THE DAY AN ARCHITECT OF 21ST CENTURY SOCIALISM PASSED ON: AN ODE TO COMRADE "EL COMMANDANTE" HUGO CHAVEZ

At exactly 4:25 pm Venezuelan time, a fiery populist socialist leader succumbs to two year battle with cancer. His second in command Nicholas Maduro, a flamboyant former bus driver, mostly regarded as congenial and flexible, took to national television to announce the death of Hugo Chavez.

The former Venezuelan President, according to various online news sources, died at the age of 58 on March 6. The firebrand socialist leader was a sharp critic of capitalism and American imperialism for which he was frequently ridiculed by western media outlets.

Chavez, in short has left a legacy that would stand the taste of times both domestically and abroad.

His illustrious journey to stardom brought with it theatrical events that would take ages to list down but the most prominent ones are that while serving as an Army Paratroop Commander for Venezuelan Defence Force,  he staged a botched coup in 1912 that saw him being incarcerated, he was pardoned a year later before being elected president in 1998 polls.

During his 14 year rule, Chavez imposed himself as man of the people with his confrontational and domineering tactics.

In 2002, he was overthrown by a western backed Army coup only to return to his seat two days later.

Since then he has been a thorn in western governments flesh. To those that have personally met him like Malawi leader Dr. Joyce Banda, during her official visit to Venezuela in 2010 when she was the country’s vice president, say Chavez was very passionate about liberating his people from poverty and used the vast oil wealth to directly benefit his people.

Most Venezuelans will remember Chavez for populist social programs he launched that include new public housing, free health clinics, and education programs. According to United Nations Development Index, poverty in Venezuela declined sharply during Chavez time.

On the other hand his critics viewed him as a Latino leader who showed disdain for rules of democratic game.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen who carries on with his unfinished dream of uniting Latin America and making it the economic hub of the world. Such a dream seem farfetched, however, it has to be considered that Venezuela for instance has the largest untapped oil reserves worthy trillions of dollars and if properly used surely Chavez’s dream shall come to pass one day.

For now, Chavista supporters in Venezuela and indeed worldwide are equally waiting to see if the popular Chavismo movement would go ahead now that its architect is gone. Such worries would be put to rest in 30 days time when Venezuelans go back to the polls to elect new president.

The burly late leader was fond of accusing those who never liked him as a “bunch of privileged elite” whom he accused of destroying larger part of the world.

An admirer of late Simon Bolivar, a Venezuelan general who fought decisively against the Spanish rule and his courage contributed to Independence of entire South America, Chavez has surely joined that list of fellow Latin American legends that also has heroes like Fidel Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara.

All-in-all what is the best way to mourn this inspiring gentleman, so passionate about his people than extracting his memorable quotes as listed below.

CHAVEZ MEMORABLE QUOTES

"Those who want to go directly to hell can follow capitalism... and those of us who want to build heaven here on earth will follow socialism."

"The Devil is right at home. The Devil, the Devil himself, is right in the house. And the Devil came here yesterday. Yesterday the Devil came here. Right here. And it smells of sulphur still today. Yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this rostrum, the president of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer as the Devil, came here, talking as if he owned the world. Truly.  As the owner of the world." - on George W. Bush, who appeared before the UN General Assembly a day earlier in 2006.

“Remember, little girl, I'm like the thorn tree that flowers on the plain. I waft my scent to passers-by and prick he who shakes me. Don't mess with me, Condoleezza. Don't mess with me, girl." - on Condoleezza Rice

"Capitalism is the way of the devil and exploitation. If you really want to look at things through the eyes of Jesus Christ - who I think was the first socialist - only socialism can really create a genuine society."

"Don't be shameless, Mr Blair. Don't be immoral, Mr Blair. You are one of those who have no morals. You are not one who has the right to criticize anyone about the rules of the international community. You are an imperialist pawn who attempts to curry favor with Danger Bush-Hitler, the number one mass murderer and assassin there is on the planet. Go straight to hell, Mr Blair."

"I think it's imprudent for a king to shout at a president to shut up. Mr King, we are not going to shut up." on a spat with Spanish monarch Juan Carlos I.

"Christopher Columbus was the spearhead of the biggest invasion and genocide ever seen in the history of humanity."

"Israel has gone mad. It's attacking, doing the same thing to the Palestinian and Lebanese people that it has criticised - and with reason - [in the case of] the Holocaust. But this is a new Holocaust." - on Israel attacking Lebanon

"The imperialist, genocidal, fascist attitude of the US president has no limits. I think Hitler would be like a suckling baby next to George W. Bush"

"Just look at the internal repression inside the United States, the Patriot Act, which is a repressive law against US citizens. They have put in jail a group of journalists for not revealing their sources. They won't allow them to take pictures of the bodies of the dead soldiers, many of them Latinos, coming from Iraq. Those are signs of Goliath's weaknesses."

