It's been a long time since I published the last entry, a lot has happened in the interim with the fuel shortage topping the list.
It was interesting to read in the newspapers how the blame game was playing out, the frustrations we all faced in getting this scarce commodity not mentioning the loss of productive time for all of us.
What I also found interesting was the social dynamics that became all too apparent as the days went by. The people who were thought to have caused the crisis never felt the pinch as they continued to enjoy the fruits of their priviledged status, those with connections to the fuel depots (not filling stations) were also fairly ok as they knew the itineraries of the fuel delivery trucks.
All of a sudden fuel attendants became celebrities and well respected ladies and gentlemen threw all manners out the window on fuel queues (or what would have been queues).
My own personal experiences are not peculiar but suffice to say that in total I must have wasted not less than 72 hours on such rendezvous.
There are positives out of this experience not least the fact that we are still in Malawi and that we are subject to external forces, leaders are human beings and therefore subject to errors in judgement and management (so please put a lid on all this human worship).
At the individual level we also learnt that it is good to have a full tank!!
Keep your tanks full as we enjoy the holidays and prepare for 2010...
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Sunday, 18 October 2009
Let my Brother be...
Being born in a family where I am the eldest brother has been quite a journey for me and I am sure my experiences will be shared by a lot more folks out there. Being the big brother has it’s benefits without a doubt but it also goes with a lot of responsibility which may be sometimes heavy to carry.
I remember back in the days; being the big bro meant that you get to send whoever is around to fetch you a cup of water, you get to pick the good portions on the dinner table and so on. On the flip side, you were by default the minister of defense and all negative elements had to first of all be dealt by you. So if your sibling was involved in an altercation of any kind as would normally be the case, it was your responsibility to make sure that you ‘set the record straight’ before news goes all the way up to the parents.
I feel very proud that I managed to get out of those ‘days’ relatively unscathed as stories have abounded about how some overzealous big brothers crossed the line and injured or maimed their friends while carrying out this enforcer mandate. Some even committed murder and needless to say that they ended up on the wrong side of the prison walls.
While all of us may have a brother or brothers, the most high profile ‘brother-hood’ here in Malawi is that of our president and his brother; the minister of justice. It is very impressive that both these gentlemen are highly accomplished professionals in their respective fields as this is not always the case in most families.
Before I continue talking about the president and his brother, let me delve a bit into the quota system debate. One interesting factor in this debate is how it has progressed from one about university selection criteria to a very emotionally charged finger pointing slugfest bordering on tribal and regional differences. It is absolutely amazing to me that both sides of the argument feel so strongly about their respective positions and I am sure there will be no consensus no matter how long this debate rages. Let me make it very clear here that I do not have any strong feelings about this debate (although I am proud that I got my place at the University on merit).
I am just amazed at the flimsy logic which people are using to advance their arguments either way. For example, the camp advancing the quota system are putting arguments like: equitable access to national resources so that development spreads to all districts in the country equitably. I think the weakness of this argument is that it makes too many assumptions; one assumption is that when people are educated they all go back to their districts and develop them, and if that was the case, then the northern region would have been the most developed in the country. The second point is that the quota system is not a new system in Malawi and if it failed to correct the status quo in the many years it was already tried, I fail to see how all of a sudden it has become the silver bullet that distributes the national cake equally.
The anti-quota camp on the other hand feels that this is a ploy to disadvantage the northern region. I also feel that this argument is very weak because the basic idea of the quota system is to allocate the same number of places to each district and therefore the question of targeting a particular area does not hold any water.
As far as I am concerned, the brightest students should not be denied entry into the University regardless of the system being used. If we do not get the best students into the university, the biggest loser will be Malawi as a country. So the debate should not be derailed from what it is supposed to be.
Now back to the president’ brother; it was interesting to hear the president saying that his brother has every right to stand for any office in the country including the presidency, and I think he was right. If the man is a Malawian and has all the necessary credentials, why should he be stopped from contesting for the presidency or for any position for that matter (being the president’s brother is not a crime). The fundamental problem which people have with Professor Peter is the fact that he is the president’s brother to the point that they are not prepared to even evaluate the man’s credentials.
The other interesting development was that the president declared that he was pro-quota system (not that this was a surprise to me, I mean it is his own government that is trying to implement the system in the first place). Somehow I feel there is a contradiction in the president’s position on these two issues: Professor Peter qualifies on MERIT to contest for any position in this country, however is having two presidents back to back from Thyolo district not against the spirit of the QUOTA system which preaches equitable distribution of the national cake to all districts???
I remember back in the days; being the big bro meant that you get to send whoever is around to fetch you a cup of water, you get to pick the good portions on the dinner table and so on. On the flip side, you were by default the minister of defense and all negative elements had to first of all be dealt by you. So if your sibling was involved in an altercation of any kind as would normally be the case, it was your responsibility to make sure that you ‘set the record straight’ before news goes all the way up to the parents.
