...heavy police presence in Blantyre
...uniformed, plain-clothed police officers all-about
Blantyre City Centre Market is closed for business today, save for traders who sell their goods and offer services outside the covered sections.
All the gates to the two covered sections- where clothers, books, fresh foods,groceries are sold- are closed and rocked.
But so are People's Trading Centre (PTC) shops. PTC suffered extensive damage during the July 20 demonstrations, to the extent that Lilongwe 'protesters' rooted and, finally, gutted down Kawale PTC.
When Zachimalawi visited Kawale PTC (in Lilongwe) on July 24 this year, only 'utterly-shocked' best explains the feeling I had. It came down to me as a form of 'modern shame' to see Kawale PTC gutted like that, by people who are served by the same in more ways than one.
Look at transport costs to Lilongwe City Centre. Look at the beauty that was Kawale PTC. Look at employment opportunities it accorded some of the community members.
But all that was ignored on July 20.
Residents now blame it on people from other townships; people, they say, do not appreciate the advantages Kawale PTC offered them.
Owners of the shop, Press Corporation Limited only had one explanation.
"It seems that people still think PTC shops are owned by government. We need to carry out massive public awareness campaigns to dispel this misconception," said Prof. Mathews Chikaonda, PCL Chief Executive Officer.
That could explain why these shops are closed today, along with many other business establishments.
The other thing that has come out clearly is that there is a strong police presence in Blantyre, both plain-clothed and uniformed officers.
They must be here to enforce the calm, and not the peace and order.
Really.
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Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Like Sunday Like Wednesday
Blantyre: It is calm outside. In Blantyre's Central Business District and outskirts, the scene is silent and still.
In fact, the day could be equated to Sunday- half-Sunday- because most shops are closed.
But the hush has not 'filled' the streets, city grounds, mountains and valleys; it is quiet in the shops, too. There is nobody, not even the owners and workers, inside.
They are closed.
The mood is a little bit sombre, too; it is as if people are feeling something empty, something lacking inside, something wrong within.
That must be the excitement of matching. It must have left yesterday (Tuesday) when reports that the planned demonstrations had been cancelled.
Everyone is in negotiation-mood, everyone wants to extend a hand towards the abstract called peace. It is working, it seems, at least for now.
Peace-building prayers set the mood on Tuesday, as members of the Malawi Council of Churches, Episcopal Conference of Malawi, Evangelical Association of Malawi, Muslim Association of Malawi gathered at Kwacha International Conference Centre, a.k.a. COMESA Hall, to offer the nation's grievances to the God.
President Bingu wa Mutharika, who has been conducting whistle-stop tours the past seven days, inviting Malawians to a cocktail of peace, was there in attendance.
Humbled.
Prayerful.
Submissive.
Sombre.
At least for once.
The last time Mutharika wore this 'sombre', 'peaceful', submissive', 'prayeful' mask was between the years 2004 and 2009. This was during his first five-year term in office.
It was a sad moment for Malawi, too. Because this was a time the opposition was in majority inParliament, and clearly abused their numbers.
Some would say the way Mutharika is playing with the human numbers today, to achieve personal goals. Private goals.
The opposition could manage to hold the nation to ransom, prioritising 'impeachment' procedures at the expense of the National Budget.
Yet, this was during Budget Sessions in Parliament.
The truth was there for the taking, for all to see, and appreciate. But the opposition Malawi Congress Party, United Democratic Front, People's Progressive Movement, among others stood on the moral high ground, thumping their feet down, fighting for impeachment procedures.
Mutharika did what worked then; appealing for public support.
He would do it wearing a sombre, submissive, humble face. The nation was convinced.
That is why Civil Society Organisations organised vigils. In Malawi's cold month of June, they gathered at the gates leading to the New State House- President Mutharika's official residence, a residence that was Malawi's Parliament as well.
The people were not against the State residence, or the State President. They were against the opposition people who met their, under the banner of legislators, to frustrate government's development agenda.
And civil society won this battle of common sense, as the opposition would, then, bow down to pressure and pass the budget.
Always, it was not Mutharika who called the shots; it was not him who won the battle. The winners were the civil society members, the nation.
Today, Mutharika has, somehow, turned against the same civil society, calling them names, giving them negative tags.
That is why civil society reverted to the old way- which is the most recently used way because 2004 and 2009 are not that far away; their scent is still here with us- of doing things: vigils, demonstrations.
Mutharika has discovered the pain opposition parties felt. Civil society action pushes leaders to a corner, giving them little room to 'walk-around'.
That is why Mutharika was there at COMESA on Tuesday, wearing a humble musk. It is a musk the opposition knows too well about.
However, it is not only Mutharika, religious leaders, wearing this musk. The whole nation is.
That is why Blantyre, for one, is quiet today.
That is why reports indicate that Lilongwe is equally quiet.
Like Sunday like Wednesday. That is how things are.
That is how this peace feels like.
This temporary peace.
In fact, the day could be equated to Sunday- half-Sunday- because most shops are closed.
But the hush has not 'filled' the streets, city grounds, mountains and valleys; it is quiet in the shops, too. There is nobody, not even the owners and workers, inside.
They are closed.
The mood is a little bit sombre, too; it is as if people are feeling something empty, something lacking inside, something wrong within.
That must be the excitement of matching. It must have left yesterday (Tuesday) when reports that the planned demonstrations had been cancelled.
Everyone is in negotiation-mood, everyone wants to extend a hand towards the abstract called peace. It is working, it seems, at least for now.
Peace-building prayers set the mood on Tuesday, as members of the Malawi Council of Churches, Episcopal Conference of Malawi, Evangelical Association of Malawi, Muslim Association of Malawi gathered at Kwacha International Conference Centre, a.k.a. COMESA Hall, to offer the nation's grievances to the God.
President Bingu wa Mutharika, who has been conducting whistle-stop tours the past seven days, inviting Malawians to a cocktail of peace, was there in attendance.
Humbled.
Prayerful.
Submissive.
Sombre.
At least for once.
The last time Mutharika wore this 'sombre', 'peaceful', submissive', 'prayeful' mask was between the years 2004 and 2009. This was during his first five-year term in office.
It was a sad moment for Malawi, too. Because this was a time the opposition was in majority inParliament, and clearly abused their numbers.
Some would say the way Mutharika is playing with the human numbers today, to achieve personal goals. Private goals.
The opposition could manage to hold the nation to ransom, prioritising 'impeachment' procedures at the expense of the National Budget.
Yet, this was during Budget Sessions in Parliament.
The truth was there for the taking, for all to see, and appreciate. But the opposition Malawi Congress Party, United Democratic Front, People's Progressive Movement, among others stood on the moral high ground, thumping their feet down, fighting for impeachment procedures.
Mutharika did what worked then; appealing for public support.
He would do it wearing a sombre, submissive, humble face. The nation was convinced.
That is why Civil Society Organisations organised vigils. In Malawi's cold month of June, they gathered at the gates leading to the New State House- President Mutharika's official residence, a residence that was Malawi's Parliament as well.
The people were not against the State residence, or the State President. They were against the opposition people who met their, under the banner of legislators, to frustrate government's development agenda.
And civil society won this battle of common sense, as the opposition would, then, bow down to pressure and pass the budget.
Always, it was not Mutharika who called the shots; it was not him who won the battle. The winners were the civil society members, the nation.
Today, Mutharika has, somehow, turned against the same civil society, calling them names, giving them negative tags.
That is why civil society reverted to the old way- which is the most recently used way because 2004 and 2009 are not that far away; their scent is still here with us- of doing things: vigils, demonstrations.
Mutharika has discovered the pain opposition parties felt. Civil society action pushes leaders to a corner, giving them little room to 'walk-around'.
That is why Mutharika was there at COMESA on Tuesday, wearing a humble musk. It is a musk the opposition knows too well about.
However, it is not only Mutharika, religious leaders, wearing this musk. The whole nation is.
That is why Blantyre, for one, is quiet today.
That is why reports indicate that Lilongwe is equally quiet.
Like Sunday like Wednesday. That is how things are.
That is how this peace feels like.
This temporary peace.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Civil Society Leaders Postpone ‘Event of Death’
Just a little longer.
Malawians who were ‘marked’ for death by Malawi’s Non-Governmental and Civil Society Organizations still have a little while to live, following the postponement of the August 17 Demonstrations.
The demos, which have come to be known as an ‘Event of death’, were to be staged by NGOs and CSOs in Malawi’s four major cities of Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Zomba, purportedly against worsening living standards.
This comes at the back of two-day demonstrations organized on July 20 last month, in which, at least, 18 people lost their lives.
A Malawi Human Rights Commission report released yesterday indicates that 15 people died of gun-shot wounds. The report blames Malawi Police Service officers’ brutality and indiscriminate use of live ammunition.
NGO and CSO leaders attach the term ‘national’ to the demonstrations, yet they occur in less than seven districts in a country that has 28 administrative districts. The leaders also call the demonstrations ‘mass’ when the issues in focus exclude challenges that affect the poor.
For instance, NGO and CSO have demanded that President Bingu wa Mutharika’s administration addresses forex and fuel shortage challenges the country is grappling with- leaving paraffin, which is used by, at least, 84 percent of Malawians out of the equation.
Malawi’s poor have had to accept darkness as a temporary companion for the past eight month, leaving on the dark on empty stomachs.
But the CSO’s and NGOs have never spoken out against paraffin scarcity, leaving the poor to fight their own battles, and face up to negative devices.
