tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150685782012-02-03T12:16:48.304+02:00Thoughts and Opinions of a NyasaAustin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.comBlogger1441100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-86760895179560489442012-02-02T16:37:00.003+02:002012-02-03T12:13:50.431+02:00

I read a Twitter post recently that suggested the African presidency has become such a lucrative business that incumbent presidents all over the continent are busy ensuring they are succeeded by their wives, brothers, sons or any kind of close relative. The trend has been working well in many parts of north, west and central Africa. The attempts to import the concept closer to home need no

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-38389705933548963772011-06-12T18:25:00.002+02:002011-06-12T18:37:54.135+02:00

<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-19583398662271768822011-03-20T17:01:00.003+02:002011-03-20T17:11:39.122+02:00

Google Technology User Group Lilongwe held their second event of the year, an Inspirational Movie Night. The evening started with a documentary on the History of Search which covered the birth of Yahoo! and Excite and how Google came in later as the game changer. The role venture capitalists and angel investors played in all these startups was also looked into at depth. The second documentary was

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-44093841844698748682011-03-01T10:34:00.000+02:002011-03-01T10:35:22.697+02:00

Back in the very early 90’s I happened to spend a school year at Phwezi Secondary School in Rumphi. It is not really a place I miss, come to think of it. Water was a constant problem that forced us to wake up very early each morning if we wanted even a cup of water to brush our teeth with. Most weekends we just used to bath in the nearby river, that’s until a student drowned then we were banned!

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-36281086551755315272011-02-28T08:42:00.008+02:002011-02-28T13:46:54.123+02:00

This weekend the Google Technology User Group (GTUG) Lilongwe held a meetup to discuss Google Mobile Tools. The meeting took place at Baobab Health offices and attracted some 20 techies although sadly only three of them were ladies. The number of ladies who attend IT related functions has always been poor and it probably points to the fact that very few ladies are actually working in the IT field

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-3171953697592280432010-11-14T11:55:00.001+02:002010-11-14T11:59:43.698+02:00

I am not one to chuck out an empty juice bottle or plastic bags card from my car window but I have not always been like that. It was in the 90’s when my brother-in-law reprimanded me for throwing out an empty crisps packet along the Salima-Balaka road. On long distances I now usually have an empty plastic bag that I will deposit junk in whereas when town driving I will just throw it on the car

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-40082618921973060172010-09-27T16:25:00.002+02:002010-09-27T16:36:52.927+02:00

This afternoon my wife visited a relation who was bitten by a snake last Saturday evening and rushed to KCH the same night. The young man was given pain killers, put on a drip and told to wait for a doctor. As of noon on Monday no doctor had attended to him!A year ago a young lady was involved in a bus accident in Dedza and was rushed to KCN with a cut on her forehead. It must have been on a

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-56576953318020043792010-09-24T08:18:00.002+02:002010-09-24T08:21:08.086+02:00

I have just been listening to a radio advert for one of the telecoms operators. In the ad a young man is writing to his uncle in Australia telling him just how cheap it is to make an international call to him.I was left rather baffled by it all. Is it REALLY necessary for him to tell his uncle about calling rates? Are there no better things to tell his uncle like the current fuel shortage? And

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-13363546184316507832010-09-02T16:23:00.000+02:002010-09-02T16:25:00.243+02:00

I have been procrastinating about getting a duplicate key made because I had no desire to get stuck in the traffic going across the Lilongwe bridge. But when puss came to shove I dragged myself for the journey.My first stop was at a hardware shop next to the police mobile force. I walked in and all the ‘shop attendants’ all seemed busy with nothing. After capturing their attention and showing

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-46997372573692839632010-08-30T11:42:00.002+02:002010-08-30T11:48:17.921+02:00

Street pole advertising seems to have taken root with almost every electricity pole decorated with some form of marketing message or the other. Over the past week I passed two work men and their supervisor replacing MTL boards with new ones just across the road from Maula Parish on my way into town. To my dismay, on my way back I found that the old wrapping had just been discarded by the road

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-81024444582597312812010-04-09T15:22:00.001+02:002010-04-09T15:24:45.433+02:00

It has been a while since I blogged. But you can take heart that am not dead ... yet! Just been busy putting a few things together and should be back blogging like a mad man very soon.

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-73879767625850010582010-02-15T10:28:00.000+02:002010-02-15T10:40:51.799+02:00

From a local newspaper last week. The Ministry of Development Planning and Cooperation has said that electricity demand is expected to rise by 70% from the current 344 megawatts to 571 megawatts by 2015 and 854 megawatts by 2020. Currently the country only produces 282.5 megawatts, 95% of that from hydro-plants on the Shire River and the remaining 5% from Rukuru river.The Ministry has said that

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-65269239363140280652009-12-24T13:45:00.002+02:002009-12-24T13:59:47.026+02:00

So Bakili Muluzi has finally decided to throw in the towel. This can only be a positive decision and I wish him well in his retirement days. He deserves the rest.The task is now for UDF to rise from the ashes and become a force to be reckoned with as it was in days gone past. The party will obviously miss it's charismatic leader and his deep pockets but at the same time could capitalise on the

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-17825935570320094592009-12-18T10:30:00.000+02:002009-12-18T12:11:42.134+02:00

