Budgetary allocations to the Malawi Police Service (MPS) and the Malawi Defence Forces (MDF) have been revised upward, and the two are among top beneficiaries in the revised mid-term budget Review. That is besides the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), which the review has also favoured in view of the impending fresh presidential elections as ordered…
Budget and Finance Committee of Parliament chairperson Sosten Gwengwe has described the upward revised K1.8 trillion 2019/20 National Budget as a flop. He said the financial blueprint fails to highlight progress achieved in the first-half. Reacting to Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Joseph Mwanamvekha’s Mid-Year Budget Statement at Parliament yesterday, Gwengwe said the…
Experts have proposed an immediate dismissal of the current electoral commission following a court ruling which has established wrong doing in the management of the May 21 presidential elections. In an interview with Nation Online Law Professor, Garton Kamchedzera, said Parliament should also change concentration of power in the presidency in the appointment of commissioners…
The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has summoned Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) for hearing over a broadcast which referred to Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) as “gulu la za uchifwamba (terrorist group)”. In a letter addressed to MBC Director General dated 20th January 2020 and signed by MACRA Director General Godfrey Itaye, the regulatory body bemoans what it…
At least 50 diplomats did not receive their December salary for not presenting their national identity (ID) cards, a decision the Department of Human Resource Management and Development (DHRMD) says is non-negotiable. But a labour law expert has faulted the procedure as lacking legal basis, saying it would only make sense if such an arrangement…
A Malawian Airline flight from Lilongwe to Johannesburg, South Africa yesterday departed three hours late due to power outage at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA), leading to frustration and panic among passengers. The news of the blackout also sparked public debate on social media, with some commentators blaming government for lack of seriousness in improving service…
With over 1 500 people affected by heavy rains, Lilongwe City Council (LCC) says it will demolish all illegal constructions to prevent further loss of life and property. LCC chief executive officer John Chome was speaking in an interview on Saturday after Vice-President Everton Chimulirenji toured some of the affected areas in Lilongwe’s Area 22…
Vice President Everton Chimulirenji has appealed to residents affected by floods in Lilongwe to relocate to safer grounds. Touring some of the affected areas in areas 50 and 22, Chimulirenji said it is sad to note that same places are affected almost every year – which makes it imperative to have the people moved to…
In recent years, it has become common to see post-election protests— people protesting election results. But in previous elections, such protesting voices never lasted for long as the State used every available mechanism to silence them. But in 2019, the citizens’ voice has been too loud to be ignored, but amid such persistent protests, the…
Former Cabinet minister George Chaponda is expected to return to court in Zomba in three months’ time for retrial in the Maizegate case after the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) appealed his acquittal, the High Court has confirmed. According to notice of mention signed by the presiding judge Redson Kapindu on December 13 2019, all parties in…
Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) has been asked to pay about K29 million in damages for withdrawing a job offer for a communications officer on alleged political grounds. In a letter dated August 8 2019, LWB offered journalist Prince Henderson a post of communications officer, which was withdrawn five days later on what the board says…
Some people have given up, others have died while waiting yet others are still pushing. The effort and cost of pushing literally outweighs the value of the money they are fighting for, but still they are pushing, perhaps not for the money, but justice. This is a story of Malawians who are waiting for payment…
The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has embarked on a campaign to clean councils of theft and corruption. So far, a number of officers in district councils have been arrested on allegations of embezzling public funds. These include two officials in Lilongwe who are alleged to have misappropriated over K120 million part of…
At least 2 000 public officers, including two Cabinet ministers and eight members of Parliament, are yet to declare their assets over five months after expiry of the deadline. The development has forced Parliament’s Public Appointments Committee (PAC) to recommend that the defaulters be named and shamed through the media, after noting that those who…
President Peter Mutharika and UTM Party president Saulos Chilima today missed national peace prayers a development analysts say waters down the significance of the event. But organisers of the event – the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) say even without the two key leaders attending in person, the purpose of the event was served. Malawi Congress…
A border reaffirmation and demarcation exercise involving Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique has put some citizens in a fix as they have found themselves on the wrong side of the border, threatening their citizenship and property. The three governments will have to make a tough decision to resolve the consequential property encroachment and wrangles over land…
Lilongwe City Council (LCC) has demolished a warehouse which borders Livimbo School in Lilongwe’s Area 2 in what it termed an on-going exercise targeting widespread “illegal construction”. Commissioner for physical planning, in the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Felix Tukula told Nation on Sunday that the new Physical Planning Act empowers councils to…
The National Assembly is seeking autonomy for effective delivery of its duties. Among other things, the House is demanding financial and administrative independence from the Executive. This is part of the report which the House adopted from Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee during its last meeting. In this interview with our News Analyst SUZGO CHITETE, political…
Staff at Luanar have gone on an indefinite strike, demanding harmonisation of salaries, with their counterparts at University of Malawi (Unima) who they say are getting higher remuneration. Government and Luanar management have since shot down the proposal by striking Lilongwe University of Natural Resources (Luanar) staff, describing it as “unrealistic”. On Thursday, Luanar staff…
Concerned parties in the Livimbo School saga in Lilongwe have agreed to sort out the land encroachment issue, which has been outstanding for years. The two parties have resolved to correct the boundary that led to misunderstandings a few weeks ago. In an interview with Nation on Sunday, Ishmael Wadi, a lawyer to one of…