Electrification has been another major problem. Out of the population of 13 million, only 16 percent has access to electricity. But CSOs and NGOs have never spoken for the poor on the issue. Their electrified houses make it impossible for them to see the darkness outside.
In fact, their generators, too, make them live in artificial light always, setting them miles apart from the realities of life in Malawi. These realities are often sad, but the Malawian has managed to leave his or her smile intact.
That is why Malawi calls itself the Warm Heart of Africa. It has people who smile in pain, and celebrate bare-footed. In Malawi’s biting winters, old women , orphaned and other vulnerable children walk bare-footed on the sand, or black clay soils.
In summer, it gets so hot the soil ‘bites’ more than hold the ground. The poor still walk, bare-footed and in tattered clothes, to the next maize meal.
Most of these maize and millet mills use diesel. But, because only the poor use these mills, the rich- who include NGO and CSO leaders- have never spoken about this ‘pain’.
These problems are not exclusive to rural areas. Malawi’s urban population is full of people who live in ramshackle house. People who receive peanuts and live in slams.
Such slams are common in Ndirande, Malawi’s most populous township located at the hub of the country’s commercial city, Blantyre. They are an eyesore in Mbayani, Chigwirizano, Chinsapo and Nathenje.
The NGO and CSO leaders see them, as they pass by, in their 4x4 vehicles.
They shake their heads in the presence of donors, promising to do something about it; that is, if given funding.
But they know in their hearts of hearts that the poverty they see all around- the poverty on the smiling faces- is a money-making venture.
That is how they barter their bread and cheese.
That is why they have never spoken of these problems faced by the poor.
That is why they feel, in their hearts of hearts, that the poor are weak. If not, why else can’t they help themselves.
The CSO and NGO leaders feel, deep down their stomachs, that poverty is a physical hole with staircases one climbs up on. If these poor people cannot see the staircases out of poverty, then, they don’t think- they can be used as pawns.
After all, they do not need payment, these people; they will get their rewards when they root and go on rampage. When they break into Departmental stores, ransack goods, and destroy human lives- that is their reward.
So the poor are engaged, becoming pawns in a game of the living. The living are the rich, the elite who live in Low Density areas such as Namiwawa, Nyambadwe. The rich are the living.
If the marchers, the poor, die; it is one of those things. If they disappear from under the sun, that is a ‘good’ statistic to be sent to Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations, and other bodies.
These bodies will rant against the Malawi government. They will ask Malawi’s development partners to withdraw financial support and grants (like the United States government has done with the K50 billion) and support NGOs and CSOs instead.
That is money.
There is money in demonstrations.
And CSO and NGO leaders have learned about that the good way.
Here are people who advocate for, to quote Apostle Timothy Khoviwa of Word of Faith Temple, ‘evil’ things. Strange things.
What do you expect from people who behave differently, advocating for the unheard of in a conservative society such as ours? Do they care about human lives?
The answer is a resolute ‘No’. These people advocate for ‘nasty’, ‘strange things’ (to quote Peter Mandala of Salima Youth Organisation), things that are not supported by the majority. And the majority, if the truth be told, care about the dead. Malawi’s majority fears death.
Not with these CSO and NGO leaders.
They make money out of death.
That is why they wanted some more people to die, so that the Malawi Human Rights Commission could release another questionable report; a report that condemns, and government and increases government’s chances of losing development support.
This support, which is money, will go to CSOs.
That is the truth, the heart of the demonstrations.
There is nothing more; just the wish to achieve these selfish goals.
The evidence that this battle of self-aggrandizement was fought is the life that is lost, the life of a seven-year old, still in the morning of his life.
Gone and forgotten by the CSO and NGO leaders who started it all. But alive in the hearts and minds of his relatives.
These CSO and NGOs must really apologise to Malawians for the misery they have caused. The misery that was theirs, and theirs alone, but which they have put out as national concerns.
Leaders who seemed to enjoy the laying of wreaths.
Political parties such as the United Democratic Front and Malawi Congress Party took advantage of the deaths, went to lay wreaths in the morning; in the afternoon, they addressed political meetings.
So, that is it. Death is a campaign tool. Especially violent death.
UDF’s Atupele Muluzi did it in Mzuzu.
MCP President did it in Lilongwe.
But the worst of all is President Bingu wa Mutharika.
The man Mutharika is also a shame. At a time the nation was weeping, he was busy celebrating the death of the 18 with Democratic Progressive Party cadets.
They drank.
They danced.
Joseph Tembo played the songs.
The songs of death.
And the ruling DPP cadets, and the President, danced to the tunes of death.
At Sanjika Palace in Blantyre. At the New State House in Lilongwe. At the State Lodge in Mzuzu. Mutharika laughed, and danced, and celebrated.
They guzzled beer like nobody’s business; watering down the spirits of the death.
The people Mutharika said dies in vain.
That was immoral, too.
The President must repent.
And ask for forgiveness from Malawians.
You do not dance when there is death in the house. That is Malawi culture.
A culture complimented by common sense.
Some may say Mutharika was only dancing to celebrate the wickedness of CSO and NGO leaders; people who do not deserve to be called leaders because they play with people’s lives.
They do not play with their children’s or cousins lives; they play with the poor’s lives.
They do not march and demonstrate near their homes. They do it in the streets, where the big shops are- pay for the poor pawns that are thrown around in this game called CSO advocacy.
It is an immoral game.
But Malawian commoners- commoners whose behaviour smacks of suspicions (where have they gotten the money to do this?)- James Willie and Rodrick Makapu have seen sense in peace and dialogue (some of the fruits of common sense) and gone to the High Court in Blantyre.
Willie and Makapu’s mission: To stop death on August 17, 2011.
They call themselves small-scale business people who ply their trades in Limbe (the commercial centre of Blantyre) and Blantyre Central Business District.
The inter partes injunction puts Undule Mwakasungula, Reverend MacDonald Sembereka, the Human Rights Consultative Committee, the Malawi Congress Party, the United Democratic Front, the People’s Transformation Party (those wishing to take part in the anti-government demos), as the first defendants.
The second defendant is Davie Charles Kanyoza, standing for all those wishing to hold demos in support of the Malawi government.
That has affected the planned demos.
Private Radio Stations such as MIJ (Malawi Institute of Journalism) have already started announcing that the demos have been postponed. MIJ has even gone a step further, saying it wishes Malawi well, and would, therefore, like to appeal to Malawians to give dialogue a chance.
That is a step further. That is more than taking responsibility. That is positive journalism.
And so gets postponed August 17, 2011’s ‘Event of death’.
The poor- those marked for death- can live a little bit longer.
For now.
Tomorrow, CSO and NGO leaders may decide that their (the poor’s) time to die is nigh.
That call will be hidden in messages that announce the next round of demos.
Let us give peace a chance.
Let us allow others to live.
Let us not scare Foreign Direct Investors.
Let us protect the businesses that are already here.
Let us maintain our ‘Malawi: The Warm Heart of Africa’ accolade.
Let us be calm.
We have been together for so long.
Malawians who were ‘marked’ for death by Malawi’s Non-Governmental and Civil Society Organizations still have a little while to live, following the postponement of the August 17 Demonstrations.
The demos, which have come to be known as an ‘Event of death’, were to be staged by NGOs and CSOs in Malawi’s four major cities of Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Zomba, purportedly against worsening living standards.
This comes at the back of two-day demonstrations organized on July 20 last month, in which, at least, 18 people lost their lives.
A Malawi Human Rights Commission report released yesterday indicates that 15 people died of gun-shot wounds. The report blames Malawi Police Service officers’ brutality and indiscriminate use of live ammunition.
NGO and CSO leaders attach the term ‘national’ to the demonstrations, yet they occur in less than seven districts in a country that has 28 administrative districts. The leaders also call the demonstrations ‘mass’ when the issues in focus exclude challenges that affect the poor.
For instance, NGO and CSO have demanded that President Bingu wa Mutharika’s administration addresses forex and fuel shortage challenges the country is grappling with- leaving paraffin, which is used by, at least, 84 percent of Malawians out of the equation.
Malawi’s poor have had to accept darkness as a temporary companion for the past eight month, leaving on the dark on empty stomachs.
But the CSO’s and NGOs have never spoken out against paraffin scarcity, leaving the poor to fight their own battles, and face up to negative devices.
Electrification has been another major problem. Out of the population of 13 million, only 16 percent has access to electricity. But CSOs and NGOs have never spoken for the poor on the issue. Their electrified houses make it impossible for them to see the darkness outside.
In fact, their generators, too, make them live in artificial light always, setting them miles apart from the realities of life in Malawi. These realities are often sad, but the Malawian has managed to leave his or her smile intact.
That is why Malawi calls itself the Warm Heart of Africa. It has people who smile in pain, and celebrate bare-footed. In Malawi’s biting winters, old women , orphaned and other vulnerable children walk bare-footed on the sand, or black clay soils.
In summer, it gets so hot the soil ‘bites’ more than hold the ground. The poor still walk, bare-footed and in tattered clothes, to the next maize meal.
Most of these maize and millet mills use diesel. But, because only the poor use these mills, the rich- who include NGO and CSO leaders- have never spoken about this ‘pain’.
These problems are not exclusive to rural areas. Malawi’s urban population is full of people who live in ramshackle house. People who receive peanuts and live in slams.
Such slams are common in Ndirande, Malawi’s most populous township located at the hub of the country’s commercial city, Blantyre. They are an eyesore in Mbayani, Chigwirizano, Chinsapo and Nathenje.
The NGO and CSO leaders see them, as they pass by, in their 4x4 vehicles.