"Fidel always tells me, 'Chávez be careful, they've developed technology, be careful with what you eat, they could stick you with a small needle." - on possible US attempts at assassinations

"It would not be strange to hear that there had been civilization on Mars, but maybe capitalism arrived there, imperialism arrived, and finished off the planet."

"I think it's imprudent for a king to shout at a president to shut up ... Mr. King, we are not going to shut up."

"Cuba is the sea of happiness. That's where Venezuela is going."

Que En Paz Descance [Rest In Eternal Peace] Comrade Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías.

I still hear reverberating sounds all over the world chanting Hugo Hugo Hugo Hugo Hugo Hugo Hugo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ASKING PRESIDENT JOYCE BANDA TO RE-DECLARE ASSETS IS SHEER WASTE OF TIME

One of prominent issues to have emanated from the January 17 demonstrations, apart from poor patronage resulting in Malawi leader Mrs Joyce Banda getting the last laugh, is the petition the organisers handed to city fathers in the three major city councils who then were supposed to hand it to the President’s office for consideration I suppose.

The petition has seven points which the organisers led by Consumer rights activist John Kapito want President Mrs. Banda to implement within a 21-day period.

While the demonstration itself was described by the organisers as successful, it is the government’s response through Information Minister Moses Kunkuyu that attracted my attention. He told the media: “Frankly speaking, I cannot say whether we will be able to address all the concerns or not in 21 days. What is important is for both sides to sit down and find better ways of addressing these problems; we shouldn’t work in isolation. All along we have been calling for dialogue and now that the petition has been presented I hope it’s the best opportune time to start talks in a bid to address the issues raised because they are legitimate.”

This sort of response not only does it represent Joyce Banda’s willingness to address the economic malaise the country is facing, but also it shows her administration has huge respect for concerns raised by every Malawian including those in minority.

With the 21-day ultimatum still standing, it is very surprising to see one of organizers of the demonstrations, Ben Chiza Mkandawire taking to social networks demonizing the president by instigating Malawians to do something if she does not declare her assets.

By the way declaration of assets is one of thorny issues the non-state actors want to see the president acting willy-nilly.

I do respect Mr. Mkandawire’s right to go to that level, but by virtue of being the one who led the Lilongwe protesters to deliver the petition at Lilongwe City Council offices, I expected him to be more reasonable and mature in his handling of the whole issue. After his recent salvo against the president, many people including me are now wondering whether the demonstration is being done in good faith for the betterment of Malawians or rather somebody somewhere is busy playing a vendetta game.

Anyway, I, for one, would have loved to see the President re-declaring her assets yesterday only if it is in the interest of Malawians not just one or two individuals who seem to have a barrage of scores to settle against the her.

As a layman on legal matters, I did try to ask at least five friends who are practicing lawyers on their input about the whole hullabaloo and it is interesting that only one said there are enough grounds for JB, as the president is fondly known, to declare all her assets on the basis that she is now the Head of State and no longer Vice President.

While the other four legal experts were straight forward in their responses saying re-declaring assets is not necessary on the grounds that after next elections an evaluation would have been made of her on how she has amassed her wealth within the five year period [2009-2014].

I don’t know which one to believe but I’m very much certain there are so many conflicting schools of legal thought out there for both proponents and opponents of the issue in question.

In my capacity, as citizen of this Republic, the argument I’m holding is that asking the president to declare her assets is very mischievous and is of no benefit to poor Malawians.

Such is the case because we have had two instances whereby our two post multi-party heads of state in this case; Dr. Bakili Muluzi and Prof. Bingu wa Mutharika fulfilled their constitutional requirement by declaring their assets when they were assuming office in 1994 and 2004 respectively.

However, the two distinguished statesmen left office with billions of assets one would have never imagined and very difficult to justify.

Legally, I’m of the view that the two gentlemen are innocent until a competent court of law proved otherwise.

So my question to those propagating for re-declaration of assets by JB is that, what has Malawi benefited from Muluzi’s gesture of doing so? Without being personal, but this is the same politician who in his bid to become president he was nearly declared bankrupt and had to rely on his former ally and successful business James Makhumula to pay for him a sum of MK50 000 lest he could have been disqualified by the electoral body.

We all know how such a person got out of office and I don’t want to waste time explaining all that. However, the fact still remains that within a decade, Muluzi moved from rags to swimming in billions with a network of business empires throughout the world.

As for Mutharika, we’re told his entire family’s fortune [not his wealthy alone] was pegged at MK150 million in 2004. And eight years later isn’t it surprising that the man became multimillionaire at least by US$ dollar standards?

There are so many factors I can attach to prove my case but the most prominent one is the bags of US dollars believed to be in the legion of around $35 million that were found at State House in April last year soon after his death. Of course he did declare his assets so I assume there is no fuss about it.

Now having looked at these two different scenarios is it not being lunatic to continue asking our leaders to declare assets even if it is evident that the moment they leave office there will be nobody to pin them down to explain how they handled their finances?

According to former president of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo, Africa as a whole has lost close to $150 billion through embezzlement by our top citizens.

