NGWENYA: It is a great honour when others recognise your efforts
NBS Bank Chief Executive Kwanele Ngwenya has been decorated with the Africa Leadership Magazine accolade.
Ngwenya joins a who-is-who of Africans who have been recognized in different categories under the stellar, decade-old African Leadership Magazine Persons of the Year annual award.
At the top of the prize this year is President Lazarus Chakwera who has been decorated as the African Leadership Person of the Year.
The awards events took place in London last week, while a number of African leaders in various parts of the world participated virtually.
In his reaction, Ngwenya said he was honoured to be recognised.
“I am humbled to be recognised and it is a great honour when others recognise your efforts,” he said.
Ngwenya is credited with driving NBS Bank from a loss making financial institution to a vibrant profit making business which now etching its name on the nation through introducing financially inclusive products and financing several infrastructure projects, among others.
One such project is the Area 18 Interchange in Lilongwe, the first of its kind in Malawi.
Among the leaders who have also been awarded include eminent political, business and civil society persons from Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia.
The award is an annual recognition reserved for distinguished Africans who have blazed the trail in the year under review.
According to the brief of the award, a shortlist of nominees are selected from results gathered via a Call for the nomination – traditionally promoted via paid online and offline campaigns across the continent, Europe, and the Americas.
The call for nomination is the first step in a multi-phased process, it says.
Details have emerged indicating that Malawi Police has summoned Rafik Gaffar of R Gaffar Transport for series of death threats he has been making to Asian communities in the country especially management of Crossroads Hotel.
Gaffar is said to be a bitter person with the success of Crossroads Hotel management and his bitterness has been apparent through series of fights with the Asian community that sides with Crossroads team in the country to the point of issuing death threats.
According to our investigations, Gaffar was recently at the newly opened state of art restaurant called Bai in Lilongwe where he cause an scene that shocked everyone present.
Our source says Crossroads Hotel director number 5, Muntazeer Sacranie, also known as Monty, was at Bai as well with his family.
“Monty’s children were running around and playing at the restaurant by the playing area, till suddenly Gaffar emerged and started shouting at the innocent child,” said the source.
The source added that Gaffar, upon seeing the innocent children playing, started shouting at them, ordering them to move out of the place even though the children didn’t do anything wrong.
“He blew up and told the innocent children to ‘shut the fuck up and get the hell out of here. This is not your crossroads. This is a restaurant. Have your parents not taught you any manners. Bloody idiots’. I was shocked because his red eyes showed that he really meant what he was saying,” said our source who was there at Bai.
Other people we have interviewed confirmed that Monty could not react to Gaffar’s provocation fearing that he would do something that would warrant being arrested.
However, our sources added, Monty’s wife, Mehreen, couldn’t hold it and went up to Gaffar and dared him to stop, something that caused a scene—thank God the public intervened to calm the matter.
It is said that the visibly embarrassed Gaffar had no option but to leave the place. Our sources indicate that Gaffar tried to call several government officials to threaten and lay charges against Monty’s wife for standing up to him.
People who know Gaffar says he has always been a bully among the Asian community and recently his resolve has been to target Crossroads Hotel management because of the success of their business.
Nkando-Jussab (standing) with other FDH Bank officials planting trees at Zolozolo Primary School
Listed home grown commercial bank, FDH Bank says it is targeting to plant and take care of 1 million trees in the next two years as one way of improving and sustaining the environment.
FDH Bank Head of Corporate and Investment Banking Mary Nkando-Jussab spoke in Mzuzu on martyrs day during a tree planting exercise in partnership with Mzuzu City Council and Zolozolo primary School.
“As FDH, we have been engaged in various efforts to sustain the environment under our sustainability program called FDH Cares. FDH Bank Plc committed to plant and care for 1 million trees by 2024 and this is being done through our staff members, partners, customers and various stakeholders in alignment with the Malawi 2063 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” said Nkando-Jussab.
She said last year, the bank launched the ‘Be Green Smart’ campaign and has since planted 200 000 trees and partnered with various organizations and partners in government, NGOs, religious organizations and parastatals.
“FDH Bank Plc recognizes the importance of a green environment and as a responsible corporate citizen it has reinforced its commitment to champion a sustainable and resilient green environment that will foster sustainable development of the country,” said Nkando-Jussab.