I few months ago I had complained about service at an MTL shop in city centre. Last week I forwarded this complaint to a colleague who works at MTL who escalated it to the relevant authorities. Yesterday I happened to find myself in this shop, not out of choice but rather because I could not burn Malawi’s scarcest commodity, fuel, going to another shop. But at the end of it all I was glad.The

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-82501142486932977752009-11-17T08:55:00.002+02:002009-11-17T09:04:23.932+02:00

There is no doubt in my mind that there are a series of mini crisis’s happening around us, maybe none too serious to bring us to our knees. We have water shortages in Blantyre, power and fuel shortages country wide and a general lack of foreign exchange. Left unchecked these can have debilitating effects on our economic growth. Various players have promised to resolve or ease the current

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-438970887380153652009-11-13T07:39:00.004+02:002009-11-16T18:04:08.505+02:00

The other day I went to Multichoice to make a payment of K1700. I had written the cheque beforehand and upon reaching the till the conversation went as followsTeller: The amount today is K1722Me: Can I pay the K22 in cash?Teller: Then you will have to pay K522Me: On top of the K1700?Teller: YesMe: Why?Teller: Well you have to ask over there (pointing to the customer service attendants)Me: So if I

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-73029530357737391252009-09-29T07:56:00.003+02:002009-09-29T08:16:28.826+02:00

Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) has finally succumbed to public and consumer rights pressure and changed it’s slogan from Power All Day, Every Day to Towards Power All Day, Every Day. A rarity in Malawian corporate history? Can’t really tell being in a society that rarely takes service providers to task for poor service.So what does this change mean? To me it practically means

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-84347367896209493932009-09-21T10:49:00.004+02:002009-09-21T11:01:43.461+02:00

Inkosi ya Makosi Gomani IV is dead. It was only two days ago that we danced Ngoma together in Bawi.Retired Colonel Alex Kanjedza Gomani became the new Ngoni paramount chief in mid 2008 to replace his father the late Inkosi ya Makosi Gomani III who died in 2006.Rest in peace.

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-30004986322613170412009-09-20T17:13:00.005+02:002009-09-21T11:00:28.515+02:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending Ngoma in Bawi. It's a traditional Ngoni Festival held once every two years and features traditional ngoni dances from Ntcheu, Dedza, Mzimba and Mozambique to mention a few. The function is organised by the Katola family.The guest of honour was Inkosi ya Makosi Gomani IV, Paramount Chief of Ntcheu Maseko Ngoni's. Also present were Traditional Authority

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-72201492674006627622009-09-10T08:04:00.002+02:002009-09-10T08:21:09.166+02:00

He has lived up to his word. President Mutharika has expelled, in his words, four colonialists for working against him and his governments development agenda. Bosses at Limbe Leaf Tobacco Company, Alliance One Limited and Premium TAMA Tobacco have been sent packing for consistently offering lower than agreed prices for tobacco. Opinion is divided on whether deportation was the best approach to

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-51248088802326411062009-09-05T11:52:00.001+02:002009-09-05T12:02:54.841+02:00

As a young boy I was good with mathematics and my twin was good with English. My mother encouraged me to impart some of my number skills to my sister but since practically it is difficult to impart English skills from one to another, I was encouraged to read novels much to my disliking. If I obliged and read as much as my mother had wanted me too I would have no time for magalimoto amwaya (wire

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-6426494647318115412009-08-29T11:26:00.003+02:002009-08-29T11:31:25.277+02:00

The other evening I was meeting up with a mate for a business discussion at Chameleon bar across town. I set off from Area 47 at 6:25pm for the 6:30pm meeting. I expected to make it on time or at least a minute late. I ended up arriving 10 minutes late and all because I had underestimated the amount of traffic I would encounter on the way. The roads were clogged as if it were still 5pm rush

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-90544629780780030022009-08-22T14:05:00.001+02:002009-08-22T14:07:12.187+02:00

It all started one quiet Friday morning when I received what was supposed to be a promotional email from a hotel in Chirimba. The sender, who never signed off, sent an email titled “Dorvic Hotel (Blantyre - Malawi)” and the body was simply written “PLEASE FIND THE ATTACHED DOCUMENTS. Regards”. Attached were three power point files and a word document. I found this approach rather amateurish but

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-61416215473702071742009-08-14T07:38:00.004+02:002009-08-14T07:52:46.186+02:00

I told myself I would never go into that shop again. I swore that shop had a curse. But I did and boy oh boy did I regret it. MTL city centre shop is that kind of shop you almost always leave angry for one reason or another.Well yesterday I happened to be in the area and thought I would buy a LibertyNet internet voucher from there. I noticed they had moved into another building so thought new

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-42338937292187250132009-07-17T18:16:00.002+02:002009-07-17T18:21:08.386+02:00

Last week the majority of South African Union of Mine workers downed their tools and these included some construction workers upgrading or building new stadiums for the 2010 world cup. The western media jumped on the story and predicted gloom and doom for the soccer festival. It is not the first time though that the games have been given such negative publicity. After the xenophobic attacks in

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-23789132799775027542009-07-13T09:46:00.006+02:002009-07-13T10:19:08.438+02:00

