WHEN POLITICIANS DECIDE TO PAINT THE YOUTHS: CALL THAT YOUTH EMPOWERNMENT

Next month the Peter Mutharika administration clocks one year. During this period the media will be awash with different players in the political, social and economic subdivisions battling it out over the best vocabulary to describe the one year under APM.

As for me my interest will be to analyse what the country has achieved in terms of youth development. Are we making progress?

Let me take you back to the May polls last year. It is a clear fact that the winning formula in 2014 was the youths. Almost all the contesting candidates had put much emphasis on youth development. The youths were so excited with the change they were being promised. No wonder they participated fully in the King making process.

In MCP, UDF, DPP and PP the youths were almost everywhere leading the campaign. But unfortunately the reality is, most youths were just being used.

For years we have seen that most politicians think the role for the youths is simply to paint them orange, blue or yellow, bundle them in trucks, buy them sachets and make them become lead praise singers at political rallies that’s all.

Politicians take pride in using the youths to advance their political agendas. Unfortunately most youths love being used. They are short sighted. They don’t look at the future because the handouts from politicians keep blinding them.

In 2015 we can’t be talking about youth empowerment when all we keep seeing are pictures of politicians taking pride in youths that are painted all over with colours of their different political parties. Who ever invented this must be cursed where ever he is. He must be accredited for bringing evil in the country’s political system.

The more reason why these “unemployed sachet guzzling youths” paint themselves is the small monies they receive at the end of the day. We are talking the K20s, the K50s, Geez! That’s an insult to the youths.
Politicians can’t wake up and start claiming to be rebranding the youths when all they keep doing is painting them, buy them sachets and keep them as praise singers.

A crafty politician would take that as a sign that most young people in the country have got literally nothing to do. The craftiness comes when one takes advantage of that and brands it as one of the core programs in the advancement of the youth development agenda.

The high level of unemployment amongst the youths is nothing but an embarrassment to the politicians whether in government or in opposition. All I have been hearing from these politicians is some political rhetoric and empty promises about youth empowerment when the reality on the ground tells us otherwise.
According to the politicians who most of the times keep giving us the middle finger altitude once in power “the youths, belong to the praise singer’s bench that’s all”.

The DPP on the road to power in 2014 promised the following for the youths; Create diverse jobs for the Youth who are out of school, planning the means of employment for the Youth in school, empowering them with the knowledge and skills for creating wealth at individual and national levels. I must say this is what we need in this country at the moment.

Yes, the community colleges are here to help the youths in attaining vocational skills that will go a long way in uplifting their lives as they will become self reliant, but there is more that need to be done.

The whole system needs a complete overhaul to make youths become partners in development. Youths must now work with politicians not for politicians. We need change not just change but change for the better. This will mean changing everything about the welfare of the youths, changing everything about where the youths are placed in the society.

The ongoing Public Sector Reform Program must also get rid of some old timers who spend our taxes doing nothing at Capital hill but cash-gating and playing bawo. They can’t even operate a computer because they are still living in the analogue era. No wonder the underperformance of the Civil Service in most sectors.

These must go! Replace them with some young brains that are just loafing in the streets but have attractive papers combined with skill and modern knowledge. Appoint these young men and women into more senior positions in government and institutions of public importance.

We can’t claim to be making progress when we keep hearing the very same names changing positions up there in the name of Public Service Reforms. Those that have failed us let them pack up and go and employ some young and energetic force to stir the public service to glory.

I need change, you need change, and we are the kingmakers and let us choose our own destiny by making our demands known. Our noise must be organised noise not because we are being given sachets or we are made cheer leaders, but because we believe that we are very important and that these politicians need to treat us as such.

OF FOOTBALL SPONSORSHIP AND SOME SICK CONTRACTS

The joke that is Malawian football will never cease to astound me. The funniest part of our game is in the boardroom where it is managed by a bunch of comedians who have never achieved anything for the country. They are so clueless as to how much investment is needed to uplifting the standards to match those of our friends elsewhere.