I feel very proud that I managed to get out of those ‘days’ relatively unscathed as stories have abounded about how some overzealous big brothers crossed the line and injured or maimed their friends while carrying out this enforcer mandate. Some even committed murder and needless to say that they ended up on the wrong side of the prison walls.
While all of us may have a brother or brothers, the most high profile ‘brother-hood’ here in Malawi is that of our president and his brother; the minister of justice. It is very impressive that both these gentlemen are highly accomplished professionals in their respective fields as this is not always the case in most families.
Before I continue talking about the president and his brother, let me delve a bit into the quota system debate. One interesting factor in this debate is how it has progressed from one about university selection criteria to a very emotionally charged finger pointing slugfest bordering on tribal and regional differences. It is absolutely amazing to me that both sides of the argument feel so strongly about their respective positions and I am sure there will be no consensus no matter how long this debate rages. Let me make it very clear here that I do not have any strong feelings about this debate (although I am proud that I got my place at the University on merit).
I am just amazed at the flimsy logic which people are using to advance their arguments either way. For example, the camp advancing the quota system are putting arguments like: equitable access to national resources so that development spreads to all districts in the country equitably. I think the weakness of this argument is that it makes too many assumptions; one assumption is that when people are educated they all go back to their districts and develop them, and if that was the case, then the northern region would have been the most developed in the country. The second point is that the quota system is not a new system in Malawi and if it failed to correct the status quo in the many years it was already tried, I fail to see how all of a sudden it has become the silver bullet that distributes the national cake equally.
The anti-quota camp on the other hand feels that this is a ploy to disadvantage the northern region. I also feel that this argument is very weak because the basic idea of the quota system is to allocate the same number of places to each district and therefore the question of targeting a particular area does not hold any water.
As far as I am concerned, the brightest students should not be denied entry into the University regardless of the system being used. If we do not get the best students into the university, the biggest loser will be Malawi as a country. So the debate should not be derailed from what it is supposed to be.
Now back to the president’ brother; it was interesting to hear the president saying that his brother has every right to stand for any office in the country including the presidency, and I think he was right. If the man is a Malawian and has all the necessary credentials, why should he be stopped from contesting for the presidency or for any position for that matter (being the president’s brother is not a crime). The fundamental problem which people have with Professor Peter is the fact that he is the president’s brother to the point that they are not prepared to even evaluate the man’s credentials.
The other interesting development was that the president declared that he was pro-quota system (not that this was a surprise to me, I mean it is his own government that is trying to implement the system in the first place). Somehow I feel there is a contradiction in the president’s position on these two issues: Professor Peter qualifies on MERIT to contest for any position in this country, however is having two presidents back to back from Thyolo district not against the spirit of the QUOTA system which preaches equitable distribution of the national cake to all districts???
Thursday, 15 October 2009
Can we keep up??
There is an interesting story which happened in the early 90’s (sounds like a really long time ago) when one of the senior members of our clan was studying in the US. There was a family issue which he wanted to discuss with folks back home and he wrote a letter that on a particular day and time he was going to make a phone call to have the discussion…amazing huh.
I am sure if I were to start narrating this story to the multiparty generation, the first question they will ask me will be; why couldn’t he just send an SMS or an e-mail…you know?
Yeah right I wish it were that easy; most of us were fully preoccupied with the world ending in the year 2000 to even imagine anything of the sort.
If the world was not ending in 2000 at least there was this very glorious line about “prosperity for all by the year 2000” …very funny. I am just hoping that whoever was responsible for coining such ridiculous phrases (they don’t qualify to be called goals) is currently serving time (in jail of course) or he is a fugitive hiding somewhere in some remote mountain living like a peasant. I mean look at the world today and tell me how many people can claim to be prosperous, 9 years down the line.
The prosperity line was so popular that we even had our own Malawianized version which went a little something like this “poverty alleviation”. If you look up the word alleviation in your thesaurus it will give you words like; mitigation, lessening, easing and of course another one which I feel is out line if you try to replace the word alleviation in the phrase…improvement. Obviously “poverty improvement” gives you a totally different meaning.
The beauty of the Malawian version of the prosperity promise is that it is so vague that nobody could really be held to account for anything, but when it said on podiums…my friend, it sounded soooo noble. Obviously when people realized the folly of such a ridiculous proposition, they had field day satirizing it. The one which I loved so much and which seemed to make sense considering the situation on the ground went along the lines of improvement. The word alleviation was conveniently replaced with the word ELEVATION.
Enough of that but suffice to say that within the last 20 years the developments that have taken place in the communications sector are nothing but mind boggling. I am sure I don’t posses within my bank of knowledge the full repertoire of tools and resources out there. I mean, while we are all excited about social networks like FACEBOOK, Twitter and the like; let’s not forget that Malawi did not have its own TV station until the late 90’s. I am sure most of us remember not so long ago how people would proudly display ‘bricks’ on their waists.