My mother loves a good movie and like me has no qualms watching a really scary horror or a flick that’s infested with pythons, crocs and komodo dragons. But unlike me, she has little time for TV or so I thought. So last year I got her the entry level package from DStv so maybe she gets a little more news from Al Jazeera than the dose she got from BBC radio.Earlier this year she enquired about

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-88005556589119586902009-07-12T18:01:00.000+02:002009-07-12T18:05:06.490+02:00

The other weekend my wife and I were running mad. We had a formal function to attend at 18:30 but at 18:00 we were on the other side of town in casual gear. We made a mad rush home to find a blackout. We quickly dressed in the dark and made it to the function at 18:50 only to find the function had not started yet. We asked an organizer who said that he hall was half full and that they were

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-70450827616990304542009-06-29T14:19:00.002+02:002009-06-29T14:28:39.503+02:00

I never cease to be amazed by quality of English you sometimes find in the local press. Over the years I have seen crush being used instead of crash (the car crushed into the wall), have seen jealousy being used instead of jealous (He said the woman was just jealousy of him) and other such injustices to this alien language. More recently I read that a popular singers nun had flown in to pick up a

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-77274777218444304822009-05-25T08:16:00.001+02:002009-05-25T08:22:24.976+02:00

Unless you are JZU Tembo, Brown Mpinganjira, Loveness Gondwe or a blindly loyal supporter of theirs, you will know that Bingu wa Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party gave their opponents a thorough thrashing at the polls, hands down … or should we say fingers up! There are a number of factors that led to this convincing victory. Clever Marketing Mix In part the Bingu and DPP

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-30360150915756193852009-05-21T09:50:00.002+02:002009-05-21T09:57:15.316+02:00

It was a thorough thumping!

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-2192455744702522012009-03-31T08:54:00.003+02:002009-03-31T09:01:53.718+02:00

All seems calm and quiet in the UDF and it comes as no surprise if history is anything to go by. Bakili Muluzi has always had the last say in the party and each time has gotten away with it. But it is time for the real owners of the party (if they are any) to stand up and claim back what is rightfully theirs - their party! There are more reasons than one now than at any other time to fire Muluzi

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-58099624109182243152009-01-23T09:10:00.000+02:002009-01-23T09:16:00.952+02:00

Last Tuesday many residents of Area 49 in Lilongwe and other townships rushed home to watch the inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the US of A. But it was all cut short when they faced an electricity blackout. The power was only restored at the point when Obama was escorting Bush to Executive One, the helicopter that would take Bush to Andrews Airforce Base. Naturally many people were

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-31574934744900539842009-01-10T16:56:00.004+02:002009-01-10T17:12:48.378+02:00

There has been a multitude of calls in the local press regarding fuel pump prices. The calls have come against the backdrop of the fall in crude oil prices on the world market in the past few months. People have argued that the Petroleum Pricing Committee (PCC) should reduce the pump prices by up to 40%, some circles argue. Government on the other hand has argued that it was/is building up the

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-2597815578022857282008-12-23T11:27:00.004+02:002008-12-23T15:16:06.872+02:00

I read with interest yesterday an article in the newspaper that 5 LWB staff members had been arrested by police for disconnecting water supply to certain parts of Lilongwe during their recent industrial action. While I appreciate that prison is a nasty place to be I think it sends a very powerful message to other like minded selfish individuals. The industrial action had nothing to do with

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-10909794571666928872008-12-23T11:05:00.002+02:002008-12-23T11:26:20.333+02:00

Early this morning I walked into a 24 hour clinic to see if I could get some treatment. I found two ladies sitting on the visitors chairs drinking tea and watching TV. They greeted me then hesitated a bit before one of them mumbled something. When I asked what she said, "A dokotala kulibe" (the doctor is not in) was her mumbled reply because of the food in her mouth. Then both her and her

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-67252174290012502102008-12-16T13:08:00.003+02:002008-12-16T13:43:29.257+02:00

As Malawi inches closer to the 2009 general elections focus is being turned towards who will and can stand. The most contentious issue remains the candidacy of former president Bakili Muluzi. Parliamentary aspirants also continue to battle it out in their primaries. Serving MP's have fallen. Ministers have fallen. Aspirants are being abducted. People are crying foul. Top party officials are

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-34578808694224027022008-11-04T08:40:00.005+02:002008-11-04T09:05:42.438+02:00

I have heard one strong view on the two recent power sharing deals we have seen in Kenya and Zimbabwe. People have argued that it sets a bad precedence that allows ruling parties to steal the vote and later appease the opposition by sharing power later on. This is a valid argument but I would also like to look at it from the other angle.Recently we saw Michael Sata of Zambia declaring before

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-38284782192944918902008-10-21T16:13:00.002+02:002008-10-21T16:24:50.802+02:00

Have you noticed recently the amount of emails sent to you that ask you to reply if you are really a true friend. Hey pal, I know you but honestly speaking, you are not my friend!! If I could strike you off my friend list that would be one less person to send a Christmas card to.Then there are the other emails that say if you don't forward the email to others, a great misfortune will befall you.