What caught my attention thus far is this TNM super league sponsorship where I hear that no other mobile service provider is allowed to sponsor any super league team as long as the TNM sponsorship contract is in effect. Seriously this is taking the football family for granted; in fact whosoever was party to this nonsense brought us 10 plus steps backwards regarding football development.

I hear the Bullets failed to court other mobile service operators like Airtel simply because TNM and Sulom plus FAM agreed on some contract like document that stops other wanna be sponsors to come in as long as they are their competitors. 

I also remember Azam tigers this other season had struggled to have their jersey scribbled “Azam” because of this sponsorship accord. 

Picture this, for years now we have been debating as to whether ours is an amateur league, a semi professional or a professional league. I think now we have the answers; we are nothing but an amateur league because everything about our football stopped making sense long time ago.

All you hear from these football jokers during cup prize presentation ceremonies is some applauding to TNM for “working to uplifting the game of football in the country through their sponsorship”. Geez! We are a sick nation indeed. This nonsensical sponsorship can’t be applauded. Yes we are so desperate for sponsorship but we don’t need to be jumping to all the tunes being plucked by these companies, besides where is the corporate social responsibility.

Just take a look at South Africa. The Premier Soccer League enjoys sponsorship from four companies, MTN, Absa, Telkom, Nebank and as you can see, Telkom and MTN are rivals in business. Apart from that, there are no restrictions in jersey naming. Orlando Pirates and Kaizer chiefs put on Vodacom labelled jerseys but are freely participating in the MTN8 wafwafa and the Telkom knockout donning their Vodacom uniforms.

In fact, MTN sponsors four clubs in the premiership: Ajax Cape Town, Bloemfontein Celtic, Golden Arrows and Black Leopards.

Back home, with this worthless contract between TNM and our super league how do you expect companies to come in and sponsor our clubs? What will they benefit from such a venture? They would opt out because they can’t have their company logos and names on the jersey of the clubs in a company because of these useless restrictions.

It’s high time this contract is reviewed otherwise it doesn’t make sense to me.

TNM always not with us…. Especially in football.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE IMPENDING DEMOS

Rev Sembereka

It’s more than a fact now and the picture is coming out clearly that the Mac Donald Semberekas of this world are politicians that are advancing an anti DPP government while masquerading as Civil Society. You can tell by their arrogance, actions and choice of words as there are still pushing to take to the streets, an idea which is becoming more unpopular each passing moment.

The three (is it five now?) are using the civil society platform to advance their political agenda and that’s the more reason why their colleagues in the civil society are distancing themselves from their plans.

They have chosen to close their eyes and ears from any voice of reason and it’s giving us all time to think “what the hell?”

The reasons being advanced are not justified if not laughable. These people are not fighting for Malawi but their own selfish motives to quench their political ambitions.

I personally love the fact that government is not stopping them from taking to the streets because this is their constitutional right as long as they abide to the laid down laws during the demonstrations. I believe that during the demos, security agencies will take charge and protect people’s lives and property without fear or favour.

Think about this; a number of those that are agitating for the demos served in the PP administration during which about K20 billion was stolen from public coffers but they all kept quite because they were busy benefiting from the loot.

Martha Kwataine served in the MACRA board and Macdonald Sembereka was working at State House shouting PP woyeeee! PP yanyamuka, odi ukooooo, amayi adutse! and we expect such people to talk good about the current administration? They will take advantage of any flows in the current administration to cause havoc.  

As Malawians we really need to question the morality of these people that are claiming to be representing the interests of the nation. We need to scrutinise the credibility of such people and their conduct before we give ourselves flat out to be used.

It’s a disappointment knowing that most of the times when these people organise demos they love using the youths to advance their selfish ambitions.

It’s now time for the youths of Malawi to rise up and refuse to be used by these selfish people. We can do better by becoming governments’ partners in development other than becoming agents of anarchy and disorder.

