Sata forgives Bingu
By Bright Mukwasa
Sat 31 Dec. 2011, 14:00 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata says he has forgiven Malawi President Bingu wa Mutharika over his deportation from that country in 2007. And Malawi information minister Patricia Kaliati yesterday welcomed President Sata's decision, saying the move was a good development for both countries.
President Mutharika's government arrested President Sata, then opposition leader in 2007 when he entered Malawi to visit former president Bakili Muluzi. On 15 March 2007, Sata was deported from Malawi shortly after arrival.
President Sata was bundled into a car, driven several hundred kilometres, dumped at the border and told he could never go back to that country.
President Sata said he was only there to meet with the business community, and alleged that the Zambian government had effected the deportation by falsely claiming that he was in Malawi to assist Muluzi. The Zambian government denied this statement while the Malawian government gave no explanation for President Sata's deportation.
On 6 April, 2007, President Sata's lawyer Ralph Kasambara said that he had initiated a lawsuit against the Malawian government for violating his rights.
And since winning elections, relations between Malawi and Zambia at presidential level had been strained.
President Sata said at State House yesterday after a closed-door meeting with Muluzi, who was in the country for a two-day private visit, that he decided to bury the hatchet in the interest of both countries.
Muluzi, who has reconciliation problems with President Mutharika and his government over corruption allegations, is said to have brokered the peace between the two Presidents.
"His Muluzi coming here was to reconcile Zambia with Malawi where the president wants us to forget about the incident which happened when I was deported from Malawi and we feel that Malawi and Zambia are bigger than Michael Sata and Bingu wa Mutharika and I have agreed," President Sata said without stating whether the deportation ban had been lifted or his pending court case in that country had been discontinued.
"I have given him a message to convey to President Bingu wa Mutharika that as far as I am concerned, let bygones be bygones, so any time, we shall see you in Malawi."
Muluzi was however not sent to Zambia by President Mutharika to come and normalise the relations between the two heads of state.
In October this year, President Sata turned down an invitation by Malawi to attend the Comesa heads of state summit for the same reason.
And Kaliati said her government would handle the matter at a ‘higher level' between the two governments.
However, Kaliati blamed the media, accusing them of having blown the diplomatic row out of proportion and referred further questions to her Minister of Foreign Affairs.
"It's a good development yes, but I know you media whatever I say you won't even take that; you'll take the wrong thing. We are one country," said Kaliati.
Labels: BINGU WA MUTHARIKA, MALAWI, MICHAEL SATA, PATRICIA KALIATI
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COMMENT - Malawi is being punished for daring not extend the 'non-existent' economic sanctions against Zimbabwe, and extending a loan to the Zimbabwe government.
Also see here.
Malawi threatens to withdraw from ICC
Saturday, 17 December 2011 00:00
LILONGWE. - Malawi has threatened to withdraw from the International Criminal Court Treaty after a dispute over its alleged failure to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
Bashir is wanted by the court for genocide. The court has issued a warrant for his arrest and as a signatory to the Rome Statute that created The Hague-based world court, Malawi was obligated to detain the Sudanese leader on its soil.
The Sudanese leader attended a Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) meeting the country hosted in October 2011.
Malawi's Information minister Patricia Kaliati said it was surprising that the ICC decided to report the country to the United Nations Security Council whereas it had not taken any action against some of the countries Bashir has visited in the past.
"When we were signing the Rome Statute, we wanted to be part of the international community, not to be targeted. We can as well withdraw our ICC signature," Kaliati said.
She insisted that Malawi would continue defending her position on the matter, saying that they were now waiting for the Security Council's take on the issue.
"We are going to respond once a formal communication has been made to us. We do not have anything on our table so far," she said.
University of Malawi law lecturer Dr Mwiza Nkhata said Malawi can withdraw from the Rome Statute under article 127 by submitting a written notification to the secretary-general of the United Nations.
However, he noted that the withdrawal only takes effect one year after the submission of the notification.
"Crucially, a withdrawal does not affect the obligations that a state party may have incurred while it was still a party . . . such obligations will still persist.