They shake their heads in the presence of donors, promising to do something about it; that is, if given funding.
But they know in their hearts of hearts that the poverty they see all around- the poverty on the smiling faces- is a money-making venture.
That is how they barter their bread and cheese.
That is why they have never spoken of these problems faced by the poor.
That is why they feel, in their hearts of hearts, that the poor are weak. If not, why else can’t they help themselves.
The CSO and NGO leaders feel, deep down their stomachs, that poverty is a physical hole with staircases one climbs up on. If these poor people cannot see the staircases out of poverty, then, they don’t think- they can be used as pawns.
After all, they do not need payment, these people; they will get their rewards when they root and go on rampage. When they break into Departmental stores, ransack goods, and destroy human lives- that is their reward.
So the poor are engaged, becoming pawns in a game of the living. The living are the rich, the elite who live in Low Density areas such as Namiwawa, Nyambadwe. The rich are the living.
If the marchers, the poor, die; it is one of those things. If they disappear from under the sun, that is a ‘good’ statistic to be sent to Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations, and other bodies.
These bodies will rant against the Malawi government. They will ask Malawi’s development partners to withdraw financial support and grants (like the United States government has done with the K50 billion) and support NGOs and CSOs instead.
That is money.
There is money in demonstrations.
And CSO and NGO leaders have learned about that the good way.
Here are people who advocate for, to quote Apostle Timothy Khoviwa of Word of Faith Temple, ‘evil’ things. Strange things.
What do you expect from people who behave differently, advocating for the unheard of in a conservative society such as ours? Do they care about human lives?
The answer is a resolute ‘No’. These people advocate for ‘nasty’, ‘strange things’ (to quote Peter Mandala of Salima Youth Organisation), things that are not supported by the majority. And the majority, if the truth be told, care about the dead. Malawi’s majority fears death.
Not with these CSO and NGO leaders.
They make money out of death.
That is why they wanted some more people to die, so that the Malawi Human Rights Commission could release another questionable report; a report that condemns, and government and increases government’s chances of losing development support.
This support, which is money, will go to CSOs.
That is the truth, the heart of the demonstrations.
There is nothing more; just the wish to achieve these selfish goals.
The evidence that this battle of self-aggrandizement was fought is the life that is lost, the life of a seven-year old, still in the morning of his life.
Gone and forgotten by the CSO and NGO leaders who started it all. But alive in the hearts and minds of his relatives.
These CSO and NGOs must really apologise to Malawians for the misery they have caused. The misery that was theirs, and theirs alone, but which they have put out as national concerns.
Leaders who seemed to enjoy the laying of wreaths.
Political parties such as the United Democratic Front and Malawi Congress Party took advantage of the deaths, went to lay wreaths in the morning; in the afternoon, they addressed political meetings.
So, that is it. Death is a campaign tool. Especially violent death.
UDF’s Atupele Muluzi did it in Mzuzu.
MCP President did it in Lilongwe.
But the worst of all is President Bingu wa Mutharika.
The man Mutharika is also a shame. At a time the nation was weeping, he was busy celebrating the death of the 18 with Democratic Progressive Party cadets.
They drank.
They danced.
Joseph Tembo played the songs.
The songs of death.
And the ruling DPP cadets, and the President, danced to the tunes of death.
At Sanjika Palace in Blantyre. At the New State House in Lilongwe. At the State Lodge in Mzuzu. Mutharika laughed, and danced, and celebrated.
They guzzled beer like nobody’s business; watering down the spirits of the death.
The people Mutharika said dies in vain.
That was immoral, too.
The President must repent.
And ask for forgiveness from Malawians.
You do not dance when there is death in the house. That is Malawi culture.
A culture complimented by common sense.
Some may say Mutharika was only dancing to celebrate the wickedness of CSO and NGO leaders; people who do not deserve to be called leaders because they play with people’s lives.
They do not play with their children’s or cousins lives; they play with the poor’s lives.
They do not march and demonstrate near their homes. They do it in the streets, where the big shops are- pay for the poor pawns that are thrown around in this game called CSO advocacy.
It is an immoral game.
But Malawian commoners- commoners whose behaviour smacks of suspicions (where have they gotten the money to do this?)- James Willie and Rodrick Makapu have seen sense in peace and dialogue (some of the fruits of common sense) and gone to the High Court in Blantyre.
Willie and Makapu’s mission: To stop death on August 17, 2011.
They call themselves small-scale business people who ply their trades in Limbe (the commercial centre of Blantyre) and Blantyre Central Business District.
The inter partes injunction puts Undule Mwakasungula, Reverend MacDonald Sembereka, the Human Rights Consultative Committee, the Malawi Congress Party, the United Democratic Front, the People’s Transformation Party (those wishing to take part in the anti-government demos), as the first defendants.
The second defendant is Davie Charles Kanyoza, standing for all those wishing to hold demos in support of the Malawi government.
That has affected the planned demos.
Private Radio Stations such as MIJ (Malawi Institute of Journalism) have already started announcing that the demos have been postponed. MIJ has even gone a step further, saying it wishes Malawi well, and would, therefore, like to appeal to Malawians to give dialogue a chance.
That is a step further. That is more than taking responsibility. That is positive journalism.
And so gets postponed August 17, 2011’s ‘Event of death’.
The poor- those marked for death- can live a little bit longer.
For now.
Tomorrow, CSO and NGO leaders may decide that their (the poor’s) time to die is nigh.
That call will be hidden in messages that announce the next round of demos.
Let us give peace a chance.
Let us allow others to live.
Let us not scare Foreign Direct Investors.
Let us protect the businesses that are already here.
Let us maintain our ‘Malawi: The Warm Heart of Africa’ accolade.
Let us be calm.
We have been together for so long.
Monday, August 8, 2011
NGOs Taking Malawians as Pawns
Malawians should wake up, and stop listening to people who were never elected. These people are the leaders of Malawian Non-Governmental and Civil Society Organizations.
After the bloody July 20, 2011 Demonstrations- a forum where Malawians were expressing their dismay over forex, fuel and other challenges- these NGO and CSO leaders have taken it as a license to engage Malawians in useless games, a game whose playing cards are money and personal aggrandizement.
Also at play in the game are human lives. Last time, which is July 20, 18 of these lives were played like cards, and lost. But none of the NGO leaders died.
If anything, some of them were just ‘scratched’ by police officers, and ‘washed’ with teargas. Nothing wrong with that, the Malawi Police Service- overrun and outnumbered by the marchers- just wanted to see if these unelected NGO and CSO leaders are really human and can cry.
Good test.
Now, some of these NGO leaders are talking their usual nonsense in the press. Among other things, they are demanding (and not pleading with the government, politely) that President Bingu wa Mutharika meets their petition-demands, or else ‘people’ will march.
Now, I want to know, which ‘people’ are these frustrated NGO and CSO leaders talking about? Do they have people, at all? Who elected them to be looking at problems facing Malawi and, then, organizing demonstrations?
Of course, they have been speaking of marching on the 17th of August. That is hardly two weeks on the cards.
As usual, they will stick (or play with) people’s lives.
Some people will die, but none of these NGO leaders will be among the victims.
All they want is make Mutharika appear bad.
All they want is to make more money over people’s lives; they want to achieve more personal happiness over human souls.
They are heartless people, in fact, because they do not care. They shed crocodile tears.
They have mansions in town; those who die, only ramshackle houses. The people who die, like the Police officers who shoot at them, sometime point-blank, have long-been neglected and live miserable lives.
But the greedy NGO leaders, people who have nothing to offer to this beautiful country of Malawi, live comfortable lives. Of course, contrary to their claims, they have no people- just some two, three, four children.
Some of them violate human rights. They do nasty things to children, and housemaids, and house servants, and relatives.
They don’t really care about this country. They send their children to expensive schools abroad, as our children languish in dilapidated buildings, where teachers are far-outnumbered by pupils and students.
And these people want Malawians to march, and march and march. Some of the marchers will not return home. They, instead, will march on and on until they embrace death. Marching towards the abyss.
When the fuel and forex come in less than 24 months’ time, and all these problems are gone and forgotten, the departed will not come back; they will be forgotten.
The NGO and CSO leaders will continue to smile with their children (they have already neglected their own relatives). They will marvel at the Windmill college degrees obtained by their children.
But the parents and relatives of the human souls that get sacrificed in this game called ‘civil society advocacy’ will never have their loved ones back; they will not even forget.
That time, NGO and CSO leaders will be looking at their brand new vehicles. Adoring the vehicle. Smiling at it.
The truth is, Bingu wa Mutharika is a man of great ideas. He is the best, after Kamuzu Banda, President Malawi will ever have.
When he will be gone, after serving his second term, we will remember him, and see how great he was.
No, the time is now. Let us support him. Not these unelected NGO leaders who employ their relatives and housemaids.
After the bloody July 20, 2011 Demonstrations- a forum where Malawians were expressing their dismay over forex, fuel and other challenges- these NGO and CSO leaders have taken it as a license to engage Malawians in useless games, a game whose playing cards are money and personal aggrandizement.
Also at play in the game are human lives. Last time, which is July 20, 18 of these lives were played like cards, and lost. But none of the NGO leaders died.
If anything, some of them were just ‘scratched’ by police officers, and ‘washed’ with teargas. Nothing wrong with that, the Malawi Police Service- overrun and outnumbered by the marchers- just wanted to see if these unelected NGO and CSO leaders are really human and can cry.
Good test.
