Rambo’ Chafunya dies in Malawi

Lovemore ‘Rambo’ Chafunya, the former Bloemfontein Celtic, Mamelodi Sundowns and AmaZulu forward has died in Malawi after a long illness.
The 44-year-old, who ran his own his own computer business in Blantyre, had been unwell for about six months according to his brother, Chris.

Remembered for his aerial prowess, the Malawian international, came to South Africa in the mid-1980s and regularly found the back of the net for Sundowns until joining AmaZulu in 1993.

He was in the Brazilians’ side that claimed the 1986 Mainstay Cup with a 1-0 win over Jomo Cosmos and around 10 years later, after just missing the opportunity to gain access to the ‘100-goal-club’, returned to the country of his birth – well satisfied his with 90 successful strikes.

Daniel Mudau, his former captain, has paid a tribute to him, “He showed me how to run away from defenders and how to find the back of the net,” Mudau says.

Journalist Removed From Media Tour of China On Instructions of Malawi Information Ministry

The Chinese Embassy in Malawi has removed Wisdom Chimgwede, Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) editor, from the list of journalists travelling to China on a media tour it sponsored after receiving instructions from Malawi's Ministry of Information and Civic Education. The visit is slated to begin on 21 June 2008. The ministry had earlier on accused the journalist of writing negatively about the government.

Cultural exchange connects Memphis with Malawi

Memphis Commercial Appeal

Students are busy at the Echoes of Truth summer program at Overton High School producing an original musical and artwork. Jason Hunt, an Overton High graduate, paints a Beale Street scene. The four-week program culminates in a silent auction and the show "Beyond the Journey" at the Orpheum on Thursday. Funds from some of the pieces go to help students in Mzuzu, Malawi.

Mariel Lane of Bolton High gets fitted for her costume for the musical production by Eboni Dowell, an Overton High student, and Sarah Harper, a teacher at Northside High School.


Among the student artworks to be auctioned is this interesting portrait by David Brown.

A schoolhouse in Mzuzu, Malawi, has a metal roof now courtesy of funds from Echoes of Truth. The African nation's students are no longer at the mercy of the elements.

Elizabeth Cirwa of Mzuzu is pen pals with White Station graduate Ali Rohrbacher.

"Everyone calls me Ali. I am an 18-year-old girl from Memphis, Tennessee, a state in the South in the United States of America."

It is a simple introduction that the American girl hopes will spark an international friendship.

In a few weeks, Alissandra "Ali" Rohrbacher's letter will land in the hands of a student in Mzuzu, Malawi. Ali has never been to the city in southeastern Africa, but she feels a connection to it. Ali is one of nearly 130 local teenagers spending the summer learning about and raising money for Mzuzu, through an organization called Echoes of Truth.

"It is basically an arts career training program for singers, dancers, actors, videographers and painters."

That's how Ali, a painter, explained the program to her assigned pen pal, Elizabeth Cirwa, to whom she is writing for the first time.

The Malawi outreach is an emerging component of the 12-year-old creative arts program. The main goal during the four-week workshop is for the teenagers and young adults to produce an original musical and artwork.

Titled "Beyond the Journey," this year's production will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Orpheum. A silent auction of about 50 original acrylic paintings and customized chairs will take place before the show. The proceeds from some designated pieces will be donated to missionaries working to build schools in Mzuzu.

In the past, some paintings have sold for as much as $1,000. One of the Malawi charity pieces, an African-inspired portrait by 18-year-old colorist David Brown, is already catching the eye of local art patrons.

For these socially conscious young artists who audition to be in the program, life is more demanding than Disney's flowery "High School Musical." Some ride the bus across town to get to the program at Overton High School each day. Others are balancing Echoes in addition to other summer jobs.

The students receive a summer stipend of at least $720 for participating in the program. In return, they are expected to behave and perform like professional artists during the seven-hour work day.

The program costs about $180,000 to produce each year. It is funded by proceeds from ticket and art sales, a grant from the mayor's office and local philanthropists.

Echoes founder Julia Russell Ormiston admits that there is a paradox in the nonprofit, which must keep a close watch on its finances, reaching out to help the Mzuzu charity.

"Why do the poor tithe in church? Why do you give back or give to anybody?" she said. "I think it's part of morality, part of our moral fiber to help someone who is less fortunate."

For many Americans, Malawi is just another country in the epicenter of the AIDS crisis. Or it is the birthplace of pop singer Madonna's adopted son, David. For Ormiston, it is a country of people who persevere despite insufficient basic resources and an overwhelmed educational system.

