NO VOTE FOR A HAND-OUTS GIVING CANDIDATE

By Frank Kauteka Tembo

Malawians have been advised to refrain from voting for aspirants because of hand-outs but rather vote for a candidate who would address their concerns in the forth coming tripartite elections.

A call was made on Friday in Euthini during the panel discussion organized by Phunzirani Development Organization under a theme refrain from corruption, bribes, and handouts but choose people who can give you a good leadership and development as per your perception.

 

Executive Director for Wanangwa Foundation who was one of the Panelist Apostle MacHerings Kayala said people should choose leaders based on facts that would develop the constituency rather than leaders who give handouts during the campaign but have no leadership skills.

“People are advised to be very careful when choosing who would represent them in Parliament as well as ward level. Our concern is that people don’t have adequate information as to what could propel them in order for them to choose a good leader.

“As such we were sharing views with them, getting concerns and we were tying to discus who should be chosen and who should not and why should it be like that.

“So we are sensitizing them so that they should be corrupt free people and they should choose people basing on merit, integrity, wisdom, not necessarily induced by material things.” He said.

Kayala said hand-outs practice during the campaign avert intelligent and capable people not winning the elections because they don’t have money and material while people who are not capable but they have money they corrupt voters and win the elections and what comes by the end of that is development in the community.

Furthermore, Kayala said there is increase of unproductive MPs in the country because voters are not given chance of choosing leaders as the party’s officials choose for the people leaders that people don’t want.

Participants of the debate hailed Phunzirani Development Organization for organizing such a sensitizing forum that will help the constituency to choosing a right candidate.

Hastings Kumwenda who was one of the participants told Voice of Kanyawazi that the community has benefited a lot and will prevent previous mistake during the by-elections.

“This debate was an eye opener because several issues have been discussed that are really happening in our community for instance you may recall that in Mzimba Central Constituency it’s not the party’s candidate who carried the day but the independent.

“This explains a lot, it means the party officials had a candidate that they lacked while people in ground had their own choice,” he said.

Malawi electoral commission tussles inaccuracy of its staffs

By Frank Kauteka Tembo

Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has disclosed that last series phase of Voters Registration conducted in the southern region has been costly due to copious mistakes by the staff.

Commissioner Rev Mezuwa Banda made the revelation during the training workshop of Registration Supervisors, Constituency Returning Officers and District Election Officers of Chitipa district in the northern city of Mzuzu.

The training has come in preparations of the next series of voter’s registration which will include Chitipa district in the north and some districts in the central region.

“To error is in human and whenever you have a process of such magnitude you have other people committing single mistakes which are costly, you don’t need to have a single mistake at all in the process everything just need to be perfect this is why whenever we find a single mistake we go back to the base so it is costly to correct the mistakes,” he said.

He attributed mistakes like misspelling of names, wrong signatures and voting centers as major mistakes which the body is stumbling upon, a development he said is costly correcting such mistakes during the voters’ registration.

The Commissioner then appealed to the participants to take the training seriously in order to diminish such blunders which the Commission is encountering that might lead the elections not to be free, fair and credible.

Chitipa district voters’ registration will be done earlier than stated January due to the appeal of concerned citizens in the district.

“Originally Chitipa district was going to be dealt with in January but then after most of stakeholders expressed concerns that January will be rainy season and roads are impassable and people are too busy in fields it will be difficult to handle Chitipa.

“So the commission decided to reschedule the phase and bring Chitipa alongside some district in central region so it will be covered earlier, later on we will cover remaining part of the Northern region simultaneously with the Central region.” Said the Commissioner Mezuwa Banda.

He added that shortly the Commission will announce to when the phase will start.

DRUGS AT RISK IN CMS

Frank Kauteka Tembo

Drugs at Mzuzu Central Medical Stores (CMS) are at risk of pilfering as security cameras in the warehouses stopped functioning in amidst August this year.

Voice of Kanyawazi visit at the CMS warehouses found that the region has many essential drugs including those of Family planning but without CCTV cameras that helps in monitoring the drugs.

The development has put some drugs at risk of theft by some Central Medical Store Staffs as no cameras can monitor them as they are working in the warehouses.

Northern Region Medical Stores Pharmacist In-Charge Innocent Mbowela confirmed the catastrophe in an interview with Voice of Kanyawazi.

“Our Central Medical Stores currently is in the process of improving all the warehouses from Blantyre, Lilongwe and here in the North.

“Right now medical stores has started identifying different constructors or suppliers who are improving the warehouses and the issue of security is one of them that is handled at headquarters level and the contractors have already come to have the facility and they have done their assessment and the CCTV cameras will be shortly in place and the issue of security will no longer be a problem,’ he said.

However, Mbowela said despite the CCTV cameras, the trust engaged the police and Group 4 Security (G4S) Company that works hand in hand in securing the drugs as well as the place.

“The people should have the expectation that the commodities which they want will be reaching them in good time, safe and in right quantities.

“And regarding the issues of our facility the management at the higher level is sorting out and has put in place various mechanisms so that our security is in good form.

“All security at this facility is outsourced; we [CMS] have got the Police and G4S Company that are providing security at the facility hence the issues of security is just fine,” he said.