"We can safely assume that joining the Rome Statute was preceded by an informed decision.
"Clearly, the executive would have to explain and justify to the nation why they are withdrawing from the treaty, should they decide to withdraw now," Dr Nkhata added.
The world court on Monday said it was referring Malawi to the Security Council over its refusal to arrest Bashir.
The court said that its pre-trial chamber "decided that the Republic of Malawi failed to co-operate with the court by not arresting and surrendering Omar Al Bashir to the court during his visit to Malawi" in October.
The court "decided to refer the matter to both the United Nations Security Council and the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute."
Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika had previously said that African leaders should not be dragged to the ICC for offences committed in Africa.
In comments submitted to the court Malawi said that customary international law makes an exception for heads' of state immunity when international courts seek their arrest for international crimes. But the court said that its judges "noted that immunity for heads of state before international courts has been rejected time and time again dating all the way back to World War I."
"Giving the examples of international prosecutions against Slobodan Milosevic, Charles Taylor, Muammar Gaddafi, Omar al-Bashir and Laurent Gbagbo, the chamber noted that initiating international prosecutions against heads of state have gained widespread recognition as accepted practice."
ICC spokesman Fadi el-Abdallah told AFP "it would be up to the United Nations Security Council to determine what measures they will judge appropriate."
President al-Bashir is the first sitting president indicted by the ICC, which issued an arrest warrant on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sudan's troubled Darfur region.
The ICC was created through the adoption of its founding statute at a Rome conference in July 1998, and started operating in The Hague in 2002. The ICC is the world's only independent, permanent tribunal with the jurisdiction to try genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. All cases opened by the court so far relate to crimes committed in Africa. - Daily Nation/AFP.
Labels: ICC, MALAWI, PATRICIA KALIATI
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Malawi starts listening to phone conversations
By Mavuto Jobani
October 14, 2011
Government will now be able to listen into people’s private telephone conversations, check SMS and monitor internet activity in real time after forcing telephone operators to surrender Call Detail Records (CDRs) to facilitate the use of the new eavesdropping equipment bought early this year.
CDRs provide detailed information including who called which number; details of calls received; time and duration of calls; location where call was made or received; SMS sent and received; type of handset used and other detailed subscriber information.
Currently, the operators provide summarized data from the CDRs and Macra is not able to access detailed subscriber information but the latest decision will equip Malawi Regulatory Authority (Macra) who will now be able to eavesdrop on conversations of anyone in the country.
The development has riled the Consumer Association of Malawi (Cama), a consumer protection group, who have vowed to stop the process because it is a violation of the right to privacy.
Macra’s decision will likely worsen President Bingu wa Mutharika’s human rights record after the major aid donor Britain on Thursday asked his administration to improve on human rights following the recent killing of a student activist and government forces killed 20 protesters in July and
Macra has spent US$250,000 in much needed foreign exchange as part payment to buy the equipment from a US firm – Agilis International justifying that the equipment will help improve the quality of services, fraud management, revenue assurance and spectrum allocation.
But the operators namely; Airtel Malawi, TNM, ACL and MTL, have been meeting to charter and agreed to admit that they will no longer be able to protect the privacy of their customers.
“The operators will no longer be in a position to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of customers’s communication activities as we understand it to be our obligation under our respective operating licences, the Communications Act (1998) and the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi,” MTL’s CEO Charles Chuka, Airtel’s MD Saulos Chilima, TNM’s CEO Willem Swart and Faizal Okhai, MD for Access Limited, said in a joint statement
The operators also said that the requested details differ fundamentally from what they currently provide to Macra for the purpose of monitoring quality of service.
“Customers are advised that the system can monitor and analyze telecommunications services including SMS and Internet in real time from the information contained within the CDRs. It is our understanding that the system has additional monitoring capabilities,” the operators warn in the statement.
Cama- a consumer protection group- on Wednesday came out strongly against government’s decision saying that they are going to make sure that the process does not begin at all
“This is a bad policy for a country which is already bad on human rights at the moment,” Cama chairman John Kapito said accusing Macra and government of going ahead with a policy that directly affects the consumers without consulting them.