The retired Memphis City Schools arts specialist became interested in the plight of Malawi children in 2004 when a relative connected her with Malawi-based education advocate Levi Hyondo. To build an elementary school in Malawi costs about $20,000, she learned. By comparison, Shelby County Schools spent $9.4 million to construct the three-year-old Bailey Station Elementary School in Collierville.

Ormiston personally raised about $2,500 to help with Mzuzu school construction, as a memorial to her late husband, Mike Ormiston. Transformed by the experience, she wanted to impart to Echoes students the importance of charity and global connectivity.

"I just started thinking about one of the major things I would like to see in American education, and that's instilling a sense of service," she said.

Last year, Echoes participants raised about $1,000 to pay for a steel roof on a Mzuzu school.

Previously, the children who attended classes in the shell of a schoolhouse were at the mercy of the elements, explained Hyondo in an e-mail to Ormiston earlier this year: "These projects we are doing here are always done in phases due to shortage of funds. This allows us to use the buildings even if they are not fully completed."

Russell hopes to send Hyondo a laptop in the future so that the Memphis and Mzuzu students can communicate via e-mail.

For now, however, they are relying on the Postal Service. At the end of camp, the Memphis students will mail a box of letters, photos, T-shirts, cassette tapes and other trinkets they think represent American life.

"We also included cameras, which hopefully you won't mind using to take photographs of your houses, friends, family, clothing, school, town. Basically, please take pictures of anything that is important to you," said Ali in her letter to Elizabeth.

The recent White Station High School graduate wants a deeper understanding of the young woman in the gold dress she knows only through photos. She also wants to shrink the "huge leap of culture" between the United States and the nation called "The Warm Heart of Africa."

"In writing you, I hope that you will respond so that we can both gain a greater cultural perspective, of a world far from our own, and hopefully make a new friend."

Malawi Opposition Accuses Mutharika of Intimidation Over Budget Disagreement

Malawi Opposition parties are accusing President Bingu Wa Mutharika of intimidation after Mutharika threatened to withhold pay and other benefits of opposition parliamentarians if they fail to pass the government’s budget today. The opposition describes Mutharika’s action as illegal, which could undermine the country’s young democracy. But Mutharika maintains that opposition parliamentarians would not be given their salaries for next month or additional months if the national budget is not passed. Some political observers say the failure of the government and the opposition to approve of the budget could inhibit the inflow of donor funds essential for sustaining the country’s economy. Joseph Njobvuyalema is an opposition member of Malawi’s parliament. From the capital Lilongwe, he tells reporter Peter Clottey that President Mutharika’s ultimatum is a disgrace to democracy.

“That is what the state president has said. But you see, I think the president is misadvised because there is a procedure which parliament follows to approve a budget. Members of parliament have to look at the figures and the activities, what happened in the previous financial year, and what are the intentions of the current year to come. Now we know that takes a lot of time. As a matter of fact, the constitution provides for members of parliament to discuss the budget for three weeks. Then, thereafter, we go into what we call committee of supply, looking and scrutinizing all the figures, vote-by-vote or ministry-by-ministry. So, I don’t think it makes sense for a president to give an ultimatum,” Njobvuyalema noted.

He said it is unfortunate some Malawians are blaming the opposition of being the cause of the budget not being approved.

“No, that is not correct. There is no way one can put the blame on the opposition because all along since the state president has been in office, the opposition is the one which is in the majority, and we are the ones who approved his budget. But what we are saying is that we are looking at the supreme law. The provisions of the law have to be complied with. Much as the budget is important, the constitutional provision must be upheld and the president is aware of it,” he said.

Njobvuyalema said there was need to implement section 65 of the constitution, a constitutional provision which bars legislators from leaving parties that sponsored them into power and joining another party inside parliament.

“Section 65 is an issue, which is not properly handled. Multiparty democracy would die in this country, and we would be reverting to one-party system. So, we think it is important that we must implement section 65 now, then approve the budget. But we are saying what should we do next? Let’s discuss and let’s implement section 65, which can only be done in 10 minutes time. The speaker will announce it in 10 minutes and then we continue with our budget. What’s wrong with that?” Njobvuyalema asked.

He said a majority of Malawians want section 65 implemented, despite President Mutharika’s threat of withholding pay and other benefits of the opposition if the budget is not approved today.

“We are not saying we have to approve a budget in order to get a salary. That’s not the idea. We represent the interest of the people and we are looking at what those people are talking about. The majority of Malawians want section 65 to be implemented. Then we move on with the budget. After all, according to the provisions of the laws in the country, government can spend up to the end of September then come back to parliament and say we have done this. Can we now approve the budget? We are more than ready to approve the budget,” he noted.