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-69613877564711356162008-09-15T10:05:00.002+02:002008-09-15T10:11:05.606+02:00

There are incidents worldwide of fire exits being blocked with stacks of supplies in work places and entertainment joints alike. Closer to home there have been stories of bakery owners locking up their staff over night so no ingredients are stolen.This picture shows goods stacked up against a fire hose reel in a popular shop despite there being a sign that clearly reads PLEASE KEEP THE HOSE

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-37956011503622873192008-08-07T08:44:00.001+02:002008-08-07T08:51:00.097+02:00

A few years ago while I was teaching computer programming there was a young lady in my class. To protect the very guilty lets call her Thoko K. Now Thoko K had not paid up her fees so my boos and I decided on a Wednesday to tell her not to come to class until she had settled her bill. The next morning Thoko K and her dad turned up. Mr K told my boss and I that he had a few pressing commitments

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-28248350943559213082008-07-15T22:06:00.003+02:002008-07-15T22:13:58.959+02:00

Have you noticed how if there is not any political news worth writing about (although lately it has not been worth reading anyway) the newspapers just write about how all the political parties in the country are mum on who will be the presidential running mates in May 2009! I mean really, even if we cared would it not be too early to start being told who those people would be. The US goes to the

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-14703969392170583812008-06-12T10:51:00.003+02:002008-06-12T11:02:44.115+02:00

The other day at Multichoice I overheard a conversationPerson 1: Hi, what were you coming to do here?Person 2: The channels on my decoder disappeared so I was coming to sort it out (machannel anathawa)i.e. he had not paid and was going to settle his bill!Another one I heard while on a ATM queuePerson 1: Hey you, you are taking long at the ATM. Are you fixing it or what?Person 2: The ATM is giving

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-77043737116927921032008-04-25T08:21:00.002+02:002008-04-25T09:15:39.531+02:00

On the day the United Democratic Front held it's convention, it's chairman Bakili Muluzi granted an interview to the BBC. When asked why he would like to return as Malawi's president he said because Bingu wa Mutharika had dumped the party after he was elected president and as such he needed to return the UDF to power! This type of reasoning to me is not only gravely flawed but also defied all

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-6207559862405291342008-04-16T10:49:00.004+02:002008-04-16T11:59:29.862+02:00

Zimbabwe has got a problem, a very big one for that matter. But whose problem is it really? Thabo Mbeki has told the rest of the world to butt out and let Africans resolve the problems in an African way. So it's not a world problem but an African one? But wait, at the SADC meeting in Lusaka the head of states said it was a Zimbabwean problem that would be resolved by Zimbabweans. So it's a

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-80550319270392808282008-04-14T11:49:00.002+02:002008-04-14T13:54:45.064+02:00

I recently attended a social gathering and met up with a friend of mine, lets call him Peter. After a few minutes Peter’s friend came along and joined us. He started talking to Peter about an issue that I was unfamiliar with, some work related issue. Not wanting to interfere in their otherwise private matter I mentally turned off and looked the other way. To my surprise Peter’s friend elbowed me

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-57519936206512804752008-04-11T08:08:00.002+02:002008-04-11T08:37:14.287+02:00

Last week former president Bakili Muluzi walked into Metro shop in Blantyre are left a blank cheque for 'shoppers' to pick anything they wanted and he would foot the bill. Normally where there is free stuff there is also pandemonium and many fixtures in the shop got damaged. Apparently some people had already gotten word that Muluzi would allow people to shop for free. A day later a K21 million

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-21736175717837103532008-04-07T14:27:00.002+02:002008-04-07T14:49:31.059+02:00

It is the tobacco selling season in Malawi and farmers are reaping the benefits of their hard work. Take this case for example.Four farmers in a district of the central region walked into a police station and asked for a police officer to escort them to the bank so they could withdraw their earnings. The policeman on duty was reluctant to release one of his men but eventually did so. The farmers

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-61929185402296574942008-04-07T13:45:00.002+02:002008-04-07T13:52:12.883+02:00

ANC president Jacob Zuma has hit the nail on the head. He has said and I quote"You've got to have leaders who don't stay too much," Zuma said. "Ten years is enough. Beyond 10 years, politicians begin to personalise everything and there begin to have problems." Mail & GuardianLets hope our greedy politicians, local and in the region alike, get the message loud and clear!

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-4573205306400689062008-04-03T11:32:00.002+02:002008-04-03T11:47:39.174+02:00

A few days ago when President Mutharika returned from China, he took a swipe at opposition leaders for spreading lies that he is sick instead of talking about the good tobacco prices being offered at the auction floors. John Tembo hit back saying he does not need to stand at street corners signing praises to Bingu. He said he is happy with the prices but was surprised with the drop of prices two

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-1534742331418178292008-04-02T16:36:00.001+02:002008-04-02T16:40:39.858+02:00

Sabata yatha ndinali pa maliro ena ake kwa Kauma, mpepete mwa New State House ku Lilongwe nde ndinatolapo zinthu zingapo zokamba anthu. Zina zoseketsa, zina zomvetsa chisoniMaphwando ku KanengoPanali mdala wina wake amene wadya pension yake mu Spetember 2007. Ndinawayandikira nde amafotokozera anthu ena zama party amene ankachitika ku company kumene ankagwirako. Akuti ku company-ko akagulitsa