Did you know that in the year 2000, Malawi only had 15,000 people with access to the internet? The figures of 2008 at least paint a respectable picture with numbers just going above 300,000. In a country of 13,000,000 people, I think we can do better.
The nest time you are tempted to take that cell phone, access to the internet, TV for granted just remember that 15 year ago most people never even imagined this would be possible. So ask yourself in the next 15 years are we going to keep up with the pace of innovations...
I am sure if I were to start narrating this story to the multiparty generation, the first question they will ask me will be; why couldn’t he just send an SMS or an e-mail…you know?
Yeah right I wish it were that easy; most of us were fully preoccupied with the world ending in the year 2000 to even imagine anything of the sort.
If the world was not ending in 2000 at least there was this very glorious line about “prosperity for all by the year 2000” …very funny. I am just hoping that whoever was responsible for coining such ridiculous phrases (they don’t qualify to be called goals) is currently serving time (in jail of course) or he is a fugitive hiding somewhere in some remote mountain living like a peasant. I mean look at the world today and tell me how many people can claim to be prosperous, 9 years down the line.
The prosperity line was so popular that we even had our own Malawianized version which went a little something like this “poverty alleviation”. If you look up the word alleviation in your thesaurus it will give you words like; mitigation, lessening, easing and of course another one which I feel is out line if you try to replace the word alleviation in the phrase…improvement. Obviously “poverty improvement” gives you a totally different meaning.
The beauty of the Malawian version of the prosperity promise is that it is so vague that nobody could really be held to account for anything, but when it said on podiums…my friend, it sounded soooo noble. Obviously when people realized the folly of such a ridiculous proposition, they had field day satirizing it. The one which I loved so much and which seemed to make sense considering the situation on the ground went along the lines of improvement. The word alleviation was conveniently replaced with the word ELEVATION.
Enough of that but suffice to say that within the last 20 years the developments that have taken place in the communications sector are nothing but mind boggling. I am sure I don’t posses within my bank of knowledge the full repertoire of tools and resources out there. I mean, while we are all excited about social networks like FACEBOOK, Twitter and the like; let’s not forget that Malawi did not have its own TV station until the late 90’s. I am sure most of us remember not so long ago how people would proudly display ‘bricks’ on their waists.
Did you know that in the year 2000, Malawi only had 15,000 people with access to the internet? The figures of 2008 at least paint a respectable picture with numbers just going above 300,000. In a country of 13,000,000 people, I think we can do better.
The nest time you are tempted to take that cell phone, access to the internet, TV for granted just remember that 15 year ago most people never even imagined this would be possible. So ask yourself in the next 15 years are we going to keep up with the pace of innovations...
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
NO MORE EXCUSES!
If there is one event which really made people out there sit up and notice that there is a country in some corner of the world known as Malawi then it must be Madonna’s first adoption. Obviously there must be people out there who already knew about Malawi but for the average Joe somewhere in the US mid-west, they really had to grab their atlases and confirm that this was not a new exotic island that had just been discovered in the south pacific.
While people were screaming Eureka! At this new discovery, those of us who were born and raised in the country we so fondly christened ‘the warm heart of Africa’ were so amazed that our country was such a non-entity in the eyes of the majority of people in the developed world.
I started asking myself what we had done wrong or did not do to have such a mediocre profile in the eyes of the world. Obviously I am sure this has got a lot to do with our historical heritage as one of the poorest and least important members of the so called ‘British Empire’ to the point that our independence struggle was one of the easiest as the old colonial master felt…well good riddance.
Again our relative stability and lack of conflict also ensured that we were not in the world press although for people who follow history and current affairs, the name Kamuzu Banda may not have sounded strange at all. Adding all this up to the fact that we are one of the poorest countries in the world then you can understand why nobody out there would know about our country because there is nothing that is news worthy.
The unfortunate stereotype that Africa is the ‘dark’ continent where nothing good happens scared off people. The only news that you would hear about Africa was conflict, AIDS, poverty and death. In some people’s minds travelling to an African country was almost equal to committing suicide.
So many things now have changed since those dark gloomy days. Globalization has made sure that more and more people travel and begin to discover the truth about Africa, the internet has also opened up the continent and all of a sudden so many good things are happening and Africans are feeling good about themselves. Countries which were at conflict including Mozambique, Angola and Rwanda are now some of the most progressive countries in the world. The white house is now occupied by a man with African roots, the FIFA world cup will be hosted by an African country for the first time and it is all looking good.
Malawi is also getting some positive buzz; we have hosted three peaceful multi-party general elections, the issue of hunger is slowly but surely receding into the vestiges of historical folk tale, our economy is officially the second fastest growing in the world (in the midst of the global recession). Things are really looking up. I also read in the newspaper the other day that Malawi will again host the Lake of Stars music festival with an expected attendance of 5,000 (a new record according to the article).