Southern Africa: Mozambique-Malawi Joint Defence Commission Meets

The Mozambique-Malawi Joint Defence and Security Commission met last week in Lilongwe to discuss ways of exercising effective control over the lengthy border between the two countries.

The longest of any of Mozambique's borders is with Malawi, which thrusts like a dagger into the centre of the country. The border is regularly violated, particularly by people fleeing from the Great Lakes region. It is hoped that greater control over the frontier will also help combat smuggling, particularly of sugar. Contraband Malawian sugar is a threat to Mozambique's own sugar industry.

According to a source in the general staff of the Mozambican Armed Forces (FADM), the meeting also discussed holding joint exercises to prepare soldiers of the two countries for peace-keeping and humanitarian missions.

Other matters on the agenda included using the military training facilities that exist in both countries, the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS among the armed forces, and mechanisms to make operational the protocol on defence and security signed by the two governments.

The Mozambican delegation was led by Deputy Defence Minister Agostinho Mondlane, and also included the Deputy Minister of the Interior Jose Mandra.

AIM also learnt that the FADM will shortly possess a riot control unit. Three high ranking officers from the Military Police have recently returned from Portugal where they attended a course on riot control.

According to the head of operations of the Military Police, Major Eduardo Boca, these three officers will train the first group of soldiers who will join the new unit. "We are ready to start training this unit, and we believe we can endow it with people who have the skills necessary to control riots", he said.

To date, the government has used the riot police (or "rapid intervention force") to deal with street disturbance. This unit has often been accused of the excessive use of force, and when large scale rioting broke out in Maputo on 5 February, in protests against a rise in passenger transport fares, the riot police proved completely unable to handle the situation.

PPAF to assist Malawi in poverty reduction efforts

Commerce Reporter

ISLAMABAD: Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF) has agreed in principle to enter into a wide-ranging partnership arrangement with Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) to seek technical co-operation from the fund's experience in water management, infrastructure, social protection, social mobilisation and drought mitigation and preparedness programs and from other PPAF interventions for poverty mitigation.

A four-member delegation from Malawi comprising Charles Elias Mandala, Acting Executive Director of MASAF, Harry Khumbo Sangwani Mwamlima, Director of Social Protection, Ministry of Economic Planning and Development, Cyrus Greyson Jeke, Ministry of Women and Child Development and Paul Weston Chipeta, Programme Advisor MASAF called on CEO/MD PPAF Kamal Hyat to explore potential for provision of assistance and advisory services.

Kamal Hyat on this occasion said that as an innovative model of public-private partnership, PPAF would share its skills and technical expertise with MASAF for poverty reduction activities. He said that PPAF would facilitate MASAF in strategic areas as well. He said PPAF is looking forward to a multi-dimensional exchange of ideas and for a long-term relationship with MASAF on policy, programme and project levels.

The government of Malawi established MASAF in 1996 with credit from the International Development Association (IDA) as a part of poverty alleviation programme. It is designed to promote employment creation and provide social and economic infrastructure. It also finances self-help community projects and transfer cash through safety net activities. The project aims at empowering individuals, households, communities and their development partners in the implementation of measures which can assist them in better managing risks associated with health, education, sanitation, water, transportation, and energy and food insecurity and to provide support to critically vulnerable persons through funding of a variety of sustainable interventions.

PPAF is the lead institution for poverty-focused interventions in the country. Set up as a fully autonomous private sector institution, PPAF enjoys facilitation and support from the government of Pakistan, the World Bank and other international donors. The outreach of PPAF now extends throughout Pakistan and its microcredit, community physical infrastructure, drought mitigation and education and health interventions have expanded all over the country.

PPAF has partnered with 73 organisations working in 33,500 villages with more than 100,000 communities in 113 districts across the country. PPAF's cumulative operational activities entail over 2 million micro-credit loans (impacting 12.5 million with 45 per cent women beneficiaries and 100 per cent recovery rate), over 17,000 health, education, water and infrastructure projects (impacting 8.6 million with 50 per cent women beneficiaries), 250,000 trained individuals, staff and communities (42 per cent women).

In earthquake-hit areas, PPAF has issued grants to over 117,000 households and trained 107,000 individuals in seismic construction skills including training in reconstruction guidelines, timber frame construction, block manufacturing, masonry, plumbing and steel-fixing units. PPAF has also established a dedicated Water Management Centre with state-of-the-art Geographical Information System (GIS) facilities to plan and implement projects at the grassroots.