Thursday, January 16, 2025
الرئيسية بلوق الصفحة 150

Mpinganjira Foundation donates K20 million PPEs for Covid-19 fight

Annabel Mpinganjira (third right) poses with QECH staff members before the donation

The Thomson and Barbra Mpinganjira Foundation has kicked off its charitable works with a donation of K20 million worth of personal protective equipment (PPEs) items for Covid-19 fight to the Ministry of Health.

The foundation which was founded last year by business mogul Thomson Mpinganjira in memory of his late wife Barbra donated the items which included face masks and surgical gloves which will be distributed to the three main major referral hospitals in the country namely Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) in Blantyre, Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in Lilongwe and Mzuzu Central Hospital (MCH) in Mzuzu.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony in Blantyre on Monday, a representative of the Foundation Annabel Mpinganjira said their joint assessment with the Ministry of Health identified the need for face masks and surgical gloves in the central hospitals hence their contribution.

“As partners in the promotion of health outcomes and national development with the Ministry of Health, our joint needs assessment identified the need for additional face masks and surgical gloves in the Central Hospitals hence our contribution this morning has focused on reducing that gap.”

“The Foundation believes in working together with the Government and Communities in surmounting any challenge the country may be facing including the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Mpinganjira.

Annabel Mpinganjira (left) presents the items to Chewere

Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Health, QECH Deputy Director for Nursing and Midwifery Services Miss Linley Chewere hailed the Thomson and Barbra Mpinganjira Foundation for the donation saying it is timely and will go a long way in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic.

“Masks and surgical gloves are very vital in our line of work here at the hospital as such, there is a huge need for these supplies as we continue with the fight against Covid-19. We profoundly thank the Thomson and Barbara Mpinganjira Foundation for this huge contribution and it will go a long way in assisting in our work of saving lives. ” said Chewere.

Inspired by the life of the Late Mrs. Barbara Mpinganjira and her medical journey as a cancer patient and Dr. Thomson Frank Mpinganjira, the founder and retired Chief Executive Officer of FDH Financial Holdings Limited, 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 aims to facilitate the development of more educated, healthier and wealthier people through job creation, building communities and sustainable lives. It also looks to the future of our country with hope as it embarks on its people-centred projects as part of its contribution to the development of our country,” said Mpinganjira.

“Collectively we are going to win the Covid-19 battle,” she added.

Annabel Mpinganjira speaks at the function

MKAKA IN TIPPER-GATE: Expands business empire with multi-million brand new tippers

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MKAKA: In numerous scandals

Malawi has bred its own new multi-billionaire in eight months! He is MCP strongman and cabinet minister Eisenhower Mkaka!

The Secretary General of the ruling Malawi Congress Party, has once again been involved in dubious deals as he has bought new caterpillars tippers and houses in low density of Lilongwe, area 43.

Mkaka who is popular known as ‘Prime Minister’ is already in involved in numerous scandals like of NOCMA where he is acting as ‘Chief Executive Officer’ who is at the heart of giving fuel tenders to Foreign Companies, ‘Amwenye’ and his 2025 political bedfellows like Enock Chihana of AFORD.

Sparingly, Mr ‘Bill Gates’ has registered his new business enterprises in his cousin name to cheat Malawians that the empire does not belong to him.

Malawi government is in financial crisis at the moment that it can not buy top of the class COVID-19 vaccine but somehow Mkaka has enough money to buy houses in cash in one of the most expensive areas in Lilongwe, the area 43. Only Mr Bill Gates can and our own Mkaka is doing it.

Malawi government is under heavy pressure from donors and Malawians to account for 6.2 billion and 17.5 billion respectively that it has received from international community and Reserve Bank of Malawi.

UGI donates K10 million to UNIMA for Covid-19 fight

Chiwoni (right) presents a cheque to University Office Finance Officer Henry Chiwaya

Insurance giant United General Insurance (UGI) Friday donated K10 million to the University of Malawi (UNIMA) and its constituent colleges to help in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Presenting the donation in Blantyre, UGI Chief Executive Officer Bywell Blair Chiwoni said since the first registered case of the novel coronavirus in the country in April 2020, most of the sectors including the education sector have been affected hence their support to UNIMA.

