to form a pressure group christened Northern Region Fora must not have come as a surprise to most people, including the party itself.
This should be the case because, out of the blue, Mkandawire got the courage to challenge his boss, President Bingu wa Mutharika on ‘some of Mutharika’s decisions on quota system, local government elections, Muhlako wa Ahlomwe, public appointments and separation of powers’.
It must be the case that Mkandawire quite well knew that his ‘scathing’ remarks would not go down well with the president and he must have already known all possible repercussions that would fall on him in the wake of his challenge. Of course, one might argue that there is no need to bring the president in as far as the issue of firing Mkandawire is concerned; but the fact of the matter remains that those who presided over Mkandawire’s hearing could not have done anything apart from that which would please the head of state.
On the other hand, soon after the disciplinary hearing where Mkandawire was the centre of attention, it was reported that top DPP officials who were there during the hearing said that whatever had transpired there was an internal matter, (not meant for public consumption).
I should believe that if such was the case, and since Mkandawire himself as well confirmed that what had transpired during the disciplinary hearing was an intra-party matter, then Mkandawire was not fired during the hearing. He was fired later, and there should have been someone who precipitated the decision. In this case, the president cannot be ruled out.
One thing that looms large is that Mkandawire must have intentions to ‘break away’ from the party long ago but only waited for an opportune time to arise. In other words, he was waiting for a scapegoat and truly it came in the name of ‘Mutharika’s blunders’ which have been condemned by many. It may be right to suggest that his pressure group was never formed recently; rather it must have been there even before his ‘scathing’ letter to the president and it only come out ‘formally’ now.
There is something peculiar about Mkandawire: since President Mutharika ascended onto the throne of power, no party member has come in the open to criticize his (Mutharika’s) decisions even where it was clear that some members had misgivings.
If at all some party officials wanted to attack the president, they would only do so ‘in hiding’ while “speaking on strict condition of anonymity”. The issue of ‘succession blues’ in the ruling party is a perfect example. Many top party officials are essentially not happy with how it is being handled, especially now that the party should be strategizing on who should be its torchbearer some 2014, but on-one has come in the open to express their concerns.
But Mkandawire defied all odds and took the president to task. He failed to play bootlicking politics; it was against his conscience to do so and he had to do all it would take to clear his conscience. Now the rest is history: he is no longer part of the ruling party, for he fell out with the president despite what he, himself, called ‘constructive criticism’.
Now, people are asking: was the ruling party right to fire Mkandawire? And the extension of the question would be: was the ruling party right to fire Mkandawire because of his ‘constructive criticism?’ So far, some people have analyzed the Mkandawire saga and have found that DPP’s decision to get rid of Mkandawire from the party is the best any party would take on a ‘rebel’ like Mkandawire.
Others believe that the party has made the worst mistake ever and that the decision itself is entirely ill-timed. It is my desire to join the bandwagon of those that feel DPP’s decision to fire Mkandawire was ill-timed and of course, the worst mistake the party has ever made. The party has made many blunders before, but this one is standing out, especially this time when it (seems) to be sailing in troubled waters.
It is clear that there are numerous cracks in the party and Mkandawire’s case is just a tip of the iceberg. The first pointer of cracks in the ruling party began to show when Mutharika condemned his cabinet ministers for ‘failing to concentrate on development projects, but only positioning themselves for the party’s presidency for 2014’. The president’s remarks never came out of a vacuum.
There was tension within the party as Raphael Tenthani pointed out in his article titled ‘Succession blues’. Instead of ministers concentrating on development projects, they were busy eyeing Bingu’s seat. That is why the ruling party should have been concentrating on ‘rebuilding’ itself instead of firing its members for positive criticism.
In fact, a strong message has been sent from the centre: there is no democracy in the party and it lacks tolerance because these two aspects entail the accommodation of dissenting views.
In any democratic dispensation, there is need for tolerance and accommodating dissenting views. Hence the ruling party’s decision to fire Mkandawire is a double blow to its future.
I believe that Mkandawire has massive support from whoever is concerned (what more with the many adverts about his Northern Region Fora that appear in the papers) and this means that by firing him from the DPP, the party has alienated itself from all Mkandawire’s supporters and this should be very dangerous this time than never before.
His pressure group does not comprise himself alone; there are many others involved. If the party retained Mkandawire, it would win the ‘sympathy’ of other members of the group. But now, following the firing of the group’s torchbearer, his group is very likely to mount more pressure on Mutharika’s government than if Mkandawire remained in the party.
In fact without the firing of Mkandawire, the group might have been left underlying but now it has come out and obviously it is going to receive massive support from all those who are against Mutharika’s policies, at least for now. Of course, the possibility that Mkandawire is being financed by some individuals or stakeholders that are not happy with Mutharika’s way of governance, cannot be entirely ruled out.
Above everything, the ruling party should now be strategizing on what to do to ‘rebuild’ itself as now it is clear that there are divisions within it. It should have come out and do a number of things that would assure Malawians that the party is really democratic; like by accommodating dissenting views of its members, like those raised by Harry Mkandawire.
It should not have fired him now that the party appears to be treading on a bumpy road. Perhaps Bingu no longer cares about the future of his party now that he is quite aware that he is in the last phase of his stay at the palace. Maybe he feels that this is the best time he can wield his powers to the utmost because it may not be necessary for ‘the works of his hands’ to speak for him.
If this is His Excellency’s line of thinking, then he is making a big mistake. The legacy of his party is his own legacy and its failure will be attributed to him just as the MCP’s and the UDF’s failures are being attributed to their presidents. This is why I believe the president can do something about the mistake his party made by firing Mkandawire.
Mutharika will be judged by what he has destroyed; and not what he built. And should his party fail in the 2014 elections because of problems like the firing of Mkandawire, Mutharika will be haunted till his last breath.
Yes, he exceeded limits
By Hardson Chamasowa
When the media broke the news that ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Director of Political Affairs Harry Mkandawire had written a very critical letter to president Bingu wa Mutharika in which he accused the Malawi leader of a number of things, many Malawians were waiting with bated breaths for what would befall Mkandawire.
It became obvious to many that such a letter would not fail to incur the displeasure of the party, at large, and the president, himself. It was a letter which some argue was filled with the blinding truth while others feel it lacked honorific aspects and was a very upsetting kind of open defiance to the head of state.
In fact, DPP’s Publicity Secretary Hetherwick Ntaba was quoted as saying that “Mkandawire went too far; he exceeded the limits.” Above all, it is DPP’s decision to fire Mkandawire that has aroused the attention of some critics from different corners of this country. People doubt the presence of democracy in the party and argue that it does not give room for criticism for it considers any opposing view as rebellion.
In a situation like that of Mkandawire, people need to sideline the preconceived ideas they have about the ruling party and allow reason to govern every critique. Malawi attained multiparty democracy as one way of liberating itself from the chains of oppression which found ground in the autocratic rule of one party leadership.
The consolidation of multiparty democracy gave birth to various human rights encompassing with it many other distinguished classes of freedoms of which one is the freedom of expression. This freedom implies that every citizen of this nation is entitled to his or her opinion. The problem rotating in different personalities is that they fail to realize the limitations to the rights they proudly posses.
Every agent of human rights is required to first ask himself if he is entitled to a particular right before reacting to it. If the agent is entitled to the right, they should then find out the extent to which they are to exercise their right and finally acknowledge that they are not violating somebody’s right when they are exercising their right.
I bet Mkandawire found it unnecessary to abide by the limitations of his human rights when he enjoyed his freedom of expression on October 17. He put pen to paper and experienced the art of weaving words into long loops that criticized Mutharika’s involvement in the Mulhako wa Alhomwe; his stand on quota system which Mkandawire thought (or still thinks) has the potential to divide the country; failure to hold local government elections; abuse of the rule of law; suspicious public appointments and the separation of powers.
Many can hail Mkandawire for pointing out that the President is flouting the constitution for ruling without councilors and functioning assemblies. He may as well be applauded for suggesting that the President is masterminding tribalism and for his opinion that the President also seems to favour the Shire Highlands region in his appointments but it is the channel through which he decided to express himself that has outdone all the points which he raised.
His courage to confront the President and address his weaknesses is a welcome development in a democratic government like ours as it is one way of sustaining our democracy which cost blood of innumerable innocent people.
However, he did not follow the right protocol. He was the director of the party’s political affairs and if he really had passion of controlling the image of the party he would summon the president to the party’s executive committee.
The fact that Bingu is the head of the party means that all allegations against him are automatically the party’s internal issues. By turning such issues into public consumption, it is right to point out that Mkandawire’s aim was to damage the image of the party and the president and at the same time registering as a mere spy and not a true member of the party. That is why it is my view that Mkandawire deserved dismissal.
We can not blame DPP for expelling him out of the party because every party has its rules and regulations and any breach of any rule entices a punishment depending on the nature of the offence. It is obvious that Mkandawire offended the party’s provisions.
And it pleased the authorities to fire him; and so they did! His reaction had the potential of influencing divisions in the party and therefore uncalled for. The expulsion can well be described as a democratic action and a true reflection of DPP as a democratic party since Mkandawire was kicked out of the party for the reason that he abused his democratic freedom of expression by exercising his rights without drawing boundaries.
What Mkandawire did is what is known as open defiance. It is not wrong to criticize the failures of a leader especially in a democratic country like ours but Mkandawire’s approach appears to have intended purposes.
The news of his expulsion from the party closely followed (or preceded) his announcement that he had founded a pressure group called Northern Region Fora. This development did not come in good faith; it only signifies that all along Mkandawire had that in mind. When his letter got leaked by the media, reports have it that he did not show any sign of shock, simply showing that it was a planned escapade.
Reasoning from his background, Mkandawire wanted to bring confusion among the members of the party which would entice internal rebellion which would entail the party’s downfall in the 2014 elections.
His colleagues have been grilling his motive behind operating outside the party, ignoring procedures to be used when presenting grievances or opposing views. The extreme mischief of the former DPP official is found in Mzimba West constituency where its residents got shocked at his reaction to a loss of seat in the 2009 parliamentary elections.
Mkandawire repossessed vehicle tyres he had given to a chief during the campaign season. Referring to this undesirable background, it can not be illogical to conclude that Mkandawire did not have passion for the party, because of what the loss that he experienced in the 19 May elections.
Forming a pressure group is not that bad when the genesis of the idea has cream grounds. After all, the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) began as pressure groups and transformed into strong political parties because they were formed on sound grounds whose common aim was to dismantle power from Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda. Similarly, Mkandawire’s pressure group would otherwise be recommended if it was not a product of inconvenience.
There are enough reasons to prove that the existence of his Northern Region Fora is an instrument to use in opposing the policies of the DPP and the party officials must have been brave enough to nip him in the bud. His conduct has proven he is not a right member to keep in the DPP as he was always busy damaging the image of the party and searched for various means of seeking political sympathy from the people of this nation.
Thus, I maintain my stand on the matter, that DPP’s decision to sack Mkandawire is the best every party that is concerned about its future would take on any member who rebels against it.
That was the only remedy for Mkandawire and nothing would have worked better than getting rid of him. He showed that he was not a genuine member of the party and such a person had to be treated as such. Simply put, he had to be shown the exit door, whatever the case.
BY ANANIYA ALICK PONJE
News that ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Director of Political Affairs Harry Mkandawire’s had been fired from the party must not have come as any new to many Malawians who were keenly observing the path on which he was treading. And his subsequent decision to form a pressure group christened Northern Region Fora must not have come as a surprise to most people, including the party itself.
This should be the case because, out of the blue, Mkandawire got the courage to challenge his boss, President Bingu wa Mutharika on ‘some of Mutharika’s decisions on quota system, local government elections, Muhlako wa Ahlomwe, public appointments and separation of powers’.
It must be the case that Mkandawire quite well knew that his ‘scathing’ remarks would not go down well with the president and he must have already known all possible repercussions that would fall on him in the wake of his challenge. Of course, one might argue that there is no need to bring the president in as far as the issue of firing Mkandawire is concerned; but the fact of the matter remains that those who presided over Mkandawire’s hearing could not have done anything apart from that which would please the head of state.
On the other hand, soon after the disciplinary hearing where Mkandawire was the centre of attention, it was reported that top DPP officials who were there during the hearing said that whatever had transpired there was an internal matter, (not meant for public consumption).
I should believe that if such was the case, and since Mkandawire himself as well confirmed that what had transpired during the disciplinary hearing was an intra-party matter, then Mkandawire was not fired during the hearing. He was fired later, and there should have been someone who precipitated the decision. In this case, the president cannot be ruled out.
One thing that looms large is that Mkandawire must have intentions to ‘break away’ from the party long ago but only waited for an opportune time to arise. In other words, he was waiting for a scapegoat and truly it came in the name of ‘Mutharika’s blunders’ which have been condemned by many. It may be right to suggest that his pressure group was never formed recently; rather it must have been there even before his ‘scathing’ letter to the president and it only come out ‘formally’ now.
There is something peculiar about Mkandawire: since President Mutharika ascended onto the throne of power, no party member has come in the open to criticize his (Mutharika’s) decisions even where it was clear that some members had misgivings.
If at all some party officials wanted to attack the president, they would only do so ‘in hiding’ while “speaking on strict condition of anonymity”. The issue of ‘succession blues’ in the ruling party is a perfect example. Many top party officials are essentially not happy with how it is being handled, especially now that the party should be strategizing on who should be its torchbearer some 2014, but on-one has come in the open to express their concerns.
But Mkandawire defied all odds and took the president to task. He failed to play bootlicking politics; it was against his conscience to do so and he had to do all it would take to clear his conscience. Now the rest is history: he is no longer part of the ruling party, for he fell out with the president despite what he, himself, called ‘constructive criticism’.
Now, people are asking: was the ruling party right to fire Mkandawire? And the extension of the question would be: was the ruling party right to fire Mkandawire because of his ‘constructive criticism?’ So far, some people have analyzed the Mkandawire saga and have found that DPP’s decision to get rid of Mkandawire from the party is the best any party would take on a ‘rebel’ like Mkandawire.
Others believe that the party has made the worst mistake ever and that the decision itself is entirely ill-timed. It is my desire to join the bandwagon of those that feel DPP’s decision to fire Mkandawire was ill-timed and of course, the worst mistake the party has ever made. The party has made many blunders before, but this one is standing out, especially this time when it (seems) to be sailing in troubled waters.
It is clear that there are numerous cracks in the party and Mkandawire’s case is just a tip of the iceberg. The first pointer of cracks in the ruling party began to show when Mutharika condemned his cabinet ministers for ‘failing to concentrate on development projects, but only positioning themselves for the party’s presidency for 2014’. The president’s remarks never came out of a vacuum.
There was tension within the party as Raphael Tenthani pointed out in his article titled ‘Succession blues’. Instead of ministers concentrating on development projects, they were busy eyeing Bingu’s seat. That is why the ruling party should have been concentrating on ‘rebuilding’ itself instead of firing its members for positive criticism.
In fact, a strong message has been sent from the centre: there is no democracy in the party and it lacks tolerance because these two aspects entail the accommodation of dissenting views.
In any democratic dispensation, there is need for tolerance and accommodating dissenting views. Hence the ruling party’s decision to fire Mkandawire is a double blow to its future.
I believe that Mkandawire has massive support from whoever is concerned (what more with the many adverts about his Northern Region Fora that appear in the papers) and this means that by firing him from the DPP, the party has alienated itself from all Mkandawire’s supporters and this should be very dangerous this time than never before.
His pressure group does not comprise himself alone; there are many others involved. If the party retained Mkandawire, it would win the ‘sympathy’ of other members of the group. But now, following the firing of the group’s torchbearer, his group is very likely to mount more pressure on Mutharika’s government than if Mkandawire remained in the party.