He observed that such leaders’ pilfering is the main reason why Africa remains the poorest continent despite having vast resources more than America, Asia and Europe combined.

In this case then if Malawi had strong institutions in place then would have been easier to probe how our leaders have amassed all the wealth they have and if it is found that there was foul play somewhere let those institutions do their job to repatriate such monies that are normally stashed in offshore accounts.

As it stands now Malawi institutions ranging from Fiscal Police, MRA, Financial Intelligence Bureau, ACB etc have no capacity to ‘go deeper’ and exhume where our leaders hid their billions and how they got them.

Yes, I agree, by re-declaring assets JB would instill confidence in some sectors of the society but as things stand she is not breaking any rules because the constitution does not say when a vice president assumes office after the death of sitting president then s/he should re-declare assets.

If she decides to declare her assets for the second time in four years, well, that will be out of her own concession not that the rules of the game allows her to do it twice.

Still something is bothering me that what will happen if she ends her 12 years in office in 2024 with trillions? Exactly, nothing will happen and it will be no big deal just like it is no big deal with Mutharika’s billions allegedly stashed in Portugal, Singapore, China, Zimbabwe, Dubai, and Hong Kong.

As for me what must start is for proper mechanisms to be put in place so that the country has capacity to monitor how our leaders are acquiring wealth. Mind you, it is possible for a leader to accumulate billions using legitimate means thus not every billion accrued is stolen.

Until that is achieved then I will support whosoever agitates for any sitting president to declare assets. This also goes to the vice presidents as well because for instance we were told how much Dr. Justin Malewezi and Dr. Cassim Chilumpha were worthy when they took office but what we have not been told is how much did they make during their stint? I hope we’re together there?

It is not just a matter of protesting against JB to declare her assets, that’s not enough and it is total waste of time. If those pushing for this issue are clever, let them lobby parliament to come up with stringent measures that would be used as monitoring mechanism to track down any movement of money to foreign accounts.

Once that is put in place let the first assignment be to find out how true are allegations that Muluzi and Mutharika have off shore accounts and possibly go to a mile further to probe the kind of business they ventured into so that some of our young entrepreneurs can borrow leaf and take that as a model for them to do the same.

Surely we can all be inspired to run a business that can rake in billions in just 10 years of operating it.

Once again, stop bragging around about taking to streets again for issues that will not bring any difference to Malawians. Instead, find ways of how to repatriate our billions that are sleeping peacefully in places like Swiss Capital, Geneva than wasting your time trying to undermine JB’s authority.   

By the way I’m just being reminded that a recent European Commission report estimates that “stolen African assets equivalent to more than half of the continent’s external debt are held in foreign bank accounts.” That is food for thought.

2012 LESSONS FROM ANC INDABA: AN OVERVIEW OF ZUMA TRIUMPH, MOTLANTHE FALL AND RESURRECTION OF RAMAPHOSA

The African National Congress (ANC) recently held a week long elective conference at its birth place in Mangaung, Bloemfontein.

Like any other political gathering, the atmosphere inside the vast tent was tense, colossal and acrimonious.

In the run up to the conference, which was the 53^rd of its kind since the founding of the 100 year old liberation movement, the party was divided between militant supporters of vice president of the party and the country Kgalema Motlanthe and his boss Jacob Msholozi Zuma.

The Motlanthe camp was heavily supported by expelled Youth League leader Julius Malema who was hoping for a miracle of his candidate’s triumph if he were to have any chances of returning back into the fold.

Zuma on the other hand went into the indaba a confident but cautious person. Confident because his camp had managed to secure support of powerful provinces like Kwazulu Natal, Free State, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and North East. While provinces like Gauteng probably the richest among all provinces), Western Cape and Limpopo did not hide their dissatisfaction with what they dubbed “Zuma problem.”

Yes, the populist politician was also cautious because he was fighting another battle for life where any crushing defeat would mean the return of his foes like Thambo Mbeki camp combined with Malema factor.

These ambitious characters would have ensured that Zuma is recalled from his seat; face corruption charges and spend most of his retirement in the corridors of court thereby rendering his admirable political career useless.

However, right from the word go, it became apparently clear that Zuma was the man of people if the chants and the singing were anything to go by.

The shrewd politician evoked the Madiba spirit when he led the 5000 member gathering into singing an old Mandela song “long walk to freedom.”

This took anybody in the room by surprise including Motlanthe himself, who had no choice but to join his close ally-turned rival into singing the freedom song. It was also an abandonment of the trademark uMshini wami (give me my machine gun) song on the part of Zuma.

If Motlanthe was a soothsayer then he was able to read the writing on the wall that he was fighting a losing war.

No wonder he decided to go broke by refusing to accept any other nomination apart from that of president. He knew his game plan had dramatically faltered and it was better for him to lose the presidential contest of the party with dignity than losing the deputy president position to high flying Ramaphosa.