FDH-tree-planting-in-Mzuzu.jpg
On the day, bank officials and Mzuzu City Council officials as well as pupils at Zolozolo primary school planted 1000 trees at Zolozolo Primary School to foster a sustainability culture in future leaders as well as support the environment they are in.
“We are further donating 10 000 seedlings to Mzuzu City Council, 5000 seedlings to Mzuzu University and 5000 seedlings to the district education office. This is to ensure that Mzuzu as a city indeed goes green and is a key player in championing environmental sustainability in the country,” announced Nkando-Jussab.
She also hailed the role that the council led by Mayor Gift Desire Nyirenda and all partners are playing to promote a sustainable environment in the country and also encouraged the pupils to not only plant the trees but sustain them as well.
“I urge us all to maintain our collaborative efforts to build a truly sustainable environment for the current and future generations in our communities and Malawi at large,” said Nkando-Jussab.
Vice President Dr Saulos Klaus Chilima will from Monday embark on a second round of review meetings at councils and municipalities starting with Lilongwe.
In previous engagements with councils, Dr. Chilima, who is also responsible for the Public Sector Reforms portfolio, stressed the importance of councils focusing on reform areas with the maximum impact on financial sustainability and job creation.
Unlike previous engagements where Chilima held boardroom meetings with councils, on Monday, the Vice President will begin with visits to projects which Lilongwe City and Lilongwe District included in their reform areas.
The Vice President will visit the Kauma road construction before visiting Nsaru Cooperative and Mpingu Youth Association.
With about 700 youths, Mpingu Youth Association is fulfilling the agricultural commercialisation reform as it has acquired 4.6 hectors where the construction of a warehouse factory is taking place which will be used for value addition of agricultural products which they are producing.
Chilima has so far steered councils towards reforms that would ensure job creation through agricultural value addition, tourism and mining.
Similar reform review meetings will be conducted in the Central region districts of Dowa, Ntchisi, Dedza, Kasungu, Salima and Nkhotakota before moving to the South and North.
In an interview, Public Relations Officer for the Public Sector Reforms Department McCarthy Mwalwimba confirmed of these engagements lined up this week.
The Malawi Blood Transfusion Services (MBTS) has hailed Illovo Sugar Malawi for donating Blood Bank Fridge worth MK 13.1 Million to lowershire districts of Nsanje and Chikwawa.
MBTS Chief Executive Officer, Natasha Nsamala, was speaking at St Montfort Hospital in Chikwawa district during the handover ceremony of the state of the art Blood Bank Fridge to Nsanje and Chikwawa district health offices.
“We are truly grateful that Illovo heeded our call for assistance in a very speedy manner.
This is a truly momentous occasion because MBTS for the first time will have a blood bank fridge in the lower shire which will increase access to blood units,” said Nsamala
Managing Director for Illovo Malawi Managing Director, Lekani Katandula, said the Blood Bank Fridge will help to save lives of people in need of blood in the Lowershire districts.
“Blood is vital to life and having readily available blood for transfusions saves lives. The blood bank fridge we are donating today will enable the storage of up to 250 units of blood that are to be available for chikwawa and Nsanje district,”
“More importantly we hope that this important piece of equipment will be well look after and maintained so that it can contribute to saving lives for a long time to come,” said Katandula while appealing to Malawians to donate blood in order to save lives.
Illovo Malawi is one of the country’s largest single private-sector employer providing direct employment for 9 000 people permanent, seasonal and casual employees and an additional 5 000 direct and indirect contractors creating a total of 14 000 jobs.
Illovo is also a major contributor to the Malawian tax authorities through direct and indirect taxes.
Many local industries are dependent upon Illovo for their viability and the employment created by these businesses provides an income base for many more families than are directly employed.
The company further supports an estimated 5 200 smallholder cane farmers through various smallholder schemes.
Ngwenya (Centre) and Nyamilandu display the agreement
Listed commercial bank, NBS Bank plc has announced the K15 million sponsorship of the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) Charity Shield scheduled for this weekend.
The proceeds of the Charity Shield match which will be played on Saturday at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre and will involve Nyasa Big Bullets and Silver Strikers, will go towards helping victims of Tropical Ana storm in Chikwawa and Nsanje districts.
Announcing the sponsorship in Blantyre Wednesday, NBM Bank plc Chief Executive Officer Kwanele Ngwenya said the Bank has always supported the community in which it operates and it is extending its support to not only fulfil its social responsibility, but to also support FAM in bringing the Malawian people to their most beloved game of football through this Charity Shield.