Time has come for the youths to fast realise that they have a role to play in shaping the future of our country as partners not as people that should be used by MacDonald Sembereka and company.

Our friends died on July 20. These were supposed to be productive youths but sadly some political machinery used them in the name of demonstrations.

As youths we need to be seen to be progressing in life and bring out something out of our lives. We need to demand for better lives. We need business opportunities, good education etc. Let these CSOs mobilise themselves to fight for youth empowerment in this country.

What will K5 million of NAC money that was donated to BEAM do to Malawi as compared to the K20 billion that was lost in the whole cash-gate fiasco? Let’s fight for a successful conclusion of the cash-gate cases not over an issue that seems to have come to an end after the Global fund cleared NAC of any wrong doing in the transaction.

I am very sure that Gift Trapence will also take advantage of the “unpopular” gathering to advance his gay motives, sunganeneletu amwene.

WAS PRESIDENT MUTHARIKA RIGHT TO DECLARE HIS 2019 CANDIDACY?.....

APM man in charge

Last Sunday president Peter Mutharika returned to Njamba Freedom Park where he took time to sell his agenda for Malawi now that he is operating from State House. He had to do this as way of saying “thank you” to his supporters for working tirelessly to bringing the DPP back into power. 
 

For the duration of the rally President Mutharika touched on a number of issues and reminded the people some of the DPP’s campaign promises and how he intends to fulfil them within the next five years.

What even caught the attention of many was his statement that in DPP there is no plan B or C for the 2019 elections and the declaration that he will be contesting for presidency. His statement was in bold “I will be contesting. If some of you thought otherwise, sorry wait for 2024”.

This statement seems to have been received with mixed reactions if what was reported in the media is anything to go by. 

The Daily Times of Tuesday, 2^nd September, 2014 carried a story under the headline “APM’s 2019 candidacy declaration questioned”. 

The paper quoted a Chancellor College based political analyst Josephy Chunga who faulted Mutharika’s declaration of his ambitions for 2019. Chunga says such an interest is bad for democracy as the party’s convention before the elections in 2019 will only “rubber stamp the position already secured”. 

Reading through the story I thought I would come across some moaning voices within the DPP but no, it was some two analysts who were only expressing their views and I wonder if these voices should be treated as representative questions that should query that 2019 proclamation by President Mutharika. It could have made much more sense if we heard the reaction of the party as well. Anyway, that’s the topic for another day.

This is not the first time I have heard people speaking like that. Even before the DPP’s convention last year people thought by declaring his interest to contest for the presidency in 2014 president Mutharika will only be rubber stamped. But no, there was former speaker of parliament Hennery Chimunthu Banda who challenged him in an open contest.

It seems like some individuals like drawing suspicions where there is absolutely nothing bloodcurdling.   By the way, who faults people’s ambitions anyway?

I am of the view that President Mutharika as a politician just like any other politician would do has ambitions. Its only human to wish for the better in life. Firstly he wanted to become the president of Malawi by contesting in the May polls. That was an ambition and it was achieved.

Secondly he hasn’t hidden his wish to work towards transforming this country by lifting it up from where it is now to some greater standards where we all have aspired to reach. That is an ambition that he would want to achieve.

Thirdly, what will stop him from even aspiring to contest in 2019 especially knowing that the constitution doesn’t bar him from doing so? Any other politician who is aiming high would gladly harbour such ambitions. Besides, in his declaration the president did not say he is an automatic choice all he was doing was simply making a declaration of his interest to contest.

By saying there is no plan B or C that means as a party they haven’t started planning for that yet. The party doesn’t stop individuals from contesting at the convention even challenging for the presidency. It’s the party’s convention that will decide on whether to come up with plan B or plan C at an opportune time, but now there is no such plan.

Therefore the question of president Mutharika imposing himself doesn’t even arise anywhere in his statement.