Fast forward to the outcome, the Zuma slate which had names like prodigal son Cyril Ramaphosa, Dr. Zweli Mkhize, Gwede Mantashe, Jessey Duarte and Baleka Mbete won resoundingly by a 75 percent margin against Motlanthe camp’s 25 percent.

This result did not only put Zuma in a very powerful position but also it has shown that for one to survive a political storm you need to have strong roots with the grass root structures a fact respected by Zuma and ignored by Motlanthe.

Other pundits have gone to conclude that the outcome was not mainly of Zuma’s making but rather it was Motlanthe’s undoing.

Until last week Motlanthe, a former president who was stop-gap leader when Mbeki was treacherously recalled, was a shining star in South African politics as he was tipped to be the next president of the continent’s biggest economy.

But alas!! The entire glittering career seem to have gone down the sea following his sudden fall from grace and he now requires more than divine intervention if he is to bounce back as it has already been confirmed by the party leadership that the reserved politician is on his way out to  head the ANC political school.

Out of the indaba two important things happened, the fall of potential successor to Zuma and the resurrection of a man most book makers describe as the best president South Africa never had, Cyril Ramaphosa, a billionaire businessman, trained lawyer and former union activist who played a pivotal role into the release of apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.

That is how witty Zuma is; first of all he knew for him to retain the leadership of the party he needed a strong character of Ramaphosa caliber to counter the Motlanthe effect.

No wonder his camp was nervous as Ramaphosa was reportedly not willing to take on his long time comrade until last minute when it was all clear that the fight was heading for a real showdown.

For starters, Ramaphosa is not new to South African politics. He was handpicked by Mandela to be his successor in around 1997 only for him to be cravenly thwarted by Mbeki lobbyists.

He has not been heard since then until recently when he was implicated in the Marikana tragedy where he is shareholder of the mining company where 34 protesting miners were shot dead by the police.

Despite such a scandal, his rise to the second most powerful position of the party, not only has it made him the leader in waiting but it also signifies the comeback of a man who spent close to two decades in wilderness where he has been strategizing on how he would make a political return while making billions in the private sector.

Without being novice but it is all clear that while Zuma has consolidated his political stamina, he has also managed a leeway for seamless transition whenever he decides to call it quits.

All this is supposed to teach our local politicians one or two political lessons that no matter how hard you fall, still it is the way you pick yourself up that is important.

Say for instance, if Ramaphosa had decided to form his own political party soon after he was frustrated by the Mbeki camp in 1997, definitely the powerful ANC delegates wouldn’t have had the trust in him again.

 The way Ramaphosa has played his politics over the years is in sharp contrast to what our own political prostitutes behave. Just imagine, when news was all over that late Bingu wa Mutharika had collapsed and was admitted to Kamuzu Central hospital (of all places) several DPP die hards as well as cabinet ministers at the time rushed to Zodiak radio to declare their defection to the ruling Peoples Party, really?

This is a behavior as voters we should not tolerate and we can demonstrate our discontent by punishing such politicians through the ballot, yes making them see red on the voting day because they take our precious vote for a ride.

But here is a man who has devoted his entire life to serving his nation in various capacities both in government and private sector and he has always maintained high pedigree of principled life.  

Having resorted to playing dark room politics which is credited for manufacturing the return of Zuma in 2007 in Polokwane followed by immediate recall of Mbeki some days later, Ramaphosa is one kind of persona we must all admire and borrow a leaf from.

It is a shame that when our politicians fall from grace only a handful of them have been able to maintain same financial status. The rest end up miserably by being reduced to mere beggars in town. For Ramaphosa, his fall in 1997 was an opportunity to build an economic empower while planning ahead. This strategy has dramatically worked and I will not be surprised if political scientists on the continent part ways temporarily with their busy schedule to write a book, if not books, about “The rise, fall and resurrection of Cyril.”

I remember during my secondary school days, news was all over that Ramaphaosa (the man I have lived to admire) together with two men he convincingly defeated during the convention namely; Tokyo Sexwale and Mathews Phosa, were shamelessly accused of plotting to overthrow Mbeki in a coup plot which ended up angering the old aged Madiba.

It is reported that the South African statesman even warned his successor that his days were numbered as he had focused on waging war against fellow comrades instead of prioritizing the plight of South Africans.  

I have in mind some very few politicians who have soldiered on even when their boat has been ramshackled by whirlwind.

As we bid farewell to 2012, may the year ahead bring sanity to our politicians for once. By the way is there any good explanation why a legislator would defect from the ruling party to the opposition and vice versa six times in less than a month?

It is about time sanity prevailed among our politicians and like I said learning from the rise, fall and resurrection of Ramaphosa there is at least some solace that political tumbling is not the end of road rather it’s just a stepping stone to one’s ambitions.

God willing I will be coming up with one more wrap-up before the year ends in few days time.

All-in-all, for me, just like Zuma and Ramaphosa, the journey has not ended with triumph; it has actually just begun for the two men seen in all fairness as having many lives than a cat sharing the slate.