“We believe that sports in this country contribute a lot to the society in terms of entertainment, employment as well as national unity and development. This important element, when leverages on to support the needy, fits in perfectly with NBS Bank’s slogan and practice of being a caring bank which has been changing a lot of lives through various initiatives and promotions like rewarding our customers with houses, cars and cash prizes.”
“When a country’s people are in need, it must become the agenda for every corporate and citizen to be a part of providing a solution. Many have been affected by the natural disasters that have happened most recently and NBS Bank feels that these heart-breaking scenes of people having their homes destroyed and their belongings washed away are an opportunity to use our resources to offer hope to others,” said Ngwenya.
He hailed FAM for putting together the Charity Shield to help in something that is of National importance.
Ngwenya (right) and Nyamilandu (second left) and other FAM and NBS officials display the dummy cheque of the sponsorship
“This is indeed taking football beyond being just a game and one of relevance to Malawi. You have lived up to ‘Raising the bar’,” said Ngwenya.
FAM president Walter Nyamilandu thanked NBS Bank for bankrolling the Charity Shield.
“Let me welcome NBS Bank back to the world of football. We have been waiting for this opportunity for a very long time. When we heard the news that NBS Bank will sponsor the Charity Shield we were very excited.”
“We have foot print in the country everywhere as football is played in every district where NBS Bank is also visible. We are looking forward to this opportunity of working together to promote your brand and to also let you play a role in developing football.”
“This window of opportunity is huge coming at a time Malawi national team did very well at the recent Africa Cup of Nations we needed some form of appreciation from the corporate world and the bank is the first institution to come forward and partner football because of the fruits that the people of Malawi were able to see at Africa Cup of Nations,” explained Nyamilandu.
The Charity Shield was introduced in 2016 and for the first two years it was a one-day event, involving the national league champions and national cup winners.
In 2018 and 2019 it involved four teams: national league champions, national cup champions, national league runners up.
The competition did not take place in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This year the competition has reverted to the original format of a one-day event involving two teams.
Businessman Abdul Karim Batatawala has come under fire from various sector of the society for claiming K250billion as a compensation from poor taxayers money, a move which social commentators have dubbed it ‘daylight robbery’
According to Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda, four businesspersons are claiming about K429 billion from government in compensations, representing around 22 percent of the K2 trillion total claims in which Batatawala tops the list.
Nyirenda said Batatawala, who is claiming about K250 billion through 20 business entities alone accounts for at least 12.5 percent of the total claims.
And the AG said: “Batatawala’s claims in total are about K250 billion. So he has got over 20 companies and most of them have got cases against government.
“So, when we are talking about Batatawala, we are talking about his companies.”
And writing on his official facebook page one of the social commentators Horace Nyaka was very bitter with the develoment:
“How many roads or schools can you build with such K250billion? How much was the budget for this year? How many students can we support with this? How many cancer and heart patients can we support with K250billion? Tsangano road, Rumphi Nyika Chitipa road? 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾. Kulimva kukoma dziko.” Writes Nyaka.
Ramchand Hashmatrai is second on the list with his land claim of about K131 billion, a claim that the High Court in Blantyre on Monday stopped following the AG’s challenge.
The K 429 billion compensation claims by the four businesspersons, of which three are Malawians of Asian origin, is one and a half times the proposed budget for the Ministry of Health at K283.57 billion.The AG said the four businesspersons’ claims exclude interests and that almost all of them have more than one compensation claim.
He further said his office receives new claims each passing day, with most of them coming from police on false imprisonment, land disputes, construction projects, procurement and Malawi Rural Electrification Project (Marep). Nyirenda noted that most of the claims are exaggerated.
“At the same time we are receiving more claims, at the same time we have got cases that have been dismissed in our favour,” said Nyirenda.
In early December 2021, Nyirenda indicated that compensation claims he was handling had jumped from about K800 billion in September 2021to over K2 trillion in December 2021
A grouping calling itself Citizen Advancement for Economic Revolution has described the anti-Ashok Nair demonstrations scheduled for tomorrow Wednesday as criminal in nature.
Citizen Advancement for Economic Revolution team leader, Redson Munlo, was speaking recently in Lilongwe during a media briefing.
