The Public Service Systems Review Taskforce is inviting the general public to submit their views, proposals and comments on the review of the three Government Systems of Allowances, Procurement and Employment Contracts as mandated by His Excellency Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi, on 14th February 2021.
Please categorise your submissions as follows: i. System of Allowances. ii. System of Procurement. iii. System of Employment Contracts. iv. Conditions of Service. v. Restructuring of the Public Service. The comments or views or proposals should be sent by 21st March, 2021 to the following: i. Email Address: reviewtaskforce@ovp.gov.mw ii. Facebook Page: Malawi Public Sector Reforms: https://www.facebook.com/MalawiPublicSectorReforms iii. WhatsApp: 0883 682 197 (Text messages only, no calls) iv. Twitter handle: – @the_reforms Scheduled meetings with different stakeholder groups depending on the specific task at hand will be organized in due course. The Taskforce values the input of every Malawian citizen hence the call for the submissions.
For further information, contact Mr. McCarthy Mwalwimba, Public Relations Officer for Public Sector Reforms on 0999 673 416 or Directors, Ms. Emmie Galafa on 0884 144 006 and Mr Sibusiso Jere on 0888 307 577.
Pilirani Phiri, Press Office of the Vice President
Chakwera travels up north for a virtual graduation
What a country! Malawi is still amazing right thinking people with its ‘out of this world decisions that have the whole world wondering whether the President in Malawi and his ministers think.
First, while Malawians are still in shock of the looting of K6.2 billion by President Lazarus Chakwera’s government, President Chakwera actually sent his Justice Minister, Titus Mvalo to Geneva, Switzerland, a well known expensive city in the world just to speak to the empty seats alone as his colleagues were attending the same meeting via zoom.
Chakwera and Mvalo have made Malawi a laughing stock on global map after careless decisions made by these two leaders.
The Minister was the only dignitary that travelled all the way from Lilongwe to Geneva to speak at the 46th Regular Session of UN Human Rights Council-in-person in the room in front of 1490 empty seats while all other countries across the global attended the meeting via zoom.
The Minister, Titus Songiso Mvalo who was one of the Chakwera’s lawyers during Presidential Election flew to Geneva to represent President Lazarus Chakwera who apparently was participating in that meeting via Zoom in the comfort of his presidential office at Kamuzu Palace. Ironic.
Major international media outlets have mocked Malawi for ‘looting’ pax payers money on something that could have helped this country like buying oxygen cylinders for COVID-19 patients.
Social media platforms is awash with this ’embarrassment’ touting Malawi as a laughing stock under President Chakwera’s leadership.
As if this embarrassment is not enough, President Chakwera has travelled to the northern region to attend the graduation ceremony for Mzuzu University students via Zoom.
One wonders, why not attending it while in Lilongwe to cut costs?
The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) in collaboration with the Concerned Landless People in Thyolo and Mulanje have given the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development up to March 23, 2021, to distribute idle land to the landless people in the two districts.
CDEDI executive director Sylvester Namiwa has written Msukwa, reminding the minister about the commitments he reportedly made during a meeting he convened at Thyolo Boma on Friday, 19th February 2021.
It is further reported that President Lazarus Chakwera sanctioned the meeting in reaction to the letter CDEDI wrote him on December 7, 2020.
In his response, Chakwera directed Msukwa to link up with CDEDI and other stakeholders on the way forward.
The President’s response, which was dated January 14, 2021, was an acknowledgement that he is aware about the land crisis and tragedy in Thyolo and Mulanje districts; hence, the need to act on this seemingly ticking bomb with speed and the urgency it deserves.
But with time passing, Namiwa and the Concerned Landless People in Thyolo and Mulanje feel the government is not doing enough to address their grievances.
“You may wish to recall, Honourable Minister that we agreed in our telephone conversation that you had wanted to have first-hand impression of the situation on the ground by sparing your time to inspect the vast idle land that is owned by the estate owners, and interact with the affected people in the two districts. CDEDI was shocked and disappointed, however, with your sudden change of heart when you instead opted to inspect tea plantations at the Thyolo Boma thereby ignoring the earlier plan. This is the reason why CDEDI participated in the meeting under protest,” reads the letter CDEDI has written to the minister.
Namiwa argues that since the land issue is not new, they did not expect that leaders in Thyolo and Mulanje could stand on a moral high ground and dispute it.
He says people of Thyolo and Mulanje districts are living with a wound and each passing day, the pain is becoming very hard to endure.