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-69376126701775765132008-03-12T13:53:00.002+02:002008-03-12T14:02:46.316+02:00

A man in Mzuzu, northern Malawi was recently convicted of robbery and theft and sentenced to seven years IHL by Mzuzu Magistrate court. Incensed with the 'harsh' sentence, the convict questioned the rationale of it all despite the fact that the stolen goods and money were recovered. The magistrate explained that robbery is a serious offense and deserved a befitting punishment. The convict got

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-41789522292716876352008-03-06T13:39:00.002+02:002008-03-06T14:18:45.763+02:00

A few weeks ago there was a debate on BBC World radio about the US presidential race. One analyst cased his doubts on Barack Obama’s foreign policy experience. He expressed worry about what Obama would say when he would sit across the table from Vladimir Putin. The anchor reminded the analyst that Putin would be long gone by then. The analyst replied ‘Well, Putin will be sitting right behind his

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-8069615171596960902008-03-06T11:10:00.004+02:002008-03-06T11:39:35.505+02:00

Bill Gates can not boast of having started 2008 very well. On 31st January he made a $45 billion admission of failure, failure in the internet search arena. He made an unsolicited bid for Yahoo! that sent Microsoft shares tumbling some 15%. To add insult to injury, Yahoo! snubbed the offer days later. Next the European Union smacked the internet giant with it's biggest ever fine - a record $1.3

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-35634454237465755642008-02-18T09:36:00.003+02:002008-02-18T10:38:59.447+02:00

In the past few years, Malawians have witnessed cut throat competition between mobile phone operators Celtel Malawi and TNM Limited in terms of marketing, promotions and roll out of value added services. Users have also joined in with accusations and counter accusations flying around that copycat tactics are employed by the two when rolling out services and promotions. The recent sales promotion

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-88174364839463811682008-02-15T09:48:00.004+02:002008-02-15T10:06:58.462+02:00

If comments made by R&B crooner Joe are anything to go by, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe should be embarrassed that his notoriety has not taken his name nor his country's very far. According to the MNet website Joe had never heard of Zimbabwe until recently. 'I did not know anything about this country until I came here,” Joe told a shocked gathering of journalists upon his arrival. He added that, “

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-53459706919842360692008-02-05T09:40:00.001+02:002008-02-05T11:42:45.517+02:00

In the last few days a colleague of mine went to a local bank with the aim of accessing a personal loan. He was given the necessary forms and a template of a Letter of Undertaking for his employers to sign. He did all the necessary filling in and signing and took the forms and letter back to the bank. The officer attending to him received the forms and when through them to ensure completion. He

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-75075241976906588162008-01-31T09:46:00.000+02:002008-01-31T10:50:29.642+02:00

Sometime in October last year, my wife and I sold a house of ours in Blantyre. The house was being occupied by a tenant and the premises managed by Ching'onga Estate Agents. When the tenant vacated the house he left electricity and water bills unpaid. The issue dragged until November when ESCOM disconnected the power on a Friday morning. Knowing that the agents would not pay in time before the

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-32227579481901719892008-01-29T10:14:00.001+02:002008-01-29T10:52:55.342+02:00

At the start of the election violence in Kenya, the country's high commissioner in London played down the incidents and scale of violence in a BBC interview. Three to four weeks later the violence does not only seem to have spread but the ferocity of it all is alarming. Scene's played on Euronews showing a man being beaten to death is shocking. Similar scenes shown weeks earlier on CNN were

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-64704951541045199592008-01-29T09:47:00.000+02:002008-01-29T10:01:20.718+02:00

I am looking for an exact or similar map of Malawi pictured on the left. The one I have is damaged and would really love to replace it. It features Nyasaland time names and pictures of wildlife. A bigger (and hopefully clearer) picture can be viewed here.

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-72426861606587271602008-01-25T08:40:00.000+02:002008-01-25T09:44:13.554+02:00

On our way to drop our child at school this morning, he asked us (again!) where the plane on the Air Zimbabwe billboard was going to. Fed up of giving the same answer, my wife responded 'it's going to China'. The inquisitive little boy then asked 'kukavina? (is it going to dance in China?)'. Not knowing what to say, my wife and I just looked at each other and laughed.China is the new buzz word in

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-3797871457433065002008-01-23T13:57:00.000+02:002008-01-23T14:20:54.366+02:00

Recently there have been accusations flying around as to what or who is causing divisions in the UDF. Most fingers have pointed in the direction of the government, the DPP and the state president. For some strange reason these accusers are failing to see that either the source of divisions is right next to them within the party or that they are actually the source of all confusion. Or maybe it's

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-38812495105055704212008-01-15T09:24:00.000+02:002008-01-15T09:37:46.387+02:00

Taiwan's government suffered a double-blow of the weekend; The governing DPP sustained a heavy loss to the nationalists in parliamentary elections that has lead to the president resigning as the party's chairman and it lost a 42 year old ally in Malawi. Malawi has switched allegiance to mainland China in return for several investment projects.Reaction has mainly been positive. Some commentators

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-78983214183392498692008-01-15T09:10:00.000+02:002008-01-15T09:23:45.263+02:00