“One of the sectors that has been heavily affected is the education sector. Learning is no longer the same as education institutions are being forced to adopt innovative ways of teaching. UGI would like to ensure that learning continues even as we go through these unprecedented times. We are hopeful that if we play our role, we will be helping in strengthening the different initiatives that learning institutions are implementing to make the institutions sustainable and safer,” said Chiwoni.

He commended UNIMA council for the leadership and decisive action during ‘this difficult time’.

UGI Claims Manager Linda Chunda (right) presents a cheque to Chitera

“UNIMA has been our client for over two decades and this means they are no longer a client but part of our family as such charity must begin at home! UGI will continue to stand side-by-side with UNIMA as it faces this great challenge.”

“The challenge we face today requires continued cooperation not only between our two institutions, but with the government, the donor community, the business community, civil society, and the Malawian citizenry,” said Chiwoni.

Receiving the donation on behalf of UNIMA acting Vice Chancellor Prof Al Mtenje, Polytechnic Acting Principal Dr. Nancy Chitera thanked UGI for the donation saying it will go a long way in fighting against the pandemic.

“We are so grateful for this donation from UGI. The University cannot stop but to continue for the development of human capital for the nation. The most important thing that we need to look at is how we protect both the 12,000 students and more than 1,000 academic and non-academic staff from being infected with the virus as we do this noble duty. Universities cannot be closed forever; at the same time, we need to stay safe so that we maintain the high calibre of staff that the University has in health condition,” said Chitera.

She said as a result of the pandemic, the University has introduced measures of combating the disease some of which are the emergency remote learning to reduce face-to-face contacts and decongest the campuses but noted that it is expensive.  

“During this time of great uncertainty, UNIMA family has been comforted, encouraged, and humbled by your generosity and support. This is a remarkable gesture and The University is very grateful and let me assure you that it will go a long way in protecting the spread of this virus,” said Chitera.

Chiwoni-We are hopeful

FDH Money Bureau donates PPE items to KIA Police

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Khamula (left) presents one of the items to Walumbe

FDH Money Bureau, a subsidiary of FDH Financial Holdings Limited, Friday handed over Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) worth K3.6 Million to Police at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) in Lilongwe to help in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

The items donated included 300 branded reflective vests, 300 masks and 150 sanitizers to protect Airport Police and citizens from the disease.

Presenting the donation at KIA, FDH Money Bureau Managing Director, Daniel Pinto Khamula said FDH Money Bureau has a good working relationship with Malawi Police through various service points including Kamuzu International Airport, Chileka Airport, Mwanza, Dedza and Songwe borders.

“We applaud the police for the work they do in enforcing security and in the process taking care of customers and the community at large hence our donation of these PPEs to enhance the effectiveness of their work. They work as frontline workers at points that connect Malawi to the rest of the world and as a result they face risks especially in this Covid-19 pandemic era,” said Khamula.

Senior Superintendent for Airport Security Lazarus Walumbe hailed FDH Money Bureau for the kind gesture saying the donation came at the right time when they were running out of PPEs as their allocation from Police Headquarters is not enough.

“We are thankful to the FDH Money Bureau for coming to our rescue with this donation of PPEs because we are at high risk being frontline workers at entry points like KIA. This will make us safe and provide the much needed security,” said Walumbe.

The FDH Money Bureau boasts of 100% forex availability through its 25 branches Countrywide making it the biggest money bureau in the country. The bureau also offers money transfer services to almost all countries through its partnerships with some of the well-known money transfer players namely Mukuru, Hello Paisa, MoneyGram, Western Union, Mama Money and Small world.

NBM finally acquires 51% controlling stake in TZ Bank

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By Mc Donald Chapalapata, a Contributor

NBM CEO Macfussy Kawawa

Listed National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc has completed the acquisition of a 51% controlling stake in Akiba Commercial Bank plc (ACB) in Tanzania at a consideration of USD 7.31 million through a share subscription.

