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Showing posts from October, 2008

Malawi Police, Joy Radio and Sewer boys

I have very good freinds in Police service, though by being a Journalist some of them try to keep their jobs by not coming to my office or home since they do handle sensitive information. Others even call me from outside duty points and we generally talk of things that we have spoken in the past-minus politics. Strange as it may sound, I rarely make political debates part of my past time, I have enough of them in newsrooms and with appropriate stakeholders. So when I read or get one more story on Police brutality, I always call my freinds, and thank God even the Mchesi killings, they were never part of it. But it us getting scary. Just last Friday, my colleague in profession Emmanual Chibwana met some Chilomoni Police officers who at a pub were busy tossing someone who was wearing a camouflage attire- in what my PRO Police freind Chingwalu claim to be a "lok alike." Being a Journalist like me, definately he asked the Police officers what the hell they were doing and why didnt...

For Bingu, Markets and some thoughts on many things!

My car horn got damaged the other Saturday-you know the reason the flames won and I was mad from Dowa where I had gone for some political party primaries all the way to Lilongwe's upper Biwi. My kid brother Osman was mad he literaly was out of the window of my car and shaking passers by. But we manage to wake up the following day and attend Church and praise God for the wonderful day Saturday was. Come last Friday the 17th, it was my birthday-I got mad, Roy Commsy, My sisters and good freinds were responsible for the madness that started at home all the way to Star Light. Thank God there was no breatherlsyer-my Zambian and South African guests cool have spent time in a cooler for the Malawi Gin they had. But I have not written much, congrats to President Bingu wa Mutharika for the global leadership award recieved during the UN General Assembly and so many others in between that I cannot recall all of them. Awards are a reminder of how far we have come and having covered the food cr...

Health and Democracy: Africa's long journey to realistic development

For the past year, I have been working on the Aids billions that Malawi has recieved since 1992. The figure is astronomical and the impact can only be translated by those that are in offices unfortunately. I am amazed by statements such as 'we have made disignificant progress' in mitigating HIV and Aids in Malawi. Whilst in Zambia, I found a centre where ARV access was 13 days away from the nearest village in the Western province, strange enough it meant this person who was already sick spent most of his time travelling to collect the essential drugs. The total expenditure versus emoluments of people working in the sector, the consultancies and salaries are too huge for one to comprehend. For almost each 1 billion kwacha spent in Malawi only 5 percent or 10 percent reaches the real HIV positive person or those affected by it. The full story wil be published very soon in my paper, once I get someone senior to comment on my findings. Unfortunately it has taken more than three mon...