“We have noted how this government keeps on making decisions on policy issues without engaging the public and it’s because of this that we are worried because very few countries in Africa are using such equipment to manage information in a draconian way,” he said.
But minister of information Patricia Kaliati dismissed as lies that the machine and the CDRs will be used by Macra to spy on the masses. She said that equipment will only be used to improve the quality of services being offered by the operators and manage traffic.
Labels: HUMAN RIGHTS, PATRICIA KALIATI
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Mutharika will not apologise to Sata,lifts entry ban
By Wanga Gwede, Nyasa Times
September 29, 2011
Malawi government is adamant that President Bingu wa Mutharika will not offer public apology to Zambia’s newly-elected president Michael Sata for what happened in 2007 when Lilongwe declared him a prohibited immigrant.
Sata has demanded an apology for the humiliation he suffered when he was arrested at Chileka international Airport in Blantyre 15 March, 2007 on orders from President Mutharika when he flew into Malawi to hold talks with former president Bakili Muluzi.
According to his Malawian lawyer Ralph Kasambara, no reasons were given for his arrest but he was detained for several hours at Blantyre Police Station, where he was declared Persona Non Grata (PNG) or Prohibited Immigrant (PI) and then bundled in a police vehicle, driven 500 kilometres to be dumped at Chipata on the Malawi-Zambia border.
Sata: Demands apology
Sata sued Malawi government for defamation and wrongful detention.
But government spokesperson Patricia Kaliati said Lilongwe will not issue an apology because the status and circumstances in which Sata was expelled from Malawi and his current position of head of state are different.
“Sata is His Excellency the President now he was a private citizen in 2007. What happen then had nothing to do with Zambia,” said Kaliati.
She said Lilongwe will have talks with Lusaka on any diplomatic misunderstandings.
Kaliati also clarified that Sata is allowed to visit Malawi and will be treated as a VVIP and not as a prohibited immigrant in Malawi because of his current status as head of state and government.
Her comments were also underscored by presidential spokesperson Hetherwick Ntaba who explained that according to international protocol, a head of State cannot be a prohibited immigrant in a country.
“Therefore, any pre-existing status in Malawi-Zambia or anywhere that contradicts President Sata’s present status as Head of State automatically falls off de fact or otherwise,” said Ntaba in a statement.
“Under such circumstances, the fear of immigration embarrassment in Malawi for President Sata cannot arise in international diplomacy.”
Kasambara disclosed this week that President Sata would not be coming to Malawi to attend Comesa summit for Heads of State from October 14 because he of the deportation he faced in 2007 as his case is yet to be determined by Justice Healy Potani.
Malawi has never disclosed the reasons why it deported Sata.
Under Mutharika leadership, Malawi has strained ties with neighbouring Mozambique and downgrading dipolamtic relations with Zambia would be regrettable to the country which has enjoyed cordial relations with other states since independence 47 years ago.
Labels: ATUPELE MULUZI, BAKILI MULUZI, MICHAEL SATA, PATRICIA KALIATI
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Sata still a PI in Malawi
By Chibaula Silwamba
Thu 29 Sep. 2011, 15:10 CAT
MALAWI'S President Bingu wa Mutharika's government is in an embarrassing diplomatic situation over its politically motivated declaration of Michael Sata as a prohibited immigrant in the country, says President Michael Sata's Malawi-based lawyer.
But Malawi government spokesperson Patricia Kaliati
speculated that President Sata could have been declared a Prohibited Immigrant (PI) because he was an opposition leader but was now free to visit the neighbouring country, being the number one citizen of Zambia.
In a telephone interview from Malawi yesterday, President Sata's lawyer Ralph Kasambara said the Mutharika-government had not formally communicated to the newly-elected Zambian President that he was now a ‘desirable' person.
"His being declared a PI is a legal act and it was not just by an immigration officer. It was a directive from the Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security.
The fact that he is now the President of Zambia does not change the status because it was not the office of the President of Zambia that was declared a PI, it was himself the person," Kasambara said.