He argued that Nair also has the right to be heard and that the ACB Director General Martha Chizuma is not immune to prosecution.
The grouping has also asked Chizuma to disclose the name of the person she was talking to in her leaked audio recently.
Nair sued Chizuma for defamation following a leaked phone conversation in which Chizuma made a number of serious allegations, including that a High Court judge granted Nair– bail in exchange for a bribe.
This angered Nair who says his image and reputation have been battered; hence, his decision to claim damages from Chizuma through the court.
Blantyre Chief Resident Magistrate Court has set March 1, 2022, as the date when it will rule on whether or not to commence criminal proceedings against Chizuma in a case where Forum for National Development (FND) wants the court to summon her to answer criminal charges in relation to the same audio clip.
Chief Resident Magistrate Jean Kaira has been assigned the case whose application, according to the Registrar of the High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal, Gladys Gondwe, was already heard in the court.
The movement pressuring Ashok Nair to withdraw his lawsuit against Anti-Corruption Bureau Director General Martha Chizuma over contents of a leaked audio is getting it all wrong and risks twisting the course of justice.
In the audio, Chizuma is in a conversation with someone where she makes a number of allegations which include that Ashok bribed Judge Simeon Mdeza who released him after bring arrested by ACB. It is well known that Mdeza, feeling affronted, recused himself from the Ashok case.
Some have argued that while she made the allegations, the conversation was not meant for public circulation, hence Ashok’s lawsuit being an overreaction and bent to frustrate ACB’s action on the Zuneth Sattar case for which Ashok was first arrested.
Both these arguments are irrelevant and dangerous and should not be tolerated.
In the first place, that the audio was not meant for public circulation is beside the point. The fact is that it circulated and the world heard Chizuma making serious and damaging claims that Ashok had bribed Judge Mdeza to set him free. It is only fair justice that Chizuma must explain her allegations in court. It is also justice that Ashok will have the opportunity to give his side of the story.
Secondly, that Ashok’s court action is meant to interfere with ACB’s pursuit of the Zuneth Sattar case is also outrageous. Ashok has gone to court expressly on the basis of allegations which Chizuma has made against him.
Why should he be prevented from clearing his name, now, simply because he is also involved in another case? Where does that law come from? And how does his seeking to get Chizuma to explain her allegations got to do with the other case? Things do not add up at all in this.
It is clear that those seeking to stop Ashok from continuing with his lawsuit against Chizuma are only stirring mob justice against Ashok, which is criminal. The facts of the matter don’t look like they are balancing. The campaign for Ashok to drop the case seems to be motivated by other ill intentions and not justice. It is not written anywhere in the laws of Malawi that an ACB Director General should not be dragged to court for damaging other people’s names.
The case should be allowed to continue so that Chizuma should prove her allegations in court and Ashok must explain himself since he was not in that audio to explain his side of the story. We should not stop the wheels of justice from operating the way they are supposed to simply because of our own, ill-conceived interests. Every Malawian has the right to justice. Let the court decide whether there is a case or not.
Minister of Water and Sanitation, Abida Sidik Mia, has donated Maize floor to victims of Cyclone ANA in Chikwawa district.
Abida Mia, who is also Member of Parliament for Chikwawa Nkombedzi Constituency, made the donation on Saturday.
According to Mia, over 1000 households from three headmen namely Nyamithambo, Mzangaya and Salibeni have benefited from the donation.
“Truth be told, the aftermath of the Cyclone has had devastating effects as people have no access to basic needs.
“To mitigate the hardship, it is my aim to continue outsourcing food and other basic necessities with the help of well-wishers,” said Mia in a statement posted on her official facebook page.
The Good Samaritan Mia also appealed to other well-wishers both local and international to join hands with Malawi government in assisting people who are affected with Cyclone ANA across the country.
“My humble plea is to all that are able to assist, to continue lending a helping hand to support those in need,” appealed Abida Mia
This is not for the first time for Abida Mia, who is well known for charity works, to assist Cyclone Ana victims. Earlier this Month, she also donated maize floor to thousands of Cyclone Ana Victims from 13 evacuation camps in her constituency.
Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera declared a national disaster in districts hit by Cyclone Ana, which killed at least 19 people and displace thousands.
The hardest hit districts include Chikwawa, Nsanje, Mulanje and Phalombe thus according to the Department of Disaster Management Affairs.
