Referee Bester Banda is MTL Wanderers' new found devil: He messed up their Saturday game with perenial arch-rivals Big Bullets as he displayed, with great prowess and skill, the anti-thesis of good refereeing. Ask Nomads, as Wanderers are known, coach Rahman Gumbo.
When the Zimbabwean coach left Harare two seasons ago to join an ambitious Wanderers, little did he know it was here he would experience "the most gluesome refereeing ever".
"I have never seen such poor officiation before. With that sort of gamesmanship Malawi's soccer can never develop. These people in black and white are killing the game," said Gumbo, immediately after the titanic game at Malawi's soccer mecca, the Kamuzu Stadium.
Kamuzu himself, under which the stadium is named, was a man of high standards, and would, surely, have not liked the mediocre workmanship exhibited by the Zomba soldier, Banda.
So confused was he at his own game that, twice, he denied the Bullets a clear penalty when Nomads defenders seemed to slash Bullets lethal, but almost useless, striver Divason Mlozi.
The other time it was Ptros Mwalweni, the Bullets defender-turned Nomads striker in the 26th minute, when he pointed his seemingly inflexible head towards his own net, beat dread-rocked Goal-keeper, Trust Lunda, who should by all standards be a reggae musician and not stick-holder (goalkeeper) as he forces himself to be for the cash-stripped Bullets. Then? He scored in his own net.
1-0 for the Nomads.
The goal itself came from a seemingly questionable free-kick that, for unknown reasons, was made to be played twice.
Bullets coach, Mabvuto Banda, also blamed the referee for poor officiation, describing him as the worst he has encountered so far.
"He is a pathetic referee. An enemy of Malawi soccer," said Lungu.
Nomads' fan Jonathan Phiri summed it all: "That Banda is our enemy number one. He should start farming,"
Give Bester Banda a farm, give him maize to grow, and see if he will reap.
"He will also fail that," said Phiri.
As Malawi prepares for the 2010 World Cup, it remains to be seen whether poor officiation really has an impact on ambitions.
Whether the misdeeds of Banda should really be an excuse for what may come in Malawi's campaign- so far threatened by Egypt, so far far-fetched by the goals and points tally for Democratic Republic of Congo.
At the end of 90 minutes, as Nomads fans threw a little concrete stones on the artificial Kamuzu stadium turf, and as players clad in white-and-blue colours mobbed a hapless Banda, poor officiation stood tall as Malawi's enemy number one.
But Super League of Malawi president, Henry Chibowa, hopes. And hopes aloud:
"We shall be able to come around the problem of poor officiation. Just give these referees much more games, international exposure, and refresher courses, and (then) we are there,"
Malawians are waiting for the definition of 'there'.
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Continued impasse in parliament dominates Malawi press
Blantyre, Malawi - Stories from the Malawi Parliament, where the opposition has insisted it will not discuss and pass the 2008/09 national budget unless and untill all MPs that quit opposition parties to join President Bingu wa Mutharika's newly-founded Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) returned, dominated the local press this week.
This followed Malawi's unique state of running without an approved national budget well over a month into the 2008/09 financial year, which normally begings on 1 July.
As expected, the Malawi media was awash with stories from parliament, albeit all of them not complimentary.
"MCP, MPP Against Bingu's Deadline" was the headline in The Daily Times, where opposition Malawi Congress party (MCP) and Maravi People's Party (MPP) scoffed at President Mutharika's decree that the current sitting of Parliament should run for only 10 days.
As if that was not enough a bad start for the controversial sitting of parliament, The Nation carried the headline "Gondwe Rejects 4 Months Funding" that quoted Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe as rejecting opposition parties' demands that government should be allowed a budget of four months only before the whole budget was passed.
"House Adjourns Early" was the headline in The Daily Times on the same story.
The opposition later softened up on the budget, with The Nation coming up with the headline "Opposition Agrees To Pass The Budget".
But things came to a head later in the week when the opposition found another reason to make government dance for the budget to pass.