Now, some of these NGO leaders are talking their usual nonsense in the press. Among other things, they are demanding (and not pleading with the government, politely) that President Bingu wa Mutharika meets their petition-demands, or else ‘people’ will march.
Now, I want to know, which ‘people’ are these frustrated NGO and CSO leaders talking about? Do they have people, at all? Who elected them to be looking at problems facing Malawi and, then, organizing demonstrations?
Of course, they have been speaking of marching on the 17th of August. That is hardly two weeks on the cards.
As usual, they will stick (or play with) people’s lives.
Some people will die, but none of these NGO leaders will be among the victims.
All they want is make Mutharika appear bad.
All they want is to make more money over people’s lives; they want to achieve more personal happiness over human souls.
They are heartless people, in fact, because they do not care. They shed crocodile tears.
They have mansions in town; those who die, only ramshackle houses. The people who die, like the Police officers who shoot at them, sometime point-blank, have long-been neglected and live miserable lives.
But the greedy NGO leaders, people who have nothing to offer to this beautiful country of Malawi, live comfortable lives. Of course, contrary to their claims, they have no people- just some two, three, four children.
Some of them violate human rights. They do nasty things to children, and housemaids, and house servants, and relatives.
They don’t really care about this country. They send their children to expensive schools abroad, as our children languish in dilapidated buildings, where teachers are far-outnumbered by pupils and students.
And these people want Malawians to march, and march and march. Some of the marchers will not return home. They, instead, will march on and on until they embrace death. Marching towards the abyss.
When the fuel and forex come in less than 24 months’ time, and all these problems are gone and forgotten, the departed will not come back; they will be forgotten.
The NGO and CSO leaders will continue to smile with their children (they have already neglected their own relatives). They will marvel at the Windmill college degrees obtained by their children.
But the parents and relatives of the human souls that get sacrificed in this game called ‘civil society advocacy’ will never have their loved ones back; they will not even forget.
That time, NGO and CSO leaders will be looking at their brand new vehicles. Adoring the vehicle. Smiling at it.
The truth is, Bingu wa Mutharika is a man of great ideas. He is the best, after Kamuzu Banda, President Malawi will ever have.
When he will be gone, after serving his second term, we will remember him, and see how great he was.
No, the time is now. Let us support him. Not these unelected NGO leaders who employ their relatives and housemaids.
Big Brother Amplief Hang-Over
Why is it that, after every Big Brother Season, people get so angry in the end?
There are hopes, of course, and expectations- and these make the game interesting as it goes on.
But when these expectations fail, it pains inside. Especially because some of the winners are outright suspicious.
For heaven's sake, how can Luclay be denied the Big Brother Amplified prize money. In my, and many other people's opinions, Luclay deserved to get a share of the US$200,000 moola.
Lomwe, too.
You know what? There will be no surprise during next years Big Brother Season (that is, if organisers of the show still believe that there are many more years of cheating remaining) because the winner will be a South African.
It is all in the open. South Africans are angry, and justifiably so.
MNET will compensate them next year.
Last year, we all remember how favourite boy Munyaradzi Chidzonga got cheated at the end of the sojourn.
The question remains, though: Is it in the design of Big Brother seasons that people should get so excited about the show when in season, and angry afterwards?
You will find that this anger disappears everytime time we hear of another season of Big Brother.
Actually, I always go and pay for my DSTV connection every time I hear that the Big Brother show is back, and stop paying immediately after the show. Soccer does not matter to me, the continuous plays, and whatever.
The Big Brother show does.
Well, in conclusion- though alittle late than the flight that took our Big Brother Amplified representative, Lomwe, home landed- let me welcome Lomwe Gaga home.
He was great. He made us smile.
After after coming home empty-handed, Lomwe is full of the warm spirits. He is so happy, so inspiring.
Welcome home Lomwe, a.k.a Tendai Namate.
You made us proud. The future is long ahead of you, and so promising.
Don't count on it Malawians; next year is for a South African to win. It has been pre-arranged by the organisers of the show.
What an African shame!
There are hopes, of course, and expectations- and these make the game interesting as it goes on.
But when these expectations fail, it pains inside. Especially because some of the winners are outright suspicious.
For heaven's sake, how can Luclay be denied the Big Brother Amplified prize money. In my, and many other people's opinions, Luclay deserved to get a share of the US$200,000 moola.
Lomwe, too.
You know what? There will be no surprise during next years Big Brother Season (that is, if organisers of the show still believe that there are many more years of cheating remaining) because the winner will be a South African.
It is all in the open. South Africans are angry, and justifiably so.
MNET will compensate them next year.
Last year, we all remember how favourite boy Munyaradzi Chidzonga got cheated at the end of the sojourn.
The question remains, though: Is it in the design of Big Brother seasons that people should get so excited about the show when in season, and angry afterwards?
You will find that this anger disappears everytime time we hear of another season of Big Brother.
Actually, I always go and pay for my DSTV connection every time I hear that the Big Brother show is back, and stop paying immediately after the show. Soccer does not matter to me, the continuous plays, and whatever.
The Big Brother show does.
Well, in conclusion- though alittle late than the flight that took our Big Brother Amplified representative, Lomwe, home landed- let me welcome Lomwe Gaga home.
He was great. He made us smile.
After after coming home empty-handed, Lomwe is full of the warm spirits. He is so happy, so inspiring.
Welcome home Lomwe, a.k.a Tendai Namate.
You made us proud. The future is long ahead of you, and so promising.
Don't count on it Malawians; next year is for a South African to win. It has been pre-arranged by the organisers of the show.
What an African shame!
Friday, August 5, 2011
UN Dialogue to strengthen laws in the African continent’s fight against HIV
Pretoria, South Africa, August 4, 2011 – The United Nations has convened a consultative meeting in Pretoria for HIV experts, people living with the virus, civil society and government representatives to discuss key aspects of HIV and the law in Africa.
The Regional Dialogue, which is the sixth in a series of seven regional consultations globally, is being held to learn from individuals, communities, policy and law makers, judges and law enforcers. The dialogues are an opportunity affected by and vulnerable to HIV, including those whose voices are silenced by restrictive legal environments, to be heard.
Among the high profile delegates to the Dialogue, which was officially opened by South Africa’s Commissioner Simone Jiyane Deputy Director General in the Justice Department, are eleven of the Global Commissioners including Bience Gawanas (Commissioner for Social Affairs, African Union).
The Regional Dialogue, which is the sixth in a series of seven regional consultations globally, is being held to learn from individuals, communities, policy and law makers, judges and law enforcers. The dialogues are an opportunity affected by and vulnerable to HIV, including those whose voices are silenced by restrictive legal environments, to be heard.
Among the high profile delegates to the Dialogue, which was officially opened by South Africa’s Commissioner Simone Jiyane Deputy Director General in the Justice Department, are eleven of the Global Commissioners including Bience Gawanas (Commissioner for Social Affairs, African Union).
Gender Links: 50/50 yes we must!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
50/50 yes we must!
05 August 2011
Harare 5 August: The governance cluster of the Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance has called on SADC governments to redouble their efforts to attain the target of gender parity in all areas of decision-making by 2015.
In a communiqué re-launching the 50/50 campaign following a meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe, NGO representatives from nine SADC countries noted that with only four years to go, and an average representation of women in parliament of 25%, the region is only half way where it needs to be, with many countries having only one more election to go.
Women in Politics Support Unit (WIPSU), the governance cluster leader, and Gender Links, coordinator of the Alliance that campaigned for the adoption of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Gender Protocol, convened the meeting ahead of the SADC Heads of State Summit in Luanda on 17 August.
Delegates noted with concern that while the SADC regional average of 25% women in national parliaments exceeds the global average of 19%, this varies considerably between countries, under scoring a lack of political will.
With 18% women in parliament and elections due to take place within the next year, Zimbabwe is one such country. Other countries with elections on the horizon are Zambia (15% women in parliament) in September and DRC (with 12% women in parliament) by November. Local elections are taking place in Mauritius (7% women councillors) and Lesotho (58% women councillors) later this year. Malawi, which currently has no elected local government, has indefinitely postponed elections due to have been held this year.
Key urgent matters raised by delegates in relation to upcoming elections include:
· In Zimbabwe, recent inter party efforts to bring the 50/50 demands to the fore are commendable, but there is an urgent need to seize this historic opportunity to incorporate special measures for ensuring equal representation in the new Constitution. The fact that the country has a deputy women president and deputy woman prime minister are important milestones that need to be built on and expanded.
· In Zambia, the fact that the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) has put up only 19 women out of 140 candidates for the coming elections sets a poor example on the eve of the only election that Zambia has before 2015. It is fervently hoped that other parties, due to submit candidates within the next few days for the September elections, will do much better than the MMD.
· In DRC a progressive Constitutional provision for 50% women is being undermined by lack of implementing mechanisms and legal loopholes. The DRC is urged to seize this historic moment to honour its obligations.
· Mauritius is commended for a ground breaking gender neutral quota in a draft law for upcoming local elections that provides for a minimum of 30 percent women or men candidates in the elections. But so far only 442 women candidates have come forward when more than 2000 are needed to give effect to the provisions. Now is the time for the women’s movement to rally and galvanise women at the local level to grab this historic opportunity with both hands.
Commenting ahead of the launch of the Alliance’s flagship 2011 Barometer at the SADC Heads of State Summit, the governance cluster said that now is the time “name and shame” governments that are not pulling their weight. The Barometer introduces the SADC Gender and Development Index (SGDI) which, among others, has a combined score for governments of women’s representation in parliament, cabinet and local government. This ranks countries in the region in the following order from highest to lowest with regard to gender and governance: South Africa (1), Lesotho (2), Angola (3), Mauritius (4), Tanzania (5), Namibia (6), Seychelles (7), Malawi (8), Swaziland (9), Zimbabwe (10), Botswana (11), Mauritius (12), Zambia (13), Madagascar (14) and DRC (15).