OF OUR MEN OF HONOR AND PERFORMANCE ENHANCING DRUGS

The otherwise peaceful rise of China as one of the world’s superpowers has not only taken bookmakers and everybody in it by surprise but it has also brought with it some very strange episodes.  

Today, those regarded as third world citizens are boasting of being at par with the elite as far as technology is concerned. All this, courtesy of the influx of counterfeit Chinese mobile phones on most African markets.

Until recently, what used to take primary school teacher ages of savings in order to buy an original Samsung Galaxy handset is no longer an issue. Thanks to the mighty Chinese, a mere visit to Limbe market in Blantyre today would permit you the opportunity of having an equally sophisticated gadget like the original one at 90 percent discount with added features like internet access for facebooking and dual sim-card services.

Such is the new world the South-eastern Asian giant has created. They are masters in their own art.

Stories have been told since time immemorial of Chinese shrewdness including the most famous one which alleges that the Chinese national soccer team was banned by the soccer governing body, Fifa, after it was discovered that they were fond of cheating especially during recess as they could change the entire starting eleven and technical panel without being noticed by the officiating personnel.

Another story is told of China’s renowned movie star Jack Chan who took part in look-alike contest only for him to emerge on eleventh position, the top ten list was dominated by his impersonators. Quite fascinating.

It is also the influx of the Chinese here in Africa that is said to have led to the rise in population of curvy ladies in our streets. How far true this is I’m yet to find out.

Anyway, China’s ambitious plans to become a superpower one day have seen them trying their best to dominate in every aspect of life such that they are probably the world’s largest supplier ranging from electronic gadgets to herbs.

Talking of herbs, I’m reminded of commercial adverts that feature in our daily papers about the Chinese traditional concoctions that are said to be performing miracles ranging from manhood enlargement [for whatever reasons] to boosting the immune system.

The ascendancy of Chinese products such as herbs here in Malawi has prompted locally made stuff like Thubulo and Gondolosi to be green with envy as they have seen their place; they have dominated since the time of akafula, being taken by Vukavuka, Viagra and Enzoy in that order.

I will be giving force testimony if I detest the foreign products whose sole reason of existence is to provide extra support to men with insatiable appetite for women.

It has been proven beyond doubt, so I’m meant to believe, that onc

e you take any of such stuff, the “partner-in-crime” can soldier on for at least four hours without failing your confidence.

This could be the reason therefore that one man-of-honor decided to part ways with his usual gulewamkulu charm to go for Chinese made stuff in a quest to make a 15-year-old girlfriend see red.

Unfortunately, the honorable man went bananas as he reportedly took an overdose of the lethal Viagra tablets.

No sooner than later did the descendant of the once mighty clan suffered a seizure attack or heart failure [whatever way you want to call it] but we are told he was rushed to a near-by hospital where he was treated for his condition.

This came barely years after another man-of-honor from same region was found dead in a south African hospitality room for allegedly taking one too many of the sex-enhancing-drugs.

Albeit there were other versions attached to the death as he was also a sworn enemy of the country’s most feared politician when it comes to rural science.

Let me put it on record that I have no problems with amplifying sexual performance but I will not sit down and watch a 60-year-old maniac relieving himself in a teenager young enough to be called his granddaughter.

All-in-all the Viagra scandal should serve as lesson to our men of honor who are moving all over town disgracing themselves with their zips wide open.

As for the honorable man, I think he should thank his ancestors that Malawi is not Iran, rest he would have permanently parted ways with his partner-in-crime within blink of an eye.

JOYCE BANDA PAYING THE PRICE FOR SIDING WITH THE 'POOR'

If people, especially the opposition and its operatives, are waking up every morning to nonchalantly express their discontent with the way Malawi leader Mrs. Joyce Banda is doing her business of running affairs of the country, it is not because they have best interest or solutions to the problems Malawi is facing currently rather it’s their demonic-large-than- life ego and selfishness driving them.

Ever since the president started the maize distribution campaign, the opposition has been up in arms accusing the president of wasting government money on what they call ‘petty’ and opportunistic issues.

Yes, they labeled the over 2million hunger stricken Malawians benefiting from the programme as ‘petty’ just imagine.

As if that is not enough, they have went on to declare that it is better for the president to sit down phwiiiii in her office and concentrate on solving the multi faceted economic malaise, we are currently sailing through, than reaching out to the very miserable rural people.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m speaking through experience; I have been involved in the maize and food distribution exercise in Karonga, Chitipa, Rumphi, Phalombe, Mulanje, Balaka and Mangochi.

In all the districts I have mentioned above, despite their geographical and tribal differences, they are sharing one thing in common, hunger and catastrophe.

I remember how the elderly, disabled, HIV/Aids survivors (for the sake of activists they are not patients or victims), were taking turns to recount their horrible ordeal of going to bed on empty stomach for days. Very sad indeed.

In other extreme cases, stories were told of how some lost their loved ones who were surviving on life prolonging drugs and they could no longer hold on a little while longer simply because the drug just like the local brewer Kachasu amafunika kudyela.

