New investor in Lake Malawi Oil exploration

New investor in Lake Malawi Oil exploration

At a time when the debate on Lake Malawi oil exploration was seemingly dying down government has engaged a new company Hamra Oil Holdings Limited (HOHL) from United Arab Emirates to do the work replacing Surestream from the United Kingdom.

During the week government officials and those from the company have been courting stakeholders in the lake districts of Karonga, Nkhatabay and Nkhotakota among others informing them on the new development.

 

Deputy Director in the Ministry of Energy and Mines Peter Chilumanga said in an emailed questionnaire that Hamra bought 51 percent of business shares from Surestream following negotiations which started in March this year.

 

“From the look of things Hamra is a major shareholder so that is how it comes in the picture,” Chilumanga said.

According to Chilumanga Surestream was given an exploration license by government which technically means Hamra Holdings are mandated to carry out the exploration work being a major shareholder.

“Surestream participated in application for exploration licenses for Blocks 2 and 3 to government and emerged then as the best technically to undertake the exploration and was thus granted a go ahead by government to undertake oil exploration as a first stage. They conducted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and are now a position to plan for that aerial exploration program,” Chilumanga explained.

During a meeting in Karonga stakeholders were informed that the exploration work which will commence soon will involve use of planes which will be flying at low altitude levels and will last for six months.

Social Commentator Kossam Munthali however cautioned government and the new investor to tread carefully on the matter because of the ongoing lake row between Malawi and Tanzania.

In response Chilumanga said that the lake wrangle is the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take care of but however said the company has a license for exploration and cannot stay idle till the issue is sorted out between the two countries.

Chairperson for Karonga Business Community (KBC) Wavisanga Silungwe also said there is need to be a well-defined Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the investor and the communities to ensure that there is economic benefit for the locals.

“Karonga and other districts have different social concerns that are stipulated in District Development Plans and investors like these should help in fulfilling them because the lake is for the development of this country and we expect a win- win situation,” Silungwe explained.

On the concern Chilumanga said the issue of an MOU with communities does not arise at the exploration stage because it has not yet been established if there is oil in the lake and that production is possible.

During a meeting with Surestream last year Paramount Chief Kyungu asked the investors to consider sponsoring two or three Malawians to study Marine subjects abroad so that they would be able to relay proper information to locals when the exploration work begins.

“It is better to have local expatriates because of the passion they would have for their lake, saying they would be transparent in disseminating information to local people as compared to foreigners who might be protecting their business interests at the expense of our local marine resources.” Kyungu said.

 

When called for comment officials from Hamra holdings referred this writer to their media coordinator Rex Chikoko who said they are in the process of arranging meetings where the media will be furnished with proper information on the matter.

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Economic empowerment key in tackling GBV

A woman commentator has said if the country is to excel in its fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV) government and its stakeholders must consider championing economic independence among women.

An official from women's forum in Karonga Heri Shola said this on the sidelines that a police officer has been keeping a girl 21 hostage for over a year after promising her marriage.

“All these challenges that we are grappling with in terms of men ill treating women it is because custom has made our women believe that men are their sole sources of gratification of life,” said Shola.

“As such Malawian women need mentoring and empowerment in order for them to believe that they can stand on their own economically  should they work hard and have self esteem, government and its partners should pave hat way for them,” she advised.

Shola said for a long time efforts to combat violations against women’s rights have yielded minimal results because some critical issues promoting the vice are overlooked.

“Concerns have been raised that women do not come out in the open to report matters on GBV but the common experience has been that they fear for the conviction of their benefactors and the issue of this young lady who was being locked in the house by a policeman points to the same reasons,” Shola explained.

Without going into details Shola said I is disappointing of late to note that police officers who are supposed to help defend people’s rights have turned to be oppressors.

Corroborating with Shola Atupele Mwalweni from the department of Gender and Social Welfare in Karonga said women with weak economic muscle are subject to abuse because men capitalize on their vulnerability.

“It is difficult for a woman who does not have any means of sustaining herself to defend herself in times when she is facing abuse because she has a number of considerations in place such as children and family members,” she explained.

Mwalweni however said that the fact that other men are suffering at the hands of abusive women should not be ignored.

Former Commissioner says Malawi's democracy immature

Former commissioner of the Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) Garnet Kamwambi has said the country still has a long way to go for it to call its democracy mature.

Kamwambi made the remarks in an interview in Karonga on Saturday where he said a true democratic state is that which leaders invest their energy and time in upholding the constitution and according to him it is not the case in Malawi.

“I have lived in this country long enough and I am yet to see a leader who is committed to stick to the rule of law when governing the nation, all I see are selfish leaders who go about lying to poor Malawians that we are in a thriving democratic state while we are not,” he explained.

Kamwambi who formerly lectured in the department of political science at Chancellor College said Malawi’s democracy is full of atrocities for it to qualify as such.

“Malawi’s democracy dates back to Kamuzu’s time you can recall that it was a time when human dignity was demeaned to zero levels, going down the line we have witnessed events like the Chasowa Murder, July 20 massacre and many other politically related fatalities but no president has used the law to bring culprits to book, ” Kamwambi narrated.

“It is only in Malawi where authorities can embezzle public funds and get away with it as if they are running a country of lifeless humans who have no control over matters that affect them what kind of a democracy is that?” he questioned.