What is evident, noted cluster leader and director of WIPSU Fanny Chirisa is that “where there is a will there is away. Change has taken place very rapidly in some SADC countries. Some are very close to achieving the 50/50. This tells us that the parity target can be achieved.” For example, South Africa has 44% women in parliament and Lesotho has 58% women in local government.
Invariably best performing countries (e.g. South Africa, Mozambique and Angola) have a combination of a Proportional Representation (PR) system and a voluntary party quota (this is legislated in the case of local elections in Namibia). The PR system is more conducive to women’s participation because parties vote for a party rather than for candidates, and provided parties distribute women evenly in the list they are bound to get in. The African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa is the first party in the region to have adopted a voluntary fifty-fifty quota followed through at national and local level. However, when the ANC lost ground in the May 2011 election, the proportion of women also declined from 40% to 38%. This has led to a call for legislated quotas in South Africa so that all parties, and not just the ANC, honour the 50/50 obligation.
Countries with the FPTP system have argued that quotas are impossible in this system but Lesotho shattered this myth through a system of 30% seats reserved for women in its 2005 elections. An additional 28% women won seats in the openly contested seats, giving Lesotho 58% women at this level – the only case of political decision-making in SADC in which women exceed men. But, claims of unfairness by men led Lesotho to revise the system. Rather than abandon the quota, Lesotho has borrowed from Tanzania, which has a FPTP system in which an additional 30% of seats are distributed to parties for women only on a PR basis.
This will be the system used in local elections in Lesotho later this year. Delegates hailed this as yet another example that innovative solutions are possible. “Countries with a constituency system can no longer claim that there are no options on quotas,” Chirisa said. “This all boils down to political will.”
The Alliance, organised through 15 country networks and ten theme clusters, is stepping up the drive for the implementation of the Protocol through action plans at national level and regional campaigns that leverage efforts on the ground to ensure the 28 targets are attained.
For more information please contact Fanny Chirisa on 00 263 772 372 881 or Loveness Jambaya Nyakujarah on 00 27 11 622 2877 or go to www.sadcgenderprotocol.org.
50/50 yes we must!
05 August 2011
Harare 5 August: The governance cluster of the Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance has called on SADC governments to redouble their efforts to attain the target of gender parity in all areas of decision-making by 2015.
In a communiqué re-launching the 50/50 campaign following a meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe, NGO representatives from nine SADC countries noted that with only four years to go, and an average representation of women in parliament of 25%, the region is only half way where it needs to be, with many countries having only one more election to go.
Women in Politics Support Unit (WIPSU), the governance cluster leader, and Gender Links, coordinator of the Alliance that campaigned for the adoption of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Gender Protocol, convened the meeting ahead of the SADC Heads of State Summit in Luanda on 17 August.
Delegates noted with concern that while the SADC regional average of 25% women in national parliaments exceeds the global average of 19%, this varies considerably between countries, under scoring a lack of political will.
With 18% women in parliament and elections due to take place within the next year, Zimbabwe is one such country. Other countries with elections on the horizon are Zambia (15% women in parliament) in September and DRC (with 12% women in parliament) by November. Local elections are taking place in Mauritius (7% women councillors) and Lesotho (58% women councillors) later this year. Malawi, which currently has no elected local government, has indefinitely postponed elections due to have been held this year.
Key urgent matters raised by delegates in relation to upcoming elections include:
· In Zimbabwe, recent inter party efforts to bring the 50/50 demands to the fore are commendable, but there is an urgent need to seize this historic opportunity to incorporate special measures for ensuring equal representation in the new Constitution. The fact that the country has a deputy women president and deputy woman prime minister are important milestones that need to be built on and expanded.
· In Zambia, the fact that the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) has put up only 19 women out of 140 candidates for the coming elections sets a poor example on the eve of the only election that Zambia has before 2015. It is fervently hoped that other parties, due to submit candidates within the next few days for the September elections, will do much better than the MMD.
· In DRC a progressive Constitutional provision for 50% women is being undermined by lack of implementing mechanisms and legal loopholes. The DRC is urged to seize this historic moment to honour its obligations.
· Mauritius is commended for a ground breaking gender neutral quota in a draft law for upcoming local elections that provides for a minimum of 30 percent women or men candidates in the elections. But so far only 442 women candidates have come forward when more than 2000 are needed to give effect to the provisions. Now is the time for the women’s movement to rally and galvanise women at the local level to grab this historic opportunity with both hands.
Commenting ahead of the launch of the Alliance’s flagship 2011 Barometer at the SADC Heads of State Summit, the governance cluster said that now is the time “name and shame” governments that are not pulling their weight. The Barometer introduces the SADC Gender and Development Index (SGDI) which, among others, has a combined score for governments of women’s representation in parliament, cabinet and local government. This ranks countries in the region in the following order from highest to lowest with regard to gender and governance: South Africa (1), Lesotho (2), Angola (3), Mauritius (4), Tanzania (5), Namibia (6), Seychelles (7), Malawi (8), Swaziland (9), Zimbabwe (10), Botswana (11), Mauritius (12), Zambia (13), Madagascar (14) and DRC (15).
What is evident, noted cluster leader and director of WIPSU Fanny Chirisa is that “where there is a will there is away. Change has taken place very rapidly in some SADC countries. Some are very close to achieving the 50/50. This tells us that the parity target can be achieved.” For example, South Africa has 44% women in parliament and Lesotho has 58% women in local government.
Invariably best performing countries (e.g. South Africa, Mozambique and Angola) have a combination of a Proportional Representation (PR) system and a voluntary party quota (this is legislated in the case of local elections in Namibia). The PR system is more conducive to women’s participation because parties vote for a party rather than for candidates, and provided parties distribute women evenly in the list they are bound to get in. The African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa is the first party in the region to have adopted a voluntary fifty-fifty quota followed through at national and local level. However, when the ANC lost ground in the May 2011 election, the proportion of women also declined from 40% to 38%. This has led to a call for legislated quotas in South Africa so that all parties, and not just the ANC, honour the 50/50 obligation.
Countries with the FPTP system have argued that quotas are impossible in this system but Lesotho shattered this myth through a system of 30% seats reserved for women in its 2005 elections. An additional 28% women won seats in the openly contested seats, giving Lesotho 58% women at this level – the only case of political decision-making in SADC in which women exceed men. But, claims of unfairness by men led Lesotho to revise the system. Rather than abandon the quota, Lesotho has borrowed from Tanzania, which has a FPTP system in which an additional 30% of seats are distributed to parties for women only on a PR basis.
This will be the system used in local elections in Lesotho later this year. Delegates hailed this as yet another example that innovative solutions are possible. “Countries with a constituency system can no longer claim that there are no options on quotas,” Chirisa said. “This all boils down to political will.”
The Alliance, organised through 15 country networks and ten theme clusters, is stepping up the drive for the implementation of the Protocol through action plans at national level and regional campaigns that leverage efforts on the ground to ensure the 28 targets are attained.
For more information please contact Fanny Chirisa on 00 263 772 372 881 or Loveness Jambaya Nyakujarah on 00 27 11 622 2877 or go to www.sadcgenderprotocol.org.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
When Did Malawi First Had a Crippling Forex Shortage?
in 1979, during former President, Kamuzu Banda's, regime.
Such a long, long time.
It has been a long time.
That is why it is strange now; as most of the people are part of the new generation.
Such a long, long time.
It has been a long time.
That is why it is strange now; as most of the people are part of the new generation.
Malawi Engages Zimbabwe Police Agents, Imports 20, 000 Battle Sticks From China
The government of Malawi is leaving no stone unturned in its quest to suppress the forth-coming August 17, 2011 Mass Demonstrations against escalating socio-economic challenges.
Civil Society leaders have given embattled President Bingu wa Mutharika until August 17 to respond to the petitions they presented during the bloody July 20 demonstrations.
But Information and Civic Education Minister, Symon Vuwa-Kaunda, maintained in an interview with Zachimalawi on Thursday Mutharika is yet to receive the petitions.
"As far as I know, no single petition has reached the President yet. How does one act on something that is not there? However, we would like to urge Malawians not to be used by people with ill-motives. Let us maintain our peace," said Vuwa-Kaunda.
Presidential Spokesperson, Dr. Hetherwick Ntaba, said he was yet to verify with the President on the issue of the petitions, and promised to make a public announcement within the next nine days.
"Let me cross-check first and, then, we will come up with our public position on both the petitions said to have been presented, and the August 17, demonstrations. Personally, I think it is a bad idea, looking at the number of people who lost their lives, and the bad image we are relaing to the rest of the world. We are a peaceful nation; let us maintain this peace," said Ntaba.
However, government's recent appeals for unity and peace contradict what is going on on the ground.
Sources told Zachimalawi in Lilongwe on Tuesday and Wednesday that Mutharika's government has engaged an extra-gear in its quest to frustrate the planned August 17 demonstrations.
Among other preparatory measures, Malawi has engaged the Zimbabwean government on the need to deploy its law enforcement agents. Already, unconfirmed reports indicate that Zimbabwean Police officers were also engaged during the July 17 demonstrations.
Apart from the possibility of enlisting Zimbabwe's police service, govenment has already imported 20, 000 battle sticks in preparation for a crack down on demonstrators.
