Blessings Tambala

President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has revealed that hackers of the system at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services are demanding a huge sum of money to unfreeze it.

Chakwera made the revelation on Wednesday when took questions from members of Parliament (MPs) in the National Assembly.

For the past few weeks, the department has been facing challenges to process travel documents due to the system failure.

This has left both Malawians and non-Malawians stranded as they cannot access their travel documents.

But speaking in parliament, President Chakwera vowed that his government will not release any money to hackers, stressing that the government will, instead, find other means of resolving the glitches.

“For as long as I am President of this country, I will not allow the government to pay such an amount,” he said.

He added that the department has taken a decisive step to regain control of the system.

Human rights activists have expressed disappointment with failure by the Parliament of Malawi to give priority to the long-awaited Correctional Services (Amendment) Bill.

The activists, who addressed journalists in Lilongwe on Wednesday, stressed that failure to discuss and pass the bill into law contradicts the promise President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera made to Malawians in 2023.

When he opened the Budget Session last year, President Chakwera announced that his government was reviewing and that it would bring the bill forward to create a parole system that would usher in a more fair system for releasing prisoners before they complete their sentences.

The proposed law was renamed the Correctional Services Bill to align it with international human rights standards, where prisons are supposed to rehabilitate inmates, not to punish them.

The Bill proposes a number of changes, including open prisons, a parole system, half-way houses and ensuring that prisons keep the money generated by prisoners’ work for refurbishment of correctional facilities.

However, there has been no progress on it, a development that has riled activists.

Centre for Human Rights Education Advice and Assistance Executive Director, Victor Chagunyuka Mhango, said members of Parliament (MPs) need to act with speed in debating and passing the Bill into law, saying it is key in decongesting the correctional facilities.

“The proposed law will help a lot in improving the environment and promote the right to health in prisons whilst ensuring that the interests of justice are served. It’s very unfortunate that we’ve been talking about this since 2000 and took several years and then, we are saying that we are consulting. I don’t think that is true,” said Mhango.

On his part, Peter Chisi, the Director of Political and Cultural Affairs at the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC), Peter Chisi, demanded that the Minister of Homeland Security should come “out very clear in terms of the status of this legislation”.

Chisi wondered why there shold be delays when there have been promises that the bill would be tabled during any sitting.

“So, we want to know where things are stuck. Secondary, we are aware that the law does not just come to Parliament. There are stages that have to put it has to go through. So, the minister should also be able to actually come up with a roadmap in terms of the development and presentation of the white paper to cabinet so that cabinet can actually give final approval for the law to be tabled in Parliament,” he said.

He further demanded that the ‘same roadmap should also indicate what the mechanisms are there for the ministry to get stakeholders input into the law’.

“We are saying this because a lot of this nature cannot just be drafted on the table just by the Minister on its own. It needs our stakeholders inputs, including us as human rights commission because as you wouldn’t be aware, under Section 14 of the Human Rights Commission Act, it is our responsibility to review and make recommendations on new pieces of legislation. So on this one, we wouldn’t be happy to make our inputs. But we can only do that. If we have a copy of the draft law. Here’s our request to make sure that the ministry does engage stakeholders before it finalizes this law,” narrated Chisi.

In his remarks, the Paralegal Advisory Services Institute (PASI) National Director, Clifford Msiska, said the current Prison Act was formulated by colonialists to punish natives; hence, the need to replace it with a law that is in consistent with international human rights standards.

Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Social Welfare, Savel Kafwafwa, assured the activists that his committee will take the matter to his fellow MPs in the august House.

The press conference was facilitated by the Irish Rule of Law.

Research, Inclusive Education, Sanitation and Environmental Hygiene (RIESEH) Project has distributed wheel-chairs to learners with disabilities in Lilongwe Rural East and Dedza North East Education Divisions.

Emmanuel University is implementing RIESEH Project with financial support from its German partner, Bread for the World.

The university is an education institution of the Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) and it offers diploma and degree programmes, which include Bachelor of Education majoring in languages, theology and religious studies, life skills, history, geography and social studies.

Speaking after distributing the wheel-chairs to seven learners on Monday, RIESEH Project coordinator Jeffrey Maganga reaffirmed the university’s commitment to complementing government efforts to promoting inclusive education by creating a conducive learning environment for all.