I checked up on other Music festivals in the world and boy…attendance runs in the hundreds of thousands. Of course some of them have some really weird names but the one that really knocked me out is Lollapalooza somewhere in Chicago.
I am sure that there is great potential to go beyond the 5,000 and give real meaning to the word revenue in tourism. We have no excuses any more, let’s take advantage of all this positivity and market this country so that we don’t wait for another celebrity adoption to get noticed.
While people were screaming Eureka! At this new discovery, those of us who were born and raised in the country we so fondly christened ‘the warm heart of Africa’ were so amazed that our country was such a non-entity in the eyes of the majority of people in the developed world.
I started asking myself what we had done wrong or did not do to have such a mediocre profile in the eyes of the world. Obviously I am sure this has got a lot to do with our historical heritage as one of the poorest and least important members of the so called ‘British Empire’ to the point that our independence struggle was one of the easiest as the old colonial master felt…well good riddance.
Again our relative stability and lack of conflict also ensured that we were not in the world press although for people who follow history and current affairs, the name Kamuzu Banda may not have sounded strange at all. Adding all this up to the fact that we are one of the poorest countries in the world then you can understand why nobody out there would know about our country because there is nothing that is news worthy.
The unfortunate stereotype that Africa is the ‘dark’ continent where nothing good happens scared off people. The only news that you would hear about Africa was conflict, AIDS, poverty and death. In some people’s minds travelling to an African country was almost equal to committing suicide.
So many things now have changed since those dark gloomy days. Globalization has made sure that more and more people travel and begin to discover the truth about Africa, the internet has also opened up the continent and all of a sudden so many good things are happening and Africans are feeling good about themselves. Countries which were at conflict including Mozambique, Angola and Rwanda are now some of the most progressive countries in the world. The white house is now occupied by a man with African roots, the FIFA world cup will be hosted by an African country for the first time and it is all looking good.
Malawi is also getting some positive buzz; we have hosted three peaceful multi-party general elections, the issue of hunger is slowly but surely receding into the vestiges of historical folk tale, our economy is officially the second fastest growing in the world (in the midst of the global recession). Things are really looking up. I also read in the newspaper the other day that Malawi will again host the Lake of Stars music festival with an expected attendance of 5,000 (a new record according to the article).
I checked up on other Music festivals in the world and boy…attendance runs in the hundreds of thousands. Of course some of them have some really weird names but the one that really knocked me out is Lollapalooza somewhere in Chicago.
I am sure that there is great potential to go beyond the 5,000 and give real meaning to the word revenue in tourism. We have no excuses any more, let’s take advantage of all this positivity and market this country so that we don’t wait for another celebrity adoption to get noticed.
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Give us back our thunder please...
The fact that the Republic of South Africa is a giant in Africa in almost every sense of the word is a known factor by all people who are honest.
This country which lies at the southern tip of the African continent boasts of having the largest economy in Africa. The South African Economy is ranked # 32 in the world by the IMF, World Bank and the CIA Factbook. In fact the South African Economy is bigger than some European economies like Portugal and Finland. It is also bigger than the oil rich United Arab Emirates.
The main source of this wealth obviously is the vast amount of natural resources including Gold, Diamonds etc. it also boast of a very robust agricultural sector, a modern industrialized manufacturing sector as well as a strong tourism sector among others. It is no wonder therefore that South Africa is a super power in Africa but more so in the SADC region
Most of the economies in this part of Africa would not survive without doing business with this giant. The influence of South Africa has not been limited to the economic sphere; every facet of life has been touched by the Mzansi magic. Our capital city of Lilongwe was built by apartheid regime up to finer detail of gmelina trees which line most of our streets in the capital.
Since the beginning of the new millennium, big South African chain stores in the likes of Shoprite, Game and including the latest additions of Mr Price have really put a strong indelible mark on the country’s socio-economic landscape.
The entertainment sector has also not escaped the grip of this giant. Shows like Big Brother on DSTV and soapies like Generations on the widely available ‘free to air’ channels have also captured the imagination of the wider Malawian populace. In fact Malawians have been enjoying fruits of their rich southern neighbor from as early the colonial era when our grand fathers used to trek down south to work in the gold mines under the TEBA arrangement which was also popularly known as WENELA.
Another very interesting phenomenon which started in the mid-80s has been the exodus of footballers to play in the South African professional league. While in the beginning we were only sending players to the top league in that country, the trend has grown so much to the point where the bulk of our current crop of players now play in the lower league of that country also known as Mvela League.