As part of this crack down, government plans to prevent people from getting to the Central Business Districts of Malawi's main cities of Lilongwe, Mzuzu, Zomba, Blantyre.
But the civil society leaders are unfazed.
"The president has been making regrettable public statements, including those insinuating that the victims of the July 20 demonstrations died for nothing. This is painful, and is one of the reasons- aside from fuel and forex shortage crises- we will continue to press ahead with demonstrations. We will not relent; peaceful demonstrations are a human right," said Undule Mwakasungula, one of the civil sociey leaders to have been publicly singled out by Mutharika.
Mutharika has promised to 'deal' with Mwakasungula (Chairperson for the Human Rights Consultative Committee, HRCC), HRCC's acting National Coordinator The Rev. MacDonald Sembereka, Vice-President Joyce Banda, veteran leader of the Opposition in Parliament John Zenus Ungapake Tembo, among others.
The president has asked institutions that suffered from massive property damage during the July 20 demonstrations to take the mentioned leaders to court.
On Wednesday, Mutharika continued his damage-assessment tour, and was in the Southern Region.
State-run Malawi Broadcasting Corporation radio and television have capitalised on the assessment tours to mobilise people against marching, citing the damage inflicted on property during the July 20 demonstrations.
Prior to the July 20 demonstrations, the very same public media went on bad-mouthing rampage, disseminating information that the demonstrations' real intent was not to express dissatisfaction against deteriorating livilihoods but the promotion of gay rights.
That, apparently, backfired as more people than expected turned up for the demonstrations. This came against the background of a court injunction stopping leaders of the demos and all 'unknown' people from going ahead with their plan.
The injuncton was obtained close to midnight, and he delays to vacate it played angry games on people's minds,a factor that organisers have blamed for the violence that errupted on the da.
Part of the blame has also gone to Police officers, especially those from Lilongwe; they beat people up for no apparent reason, and these included organisers and journalists.
With civil society leaders saying the demos will go ahead come August 17, First Lady Callista Mutharika bashing NGOs for promoting minority rights, government importing battle sticks from Mainland China at a time of a forex crisis, the engagement of Zimbabwe police- all could be set for an interesting spectacle.
The coming in of Zimbabwe is not a surprise to Malawians. The Southern African Development Community member state, under the dynamic leadership of Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe, owes Malawi millions in default of maize supplies.
President Mutharika's government was last month engaged to secret discussions with the Zimbabwean regime on the possibility of rubbing off the debt.
But government officials have denied reports Malawi has 'forgiven' Zimbabwe on the debt issue, saying the enangement of Zimbabwe police could be one of the means of 'forgetting' the debt.
As of Mainland China's envolvement, few are surprised. The Chinese Ambassador to Malawi was last week condemning the demos, saying the damage suffered was 'irreparable'.
In fact, wo Chinese ICT experts arrived in Malawi three weeks ago, and are being blamed for fanning out Nyasa Times from public access in Malawi.
Malawi is going through challenges of sorts.There seems to be no short-term
solution.
President Mutharika has ridiculed civil society leaders for organising demonstrations that have never offered solutions to the fuel and forex shortage problem.
"Do we have fuel, or forex, after the July 20 demonstrations? I say no," Mutharika said in Zomba recently.
It is a direct reference to the public lecture he organised on the day of the demos at the New State House in Lilongwe. Civil Society leaders leaders such as Faustace Chirwa and Catherine Munthali attended.
Taking its turn, civil society leaders have wondered whether Mutharika's July 20 lecture has led to the end of fuel and forex shortage.
Asks Benedicto Kondowe, National Codinator for the Civil Society Coalition for Quality Basic Education: "Has President Bingu wa Mutharika's lecture ended fuel and forex shortage? No."
Malawi is becoming an interesting place; a place of so many questions, and a myriad of answers- all of which scale over the point.
It may be for this reason that First Lady Callista Mutharika this week bashed civil society leaders for raising points irrelevant to the needs of rural masses. She said people at the grassroots level need neither fuel nor forex.
What she overlooked, apparently, is the fact that pregnant women in rural areas need ambulances (which ambulances need fuel for combustion) to ferry them to referral hospitals in cases of labour complications and other health complications.
This, therefore, contradicts her role as Ambassador for Safe Motherhood.
That, too, is the reason Malawi has referral hospitals. Complications always occur, that is a fact.
These complications have rippled the socio-economic fabric of Malawi, and the symptoms include lack of fuel and foreign currency.
Callista has ignored, and said, bruntly this week: "Things are going on well in this country."
It is the first time an incumbent President's wife has spoken out strongly in support of her husband.
But this has raised questions, too.
Has Callista started calling the shots in Bingu wa Mutharika's head?
Neither public lecturers nor demonstrations, no matter how peaceful, can answer this.
Only Callista Mutharika can.
Nevertheless, what Callista can not bring- at least, for now- is an end to forex and fuel shortage.
She ca only bring trouble and confusion, adding on to the fire of anarchy burning through Malawi's twinkling skies.
Civil Society leaders have given embattled President Bingu wa Mutharika until August 17 to respond to the petitions they presented during the bloody July 20 demonstrations.
But Information and Civic Education Minister, Symon Vuwa-Kaunda, maintained in an interview with Zachimalawi on Thursday Mutharika is yet to receive the petitions.
"As far as I know, no single petition has reached the President yet. How does one act on something that is not there? However, we would like to urge Malawians not to be used by people with ill-motives. Let us maintain our peace," said Vuwa-Kaunda.
Presidential Spokesperson, Dr. Hetherwick Ntaba, said he was yet to verify with the President on the issue of the petitions, and promised to make a public announcement within the next nine days.
"Let me cross-check first and, then, we will come up with our public position on both the petitions said to have been presented, and the August 17, demonstrations. Personally, I think it is a bad idea, looking at the number of people who lost their lives, and the bad image we are relaing to the rest of the world. We are a peaceful nation; let us maintain this peace," said Ntaba.
However, government's recent appeals for unity and peace contradict what is going on on the ground.
Sources told Zachimalawi in Lilongwe on Tuesday and Wednesday that Mutharika's government has engaged an extra-gear in its quest to frustrate the planned August 17 demonstrations.
Among other preparatory measures, Malawi has engaged the Zimbabwean government on the need to deploy its law enforcement agents. Already, unconfirmed reports indicate that Zimbabwean Police officers were also engaged during the July 17 demonstrations.
Apart from the possibility of enlisting Zimbabwe's police service, govenment has already imported 20, 000 battle sticks in preparation for a crack down on demonstrators.
As part of this crack down, government plans to prevent people from getting to the Central Business Districts of Malawi's main cities of Lilongwe, Mzuzu, Zomba, Blantyre.
But the civil society leaders are unfazed.
"The president has been making regrettable public statements, including those insinuating that the victims of the July 20 demonstrations died for nothing. This is painful, and is one of the reasons- aside from fuel and forex shortage crises- we will continue to press ahead with demonstrations. We will not relent; peaceful demonstrations are a human right," said Undule Mwakasungula, one of the civil sociey leaders to have been publicly singled out by Mutharika.
Mutharika has promised to 'deal' with Mwakasungula (Chairperson for the Human Rights Consultative Committee, HRCC), HRCC's acting National Coordinator The Rev. MacDonald Sembereka, Vice-President Joyce Banda, veteran leader of the Opposition in Parliament John Zenus Ungapake Tembo, among others.
The president has asked institutions that suffered from massive property damage during the July 20 demonstrations to take the mentioned leaders to court.
On Wednesday, Mutharika continued his damage-assessment tour, and was in the Southern Region.
State-run Malawi Broadcasting Corporation radio and television have capitalised on the assessment tours to mobilise people against marching, citing the damage inflicted on property during the July 20 demonstrations.
Prior to the July 20 demonstrations, the very same public media went on bad-mouthing rampage, disseminating information that the demonstrations' real intent was not to express dissatisfaction against deteriorating livilihoods but the promotion of gay rights.
That, apparently, backfired as more people than expected turned up for the demonstrations. This came against the background of a court injunction stopping leaders of the demos and all 'unknown' people from going ahead with their plan.
The injuncton was obtained close to midnight, and he delays to vacate it played angry games on people's minds,a factor that organisers have blamed for the violence that errupted on the da.
Part of the blame has also gone to Police officers, especially those from Lilongwe; they beat people up for no apparent reason, and these included organisers and journalists.
With civil society leaders saying the demos will go ahead come August 17, First Lady Callista Mutharika bashing NGOs for promoting minority rights, government importing battle sticks from Mainland China at a time of a forex crisis, the engagement of Zimbabwe police- all could be set for an interesting spectacle.
The coming in of Zimbabwe is not a surprise to Malawians. The Southern African Development Community member state, under the dynamic leadership of Comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe, owes Malawi millions in default of maize supplies.
President Mutharika's government was last month engaged to secret discussions with the Zimbabwean regime on the possibility of rubbing off the debt.
But government officials have denied reports Malawi has 'forgiven' Zimbabwe on the debt issue, saying the enangement of Zimbabwe police could be one of the means of 'forgetting' the debt.
As of Mainland China's envolvement, few are surprised. The Chinese Ambassador to Malawi was last week condemning the demos, saying the damage suffered was 'irreparable'.
In fact, wo Chinese ICT experts arrived in Malawi three weeks ago, and are being blamed for fanning out Nyasa Times from public access in Malawi.
Malawi is going through challenges of sorts.There seems to be no short-term
solution.