"It cannot be assumed automatically that ‘oh now simply because he is the President and therefore he is on VIP treatment', which is true but it does not mean VIP treatment means he is a desirable element because they said he was undesirable element in Malawi."
Kasambara said the onus was on the Malawi government to reverse its decision.
"It will be foolhardy of mine to advise His Excellency Sata to say, ‘now you can safely travel to Malawi, you will not be embarrassed at the border'," Kasambara said.
He explained that President Sata had sued the Malawi government in a Malawian court demanding an explanation on why he was declared undesirable element but that the matter had not been decided for three years now.
"It's embarrassing for the judge because we have been waiting for three years and the matter has been in court for four years and yet judicial review is supposed to be ready within three months but now we are talking about three years. It's an egg on the face of our judiciary," he said.
"That case can be abandoned but the government of Malawi has not explained to him why he was declared an undesired element. It is too strong a statement for somebody to declare you an undesirable element in a neighbouring country where you have been visiting quite often."
However, the case has not been withdrawn.
"From my last chat with President Sata yesterday Tuesday he hasn't indicated to me that he has been informed by the Malawi government that now they have reversed the scenario. In view of that background, it will be very dangerous and unstrategic for President Sata to travel to Malawi," Kasambara said.
He said the wrong diplomacy had put President Mutharika in an awkward situation.
"For certain, that is a joke because when Zambians come into Malawi at any border they don't have to explain why they are coming to Malawi.
But when President Sata came, he was just greeted by immigration officer who said, ‘sorry sir you can't enter Malawi, you have been declared a prohibited immigrant'," he said.
Kasambara said the abusive treatment President Sata faced could have been political.
"Why it is embarrassing for the President Mutharika here is that one might easily put in that it was politics that came to play. And if it's politics that came to play then it's dangerous for a country to get involved in another sovereign state's internal politics," Kasambara said.
"The Malawi government has gotten the egg on its face because the man they declared a prohibited immigrant is now a President of a neighbouring country and now they are supposed to shake hands and dine with him."
And Kaliati, who is also Malawi's information minister, said President Sata was free to visit Malawi, but could not explain if Zambia had been formally communicated to.
"During that time he was just doing his visit, I don't know how it was, he was just an ordinary person like you and me. Today, he is His Excellency and he is number one citizen of Zambia. There is no problem. After all when he comes, he is representing the Zambian people," Kaliati said.
"I don't think there is any restriction for him to come and attend the COMESA meeting."
Asked if the PI status had been lifted, Kaliati said that would be handled between the ministries of foreign affairs of Zambia and Malawi.
She said bilateral relations between Zambia and Malawi were still intact and strong and would be dealt with at government level.
"We communicate government-to-government. You are just lucky that I am responding to some of your questions. If anything you get information from the government of Zambia," said Kaliati.
Zambia's ministry of foreign affairs said it was discussing President Sata's PI status with its Malawian counterpart.
Labels: BINGU WA MUTHARIKA, MALAWI, MICHAEL SATA, PATRICIA KALIATI
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Kaliati, govt corrupt fats cats being probed- ACB boss
By Nyasa Times
Published: October 14, 2009
Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) director Alex Nampota has said the graft-busting body is investigating corruption allegations against officials in government including Minister of Women, Patricia Kaliati but said the bureau cannot ask for their resignations.
Nampota downplaying assertions that the ACB is only effective in investigating matters concerning opposition members, said the body was equally probing government officials following official complaints.
“As we are now there are investigations going on touching both government benches and opposition benches. There are some complaints relating to some government functionaries just there are complaints against opposition personalities now that are under investigations,” ACB boss told Capital FM’s Straight Talk programme on Tuesday evening.
“But whether we can say we will have them when they are out of office that is another matter, it depends how the investigation go. If the investigations go faster, you can hear them,” he said.
Pressed by Straight Talk host, Brian Banda to name corrupt fat cats in government who are under corrupt investigations, Nampota declined saying investigations are usually confidential.
“They are under investigations because we want to ascertain whether people have committed offences or not. Now, do we start talking about them, giving an impression that they have committed crimes when we have not finished investigations,” pointed out the ACB boss.