Reading deep into this statement all I could see was a president who was urging his supporters to join hands and work for the betterment of the country other than spending much of their energies in some political machinations and planning for 2019 with only 3 months after an election and with almost five years to go before we cast the ballot again.

This was a reminder to the people that time will come for campaign in 2019 but meanwhile he is the man in charge. Time for politics is gone; this is time to talk development. Not only that, but even if the DPP has individuals that are eying the presidency in 2019, he will be the man to beat and I see nothing wrong with that.

I find this declaration so transparent and helpful for the party as it parries away any form of speculation.

This is where I agree with one of the political commentators Timothy Mtambo who says  people will be better placed to judge President Mutharika in 2019 as to whether they would want to give him and the DPP another mandate or not depending on his performance.

This declaration is also good for democracy because now we know the president’s ambitions therefore as a nation we shall be closely monitoring his performance. 

The president himself will also be cautious in the execution of his duties because he knows people will be assessing him in keenness for 2019. This will spur him into action and help him perform for the betterment of Malawi.

I am of the view that as a nation we shouldn’t be spending much time debating about 2019 but rather let’s focus on what President Peter Mutharika is offering us. 

Democracy does not mean that one shouldn’t make his or her political ambitions known as long as it’s within  the constitution. It calls for transparency and accountability at all times. 

President Mutharika is being accountable and transparent to his people by not hiding anything from them. They should know what his wishes are now. 

It will be the people of Malawi deciding as to whether they would want him to continue or not because by standing on a DPP ticket, a party that is in government it’s not automatic that they will carry the day in 2019.

Evidence is there that even a ruling party can lose in an election. Therefore any undemocratic tendency that will cripple in the party will be dealt with by the ballot which speaks more words that the voice and power of any sitting president.

THE MAKING OF HAMAS AND BOKO HARAMING MALAWI.

Ken man... was planning to Boko Haraming Malawi

It’s official… Whatever stuff these PP top guys are smoking must be a grade A powder because its blowing the stuffing out their heads completely. It has been proven that Joyce Banda and Ken Nsonda have entered some sort of a “Mr Jokes” like contest where they are showing off their below zero depth of reasoning.

The two, have shamefully chosen to bunch themselves at some thwarting corner where they are failing to move on with life. They are all over town trying to save face after that May 20 embarrassment. Let us all seat back and enjoy watching this movie of clowns popcorn ndi chi juice m’manja. Gwidyo, gwidyo gwidyo!

Funny that these two chief political masquerades still believe that the one dog ooops one cow per family show biz had won them the elections and that DPP stole some figures from them. Now in their hallucinations they are seeing MCP and UDF being touting the blue line.. Please be my partner in laughing, muhahahahaha! Forgive my loud voice. 

In case you missed the whole episode, let me try to unpack it for you: It all started with JB telling the whole world that her PP had petrol bombs and machetes hidden somewhere in town (they are still having them anyway) 

These orange militias filled with bitterness and anger had wanted to do a Boko Haram operation on Malawi by slaughtering all of us simply because they had lost the luxury of basking in cashgate glory. Wow! That could have made an award winning action packed movie. That qualifies as the making of our own Nyasawood that even Nollywood or Bollywood couldn’t afford to out stage us on the way. 

Ken Nsonda has meanwhile confirmed that he was supposed to be man In charge of such an operation. In his own words he says “All was agreed and set; I (on behalf of PP) was to take charge of the move”.

 

Yanyamuka

Now Mr Loti Dzonzi, what are your boys still doing at area 30? This man here is supposed to be locked without any shilly-shallying. Trust me, nobody will even call it political witch-hunting. What do you call this ladies and gentlemen? This is a “police statement” on its own.

I don’t want to dwell much on all the empty accusations and finger pointing that this man Ken has made against MCP and UDF because they are nothing but trash. All am doing here is calling upon the authorities to investigate and arrest these two and the whole team.

We can’t even fail to speculate that the torching of the markets and MEC warehouse is a result of the rockets that our own version of Hamas is firing. Hehehehehe!