Maganga said distribution of wheel-chairs to learners with disabilities is one of the initiatives the project is undertaking to address mobility challenges among learners with disabilities.

“We have, so far, distributed seven wheel-chairs, totaled at MK2.6 million inclusive of operation costs. We are very grateful to our partner for providing resources for the procurement of these wheel-chairs,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of parents with learners with disabilities, Rose Chikumbutso, commended the university for initiating the project.

Chikumbutso said the project has helped to improve school attendance among learners with disabilities.

RIESEH Project was launched on 1st October 2021 and will run until June 2024.

Apart from wheel-chairs, the project has distributed hearing aids to 12 learners with hearing impairments, 152 learners got free spectacles, nine disability-friendly toilets were constructed, 11 classroom blocks were rehabilitated while teachers and mother groups were trained in special needs education.

Barely a few days after distributing free food to 52, 000 survivors of Tropical Cyclone Freddy in Thyolo, the government released MK495 million for the Social Cash Public Works Programme (SCPWP) in the district.

The District Commissioner (DC) Hudson Kuphanga confirmed in an interview on Tuesday that government has intensified efforts to provide humanitarian support to the survivors.

Thyolo is one of the beneficiary districts and, as Kuphanga explained, his office has already distributed 52, 000 bags of maize to the food insecure households.

“And we are waiting for 60, 000 maize flour from DoDMA to continue on the lean season. This initiative is helping a lot in saving families from starvation in this district,” said the DC.

Since Tropical Cyclone Freddy hit the country, President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has been assuring the 4.4 million Malawians facing starvation that no one will die of hunger as his government is working round the clock to ‘source enough food for everyone’.

Apparently, most farmers lost their crops to the ravaging waters. They did not yield enough to last for months.

This prompted President Chakwera to direct the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) to start distribution of free food to the affected families under the 2023-2024 MVAC [Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee] Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Programme.

Governance and political commentators have hailed President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera for ensuring that there is separation between government and party business.

The commentators say this has helped in taming the wanton abuse of public resources by officials in ruling parties, as it was the case during the previous administrations.

During the previous regimes of United Democratic Front (UDF) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), senior party officials had powers to direct Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of government entities to release money for personal or party use.

This is no longer the case following a declaration by President Chakwera that there should be separation government business from party activities.

Speaking in an exclusive interview on Monday, governance analyst Dr. George Chaima described the Chakwera-led administration as the most democratic government.

“This is the most democratic government. Democracy is really taking good shape and you can see that the separation of powers between the party and the government is still there. In other democracies, this is very difficult to completely isolate because, in a democratic dispensation, the ruling party becomes the government of the day.

“So, if you can look at the composition of the alliance, Malawi Congress Party is the strongest a party, so far, and if you go back also to elections time, on the flag of my Congress Party, the President that were featured. So, we can say that the ruling party always has the power to be part of the government because it is the government itself, or I say the party that is up. But nonetheless, we have seen it. Not so much in invasion of politics from MCP officials in government business,” he said.

Chaima reminded Malawians that during the UDF and DPP governments, most government entities used to struggle financially because party officials defrauded them.

He commended President Chakwera for sticking to what he termed “principles of government administration, while at the same time running his paraphilia outside the government”.

“And this is why I think the disintegration of the alliance has come about. I feel like members of the political parties within the alliance expected that when the alliance forms government, then there’ll be a shared cake from all members of the parties. But what Chakwera chose is to still separate the powers of the party from getting involved in the government. This is very commendable and it has helped in saving resources from abuse by party officials,” narrated Chaima.

On his part, political commentator Benedicto Kondowe stated that, under President Chakwera’s leadership, Malawi has witnessed a crucial measure in safeguarding public resources through the strict separation of government affairs from party activities.

Kondowe said the distinction has significantly curbed the misuse of public funds for partisan interests, leading to notable savings in government resources.

“By ensuring that government resources are allocated and utilized solely for the benefit of the public, without being diverted towards party-related expenditures, the administration has effectively prevented wasteful spending and financial mismanagement. This disciplined approach has not only enhanced transparency and accountability in governance but has also resulted in tangible savings that can be redirected towards priority areas such as infrastructure development, social welfare programs, and essential services. As a result, the separation of government from party business has played a crucial role in safeguarding public resources, ensuring their efficient utilization for the betterment of Malawians and the nation as a whole,” he said.