NBM plc Chief Executive Officer Macfussy Kawawa expressed in an interview yesterday that the acquisition is in line with NBM plc’s current strategic plan which has regional expansion as one of its key thrusts.

“We are happy that we are now extending our footprints across the boarders in line with our strategic plan. This acquisition is expected to bring about growth in business for both NBM Plc and ACB as the ACB’s business offerings to the standards of NBM plc,” said Kawawa.

He said the investment in ACB is 2% of NBM plc current market capitalization which stands at K304 billion.

Kawawa said ACB is a Tanzanian commercial bank established in 1997 with 300 Tanzanian entrepreneurs as its initial shareholders and offers a wide range of banking and financial services.

“Akiba has strong roots for Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and operates in 18 branches across Tanzania. We believe the synergies with our own offerings for SMEs will work well for our customers,” said Kawawa.

Reacting to the announcement, Economists Association of Malawi (ECAMA) president Lauryn Nyasulu hailed the development saying it is great when local companies and banks start investing internationally.

“NBM plc, by acquiring 51% of ACB has established lasting interest which is good for the company and the country at large. Foreign markets usually offer better valuation.  Over the long term, an international portfolio offers better hedging against local events. This is important because it builds resilience of the bank to shocks. In an event that the Malawi economy is struggling the company will perform much better than the companies that purely depend on the domestic market,” said Nyasulu.

She said the investment by NBM plc is also good for the economy because it allows the bank to reinvest profits from the foreign investment (ACB) and contribute to the overall growth of the economy.

CDEDI accuses Chakwera, Gotani-Hara of paralysing parliamentary committee meetings to dodge questions on the K6.2billion loot

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Namiwa: Cdedi director

The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has accused President Lazarus Chakwera and Speaker of the National Assembly, Catherine Gotani-Hara, of paralysing parliamentary committee meetings to dodge questions on the K6.2 billion Covid-19 response funds, which is feared to have been looted.

CDEDI executive director Sylvester Namiwa claims that their independent investigations revealed that the Gotani-Hara got
instructions from Chakwera to ensure that parliament is not functional during this time, in an attempt to cover up the abuse of the Covid-19 funds.

“CDEDI has noted with disappointment on the conduct by the State President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera and the Speaker of the National Assembly Hon. Catherine Gotani- Hara who seem to have conspired to paralyse the parliamentary committee
meetings on the pretext of the Covid-19 preventive measures. Our expectation was that the parliamentary committees such as those on Health, Budget and Finance, Public Accounts Committee and the Welfare Committee, were supposed to be meet to discuss the MK6.2 billion which has mysteriously grown wings at the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA),” Namiwa says in a statement issued on Monday night.

Namiwa alleges that Chakwera and Gotani-Hara have prioritized the meetings for the Public Appointments Committee (PAC) of parliament, solely to discuss the firing of the two Commissioners for the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) and the appointment of the Director General (DG) for the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA).

He has challenged Gotani-Hara to consider taking advantage of innovations in the world of technology to ensure that such committees, or better still the whole National Assembly resumes its meetings virtually.

CDEDI pens Chakwera on MEC Commissioners Kunje and Mathanga: Accuses the President and Speaker of conspiring to victimize the Commissioners

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By Watipaso Mzungu

A local human rights body, the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI), has written President Lazarus Chakwera, cautioning the Head of State against ignoring the legal opinion of the Attorney General (AG) Dr. Chikosa Silungwe on the status of the embattled Commissioners of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), Jean Mathanga and Linda Kunje.

Chakwera has refused to offer letters of appointment to Mathanga and Kunje and the two have been going without salaries.

His decision is in conflict with the legal advice of Silungwe who recently wrote the State Vice President, Dr. Saulos Chilima, advising him and all controlling officers to abide by the Republican Constitution before moving or indeed firing anyone from the public service.

And this has prompted CDEDI to warn Chakwera that the organization and all well-meaning Malawians will hold Chakwera personally liable, together with the Secretary to the President and Cabinet and the Speaker of Parliament for the court remedies, in the event that the Mathanga and Kunje succeed in their court case.