In fact without the firing of Mkandawire, the group might have been left underlying but now it has come out and obviously it is going to receive massive support from all those who are against Mutharika’s policies, at least for now. Of course, the possibility that Mkandawire is being financed by some individuals or stakeholders that are not happy with Mutharika’s way of governance, cannot be entirely ruled out.
Above everything, the ruling party should now be strategizing on what to do to ‘rebuild’ itself as now it is clear that there are divisions within it. It should have come out and do a number of things that would assure Malawians that the party is really democratic; like by accommodating dissenting views of its members, like those raised by Harry Mkandawire.
It should not have fired him now that the party appears to be treading on a bumpy road. Perhaps Bingu no longer cares about the future of his party now that he is quite aware that he is in the last phase of his stay at the palace. Maybe he feels that this is the best time he can wield his powers to the utmost because it may not be necessary for ‘the works of his hands’ to speak for him.
If this is His Excellency’s line of thinking, then he is making a big mistake. The legacy of his party is his own legacy and its failure will be attributed to him just as the MCP’s and the UDF’s failures are being attributed to their presidents. This is why I believe the president can do something about the mistake his party made by firing Mkandawire.
Mutharika will be judged by what he has destroyed; and not what he built. And should his party fail in the 2014 elections because of problems like the firing of Mkandawire, Mutharika will be haunted till his last breath.
Yes, he exceeded limits
By Hardson Chamasowa
When the media broke the news that ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Director of Political Affairs Harry Mkandawire had written a very critical letter to president Bingu wa Mutharika in which he accused the Malawi leader of a number of things, many Malawians were waiting with bated breaths for what would befall Mkandawire.
It became obvious to many that such a letter would not fail to incur the displeasure of the party, at large, and the president, himself. It was a letter which some argue was filled with the blinding truth while others feel it lacked honorific aspects and was a very upsetting kind of open defiance to the head of state.
In fact, DPP’s Publicity Secretary Hetherwick Ntaba was quoted as saying that “Mkandawire went too far; he exceeded the limits.” Above all, it is DPP’s decision to fire Mkandawire that has aroused the attention of some critics from different corners of this country. People doubt the presence of democracy in the party and argue that it does not give room for criticism for it considers any opposing view as rebellion.
In a situation like that of Mkandawire, people need to sideline the preconceived ideas they have about the ruling party and allow reason to govern every critique. Malawi attained multiparty democracy as one way of liberating itself from the chains of oppression which found ground in the autocratic rule of one party leadership.
The consolidation of multiparty democracy gave birth to various human rights encompassing with it many other distinguished classes of freedoms of which one is the freedom of expression. This freedom implies that every citizen of this nation is entitled to his or her opinion. The problem rotating in different personalities is that they fail to realize the limitations to the rights they proudly posses.
Every agent of human rights is required to first ask himself if he is entitled to a particular right before reacting to it. If the agent is entitled to the right, they should then find out the extent to which they are to exercise their right and finally acknowledge that they are not violating somebody’s right when they are exercising their right.
I bet Mkandawire found it unnecessary to abide by the limitations of his human rights when he enjoyed his freedom of expression on October 17. He put pen to paper and experienced the art of weaving words into long loops that criticized Mutharika’s involvement in the Mulhako wa Alhomwe; his stand on quota system which Mkandawire thought (or still thinks) has the potential to divide the country; failure to hold local government elections; abuse of the rule of law; suspicious public appointments and the separation of powers.
Many can hail Mkandawire for pointing out that the President is flouting the constitution for ruling without councilors and functioning assemblies. He may as well be applauded for suggesting that the President is masterminding tribalism and for his opinion that the President also seems to favour the Shire Highlands region in his appointments but it is the channel through which he decided to express himself that has outdone all the points which he raised.
His courage to confront the President and address his weaknesses is a welcome development in a democratic government like ours as it is one way of sustaining our democracy which cost blood of innumerable innocent people.
However, he did not follow the right protocol. He was the director of the party’s political affairs and if he really had passion of controlling the image of the party he would summon the president to the party’s executive committee.
The fact that Bingu is the head of the party means that all allegations against him are automatically the party’s internal issues. By turning such issues into public consumption, it is right to point out that Mkandawire’s aim was to damage the image of the party and the president and at the same time registering as a mere spy and not a true member of the party. That is why it is my view that Mkandawire deserved dismissal.
We can not blame DPP for expelling him out of the party because every party has its rules and regulations and any breach of any rule entices a punishment depending on the nature of the offence. It is obvious that Mkandawire offended the party’s provisions.
And it pleased the authorities to fire him; and so they did! His reaction had the potential of influencing divisions in the party and therefore uncalled for. The expulsion can well be described as a democratic action and a true reflection of DPP as a democratic party since Mkandawire was kicked out of the party for the reason that he abused his democratic freedom of expression by exercising his rights without drawing boundaries.
What Mkandawire did is what is known as open defiance. It is not wrong to criticize the failures of a leader especially in a democratic country like ours but Mkandawire’s approach appears to have intended purposes.
The news of his expulsion from the party closely followed (or preceded) his announcement that he had founded a pressure group called Northern Region Fora. This development did not come in good faith; it only signifies that all along Mkandawire had that in mind. When his letter got leaked by the media, reports have it that he did not show any sign of shock, simply showing that it was a planned escapade.
Reasoning from his background, Mkandawire wanted to bring confusion among the members of the party which would entice internal rebellion which would entail the party’s downfall in the 2014 elections.
His colleagues have been grilling his motive behind operating outside the party, ignoring procedures to be used when presenting grievances or opposing views. The extreme mischief of the former DPP official is found in Mzimba West constituency where its residents got shocked at his reaction to a loss of seat in the 2009 parliamentary elections.
Mkandawire repossessed vehicle tyres he had given to a chief during the campaign season. Referring to this undesirable background, it can not be illogical to conclude that Mkandawire did not have passion for the party, because of what the loss that he experienced in the 19 May elections.
Forming a pressure group is not that bad when the genesis of the idea has cream grounds. After all, the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) began as pressure groups and transformed into strong political parties because they were formed on sound grounds whose common aim was to dismantle power from Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda. Similarly, Mkandawire’s pressure group would otherwise be recommended if it was not a product of inconvenience.
There are enough reasons to prove that the existence of his Northern Region Fora is an instrument to use in opposing the policies of the DPP and the party officials must have been brave enough to nip him in the bud. His conduct has proven he is not a right member to keep in the DPP as he was always busy damaging the image of the party and searched for various means of seeking political sympathy from the people of this nation.
Thus, I maintain my stand on the matter, that DPP’s decision to sack Mkandawire is the best every party that is concerned about its future would take on any member who rebels against it.
That was the only remedy for Mkandawire and nothing would have worked better than getting rid of him. He showed that he was not a genuine member of the party and such a person had to be treated as such. Simply put, he had to be shown the exit door, whatever the case.
Debate: Was Mzamo's Behaviour in the BBA House Wrong?
Yes, it is an embarrassment to the nation
By Ayami Mkwanda
ON 11 November this year, women members of the Malawi Council of Churches (MCC) petitioned the government of Malawi over Big Brother Africa Revolution representative, Mzamose Chibambo, arguing that her sex ‘escapades’ in the house do not reflect the true image of a Malawian woman.
The group met the Minister of Gender, Women and Child Development, Patricia Kaliati in Lilongwe. The chairperson of MCC, Agnes Mkoko, said Mzamo’s behaviour is not portraying Malawi well as a God-fearing nation. So the group asked government to be sending representatives who are morally upright that would not bring the country shame through despicable behaviour.
This has come at a time when there has been a controversial debate on how Mzamo carries out herself in the reality show-house. Right from the beginning, Mzamo has shown some traits that are arguably contested as being un-Malawian. Here is a young Malawian woman who drinks like fish, smokes like a chimney, wears scantily like a beauty-pageant contestant; and above all, allegedly had sex live on television.
Summing up all this, one wonders whether her behaviour truly reflects the country’s overall morality. It is an open secret that morals in Malawi are fast decaying but still, this is not enough reason to forget who Malawians really are on the moral standpoint.
Malawians, and the majority of them are, to a larger extent, well-behaved people who relish in respect, obedience, sharing, harmony, fearing God and unity. If we happen to see cases of immorality escalating then it is because we are living in an era when technology has brought its evils upon us.
To argue that the small percentage of immorality we are witnessing countrywide mirrors the entire population’s moral decay is unfair. Mzamo may just represent this small percentage of immorality. Therefore, to say she portrays the whole trend in the country then that is a fallacy (but rather her bad behaviour will have a wrong portrayal of Malawi).
I would therefore like to totally disagree with all those who back Mzamo on the premise that even many Malawians are not morally upright people themselves. What do they mean when they say that what Mzamo did in the house (by having sex with Lionel) is also what people of Malawi do but only that the setting is different; meaning Malawians do it in secluded places and at night?
Although Malawi does not have a written code of ethics, we know for sure which conducts are regarded as “normal”, “right”, “good”, “permissible” and “desirable”. The opposite is true. So deriving a conclusion from the above, people should not take advantage of the unwritten code of ethics to justify that it is difficult to classify Malawian behaviour.
Everyone who is Malawian knows the “taboos” and other dos and don’ts in the country, only that we are choosing to ignore them by hiding behind the façade of westernization and modernization. It is unfortunate that our BBA representative behaves the way she does because she is our representative on an international level.
What people forget is that even one person can damage the reputation of a country, provided they are exposed like Mzamo. We should not forget that foreigners deem Malawians as honest, hardworking and intelligent people because they saw individual Malawians portraying those traits.
Did they come to Malawi and conduct their research? Absolutely not! It was a simple encounter in faraway lands that people of other countries came to build a positive image of Malawi.
So when people are downplaying the bad behaviour of Mzamo in the house by christening it as a technique and strategy to survive in the house, then they are in a way accepting her wayward behaviour in public as something to be proud of. Why trivialize a very serious matter like this when we all know the gospel truth that what is bad is bad?
I subscribe to a philosophical view that there is no relativism or subjectivity to morality (here morality should mean what is totally acceptable by convention as right, good and permissible).
I believe that any moralist in the country is lamenting the way Mzamo has carried herself out so far. It is true that Mzamo has traveled a lot and stayed in England and South Africa, both of which are developed countries that partly cherish the behaviour of Mzamo like smoking, drinking and dressing scantily.
As Malawians, we should be reminded that it is immoral for a woman to dress in a way that her feminine sensitive parts should be exposed. We should also take note that although women in Malawi smoke, it is not to the level and magnitude of Mzamo.
Mzamo is such a girl who seems to me as a train without control. With her sorry and despicable behaviour in the house, I do not celebrate her but instead pity her. How can I celebrate a person who brings shame on herself and the nation with such inspiring gusto?
What is there to celebrate when a person who was supposed to preach to the world about our good reputable image is raping the very image she is supposed to protect?
To my understanding and expectation, Mzamo was like our ambassador to the world who would show the world who Malawians are by simply conducting herself in a way that is in line with our image. Still, like I have already said, let us not admit that we are a morally corrupt nation, because we are not; but instead we should feel sorry for the immoral acts that have beset us.
As a nation, you do not stand on the anti-hill and shout, “what Mzamo is doing is what we also do”, lest we tarnish our impeccable record and image to the outside world. When someone is going astray let us not follow them; instead we should advise them so that they can take a good road. Like good citizens let us not clap hands for bad acts, whether they be done in public or secret.
A wrong is a wrong no matter the circumstances and context; it does not matter whether you are strategizing your survival in the Big Brother House or you are at home.
The problem of celebrating immorality is equivalent to celebrating failure. When a person succeeds in life by using crooked or dubious means, we must not celebrate it.
If a person fails and you tell them they have passed, then you are writing their doom. It is always good for a failure to reap the fruits of their labour and not the opposite. Likewise, only good people deserve good things; that is the law of nature.
Our problem as a nation should not be celebrating vices as virtues, shame as glory, failure as success, defeat as victory and cowardice as courage. This will bring the country down. Rather we should always be courageous to criticize bad things for the betterment of the motherland.
The problem is, many people who are hypnotized by the idea of Mzamo winning the money do not see or read the shameful tactics she is using until so far (if what she does endears her to the viewers).
If her behaviour is not rebuked severely, surely, we are unconsciously declaring publicly that what matters in life is to achieve victory or goals through book, crook or hook.
No, it is her winning strategy
By ANANIYA ALICK PONJE
As Malawi’s Big Brother representative Mzamose Chibambo is there in the house in South Africa fighting not to be nominated or simply not to be evicted once she has been nominated, most of her countrymen back home are busy castigating her for what they have labeled “her unMalawian behaviour”.
Some have even reached the point of revealing that they are eagerly waiting for the day she would arrive back home where she belongs. Mzamo has been castigated from right to left and back to front; simply for playing a game that she feels has the potential of propelling her to the end of the competition so that she can clinch the ultimate prize.
It is every housemate’s desire to win the prize and each of them has his/her own kind of strategy. And Mzamo’s strategy has been described as unMalawian by some who “have a highest regard for morality”.
When Malawi’s first Big Brother representative Zein went into the house, he had his own strategies and he never spent a more than a fortnight in there. Code too had his own formula and he came close to the end of the competition. Then came Hazel: she also had her own strategy and she reached the end of the competition, even though she failed to clinch the prize.
Mzamo as well has her own survival strategy and that is what she believes would reward her. And why so much fuss over her survival strategy when it is a game that she is playing for her survival, and no other individual’s survival.
One thing that should be put under consideration is the fact that Mzamo has not broken any of the Big Brother rules, which clearly implies that she is rightly within the game. All what she does is acceptable in the house; otherwise she would have faced some punishment from Big Brother, up to reaching the point of being booted out.
The problem is that most people who condemn Mzamo have set values which they want everyone to adopt. They want to brainwash everyone that kissing, boozing and having sex in the Big Brother house, is wrong. Much as it is good to uphold high levels of morality, the Big Brother house is not a place where such an aspect can be practical.
Life there is completely new and the housemates have no touch with the outside world. In fact some people reach the point of arguing that the housemates are not in touch with reality. I believe that the best way to uphold morality is by avoiding associating with aspects that ‘may’ to a certain extent be immoral in nature.
Malawi as a country allows its citizens to participate in the Big Brother show and everything that happens there has to be taken without much as choice. Perhaps the problem is that we are comparing Mzamo with Hazel.
Just because the latter liked cooking and ‘putting things in the house in order’, it does not mean that Mzamo should follow suit. Then the essence of the whole thing would be non-existent. Mzamo is Mzamo and she has to do things the way which suits her. She has to be herself and this is all what it means to be there.
Some people have reached the point of saying “Hazel was quite, did a lot of cooking and cleaning in the house and was pretty much reserved, while her successor is much more of an extrovert who drinks, smokes and swears”.
Yet the fact of the matter remains that they are two different women clearly sitting on two different sides of the spectrum. I fail to come to terms with what it means when one talks about ‘Malawian and unMalawian’ behaviour.
Of course, it is true that morality is something that has to be highly upheld in our country, but if one chooses not to as in the case of Mzamo, is there any legal provision that is being broken? I don’t think so. The moral aspect of a human being largely involves their own self and if they feel they are not committing a crime against themselves, then they are safe.
And therefore, if Mzamo feels what she is doing is not wrong, and she is confident it is a winning strategy, why castigate her when it is her game. There is so much hypocrisy in the numerous comments that have emanated from different quarters against Mzamo’s behaviour.
Malawi is a country that is rocked with many maladies which are but ignored. It appears many quarters have found the Mzamo scenario to be something that can easily push them into the limelight because they quite well know that it is being followed by many people and stakeholders.