Obviously a debate has raged in the country as to whether it is a wise decision to have our best players playing in the second tier of South African football. Some have argued that our own Super League is stronger than the Mvela league and others have argued otherwise. For me however, this debate deliberately misses the point; which is that playing in the Super league can never guarantee anyone a decent livelihood and as long as this remains the case, our players will continue making decisions about their careers with money being the only parameter to be considered.
Although this is the case, it is gratifying to note that Malawi along with Zambia and Mozambique are the only 3 teams from the SADC region still in contention for a place at the Africa Cup of nations in Angola. Needless to say that South Africa did not manage to go past the elimination stage. However since the World is as skewed as it is towards money they will still make a bow at the World Cup; smart huh…if you can’t qualify, just host it.
What has got me rumbling like this is a headline on the Supersport website (you guessed right, it is a South African website) which screamed “South African connection wins for Malawi” apparently referring to the two players who were involved in the goal scored by Malawi during the Ivory Coast game (Joseph Kamwendo and Jacob Ngwira) who play for South African clubs. I almost screamed in utter disgust at such a brazen theft of thunder asking myself whether they really had the right to claim the plaudits for an achievement which in my opinion was 100% Malawian. But maybe I am wrong because in this day and age only money does all the talking.
By the way our netball squad has been handing their South African counterparts some serious hammering for the past 3 years earning ourselves the best netball team of Africa accolade and being ranked 5th in the world. All our players happen to be locally based and maybe this is where we can claim that our victories are 100% Malawian!!
This country which lies at the southern tip of the African continent boasts of having the largest economy in Africa. The South African Economy is ranked # 32 in the world by the IMF, World Bank and the CIA Factbook. In fact the South African Economy is bigger than some European economies like Portugal and Finland. It is also bigger than the oil rich United Arab Emirates.
The main source of this wealth obviously is the vast amount of natural resources including Gold, Diamonds etc. it also boast of a very robust agricultural sector, a modern industrialized manufacturing sector as well as a strong tourism sector among others. It is no wonder therefore that South Africa is a super power in Africa but more so in the SADC region
Most of the economies in this part of Africa would not survive without doing business with this giant. The influence of South Africa has not been limited to the economic sphere; every facet of life has been touched by the Mzansi magic. Our capital city of Lilongwe was built by apartheid regime up to finer detail of gmelina trees which line most of our streets in the capital.
Since the beginning of the new millennium, big South African chain stores in the likes of Shoprite, Game and including the latest additions of Mr Price have really put a strong indelible mark on the country’s socio-economic landscape.
The entertainment sector has also not escaped the grip of this giant. Shows like Big Brother on DSTV and soapies like Generations on the widely available ‘free to air’ channels have also captured the imagination of the wider Malawian populace. In fact Malawians have been enjoying fruits of their rich southern neighbor from as early the colonial era when our grand fathers used to trek down south to work in the gold mines under the TEBA arrangement which was also popularly known as WENELA.
Another very interesting phenomenon which started in the mid-80s has been the exodus of footballers to play in the South African professional league. While in the beginning we were only sending players to the top league in that country, the trend has grown so much to the point where the bulk of our current crop of players now play in the lower league of that country also known as Mvela League.
Obviously a debate has raged in the country as to whether it is a wise decision to have our best players playing in the second tier of South African football. Some have argued that our own Super League is stronger than the Mvela league and others have argued otherwise. For me however, this debate deliberately misses the point; which is that playing in the Super league can never guarantee anyone a decent livelihood and as long as this remains the case, our players will continue making decisions about their careers with money being the only parameter to be considered.
Although this is the case, it is gratifying to note that Malawi along with Zambia and Mozambique are the only 3 teams from the SADC region still in contention for a place at the Africa Cup of nations in Angola. Needless to say that South Africa did not manage to go past the elimination stage. However since the World is as skewed as it is towards money they will still make a bow at the World Cup; smart huh…if you can’t qualify, just host it.
What has got me rumbling like this is a headline on the Supersport website (you guessed right, it is a South African website) which screamed “South African connection wins for Malawi” apparently referring to the two players who were involved in the goal scored by Malawi during the Ivory Coast game (Joseph Kamwendo and Jacob Ngwira) who play for South African clubs. I almost screamed in utter disgust at such a brazen theft of thunder asking myself whether they really had the right to claim the plaudits for an achievement which in my opinion was 100% Malawian. But maybe I am wrong because in this day and age only money does all the talking.
By the way our netball squad has been handing their South African counterparts some serious hammering for the past 3 years earning ourselves the best netball team of Africa accolade and being ranked 5th in the world. All our players happen to be locally based and maybe this is where we can claim that our victories are 100% Malawian!!
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Control these Kamikazes please!!
The story of Kamikaze pilots is one that is fascinating as well as intriguing as it introduced a very new phenomenon in war very alien to the western world...
For those of you without a history background, the Kamikaze were World War II Japanese pilots trained for suicide missions of flying an aircraft packed with explosives into an enemy target, often a ship...obviously this meant certain death for the pilots (a fact of which they were all too aware was inevitable).