“Fighting corruption is getting to the bottom of the truth about the allegations now we should not be getting allegations as if they are crimes,” he said.
Nampota confirmed that Kaliati is being investigated on allegations that she received bribes from a United Arab Emirates consortium as an inducement to awarding it the Nyika-Vwaza Eco-tourism Concession.
Kaliati, Minister of Women and Children was named to have received bribes when she was Information and Tourism Minister from a United Arab Emirates consortium as an enticement to award it the Eco-tourism Concession.
She was also been named in receiving bribes from Access Communications Limited to award them a license as the second fixed line telephony operator in disregard to a legal opinion made by Attorney General Hon. Dr. Jane Ansah against the award.
And recently she has been named in corruption scandal involving getting girls to government secondary schools when they are not selected.
But Nampota refused to shed light on the progress of the investigations.
“We need to be very careful when it comes to matters of corruption. We are dealing here with Malawians, citizens. Let us not be preoccupied by the position people are occupying they are basically human beings, Malawians. They cannot run away from allegations,” he said
“We have taken them as allegations. Vwayza, we have not hidden, is under investigations. Now before we complete should we say she is corrupt.” said Nampota.
ACB said it has not made recommendation for her to resign because if the bureau takes that approach it will get rid of many people in government.
“Issues of appointment, removal, suspension they lie elsewhere from the bureau. They are a prerogative of the President,” he said.
Asked what the bureau is doing on ministers who have overnight acquired a lot of wealth, Nampota said “the issue of property has to be looked at in perspective.”
“Before we came in with the Corrupt Practices Act, we had the forfeiture Act. People were divested of their assets in this country without any right to audience. The forfeiture act was repealed; we went into a new democratic dispensation where such approach to life was actually condemned.
“You cannot go and start victimising people for the sake of them having assets, no. The Corrupt Practices Act has powers, gives the bureau powers to investigate on assets and seize assets. But the investigations is done professionally, it’s done in such a way that you are not making the acquisition of the assets a problem per se, no,” said Nampota.
He explained that the law allows ACB to seize property for purposes of preservation.
Nampota said it is not possible for the bureau to shield anybody from prosecution and described corruption as a “social evil”.
Banda asked ACB is he can investigate the President on corruption allegations.
He asked: “We know how much the President gets; we have seen all over the sudden the accumulation of wealth that is associated with the President. Do you; therefore say all is well as far as the President is concerned?”
Nampota replied: “Are you saying the President is committing the crime of corruption?”
The ACB boss was also asked on clearing of former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba of all corruption charges as a good pointer for Malawi in relation to former president Bakili Muluzi graft charges, he said the matters were different.
“The Chiluba case is not the same as the Muluzi case. The Chiluba case we are talking about $500,000 in the Muluzi case we are talking about $15 million, you can’t compare and you are talking different legal system, different sets of facts.”
Straight Talk is a programme is aired live on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
Labels: CHILUBA, CORRUPTION, PATRICIA KALIATI
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Govt snub calls to declare Malawi in state of hunger
By Praise Liomba
21 January, 2009 01:44:00
The Malawi government has said despite pressure from various sectors of the society, it will not bow down to declare the country in a state of hunger, because it claimed there was plenty of maize in all parts of the country.
Government spokesperson, Patricia Kaliati reacting to calls from the country's former Head of State, Dr. Bakili Muluzi to declare that Malawi was experiencing a critical food shortage, said the situation had not reached alarming levels as the opposition was “forcing” people to believe.
“The situation is being blown out of proportion to embarrass the government of President Ngwazi Bingu wa Mutharika. We will not bow down to the pressure from the opposition to declare that the country was going through what it said as critical food shortage,” said Kaliati .
“People have food in this country and nobody should be cheated with what the opposition is saying. Those who are dying of hunger in this country are lazy people. We have rivers with water running throughout the year. So why should someone die of hunger?” querried Kaliati.
Public Affairs Committe (PAC) said in a statement that it is not enough for government to give assurances when some people are complaining on the ground.