Otherwise why hasn’t much been done on the numerous anomalies that we hear; like those of old men raping young girls, men having sex with livestock, child abuse and many more? Perhaps another question has to be asked: why don’t those who feel Mzamo’s behaviour is wrong resort to watching other programmes other than the Big Brother show.
The mere fact that they castigate Mzamo means that they watch the show; and frequently for that matter. There are many other channels that are offered by DStv which involve a lot of ‘moral tidings’. The main aim is to incorporate diversity so that everyone plumps for that which pleases them. No one is forced to watch the Big Brother show.
Some people have even reached the point of arguing that Mzamo’s behaviour may set a very bad precedent for their daughters. Every parent or guardian has their own way of controlling their children. I don’t think there is any parent out there who can allow their under-eighteen daughter to watch the Big Brother show.
In fact, there is a clear demarcation on who is and who is not supposed to watch the show in consideration of age. I am also against the view that girls who are above the age of 18 can copy something from Mzamo.
These are girls who can make their own sound decisions, and after such an age, they quite well know what is good or bad for them. If they do immoral things, it is not because they watched Mzamo, but because their mindsets have dictated it. There is another thing that I fail to come to terms with.
Opponents of Mzamo’s actions castigate her for allegedly having sex; kissing, and boozing in the house. It appears the strong part is the ‘having sex’ one. Yet Malawi’s second Big Brother representative Code Sangala allegedly had sex in the house, with a pregnant wife waiting for him at home, and no one came out to castigate him.
Are there moral values in Malawi that are designed specifically for men and others for women, such that what a man does may not be morally wrong when the same thing is considered morally wrong when done by a woman? Just like Minister of Gender, Women and Child Development, Hon. Patricia Kaliati observed, the only problem with Mzamo is that she is doing those things in full view of everyone, while it is of course, what most people do when they are in secluded places.
I have personally seen girls who drink and smoke heavily, yet they have never been condemned. So why Mzamo? Above everything, Mzamo is who she is and as one cartoon in The Nation pointed out, “is there such a thing as a typical Malawian woman?”
In other words is there some way in which we expect Malawian women to behave? Mzamo is just a free woman who is not restricted by any cultural or traditionalistic views of what it is to be a woman. This is exactly what I pointed out in one of my articles in The Daily Times. We should not be too much stuck in the past with so much stubbornness and tradition.
By Ayami Mkwanda
ON 11 November this year, women members of the Malawi Council of Churches (MCC) petitioned the government of Malawi over Big Brother Africa Revolution representative, Mzamose Chibambo, arguing that her sex ‘escapades’ in the house do not reflect the true image of a Malawian woman.
The group met the Minister of Gender, Women and Child Development, Patricia Kaliati in Lilongwe. The chairperson of MCC, Agnes Mkoko, said Mzamo’s behaviour is not portraying Malawi well as a God-fearing nation. So the group asked government to be sending representatives who are morally upright that would not bring the country shame through despicable behaviour.
This has come at a time when there has been a controversial debate on how Mzamo carries out herself in the reality show-house. Right from the beginning, Mzamo has shown some traits that are arguably contested as being un-Malawian. Here is a young Malawian woman who drinks like fish, smokes like a chimney, wears scantily like a beauty-pageant contestant; and above all, allegedly had sex live on television.
Summing up all this, one wonders whether her behaviour truly reflects the country’s overall morality. It is an open secret that morals in Malawi are fast decaying but still, this is not enough reason to forget who Malawians really are on the moral standpoint.
Malawians, and the majority of them are, to a larger extent, well-behaved people who relish in respect, obedience, sharing, harmony, fearing God and unity. If we happen to see cases of immorality escalating then it is because we are living in an era when technology has brought its evils upon us.
To argue that the small percentage of immorality we are witnessing countrywide mirrors the entire population’s moral decay is unfair. Mzamo may just represent this small percentage of immorality. Therefore, to say she portrays the whole trend in the country then that is a fallacy (but rather her bad behaviour will have a wrong portrayal of Malawi).
I would therefore like to totally disagree with all those who back Mzamo on the premise that even many Malawians are not morally upright people themselves. What do they mean when they say that what Mzamo did in the house (by having sex with Lionel) is also what people of Malawi do but only that the setting is different; meaning Malawians do it in secluded places and at night?
Although Malawi does not have a written code of ethics, we know for sure which conducts are regarded as “normal”, “right”, “good”, “permissible” and “desirable”. The opposite is true. So deriving a conclusion from the above, people should not take advantage of the unwritten code of ethics to justify that it is difficult to classify Malawian behaviour.
Everyone who is Malawian knows the “taboos” and other dos and don’ts in the country, only that we are choosing to ignore them by hiding behind the façade of westernization and modernization. It is unfortunate that our BBA representative behaves the way she does because she is our representative on an international level.
What people forget is that even one person can damage the reputation of a country, provided they are exposed like Mzamo. We should not forget that foreigners deem Malawians as honest, hardworking and intelligent people because they saw individual Malawians portraying those traits.
Did they come to Malawi and conduct their research? Absolutely not! It was a simple encounter in faraway lands that people of other countries came to build a positive image of Malawi.
So when people are downplaying the bad behaviour of Mzamo in the house by christening it as a technique and strategy to survive in the house, then they are in a way accepting her wayward behaviour in public as something to be proud of. Why trivialize a very serious matter like this when we all know the gospel truth that what is bad is bad?
I subscribe to a philosophical view that there is no relativism or subjectivity to morality (here morality should mean what is totally acceptable by convention as right, good and permissible).
I believe that any moralist in the country is lamenting the way Mzamo has carried herself out so far. It is true that Mzamo has traveled a lot and stayed in England and South Africa, both of which are developed countries that partly cherish the behaviour of Mzamo like smoking, drinking and dressing scantily.
As Malawians, we should be reminded that it is immoral for a woman to dress in a way that her feminine sensitive parts should be exposed. We should also take note that although women in Malawi smoke, it is not to the level and magnitude of Mzamo.
Mzamo is such a girl who seems to me as a train without control. With her sorry and despicable behaviour in the house, I do not celebrate her but instead pity her. How can I celebrate a person who brings shame on herself and the nation with such inspiring gusto?
What is there to celebrate when a person who was supposed to preach to the world about our good reputable image is raping the very image she is supposed to protect?
To my understanding and expectation, Mzamo was like our ambassador to the world who would show the world who Malawians are by simply conducting herself in a way that is in line with our image. Still, like I have already said, let us not admit that we are a morally corrupt nation, because we are not; but instead we should feel sorry for the immoral acts that have beset us.
As a nation, you do not stand on the anti-hill and shout, “what Mzamo is doing is what we also do”, lest we tarnish our impeccable record and image to the outside world. When someone is going astray let us not follow them; instead we should advise them so that they can take a good road. Like good citizens let us not clap hands for bad acts, whether they be done in public or secret.
A wrong is a wrong no matter the circumstances and context; it does not matter whether you are strategizing your survival in the Big Brother House or you are at home.
The problem of celebrating immorality is equivalent to celebrating failure. When a person succeeds in life by using crooked or dubious means, we must not celebrate it.
If a person fails and you tell them they have passed, then you are writing their doom. It is always good for a failure to reap the fruits of their labour and not the opposite. Likewise, only good people deserve good things; that is the law of nature.
Our problem as a nation should not be celebrating vices as virtues, shame as glory, failure as success, defeat as victory and cowardice as courage. This will bring the country down. Rather we should always be courageous to criticize bad things for the betterment of the motherland.
The problem is, many people who are hypnotized by the idea of Mzamo winning the money do not see or read the shameful tactics she is using until so far (if what she does endears her to the viewers).
If her behaviour is not rebuked severely, surely, we are unconsciously declaring publicly that what matters in life is to achieve victory or goals through book, crook or hook.
No, it is her winning strategy
By ANANIYA ALICK PONJE
As Malawi’s Big Brother representative Mzamose Chibambo is there in the house in South Africa fighting not to be nominated or simply not to be evicted once she has been nominated, most of her countrymen back home are busy castigating her for what they have labeled “her unMalawian behaviour”.
Some have even reached the point of revealing that they are eagerly waiting for the day she would arrive back home where she belongs. Mzamo has been castigated from right to left and back to front; simply for playing a game that she feels has the potential of propelling her to the end of the competition so that she can clinch the ultimate prize.
It is every housemate’s desire to win the prize and each of them has his/her own kind of strategy. And Mzamo’s strategy has been described as unMalawian by some who “have a highest regard for morality”.
When Malawi’s first Big Brother representative Zein went into the house, he had his own strategies and he never spent a more than a fortnight in there. Code too had his own formula and he came close to the end of the competition. Then came Hazel: she also had her own strategy and she reached the end of the competition, even though she failed to clinch the prize.
Mzamo as well has her own survival strategy and that is what she believes would reward her. And why so much fuss over her survival strategy when it is a game that she is playing for her survival, and no other individual’s survival.
One thing that should be put under consideration is the fact that Mzamo has not broken any of the Big Brother rules, which clearly implies that she is rightly within the game. All what she does is acceptable in the house; otherwise she would have faced some punishment from Big Brother, up to reaching the point of being booted out.
The problem is that most people who condemn Mzamo have set values which they want everyone to adopt. They want to brainwash everyone that kissing, boozing and having sex in the Big Brother house, is wrong. Much as it is good to uphold high levels of morality, the Big Brother house is not a place where such an aspect can be practical.
Life there is completely new and the housemates have no touch with the outside world. In fact some people reach the point of arguing that the housemates are not in touch with reality. I believe that the best way to uphold morality is by avoiding associating with aspects that ‘may’ to a certain extent be immoral in nature.
Malawi as a country allows its citizens to participate in the Big Brother show and everything that happens there has to be taken without much as choice. Perhaps the problem is that we are comparing Mzamo with Hazel.
Just because the latter liked cooking and ‘putting things in the house in order’, it does not mean that Mzamo should follow suit. Then the essence of the whole thing would be non-existent. Mzamo is Mzamo and she has to do things the way which suits her. She has to be herself and this is all what it means to be there.
Some people have reached the point of saying “Hazel was quite, did a lot of cooking and cleaning in the house and was pretty much reserved, while her successor is much more of an extrovert who drinks, smokes and swears”.
Yet the fact of the matter remains that they are two different women clearly sitting on two different sides of the spectrum. I fail to come to terms with what it means when one talks about ‘Malawian and unMalawian’ behaviour.
Of course, it is true that morality is something that has to be highly upheld in our country, but if one chooses not to as in the case of Mzamo, is there any legal provision that is being broken? I don’t think so. The moral aspect of a human being largely involves their own self and if they feel they are not committing a crime against themselves, then they are safe.
And therefore, if Mzamo feels what she is doing is not wrong, and she is confident it is a winning strategy, why castigate her when it is her game. There is so much hypocrisy in the numerous comments that have emanated from different quarters against Mzamo’s behaviour.
Malawi is a country that is rocked with many maladies which are but ignored. It appears many quarters have found the Mzamo scenario to be something that can easily push them into the limelight because they quite well know that it is being followed by many people and stakeholders.
Otherwise why hasn’t much been done on the numerous anomalies that we hear; like those of old men raping young girls, men having sex with livestock, child abuse and many more? Perhaps another question has to be asked: why don’t those who feel Mzamo’s behaviour is wrong resort to watching other programmes other than the Big Brother show.
The mere fact that they castigate Mzamo means that they watch the show; and frequently for that matter. There are many other channels that are offered by DStv which involve a lot of ‘moral tidings’. The main aim is to incorporate diversity so that everyone plumps for that which pleases them. No one is forced to watch the Big Brother show.
Some people have even reached the point of arguing that Mzamo’s behaviour may set a very bad precedent for their daughters. Every parent or guardian has their own way of controlling their children. I don’t think there is any parent out there who can allow their under-eighteen daughter to watch the Big Brother show.
In fact, there is a clear demarcation on who is and who is not supposed to watch the show in consideration of age. I am also against the view that girls who are above the age of 18 can copy something from Mzamo.
These are girls who can make their own sound decisions, and after such an age, they quite well know what is good or bad for them. If they do immoral things, it is not because they watched Mzamo, but because their mindsets have dictated it. There is another thing that I fail to come to terms with.
Opponents of Mzamo’s actions castigate her for allegedly having sex; kissing, and boozing in the house. It appears the strong part is the ‘having sex’ one. Yet Malawi’s second Big Brother representative Code Sangala allegedly had sex in the house, with a pregnant wife waiting for him at home, and no one came out to castigate him.
Are there moral values in Malawi that are designed specifically for men and others for women, such that what a man does may not be morally wrong when the same thing is considered morally wrong when done by a woman? Just like Minister of Gender, Women and Child Development, Hon. Patricia Kaliati observed, the only problem with Mzamo is that she is doing those things in full view of everyone, while it is of course, what most people do when they are in secluded places.
I have personally seen girls who drink and smoke heavily, yet they have never been condemned. So why Mzamo? Above everything, Mzamo is who she is and as one cartoon in The Nation pointed out, “is there such a thing as a typical Malawian woman?”
In other words is there some way in which we expect Malawian women to behave? Mzamo is just a free woman who is not restricted by any cultural or traditionalistic views of what it is to be a woman. This is exactly what I pointed out in one of my articles in The Daily Times. We should not be too much stuck in the past with so much stubbornness and tradition.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Waona Nkhanga Mawanga
Mawu amene Yohane adawamva kuchokera mnyumba yomwe idayandikana ndi nyumba yake adali ozuna m’mapirikaniro mwake. Zidangokhala ngati woyimba nyimboyo adali mngelo wotsika kuchokera kumwamba. Mawu ake adali a nthetemya ngati a mwana wa mbalame ndipo akamayimba nyimbo yakeyo Yohane adalakalaka kuti woyimbayo azingoyimbabe.
Adaganiza zoti apite kunyumba komwe kunkachokera mawuwo ndi cholinga choti akathe kucheza komanso mwina kupalana ubwenzi ndi woyimbayo yemwe Yohane sadakayike kuti adali mtsikana wokongola ngati dzuwa.
Chomwe Yohaneyo amadziwa chidali choti mnyumba yoyandikana ndi yakeyo mmene mmachokera mayimbidwe okomawo mudalowa mzimayi winawake masiku atatu apitawo. Sadaonepo mtsikana wina aliyense pamalopo komabe adadzitsimikizira yekha kuti mwina mtsikanayo adali atangofika kumene.
Poyamba Yohane adaganiza kuti woyimbayo adali mzimayi yemwe adamuthandiza kulowetsa katundu mnyumbamo koma adazindikira kuti sadali iyeyo atamva kuyimbako ngakhale pamene mziwayi adali panja pa nyumba akutsuka mbale. Sadafune kufunsa funso lirilonse mzimayiyo lokhuzana ndi munthu wodalitsidwa ndi mphatso yamayimbidweyo.
Iye adaganiza kuti adapite kunyumbako mzimayiko akapita kuntchito ndi cholinga choti apeze mpata wokwanira kuti acheze ndi namwali woyimba mogometsayo. Mmalingaliro ake adaona kamtsikana kokongola kolapitsa katakhala mnyumba mwake ndiponso kakumwetulira ngati duwa longomasula kumene.
Mtima wake udadumphadumpha ndipo adangogwedeza mutu wake wopanda nyanga atadzidzi ndikuzindikira kuti zokoma zonsezo zidali malingaliro chabe. Adaganiza zoti akakumane ndi namwali woyimba ngati mbalame za mmunda wa Edeni mawa lake ndi cholinga choti adziwane bwinobwino ndiponso kuti mwinanso amuuze mawu a chikondi ngati kudali koyenera kutero.