The organization’s executive director Sylvester Namiwa says they do not want the implications of such shameful tendencies of impunity to be shouldered by the taxpayers, who are also the voters.

Namiwa: Cdedi director

“CDEDI is further reminding you, Sir, that the Tonse Alliance administration is running government today as beneficiaries of the same respect for the rule of law, as manifested by the landmark ruling delivered by the country’s Constitutional Court on the Presidential Elections case on 3rd February, 2020. Notwithstanding the foregoing, CDEDI and all well-meaning Malawians are dismayed by the actions of your own office to disregard the rule of law as exemplified by your continued refusal to grant letters of appointment to these two commissioners despite the AGs legal opinion and your current shenanigans to fire the two MEC Commissioners through the Public Appointments Committee of parliament (PAC),” reads the statement, which Namiwa has directed to Chakwera today.

“Your Excellency will recall that CDEDI delivered a petition to your office through the district councils of Lilongwe and Blantyre which among other things, clearly requested you not to sit on the Attorney General’s legal opinion on the appointment of the two commissioners, but to act on it by issuing appointment letters to the two MEC Commissioners as opined by the AG. Your Excellency Sir, the decision by your office and that of the Secretary to the President and Cabinet to ignore the Attorney General’s legal opinion vindicates our earlier stand that your action is a clear case of political victimisation coupled with your nepotistic tendency,” it adds.

Namiwa says it is sad that in Chakwera’s determination to politically victimise the two commissioners, the President and the Speaker of Parliament have conspired to use PAC to attempt to legitimize the firing of the two commissioners.

He warns that Malawians will not be fooled by “these dirty tricks from someone who is supposed to be their president”.

“In fact, this is a shame for someone who vowed to protect the Republican Constitution. In any case and as opined by the Attorney General, we hope you are aware that by firing the two commissioners on the grounds of “incompetence” in the last cohort of commissioners, you will be nullifying your own Presidency. You should therefore not be surprised if Malawians go onto the streets to call for fresh elections, once you fire the two commissioners,” fumes Namiwa.

He further reminds Chakwera that he is not the law, and neither is he above it.

“Your continued disregard of the Attorney General’s legal opinion, therefore, smacks of executive arrogance. Please note that should the two MEC Commissioners decide to take Government to court for unfair dismissal, CDEDI and all well-meaning Malawians will hold you personally liable, together with the Secretary to the President and Cabinet and the Speaker of Parliament for the court remedies, in the event that the two MEC Commissioners succeed in their court case. We do not want the implications of such shameful tendencies of impunity to be shouldered by the taxpayers, who are also the voters. Your Excellency may wish to know that ignoring legal opinion from the Attorney General which is a constitutional office undermines the authority of the office, a development which has the potential to drag the country into a banana republic where everyone does as it pleases them,” concludes Namiwa.

MCP hits at own leader: Govt positions not for Assemblies of God friends

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…Chakwera promotes young brother under mysterious circumstances

CHAKWERA: Under-fire

Things are literally falling apart for President Lazarus Chakwera who is now being accused of favouritism and nepotism by his own Malawi Congress Party (MCP).

Chakwera is under heavy fire from his own party for allegedly giving lucrative government positions to Malawi Assemblies of God Church Elders.

In a statement which Malawi Voice has seen, a group calling itself Second Liberation of Malawi Nation has since threatened vigils across the country should Chakwera fails to meet their demands by 21February.

According to the statement signed by former MCP MP for Kasungu West Alex Major, the group wants Secretary to Government Zangazanga Chikhosi fired on grounds that he is not a bonafide member of MCP and is deliberately frustrating government business.

The group is also asking for the head of Chief of Staff Prince Kapondamgaga, Chakwera’s son in law Sean Kampondeni and Chief Finance Officer at State House Gideon Kalumbu.

Ironically the trio are involved in a hotelgate scandal where State House were paying millions of tax payers for hotel accommodation of a private contractor to State House.