“Trying to save face and safeguard reputation will not solve the country's problems. There is need for concrete actions to ensure that Admarc is effectively delivering to the people to avoid a much more serious food crisis,” said the religious body.
The Minister of Information then warned people against being misled by claims from the opposition that Mutharika has failed to boost food security in the country as he claims.
Few weeks ago, Mutharika admitted that in some parts of the country people were surviving on maize husks, but he said this was not strange in the country, citing that during the administrations of Ngwazi Kamuzu Banda and Muluzi people went through the same experience.
While government was playing hide and seek games on the food situation, it was secretly distributing maize in some parts of the country where lives have already been lost.
A few weeks ago, the Department of Disaster and Preparedness committee in the Office of the President and Cabinet, admitted that in some parts of the country the food situation was not satisfactory.
Muluzi said in Lilongwe over the weekend that international organizations outside the country were ready to assist the country in improving the current situation, only if Mutharika admitted that government cannot meet the high demand for food at the moment.
Labels: BINGU WA MUTHARIKA, BITCH, HUNGER, MAIZE, MALAWI, PATRICIA KALIATI
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Malawi in maize cirisis –religious body
19 January, 2009 01:45:00
Government’s obduracy that there no maize crisis has been challenged by the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) which has voiced out in a statement that there should demonstration to prove that there is enough maize and ensuring that people have access to the grain.
“There are cases where people are spending days looking for maize at empty Admarc depots thereby enduring much suffering. All this is happening when government is claiming that there are more than enough maize reserves,” pointed out PAC in a statement signed by its Chairman PAC Chairman Boniface Tamani and Publicity Secretary Maurice Munthali.
“Among those affected by maize scarcity are those who cannot find maize because it is unavailable at the Admarc distribution points and again those who cannot afford to buy even if it is available.
“With regard to both cases, government has the responsibility to ensure that people have access to maize by employing effective distribution systems or by providing relief. There is evidence that maize scarcity in some areas of the country is aggravated by hiccups in the distribution systems which government is implementing through Admarc,” said the statement released on Friday.
Institute for Policy Interaction (IPI) executive director Rafiq Hajat concurred with the politically unaligned religious grouping that government should ensure effective maize distribution in Admarc depots and protect traders from buying the grain wholesale.
"It is a known fact that Admarc personnel have a civil service mentality and there managers collude with private traders to buy all the maize. This is being driven by corruption and profiteering without concern for the suffering poor people," said Hajat in an interview with Nyasa Times.
The activist further blamed President Bingu wa Mutharika administration for exporting 400,000 metric tonnes to Zimbabwe without analyzing the local food situation.
"We are brought back to the same question of whether it was logical to sell maize to Zimbabwe without firstly looking at our own situation," said Hajat.
"It is ironic that we are boasting about foot security yet people are dying of hunger, and some are eating roots, leaves and maize husks for survival," IPI boss said.
Government spokesperson Patricia Kaliati maintained there is enough grain at the silos and that the question of food shortage does not arise.
“We have enough maize in our silos and we are releasing it to all Admarc depots. There will be no-one who will die of hunger,” said Kaliati.
Apparently, hunger related deaths are being recorded in the hospitals and The Nation reported that one man died of hunger in Balaka district and there reports that dozens of children continue to suffer malnutrition.
PAC said it is not enough to give such assurances when some people are complaining on the ground.
“Trying to save face and safeguard reputation will not solve the country's problems. There is need for concrete actions to ensure that Admarc is effectively delivering to the people to avoid a much more serious food crisis,” said the religious body.
PAC acknowledged in the statement that issues of food security - at times like these - are usually open to political manipulation and “some statements being made on the matter tends to be sensational”.
Nonetheless, the body says the current food situation calls for urgent action.
Labels: BONIFACE TAMANI, INSTITUTE FOR POLICY INTERACTION (MALAWI), MAIZE, PAC, PATRICIA KALIATI, RAFIQ HAJAT
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Govt distributes maize in Kaliati constituency
16 January, 2009 01:04:00
Just a week after Minister of Information and Civic Education Patricia Kaliati got shocked with news of maize scarcity in his home area, Mkando, government on Wednesday 14 January started distributing maize to Admarc depots in the area.