I was neither shocked nor surprised when I read in the papers that JZU Tembo had lashed out at President Bingu wa Mutharika saying he (Bingu) was trying to copy Late Kamuzu Banda's style of leadership. Tembo told a rural rally that Bingu can not be like Kamuzu because amongst other things Kamuzu never kept a beard like Bingu's!! Such irrelevant outbursts remind me of a time during the 1999

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-132772247895088492008-01-07T11:54:00.000+02:002008-01-07T12:00:06.153+02:00

Two years ago while at a film makers and distributors conference an issue was raised about film and documentary distribution in Africa particularly English speaking countries. I learnt that most television stations prefer to broadcast local country content above anything else. Stations like SABC Africa only accept and buy material with an African theme and that occasionally they decline new

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-48589132664161297422007-11-26T16:05:00.001+02:002007-11-26T16:33:39.873+02:00

Sometime last week I found myself in Kampala, Uganda with a couple of other people from Southern Africa and two from East Africa. Our flight arrived after 8pm so I thought the one hour drive from Entebbe to Kampala would be a hectic- and traffic- free one. Wrong! The roads of Kampala were busy and the driving scary. Drivers plied the roads with full beam lights and overtaking was the norm even if

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-77462643229588330402007-11-01T14:19:00.000+02:002007-11-02T10:14:30.415+02:00

It has been announced that the Reserve Bank of Malawi has reduced the base lending rate by 2.5 percentage points to 15%. Am no economist but I would think this is a good indication of the monetary situation in the country. As a citizen, this is great news as the cost of borrowing gets cheaper despite the fact that commercial banks will normally set their base lending rate 2-3 percentage points

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-67860032343621988082007-10-29T11:18:00.000+02:002007-10-29T11:35:46.045+02:00

Over the past few weeks and months, a number of traffic lights have been installed in places which previously didn't have them or vandalised one's have been replaced. These devices were placed there with the aim of brining sanity to the roads of Lilongwe. Unfortunately there are a few cowboys and cowgirls on the roads who have great disrespect for these expensive traffic regulators.Over the past

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-89457200091818855272007-10-29T10:25:00.000+02:002007-10-29T11:16:14.770+02:00

I still remember some eight or more years ago when I was getting engaged traditionally - Chinkhoswe. It was a very cold June afternoon at my wife's parents house. I was waiting in a room for the function to begin with my brother-in-law (not my wifes brother) and someone else. My BIL suggested they go and buy some brandy for me to drink so I 'blend' into the function nicely. I resisted for many

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-23188956191773460212007-10-17T13:48:00.000+02:002007-10-17T15:02:18.215+02:00

Over the past three years since leaving the presidency, Bakili Muluzi has frequently made headline news, too many times for no good reason. Recently he spoke in his home district saying he would like to remove Bingu from his seat because he (Bingu) is arrogant. Now come on, get serious! One day he says he will remove him because he is ungrateful. The next he says because he wants to stabilse

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-36191733145281832922007-10-16T11:22:00.000+02:002007-10-16T11:41:51.449+02:00

Last week I attended the ICT Fair organised by the Malawi Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Lilongwe. Amongst the usual displays was one by Malawi Telecommunication Limited. They were showcasing wireless internet PCMCIA cards that they said can provide internet access at speeds of 115kbps. Although coverage is limited to a few urban and semi-urban areas, it should be a popular alternative to

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-90091029970857673542007-10-16T10:42:00.000+02:002007-10-16T11:19:59.649+02:00

Over the past few months things have surprisingly grown legs at my house and disappeared. Empty bottle crates, a spare car tyre, an iron, shoes, etc. Two weeks ago I rounded up my employees and told them to spill the beans. Naturally none did but at the end of it all I had my suspect.Early this morning my gardener reported that his cell phone had gone missing and he strongly suspected the guard

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-4541583323298048102007-10-09T13:56:00.000+02:002007-10-09T14:07:53.560+02:00

I am not too sure if Parliaments allocation of K1 to TVM for financial year 2007-2008 has already started affecting operations because it would seem there is no editor at the station.Last Saturday morning I was watching sports while waiting to see a doctor at a local clinic. The presenter gave us a list of English Premiership games to be played on the day or weekend and it looked something like

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-44554348469630486292007-10-04T09:49:00.000+02:002007-10-04T10:09:18.720+02:00

Electricity Supply Corporation (ESCOM) employees were on strike for a good part of the week, demanding portions of their pension contributions. Management seemed to have been pushing the blame to their fund managers for the cook up. It was a strike I was not very interested in and as such don't really have the details.However on Tuesday morning I was shocked when I heard that the striking staff

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-17188195575755113162007-10-04T09:07:00.000+02:002007-10-04T09:49:22.655+02:00

This month I have had the great misfortune of having my DStv service disconnected and it is no fault of Multichoice. As such I was forced to watch some local TV. I must say that I was pleasantly impressed by two adverts, one a TNM one and another by Daily Times. They were refreshing and different. I am more than certain they were not cooked up in a TVM studio! There were one or two other usual

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-51901897332556135422007-09-24T13:22:00.000+02:002007-09-24T14:04:19.475+02:00

In todays edition of the Nation newspaper, First Merchant Bank vice chairman Hitesh Anadkat has decried the poor risk taking culture amongst Malawians. He noted that the country has a lack of entrepreneurs who are ready to risk it all for fear of failure. He pointed out other things like the need for people to sacrifice and save and also the need for the country to encourage entrepreneurs