Adayima pafupi ndi zenera la kuchipinda kwake ndikumamvetsera mayimbidwe okoma ochokera ku nyumba ija. Panopa zidangokhala ngati woyimbayo wawakonza mawu aja kokwana kasanu. Amamveka ngati kuti akuchokera muchoyimbira chongogulidwa kumene. Mmawa mwake Yohane adalimba mtima.
Atakhala pakhonde la nyumba yake kwakanthawi adaganiza zopita kunyumba komwe kumachokera mayimbidwe okoma kuja omwe panthawiyo adali ataleka. Adayenda mwakachetechete ngati mlenje woopa kuvumbulutsa nyama kuthengo.
Atatsala pang’ono kuti afike pakhomo lanyumbayo Yohane adaganiza zoti abwerere. Thupi lake lidali lodzadzidwa ndi chikayiko.
“Ndikayamba bwanji popeza namwaliyo wasiya kuyimba. Bola akadakhala kuti akuyimbabe ndikadamulowa ndiyomuyamikira kuti amayimba bwino. Nanga pano ndikafika ndiyotani?” adaziyankhulira yekha Yohane.
Adabwereradi ndipo atangofika pakhomo la nyumba yake kuyimba koziziritsa mtima wa mwamuna wolusa ngati mkango wa njala kudayambanso ndipo panopa kumamveka pamwamba kwambiri ngati kulira kwa mwana wakhanda. Timawu ta woyimbayo tidali todzala ndi ulemerero.
Yohane adavutika kwambiri tsiku limenelo. Usiku udafika mochedwa kwambiri moti maola awiri adangokhala ngati mulungu wathunthu. Malingaliro a mmene mtsikana woyimbayo angakhale mkazi wachikondi chosasimbika adampangitsa Yohane kuyiwala kuti adali ndi bwenzi lake kumudzi lomwe adagwirizana nalo kale kuti adzamanga nalo banja.
Iyeyo adaganiza kuti imeneyo siidali nthawi yomalimbana ndi atsikana a kumudzi omwe kwa iyeyo adali osasamba ndipo adalitchayira lamya bwenzi lakelo kuliuza kuti chibwenzi chawo chatha.
Adali atabwera kutawuniko zaka ziwiri zapitazo ndipo sadaganizepo zofuna kumusiya Nganile, mkazi yemwe ngakhale makolo kumudzi amadziwa kuti ndi amene atadzasamale mwana wawo, koma lero maganizowo adamubwerera.
Adasiya nkhwali atamva kulira kwa kwa nkhanga. Tsiku limenelo kudacha bwino ndipo kadzuwa kamawala mwa apo ndi apo. Nakonso kamphepo kayaziyazi kamaomba moyiwalitsa mavuto. Yohane adali limodzi ndi namwali wa mayimbidwe ozuna uja ndipo awiriwo adayamba kucheza.
“Dzina lako ndani?” adafunsa Yohane.
Ndipo mtsikanayo adayankha kuti dzina lake lidali Lusungu. Adaonjezeranso kuti adali ndi zaka makumi awiri. Yohane adangoti laponda lamphawi. Amangosiyana chaka chimodzi ndi iyeyo ndipo Yohane adaganiza kuti uyu ndiye adali mkazi woti amange naye banja.
“Lusungu ndimafuna ineyo ndi iweyo timange banja,” adayankhula mosapsyatira Yohane koma Lusungu asadayankhe Yohaneyo adadzidzimuka. Adali maloto chabe.
Mawa lake Yohane adalimba mtima ngati Davide pamaso pachimphona cha ku Filisiti ndikupita kunyumba komwe kumachokera mayimbidwe ozuna aja. Maloto amene adalota usiku wathawo adamulimbitsa mtima.
Kuyimba kudali kumveka ndipo Yohane adagogoda pachitseko motsitsa. Kuyimba kuja kudasiya ndipo chitseko chidatseguka. Patsogolo pake padayima nkhalamba yomwe mmutu mwake mudali mutayereratu ndi imvi. Yohane adakhumudwa kotheratu. Nthawi yonseyo adangodikira madzi a mphutsi.
“Ndimati ndikuyamikireni kuti mumayimba bwino,” adayankhula Yohane mwamanyazi kuyiwuza nkhalamba ija.
“Zikomo kwambiri,” idayankha nkhalamba ija ndipo isadamalize kuyankhula Yohane adaliyatsa liwiro lobwerera kunyumba kwake.
Adangofika ndi kudziponya pampando. Kuyimba konzuna kuja kudali kumvekabe. Adasiya bwenzi lake lakumudzi chifukwa chomva mayimbidwe okoma amunthu yemwe adali asadamuone. Adataya nkhwali chifukwa chongomva kulira kwa nkhanga.
Adaganiza zoti apite kunyumba komwe kunkachokera mawuwo ndi cholinga choti akathe kucheza komanso mwina kupalana ubwenzi ndi woyimbayo yemwe Yohane sadakayike kuti adali mtsikana wokongola ngati dzuwa.
Chomwe Yohaneyo amadziwa chidali choti mnyumba yoyandikana ndi yakeyo mmene mmachokera mayimbidwe okomawo mudalowa mzimayi winawake masiku atatu apitawo. Sadaonepo mtsikana wina aliyense pamalopo komabe adadzitsimikizira yekha kuti mwina mtsikanayo adali atangofika kumene.
Poyamba Yohane adaganiza kuti woyimbayo adali mzimayi yemwe adamuthandiza kulowetsa katundu mnyumbamo koma adazindikira kuti sadali iyeyo atamva kuyimbako ngakhale pamene mziwayi adali panja pa nyumba akutsuka mbale. Sadafune kufunsa funso lirilonse mzimayiyo lokhuzana ndi munthu wodalitsidwa ndi mphatso yamayimbidweyo.
Iye adaganiza kuti adapite kunyumbako mzimayiko akapita kuntchito ndi cholinga choti apeze mpata wokwanira kuti acheze ndi namwali woyimba mogometsayo. Mmalingaliro ake adaona kamtsikana kokongola kolapitsa katakhala mnyumba mwake ndiponso kakumwetulira ngati duwa longomasula kumene.
Mtima wake udadumphadumpha ndipo adangogwedeza mutu wake wopanda nyanga atadzidzi ndikuzindikira kuti zokoma zonsezo zidali malingaliro chabe. Adaganiza zoti akakumane ndi namwali woyimba ngati mbalame za mmunda wa Edeni mawa lake ndi cholinga choti adziwane bwinobwino ndiponso kuti mwinanso amuuze mawu a chikondi ngati kudali koyenera kutero.
Adayima pafupi ndi zenera la kuchipinda kwake ndikumamvetsera mayimbidwe okoma ochokera ku nyumba ija. Panopa zidangokhala ngati woyimbayo wawakonza mawu aja kokwana kasanu. Amamveka ngati kuti akuchokera muchoyimbira chongogulidwa kumene. Mmawa mwake Yohane adalimba mtima.
Atakhala pakhonde la nyumba yake kwakanthawi adaganiza zopita kunyumba komwe kumachokera mayimbidwe okoma kuja omwe panthawiyo adali ataleka. Adayenda mwakachetechete ngati mlenje woopa kuvumbulutsa nyama kuthengo.
Atatsala pang’ono kuti afike pakhomo lanyumbayo Yohane adaganiza zoti abwerere. Thupi lake lidali lodzadzidwa ndi chikayiko.
“Ndikayamba bwanji popeza namwaliyo wasiya kuyimba. Bola akadakhala kuti akuyimbabe ndikadamulowa ndiyomuyamikira kuti amayimba bwino. Nanga pano ndikafika ndiyotani?” adaziyankhulira yekha Yohane.
Adabwereradi ndipo atangofika pakhomo la nyumba yake kuyimba koziziritsa mtima wa mwamuna wolusa ngati mkango wa njala kudayambanso ndipo panopa kumamveka pamwamba kwambiri ngati kulira kwa mwana wakhanda. Timawu ta woyimbayo tidali todzala ndi ulemerero.
Yohane adavutika kwambiri tsiku limenelo. Usiku udafika mochedwa kwambiri moti maola awiri adangokhala ngati mulungu wathunthu. Malingaliro a mmene mtsikana woyimbayo angakhale mkazi wachikondi chosasimbika adampangitsa Yohane kuyiwala kuti adali ndi bwenzi lake kumudzi lomwe adagwirizana nalo kale kuti adzamanga nalo banja.
Iyeyo adaganiza kuti imeneyo siidali nthawi yomalimbana ndi atsikana a kumudzi omwe kwa iyeyo adali osasamba ndipo adalitchayira lamya bwenzi lakelo kuliuza kuti chibwenzi chawo chatha.
Adali atabwera kutawuniko zaka ziwiri zapitazo ndipo sadaganizepo zofuna kumusiya Nganile, mkazi yemwe ngakhale makolo kumudzi amadziwa kuti ndi amene atadzasamale mwana wawo, koma lero maganizowo adamubwerera.
Adasiya nkhwali atamva kulira kwa kwa nkhanga. Tsiku limenelo kudacha bwino ndipo kadzuwa kamawala mwa apo ndi apo. Nakonso kamphepo kayaziyazi kamaomba moyiwalitsa mavuto. Yohane adali limodzi ndi namwali wa mayimbidwe ozuna uja ndipo awiriwo adayamba kucheza.
“Dzina lako ndani?” adafunsa Yohane.
Ndipo mtsikanayo adayankha kuti dzina lake lidali Lusungu. Adaonjezeranso kuti adali ndi zaka makumi awiri. Yohane adangoti laponda lamphawi. Amangosiyana chaka chimodzi ndi iyeyo ndipo Yohane adaganiza kuti uyu ndiye adali mkazi woti amange naye banja.
“Lusungu ndimafuna ineyo ndi iweyo timange banja,” adayankhula mosapsyatira Yohane koma Lusungu asadayankhe Yohaneyo adadzidzimuka. Adali maloto chabe.
Mawa lake Yohane adalimba mtima ngati Davide pamaso pachimphona cha ku Filisiti ndikupita kunyumba komwe kumachokera mayimbidwe ozuna aja. Maloto amene adalota usiku wathawo adamulimbitsa mtima.
Kuyimba kudali kumveka ndipo Yohane adagogoda pachitseko motsitsa. Kuyimba kuja kudasiya ndipo chitseko chidatseguka. Patsogolo pake padayima nkhalamba yomwe mmutu mwake mudali mutayereratu ndi imvi. Yohane adakhumudwa kotheratu. Nthawi yonseyo adangodikira madzi a mphutsi.
“Ndimati ndikuyamikireni kuti mumayimba bwino,” adayankhula Yohane mwamanyazi kuyiwuza nkhalamba ija.
“Zikomo kwambiri,” idayankha nkhalamba ija ndipo isadamalize kuyankhula Yohane adaliyatsa liwiro lobwerera kunyumba kwake.
Adangofika ndi kudziponya pampando. Kuyimba konzuna kuja kudali kumvekabe. Adasiya bwenzi lake lakumudzi chifukwa chomva mayimbidwe okoma amunthu yemwe adali asadamuone. Adataya nkhwali chifukwa chongomva kulira kwa nkhanga.
A Eulogy For Chafukira
The Bible in the book of Proverbs says that “Our care should not be to have lived long as to have lived enough. Good men must die, but death can not kill their names.” Living might be meaningless if out of one’s life there is nothing that is left behind apart from the mound of earth beneath which their body lies. Death overtakes us all; no one is spared. Even those that kill are in awe of death.
On Sunday September 20, a dark cloud of sorrow descended upon the family of the late Ishmael Chafukira as his family excruciatingly learnt that their beloved dad, husband and pillar had died in mysterious circumstances in South Africa from where they expected him to return with three vehicles which he had informed his wife just a night before that he would bring. They never anticipated to receive a gleaming casket from South Africa; let alone one bearing the remnants of a man who had confirmed that he was safe and sound just a night before.
Chafukira’s death followed hot on the heals of his quest for change in the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), a party from which he had been fired soon after the elections for his confident criticism of the party’s leadership which he deemed to have been behind the poor performance in the 19 May elections. He was the first lone voice to rebuke his party’s president John Tembo. He condemned Tembo for failing to put into place strategies that would allow his party to perform ‘substantially’ in the elections.
Afterwards, he proposed that the post of leader of opposition in Parliament should not automatically go to the president of the largest opposition party as had been the case before. Chafukira was also behind the implementation of a taskforce that was agitating for the resignation of John Tembo to pave way for fresh blood that could take over the mantle of the party leadership.
His taskforce wanted to get rid of Tembo because he “is a tired and intolerant man” who at a certain point in time admitted that he would never change. But it was Chafukira’s initial defiance which cost him the post of party spokesperson because “he failed to adhere to the fall pillars of the party.”
Then afterwards, the courts endorsed the MCP’s decision to fire the late legislator. Ideally, Chafukira knew that that was what would happen to him in the wake of his pursuit. He knew that Tembo and his sympathizers would never assimilate with him as cordially as before after his ‘defiance’ even if the courts faulted the party’s decision to fire him. So it is obvious that even if he was not stripped of the spokesperson position, he would still give it up.
He had a desire for change and the faced facts head-on because he wanted change by all means, and this did not amuse Tembo and other MCP loyalists who continue worshipping obaba even though they quite well know that the old politician is fast approaching the end of his usefulness in Malawi politics.
By all means, Chafukira’s death was mysterious. Even if he died in a road accident, or after a short illness or by committing suicide, still more it would be a mysterious death. Why? Because he died while fighting for change. Fighters ‘normally’ die mysterious deaths.
This brings into the picture the late Evision Matafale, Dunduzu Chisiza, the Mwanza four and many others who died while fighting for some truth. Even if death be the only ‘true’ way of silencing opponents, still more the fighters never lack conviction, for it is the destiny of every man; even the killers themselves.
Chafukira died while being hated by John Tembo and other MCP loyalists, even though Tembo can claim that there were no personal differences between him and the late parliamentarian. He died while he was being applauded by many who saw leadership change in MCP to be a very significant aspect.
He died when he was once the centre of attention more than ever before. Above all, he died fighting. People’s attention was shifted from Tembo to Chafukira and he became a household name. He had massive support and it was obvious that if he decided to form his own party or succeeded in ousting Tembo from the leadership position, he would command a great deal of support.
That is why dying while he was in pursuit of a great achievement, his death should be mysterious. Even natural deaths are sometimes mysterious; but nobody knows what killed Chafukira. Tembo was quoted as saying death is death and that Chafukira was never part of them during his death. He never uttered any sentiment that tended to extend a condolence message.
That is why Chafukira’s death should be mysterious. Death is supposed to unite even sworn enemies where everything that separated them should be buried. But when an enemy never expresses any feelings of sympathy, death becomes mysterious. It is ‘unMalawian’ for someone to fail to console the bereaved family just because of differences that were there between them and the deceased.
So far, there is no clear conclusion as to what killed Chafukira; hence Malawians have numerous questions without legitimate answers, with misguided conclusions. This is just because Chafukira’s death was mysterious. And Malawians fail to accept that Chafukira died of natural causes. They fail to accept that there isn’t a silent invisible hand which groped for Chafukira’s heart and snatched it when it was most powerful.
They feel so just because of the mysterious circumstances in which the youthful legislator died. Concerned about Chafukira’s mysterious death, the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation remarked that such a death has rekindled memories of three decades of darkness in the country under the MCP.
The organization was just stating the political history of our country which is already known. This is the truth that will always remain so with the passage of time. And Tembo got offended. He said his reputation is greatly injured with the CHRR remarks.