“They needed justice like yesterday, hence CDEDI’s insistence during the meeting that we needed a communiqué with clear timelines. To our surprise the meeting ended with literary nothing to refer to in the future. Nonetheless, we were assured of some action when in your own words said you were rushing to meet the estate owners that very same day! This means as per your own promise, you are remaining with Chiefs and Political party leaders to meet in order to round up the consultative meeting,” he says.
“Since we all agreed in that meeting that we have a very big problem in the two districts, we would like to believe that if you were able to meet two groups of stakeholders in a single day, it won’t be a challenge to meet the second and last set of stakeholders within seven days and call for an all-inclusive stakeholders meeting in another seven days and come up with solutions in the preceding fourteen days. It is against this background that CDEDI and the concerned landless people in Thyolo and Mulanje districts are giving you twenty-eight (28) days from the day this letter is delivered, to do all you can to ensure that all the idle land has been given back to the rightful owners. Once this exercise has been accomplished, the next item on the agenda will be to engage in yet another consultative process where the estate owners should make arrangements to ensure that part of the tea, coffee, tung and macadamia plantations are managed by the locals, while the estate owners should concentrate on buying and processing these cash crops,” submits Namiwa.
He ends his letter by informing the minister that there is growing insurgency on the landless people in Thyolo and Mulanje since they feel like they are foreigners in their own land and they have waited for unnecessarily longer before justice is served on the matter.
Msukwa could not be reached on his mobile phone as he was reportedly in Parliament where network connectivity is erratic.
Details have started emerging on cabinet minister Timothy Mtambo dealings in drugs after his official government vehicle was stolen in Lilongwe only to be found in Bwengu in Rumphi on Wednesday.
We can reveal that Mtambo has been dealing in drugs and the ‘theft’ of his official vehicle has opened a Pandora’s box. Our impeccable sources said the minister has been in the trade of drug trafficking together with his bodyguard who was once arrested on drug charges but fled to Tanzania before Mtambo called him to be his personal Bodyguard. “On this day, the bodyguard was supposed to deliver drugs in Karonga where some businessmen including some of Indian origin but the accident spoiled everything,” said the source.
“This is why Mtambo did not raise any alarm that his official vehicle was missing in Lilongwe until after 8 hours when the accident happened. He knew what was going on,” added the source.Our source also said Mtambo has been using his official vehicle to ferry the drugs including cocaine ‘because he knows that a ministerial vehicle cannot be searched or stopped by Police’. “If it was a real robbery, how many police stops or roadblocks did this vehicle pass from Lilongwe to Bwengu? This is what he has been doing and Mtambo knew what was going on and that is why he never raised any alarm when his vehicle was supposedly stolen,” said the source.
Insiders also question why Mtambo called his Bodyguard from Tanzania where he fled from drug charges here in Malawi. His accomplices are serving their time at Maula Prison in Lilongwe. “If police want to really investigate this issue they should do a background check of Mtambo’s bodyguard and this will be one of the simplest cases to solve,” challenged our source.
Mtambo hung up the phone when we tried to seek his comment accusing us of ‘being sent by evil people’.
Annabel Mpinganjira(left) presents some of the PPEs to Dr Kasenga
The Thomson and Barbra Mpinganjira Foundation Thursday donated Personal protective Equipment (PPE) worth K10 million to the Adventist Health Services (AHS) hospitals in the country.
The donation comes barely two days after the Foundation made a similar donation worth K20 million to the Ministry of Health for the three major referral hospitals in the country.
Speaking at the presentation of the PPEs in Blantyre, a representative of the Foundation, Annabel Mpinganjira noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has affected everyone and they felt they should make their contribution towards the fight against the novel coronavirus.
“The Thomson and Barbra Mpinganjira Foundation commends the outstanding work the Adventist Health Services does in servicing lives in its hospitals and may God continue blessing the institution, its leadership and all staff so that more lives can be saved now and in the years to come.”
“The Foundation believes in partnership to create synergy for greater impact hence working together with the Adventist Health Services to fight the COVID 19 pandemic,” said Mpinganjira.
The assorted items that were donated include surgical masks, Gloves, Chlorine Powder, Sprayers, Gumboots, Hand Sanitizers, Infrared Thermometers, liquid hand soap among others.
Annabel Mpinganjira speaks at the function
Mpinganjira also said the Foundation aims to use creative approaches to bring hope and joy to the underprivileged by improving their outcomes in the health and education sectors and creating an enterprise development platform for the youth with creative business ideas to flourish.