This art of suicide bombing seems to have been perfected by various "freedom fighters" or "terrorists" depending on which side of the argument you find yourself. They have used all kinds of rudimentary means of transportation to deliver their package of death ranging from dilapidated vehicles to bikes even down to the most basic...legs.
There is a different kind of Kamikaze roaming the streets of Malawi especially in Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Salima just to mention a few. The Malawian version of Kamikaze is one that borders on the ludicrous. Unlike the other 2 groups mentioned above (which had/have a clear objective albeit malevolent), the Malawian kind does not even have a clue that they are on a suicide mission.
I am talking here about cyclists who go about their normal routines oblivious of the fact that everyday they are putting their lives in harms way. Ok granted; life in itself is a risk, but for these guys it is suicide mission.
For starters, a majority of our cyclists do not have adequate education as you may be aware that this is a good starting point for one to know what the laws of the land say. In addition, I have never heard of any effort to educate cyclists on the ABCs of road use etc. Add that to the fact that our roads are so narrow that every road user is forced to scramble for the same thin strip of tarmac, you know who will end up on the losing side in the event of any mishap on the road.
The other problem is that these guys do not even put on outfits that can make them visible in the night. You see a cyclist and you may be forgiven for mistaking him with a hyaena or some other less glorious beast.
I believe that if the authorities were to: 1. train these guys how to use the roads without endangering their own and other people's lives, 2. enforce the use of reflective vests for all cyclists and 3. widen our roads a little bit to give some margin for error, most of the carnage on our roads could be averted.
The cyclists should also know that in they event of an accident they are the LOSERS and a bit of risk averseness would go a long way in ensuring that travelling on our roads is not a suicide mission...
For those of you without a history background, the Kamikaze were World War II Japanese pilots trained for suicide missions of flying an aircraft packed with explosives into an enemy target, often a ship...obviously this meant certain death for the pilots (a fact of which they were all too aware was inevitable).
This art of suicide bombing seems to have been perfected by various "freedom fighters" or "terrorists" depending on which side of the argument you find yourself. They have used all kinds of rudimentary means of transportation to deliver their package of death ranging from dilapidated vehicles to bikes even down to the most basic...legs.
There is a different kind of Kamikaze roaming the streets of Malawi especially in Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Salima just to mention a few. The Malawian version of Kamikaze is one that borders on the ludicrous. Unlike the other 2 groups mentioned above (which had/have a clear objective albeit malevolent), the Malawian kind does not even have a clue that they are on a suicide mission.
I am talking here about cyclists who go about their normal routines oblivious of the fact that everyday they are putting their lives in harms way. Ok granted; life in itself is a risk, but for these guys it is suicide mission.
For starters, a majority of our cyclists do not have adequate education as you may be aware that this is a good starting point for one to know what the laws of the land say. In addition, I have never heard of any effort to educate cyclists on the ABCs of road use etc. Add that to the fact that our roads are so narrow that every road user is forced to scramble for the same thin strip of tarmac, you know who will end up on the losing side in the event of any mishap on the road.
The other problem is that these guys do not even put on outfits that can make them visible in the night. You see a cyclist and you may be forgiven for mistaking him with a hyaena or some other less glorious beast.
I believe that if the authorities were to: 1. train these guys how to use the roads without endangering their own and other people's lives, 2. enforce the use of reflective vests for all cyclists and 3. widen our roads a little bit to give some margin for error, most of the carnage on our roads could be averted.
The cyclists should also know that in they event of an accident they are the LOSERS and a bit of risk averseness would go a long way in ensuring that travelling on our roads is not a suicide mission...
Monday, 5 October 2009
2010; is Malawi ready...
I must say that either the 2010 World Cup in South Africa has been overhyped out of all proportions or Malawi just doesn't see HOW to exploit this once in a lifetime opportunity.
I am sure every sensible person will agree with me that the country which stands to benefit the most from this event is the host country itself; South Africa and boy have they grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
Everyone who has been to Mzansi as they fondly call themselves will agre that the country has made very significant progress in so many areas. Their infrastructure which was already light years ahead of our own has been improved beyond our imagination. It is amazing to note that some of this work was commenced even before the country was given the responsibility to host the games. The anticipation is actually palpable, I mean the entire economy is totally geared to cash in on 2010.
What surprised me the most was when I went to Nairobi to hear how much Kenya has invested in preparation for the 2010 spectacle. This got me thinking about my own land of flames which is only 2 hours away from Johannesburg whether you land in Blantyre or Lilongwe...
For some reason we have all looked up to government or the football association to lead the way in marketing the country. And credit should be given, the government has done it's bit...mind you, the bottom line for Govt. is not profit, and this is very well reflected in the quality of their effort.