OF TACTICS AND A TACTLESS TEAM FOR SALE

Flames: Don't you dare talk about their tactics again

Seems like this week the Flames win over Benin has been overshadowed by news making rounds that one football commentator from MBC was scheming with the enemy to sell them tactics on how to beat the Flames. The football fraternity couldn’t do otherwise but box him to the corner calling him all sorts of names as long as he is labelled a “traitor” and “unpatriotic”.

 

As a football fan myself and somebody who once worked on the sports desk at MBC, I thought the best way for me is not to take sides but look at the other side of the debate.

For starters what are the charges being levelled against the said reporter? Is it match fixing? Corruption? Theft? Or what? We need to be clear here because all am hearing are people moaning and groaning that the reporter was not patriotic to have hatched up with the enemy to sell them the "tactics".

Last time I checked we cannot force individuals to be patriotic. It’s just a matter of principal and passion not regulation. That’s why we have seen coaches leading a team from another country in beating a team from their own country even at international level. I guess in our context that’s being unpatriotic, huh? Who eats patriotism at the same time? 

Not that I am speaking in praise of the behavior of soliciting bribes to sell out tactics to the enemy but my interest is on the charges leveled against the commentator.  

Now we are hearing reports that the Football Association of Malawi has banned the journalist from reporting anything to do with the Malawi National Football team. I need to understand which article is FAM using in its statutes to ban the reporter? Is the reporter a FAM employee? Was he sent to Benin by FAM and that he was answerable to them on his conduct? Was he in Benin working for FAM or MBC as his employer?

The issue here is about the reporter allegedly soliciting bribes which is against the code of ethics of journalism so is FAM the right body to punish journalists who don’t abide by their code of ethics? 

To me the crime committed was against the profession not against the game because there is no rule in football that says “though shall not be seen chatting with the enemy” but in journalism soliciting bribes can become an offence if it was meant to influence some decisions in the course of the the journalist's work. Or lets just call this one an abuse of office at least it sounds better.

But then our evidence is based on some text which says "I will help you with information to beat the Flames at home... I promise to do anything possible, lets talk". Yes, this was not supposed to come from a Journalist let alone a Malawian who wishes the flames well, but then we need to look at both sides of the debate so that next time the right punishment should be melted down to wanna be offenders.

If say Benin comes to Malawi, engages me as their consultant to reveal to them one or two secrets about the Flames’ style of play what’s the name of that crime again? So I will be banned by FAM from attending any Flames game?

So in this country Football commentators are affiliated to FAM? that's an award winning joke. I have never heard of anything like that happening elsewhere in the world.

FAM is there to manage football not to regulate the conduct of journalists in the country. If the reporter was wrong let MBC punish him and other relevant bodies because it’s only MBC that can question the conduct of its employees not FAM. The FA can only investigate and report the journalist to his employers and other legal bodies that deal with matters of this nature.

And I hear of Flames tactics, which tactics? I can write about the Flames tactics each time I want and that’s not a crime. Newspapers have written about flames tactics even a day before a crucial game. 

Tactics can never be treated as secrets. We have watched the Flames before and we know their strengths and weaknesses. We can tell which team will start, which players will field on what position even before kick-off, so which tactics are we making noise about?

Let’s accept we have a tactless team that has only the Angola 2010 to show us as an achievement and not even Peter 40 can make the team qualify or fail to qualify simply because he had a chat with officials from Benin.

Talking about FAM, this is another bunch of clueless individuals that have failed to raise the profile of our National Team.

Let those without sin at FAM be the first ones to cast a stone at Peter 40 for having a chat with Benin officials about the Flames’ tactics. 

Let those that have never written anything about the flames tactics in the media be the first to cast a stone at this commentator. To me the issue here is about the alleged soliciting of bribes not the revealing of Flames’ tactics. At the same time it will become a very big issue if FAM finds some elements of match fixing in the whole episode, otherwise we are busy amplifying nothing at all.