"House Votes To Remove Katopola" and "Parliament Agrees On Katopola Ouster" were headlines in The Nation and The Daily Times respectively, with both reporting on opposition demands to have Clerk of Parliament Matilda Katopola to be sacked before the budget is discussed and passed.
Katopola, the first female Clerk of Parliament, drew the opposition-dominated Parliament's ire by irregularly awarding herself a contract to photocopy materials for an international symposium the Malawi Parliament was hosting.
"Opposition Wants Katopola Out Because Of Her Strictness" was the headline in The Guardian, quoting ruling DPP Secretary General Heatherwick Ntaba as saying the Clerk of Parliament's financial impropriety was just a scapegoat by the opposition.
The real reason for her woes, the paper quoted Ntaba as saying, was her refusal to allow MPs who have unsorted loans and her demands that MPs travel Ecomomy Class and not Business Class on international assignments.
Still in parliament, the sole legislator for the opposition Alliance for Democracy Loveness Gondwe stirred controversy when she alleged that the messy 2007 Malawi School Certificate of Education Examinations was botched because a contract to print the examination papers was granted to The Guardian newspapers that is run by President Mutharika's daughter, Duwa.
"Loveness Draws Fire In Parliament" read the headline in The Nation, where Gondwe was quoted as alleging that senior officials in government bulldozed the Malawi National examinations board (MANEB) to award the lucrative contract to print the examination papers to The Guardian, which lacked the requisite experience to handle such a sensitive assignment.
"State House Dismisses Loveness Gondwe" came the rebutall in The Guardian, quoting State House Press Officer Chikumbutso Mtumodzi as trashing Gondwe's allegations, saying in fact The Guardian's printing press was not yet planted when the examinations were being printed and that till date, the printing press was yet to handle any commercial job, including printing The Guardian newspaper itself.
The budget impasse is also set to set the media agenda next week, as Malawi News reported that "Budget Fight Not Yet Over," quoting opposition figures as threatening that they will make government dance during the committee stage of the budget session.
This followed Malawi's unique state of running without an approved national budget well over a month into the 2008/09 financial year, which normally begings on 1 July.
As expected, the Malawi media was awash with stories from parliament, albeit all of them not complimentary.
"MCP, MPP Against Bingu's Deadline" was the headline in The Daily Times, where opposition Malawi Congress party (MCP) and Maravi People's Party (MPP) scoffed at President Mutharika's decree that the current sitting of Parliament should run for only 10 days.
As if that was not enough a bad start for the controversial sitting of parliament, The Nation carried the headline "Gondwe Rejects 4 Months Funding" that quoted Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe as rejecting opposition parties' demands that government should be allowed a budget of four months only before the whole budget was passed.
"House Adjourns Early" was the headline in The Daily Times on the same story.
The opposition later softened up on the budget, with The Nation coming up with the headline "Opposition Agrees To Pass The Budget".
But things came to a head later in the week when the opposition found another reason to make government dance for the budget to pass.
"House Votes To Remove Katopola" and "Parliament Agrees On Katopola Ouster" were headlines in The Nation and The Daily Times respectively, with both reporting on opposition demands to have Clerk of Parliament Matilda Katopola to be sacked before the budget is discussed and passed.
Katopola, the first female Clerk of Parliament, drew the opposition-dominated Parliament's ire by irregularly awarding herself a contract to photocopy materials for an international symposium the Malawi Parliament was hosting.
"Opposition Wants Katopola Out Because Of Her Strictness" was the headline in The Guardian, quoting ruling DPP Secretary General Heatherwick Ntaba as saying the Clerk of Parliament's financial impropriety was just a scapegoat by the opposition.
The real reason for her woes, the paper quoted Ntaba as saying, was her refusal to allow MPs who have unsorted loans and her demands that MPs travel Ecomomy Class and not Business Class on international assignments.
Still in parliament, the sole legislator for the opposition Alliance for Democracy Loveness Gondwe stirred controversy when she alleged that the messy 2007 Malawi School Certificate of Education Examinations was botched because a contract to print the examination papers was granted to The Guardian newspapers that is run by President Mutharika's daughter, Duwa.