Is it because he was there during the 30 years of his party’s autocratic rule that he feels his reputation is at stake. Or is it because he is now the torchbearer of the party that is being put into the ‘deserved’ dark picture? Or does he mean there were no mysterious deaths during his party’s 30 years of office? Perhaps he is just concerned about Chafukira’s mysterious death that he feels he might be taken to be the killer people are seeking.
Maybe he believes that even deaths that have been said to be natural can be precipitated by some individuals. Otherwise it does not make sense for him to take umbrage at remarks that are only aimed at recounting the much needed history that should never be twisted. This is a kind of Malawi’s past that will never be wiped out of the country’s history even if the archives are burnt to cinders.
The human memory is the best keeper of information whose prospects are vividly horrendous. Thus, we will not forget MCP’s atrocities. And any mysterious death of any high-profile person will remind us of the 30 dark years from 1964 to 1994. Just as Martin Luther King observed, our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
The killer of Chafukira may not be known now, tomorrow or any time in the future. What killed him may not be known. But his death will never be forgotten, more importantly because he died while fighting; just because he died after getting rid of fear and being in awe of death no more.
On Sunday September 20, a dark cloud of sorrow descended upon the family of the late Ishmael Chafukira as his family excruciatingly learnt that their beloved dad, husband and pillar had died in mysterious circumstances in South Africa from where they expected him to return with three vehicles which he had informed his wife just a night before that he would bring. They never anticipated to receive a gleaming casket from South Africa; let alone one bearing the remnants of a man who had confirmed that he was safe and sound just a night before.
Chafukira’s death followed hot on the heals of his quest for change in the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), a party from which he had been fired soon after the elections for his confident criticism of the party’s leadership which he deemed to have been behind the poor performance in the 19 May elections. He was the first lone voice to rebuke his party’s president John Tembo. He condemned Tembo for failing to put into place strategies that would allow his party to perform ‘substantially’ in the elections.
Afterwards, he proposed that the post of leader of opposition in Parliament should not automatically go to the president of the largest opposition party as had been the case before. Chafukira was also behind the implementation of a taskforce that was agitating for the resignation of John Tembo to pave way for fresh blood that could take over the mantle of the party leadership.
His taskforce wanted to get rid of Tembo because he “is a tired and intolerant man” who at a certain point in time admitted that he would never change. But it was Chafukira’s initial defiance which cost him the post of party spokesperson because “he failed to adhere to the fall pillars of the party.”
Then afterwards, the courts endorsed the MCP’s decision to fire the late legislator. Ideally, Chafukira knew that that was what would happen to him in the wake of his pursuit. He knew that Tembo and his sympathizers would never assimilate with him as cordially as before after his ‘defiance’ even if the courts faulted the party’s decision to fire him. So it is obvious that even if he was not stripped of the spokesperson position, he would still give it up.
He had a desire for change and the faced facts head-on because he wanted change by all means, and this did not amuse Tembo and other MCP loyalists who continue worshipping obaba even though they quite well know that the old politician is fast approaching the end of his usefulness in Malawi politics.
By all means, Chafukira’s death was mysterious. Even if he died in a road accident, or after a short illness or by committing suicide, still more it would be a mysterious death. Why? Because he died while fighting for change. Fighters ‘normally’ die mysterious deaths.
This brings into the picture the late Evision Matafale, Dunduzu Chisiza, the Mwanza four and many others who died while fighting for some truth. Even if death be the only ‘true’ way of silencing opponents, still more the fighters never lack conviction, for it is the destiny of every man; even the killers themselves.
Chafukira died while being hated by John Tembo and other MCP loyalists, even though Tembo can claim that there were no personal differences between him and the late parliamentarian. He died while he was being applauded by many who saw leadership change in MCP to be a very significant aspect.
He died when he was once the centre of attention more than ever before. Above all, he died fighting. People’s attention was shifted from Tembo to Chafukira and he became a household name. He had massive support and it was obvious that if he decided to form his own party or succeeded in ousting Tembo from the leadership position, he would command a great deal of support.
That is why dying while he was in pursuit of a great achievement, his death should be mysterious. Even natural deaths are sometimes mysterious; but nobody knows what killed Chafukira. Tembo was quoted as saying death is death and that Chafukira was never part of them during his death. He never uttered any sentiment that tended to extend a condolence message.
That is why Chafukira’s death should be mysterious. Death is supposed to unite even sworn enemies where everything that separated them should be buried. But when an enemy never expresses any feelings of sympathy, death becomes mysterious. It is ‘unMalawian’ for someone to fail to console the bereaved family just because of differences that were there between them and the deceased.
So far, there is no clear conclusion as to what killed Chafukira; hence Malawians have numerous questions without legitimate answers, with misguided conclusions. This is just because Chafukira’s death was mysterious. And Malawians fail to accept that Chafukira died of natural causes. They fail to accept that there isn’t a silent invisible hand which groped for Chafukira’s heart and snatched it when it was most powerful.
They feel so just because of the mysterious circumstances in which the youthful legislator died. Concerned about Chafukira’s mysterious death, the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation remarked that such a death has rekindled memories of three decades of darkness in the country under the MCP.
The organization was just stating the political history of our country which is already known. This is the truth that will always remain so with the passage of time. And Tembo got offended. He said his reputation is greatly injured with the CHRR remarks.
Is it because he was there during the 30 years of his party’s autocratic rule that he feels his reputation is at stake. Or is it because he is now the torchbearer of the party that is being put into the ‘deserved’ dark picture? Or does he mean there were no mysterious deaths during his party’s 30 years of office? Perhaps he is just concerned about Chafukira’s mysterious death that he feels he might be taken to be the killer people are seeking.
Maybe he believes that even deaths that have been said to be natural can be precipitated by some individuals. Otherwise it does not make sense for him to take umbrage at remarks that are only aimed at recounting the much needed history that should never be twisted. This is a kind of Malawi’s past that will never be wiped out of the country’s history even if the archives are burnt to cinders.
The human memory is the best keeper of information whose prospects are vividly horrendous. Thus, we will not forget MCP’s atrocities. And any mysterious death of any high-profile person will remind us of the 30 dark years from 1964 to 1994. Just as Martin Luther King observed, our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
The killer of Chafukira may not be known now, tomorrow or any time in the future. What killed him may not be known. But his death will never be forgotten, more importantly because he died while fighting; just because he died after getting rid of fear and being in awe of death no more.
Poem: The Deceased (Tribute to Ishmael Chafukira)
Whisked in a gleaming box
Of old memories forced to be rekindled
Within hesitant hearts of kids
Wondering when the fallen pillar will stand again;
Of left bones oozing red waters of fear and hopelessness
Just because the pillar has returned in a closed luminous box
Burned already by the ever-shinning sun
Wilting saplings seeking a raindrop are scared
Because the evergreen forest master has given in to the cruel sun
Whose heat has pierced to the core snatching the hidden treasure
Of assurance to oaks releasing cruel gum for gluing together
Broken leaves that have disappeared beneath the ground.
The gravestone is wishing the remnants the best
In their pursuant for felling more oaks
For gluing their own broken hopes.
Could it be another journey to the past?
We are left to know.
For life alone has made all the changes
And death has just accomplished them.
Of old memories forced to be rekindled
Within hesitant hearts of kids
Wondering when the fallen pillar will stand again;
Of left bones oozing red waters of fear and hopelessness
Just because the pillar has returned in a closed luminous box
Burned already by the ever-shinning sun
Wilting saplings seeking a raindrop are scared
Because the evergreen forest master has given in to the cruel sun
Whose heat has pierced to the core snatching the hidden treasure
Of assurance to oaks releasing cruel gum for gluing together
Broken leaves that have disappeared beneath the ground.
The gravestone is wishing the remnants the best
In their pursuant for felling more oaks
For gluing their own broken hopes.
Could it be another journey to the past?
We are left to know.
For life alone has made all the changes
And death has just accomplished them.
On Malawi Media Informants
When reporting on different issues taking place in the country and elsewhere, the media relies extensively on information provided to them by different informants. For verification of stories, there is need for some relevant or ‘highly-placed sources’ to say something that would either validate the story or povide more information on it or both.
This is even in cases where the report contains material that is generally known by almost everyone. News pieces are different from feature articles or opinions where someone can write their own ideas throughout the piece. They require interviews and sometimes even photographs which may ultimately substantiate the whole story that is being carried.
Yet in Malawi, there is a widespread tendency for people who would provide information on certain stories to refuse to talk to the media. A survey of some 100 recent local papers indicates that nearly half of the reports carried are never fully-fed because informants are usually disinclined to provide information to the media.
Malawians have the right to access to information and this is largely fulfilled through the media because it is the most effective way of disseminating information. It is illogical that some individuals holding different positions especially in governmental organisations and institutions do not care about giving information to the media on issues which the nation at large needs to be aware of.
And the funny thing is that when reporters resort to other ‘anonymous sources’ for the sake of the readers, these unwilling individuals rush to bash reporters terming them unprofessional.
Where the hell do they think the reporters can get the information from apart from the ‘anonymous sources’ if they themsleves are non-committal on commenting on issues in which they are directly involved?
It does not do Malawians justice to see a burning story end in suspense or never come out altogether just because someone does not want to speak to the media. And the most ridiculous thing is that these non-committal officers do not provide any reason for their unwillingness that can be worthy the fig.
There are many stories which are left underlying just because there is no one to validate them and reporters cannot report them for fear of finding themselves on the wrong side of the law. Those who would say something on the story (because they know something) usually shun the media.
In certain instances, it has been observed that they only promise to call back only to switch off their phones. In other instances, you find that instead of someone refuting a story that was validated by other sources, they only rush to hang the phone up or to tell the reporter that it is their paper that is doing what is said to have been done.
Is this the way officers have to react to the media? If ‘highly-placed’ sources react like this, who will be the media’s informant in Malawi? About two months ago, I was in Tanzania on a certain mission and I tried to survey a number of the Eastern African country’s papers to see how sources cooperate with the media.
Most of the stories carried made a very good reading because there was a lot of information on them. This was in virtue of the fact that people in the country, particulary high-positioned officers, are very much willing to speak to the media. We do not need civic education in Malawi on how important it is to provide the media with information, relevant of course.
There is also the problem of shifting the ball from one court to another until the reporter gets tired and runs out of airtime. A reporter calls someone to source information on a certain story and that someone refers the reporter to someone else and a long chain is created where at the end is the very same person who made the initial ‘reference’.
It is not always the case that every information has to come out through the public relations officers or the spokespersons. Sometimes there is need for the bosses themsleves to say something and what do they say? “I am in a meeting.” This is even if you saw them driving down the highway only some seconds ago.
This is even in cases where the report contains material that is generally known by almost everyone. News pieces are different from feature articles or opinions where someone can write their own ideas throughout the piece. They require interviews and sometimes even photographs which may ultimately substantiate the whole story that is being carried.
Yet in Malawi, there is a widespread tendency for people who would provide information on certain stories to refuse to talk to the media. A survey of some 100 recent local papers indicates that nearly half of the reports carried are never fully-fed because informants are usually disinclined to provide information to the media.
Malawians have the right to access to information and this is largely fulfilled through the media because it is the most effective way of disseminating information. It is illogical that some individuals holding different positions especially in governmental organisations and institutions do not care about giving information to the media on issues which the nation at large needs to be aware of.
And the funny thing is that when reporters resort to other ‘anonymous sources’ for the sake of the readers, these unwilling individuals rush to bash reporters terming them unprofessional.
Where the hell do they think the reporters can get the information from apart from the ‘anonymous sources’ if they themsleves are non-committal on commenting on issues in which they are directly involved?
It does not do Malawians justice to see a burning story end in suspense or never come out altogether just because someone does not want to speak to the media. And the most ridiculous thing is that these non-committal officers do not provide any reason for their unwillingness that can be worthy the fig.
There are many stories which are left underlying just because there is no one to validate them and reporters cannot report them for fear of finding themselves on the wrong side of the law. Those who would say something on the story (because they know something) usually shun the media.
In certain instances, it has been observed that they only promise to call back only to switch off their phones. In other instances, you find that instead of someone refuting a story that was validated by other sources, they only rush to hang the phone up or to tell the reporter that it is their paper that is doing what is said to have been done.
Is this the way officers have to react to the media? If ‘highly-placed’ sources react like this, who will be the media’s informant in Malawi? About two months ago, I was in Tanzania on a certain mission and I tried to survey a number of the Eastern African country’s papers to see how sources cooperate with the media.
Most of the stories carried made a very good reading because there was a lot of information on them. This was in virtue of the fact that people in the country, particulary high-positioned officers, are very much willing to speak to the media. We do not need civic education in Malawi on how important it is to provide the media with information, relevant of course.
There is also the problem of shifting the ball from one court to another until the reporter gets tired and runs out of airtime. A reporter calls someone to source information on a certain story and that someone refers the reporter to someone else and a long chain is created where at the end is the very same person who made the initial ‘reference’.
It is not always the case that every information has to come out through the public relations officers or the spokespersons. Sometimes there is need for the bosses themsleves to say something and what do they say? “I am in a meeting.” This is even if you saw them driving down the highway only some seconds ago.
Why Not Kaliati?
After sealing the blood pact with the devil, Dr. Faustus became so much obsessed with the power that was bestowed on him that its corrupting influence drove him into doing some of the most trivial things that would not benefit him anything.
He used his mysterious powers to disrupt a feast that the pope was having at the Vatican; he would travel around the world within seconds; and he would do many other trivial things which were not worth the seriousness of the pact he had made.
He had initially planned to use his mysterious powers to unite the whole world both politically and geographically, yet now it was out of the question. He had forgotten that even the devil would not give him absolute power for there was someone above him who controlled the whole universe. That is why he found himself abusing the power that he had. He had made a pact for power. He had asked the devil to give him absolute power in exchange of his life which the devil would claim after 21 years.
Such is the folly of human wisdom. Dr. Faustus exchanged his precious life for 21 years of power; a period of time that would never last interminably. And as the 21st year drew nigh he become filled with untold fear; fear for his life and fear of facing the wrath of God.
The good angel which was a symbol of his good conscience kept persuading him to repent, saying God was always ready to forgive, but the bad angel who symbolized his wicked conscience told him that he was beyond redemption. And it was the bad angel who won.
Finally, the devil came back to claim Dr. Faustus’ life. The pact had been sealed and it could not be broken now. The poor doctor could not see anything that he had achieved in life other than ruining it while in search of absolute power. Such is the corrupting influence of power. When power corrupts, men forget moments come when power vanishes. No power lasts forever.
This is a Greek myth which to a certain extent explores the theme of the corrupting influence of power. Power really corrupts and in search of more power nobody finds enough power. Dr. Faustus had accomplished quite a lot in life. He had exhausted medicine, law, astronomy and divinity and here he was, in search of magic which he thought would give him absolute power. That is where he ended up making such a dangerous pact with the devil.
In Malawi, particularly in politics, only few things happen and attract so much public furor as has done many conspicuous scandals committed by Mulanje West legislator and Minister of Gender and Child development Hon. Patricia Kaliati. The lady minister continues enjoying preferential treatment from the powers that be.
Arguably, Kaliati has a worse record of blunders than many of her colleagues in the political field who have been convicted. She has been implicated in corruption cases that would earn her custodial sentences but she continues walking tall while people like Yusuf Mwawa got convicted for misappropriating only around K170 000. What an irony in curbing corruption! Kaliati could not even be interdicted to pave way for investigations.
Many individuals who did anything that incurred the wrath of the president got fired and some were sent to jail altogether. Yet there appears to be one untouchable politician; one politician who has stunned many Malawians who are concerned about the fight against corruption. She is implicated in a corruption case today and tomorrow she is somewhere carrying her duties as though nothing happened at all. Why this is the case, nobody knows. And the question keeps looming large: Why not Kaliati?
Now she had grown wings. She has the courage to tread where angels fear to go. The reason might be that she feels that if she did not incur the displeasure of the president after being implicated in corruption scandals when many others like Bob Khamisa got a dosage of the president’s ‘interdicting’ power for similar offences, then there shall never be a time when she will face that. To her it might be gone; gone for good.
Kaliati has committed offences involving moral turpitude which would cost her seat. But she remains confident. On her and her alone, the laws that convicted Joseph Njovuyalema for assault, are reluctant. Hence, she continues receiving preferential treatment even from the police and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). Perhaps now, even if she finally faces the long arm of the law, she will heave a sigh of relief and say: “ndinalimbana nako kulimbana kwabwino” (I put up a good fight).
While individuals like former director of the ACB Tumalisye Ndovi was told to step down so as to pave way for investigations on allegations that he was pocketing two salaries, Kaliati enjoyed executing her duties even when the ACB was investigating her for her alleged corrupt practices in the awarding of a concession to a Dubai firm to run the Nyika and Vwaza Game Research Eco-tourism.
Recently she has been accused of influencing the admission of 77 pupils into various secondary schools in the Shire Highlands Education Division. And the funny thing is that she never refuted the allegations but only said that some former ministers knew it and that she was not the only one involved in the malpractices. Yet we may continue seeing her walking out of the scam scot-free.
Perhaps her belief in the maxim “honesty is the best policy” is her saving grace. She barely refutes allegations leveled against her; all she says is that there is an appointing authority that has all the powers over her appointment. And the appointing authority always gives her a second chance.
At one point, when she was asked to step down because of corruption allegations, she said she never appointed herself (and could not therefore step down voluntarily). By implication, she meant that the one who had appointed her should be the one to fire her. But nothing happened; and people continued asking themselves: Why not Kaliati?
Sometimes files containing Kaliati’s cases go missing at the hands of the police while those of Sam mpasu, Sam safuli, Humphrey Mvula, Yusuf Mwawa and many others never went missing. Why? Because the police find it wise that she should continue enjoying preferential treatment. And the same question dominates: What is so special with Kaliati that her and only her files should go missing when others’ never go through the same experience?
In Politics “power can be said to be exercised when A gets B to do something which B would not otherwise have done.” Just as Dr. Faustus, with the powers that had been bestowed on him, got others doing something that they would not have otherwise done, so does Kaliati. Without her influence, the Shire Highlands Education Division would not have admitted the 77 students.
Kaliati may not end up the Dr. Faustus way. But one thing remains that the powers that influence her actions will come to an end one day for her to finally face the music. And whatever the case, there always is that day of reckoning in man’s life. It may not come today, tomorrow, or next year. But it will come anyway.
He used his mysterious powers to disrupt a feast that the pope was having at the Vatican; he would travel around the world within seconds; and he would do many other trivial things which were not worth the seriousness of the pact he had made.
He had initially planned to use his mysterious powers to unite the whole world both politically and geographically, yet now it was out of the question. He had forgotten that even the devil would not give him absolute power for there was someone above him who controlled the whole universe. That is why he found himself abusing the power that he had. He had made a pact for power. He had asked the devil to give him absolute power in exchange of his life which the devil would claim after 21 years.
Such is the folly of human wisdom. Dr. Faustus exchanged his precious life for 21 years of power; a period of time that would never last interminably. And as the 21st year drew nigh he become filled with untold fear; fear for his life and fear of facing the wrath of God.
The good angel which was a symbol of his good conscience kept persuading him to repent, saying God was always ready to forgive, but the bad angel who symbolized his wicked conscience told him that he was beyond redemption. And it was the bad angel who won.
Finally, the devil came back to claim Dr. Faustus’ life. The pact had been sealed and it could not be broken now. The poor doctor could not see anything that he had achieved in life other than ruining it while in search of absolute power. Such is the corrupting influence of power. When power corrupts, men forget moments come when power vanishes. No power lasts forever.
This is a Greek myth which to a certain extent explores the theme of the corrupting influence of power. Power really corrupts and in search of more power nobody finds enough power. Dr. Faustus had accomplished quite a lot in life. He had exhausted medicine, law, astronomy and divinity and here he was, in search of magic which he thought would give him absolute power. That is where he ended up making such a dangerous pact with the devil.
In Malawi, particularly in politics, only few things happen and attract so much public furor as has done many conspicuous scandals committed by Mulanje West legislator and Minister of Gender and Child development Hon. Patricia Kaliati. The lady minister continues enjoying preferential treatment from the powers that be.
Arguably, Kaliati has a worse record of blunders than many of her colleagues in the political field who have been convicted. She has been implicated in corruption cases that would earn her custodial sentences but she continues walking tall while people like Yusuf Mwawa got convicted for misappropriating only around K170 000. What an irony in curbing corruption! Kaliati could not even be interdicted to pave way for investigations.
Many individuals who did anything that incurred the wrath of the president got fired and some were sent to jail altogether. Yet there appears to be one untouchable politician; one politician who has stunned many Malawians who are concerned about the fight against corruption. She is implicated in a corruption case today and tomorrow she is somewhere carrying her duties as though nothing happened at all. Why this is the case, nobody knows. And the question keeps looming large: Why not Kaliati?
Now she had grown wings. She has the courage to tread where angels fear to go. The reason might be that she feels that if she did not incur the displeasure of the president after being implicated in corruption scandals when many others like Bob Khamisa got a dosage of the president’s ‘interdicting’ power for similar offences, then there shall never be a time when she will face that. To her it might be gone; gone for good.
Kaliati has committed offences involving moral turpitude which would cost her seat. But she remains confident. On her and her alone, the laws that convicted Joseph Njovuyalema for assault, are reluctant. Hence, she continues receiving preferential treatment even from the police and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). Perhaps now, even if she finally faces the long arm of the law, she will heave a sigh of relief and say: “ndinalimbana nako kulimbana kwabwino” (I put up a good fight).
While individuals like former director of the ACB Tumalisye Ndovi was told to step down so as to pave way for investigations on allegations that he was pocketing two salaries, Kaliati enjoyed executing her duties even when the ACB was investigating her for her alleged corrupt practices in the awarding of a concession to a Dubai firm to run the Nyika and Vwaza Game Research Eco-tourism.
Recently she has been accused of influencing the admission of 77 pupils into various secondary schools in the Shire Highlands Education Division. And the funny thing is that she never refuted the allegations but only said that some former ministers knew it and that she was not the only one involved in the malpractices. Yet we may continue seeing her walking out of the scam scot-free.
Perhaps her belief in the maxim “honesty is the best policy” is her saving grace. She barely refutes allegations leveled against her; all she says is that there is an appointing authority that has all the powers over her appointment. And the appointing authority always gives her a second chance.
At one point, when she was asked to step down because of corruption allegations, she said she never appointed herself (and could not therefore step down voluntarily). By implication, she meant that the one who had appointed her should be the one to fire her. But nothing happened; and people continued asking themselves: Why not Kaliati?
Sometimes files containing Kaliati’s cases go missing at the hands of the police while those of Sam mpasu, Sam safuli, Humphrey Mvula, Yusuf Mwawa and many others never went missing. Why? Because the police find it wise that she should continue enjoying preferential treatment. And the same question dominates: What is so special with Kaliati that her and only her files should go missing when others’ never go through the same experience?
In Politics “power can be said to be exercised when A gets B to do something which B would not otherwise have done.” Just as Dr. Faustus, with the powers that had been bestowed on him, got others doing something that they would not have otherwise done, so does Kaliati. Without her influence, the Shire Highlands Education Division would not have admitted the 77 students.
Kaliati may not end up the Dr. Faustus way. But one thing remains that the powers that influence her actions will come to an end one day for her to finally face the music. And whatever the case, there always is that day of reckoning in man’s life. It may not come today, tomorrow, or next year. But it will come anyway.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Is DPP Losing its Grip?
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections. Usually this occurs when the incumbent has died or resigned or when during the initial scheduled election did not take place due to some inconveniences.
But it may also occur when the incumbent becomes ineligible to continue in office, for example because of a recall or a sufficiently serious criminal conviction. By-elections may also be called as a result of the initial election being invalidated due to voting irregularities.
In 2005 just a year after Bingu wa Mutharika was first voted into power thereby becoming the second democratically elected leader of the republic of Malawi, by-elections were held in five constituencies where the ruling Democratic progressive party swept all the seats.
It was a party which had just onto the political scene some months before, and yet it proved to be a force to reckon with. And came the last 19 may general elections, the DPP continued proving that it had come in full throttle. The party amassed a record 140 seats in the national assembly and its torchbearer Bingu wa Mutharika shocked may conservative Malawians who still thought political intolerance would never cease in Malawi. He scooped the largest amount of votes in all the three regions of Malawi, a thing which had never happened before.
But during the August 14 by-elections held in Blantyre’s Ndirande and Zomba Malosa Constituency, people were shocked to the core when the ruling party which had already proved to be the people’s favourite failed to send its candidates to the national assembly.
Hence comments have emanated from different quarters that the DPP is losing its grip and the loss in the by-elections is a sign of people’s protest. Those who hold the view that the DPP is losing its grip argue that this is the case due to the way the DPP-dominated parliament conducted itself during the last sitting.
According to the view, people feel they have been taken for granted and those in blantyre and Zomba, who had a way of expressing themselves, decided to show through their voting power that they were protesting against the ruling party.
According to commentators who believe that DPP’s loss in the by-elections is a sign of people’s protest, Malawians feel shortchanged in many ways. One of the ways is that the ruling party is chairing most of the parliamentary committees, as aspect people feel is not good for democracy.
As a matter of fact, proponents of the aspect that the DPP is losing its grip have all the confidence that if there were another general election in Malawi today, the DPP would fare miserably. Worldwide, there is something peculiar about by-elections. The vast majority of them are taken to be unimportant to many and voter turnouts are seldom comparable with general elections.
According to international reports on by-elections, the ruling party normally has a solid cushion so that losing a handful of seats would not affect their position. The reports continue assessing that because by-elections usually have little influence on the general governance, voters feel freer to elect smaller fringe parties.
Parties on both the far right-wing and the far left-wing tend to do better in by-elections than in general elections. However, by-elections can become crucial when the ruling party has only a small margin. In parliamentary systems, party discipline is strong enough so that the one common scenario for a vote of no confidence to occur is after the governing party loses enough by-elections to become a minority government.
A UK example was the Labour government of James Callaghan 1976-79. By-elections can also be important if a minority party needs to gain one or more seats in order to gain official party status or the balance of power in a minority or coalition situation.
In Canada, in 1978, 15 by-elections were held on a single date, restoring the House of Commons from 249 to 264 members. The media called it a "mini-election", a test of the Liberal government's popularity with a general election due in less than a year. The 15 districts stretched from Newfoundland to British Columbia, and as is seen to be the case in Malawi now, produced some surprising results.
For example, an NDP candidate won in Newfoundland for the first time. This is one of the surprises which by-elections can bring. The situation in Canada did not mean that the ruling party was losing its grip, neither did it mean voters were protesting against government.
Political and media commentators often point to by-election victories as important signals, but very often by-elections hinge far more on local issues and the charisma of the candidates than on national issues or how the voters feel about the governing party.
Nonetheless it can be shown historically that a main opposition party which performs consistently poorly in by-elections is unlikely to be a serious contender for power at the subsequent general election. And when independent candidates seem to fare well during by-election, the ruling party can continue wallowing in the comfort zone.
But it may also occur when the incumbent becomes ineligible to continue in office, for example because of a recall or a sufficiently serious criminal conviction. By-elections may also be called as a result of the initial election being invalidated due to voting irregularities.
In 2005 just a year after Bingu wa Mutharika was first voted into power thereby becoming the second democratically elected leader of the republic of Malawi, by-elections were held in five constituencies where the ruling Democratic progressive party swept all the seats.
It was a party which had just onto the political scene some months before, and yet it proved to be a force to reckon with. And came the last 19 may general elections, the DPP continued proving that it had come in full throttle. The party amassed a record 140 seats in the national assembly and its torchbearer Bingu wa Mutharika shocked may conservative Malawians who still thought political intolerance would never cease in Malawi. He scooped the largest amount of votes in all the three regions of Malawi, a thing which had never happened before.
But during the August 14 by-elections held in Blantyre’s Ndirande and Zomba Malosa Constituency, people were shocked to the core when the ruling party which had already proved to be the people’s favourite failed to send its candidates to the national assembly.
Hence comments have emanated from different quarters that the DPP is losing its grip and the loss in the by-elections is a sign of people’s protest. Those who hold the view that the DPP is losing its grip argue that this is the case due to the way the DPP-dominated parliament conducted itself during the last sitting.
According to the view, people feel they have been taken for granted and those in blantyre and Zomba, who had a way of expressing themselves, decided to show through their voting power that they were protesting against the ruling party.
According to commentators who believe that DPP’s loss in the by-elections is a sign of people’s protest, Malawians feel shortchanged in many ways. One of the ways is that the ruling party is chairing most of the parliamentary committees, as aspect people feel is not good for democracy.
As a matter of fact, proponents of the aspect that the DPP is losing its grip have all the confidence that if there were another general election in Malawi today, the DPP would fare miserably. Worldwide, there is something peculiar about by-elections. The vast majority of them are taken to be unimportant to many and voter turnouts are seldom comparable with general elections.
According to international reports on by-elections, the ruling party normally has a solid cushion so that losing a handful of seats would not affect their position. The reports continue assessing that because by-elections usually have little influence on the general governance, voters feel freer to elect smaller fringe parties.
Parties on both the far right-wing and the far left-wing tend to do better in by-elections than in general elections. However, by-elections can become crucial when the ruling party has only a small margin. In parliamentary systems, party discipline is strong enough so that the one common scenario for a vote of no confidence to occur is after the governing party loses enough by-elections to become a minority government.
A UK example was the Labour government of James Callaghan 1976-79. By-elections can also be important if a minority party needs to gain one or more seats in order to gain official party status or the balance of power in a minority or coalition situation.
In Canada, in 1978, 15 by-elections were held on a single date, restoring the House of Commons from 249 to 264 members. The media called it a "mini-election", a test of the Liberal government's popularity with a general election due in less than a year. The 15 districts stretched from Newfoundland to British Columbia, and as is seen to be the case in Malawi now, produced some surprising results.
For example, an NDP candidate won in Newfoundland for the first time. This is one of the surprises which by-elections can bring. The situation in Canada did not mean that the ruling party was losing its grip, neither did it mean voters were protesting against government.
Political and media commentators often point to by-election victories as important signals, but very often by-elections hinge far more on local issues and the charisma of the candidates than on national issues or how the voters feel about the governing party.
Nonetheless it can be shown historically that a main opposition party which performs consistently poorly in by-elections is unlikely to be a serious contender for power at the subsequent general election. And when independent candidates seem to fare well during by-election, the ruling party can continue wallowing in the comfort zone.
Is Malawi Really Independent?
The aspect of many nations being under indirect rules of other nations has been taken into the centre stage by some writers – African writers in particular – who argue it is high time African countries got ‘really’ independent. In fact there is the notion of neocolonialism existing within the minds of many Africans including Malawians.
The term was coined by the first Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah who argued that Africa is just undergoing a new kind of colonialism with Europe still having a hand in the ruling of African countries.
African nations, Malawi inclusive, are said to be currently in a phase of neo-colonialism, which is a new form of imperial rule stage managed by the colonial powers to give the colonized the illusion of freedom.
At the 1961 All-African People’s Conference held in Cairo neocolonialism was defined as “the survival of the colonial system in spite of the formal recognition of political independence in emerging countries which become the victims of an indirect and subtle form of domination by political, economic, social, military or technical means.”