President Mutharika has ridiculed civil society leaders for organising demonstrations that have never offered solutions to the fuel and forex shortage problem.
"Do we have fuel, or forex, after the July 20 demonstrations? I say no," Mutharika said in Zomba recently.
It is a direct reference to the public lecture he organised on the day of the demos at the New State House in Lilongwe. Civil Society leaders leaders such as Faustace Chirwa and Catherine Munthali attended.
Taking its turn, civil society leaders have wondered whether Mutharika's July 20 lecture has led to the end of fuel and forex shortage.
Asks Benedicto Kondowe, National Codinator for the Civil Society Coalition for Quality Basic Education: "Has President Bingu wa Mutharika's lecture ended fuel and forex shortage? No."
Malawi is becoming an interesting place; a place of so many questions, and a myriad of answers- all of which scale over the point.
It may be for this reason that First Lady Callista Mutharika this week bashed civil society leaders for raising points irrelevant to the needs of rural masses. She said people at the grassroots level need neither fuel nor forex.
What she overlooked, apparently, is the fact that pregnant women in rural areas need ambulances (which ambulances need fuel for combustion) to ferry them to referral hospitals in cases of labour complications and other health complications.
This, therefore, contradicts her role as Ambassador for Safe Motherhood.
That, too, is the reason Malawi has referral hospitals. Complications always occur, that is a fact.
These complications have rippled the socio-economic fabric of Malawi, and the symptoms include lack of fuel and foreign currency.
Callista has ignored, and said, bruntly this week: "Things are going on well in this country."
It is the first time an incumbent President's wife has spoken out strongly in support of her husband.
But this has raised questions, too.
Has Callista started calling the shots in Bingu wa Mutharika's head?
Neither public lecturers nor demonstrations, no matter how peaceful, can answer this.
Only Callista Mutharika can.
Nevertheless, what Callista can not bring- at least, for now- is an end to forex and fuel shortage.
She ca only bring trouble and confusion, adding on to the fire of anarchy burning through Malawi's twinkling skies.
Here Comes Ken Zikhale Ng'oma!
With a bang.
But without that Afro, his image is stripped bare.
Ken, we need that Afro!
But without that Afro, his image is stripped bare.
Ken, we need that Afro!
Callista Mutharika is Right
In deed, all the NGOs should, as Callista Mutharika bruntly says, "Go to hell".
She has her reasons; she knows them better.
She has her reasons; she knows them better.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Bingu wa Mutharika Has Lost Direction- Joyce Banda
Vice-President Joyce Banda says events of July 20, 2011 show that President Bingu wa Mutharika has lost touch with the ground and has, therefore, lost direction.
Banda told Zachimalawi that she is sad and 'dismayed' at the death of the 18 people, adding that this could be the beginning of a sad chapter "in the history of Malawi".
"Every one is living in fear of the President these days, which is against democratic principles. But Malawian people are strong, and stand up to dictatorial tendencies. I do not see the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) winning in 2014," said Banda.
But ruling DPP Spokesperson, Dr. Hetherwick Ntaba, said Banda is building castles in the air.
"The DPP is the only national party in Malawi, and is poised to win overwhelmingly in 2014. Within just six years, the President has done a lot for this country," said Ntaba.
Banda told Zachimalawi that she is sad and 'dismayed' at the death of the 18 people, adding that this could be the beginning of a sad chapter "in the history of Malawi".
"Every one is living in fear of the President these days, which is against democratic principles. But Malawian people are strong, and stand up to dictatorial tendencies. I do not see the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) winning in 2014," said Banda.
But ruling DPP Spokesperson, Dr. Hetherwick Ntaba, said Banda is building castles in the air.
"The DPP is the only national party in Malawi, and is poised to win overwhelmingly in 2014. Within just six years, the President has done a lot for this country," said Ntaba.
At the High Court in Blantyre
Busy following court proceedings in the contempt of court case between the University of Malawi Council and the Chancellor College Academic Staff Union (Ccasu).
The main actors are Professor James Seyani, University Council chairperson, and Dr. Jessie Kabwila-Kapasula, Ccasu acting president.
With the likes of UNIMA Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Emmanuel Fabiano and Chancellor College and Malawi Polytechnic lecturers in the shaddows of this giant fight called Academic Freedom, Malawi's education system has never had a greater test.
The main actors are Professor James Seyani, University Council chairperson, and Dr. Jessie Kabwila-Kapasula, Ccasu acting president.
With the likes of UNIMA Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Emmanuel Fabiano and Chancellor College and Malawi Polytechnic lecturers in the shaddows of this giant fight called Academic Freedom, Malawi's education system has never had a greater test.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Millennium Challenge Corporation Places Operational Hold on Malawi Compact
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a U.S. Government agency that provides development assistance to countries that demonstrate a commitment to good governance. At the core of an MCC partnership is the expectation that countries maintain a demonstrated commitment to political pluralism, human rights, and the rule of law throughout the life of the program. MCC is deeply concerned by recent events in Malawi and is placing an immediate hold on all program operations in order to review its partnership with Malawi, including whether to recommend to its Board of Directors to suspend or terminate its assistance.
MCC signed a five-year, $350 million Compact with the Government of Malawi on April 7, 2011. The Compact is focused on Malawi’s power sector and is expected to benefit nearly 6 million Malawians. By reducing power outages and technical losses, enhancing the sustainability and efficiency of hydropower generation, and improving service to electricity consumers, the Compact is designed to reduce energy costs to enterprises and households; improve productivity in the agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors; and support the preservation and creation of employment opportunities in the economy.
MCC’s operational hold will bring to a halt all ongoing Compact activities during the review.
Mayeso Chirwa
Information Specialist
Public Affairs Section
Embassy of the United States of America
MCC signed a five-year, $350 million Compact with the Government of Malawi on April 7, 2011. The Compact is focused on Malawi’s power sector and is expected to benefit nearly 6 million Malawians. By reducing power outages and technical losses, enhancing the sustainability and efficiency of hydropower generation, and improving service to electricity consumers, the Compact is designed to reduce energy costs to enterprises and households; improve productivity in the agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors; and support the preservation and creation of employment opportunities in the economy.
MCC’s operational hold will bring to a halt all ongoing Compact activities during the review.
Mayeso Chirwa
Information Specialist
Public Affairs Section
Embassy of the United States of America
TIME FOR DEMOCRATIC DIALOGUE IN MALAWI
NEWS RELEASE – Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Trust (SAHRDT)
TIME FOR DEMOCRATIC DIALOGUE IN MALAWI
NOT DEATH THREATS AND UNFOUNDED TREASON CHARGES
Johannesburg, July 26: In the wake of last week’s bloody demonstrations in Malawi, the Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Trust (SAHRDT) calls on President Bingu wa Mutharika to engage in an open, national debate about the country’s future – rather than resorting to more inflammatory attacks on civil society leaders and pro-democracy activists. Any intention of charging the organisers of the protests – who were merely exercising their constitutional rights – with treason should also be abandoned since the allegations are clearly unfounded and absurd.
Many of the coordinators of the ‘For a better Malawi’ demonstrations and their families have received death threats and some of them are now in hiding – genuinely fearing for their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Those in hiding include Undule Mwakasungula, Gift Trapence, Rafiq Hajat and Luther Mambala. These threats can be linked to the President’s public remarks about dealing with leaders of the demonstration – that he would ‘smoke them out’ and charge them for treason for trying to overthrow his government.
We call upon President wa Mutharika to immediately refrain from using inflammatory language when referring to civic leaders, as this can be interpreted as orders to ruling party members, sympathisers and government officials to target those linked to the marches and indeed anyone critical of his government’s policies. We further appeal to President wa Mutharika to desist from any political or legal harassment of civic leaders – and instead to involve them in meaningful debate about the best way forward for the country.
SAHRDT
TIME FOR DEMOCRATIC DIALOGUE IN MALAWI
NOT DEATH THREATS AND UNFOUNDED TREASON CHARGES
Johannesburg, July 26: In the wake of last week’s bloody demonstrations in Malawi, the Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Trust (SAHRDT) calls on President Bingu wa Mutharika to engage in an open, national debate about the country’s future – rather than resorting to more inflammatory attacks on civil society leaders and pro-democracy activists. Any intention of charging the organisers of the protests – who were merely exercising their constitutional rights – with treason should also be abandoned since the allegations are clearly unfounded and absurd.
Many of the coordinators of the ‘For a better Malawi’ demonstrations and their families have received death threats and some of them are now in hiding – genuinely fearing for their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Those in hiding include Undule Mwakasungula, Gift Trapence, Rafiq Hajat and Luther Mambala. These threats can be linked to the President’s public remarks about dealing with leaders of the demonstration – that he would ‘smoke them out’ and charge them for treason for trying to overthrow his government.
We call upon President wa Mutharika to immediately refrain from using inflammatory language when referring to civic leaders, as this can be interpreted as orders to ruling party members, sympathisers and government officials to target those linked to the marches and indeed anyone critical of his government’s policies. We further appeal to President wa Mutharika to desist from any political or legal harassment of civic leaders – and instead to involve them in meaningful debate about the best way forward for the country.
SAHRDT
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
18
Out of the village now.
18.
It is quiet where they used to swim.
And dream.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
The air beats,
Slowly.
It may be them,
The 18 sacrifices of freedom.
What?
You say Willie Mwaluka calls them criminals?
Perhaps Willie was waking up from a deep slumber.
He was at a party, Willie:
Perhaps.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
The trees shake,
And tremble.
It's them,
Perhaps.