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-41555472726818038572007-09-19T10:30:00.000+02:002007-09-19T10:53:25.380+02:00

The other day I received a letter from my estate agents that my rentals were going to be raised by 20%, an annual increase applied to all rentals regardless of whether it is necessary to do so or not.I have no problems with rentals being increased. I have a problem when no justification is given. If I look at the indicators around me, the percentage is not justified. Firstly Bakili Muluzi is no

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-14687587076332509302007-09-19T10:10:00.000+02:002007-09-19T10:28:15.289+02:00

I must admit am not the most fashionable person around town but never the less I try. I have seen fashion rules being broken around me left, right and centre but I guess without such offenders, life would be dull. However I have just met one who deserves the maximum penalty the fashion police can mete out. Some guy, and a tough tall one too like Jeff from Big Brother, had the audacity to carry

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-1913765625214359022007-09-18T12:24:00.000+02:002007-09-18T12:34:23.373+02:00

Death has robbed yet again us of a talented and entertaining musician, Musamude Fumulani. The band leader of Black Missionaries succumbed to TB yesterday in Blantyre. Rest in peace homeboy.

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-26665149215649914092007-09-13T08:23:00.000+02:002007-09-14T09:48:50.560+02:00

Recently Reserve Bank announced that it would stop bank rolling Silver Strikers football club in addition to selling the stadium and club house. This was sad news for the well financed club, it's supporters and the football loving public in general. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to see the troubles teams like Michiru Castles and Big Bullets are through.However what I find absurd and

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-6135363884088998832007-09-07T08:32:00.000+02:002007-09-07T08:47:33.578+02:00

There is a saying that when you see a person carrying pot and pans around a village, that person is on the verge of going mad. And there is no better way to explain the former presidents behaviour other than that of a man on the verge. He has been carrying around iron sheets, bags of cement, buckets, bars of soap, you name it to his public rallies. The aim? To tell the people that commodity

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-53652938977607891712007-08-31T11:08:00.000+02:002007-09-03T16:22:58.737+02:00

It has slowly and painfully settled in that we will only watch some one or two English premiership games a week from the usual wide selection we used to have in previous seasons. Some people are happy that the Multichoice/DSTv monopoly has finally been broken. I am one who advocates healthy competition. So yeah, time has finally caught up with DSTv, lets see how they deal with it - DSTV in Uganda

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-81110600739572115492007-08-30T09:21:00.000+02:002007-08-30T09:58:16.074+02:00

Bakili Muluzi seems to be a man on the brink. I can see a large pile of hair on the floor of his BCA residence, hair he has pulled off of his head. All his 'hard work' over the past decade seems to be crumbling before his eyes. Inflation figures don't seem to have enough zero's on the end. Roads don't seem to have enough potholes in them. Politically motivated violence seems to have ceased.

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-64272655384449298952007-08-16T08:46:00.000+02:002007-08-16T08:56:07.718+02:00

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week government and opposition parliamentarians respectively started debating the 2007-2008 national budget. I thank God for that, He truly listens to the cries of His people.During his response to the budget, UDF's Friday Jumbe amongst other things praised the finance minister for 'sustaining donor confidence as donor support was crucial for Malawi'. This statement

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-5682382266336587462007-08-13T11:43:00.000+02:002007-08-13T12:00:53.508+02:00

Since the introduction of mini buses in Malawi, people have been able to get around and droop off pretty much anywhere they want. That is the major advantage of mini buses. There are plenty things however that I don't like like smelly arm pits of the conductors or tight chairs especially for daddy-long-legs like some of us or having a bag of dried fish being placed on your lap. But you come to

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-61175427532480935922007-08-09T10:26:00.000+02:002007-08-09T11:06:50.469+02:00

There has been general discontent in the ICT industry about high fees that the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) charge. In yesterdays Nation newspaper, I read an article to the effect that MIJ Radio was asking Macra to reduce radio license fees as the high fees make it difficult for radio stations to operate.MIJ got an immediate response from the information minister. The

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-19408375485052487372007-08-07T14:37:00.000+02:002007-08-07T14:51:59.620+02:00

Yesterday saw the stakes being raised in the current 'political madness', as Zodiak Radio is calling it. Two people, calling themselves representatives of the people, sought and were granted a court injunction preventing parliament from meeting and discussing the budget. The domino effect of this action was violence. Two other 'MPs' bore the brunt of angry student action. They suffered injuries

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-88386479642868980312007-08-06T09:41:00.000+02:002007-08-06T10:02:53.082+02:00

A friend of mine has just asked his girlfriend to marry him and he was asking me the procedure from here on. That question reminded me of the time I asked my girlfriend to marry me.Normally what would have happened was for me to simply tell an uncle to go an meet her uncle to formalise everything. In this case, my girlfriends uncle asked for a letter! I found it strange but what was this poor boy

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-90164626780418140752007-08-01T16:06:00.000+02:002007-08-01T16:37:37.933+02:00

A few days ago a certain gentleman who was resigning from a certain organisation sent out email informing people about his resignation. He sent this email to 254 different email addresses and put all these email addresses under TO:. A few people found it fit to thank this gentleman for the good work he had done. For some reason, they decided to press the REPLY TO ALL button and showered this man