“The Foundation, therefore, aims to facilitate the development of more educated, healthier and wealthier people through job creation, building communities and sustainable lives. Collectively we are going to win the Covid-19 battle,” she said.
Adventist Health Services Chief Executive Officer Dr. Fryson Kasenga hailed the Foundation for the donation saying it will go a long way in the fight against the pandemic.
“AHS has a network of 16 clinics; 5 in the south, 5 centre, 6 in the north. Procurement of the PPE’s and transportation to all 16 clinics has been a significant challenge due to financial constraints. So we can’t manage to procure all these materials that the Foundation has brought to us. This is really a significant support that we have received because the donation has come at the right time.”
“We are not taking this support for granted, we are very grateful because our members of staff will make use of these materials to ensure that Covid-19 is well taken care of. May God continue to bless the Foundation, AHS and Malawi nation as we work together to fight this pandemic COVID 19 which is taking our lives day by day and is causing human suffering,” said Dr Kasenga.
Listed FDH Bank plc has given K1 million to this year’s Wealth Woman summit slated for 8th March 2021 in Lilongwe.
Presenting the cheque in Blantyre on Wednesday, FDH Bank Head of Operations, Administration and Procurement Mwiza Madanitsa said the Bank would like to see more women share insights and grow and create more employment and register success in their careers.
“As you may be aware, this year’s International Women’s Day theme is #ChooseToChallenge. This calls everyone to stand in solidarity to challenge the stereotypes and create equal opportunity and create an inclusive and sustainable world. As such we are inspired to facilitate the organization and conduct of the Wealth Woman Summit where women will meet and discuss issues that will promote their advancement in Society,” said Madanitsa.
She said as a home grown brand with an entrepreneurial background, FDH Bank plc celebrates the achievements of women and is committed to supporting the creation of more women platforms for sharing insights.
“As FDH Bank we are committed towards the creation a sustainable world and therefore are committed to the implementation of the ideals of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, Africa’s Agenda 2063 and Malawi’s Vision 2063, and the development of attendant relevant products and services” added FDH Bank plc Head of Marketing and Communication Levie Nkunika.
Harry Chima Managing Executive of Wealth Magazine who are organizing the event thanked FDH Bank for the gesture saying the money will go a long way in making this year’s event a success.
“The support from FDH Bank Plc will go a long way in easing some of the expenses associated with hosting events including multimedia resources such as sound & video provision and content publishing among others,” he said.
Wealth Woman Summit is one of the platforms hosted by Wealth Magazine as a place where women come together to share ideas, insights into inclusive equitable representation including wealth creation in the nation.
Wealth Woman Summit is a part of the Wealth Creation Forum Series which are hosted annually since 2017.
Speakers at the Summit whose theme is ‘Making a Mark in Job Creation’ will be Deputy Minister of Labour Vera Kamtukule, Country Director for Smoke Free Foundation Dr Candida Nankhumwa, Founder of Invegrow and Mwandama Hills Plantation Tanya Clarke and a representative of the European Union (EU) delegation.
The event will take place on the 8th March, 2021 at the Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe which is International Women’s Day whose theme is #ChooseToChallenge.
Wealth Magazine has since the 1st February until 12th March, 2021 been running a #ChooseToChallenge campaign where it has been featuring different women of all walks of like to share what choosing to challenge means to them.
Resilient policies and strategies are crucial for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to enable them jump start the economy after the devastation caused by COVID 19, Malawi’s Vice President said on Tuesday.
Dr. Saulos Chilima was speaking when he participated in a session on rethinking structural transformation in African Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the era of technological advancement and innovation.
The session was part of the on going virtual Africa Regional Review meeting which Malawi is hosting ahead of the 5th UN conference of LDCs.
Malawi’s President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera opened the meeting on Monday while committing Malawi’s desire to graduate from LDC’s through sound economic policies.
Since Monday up to Friday, participants are sharing ideas to advance economic transformation with Vice President Chilima chairing one of the sessions on the day.
On Tuesday, Chilima partcipated in a session chaired by Maria Jose Torres March, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Malawi discussing structural transformation in African LDCs.
“Resilient policies and strategies are crucial for LDCs in order to put the economies on track after the Covid 19 pandemic,” said Chilima citing long term economic growth strategies by both governments and the private sector.
The LDC community is made of 33 African countries and Haiti from the Caribbean.