After giving it a thorough thought, as a true patriot, I have since come to the conclusion that those discouraging the president not to go out and about distributing relief food items are not doing it on behalf of the poor.

Our memories are still fresh of how they imposed probably the most punitive taxes in the region if not whole world, at least since the fall of Berlin wall, just to make sure that their swimming pools are refurbished at whooping amount of over MK50 million.

These are the people who had no regard for the poor people when they were in government by off-putting donors who have been aiding us since independence.

These are the people who, when the nation was crying for better living conditions, they were busy dining and wining in a marquee at the newly renamed Kamuzu Palace in the name of public lecture while the ruthless police officers were slaughtering innocent people like nobody’s business.

Yes, I agree those championing the criticism against JB by accusing her of being incompetent, brought some notable infrastructural developments courtesy of the new rising super power China.  Kudos for that.

But let me remind you also that our children and their grand children would bear the burden or feel the pinch of settling these hefty loans when we are all gone to our ancestors.

By the way, if Bingu was sincere about improving education standards by lobbying the loan agreement from the ‘generous’ Chinese government to build the Malawi University of Science and Technology (Must) I wonder why choosing Ndata and not Madetsa, Mayani, Lobi, Chilumba, MweneWenya, Nthalilre, Limbuli, Nsona, Nyezelela, Chibavi, Thakhiwa, Ngabu or settle for its original place in Lilongwe?

By virtue of moving the university next to his bravura toilet room in Ndata, Bingu demonstrated his selfish largesse.

On the phalanx of roads he pioneered, I’m telling you those roads were not meant for poor people as we are being forced to believe. They were simply put into motion as conduit to siphon billions of money as evidenced by the fact that 99.9% of those roads were or are being constructed by Mota Engil.

It is the very same Mota Engil Company which constructed everything in Ndata estate including Bingu’s final resting place, wow!!!

For whatever reasons why Mota did that but the truth is lying by the side of Bingu’s casket.

Take for instance the Zomba-JaLi-Chitakale-Phalombe road, only a fool can believe that it was targeting my fellow poor Lhomwes in the belt.

If you have time, take the Chiradzulu-Phalombe road and see for yourself how many warehouses and maize mills have already been erected or are under construction?

Don’t stop there but go on and ask who owns those imposing buildings? Your guess is as good as mine.

How about the Khulubvi highway along the Lower shire? Was it really meant for the vulnerable Senas or one of the ever-politically-connected –ruling-elite wanted easy transportation of his herd of cattles to the commercial city? On this one your guess is nowhere near mine.

In all the examples I have cited, I’m convinced beyond any grain of doubt that the country’s elite have no heart for the poor masses and they don’t care whether we exist or not. That is why they are all over town busy fighting the president so that she stops siding with the common people.

Another indicting example to prove that those raising up their colossal voice against Madam President are selfish and greed, is the recent fuel shortage [or let’s just say the petrol and diesel shortage] because no one, I mean nobody, has ever mentioned about the scarcity of paraffin.

Not because the commodity is available on the market but because it is commonly used by the poor in the villages and nobody has dared to mention about it because the rich capitalists simply don’t care about us like JB does.

The only time these noise makers [murderers] need us [poor people] is either during elections or there is a cockroach in their wardrobe.

Did I hear someone mentioning that they also need us when their expensive vehicles are stuck in the mud or they have a flat tire? I guess so.

So stop bluffing about the president and her personal involvement in the maize distribution, she simply cares for her people; that’s why she is moving around in order to simply value their agony and join them by sharing the little she has in these tough times.

What is interesting is that the murderous-attention-seekers are nowhere mentioning the role the department of disaster management and preparedness is playing in complimenting the president’s concerted efforts to ease the pain on the poor.

To them, they look at JB’s initiative as political aimed at gaining mileage; who can fault that after all the poor are the biggest Electoral College on the land. 

They wouldn’t give a damn if they hear stories of people dying of hunger. Wait a minute is it because they have killed enough innocent souls in their lifetime in rather bizarre and horrific circumstances so much that they would treat hunger related deaths as matter of fate? I hope that is not the case.

All-in-all it is now a known fact that the many sins of JB, as alleged by her critics, are coming in open because she is always there for the poor even if they don’t need her.

But what do you benefit from living a life than benefiting mankind? Benefiting those that have nowhere to sleep, no nothing to put in their stomach? It has to be emphasized that Malawi has no space to contain selfish egos whose is always to hurt the poor.

If you have legitimate issues bring them to the poor we will see how to sort you out and stop your cheap conspiracy which is aimed at chopping the generous hand of JB so that she stops feeding her people. That thinking is worse that cancer. The patriot rests his case for now!!!!!!

 

NO SENSE IN GESTURING KINNAH PHIRI THE 'MIDDLE' FINGER

It has now become a common practice  that every time the country’s soccer team ‘The Flames’ loses a match, Monday coaches descend to the social media where they gang up against head coach Kinnah Phiri,  throw him insults and call him all sorts of unpleasant names.