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-54015390848729463812007-07-31T16:39:00.000+02:002007-08-01T11:06:36.324+02:00

Oops, sorry. Members of Parliament don't think, at least the majority don't. They are dictated to by their leaders. They have to tow the line of the leader. So if this is the case, why does MCP have to have some 50+ MP's if they are all going to be dictated to by John Tembo. Why not have John Tembo to represent the whole MCP and save costs on the 50 others. If all UDF MP's are going to think like

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-80577196013323910482007-07-24T15:57:00.000+02:002007-07-24T16:09:35.882+02:00

in northeastern Uganda there is an area called Karamoja inhabited by semi-nomadic herdsmen called Karimojong. Life amongst these herdsmen has largely remained unchanged for thousands of years. They reject western culture, dress and technology amongst other things. The some men of the community are known not to dress and walk around with their manhood exposed. As a result of this manhood not being

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-18519716040957635652007-07-24T15:39:00.000+02:002007-07-24T15:53:57.738+02:00

As the Sec. 65/Budget wrangle continues to rear it's ugly head questions are being asked where this whole comedy gone bad will take us. The country is being held at ransom by politicians who's egos are apparently and unfortunately bigger than their brains. Personal interests are at stake yet the whole country is being dragged into this useless, unnecessary and avoidable impasse. Is all this worth

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-30247388962467571482007-07-17T09:34:00.000+02:002007-07-17T15:59:34.796+02:00

Once upon a time there was a great footballer by the name of Kinnah Phiri. He played a great many games for his beloved country Malawi and help it win a few accolades. He then trekked down to Swaziland to work on his coaching career. After a great many years he returned back home to mentor the young chaps at Bata Bullets or Bakili Bullets or Big Bullets, what ever they are called now. Lets just

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-33714499476097997872007-07-09T09:15:00.000+02:002007-07-09T09:30:43.289+02:00

The last weekend pulled up two surprisesSurprise 1 - Embattled vice president Cassim Chilumpha pulled one when he attended this years Independence Celebrations. During the first lady's funeral last month, there were plenty calls for renewed unity amongst politicians in the country. So far it is only Chilumpha who has heeded that that call so far. However he may have a different reason altogether

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-31603080661982690412007-07-05T16:34:00.000+02:002007-07-05T16:45:43.616+02:00

Last night I was shocked to hear the language used in our Parliament. One legislator was overheard shouting 'Eh, agalu inu mukuti chani?' (Hey, you dogs, what are you saying?). It is believed the same legislator was then overheard shouting to the government bench 'You must be stupid'. I am made to believe the voice of both those unfortunate outbursts was that of 'Hon' Dr George Nga Ntafu, a

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-32700581661048297862007-07-05T16:30:00.000+02:002007-07-05T16:33:25.787+02:00

A few months ago I lamented the disappearance of one aChimpeni. Well folks, he is back with a vengeance. I urge him to find a good 3 tonner truck specially for Area 15. He will make a killing there ... literally!

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-72543240564426734622007-07-04T11:47:00.000+02:002007-07-04T11:59:33.432+02:00

Parliament has been suspended again. What a shame! Our politicians fail the see the writing on the wall that the people want them to put differences behind them for the common good of the country. Both camps have been pointing fingers at the other. My question is Who are the real saboteurs in this issue? The Government or the Opposition? My take? Both!

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-27599280370200111652007-06-25T09:47:00.000+02:002007-06-25T10:02:23.180+02:00

For the past few weeks following the death of the first lady, there were calls from various sections of society for the goodwill displayed around the funeral to continue. Plenty people also commented that good would come out of all of it. I was one of those hoping good would come out but somehow I was not optimistic.Then last week after the Sec 65 ruling, daggers were drawn. Almost all party's

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-73837142798160565542007-05-25T09:11:00.000+02:002007-05-25T09:20:03.993+02:00

Most times in the press you hear of petty thieves pleading for mercy in court rooms because of ill health on their part which most times are rejected by magistrates and judges. They are simply told that if they knew of their predicament, they would not have pick pocketed old women.However, I have noticed that their is a certain breed of petty thieves, those who prey on the poor while holding high

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-4307654385159658992007-05-22T13:55:00.001+02:002007-05-22T14:00:44.080+02:00

I went to some computer shop today to buy some RJ45 connectors. After a while some guy walks in and ask's for a catalogue as he would like to buy a couple of things for some project. The sales lady says they do have one but have currently run out. Anyways the sales lady agrees to take him around the show room.He: How much is this?'She: 'K55,000'He: 'and this printer?'She: 'K55,000'He: 'and this?

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15068578.post-81554290628900203442007-05-18T10:40:00.000+02:002007-05-18T10:49:55.330+02:00

So finally he has 'decided' to go. What was so difficult about that, I wonder? I guess the same thing Robert Mugabe and Bakili Muluzi and all the others who cling to power find hard to do too. Maybe when Paul Wolfowitz next sits down for tea with George Bush, he could give some insight into this contagious power hungry disease afflicting so many African, err..., world leaders.

Austin Madingahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15609448460318625323noreply@blogger.com0