"Loveness Draws Fire In Parliament" read the headline in The Nation, where Gondwe was quoted as alleging that senior officials in government bulldozed the Malawi National examinations board (MANEB) to award the lucrative contract to print the examination papers to The Guardian, which lacked the requisite experience to handle such a sensitive assignment.
"State House Dismisses Loveness Gondwe" came the rebutall in The Guardian, quoting State House Press Officer Chikumbutso Mtumodzi as trashing Gondwe's allegations, saying in fact The Guardian's printing press was not yet planted when the examinations were being printed and that till date, the printing press was yet to handle any commercial job, including printing The Guardian newspaper itself.
The budget impasse is also set to set the media agenda next week, as Malawi News reported that "Budget Fight Not Yet Over," quoting opposition figures as threatening that they will make government dance during the committee stage of the budget session.
Scottish schoolgirl's heartbreaking mission in Africa
AIMEE GILMOUR smiles for the camera as she poses with one-year-old baby Innocent strapped on her back.
But the 12-year-old admitted she was close to tears seeing the cruel reality of life for many of her peers in Malawi.
Aimee, of Rothesay, spent two weeks in the Milonde community filming a fly-on-the-wall documentary for actor David Hayman's charity Spirit Aid.
Her film will be distributed throughout Scotland to highlight the heart-breaking life Malawi's children endure daily.
Aimee, Community Champ at this year's Sunday Mail & Lloyds TSB Young Scot Awards, visited the HIV/Aids children's clinic at Mulanje District Hospital.
She said: "The clinic made me feel really sad. It was full of hundreds of children who had been orphaned by HIV. There is nowhere else for them to go.
"They all had big sad eyes and were very quiet compared to other children I met in Malawi. I felt really upset when I realised they would never see their mums and dads again.
"HIV and Aids are among the biggest problems in Malawi and a doctor at the hospital told us that nearly 60 per cent of the community we were staying in were affected by this awful disease.
"Every day hundreds of people queue for hours outside the clinic for treatment but they have to turn a lot of them away because they don't have enough supplies."
Aimee, who was accompanied on the trip by her dad John, 41, admits the time she spent with the Milonde kids has changed her life forever and hopes the film she made about Malawi through the eyes of a child will help raise awareness among Scots children.
She said: "I saw situations that made me very sad but the children in Malawi remain happy no matter what. It does make you look at the way we live and I have much more appreciation for the nice life I have on Bute.
"The most important thing I realised was we tend to want more in life than we need.
"One of my lasting memories is of my dad giving half a pastry to a little girl, who ran off to share it with five of her friends. It really made me think how lucky we all are.
"Even though they are poorer than poor, they do everything with a smile and share what little they have. It makes you feel very humble."
During her stay Aimee lived in a mud hut and worked a typical day with a host family, which gave her first-hand experience of extreme poverty.
She said: "I got up early and helped make porridge for breakfast then I went out to work in the fields until dark with the other women and children.
"I helped to make bricks and harvest the crops as well as collecting water from the bore hole, which took lots of strength as you had to pump for 20 minutes at a time.
"I did all my chores with a baby strapped to my back like the other women and young girls.
"The little boy I carried was called Innocent and it broke my heart when I had to say goodbye to him at the end of the fortnight." Aimee, who is a child ambassador for Spirit Aid, says one of the hardest tasks was carrying a bucket of water on her head.
For longer trips the only means of transport was the taxi bicycle service.
She said: "The women and children have to walk for miles with buckets on their heads. I just don't know how they did it. Mine was only half full and it was still too heavy.
"I also visited homeless people in the city of Blantyre, where Spirit Aid are hoping to open a soup kitchen in January. It was distressing to see so many little children begging for food." Aimee also went to school and opened the new Milonde creche, set up by Spirit Aid and equipped by the people of Bute.
She said: "The people were very happy with the creche as the youngest children had nowhere to go."
A special bond has been established between Milonde and Rothesay Joint School Campus, which Aimee attends.