This came after people of Mkando last week forced UDF national chairman Dr Bakili Muluzi to stopover witness how people are scrambling for maize husks at Mkando market, just some meters away from Kaliati's home. Government has since made available sixteen trucks of maize in the constituency.
“We have already distributed the maize to Chingoli and Sanjama Trading Centres; we are yet to continue with the distribution exercise as per instructions,” said one of the officials involved in the exercise.
“It was like a surprise to the people of Mkando who have been surviving on madeya when they saw sixteen trucks of maize in the area I think Muluzi did a good job,” he said.
Mkando is one of the areas in Malawi where people have been severely affected by the hunger.
Last week a small basin of maize bran was going at K100.00 but government spokesperson, Kaliati maintains that the country has enough maize.
“Our minister and Member of Parliament for this constituency comes from [there] she passes by here and she sees us scrambling for maize, yet we hear her on radio saying we have enough maize,” said one old woman, Nyamazao Mkumba, who was found at the market.
The Nation newspaper on Tuesday reported of food crisis in prisons where thousands are sleeping on empty stomachs.
Minister of Home Affairs minister Ernest Malenga told the paper that it was due to government's failure to realize funding to buy maize to feed an estimated 7,000 in mates in Malawi prisons.
But Finance Minister Goodal Gondwe dismissed his colleague's claims on the delayed funding.
Commentators have said that the misunderstanding is an indication that government is failing to source maize for prisoners.
Labels: HUNGER, MAIZE, PATRICIA KALIATI
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(NYASATIMES) Nyasa Times can't silence me, says Kaliati
Nyasa Times can't silence me, says Kaliati
By Praise Liomba 31 December, 2008 03:04:00
Malawi Minister of Information and Civic Education , Patricia Kaliati has said despite the popularity that the on-line publication, Nyasa Times is getting among Malawians, both at home and in the diaspora, it can't silence or destroy her.
Reacting to the story published on Nyasa Times, which exposed her sadistic antics that she is using the mobile phone company, Zain Malawi to spy on her cabinet colleagues, opposition leaders, senior police and army officers and business people, Kaliati, who was not very clear on the allegations, told the state controlled MBC that she was not cowed or intimidated by Nyasa Times and its locally based journalists.
"Whatever you write about me, will not change me," said the loose tounged politician.
"You can't kill me. Am a carefree person. You are dealing with a wrong person. I can't even fail in my constituency through your fake reports. I will fight you back," said Kaliati.
She said she was happy serving the government of "Ngwazi" President Bingu Wa Mutharika and had no time to "waste" with what she called "propaganda machine."
Kaliati, who sounded nervous and exposed following the publication of the allegations, said she was being promoted through Nyasa Times.
Labels: NYASA TIMES, PATRICIA KALIATI
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Malawi threatens shut down of FM 101 Radio
Ruby Suzghika
29 December, 2008 09:42:00
Malawi government has threatened to shut down a private radio station, Power FM 101 if it fails to pay broadcasting fees. Government spokeswoman Patricia Kaliati issued the stern warning on Monday and gave FM 101 deadline of January 2, 2009 to pay or face closure.
Kaliati, Information and Civic Education minister disclosed this after a special arranged meeting with Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra.)
“We don’t gazette license without paying fees. We as the –FM 101- to come and pay by January 2,” said the minister.
She said since the radio opened ten years ago, it has not been paying broadcasting fees.
The Information Minister said FM 101 license is not gazetted and they have been operating “illegally”.
She threatened that the radio license will be revoked by January 2 if the station will not pay its entire broadcasting license.
It could not be established how much FM 101 is to pay in broadcasting fees by Kaliati said they can pay in installments until January 2.
The threats coincided with the radio being off air the better part of Monday.
However, this is said to have occurred because is equipment at Mpingwe was faulty.
Labels: MALAWI, PATRICIA KALIATI, RADIO FM 101
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