The 18.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
The Big One says Eleven!
He was away, perhaps:
Touring his fish pond.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
The clenched fists:
He has vowed revenge;
To walk in the streets.
Unarmed,
No bodyguard!
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
He is day-dreaming;
He bathes with shoes on in the bath tab.
A coward: He fears the soil!
He carries a carpet in his former school bag.
To roll it down when planting maize.
And rice.
When harvesting figs in his dreams.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
Salute the 18,
And not the gun sounds.
The eye-less bullet.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
He is counting the damage;
With his swollen eyes.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
He is assessing losses,
With his fingers.
A wave in the air,
It's not the fresh air,
Or part of the fun fare.
It's the 18:
Chasing them away in the winds,
At the stroke of his hands.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
It is everywhere:
The silence.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
Eighteen!
18.
It is quiet where they used to swim.
And dream.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
The air beats,
Slowly.
It may be them,
The 18 sacrifices of freedom.
What?
You say Willie Mwaluka calls them criminals?
Perhaps Willie was waking up from a deep slumber.
He was at a party, Willie:
Perhaps.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
The trees shake,
And tremble.
It's them,
Perhaps.
The 18.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
The Big One says Eleven!
He was away, perhaps:
Touring his fish pond.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
The clenched fists:
He has vowed revenge;
To walk in the streets.
Unarmed,
No bodyguard!
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
He is day-dreaming;
He bathes with shoes on in the bath tab.
A coward: He fears the soil!
He carries a carpet in his former school bag.
To roll it down when planting maize.
And rice.
When harvesting figs in his dreams.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
Salute the 18,
And not the gun sounds.
The eye-less bullet.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
He is counting the damage;
With his swollen eyes.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
He is assessing losses,
With his fingers.
A wave in the air,
It's not the fresh air,
Or part of the fun fare.
It's the 18:
Chasing them away in the winds,
At the stroke of his hands.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
It is everywhere:
The silence.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
Eighteen!
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
Silence.
And...
Just tears.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
And...
Just tears.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
Monday, July 25, 2011
A Look at Big Brother Amplified: The Great Moments, the Gaffes
...Voting has not yet started
...To start this evening
...remember, the title for this week's project is 'Lomwe Throughout'!
In deed, it is 'Lomwe Throughout'!
But Karen, too, has rocked.
She sent me into guggles on Sunday, after Millicent's eviction, when she said, pointing at one of the Big Brother Amplified bouncers: "The bouncer, I told you- go!"
Karen also made me smile when she stripped naked in the Jacuzzi. Of course, you and I saw nothing of her 'meat', but that was great. Crazy too.
To say the truth, Karen is better than those two flukes: Kelvin and Uti.
Kelvin and Uti's victory is a typical example of cheating at the highest level, and that remains the shameful moments in Big Brother Africa history.
As I said last time, Kelvin and Uti's victory confirmed (at that time) that Nigerians were the official thieves of the world!
Not with Karen. she has been awesome. She has entertained Africa. She has enchanted us. And she will win come Sunday, not because Nigerians have shown during the past two Big Brother Africa seasons that they remain the world's 'Official Thieves', but because Karen deserves it.
Well, after Karen, there is only Lomwe to beat. Lomwe has been cool, and I am happy that my votes have not dissolved in the waters of eviction: they have kept Lomwe in the House and, possibly, on the waiting list for the US$200,000 grand prize.
Go, boy Lomwe go!
In conclusion, let me say that IK, too, seems to be gaining confidence every season. He is presenting it well, actually, save for the couple of times his two lips stuck onto each other and he stumbled and stammered.
IK's only shame came on Sunday, during the Eviction Show, when, upon asking Nigerian co-representative Vina to tell her fellow Housemates whom she swarped for whom, he advised her not to panick since "everyone" knew it was a tough decision she made.
That is unnecessary interference into the game. Where did IK get the powers to speak on our behalf like that. His tune was that of bias, and Endemol Africa will do well to advise against such irresponsible utterances.
After all, we all know that every 'Swap and Replace session' is tough, and fuels confusion and mistrust in the house. That is part of the excitement, and makes the game likeable competitive.
It is sweet, too.
And IK went against this grain of fun to console Vina, and say that everyone knew she had to make a tough decision. That was clueless, IK, giving the game away unnecessarily.
Perhaps, as a Nigeria, he knows something we do not.
Then, there is the time Big Brother (himself) made that gaffe- telling co-Malawian representative Felicia Ngoma(Now at home, but planning to travel to South Africa for the final show this week) that "Felicia, you have 60 seconds to live the house" instead of saying Felicia had ten minutes to pack her bags.
That gaffe was a form of modern nonsense for sure!
By the way, what is wrong with Big Brother Amplified? Adverts are jamming.
Sometimes, IK cannot communicate with the housemates (technical problems).
Sometimes, like yesterday, IK speaks on behalf of the Head of House (especially when she is Nigerian). I am talking about such sentiments as "Vina, don't be hard on yourself, everyone knows it was a tough decision".
Which everyone?
Do not spoil our show.
Otherwise, it has a been a 12-week exciting journey. I have always loved Big Brother Africa, starting from the first season of Zein Dudha and friends.
I love Big Brother Africa.
And will continue to love (not like) the show.
Every year, when the minute comes to take the show off air, I gaze at the TV screen waiting for the darkness that is to come, and then watch in disdain as one more season dissolves into the blue (when you lose the picture on the screen) colour on the TV screen.
I must admit that a tear, or two, dribbles from the eye sockets. It is always painful for me, as a viewer, but wondeful to the soul that carts the Grand Prize home.
Form then, it is another wait- long, long wait- for the other Africans that will come, to turn our lips into folders of smiles that always come.
Wishing Boy Lomwe well.
To Miss Big Brother Amplified (because it will never coe again, 'Amplified')
Long Live Big Brother Africa.
How I miss K.B.
...To start this evening
...remember, the title for this week's project is 'Lomwe Throughout'!
In deed, it is 'Lomwe Throughout'!
But Karen, too, has rocked.
She sent me into guggles on Sunday, after Millicent's eviction, when she said, pointing at one of the Big Brother Amplified bouncers: "The bouncer, I told you- go!"
Karen also made me smile when she stripped naked in the Jacuzzi. Of course, you and I saw nothing of her 'meat', but that was great. Crazy too.
To say the truth, Karen is better than those two flukes: Kelvin and Uti.
Kelvin and Uti's victory is a typical example of cheating at the highest level, and that remains the shameful moments in Big Brother Africa history.
As I said last time, Kelvin and Uti's victory confirmed (at that time) that Nigerians were the official thieves of the world!
Not with Karen. she has been awesome. She has entertained Africa. She has enchanted us. And she will win come Sunday, not because Nigerians have shown during the past two Big Brother Africa seasons that they remain the world's 'Official Thieves', but because Karen deserves it.
Well, after Karen, there is only Lomwe to beat. Lomwe has been cool, and I am happy that my votes have not dissolved in the waters of eviction: they have kept Lomwe in the House and, possibly, on the waiting list for the US$200,000 grand prize.
Go, boy Lomwe go!
In conclusion, let me say that IK, too, seems to be gaining confidence every season. He is presenting it well, actually, save for the couple of times his two lips stuck onto each other and he stumbled and stammered.
IK's only shame came on Sunday, during the Eviction Show, when, upon asking Nigerian co-representative Vina to tell her fellow Housemates whom she swarped for whom, he advised her not to panick since "everyone" knew it was a tough decision she made.
That is unnecessary interference into the game. Where did IK get the powers to speak on our behalf like that. His tune was that of bias, and Endemol Africa will do well to advise against such irresponsible utterances.
After all, we all know that every 'Swap and Replace session' is tough, and fuels confusion and mistrust in the house. That is part of the excitement, and makes the game likeable competitive.
It is sweet, too.
And IK went against this grain of fun to console Vina, and say that everyone knew she had to make a tough decision. That was clueless, IK, giving the game away unnecessarily.
Perhaps, as a Nigeria, he knows something we do not.
Then, there is the time Big Brother (himself) made that gaffe- telling co-Malawian representative Felicia Ngoma(Now at home, but planning to travel to South Africa for the final show this week) that "Felicia, you have 60 seconds to live the house" instead of saying Felicia had ten minutes to pack her bags.
That gaffe was a form of modern nonsense for sure!
By the way, what is wrong with Big Brother Amplified? Adverts are jamming.
Sometimes, IK cannot communicate with the housemates (technical problems).
Sometimes, like yesterday, IK speaks on behalf of the Head of House (especially when she is Nigerian). I am talking about such sentiments as "Vina, don't be hard on yourself, everyone knows it was a tough decision".
Which everyone?
Do not spoil our show.
Otherwise, it has a been a 12-week exciting journey. I have always loved Big Brother Africa, starting from the first season of Zein Dudha and friends.
I love Big Brother Africa.
And will continue to love (not like) the show.
Every year, when the minute comes to take the show off air, I gaze at the TV screen waiting for the darkness that is to come, and then watch in disdain as one more season dissolves into the blue (when you lose the picture on the screen) colour on the TV screen.
I must admit that a tear, or two, dribbles from the eye sockets. It is always painful for me, as a viewer, but wondeful to the soul that carts the Grand Prize home.
Form then, it is another wait- long, long wait- for the other Africans that will come, to turn our lips into folders of smiles that always come.
Wishing Boy Lomwe well.
To Miss Big Brother Amplified (because it will never coe again, 'Amplified')
Long Live Big Brother Africa.
How I miss K.B.
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