Chiwoni (left) presents hospital gown to Dr Mallewa
The Insurance Association of Malawi (IAM) Tuesday donated various items including hospital gear for health workers at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) in Blantyre worth K7.5 million to help them fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Presenting the item, IAM president Bywell Blair Chiwoni who is also Chief Executive Officer for United General Insurance (UGI) hailed the health workers at the major referral hospitals for putting their lives in front of others during the fight against the pandemic.
“Let me commend the front-liners for the selfless and sacrificial giving they continue to make for the betterment of fellow human beings. We are in the same field of taking risks, we are in the business of taking financial risks of people and businesses whilst you take health risks of people but yours is very huge as you are dealing with the health risks of others you expose your health risks as well,” said Chiwoni.
The items that were donated to the health workers included 250 scrub suits, 250 reusable head gear, 250 crocs shoes, 3 bales of sugar; 10 tins of milk and coffee; 10 packets of Chombe tea and 5 cases of bottled water.
“This means that we have actually dealt with all your current needs on hospital clothing according to your donation requirement list provided to us. These clothing and food items are critical to the hospital’s response to Covid-19 and I believe this is an important development in the hospital’s fight against this terrible virus, but there is still much more to be done,” said Chiwoni.
Speaking on behalf of the health workers at QECH, Dr Jane Mallewa, Associate Professor of Internal medicine both at QECH and College of Medicine (COM) thanked IAM for the donation saying the health workers feel valued.
“These donations make us proud, we feel valued and we appreciate your support. We cannot thank you enough for this kind gesture, it will go a long way in our fight against the pandemic,” said Mallewa.
Nurse in charge of the Covid-19 ward at QECH Wezi Ngungwe also thanked IAM for supporting the health workers at the hospital saying their assistance is timely as they require adequate hospital gear to do their work effectively while protecting themselves from the virus.
Karim (right) hands over the keys of the ambulance to Ngoma
Blantyre based motor vehicle repairing and panel beating company on Friday donated an ambulance worth K12 million to Lilongwe District Health Office as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy.
Speaking when he handed over the ambulance, K Motors Chief Executive Officer Mansoor Karim said the donation is in response to the call by President Lazarus Chakwera for support to the health sector especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As you are aware we started an initiative with musician Dr. Patience Namadingo to rehabilitate broken down Ambulances across the country but we thought as K Motors, we should do whatever we can to help after the President’s call by donating this Ambulance worth K12 million,” said Karim.
Presidential Adviser on Safe motherhood Dorothy Ngoma said the Ambulance which has been allocated to Khongoni Health Centre in Lilongwe rural will save lives for mothers and babies in the area.
Lilongwe District director of health and social services Alinafe Tambala thanked K Motors for the donation saying it will help in service delivery as the district needs about 40 ambulances to carter for about 2.7 million people in both Lilongwe urban and rural.
She said the district is currently using 20 ambulances which she bemoaned that are not enough.
The newly established K Motors embarked on a project to fix broken ambulances across the country for one year as part of giving back to society. They have already fixed one ambulance for Chikwawa District Hospital and will be handing over another rehabilitated Ambulance at the same hospital during the first week of March. K Motors also donated a motor bike to a rural health centre in Chitipa.
UTM Member of Parliament for Chikwawa West, Susan Dossi has rewarded 30 students that have been selected to various national secondary schools from her constituency with a start-up package to support them as they start their secondary school life.
The start-up package includes luggage bags, school bags, writing materials, clothes, shoes and pocket money.
The items were handed over to the students at an event patronized by various people in the constituency including the children’s parents, chiefs and village headmen who felt a sense of relief as most of them could not afford to give the children the items.
Speaking at the ceremony in Chikwawa on Saturday Dossi said she is glad that there are hard-working students whose achievements are making the constituency stand out in sending students to both national and district secondary schools.
“I will continue to reward these students and I see potential in them. I am sure next time I will be rewarding them when they are going to university,” said Dossi.
“I have encouraged them, especially the girls to work hard in secondary school and come out with good grades each year so that they can go to university and help to develop this constituency,” added Dossi.
A representative of the parents of the children Janet Phiri hailed the parliamentarian for the gesture adding that the children have been motivated.
“Our children are motivated, thank you Hon Dossi, we will continue to pray for you so that you can continue to do the work you are doing here in Chikwawa West. Some of us are facing financial challenges and it was going to be difficult for us to buy these things for our children,” said Phiri.
Dossi poses with the beneficiariesDossi speaking at the event