The alien behavior has been the order of the day in recent years but it has reached crescendo more especially under the tutelage of Phiri.

And as expected, when news broke out that the national team had lost to a low fancied side Rwanda in the on-going Cecafa tourney; all the sarcastic adjectives one could think of were used just to prove dissatisfaction with Kinnah, his divided coaching panel and the ham-fisted squad.

According to those that watched the match, Malawi’s performance was below-par and left-a-lot-to be desired.

Soccer loving Malawians [or let me say Facebook loving Malawians] had no choice but to lash out at the coach describing him an ‘incompetent’ northerner [have no idea whatever that means].

Honestly, it’s indeed painful for any level headed Malawian to be associated with a national team that is only there to drain the hard earned foreign reserves to travel abroad only to fail to score not even an off-side goal in the entire ninety minutes of play.

Personally, while I’m burning like hell over the team’s lethargic performance, still I do not think that Kinnah Phiri [the northerner] is the villain here.

Yes, we’re blaming the wrong guy because the main problem in this whole hullabaloo is the charges Kinnah has at disposal. Frankly, looking at the foundation of the players he is using, one would quickly rush to conclusion that the country has a long way to go before we could even start smiling again.

I have reached to this harsh conclusion because we have a generation of half-baked footballers not befitting the status of even carrying training boots of a national team material.

Where on earth do you see a player exhumed from Hon. Ezekiel Ching’oma’s football trophy somewhere in typical village down Nkhoma in Lilongwe going straight to play for a big team like Big Bullets or Wanderers then next thing you hear of is that he is putting on national team jersey? Alas!!

That is exactly the situation with today’s Malawi football, our soccer players lack simple soccer basics to make them compete at international level.

This can easily be strengthened by the fact that the kind of players we hold in higher esteem here at home have failed our intelligence every time they are deployed for professional football abroad in one way or the other.

It really embarrasses me to be associated with a team whose captain, his vice, the top two strikers, the best holding midfielder [basing on Malawi standards] were either rejected or plying trade in the Mvela league. This is really embarrassing.

Such is the sorry state we are finding ourselves into. Take for instance, Davie Banda on the local scene, he is so far the best holding midfielder we have around but the only reason he was shown the exit door in Mzansi is because he lacks basic knowledge of football modus operandi, the same applies to Chiukepo Msowoya, Moses Chavula, Joseph Kamwendo etc etc.

If these were real stars in their own right, as others would want to make us believe, then can someone explain to me why we still have them loitering around town in company of Chilomoni queens? Maybe I’m missing something.

But as long as the country continues to neglect the basic principle of football philosophy which is to develop soccer right from the nursery level, then I’m afraid we have not seen anything worse yet and I can challenge you that at the rate we’re moving it will take us some two good decades before we can qualify for a world cup tournament.

As for African Cup of Nations, well I have no idea because qualification for the bi-annual continent showcase sometimes require good omen, ask Cape Verde and Zambia.

Anyway, looking at the Flames’ current state-de-affairs, it is day dreaming to expect contrary results to the ones we are getting.

I will not be doing justice to the country if I start listing down all the contributing factors to the dwindling standards of football but one thing I’m very sure of is that Kinnah Phiri’s role is being comprised as he concentrates much on nurturing the players instead of sharing with them his game philosophy.

Ask any renowned media soccer pundit such as Peter Kanjere, Garry Chirwa, Madalitso Mussa (lol), Gracian Tukula, Duncan Mlanjira not to mention my man Hasselbaink Kachinziri; they would all agree with me [at least] that the job of Kinnah is to come up with the best game plan spiced up with strategy and philosophy not the other way round.

Unfortunately, that is not the case at the present moment as he is moving one step forward and four steps backwards because he is investing much of his time and resources on mentoring the players on ball passing, ball control, ball-juggling (kudoda) even dribbling…koma zoona?

I’m just being reminded that it is only in Malawi where a player is called for national team duties, not because his time has come to play for his country, but because he is competing with some small usipa from Lake Malawi for popularity.

So as long as we do not redefine Kinnah’s role as head coach, then we are spelling doom on our very chances of developing the beautiful game in our country.

For heaven’s sake it is utter garbage for a national team player to undergo ball controlling lessons just three days before facing neck-breaking encounter. Where is the art and ability then? Such techniques were supposed to be instilled in the players during their soccer academy days not now.

Such is the vicious circle we have in our midst and the question still remains; how then do we move forward? Should we continue keeping our faith in the once prolific striker in 70s and 80s as head coach or we should find solace in new mentor?

Well I will leave that for you my dear comrades` to decide but one thing I will not tolerate is the behavior of showing Kinnah the ‘middle’ finger every time the team performs badly, to me it is not just his fault maybe on this one Fam officials can be able to explain to us on where we are standing as regards to the establishment of soccer academies we were promised, I believe that is the clear-cut future.

