Mutharika appoints 7 in Ministerial Committee on Doing Business

Mutharika appoints 7 in Ministerial Committee on Doing Business

President of the republic of Malawi Professor Peter Mutharika has appointed a Ministerial Committee on Doing Business, whose purpose will be to champion and fast track business reforms with an aim of improving the business environment in Malawi.

According to a Press Statement released on Thursday evening signed by the Chief Secretary to Government Mr. George Mkondiwa, the committee is comprised of seven Ministers and the Ex. Officio members will be Chief Secretary, to the government, Governor of Reserve Bank and the Commissioner General of Malawi Revenue Authority.

The statement indicates that President Mutharika has appointed Honorable George Chaponda MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation as Chairperson for the Committee.

Other members are;

Minister of Finance and Economic Development Hon Goodall Gondwe,

Minister of Industry and Trade Hon. Joseph Mwananvekha MP

Minister of Lands and Urban Development Hon. Bright Msaka SC

Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Hon Paul Chibingu MP

Minister of Justice and Constitution Affairs Hon. Samuel Tembenu, and

Minister of Labour Hon. Henry Mussa MP

Malawi Ministry of Health fighting Partial Male Circumcision

Malawi Ministry of Health fighting Partial Male Circumcision

The Ministry of Health in Malawi has began a new battle fighting ‘Partial’ circumcision which is mostly common among men that undergo Traditional Male Circumcision frequently done in initiation ceremonies.

Traditional male circumcision in Malawi is frequent in Southern and Eastern part of the country among Yao ethnic men who many of them are Muslims. And both Yao tradition and Muslim men are required to undergo male circumcision, which in Malawi is done at a traditional ceremony called Jando where young boys aged between 7 years to 10 years are circumcised using laser blades and knife.

Since October 2011 when the campaign of Medical Male Circumcision (MMC) was launched, the ministry has received and recorded a highest number of partial circumcision cases from men who were circumcised at an initiation ceremony.

According to Public Relations Officer in the Ministry Mr. Henry Chimbali, apart from disseminating information of encouraging men to get circumcised, the Ministry upon observing the magnitude of this problem has embarked on another campaign encouraging men who were traditionally circumcised to visit medical facilities to verify if the circumcision is same as the one being offered in hospitals.

Chimbali added that leaders in initiation ceremonies are also being encouraged to refer to hospital boys in initiation camps for MMC as a way of encouraging proper circumcision.

He however said the new campaign does not discrediting traditional MC.

He confirmed that through the campaign a lot of men who got tradition circumcision are visiting facilities that are offering MMC to verify if their circumcision was properly done. And once found they had partial circumcision they are being circumcised properly.

“We are aware that there are more men that were circumcised traditionally, our traditions and our religions sometimes demand all men to undergo circumcision,” said Chimbali and confirmed that, very often from such traditional circumcision a lot of men are “partially done according to the data that we have.”

He said partial circumcision may not be effective in reducing risks of contracting HIV as compared to full circumcision being done in medical facilities saying “Obviously if they have been traditionally circumcised and that circumcision is not the same as the one we are offering in the facilities then, the benefits that are associated with male circumcision are not exactly as ones that may be associated with tradition MC.  And this is why we are encouraging them that this traditional MC may not protect them or reduce the risk of acquiring HIV and other benefits,”

He said a lot of men who had traditional circumcision are starting to appreciate the importance of this verification campaign because the ministry is trying to disseminate information on disadvantages of partial circumcision in terms of benefits that proper circumcision may offer them.

Chimbali also said MMC campaign is registering tremendous progress as currently 160,000 men have been circumcised for a period of 3 years in 7 districts.

He said the ministry projects that 1.8 million adult males aged between 10 to 35 years would undergo MMC by 2020. He added that the ministry is planning to scale up the MMC campaign in other districts by 2015 when World Bank funds are made available.

Cashgate: Sithole Gets 9 Years Imprisonment

Plot To Plunder govt coffers

The Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate Court has on Tuesday sentenced one of the cashgate convict Victor Patrick Sithole to nine years imprisonment for being found guilty of money laundering, found in possession of foreign currency illegally and found in possession of property suspected to have been stolen.

Sithole was the first person to be arrested in September last year in connection to cashgate when police impounded in his house and found him with foreign currency, of South African Rand's R122, 200 and, US$31, 000, and was also found with MK112 Million cash.

JTI Asks Malawi Govt To Revise Tobacco Policies

The Japanese Tobacco Industry (JTI) wants Malawi government to address some of the policies and regulations that are directly affecting companies in Tobacco industry.

The company has observed that some of the old regulations are an impediment for a win-win situation among the key players in the tobacco industry.

JTI’s Cooperate Affairs and Communication Director Mr. Limbani Kakhome made these remarks in Lilongwe at a JTI’s facilitated workshop called ‘Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) Seminar’ aim at enhance skills for the Directors from various government Ministries and Departments in becoming effective policy and regulatory makers.

Full Cashgate Report With Names Released To The Public: Now In Hands of Malawi Media

Malawi Ministry of Justice and Constitution Affairs has finally presented to the Media through Ministry of Information the Baker Tilly audit report which contains full names of the suspected cashgate looters.

Minister of Justice and Constitution Affairs Samuel Tembenu has finally submitted the Baker Tilly Cashgate report containing names of suspected individuals and companies who looted public coffers on Thursday evening in Lilongwe through the Minister of Information Kondwani Nankhumwa.

The Justice Minister said, this report has full names of companies and individuals involved in cashgate and is "still intact in a PDF file format" as it was received, therefore nobody has manipulated any information from it.

Stop Ill-treating Children With Life Limiting Illnesses; Hospital Is The Answer-CPC

Children’s Palliative Care (CPC) says cases of ill-treatment of children suffering from life limiting illnesses are growing rapidly every passing day in most communities across the country a situation is fueling deterioration in the condition of many little patients.

According to Jean Tauzie CPC Project Coordinator such abuses are being done by both members of communities, parents and guardians of children living with life limiting illnesses. She said some of the reports being received by the organization include reports of discrimination and several forms of abuse, of which some of them are very shocking. 

Malawi Improving In Financial Sector Activities­- RBM

The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) says over the last ten years, the demand and use of various financial services has continued to register an encouraging upward movement. This is because, a lot of people living in both urban and rural areas have started to practice a saving culture and are engaging themselves in various financial activities.

RBM’s Deputy Governor responsible for Supervision Dr. Grant Kabango said this as Malawi begins 2014 National Financial Literacy Week being commemorated under the theme ‘Financial Literacy: Building a Financially Literate Nation’. And the week has been launched on Monday at Community ground in Lilongwe.