Everybody thinks that inorder to sell Malawi in relation to 2010 one needs to do that in the context of football and this is the biggest problem. It is also not enough to simply talk about the lake and mountains because not all tourists are eco - tourists and frankly speaking, a lot of countries have their own mountains and lakes. I for one believe that pitching Malawi simply on history and geographical features is an old fashioned approach and also boring (there is a lot more this country has to offer than just history and geography) Infact other countries like Egypt, Greece, Italy and Israel have more interesting histories than Malawi.
I have serious issues with the private sector who have miserably failed to cash in on the fact that we are so close to South Africa let alone initiatives like the Lake of Stars festival and events like the Madonna adoptions. At least government has tried to improve infrastructure, but I don't know where the private sector is...
Everyone is so focused on scrambling for the small Malawian market when the big bucks are really out there...
I am sure every sensible person will agree with me that the country which stands to benefit the most from this event is the host country itself; South Africa and boy have they grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
Everyone who has been to Mzansi as they fondly call themselves will agre that the country has made very significant progress in so many areas. Their infrastructure which was already light years ahead of our own has been improved beyond our imagination. It is amazing to note that some of this work was commenced even before the country was given the responsibility to host the games. The anticipation is actually palpable, I mean the entire economy is totally geared to cash in on 2010.
What surprised me the most was when I went to Nairobi to hear how much Kenya has invested in preparation for the 2010 spectacle. This got me thinking about my own land of flames which is only 2 hours away from Johannesburg whether you land in Blantyre or Lilongwe...
For some reason we have all looked up to government or the football association to lead the way in marketing the country. And credit should be given, the government has done it's bit...mind you, the bottom line for Govt. is not profit, and this is very well reflected in the quality of their effort.
Everybody thinks that inorder to sell Malawi in relation to 2010 one needs to do that in the context of football and this is the biggest problem. It is also not enough to simply talk about the lake and mountains because not all tourists are eco - tourists and frankly speaking, a lot of countries have their own mountains and lakes. I for one believe that pitching Malawi simply on history and geographical features is an old fashioned approach and also boring (there is a lot more this country has to offer than just history and geography) Infact other countries like Egypt, Greece, Italy and Israel have more interesting histories than Malawi.
I have serious issues with the private sector who have miserably failed to cash in on the fact that we are so close to South Africa let alone initiatives like the Lake of Stars festival and events like the Madonna adoptions. At least government has tried to improve infrastructure, but I don't know where the private sector is...
Everyone is so focused on scrambling for the small Malawian market when the big bucks are really out there...
Friday, 2 October 2009
The Good Old Days
This is fantastic news...Oh wow!!...Long at last. These were some of the expressions I heard from people when news about a successful HIV vaccine first came to light.
A week later, the mood has completely changed as more and more experts have spoken out on the reality of the said research. We now know that what has really been achieved is progress in the sense that results of all previous efforts have not been that encouraging.
We also know that the strain of virus which has registered this success is not the one commonly found in sub-saharan africa (which by the way is the most virulent of all the strains). This clarification has really brought the issue into it's proper perspective.
What was really exciting for me was not necessarily the fact that a cure/vaccine is on the horizon, but the cause for celebration. Most people on the streets were not really thinking about the salvation of mankind or any such high sounding morals. What got people excited was this whole idea of going back to the good old days...you know, the one's we only hear about in folk tales.
Ana inu mwabadwa nthawi yolakwika...matenda amasiku anowa akupwetekani, ife nthawi yathu zimenezi kunalibe timangodandaula za mabomu, chindoko...ndipo tikapita kuchipatala timachila (literally meaning; in the good old days we never worried about HIV, we would contract gonorrhea and syphilis and easily get treated)
This is what this excitement was really all about. As it stands now, it is clear that nothing has changed and we all need to remain vigilant to ensure that we protect ourselves and out loved ones from this pandemic...
Later....
A week later, the mood has completely changed as more and more experts have spoken out on the reality of the said research. We now know that what has really been achieved is progress in the sense that results of all previous efforts have not been that encouraging.
We also know that the strain of virus which has registered this success is not the one commonly found in sub-saharan africa (which by the way is the most virulent of all the strains). This clarification has really brought the issue into it's proper perspective.
What was really exciting for me was not necessarily the fact that a cure/vaccine is on the horizon, but the cause for celebration. Most people on the streets were not really thinking about the salvation of mankind or any such high sounding morals. What got people excited was this whole idea of going back to the good old days...you know, the one's we only hear about in folk tales.
Ana inu mwabadwa nthawi yolakwika...matenda amasiku anowa akupwetekani, ife nthawi yathu zimenezi kunalibe timangodandaula za mabomu, chindoko...ndipo tikapita kuchipatala timachila (literally meaning; in the good old days we never worried about HIV, we would contract gonorrhea and syphilis and easily get treated)
This is what this excitement was really all about. As it stands now, it is clear that nothing has changed and we all need to remain vigilant to ensure that we protect ourselves and out loved ones from this pandemic...