So once again, spare Kinnah Phiri from your middle finger gibes. Maybe you can use such gestures elsewhere but not the coach; he simply has no feelings for that!!!!!!!

CALLISTA MUTHARIKA FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE

For many, Callista Chapola Mutharika is an elegant and socialite former first lady, while to others she represents a crème of opportunistic women who always get what they want in life by all means necessary.

Callista has recently been dominating media headlines for simply clinging to vast wealth left by her deceased husband Bingu wa Mutharika.

She sought court relief so that she is made administrator of Bingu’s property which also has imposing structures like Villa Casablanca and Mpumulo wa Bata both located inside the vicinity of Ndata estate.

The past weeks have seen Callista finding herself in very awkward position by publicly tussling with her step children.

The latest meanwhile, is that the warring sides saw it fit to finally listen to voice of reason and they agreed to settle the matter out of court.

Barely days after announcing the truce, it was discovered through the media that Callista is not part of Bineth Trust which owns all the billions of wealth of the fallen leader.

The new twist of events according to some legal experts is a blow below the chest of Callista as her argument that Bingu was about to co-opt her as a trustee cannot hold water in any compete court of law unless the late president comes back to life in order to back up the claim.

I, for one, came to know Callista during my early days in the media when she was Tourism Minister.

I still remember as young journalists, full of excitement, how we used to throng to the Central Office of Information (COI) everytime she was holding regular interactions with the media just to get a glance at her sexy legs as she was fond of putting on exposing outfits.

It therefore did not come as a surprise to me when news started to make rounds that the former cabinet minister, who went on to lose her parliamentary seat years later, was enjoying some bed time moments with the then ‘Big Kahuna’.

The rumor turned to be an otherwise gospel truth as months later the two exchanged engagement rings followed by the tax payers witnessing what could be billed as wedding of the decade [yes, because a decade ago the same tax payers were onlookers to another presidential wedding, the first of its kind actually, involving former president Bakili Muluzi and his beloved wife of five children Patricia Shanil Muluzi who ended up severing marital ties at one of the magistrate court yards in town in years to follow, yes such is life]. Please don’t bother to ask me why the two agreed to go separate ways because I’m equally in the dark but what I know is that the two had ‘irreconcilable’ differences, whatever that means, but it is what Magistrate Mangawa ‘Ngiwi’ Makhalira told the world. Anyway it’s not the point of discussion for today.  

Back to our subject matter Callista, now that the rat is out of the worn out bag, I see the former first lady throwing all her might into the battle field just to have her way because history has taught us that she turns out to be a dangerous vampire especially when she is forced to face the wall.

On this I’m reminded of a story of how Callista paid back our leader Mrs. Joyce Banda who had used her connections to-help-her-friend secure lucrative job as Country Director of Hunger Project, a brain child of the president.

There are so many stories told about how the camaraderie between the two ambitious ladies soured as Callista reportedly used her influence to bad mouth JB to donors and she finally got her way because the president, who by then was a women’s rights activist and politician, got booted out of the project she initially helped to establish.

Whatever took place between her time at Hunger Project to National Assembly, back to the streets before a-catapult-effect landed her to state house, is something Callista will be able to tell the world whenever she decides to write her memoirs, definitely the country deserves some sort of an account of her life.

However, what I’m aware of is that while swimming in corridors of influence Callista became intoxicated by power and reignited her fight against JB who by then was the serving lame duck Vice President of Malawi.

She used her tricks to force her husband to fire Banda as Safe-motherhood and Maternal Health Ambassador only for her to assume the role but for a price as she was carting home some millions in salary and allowances combined for a voluntary job which the then vice president was doing for free.

That is where she lost the fight, the war and the battle against JB all at once, because by accepting to be paid lump-sum of money she automatically widened the battle field.

This was a miscalculation of highest order because instead of focusing on Joyce Banda in her fight, Callista now had the civil society, media, clergy and international community to deal with as they, in their respective regard, came so hard on the former first couple.

Today, as we’re speaking, history is repeating itself, Callista has fallen from grace; she is now a common citizen loitering around town.

It has to be well said that the talk making rounds in corners of town that she is intending to make a political comeback is not just a fallacy and that her fighting with Bingu daughters is not coincidental either.

She could have miscalculated her moves on one or two occasions previously but one thing I know for sure is that she is not yet finished. In fact she is more dangerous now because she has the financial stamina.

Her claim over the Bingu’s property is enough demonstration for the world and all her adversaries to acknowledge that the woman is in fighting spirit.

But the only difference, this time around, is that she is playing second fiddle and no longer in commanding position to pick up another fight against a woman she has chosen to hate to the bone.

In the next presiding days, weeks, months even years will be for us to see how Callista, now squeezed to the wall courtesy of natural events, will pick herself up.

In such regard, i'm optimistic that her fight against the Mutharika family will not end in her favor just like the previous one she waged against JB, she lost it big time.

Maybe it is time she changed the game plan to suit her present predicament, otherwise she has more home work to do!!!!!