She said: "Plans are being made over the next 12 months to establish a link for exchanges between the two schools.
"We are also hoping to raise funds for a new mill and livestock.
"I am determined to raise money to help the new friends I have found in Milonde and hope my film will encourage other young Scots to help out."
Trial And Retribution star Hayman said: "Aimee is one of our youngest ambassadors and is a great spokeswoman for Spirit Aid.
"The film she will bring home to Scotland will raise awareness of Malawi's plight.
"It has no political agenda. She tells it like it is, which will be much more poignant than anything an adult could produce."
But the 12-year-old admitted she was close to tears seeing the cruel reality of life for many of her peers in Malawi.
Aimee, of Rothesay, spent two weeks in the Milonde community filming a fly-on-the-wall documentary for actor David Hayman's charity Spirit Aid.
Her film will be distributed throughout Scotland to highlight the heart-breaking life Malawi's children endure daily.
Aimee, Community Champ at this year's Sunday Mail & Lloyds TSB Young Scot Awards, visited the HIV/Aids children's clinic at Mulanje District Hospital.
She said: "The clinic made me feel really sad. It was full of hundreds of children who had been orphaned by HIV. There is nowhere else for them to go.
"They all had big sad eyes and were very quiet compared to other children I met in Malawi. I felt really upset when I realised they would never see their mums and dads again.
"HIV and Aids are among the biggest problems in Malawi and a doctor at the hospital told us that nearly 60 per cent of the community we were staying in were affected by this awful disease.
"Every day hundreds of people queue for hours outside the clinic for treatment but they have to turn a lot of them away because they don't have enough supplies."
Aimee, who was accompanied on the trip by her dad John, 41, admits the time she spent with the Milonde kids has changed her life forever and hopes the film she made about Malawi through the eyes of a child will help raise awareness among Scots children.
She said: "I saw situations that made me very sad but the children in Malawi remain happy no matter what. It does make you look at the way we live and I have much more appreciation for the nice life I have on Bute.
"The most important thing I realised was we tend to want more in life than we need.
"One of my lasting memories is of my dad giving half a pastry to a little girl, who ran off to share it with five of her friends. It really made me think how lucky we all are.
"Even though they are poorer than poor, they do everything with a smile and share what little they have. It makes you feel very humble."
During her stay Aimee lived in a mud hut and worked a typical day with a host family, which gave her first-hand experience of extreme poverty.
She said: "I got up early and helped make porridge for breakfast then I went out to work in the fields until dark with the other women and children.
"I helped to make bricks and harvest the crops as well as collecting water from the bore hole, which took lots of strength as you had to pump for 20 minutes at a time.
"I did all my chores with a baby strapped to my back like the other women and young girls.
"The little boy I carried was called Innocent and it broke my heart when I had to say goodbye to him at the end of the fortnight." Aimee, who is a child ambassador for Spirit Aid, says one of the hardest tasks was carrying a bucket of water on her head.
For longer trips the only means of transport was the taxi bicycle service.
She said: "The women and children have to walk for miles with buckets on their heads. I just don't know how they did it. Mine was only half full and it was still too heavy.
"I also visited homeless people in the city of Blantyre, where Spirit Aid are hoping to open a soup kitchen in January. It was distressing to see so many little children begging for food." Aimee also went to school and opened the new Milonde creche, set up by Spirit Aid and equipped by the people of Bute.
She said: "The people were very happy with the creche as the youngest children had nowhere to go."
A special bond has been established between Milonde and Rothesay Joint School Campus, which Aimee attends.
She said: "Plans are being made over the next 12 months to establish a link for exchanges between the two schools.
"We are also hoping to raise funds for a new mill and livestock.
"I am determined to raise money to help the new friends I have found in Milonde and hope my film will encourage other young Scots to help out."
Trial And Retribution star Hayman said: "Aimee is one of our youngest ambassadors and is a great spokeswoman for Spirit Aid.
"The film she will bring home to Scotland will raise awareness of Malawi's plight.
"It has no political agenda. She tells it like it is, which will be much more poignant than anything an adult could produce."
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