Feels good moving forward
Well, whether it is a fact or just a classic exaggeration, a story is told that a business magnate who owns a tobacco estate at Kasiya, Lilongwe rewarded his trusted tenant Dafulesi Lifa by opening an account for him at one of Standard Bank branches in the capital city.
And when this overzealous tenant went to the bank to withdraw money using the auto-teller machine, he was amazed with the machine’s greeting that read: ‘Good afternoon Dafulesi Lifa’ and his response in deep Chewa accent was forthright: ‘Dala, osanilankhula m’chizungu, musantayitse nthawi ingondipatsani kandalama kangako nkamwere bota ine kwa Divala!’
And then there is my minibus tout friend Mussa who operates at Ginnery Corner bus stop. From the little he makes, he opened a saverplus account with the same bank and every time he wants to withdraw some money, he comes to my work place and says: ‘Madala ndabweretsa cheke [cheque] ndifuna mundisayinile n’katenge khusa.’ By the way, what Mussa refers to as cheque, is a withdrawal slip.
Well, Dafulesi and Mussa are certainly not the only ones that have moved forward with Standard Bank. Mighty Wanderers players are floating on air having won the Standard Bank Knockout Trophy back-to-back last Saturday, after beating Silver Strikers again in the finals.
Who said you can only make money in Lilongwe through cash-gate? You can also make some through the beautiful game. And my plea to the cops is that when they find piles of aloveiras [K1 000 notes] in Nomads’ team bus, they should not arrest them, they sweated for them, sizopakula ku Capital Hill.
And isn’t it a remarkable resurgence, coming from a seven-game drought to win a cup without conceding a goal? All good things must come to an end at some point and, as much as it hurts, we have to say goodbye to a tournament rich in substance and long in entertainment that held us spellbound.
Take a bow, ladies and gentlemen to the men whose skills helped illuminate our football fields in this tournament and the likes of Mike Kaziputa, Richard Chipuwa, Green Harawa, Patrick Gunde and, oh yes, Alfred Manyozo Jnr come to mind.
Let us take a bow to a tournament that was so unique that it could earn a team K8 million [$20 000] in just three games. The only tournament whose sponsorship was hiked this year, and the only showpiece whose cup presentation was so unique that fans felt they were at Stamford Bridge, Anfield or Old Trafford. Glory be to God! Uloliwe.. Uloliwe wayidudula hi..Nang’esiza! [The train is pushing!]