Daka Space Technologies Limited – Malawi’s first technology startup firm – has launched the Malawi Space Stars Campaign to raise awareness about space technology and career opportunities in the field.

The campaign is being financially supported by the Royal Academy of Engineering in the United Kingdom (UK) and is targeting secondary school students, particularly those taking science subjects.

Speaking at Likuni Girls Secondary School in Lilongwe on Friday, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Daka Space Technologies Limited, Chisomo Daka, said there are so many hidden potentials in space science and space technology.

Daka cited disaster management as one of the areas that can benefit from space technology.

“Space technology can also help us address things like national security, precision agriculture and weather monitoring,” he said.

Daka disclosed that he founded the firm from inspiration from the time he was doing his Masters of Science and Physics in India where he led a team to deploy a payload in space.

“We did come up with the innovation that is being improved to the market within the five centimeter range, so from primary experience I had in India then they come to Malawi and those use cases for space that can be used for different developing agendas for the country. And this also speaks with the continental agenda, the agenda 2063 for Africa, where we saw that in 2020 the African Union for the first time established this agency down to allow even working up through the leadership,” he said.

Daka said time had come for Malawi to establish a space agency.

He commended President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera for taking steps by setting up a taskforce that is looking into it.

“These innovations are important you see, often other times we talk about the country’s really developed with initial frame. Do we know that initiatives, awareness are very critical when you want a country to advance in science and technology? So these youngsters in schools understand what is what is it that the anticipated to study in space science, and what is it that they need to do in order to take a career pathway that will lead them to become a professional in his field? So this is very important, because we’re inspiring the next generation of leaders through this journey,” he said.

Deputy head teacher at Likuni Girls Secondary School, Jean Kingstone Chimbiya, hailed the campaign, saying it will help in orienting and encouraging students to pursue science subjects.

Chimbiya added that the campaign will also help the students to choose the right courses after their secondary education.

Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) has advised the Government of Malawi to buy back idle land from estate companies and redistribute it to landless Malawians.

HRDC national coordinator Kelvin Chirwa stated that this is the only solution to the impasse between owners of tea estates in Thyolo, Mulanje and Nkhata Bay.

Chirwa was reacting to the directive Thyolo District Commissioner, Hudson Kuphanga, has given to the people cultivating maize in the Conforzi Plantations Limited estate until February 14, 2024, to register in the database.

Kuphanga said this would facilitate an agreement to let them harvest their crops this year.

Earlier, the DC had engaged and pleaded with the company to stop its security guards from slashing the maize for the encroachers.

He said the registration at the council would, among other things, help the company get the encroachers’ names and agree that they will not cultivate the land again next year.

But Chirwa argued that this is not a sustainable solution to the decades-long problem of scarcity of land for cultivation among the locals.

“Where will the communities cultivate next year? These are the things we need to address. Why should estates keep long parches of idle of idle land when communities have no land to cultivate?” he asked.

“We need the government, through the councils, to start buying back this idle land and redistribute it to people. Otherwise, people will continue being forced to forcefully take back such land,” said Chirwa.

Chief Government Spokesperson and Minister of Information and Digitalization, Moses Kunkuyu, was not immediately available to comment on the matter.

Muvi wa Chilungamo Revolutionary Party (MRP) president Bantu Saunders Jumah has promised that, if voted into power in the 2025 General Elections, his administration will not allow government branches to influence outcomes of court judgments.

Speaking in an interview on Thursday, Jumah observed a craving among branches of the government to influence the course of justice in matters that have been brought before the courts.

“This is wrong. The MRP government will not allow the courts to be influenced by other branches of the government when passing judgments,” he said.

Jumah was reacting to the standoff that has ensued in the National Assembly where Speaker of Parliament, Catherine Gotani Hara, refused to recognize Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) appointee Mary Navicha as Leader of Opposition because of a court order Kondwani Nankhumwa obtained before he was expelled from his sponsoring party.

The MRP leader said judicial independence is critical, as it protects the weak from the powerful; the minority from the majority and the poor from the rich.

He added that judicial independence protects excesses of government.

“Judicial independence is the concept that courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government, or from private or partisan interests. This is important for the proper functioning of a state based on democratic values,” said Jumah.

He further stated that judicial independence is a key component of social transformation and democratic consolidation.