On elections, the Karonga based former commissioner said apart from the 1958 election the country has not had any credible election.

“I am sorry to say that all election in the country had signals of rigging including the tripartite one and I do not see things improving unless we go back to the idea of merit when conducting business as a nation,” he advised.

According to Kamwambi the malfunction of the electoral commission is due to what he called segregation and nepotism during appointment of commissioners as such he said its integrity will always be questioned.

Kamwambi who was commissioner during the 1999 general elections in which former president Bakili Muluzi came out winner, said he did not sign for the result because of the various anomalies which marred the electoral process then.

Kyungu says Malawians cannot be fooled

Paramount Chief Kyungu of Karonga has said that people of this country cannot be fooled by the lies that politicians tell during the campaign period because according to him by now they know what qualities make a good leader in order to vote for him or her.

The chief said this on Friday through his spokesperson Alexander Mboma who told the Multiparty Liason Committee (MPLC) that the Chief was shocked with reports that other politicians are attempting to rig the May 20 tripartite polls.

“The paramount says reports that other politicians are facilitating dubious voters’ transfers are disheartening however he is reminding you that Malawians are much clever than you think, it is not automatic that all those people you are carrying to particular centers will vote for you,” said Mboma.

“The 50 years of independence have taught Malawians a lot of lessons such that this time around they [Malawians] will be careful when electing political leaders into office so if you think you can trick them around this time you are lying, just concentrate on real issues that are affecting an average Malawian today,” he explained.

Mboma who was delegated by the paramount chief to represent him during the meeting said leaders are chosen by God, according to him people just have the responsibility to confirm God’s choice.

“You will never get that post you are craving for by practicing lawlessness because that is enough sign to prove that you have evil intentions in your pursuit for power and I am calling on the police to enforce the law on everyone doing what is contrary to the electoral law,” Mboma added.

He therefore advised politicians to learn to do what is right in order to preserve their integrity and that of Malawi as a whole.

Speaking during the forum People’s Party’s aspiring Member of Parliament for Karonga North-West Constituency Felix Katwafu asked fellow politicians in the district to stick to the code of conduct which the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) provided to them.

Karonga women asked to support each other in tripartite polls

Kali

Women in Karonga have been called upon to give each other full support ahead of the May 20 tripartite polls if female candidates are to emerge victorious in the election.

Heri Shora of Karonga Women’s Forum made the remarks on Thursday in an interview where she pointed out that for a long time women have failed to make strides in politics because they lacked backing from fellow females. 

“Government and other stakeholders have in the past decade or so been advocating for women’s participation in leadership including politics but the irony is on why men outsmart ladies and yet demographically women are in majority, perhaps we have not supported each other well enough,” wondered Shora.

Shora condemned the pull-down syndrome among women which according to her has contributed to the downfall of numerous successful women in various sectors of the society.

“It is high time Malawian women stopped looking at the woman next door as a competitor rather we should embrace the spirit of oneness by shunning nuisance tendencies such as backbiting and pulling each other down, that is   the only way Malawi can get anything closer to achieving the 50-50 gender threshold for decision making positions,” she added.

“This year’s election is very crucial for us because voting for three seats gives women the chance to cushion for the deficit that the country has had in terms of women’s political leadership for a long time, so I am appealing to women across the country to vote for females who have gathered the courage and are contesting for various political positions in their respective areas,” Shora advised.

However, only five women from Karonga have been validly nominated to contest in the parliamentary and local elections even though the figures at national level reveal that over 500 women have been nominated for the May 20 tripartite polls.

Chairperson for NGO- Gender Coordination Network Emma Kaliya recently told the media that the figures are impressive because they have shot up as compared to the 2009 general election and that she expected most of the women to win the election.

Synod bemoans lack of special needs teachers

Livingstonia Synod of the Church for Central Africa Presbytery (CCAP) has said children with special needs in the country will continue to face challenges in academics if there is no deliberate effort to train more teachers for such students.

Project Manager for special needs in the synod’s education department Boniface Massah said this in Karonga on Thursday during a District Executives  Committee (DEC) meeting.

“As a country Malawi has a policy on equal access to education but this seems untrue for children with special needs because the country has few trained teachers who have necessary skills to teach pupils or students with different challenges,” said Massah.

“Because of this lack of manpower there have been high dropout rates of these children especially those with hearing and vision impairments,” he added.

Massah told the gathering that the development compelled his department to embark on a project that aims at raising awareness among parents, teachers and communities on the need of paying attention to special needs education.

“Our aim is to let everyone know the rights of children with disabilities and we want to promote inclusive education to make sure that such children have access to education just like their normal colleagues,”   Massah explained.

The project which uses an approach termed Advanced Parent Awareness Community Trainings (APACT) receives funding from the Scottish government and is currently being implemented in Karonga, Chitipa and Mzimba districts.

Montfort College is the only institution in Malawi that trains special needs teachers. On average it graduates 90 instructors annually a population of over 60,000 children with special needs a development which according to Massah compromises quality service delivery.

Additionally, he said the project aims at letting children with such conditions understand their situation better through parent support groups.

District Social Welfare Officer for Karonga Heston Jaji hailed the synod for the project saying it would help change the attitude of people towards education for children who are physically challenged.

“For decades people have thought that disability is a medical issue but by the end of this project they will have known that it ha of late migrated to being more of a social issue,” Jaji commented.

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