The Maravi Post

During a budget review in February, Finance Minister Ken Lipenga told parliament the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) had met its revenue target. A lawmaker however challenged the statement, saying MRA had borrowed money from local banks to fool Malawians that the Zero Deficit Budget, financed by local resources, was working. The erstwhile administration of the late Bingu wa Mutharika introduced the ZDB in anticipation of donors cutting off aid to Malawi over governance concerns. Earlier this month it was revealed that the MRA had indeed borrowed money prompting Malawians to call for the resignation of the finance minister and MRA Commissioner General Lloyd Muhura whom they accuse of misleading the nation. Zodiak Online has more on the story.

ATLANTA, US--Apart from authorizing MRA to borrow the money, Budget Director at the Ministry of Finance Dr. Dalitso Kabambe also wrote banks to transfer funds into government holding accounts at the Reserve Bank of Malawi.

The publication quoted a letter dated 3rd January 2012, addressed to NBS bank Chief Executive Officer Mr. John Biziwiki.

 “I wish to request your bank to transfer the sum of K3 billion into the Malawi Government Holdings Accounts at the Reserve Bank of Malawi,” reads part of the letter by Kabambe.

It said the letter requested NBS bank to transfer K1.5 billion into the Ministry of Lands Revenue Holding Account Number 3003500010 at the Reserve Bank of Malawi and another K1.5 billion into the Safety Net Levy Revenue Holding Account number 300343220709 at the central bank.

“The money was expected the same day January 3 3012 by noon,” Zodiak wrote. “According to the letter, the money was to be reimbursed by Friday January 6, 2012.The Ministry of Lands Revenue account is a ministry of lands main account held at the central bank from which they draw their funding through an electronic connectivity with the ministry’s operating accounts with commercial banks.”

Contacted by Zodiak Online, NBS Chief Executive John Biziwiki said: "I don't have the letter on my desk therefore I wouldn't want to comment on this."

It would be prudent for the media to wait for the outcome of a probe into the matter instituted by Pres Joyce Banda, Biziwiki added.
 
Lipenga has insisted that he didn’t knowingly tell Parliament a lie and says he’s ready to resign if implicated in the scandal.
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©2012 The Maravi Post. Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment

LILONGWE—Malawians should embrace tolerance and reject discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, human rights groups said Thursday on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) which falls on 17th May.

“As CHRR and Cedep mark this important day in the international human rights calendar, we wish to draw public attention to the reality of homophobia and trans-phobia that sexual minorities in Malawi face every day,” a statement by the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) and Center for the Development of People (Cedep).

Malawi’s constitution adopted in 1995, a year after the party democracy was introduced, guarantees the rights of all but country’s colonial-era penal code punishes those who dare to have "carnal knowledge against the order of nature" as was the case in 2010 of Malawi’s first openly gay couple Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza who were sentenced to 14 years in jail before they were pardoned by the late president Bingu wa Mutharika.

Religious groups however lead the campaign against legalizing homosexuality, saying it’s not Malawian.
CHRR and CEDEP on Thursday said “Christianity or any other religion should not be used to alienate diversity.

“People in Malawi have different beliefs and it is unfair to impose beliefs or regulate society using beliefs from one group or sect.”

The groups appealed to the new government of Pres Joyce Banda to “pursue a policy of inclusiveness rather than exclusion, noting that the Malawi government cannot continue to condone homophobia when governments across the world are propounding values of inclusion, tolerance and acceptance.

“We once again say decriminalisation will not only help people from the misery of having to live a life underground, but will also help to stem the continuing HIV epidemic,” the groups said.

They went on to argue that their 2011 survey showed that "while 99.5 percent of respondents expressed knowledge of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) individuals in Malawi, a majority expressed strong intolerance and disapproval of the existence of this group.

“Indeed, many chose negative words to describe their feelings towards sexual minorities."
What did they conclude?

Homophobia cuts across all social classes, gender and social groups. Despite the strong negative perceptions and attitudes towards homosexuality, however, the survey offered some hope of tolerance, revealing that about 30 percent of the respondents agreed that LGBTI persons deserve protection from discrimination.

“Homophobia is a clear breach of human dignity, and is incompatible with the principles of equality and non-discrimination on which our constitution is founded. The principle of non-discrimination requires that human rights apply equally to every human being regardless of a person’s status. One does not cease to be human because of different sexual orientation. Therefore, their rights need to be protected,” the rights groups said.

The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia aims to coordinate international events to call for respect for sexual minorities worldwide. May 17 was chosen to commemorate the decision taken by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on May 17, 1990 to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders, marking an end medical homophobia.
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©2012 The Maravi Post. Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment

BLANTYRE--Up to 99.5 percent of Malawians know that sexual minorites--lesibians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex – LGBTI - exist in the country, but they can't just approve of their sexual orientation.

"Most express strong intolerance and disapproval of this entirely harmless community," a statement by two Malawi NGOs which support LGBTI, said on the commemoration of the International day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

The Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation-CHRR, which is headed by Undule Mwakasungura, and Gift Trapence's Centre for Development of People, said in the statement a survey the two bodies conducted last year showed many Malawians "chose negative words to describe their feelings towards sexual minorities."

However, they said the survey "offered some hope of tolerance, revealing that about 30 percent of the respondents agreed that LGBTI persons deserve protection from discrimination."

Donors have in the past threatened to use aid to push for the repeal of laws against sexual minorities.
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©2012 The Maravi Post. Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment

BLANTYRE--Bank owner and entrepreneur Thom Mpinganjira is the new chair of the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) Board after economist Dr. Charles Mataya resigned over the K30 billion scandal the tax collector got involved in.

Mataya led by example by resigning as the chair saying the tax collector didn’t consult the board in borrowing the money. He told The Nation this act made the board "reduced to a mere rubber stamp."

Mpinganjira, related to politician Brown Mpinganjira, a top official of the People's Party, is a renowned and respected financial professional and is a major shareholder of FDH bank.

Mataya was previously Principal of the Polytechnic, University of Malawi.

The man who told parliament a lie that MRA had met its revenue target, Finance Minister Ken Lipenga, is fighting for his political life as Malawians have called for his resignation or firing. Similar calls have been made for MRA Commissioner General Lloyd Muhura.

But the finance minister has refused to resign, saying he didn't knowingly make a false statement.

But there are concerns among some that Pres Joyce Banda, who retained the minister after she reshuffled the cabinet last month, is dithering over the issue. She however wants critics to slow down.

“I have instituted a committee that within one week will tell us what really happened. The Vice President will chair the committee and within one week we will be able to conclude the matter,” said Banda. “From what I hear…Minister Lipenga did not know anything on what was happening. I wouldn’t be emotional to act without finding the truth because I know when you are in such a situation when everyone thinks you are in the wrong but deep down your heart you know you are innocent.”

The country’s influential civil society has vowed to stage demonstrations if Lipenga and Muhura remain in office.
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©2012 The Maravi Post. Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment