Five more National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc customers have won standard tickets to the Kizz Daniel concert in the on-going NBM Kizz Daniel Transact and Win promotion.

In the third draw held in Blantyre on Tuesday, the five bring the number of winners to 15 of whom 5 won VIP tickets to the concert which the Bank is sponsoring in partnership with Epic Lifestyle.

The five customers who won the standard tickets are Christopher Mlauzi, Exquisite Cleaners, Lillian Macheso, Mayamiko Mwamadi and Victor Walawala.

NBM plc Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager Akossa Hiwa said five more customers are expected to win VIP tickets during the final draw of the promotion next week.

“We provided a total of 20 tickets to the Kizz Daniel Concert which will be held in Lilongwe on 27 August 2022 and so far we have seen 10 of our customers winning 10 standard tickets and five won VIP tickets. The response to the promotion has been very good, our customers are using our Point of Sale (PoS) devices a lot more,” said Hiwa.

She added that the Bank partnered Epic Lifestyle on the concert to promote the Bank’s digital platforms Mo626 Digital+, which has new features, Mo Wallet, Mo Pay, POS devices and Agent Banking among others.

Hiwa said those purchasing the concert tickets using the digital platforms such as Mo626 ice, Mo Wallet, Mo Pay and POS are enjoying massive discounts of up to K15 000 depending on the type of the ticket.

Ticket sales on Mo626 ice will be discontinued at midnight on the 26^th of August 2022.

The Popular Nigerian musician Kizz Daniel will perform at the Lilongwe Golf Club and will be supported by almost 10 local popular acts.

Both the Reserve Bank of Malawi and the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) have cleared Victoria Forex Bureau over allegations that it runs an illegal bank.

This follows a story by the Platform for Investigative Journalism which alleged that the forex bureau’s owner Zubair Osman uses the organisation as a front for an illegal bank.

But the central bank’s spokesman Davie Ndege said RBM has never investigated Victoria Forex Bureau for illegal transactions or any violations related to the abuse of its license.

“RBM conducts periodic on-site inspections and off-site analysis of the business of all licensed forex bureaus in Malawi to check compliance with the relevant laws and regulations and we have never found anything wanting with Victoria Forex Bureau,” he said.

On their part, FIA spokesman Masautso Ebere said they are not aware of any illegal bank that is operating without a licence in the country.

In an interview, Zubair Osman’s lawyer Lusungu Gondwe of Ritz Attorneys said he is not surprised by RBM’s declaration as it validates their earlier claims against his client.

“We are not surprised that RBM finds nothing incriminating on our client. It is exactly what we told PIJ. Yet they proceeded to publish what really is by all standards a very unauthentic story, a story with no grain of truth,” he said.

Gondwe challenged UK-based Pakistani Max Pathan, on whose testimony PIJ’s story hinges, to avail himself for scrutiny.

“For starters, our client has it on good authority that Max Pathan does not exist. He should merely produce his IDs so that everyone can see the truth. The guy is a ghost. Yet he is PIJ’s key source. Added to that, our client does not deposit K400 million daily with National Bank of Malawi Plc and we can provide bank statements to you with proof,” he said.

Gondwe presented Victoria Forex Bureau’s July statement for National Bank whose daily deposits ranged from K8 million to K40 million.

He added that another issue that raises doubt over the whole story is that the mobile numbers quoted in the article are not Osman’s.

PIJ reported that UK national Zakir Mussa has dragged Osman as well as Moshin and Mohammed Mussa for allegedly swindling him of K3 billion that he had loaned out to the Mussa brothers.

But Gondwe contends that the case was already dismissed by Judge Msungama last year.

“In any case Mr. Zakir Mussa sued our client before Justice Msungama who clearly held that it seems Zakir Mussa is uncertain regarding who he must go after. The Judge dismissed Zakir Mussa’s plea to proceed against our client. Zakir Mussa was even condemned to pay costs to our client,” he said.

In the case, Zakir sought to add Osman to a case where he was suing the Mussa brothers, case number 226 of 2020 in the Commercial Court.

But High Court Judge Msungama threw out Zakir’s application.

Part of the judgement reads:

“I have formed the impression that the claimant is somehow uncertain on who he should pursue in relation to the funds in question. In one breath, the claimant contending that the defendants received the funds and yet in another breath he seems to be saying the intended defendant did not follow his instructions when he got the funds from the claimant and failed to pass the funds to the defendants. These two allegations of fact are inconsistent to each other.”

Gondwe further alleges that what is clear is that Zakir Mussa simply wants to harass Osman.

“Our client believes that all this negative publicity caused by Zakir Mussa is as malicious and capricious as it is in bad faith. If Zakir Mussa believes he has a strong case, he should pursue the same in court. Not resorting to media harassment,” he said.

But PIJ says it stands by its story, arguing that it had gathered enough evidence to give their story credence.

“We will not comment on this issue because we believed that what we presented was sufficient.”

Illovo Sugar Malawi, a leading sugar producer operating in the country, has launched the second series of Everyday Chef Promotion in which winners will share MK 8 Million.

Company’s Managing Director Lekani Katandula said the Everyday Chef Campaign which is an online focused promotion will run for a period of 8 weeks from 11^th August to 6^th October 2022

According to Katandula, the Everyday chef campaign enabled illovo consumers to interact with the brand by increasing awareness of refined and dark demerara sugar as they shared their recipes thereby contributing to higher brand engagements.

“The promotion will primarily be conducted online and run through our Illovo Tseketseke brand Facebook (FB) page. Each week Illovo will give consumers a challenge to showcase either their baking or cooking skills, which they will then have to share on the FB page.

“The recipe with the most likes on a weekly basis will automatically be entered into the final ‘Cook-Off’ competition that we will host at the end of the 8 week campaign.

A total of K8 million will be won; this will include a first place prize of K5 million, second place prize of K2 million and K1 million for third place,” said Katandula at Mount Soche in Blantyre during the launch.

Katandula further said: “To complement the online efforts, we will simultaneously be running shopping mall activations during the weekends which will be hosted by the winning Chefs selected tonight as part of this 1^st phase of this year’s campaign.

“The purpose of these activities is to further educate our consumers on the multiple uses of the white refined and dark demerara sugar.

“In addition we will also run sales promotions in store, where shoppers who will buy 3 or more kgs of Illovo sugar will stand a chance to win assorted instant prizes like t-shirts, aprons, cooking utensils and many more.”

He added: “We hope this promotion will excite our consumers and engage them in a fun and creative way while trying cooking and baking using the different varieties of sugar which we produce.”

Illovo Sugar Malawi Plc supplies more than 60% of its total sugar sales into the domestic consumer and industrial markets, and a portion of the balance exported regionally within the sub-continent.

As more Malawians turn to digital technology for their financial inclusion needs, Standard Bank Plc has dangled a grand prize of K6 million to any lucky customer who transacts more with the bank’s digital platforms.

Launching a promotion dubbed Tisanje in Lilongwe, the bank’s Head of Consumer & High Net Worth Clients Charity Mughogho said it seeks to reward clients frequently using self-service digital channels available on mobile phones, laptops and computers.

“With our online platforms 247 Mobile (*247#), 247 Online (Internet Banking) and 247 Smart App we have achieved remarkable growth; a sign that we are exciting our clients in the digital transformation journey. We remain confident that we will do more as we continue to innovate and come up with promotions like Tisanje,” she said.

She said the promotion reiterates the bank’s commitment to being client-centric and helping clients maximize their experience in the digital banking ecosystem. To enter this promotion, an account holder needs to maintain an account balance of MK20,000 within a month and transact at least 3 times on the bank’s digital channels. Through*247#, the Standard Bank mobile application or 247 Online.

“We are glad to note that our digital offerings continue to help clients manage their lives better and efficiently. This promotion is aimed at engaging customers in the difficult economic times by offering cash prizes to lucky participants,” said Mughogho.

The promotion comes as there is growing usage of digital channels by Malawian clients, whixh has reduced reliance on physical banking at branches, according to official statistics.

Tisanje will run for three months to October during which clients will win cash prizes every month and a grand prize of K6 million.

“As a Bank we recognise that our clients are sailing through hard economic times hence we have outlined different cash prizes. In addition to the grand prize, monthly draws will see one client winning K500, 000, two clients carting home K300, 000 each and K100, 000 going to five lucky clients,” added Mughogho.

Mughogho urged clients to continue enjoying the bank’s safe, reliable, smart and convenient online platforms to maximize their chances of winning.

“To enter the Tisanje promotion clients need to maintain a minimum account balance of K20,000 and transact at least three times a month on *247#, 247 Online or 247 Smart App,” she said.

Amongst the many transactions that are available on Standard Bank digital channels, customers can buy airtime for both TNM and Airtel, purchase ESCOM prepaid units, pay water bills for all Water Boards, taxes to MRA and TV Subscriptions for DStv and GOtv.

Standard Bank has vowed to continue driving the growth of Malawi and remains committed to transforming lives using innovations that give people convenience as they run their daily personal and business transactions.