“Prince Kapondamgaga has never been MCP apart from being your church elder,” reads the letter in part.

The group says they want Chikhosi out together with his deputy Janet Banda because ‘he has never been an MCP person apart from having close connections with the DPP…’.

“Let us remind you that you came to power because of the party not family or church,” they said.

The group claims to be enjoying support from 95 percent of MCP MPs, 95 percent of MCP NEC and 100 percent of MPs from Tonse Alliance Partners.

President Chakwera has appointed Dr Queen Dube, wife to Chakwera’s trusted cleric Bishop Dube during his Assemblies of God days as Director of Health Services and also his young brother James Chakwera as Director of Aviation Services. No known interviews were conducted for the two positions to give chance to others to compete, a promise which Chakwera preached during his campaign rallies before the elections.

The group has given Chakwera two weeks up to 21st February 2021 to sort out the mess or they will hold vigils at Kamuzu Palace until their demands are met.

Tik tok!

Oops!By-elections fever forces Chakwera to condole Mia family

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OLD GOOD DAYS

President Lazarus Chakwera is a scared man. With mutiny brewing in his own party and impending by- elections in the Lower Shire, Chakwera had no choice but to dash off to Ngabu to pay last respects to his party’s financier the late Sidik Mia one month after his death.

However, some sectors of the society feel President Chakwera should be ashamed and embarrassed for visiting Mia’s grave almost one month after the Transport Minister succumbed to Covid-19.

Mia together with fellow cabinet colleague Lingson Belekanyama died within hours on 12 January 2021. They were both buried the same day in Ngabu and Lilongwe respectively.

Last week, the High Court in Blantyre nullified Parliamentary elections of Nsanje North, Chikwawa East and Nsanje Central constituencies.

Chakwera visited former president Joyce Banda in Lilongwe last week to condole her on the loss of her son Geoffrey Kachale Banda who also succumbed to Covid-19.

“He is coming here because he has heard about the by elections. Otherwise you can’t take the whole month without visiting your own party vice president who funded your campaign and even paid for your accommodation in Blantyre, it does not make sense,” said one angry MCP supporter at Ngabu in Chikwawa.

“We are eagerly waiting to see on when he will visit Mwalwanda’s and Belekanyama’s resting places,” he added.

President Chakwera came under heavy attack after failing to either attend Mia’s burial ceremony or send a representative.

The late Mia for starters, sacrificed his energy, resources and money to revive MCP political muscle from shameful defeat in opposition for more 26 years, loosing elections after elections.

Only six months into leadership, Mia succumbed to Covid-19 with little rewards of his sweat.

What surprised many was on how the late Mia remains buried without MCP representatives, even Chakwera sending condolence messages to the bereaved family as many expected to announce at the burial ceremony at Ngabu, Chikwawa, home village.

Later an audio went viral communicating to the Muslim community in Malawi as the late Mia’s religion, expressed sadness the way Chakwera and MCP treated the late Mbuya’s remains.

“Immediately after death pronouncement in the morning of Tuesday, January 12, 2021, we spent about three hours at Queens Central Hospital without any MCP or Tonse government officials to be part of Muslim Jhadhi community which handled the whole burial ceremony.”

“We expected traffic police officers to help clearing the road from hospital to the late’s house till home village Ngabu in Chakwera considering that Mia was a senior cabinet minister and MCP Vice President but nothing of that sort happened,” worried a Muslim brother in the audio.

He added, “Our hope was on our way from the late Mia house (Namiwawa, Blantyre) that police traffic officers could come in but nothing of that sort that we had to wait for traffic lights (robots) for minutes with the remains of the senior cabinet minister until I used my vehicle to clear the road till we got here at home village at Ngabu.

“When we arrived at Ngabu for burial later in the evening, we also expected Malawi government and MCP officials to speak at the funeral where we were up to 7 pm but nothing happened when we just head that the head of state was speaking on radio. Did Mia really deserve this despite all his sacrifices to the leadership?”

During the national address following Mia’s address on January 12, Chakwera’s face showed no emotions to signify that he had lost two of his cabinet ministers.