About two months ago, Malawians from all walks of life thronged the giant Kamuzu Stadium to cerebrate the country’s 45th independence anniversary. It was a rare occasion marked by new inventions of marking the day which had never been there before. As a matter of fact, forty-five years have passed since the British Administration in Malawi handed over power to native Malawians.
Ever since Malawi got independent, two types of governments have been experienced, namely the one-party system and the multiparty system. And now, forty-five years down the line, some people still believe our independence is not practical.
They go on to argue that in fact there are many countries in the world, with African countries topping the list, whose independence up to date is not practical, even though these countries appear to be independent theoretically.
Some people even reach the point of claiming that Malawi is just under a sophisticated type of colonialism with some underlying colonial masters hidden somewhere miles away.
This line of thought mainly emanates from the fact that the country relies extensively on donour funds for the majority of its development projects. Since some of the donations come in form of grants where there is an already defined purpose for the donation where the recipient only needs to implement it, some people argue that there are indirect ruling hands from outside Malawi which rule us.
That is why now, just because more than half of our National Budget comes from the donour community, some commentators feel that the aspect of Malawi being independent is only theoretical. They argue that there is nothing peculiar about Malawi’s independence apart from the fact that it has a native Malawian as the country’s president and that it has its own national flag and constitution.
They believe that as a practical thing, Malawi is not an independent state. However a deeper analysis of independent states proves that all the arguments advanced for the justification of the fact that Malawi is not independent are ill-conceived.
There is no denying that most developing countries rely on donour funds, but this does not conclusively imply that they are not independent. Many nationalists and commentators see the independence gained from the withdrawing colonial powers as only partial liberation. In other words, they argue that independence in its fullness is yet to dawn on Malawi. Some call it ‘false independence’.
Full or real freedom, they believe, will come with economic independence, that is the time when Malawi will be able to fund its own development projects using its own money. Yet there are many rich countries in the world that in certain cases rely on donations even from poorer countries when they have been caught napping in certain crises.
Malawi has ever made donations to other countries, but this cannot imply that those countries are not independent. In 1992, the donour community threatened that it would pull out its support to Malawi if the one-party government did not change on the government system which was there.
The donour community wanted Malawi to start practicing multiparty politics. Some people see that as an underlying rule where foreign countries dictated Malawi’s politics. I find this argument a little irrelevant as regards independence. Even the United States of America which is taken to be the world’s super-power will embrace advice from other nations.
In fact there are international organisations which nations belong to and these nations are supposed to abide by any rule that has been implemented by the organisations. And it is wrong to argue that the nations are under the rule of the organisations.
Some time back the United Nations and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) warned Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe that it would impose sanctions on him once he did not comply to enforcing peace with the leader of main opposition party, but this did not mean Zimbabwe was not independent.
That Malawi is still under the control of Western powers with our rulers being either willing puppets or involuntary subordinate of these powers is misguided and a big misrepresentation of facts. The main economic theories supporting the concept of independent countries being ruled indirectly by other countries come from the dependency school developed in the late 1950s by Marxist economists.
Focusing our attention on misguided reasoning that our country is still under foreign rule has drawn our attention away from internal forces that are crucial to the understanding of our condition and which, unlike external conditions, needs to be altered by ourselves.
The fatalistic opinion that Malawi is stuck in ‘foreign hand ruling’ continues obstructing the growth of popular political movements for social and economic change in our beloved country.
In fact, the claim that Malawi is not independent is the one which is theoretical, because it only exists in the minds of some people. The fact of the matter cannot be changed and it remains that upon independence Malawi became a free nation, able to plan for its own future.
When considering the economic conditions of nations in the world it is wise to think of them as belonging to different levels in the global pyramid. At the bottom are the poorest of the poor; while at the top is a tiny minority of some rich countries.
And for the balance of the global market, there is need that some countries’ wealth is complimented by donour funds, yet this does not imply that they are being ruled by foreign powers indirectly.
If this is what donations meant, then not more than one percent of the world’s countries would be termed as independent states. Despite the fact that a nation may rely extensively on external assistance, as long as it has its own leader elected by the natives, its own constitution designed by its own natives, it is independent and as a practical thing, it is ruling itself.
There is nothing like theoretical independence. If at all, there are some individuals somewhere who feel they are ruling some countries indirectly, then they only miss the point. As a matter of fact, there is not country in the world which is being ruled by another country, and every country is independent – independence it its fullness, and never partial.
Even Iraq, which is under constant threat from the United States of America, is an independent state. It has its own president elected by native Iraqis. There are some brave individuals who fought relentlessly for Malawi to gain its independence and it would be mockery to these departed souls to claim that Malawi is still not independent.
Independence does not mean solitude. Perhaps those who feel Malawi is still not independent want us to live in absolute solitude without any external influence, which is an absurd thing. Just like any other state in the world, Malawi will continue interacting with other countries, and yet our independence will never cease to be.
Much as Malawi may receive funds from other countries, especially from the West, the government of Malawi has the final say. Even if it is a grant, the donour will not dictate other aspects. For example, the donour will not decide where the grant has to be implemented, though it has to be acknowledged that the purpose will not be changed.
To sum up, Malawi is an independent state just like any other country in the world. There is nothing more to being independent other than the fact that we have our own leader and a constitution written by native Malawians. And above all, we rule ourselves without any outer interference. That is why our president will not hesitate to chase away any foreign traders whom he feels have nothing good to offer Malawians. This is a great sign of our independence.
The term was coined by the first Ghanaian president Kwame Nkrumah who argued that Africa is just undergoing a new kind of colonialism with Europe still having a hand in the ruling of African countries.
African nations, Malawi inclusive, are said to be currently in a phase of neo-colonialism, which is a new form of imperial rule stage managed by the colonial powers to give the colonized the illusion of freedom.
At the 1961 All-African People’s Conference held in Cairo neocolonialism was defined as “the survival of the colonial system in spite of the formal recognition of political independence in emerging countries which become the victims of an indirect and subtle form of domination by political, economic, social, military or technical means.”
About two months ago, Malawians from all walks of life thronged the giant Kamuzu Stadium to cerebrate the country’s 45th independence anniversary. It was a rare occasion marked by new inventions of marking the day which had never been there before. As a matter of fact, forty-five years have passed since the British Administration in Malawi handed over power to native Malawians.
Ever since Malawi got independent, two types of governments have been experienced, namely the one-party system and the multiparty system. And now, forty-five years down the line, some people still believe our independence is not practical.
They go on to argue that in fact there are many countries in the world, with African countries topping the list, whose independence up to date is not practical, even though these countries appear to be independent theoretically.
Some people even reach the point of claiming that Malawi is just under a sophisticated type of colonialism with some underlying colonial masters hidden somewhere miles away.
This line of thought mainly emanates from the fact that the country relies extensively on donour funds for the majority of its development projects. Since some of the donations come in form of grants where there is an already defined purpose for the donation where the recipient only needs to implement it, some people argue that there are indirect ruling hands from outside Malawi which rule us.
That is why now, just because more than half of our National Budget comes from the donour community, some commentators feel that the aspect of Malawi being independent is only theoretical. They argue that there is nothing peculiar about Malawi’s independence apart from the fact that it has a native Malawian as the country’s president and that it has its own national flag and constitution.
They believe that as a practical thing, Malawi is not an independent state. However a deeper analysis of independent states proves that all the arguments advanced for the justification of the fact that Malawi is not independent are ill-conceived.
There is no denying that most developing countries rely on donour funds, but this does not conclusively imply that they are not independent. Many nationalists and commentators see the independence gained from the withdrawing colonial powers as only partial liberation. In other words, they argue that independence in its fullness is yet to dawn on Malawi. Some call it ‘false independence’.
Full or real freedom, they believe, will come with economic independence, that is the time when Malawi will be able to fund its own development projects using its own money. Yet there are many rich countries in the world that in certain cases rely on donations even from poorer countries when they have been caught napping in certain crises.
Malawi has ever made donations to other countries, but this cannot imply that those countries are not independent. In 1992, the donour community threatened that it would pull out its support to Malawi if the one-party government did not change on the government system which was there.
The donour community wanted Malawi to start practicing multiparty politics. Some people see that as an underlying rule where foreign countries dictated Malawi’s politics. I find this argument a little irrelevant as regards independence. Even the United States of America which is taken to be the world’s super-power will embrace advice from other nations.
In fact there are international organisations which nations belong to and these nations are supposed to abide by any rule that has been implemented by the organisations. And it is wrong to argue that the nations are under the rule of the organisations.
Some time back the United Nations and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) warned Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe that it would impose sanctions on him once he did not comply to enforcing peace with the leader of main opposition party, but this did not mean Zimbabwe was not independent.
That Malawi is still under the control of Western powers with our rulers being either willing puppets or involuntary subordinate of these powers is misguided and a big misrepresentation of facts. The main economic theories supporting the concept of independent countries being ruled indirectly by other countries come from the dependency school developed in the late 1950s by Marxist economists.
Focusing our attention on misguided reasoning that our country is still under foreign rule has drawn our attention away from internal forces that are crucial to the understanding of our condition and which, unlike external conditions, needs to be altered by ourselves.
The fatalistic opinion that Malawi is stuck in ‘foreign hand ruling’ continues obstructing the growth of popular political movements for social and economic change in our beloved country.
In fact, the claim that Malawi is not independent is the one which is theoretical, because it only exists in the minds of some people. The fact of the matter cannot be changed and it remains that upon independence Malawi became a free nation, able to plan for its own future.
When considering the economic conditions of nations in the world it is wise to think of them as belonging to different levels in the global pyramid. At the bottom are the poorest of the poor; while at the top is a tiny minority of some rich countries.
And for the balance of the global market, there is need that some countries’ wealth is complimented by donour funds, yet this does not imply that they are being ruled by foreign powers indirectly.
If this is what donations meant, then not more than one percent of the world’s countries would be termed as independent states. Despite the fact that a nation may rely extensively on external assistance, as long as it has its own leader elected by the natives, its own constitution designed by its own natives, it is independent and as a practical thing, it is ruling itself.
There is nothing like theoretical independence. If at all, there are some individuals somewhere who feel they are ruling some countries indirectly, then they only miss the point. As a matter of fact, there is not country in the world which is being ruled by another country, and every country is independent – independence it its fullness, and never partial.
Even Iraq, which is under constant threat from the United States of America, is an independent state. It has its own president elected by native Iraqis. There are some brave individuals who fought relentlessly for Malawi to gain its independence and it would be mockery to these departed souls to claim that Malawi is still not independent.
Independence does not mean solitude. Perhaps those who feel Malawi is still not independent want us to live in absolute solitude without any external influence, which is an absurd thing. Just like any other state in the world, Malawi will continue interacting with other countries, and yet our independence will never cease to be.
Much as Malawi may receive funds from other countries, especially from the West, the government of Malawi has the final say. Even if it is a grant, the donour will not dictate other aspects. For example, the donour will not decide where the grant has to be implemented, though it has to be acknowledged that the purpose will not be changed.
To sum up, Malawi is an independent state just like any other country in the world. There is nothing more to being independent other than the fact that we have our own leader and a constitution written by native Malawians. And above all, we rule ourselves without any outer interference. That is why our president will not hesitate to chase away any foreign traders whom he feels have nothing good to offer Malawians. This is a great sign of our independence.
Ndakatulo: Undilole
Undilole iwe m’Malawi
Amene uwonetsa khalidwe loyipa
Pochotsa kukongola kwachilengedwe
Komwe Namalenga analininkha
Dziko lokongola lino la Malawi
Undilole kuti ndikudzudzule mosapsyatira
Chifukwa chodula mitengo
Yokongoletsa Malawi wathu Undilole.
Undilole iwe m’Malawi
Woyipitsa fuko lako
Pogwirira tiana tongosiya kumene kuyamwa
Pokhalira malo amodzi ndi chipaso chako
Wasautsiranji dziko iwe m’Malawi
Wasautsiranji mtendere wa Malawi
Undilole kuti ndikumasule
Kuti ndikuuze choonadi undilole
Popeza wanyanzitsa dziko lako
Dziko la mtendere la Malawi
Undilolebe iwe m’Malawi
Wosanyadira uMalawi wako
Taona ulakalaka utakhala mzungu
Nunyoza zakwanu kuMalawi
Zodzala ndi kunzuna kwachilengedwe
Undilole nditsutsane nawe
Kuti mayiko ndi onse
Koma kwanu ndi kuMalawi
Ku Malawi dziko la mtendere.
Undilolenso iwe m’Malawi wopanda chikondi
Wofuna kukolola posalima
Iwe m’Malawi wa ulesi
Wofwamba olimbikira
Wopanda chikondi
Cholamulidwa ndi Leza wam’mwambamwamba
Iye wofuna iwe uleze mtima
Nanga bwanji uchotsa lamulo
Lokonda mzako monga udzikonda mwini
Koma undilole ndikudzudzule
Kuti Malawi wathu akhalebe Malawi wamtendere.
Amene uwonetsa khalidwe loyipa
Pochotsa kukongola kwachilengedwe
Komwe Namalenga analininkha
Dziko lokongola lino la Malawi
Undilole kuti ndikudzudzule mosapsyatira
Chifukwa chodula mitengo
Yokongoletsa Malawi wathu Undilole.
Undilole iwe m’Malawi
Woyipitsa fuko lako
Pogwirira tiana tongosiya kumene kuyamwa
Pokhalira malo amodzi ndi chipaso chako
Wasautsiranji dziko iwe m’Malawi
Wasautsiranji mtendere wa Malawi
Undilole kuti ndikumasule
Kuti ndikuuze choonadi undilole
Popeza wanyanzitsa dziko lako
Dziko la mtendere la Malawi
Undilolebe iwe m’Malawi
Wosanyadira uMalawi wako
Taona ulakalaka utakhala mzungu
Nunyoza zakwanu kuMalawi
Zodzala ndi kunzuna kwachilengedwe
Undilole nditsutsane nawe
Kuti mayiko ndi onse
Koma kwanu ndi kuMalawi
Ku Malawi dziko la mtendere.
Undilolenso iwe m’Malawi wopanda chikondi
Wofuna kukolola posalima
Iwe m’Malawi wa ulesi
Wofwamba olimbikira
Wopanda chikondi
Cholamulidwa ndi Leza wam’mwambamwamba
Iye wofuna iwe uleze mtima
Nanga bwanji uchotsa lamulo
Lokonda mzako monga udzikonda mwini
Koma undilole ndikudzudzule
Kuti Malawi wathu akhalebe Malawi wamtendere.
On Individual Passion, Dissolving Clubs
The Presidential Sports Initiative is back. The whole purpose remains to unearth hidden talent that would have otherwise remained underlying. The fact that the initiative is the president’s own brainchild continues to vindicate his earlier claim that he wants to see sports rise to greater heights in the country, in due course, of course.
Well, the president must have had untold expectations from earlier his initiative. He must have expected to see a great breakthrough in sports, particularly in football. But this is not necessarily the case as things stand today. Most of the teams that did better are the ones that are already known. The initiative did not manage to exploit all the hidden talent.
But anyway, it is not my aim to write anything on this otherwise sticky topic. One thing that should not be discounted is that we should continue applauding those individuals and stakeholders that extend good gestures.
The point of focus of this article is how individuals and individual clubs can contribute towards the development or retardation of sports in Malawi, especially football. Many well-wishing people and stakeholders might do their damnedest to develop sports in Malawi but if the sports men and women themselves lack willingness, the whole initiatives will be but in vain.
Sometimes we fail to develop sports in Malawi because we have terrible money-oriented mindsets. It is not wrong to anticipate money in sports but it should not override our passion for the game.