Later....
Thursday, 1 October 2009
Legend in the making???
Isn't it amazing how tragic events can capture the imagination of an entire nation and almost hold it hostage for as long as events are a mystery.
I wonder whether this has got something to do with our quest to find answers to the mystery which is life itself. Legends have been born/created out of mysterious tragic events since time immemorial.
Examples in history abound of such personalities. We need not go far afield to find such examples, we have them in abundance right here in the Warm Heart of Africa:
The John Chilembwe tragedy of 1915 is probably one of the most vivid example in the modern Malawi but there are others. For some reason, most of these examples are drawn from political circles; Henry Masauko Chipembere, Dunduzu and Yatuta Chisiza, Atati Mpakati, Orton Chirwa and a whole host of other notable figures.
Almost all of these esteemed gentlemen earned their legendary status for 2 reasons:
1. They were vociferous in their opposition to a regime
2. Their deaths were both sudden and unnatural
The latest potential entrant to this list is arguably the MCP MP Ishmael chafukira who died last week under very suspicious circumstances. There are several reasons why Malawians are so hooked to this story:
First of all unlike the other legends, Chafukira did not have any quarrel with the 'regime' infact some would actually argue that he was in very good books with the current government. His struggle was to change leadership in the biggest opposition Malawi Congress Party, not that party is still 'big' but is still the second biggest party which is represented in parliament. The leader of the party is none other than John ZU Tembo who holds the record as the longest serving MP in Malawi. To put into perspective...his tenure is as old as the Malawi nation itself.
This is not the only distinguishing feature of this gentleman. It is also strongly believed by many Malawians that he played a significant role in the unnatural demises of the estimeed gentlemen mentioned above. It is strongly believed that the man's level of tolerance to dissenting views is so low that he does not hesitate to eliminate any threats to his position whether true or imagined.
Going back to Chafukira. The young man has for the past couple of months (Since May 2009 to be exact) led a crusade to unseat the old man from both his presidency of the MCP as well as leadership of the opposition in parliament, so it was shocking to hear that he had died mysteriously in South Africa where he had gone to acquire vehicles.
Dying in itself is an accepted fact but when you add into the mix the fact that a fully grown healthy man just falls down dead in a motel, add that to the fact that he was in the company of a lady (presumably a lover), the fight he was having with his erstwhile ally and boss (with a checkered history), postmortems failed to show cause of death...the list goes on. Isn't this a goldmine for any writer of fiction...
Is this a legend in the making???
I wonder whether this has got something to do with our quest to find answers to the mystery which is life itself. Legends have been born/created out of mysterious tragic events since time immemorial.
Examples in history abound of such personalities. We need not go far afield to find such examples, we have them in abundance right here in the Warm Heart of Africa:
The John Chilembwe tragedy of 1915 is probably one of the most vivid example in the modern Malawi but there are others. For some reason, most of these examples are drawn from political circles; Henry Masauko Chipembere, Dunduzu and Yatuta Chisiza, Atati Mpakati, Orton Chirwa and a whole host of other notable figures.
Almost all of these esteemed gentlemen earned their legendary status for 2 reasons:
1. They were vociferous in their opposition to a regime
2. Their deaths were both sudden and unnatural
The latest potential entrant to this list is arguably the MCP MP Ishmael chafukira who died last week under very suspicious circumstances. There are several reasons why Malawians are so hooked to this story:
First of all unlike the other legends, Chafukira did not have any quarrel with the 'regime' infact some would actually argue that he was in very good books with the current government. His struggle was to change leadership in the biggest opposition Malawi Congress Party, not that party is still 'big' but is still the second biggest party which is represented in parliament. The leader of the party is none other than John ZU Tembo who holds the record as the longest serving MP in Malawi. To put into perspective...his tenure is as old as the Malawi nation itself.
This is not the only distinguishing feature of this gentleman. It is also strongly believed by many Malawians that he played a significant role in the unnatural demises of the estimeed gentlemen mentioned above. It is strongly believed that the man's level of tolerance to dissenting views is so low that he does not hesitate to eliminate any threats to his position whether true or imagined.
Going back to Chafukira. The young man has for the past couple of months (Since May 2009 to be exact) led a crusade to unseat the old man from both his presidency of the MCP as well as leadership of the opposition in parliament, so it was shocking to hear that he had died mysteriously in South Africa where he had gone to acquire vehicles.
Dying in itself is an accepted fact but when you add into the mix the fact that a fully grown healthy man just falls down dead in a motel, add that to the fact that he was in the company of a lady (presumably a lover), the fight he was having with his erstwhile ally and boss (with a checkered history), postmortems failed to show cause of death...the list goes on. Isn't this a goldmine for any writer of fiction...
Is this a legend in the making???
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