Acting Chief Executive Officer for Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM), Clement Kanyama, says the sector is doing its best to make sure that they eliminate bribes from customers as one way of ending corruption while at the same time delivering the best services to customers across the country.
The remarks were made in Lilongwe on Friday during a press briefing under Government Faces the Press.He said ESCOM has put a number of mechanisms to make sure that this comes to an end.”We are aware of the malpractice that is happening across the country and we have a number of instances where our employees were found receiving bribes. We have a mechanism called whistle blowing where customers are advised to report if they suspect any fraud or corruption,” said Kanyama.
He further said ESCOM in collaboration with Government of Malawi will starting this year be connecting electricity for free.Minister of Information, Gospel Kazako, said ESCOM is the face of electricity in the country and there is need to have access to good delivery of the services.”Electricity is one of our priority areas because a lot of things requires electricity.
We have a lot of developments that require electricity and energy is indeed crucial for the development of the country and there is need for lots of electricity.When we sort out the work of electricity, we will fasten the developments of the country,” said Kazako.
Malawi Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda recently announced notice for termination of the US$60 million (K49.04 billion) passport contract awarded to Techno Brain Global FZE. The firm was contracted to upgrade the passport issuance system and introduce an E-passport. However the firm has issued a press statement, clarifying its position and why the contract was offering many benefits to Malawi.
In the statement Techno Brain, a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, wishes to make clear its position following news stories covering the cancellation of its contract to deliver e-passports for the Government of Malawi.
“We have noted several stories circulating that include misinformation and unfounded allegations in relation to the matter, as well as Techno Brain as a company more broadly, which we strongly dispute and, regretfully, have required that the company takes legal action” reads part of the statement.
The company went on to clarify details of the contract it has with the government. “The contract between the Government of Malawi and Techno Brain was the product of a competitive bidding process that followed all the relevant procurement regulations. We strongly dispute any claims that Techno Brain has breached the contract or that it favours the company at the expense of Malawians.
“The cost of the contract reflects the quality of the offering being delivered, which includes high-end security features and conforms with international standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)”.
Attorney General Thabo Chakaka, terminated Techno Brain contract
Techno brain also highlighted the fact that the contract is not solely for the delivery of e-passports, but also for a comprehensive upgrade to the country’s entire passport issuance system that transitions the country to a digital platform. The project encompasses everything from training and capacity building for over 125 Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services (DICS) officers to the digitization of over one million records and rollout to 19 embassies globally.
The full scope includes setting up a data centre, Disaster Recovery Center, and PKI infrastructure; the design and origination of e-Passport booklets and consumables; the supply of e-Passport personalization equipment; connecting all regional Immigration offices on a secure network; enrolment terminal equipment; the supply of software licenses; project implementation services; and the training and capacity building of DICS officers. In addition to the core e-Passport Issuance System, it also includes integration with the systems of other Government departments; the rollout of the system to 19 Malawian embassies; the supply of trucks for DICS; the digitization of over a million manual records; the setting up of security systems and forensic labs; and other related services.
The company claims that this contract Offers many benefits to Malawi and it is not only the company that will benefit
“We maintain that the completion of this contract would be a win-win for the country, delivering both direct and indirect benefits for citizens and the Malawian economy. For example, the implementation of the system is expected to deliver substantial efficiency gains, both for the Government of Malawi and for citizens who will no longer have to travel to Lilongwe or Blantyre to apply for a passport, as well as critical security benefits, including the reduction of incidents of forgery and identity theft”.
The company took opportunity to clarifies some of the claims that were carried by some media houses in regards to its dealings in other African Countries
“We also wish to take this opportunity to clarify facts concerning a World Bank debarment relating to one of our projects in Liberia in 2018. We immediately investigated the matter involving the isolated incident and are cooperating fully with the World Bank to take remedial actions, including investing heavily to put in place a comprehensive Integrity Compliance Program that guards the company against a repeat of such violations. Techno Brain Global and its affiliates (except Techno Brain Kenya Ltd.) have been allowed to resume participation in World Bank financed projects since 8 August 2021.We are confident that the comprehensive actions being taken since the incident position the company for continued future success. We wish to make clear that there is no connection between the incident in Liberia and our operations in Malawi. Attempts to link the two are incorrect, misleading and damaging to the reputation of the company”.
Born in Africa, Techno Brain has expanded to more than 20 countries to become a global company that competes head-to-head and works in partnership with global and leading technology giants. We are proud of the strong role we play delivering innovative and ground-breaking solutions in response to local needs and challenges across Africa. Techno Brain’s strong track record on the African continent has been recognised time and time again, including in a 2018 report by The Boston Consulting Group that identified Techno Brain as one of the African businesses playing a critical role in driving economic integration on the continent. We were the first tech company in Africa to achieve CMMI Level 5 status based on our commitment to a proven set of global best practices
Office of the Attorney General has not made any comment yet on the Company’s recent statement.
Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Agnes NyaLonje, says Government, through her Ministry, is committed to supporting young people innovation as a way to boost socio-economic development in the country in line with the Malawi 2063 (MW2063).
The Minister made the remarks Wednesday during the 2021 Young Innovators Awards held at the Ministry of Education headquarters in Lilongwe. NyaLonje emphasised that the initiatives taking place at her Ministry will motivate young people to see visions and learn new ideas which will bring new developments to the country thereby achieving the MW2063 implementation. “As we are fully aware, Malawi is a young peoples country, commercialized with a digital world, there is a need for innovation exo system which helps improve the well being of people on a daily basis” said Nyalonje.
Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Agnes NyaLonje Awarding innovators
Meanwhile the Minister has commended the top 3 young innovators for complimenting efforts in innovating the gadgets, saying this will help in the countrys development activities.
The top three innovators are Kelvin Khauke from Lilongwe Technical College who has made an electric powered maize shelling machine, Astonie Mukiwa from Malawi University of Science and Technology( MUST) who innovated parliamentary sessions tracking tool, and Ruth Mtuwa from MUST who has innovated low cost IoT-based infant health monitoring system for monitoring the condition of infants.
In an effort to empower youths and make them economically independent , Mzati media centre, a branch of Mzati Television and Radio in Mulanje has organized several media related trainings to commence from January 10, 2022 to June 15, 2022.
The trainings will include, TV Production ( video shooting and editing), Radio Production, Graphic Designing, computer fundamental and drone lessons, among others.
Speaking in an interview, Public Relations Officer for Mzati Media Centre Mercy Madzi said the trainings will be offered to 50 youths from Mulanje district who upon completion will be awarded certificate of attendance.
She said the trainings will be very important to the participants as they will help the them attain skils and knowledge on things that will enable them earn a living on their own and live independent life.
” It is important for the one to attend these trainings as he/she will have wider knowledge and skills on TV production, Graphic designing, Radio Production which will enable them to earn money on their own and live independent life rather than relying on government for job offering. We want the youths to be independent, hence narrowing unemployment gab”, She said.
Madzi said after the trainings, the successful candidates will also have opportunities to get jobs at the institution. ” Upon, completion of the trainings, we will also offer job opportunities to successful and potential candidates here at the institution, so we urge them to participate,”said Madzi.
She said since the number of participants will be small due to COVID-19 restrictions, the participants will be required to pay a training fee of three hundred thousand Kwacha ( K300,000) each for the whole period of six months. ” Every participant will be required to pay a participation fee of three hundred kwacha. Had it been we have no issues of COVID-19 pandemic, the amount would have not been that too much, said Madzi.
She appreciated the government for always being in forefront when it comes to support youths saying what lacks is a collaborative effort in making ends meet.
” We appreciate the government for always being in forefront in times of supporting the youths, but still more, there is a lot to be done. There is a need of collaborating effort the gap in youth empowerment if we are to develop this nation,” she said.
She added that on top of trainings, the media centre will also have other activities aiming at protecting and conserving the environment such as tree planting initiatives and cleaning-up campaigns.
Mzati media centre is part of Mzati Television and Radio. Its mission is to empower youths economically through various trainings so as they live independent life.
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Karonga have expressed concern over delays in arresting perpetrators of defilement saying this has potential to cause more pain on victims and fuel the malpractice in the District.
This comes after CSOs and concerned citizens in the District conducted a solidarity match last year to push Police to arrest Harrison Sibale who is alleged to have defiled, abducted, trafficked and violated a girl’s right to education but no arrest has been made so far.
In an interview, Executive Director for Foundation for Women and Girls Empowerment (FOWOGE), Christobel Munthali, said they are saddened that four months down the line after CSOs petitioned authority to arrest Sibale, nothing tangible has happened. “It is sad that Police have not yet arrested Sibale, however, we are putting more pressure on the law enforcement agents to have him arrested because these delays are causing more pain on the victims which is very bad,” she said
Executive director for FOWOGE- Christobel Munthali
Munthali has since pleaded with people to stop making Gender Based Violence (GBV) a norm, rather to report the cases to relevant authorities for justice.
On her part, one of the country’s (GBV) experts, Linda Jimu, delays in arresting perpetrators can create comfort zone for many people to turn into offenders and this causes more pain onto victims. “Issues of gender based violence including defilement are traumatic in nature, these perpetrators should be brought to book as soon as possible because justice delayed brings more pain to the victims and can cause more perpetrators to freely offend again,” Jimu said.