Many aspiring sports men and women have a very big problem. They want to get so much just at the onset of their careers. Now, because of this mindset, their passion for sports is overridden by their desire for money.
Many clubs that had just organized themselves after hearing about the initial Presidential Sports Initiative, particularly the Football Cup, vanished into thin air after failing to make it to greater heights.
Other clubs were dissolved because “they did not benefit anything from the cup”. I stand to be corrected, but I should think the Presidential Sports Initiative is not only aimed at developing sports by unearthing hidden talent but also by establishing clubs, this is in the case of football.
And it is a huge frustration to football if clubs get dissolved after losing. However, credit must still be given to some football clubs that just organized themselves after hearing about the Presidential Cup and have not dissolved after failing to make it beyond the district level.
It would be very painful for some talented players in such clubs if the clubs got dissolved after being booted out of the tournament. Zomba Medicals is one football club that has made it to the Super League.
But if you try to dig out the history of the club, you will find that it started on a very small note. It never just picked players and registered in the Southern Region Football League. They first had to try their lack in Division One. And then they made it to the Premier Division, the SRFL, and now they have made it to the country’s top flight league.
A journey of 1000 miles starts with a single step, but not a reluctant step. There are many clubs that only come out when there is a tournament and disappear after failing to make it or at the end of the tournament.
If football, let alone any kind of sports, was only meant for tournaments, then there would by nothing about it now. Clubs’ managements should not have myopic visions. They should plan beyond the tournaments and they will one day reach a point where they will spoilt for choice when it comes to tournaments.
They should not just expect to cruise their way to the top. No! It cannot happen. There are steps that have to be followed without much as choice. In fact, if each and every football club got dissolved immediately after losing or after the end of the tournament, then many of the teams that get relegated from leagues would have been disbanded long before.
But because they have a passion for football, they work hard so that they retain their lost glory. Now that the Presidential Sports Initiative is here, again, clubs should come to stay and players should not wriggle out of sports after failing to make it to greater heights.
Well, the president must have had untold expectations from earlier his initiative. He must have expected to see a great breakthrough in sports, particularly in football. But this is not necessarily the case as things stand today. Most of the teams that did better are the ones that are already known. The initiative did not manage to exploit all the hidden talent.
But anyway, it is not my aim to write anything on this otherwise sticky topic. One thing that should not be discounted is that we should continue applauding those individuals and stakeholders that extend good gestures.
The point of focus of this article is how individuals and individual clubs can contribute towards the development or retardation of sports in Malawi, especially football. Many well-wishing people and stakeholders might do their damnedest to develop sports in Malawi but if the sports men and women themselves lack willingness, the whole initiatives will be but in vain.
Sometimes we fail to develop sports in Malawi because we have terrible money-oriented mindsets. It is not wrong to anticipate money in sports but it should not override our passion for the game.
Many aspiring sports men and women have a very big problem. They want to get so much just at the onset of their careers. Now, because of this mindset, their passion for sports is overridden by their desire for money.
Many clubs that had just organized themselves after hearing about the initial Presidential Sports Initiative, particularly the Football Cup, vanished into thin air after failing to make it to greater heights.
Other clubs were dissolved because “they did not benefit anything from the cup”. I stand to be corrected, but I should think the Presidential Sports Initiative is not only aimed at developing sports by unearthing hidden talent but also by establishing clubs, this is in the case of football.
And it is a huge frustration to football if clubs get dissolved after losing. However, credit must still be given to some football clubs that just organized themselves after hearing about the Presidential Cup and have not dissolved after failing to make it beyond the district level.
It would be very painful for some talented players in such clubs if the clubs got dissolved after being booted out of the tournament. Zomba Medicals is one football club that has made it to the Super League.
But if you try to dig out the history of the club, you will find that it started on a very small note. It never just picked players and registered in the Southern Region Football League. They first had to try their lack in Division One. And then they made it to the Premier Division, the SRFL, and now they have made it to the country’s top flight league.
A journey of 1000 miles starts with a single step, but not a reluctant step. There are many clubs that only come out when there is a tournament and disappear after failing to make it or at the end of the tournament.
If football, let alone any kind of sports, was only meant for tournaments, then there would by nothing about it now. Clubs’ managements should not have myopic visions. They should plan beyond the tournaments and they will one day reach a point where they will spoilt for choice when it comes to tournaments.
They should not just expect to cruise their way to the top. No! It cannot happen. There are steps that have to be followed without much as choice. In fact, if each and every football club got dissolved immediately after losing or after the end of the tournament, then many of the teams that get relegated from leagues would have been disbanded long before.
But because they have a passion for football, they work hard so that they retain their lost glory. Now that the Presidential Sports Initiative is here, again, clubs should come to stay and players should not wriggle out of sports after failing to make it to greater heights.
Short Story: Mysterious Disappearance
(this short story was published in the Malawi News)
Pastor Samson was one of the numerous people who had received the chain letters. It was a one-paged letter that explained that it originated from The Silent Island. Radio stations across the length and breadth of the earth were broadcasting news about these mysterious letters.
The place itself did not exist on the most detailed world map but most people believed the letters through the conviction that no one would know every place in the world or that the place might have just acquired a new name.
The letters had no detailed addresses of origin. Promises, once the recipient fulfilled the task as directed, ranged from air tickets to desired destinations to millions of dollars. The task appeared to be very simple: just writing twenty copies of the original letter and sending them to twenty of one’s friends.
Pastor Samson spread the letter on his bed.
“This letter originates from The Silent Island…. As long as you write twenty copies of this letter to twenty of your friends, you stand a chance of winning millions of dollars,” went on the letter. “This is the whole procedure: stick no posting stamp of the envelope – luck doesn’t have a price. Put nothing else in the envelope apart from the copy. The letter should be a perfect replica. Include not your name in the letter.”
Who was Pastor Samson to ignore the letter? He thought. That night, he hunched over his reading desk in his study and began to write the letters. Although he didn’t really understand what the letters meant, he made the copies anyway. What mattered was that he should receive the money. After all, he had founded his church because of want of money and here was a grand opportunity he could not pass over.
It was four days later and Pastor Samson had received 10 million kwacha the previous day. Having received the money, he found everything to be literally useless. His church was trivial; his flock was useless and everyone was but nothing. In his phantasms, he could see himself being elevated to the level of the most prominent figures in the country.
The night was cold and still. That January was just like in the heart of the month of June. Everyone, except those baying for the blood of their fellow mankind, was already in bed. Occasionally, low noises could be heard from the chirping of crickets and hooting of owls, pronouncing their nocturnal freedom.
Curled in a thick duvet, the pastor’s wife was peering at her husband who was in deep slumber. It was as though she was trying to see where his nightmares were coming from. He had had terrible nightmares the past two nights. One night, in a nightmare, his clothes had been soaked in his own blood after he had been struck with a double-edged rapier by an imaginary figure.
Then the other night, someone with blood drawings of dragons on his body had cut the pastor’s head off. Then the pastor’s eyes had seen his own trunk being draped with a black piece of cloth and blood had been slowly dribbling from his neck.
The pastor’s wife’s eyes were wide open. It appeared she would not afford a nap until she saw where her hubby’s bad dreams were emanating from. She was tired of his alarming screams, but did she really expect to see the origin of a dream?
The bedside lamps were switched on and she went on to switch the main lights as well.
All of a sudden, the pastor began to twist and whimper. His other half glanced at the wall clock – it had started around the same time the other two nights, but time did not matter now. She swung away her thick duvet and peered at him. His face was gleaming with perspiration. Her heart lurched.
“This is becoming too much for me. How do I have to deal with it? He is going to dream himself to death.” It was a nightmare scenario to her. She shook him vigorously but he did not wake up. Horrific. Enigmatic. Energy streamed out of her body as she watched his face bathe in more and more sweat and his body twist like a dying snake. She picked her phone and in less than 20 seconds, the pastor’s closest friend was on the line. She told him to come quickly.
“But this is midnight,” he said through the mouthpiece.
“I know, but come quickly,” she responded tremulously. She ended the call even before the pastor’s friend finished talking.
Meanwhile, she was shaking with fear and she swayed onto her bed. Like in the previous dreams, the pastor had now rested to the hilt and his wife was staring at him bleakly. Her heart was freezing. She walked towards the main door and stood in front of it, waiting for the pastor’s friend. He came and she led him into their bedroom where her husband was. At first, he was reluctant but when he saw his friend lying on his bed silently, with his hands and legs slanted loosely, he hastened into the room and stopped by his bed. He seemed to be producing no breath.
“What happened?” the pastor’s friend asked.
“He can’t answer me.” She was sobbing. “He was twisting and whining. I think it was a very bad dream. He was doing that for the third time.”
The pastor’s friend touched the pastor’s sweating countenance. It was hot. He had never seen a person with such a body temperature. The pastor’s situation was strange. As he tried to roll him, a flash of light blinded him and the pastor’s wife and it was followed by a deafening sound like a thunderclap. Then the whole room was filled with pitch darkness. The switches had not been flicked but all the bulbs gave no light. It was just like an earthquake but in the annals of seismology no earthquake had ever come with a light flash.
In absolute horror, the two dashed out of the house for dear life. Within a short time, they were outside a house that was a few metres from the pastor’s. The pastor’s friend knocked at the door with his trembling fist.
A hulking man, in a night attire, answered the door. The pastor’s wife almost jumped into the house.
“What is wrong?” the man asked, trying his utmost to focus on those two people standing in front of him. The security bulb was clearly showing their horrified
“You mean nothing happened here?” the pastor’s friend asked in response. “A blinding flash of light struck in the pastor’s house followed by a deafening sound.”
“It’s news to me as you can see. It might be lightning,” he said drowsily. “Where is the man of God himself?”
“He might be dead,” the pastor’s wife said instantaneously.
“Let’s go there,” the man said, loathing wasting time.
After some resistance, the pastor’s wife and the friend finally budged, but there was a terrible degree of horror in them. What had happened was strange but the pastor’s wife was able to connect it with the chain letters.
The other man, other than the pastor’s friend, entered first into the pastor’s house. Then the two who were frightened like grasshoppers followed. In the bedroom, the lights were on and the pastor had disappeared. But lo and behold! On his bed was a paper bearing: he is where he belongs. He had a desire for money so he has to be where there is money.
Pastor Samson was one of the numerous people who had received the chain letters. It was a one-paged letter that explained that it originated from The Silent Island. Radio stations across the length and breadth of the earth were broadcasting news about these mysterious letters.
The place itself did not exist on the most detailed world map but most people believed the letters through the conviction that no one would know every place in the world or that the place might have just acquired a new name.
The letters had no detailed addresses of origin. Promises, once the recipient fulfilled the task as directed, ranged from air tickets to desired destinations to millions of dollars. The task appeared to be very simple: just writing twenty copies of the original letter and sending them to twenty of one’s friends.
Pastor Samson spread the letter on his bed.
“This letter originates from The Silent Island…. As long as you write twenty copies of this letter to twenty of your friends, you stand a chance of winning millions of dollars,” went on the letter. “This is the whole procedure: stick no posting stamp of the envelope – luck doesn’t have a price. Put nothing else in the envelope apart from the copy. The letter should be a perfect replica. Include not your name in the letter.”
Who was Pastor Samson to ignore the letter? He thought. That night, he hunched over his reading desk in his study and began to write the letters. Although he didn’t really understand what the letters meant, he made the copies anyway. What mattered was that he should receive the money. After all, he had founded his church because of want of money and here was a grand opportunity he could not pass over.
It was four days later and Pastor Samson had received 10 million kwacha the previous day. Having received the money, he found everything to be literally useless. His church was trivial; his flock was useless and everyone was but nothing. In his phantasms, he could see himself being elevated to the level of the most prominent figures in the country.
The night was cold and still. That January was just like in the heart of the month of June. Everyone, except those baying for the blood of their fellow mankind, was already in bed. Occasionally, low noises could be heard from the chirping of crickets and hooting of owls, pronouncing their nocturnal freedom.
Curled in a thick duvet, the pastor’s wife was peering at her husband who was in deep slumber. It was as though she was trying to see where his nightmares were coming from. He had had terrible nightmares the past two nights. One night, in a nightmare, his clothes had been soaked in his own blood after he had been struck with a double-edged rapier by an imaginary figure.
Then the other night, someone with blood drawings of dragons on his body had cut the pastor’s head off. Then the pastor’s eyes had seen his own trunk being draped with a black piece of cloth and blood had been slowly dribbling from his neck.
The pastor’s wife’s eyes were wide open. It appeared she would not afford a nap until she saw where her hubby’s bad dreams were emanating from. She was tired of his alarming screams, but did she really expect to see the origin of a dream?
The bedside lamps were switched on and she went on to switch the main lights as well.
All of a sudden, the pastor began to twist and whimper. His other half glanced at the wall clock – it had started around the same time the other two nights, but time did not matter now. She swung away her thick duvet and peered at him. His face was gleaming with perspiration. Her heart lurched.
“This is becoming too much for me. How do I have to deal with it? He is going to dream himself to death.” It was a nightmare scenario to her. She shook him vigorously but he did not wake up. Horrific. Enigmatic. Energy streamed out of her body as she watched his face bathe in more and more sweat and his body twist like a dying snake. She picked her phone and in less than 20 seconds, the pastor’s closest friend was on the line. She told him to come quickly.
“But this is midnight,” he said through the mouthpiece.
“I know, but come quickly,” she responded tremulously. She ended the call even before the pastor’s friend finished talking.
Meanwhile, she was shaking with fear and she swayed onto her bed. Like in the previous dreams, the pastor had now rested to the hilt and his wife was staring at him bleakly. Her heart was freezing. She walked towards the main door and stood in front of it, waiting for the pastor’s friend. He came and she led him into their bedroom where her husband was. At first, he was reluctant but when he saw his friend lying on his bed silently, with his hands and legs slanted loosely, he hastened into the room and stopped by his bed. He seemed to be producing no breath.
“What happened?” the pastor’s friend asked.
“He can’t answer me.” She was sobbing. “He was twisting and whining. I think it was a very bad dream. He was doing that for the third time.”
The pastor’s friend touched the pastor’s sweating countenance. It was hot. He had never seen a person with such a body temperature. The pastor’s situation was strange. As he tried to roll him, a flash of light blinded him and the pastor’s wife and it was followed by a deafening sound like a thunderclap. Then the whole room was filled with pitch darkness. The switches had not been flicked but all the bulbs gave no light. It was just like an earthquake but in the annals of seismology no earthquake had ever come with a light flash.
In absolute horror, the two dashed out of the house for dear life. Within a short time, they were outside a house that was a few metres from the pastor’s. The pastor’s friend knocked at the door with his trembling fist.
A hulking man, in a night attire, answered the door. The pastor’s wife almost jumped into the house.
“What is wrong?” the man asked, trying his utmost to focus on those two people standing in front of him. The security bulb was clearly showing their horrified
“You mean nothing happened here?” the pastor’s friend asked in response. “A blinding flash of light struck in the pastor’s house followed by a deafening sound.”
“It’s news to me as you can see. It might be lightning,” he said drowsily. “Where is the man of God himself?”
“He might be dead,” the pastor’s wife said instantaneously.
“Let’s go there,” the man said, loathing wasting time.
After some resistance, the pastor’s wife and the friend finally budged, but there was a terrible degree of horror in them. What had happened was strange but the pastor’s wife was able to connect it with the chain letters.
The other man, other than the pastor’s friend, entered first into the pastor’s house. Then the two who were frightened like grasshoppers followed. In the bedroom, the lights were on and the pastor had disappeared. But lo and behold! On his bed was a paper bearing: he is where he belongs. He had a desire for money so he has to be where there is money.
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