CELEBRATING LABOUR DAY 2011

At three o’clock am the alarm on the cell phone sounds, its time to go to work. It will be more than fifteen hours before getting back home. The mode of transport to and from work is by pick-up truck even when it rains. At work they put on torn safety clothes and gear. When such problems are channeled to management, the answer is “there is no money; the companies financial position is not good”.

Poor working conditions and unfair overtime remuneration as in the case above are just a few of the numerous problems workers face in Malawi. The government seems to ignore the problem, pretending it is not notified of such malpractices. The labour minister often times makes visitations to small organizations and companies while leaving out big reputable organizations and companies who are the slyest culprits when it comes to breaching the labour act.

Trade Unions are nothing but syndicates robbing poor workers of their hard earned money. Very few are able to do their work freely as mandated by law. Employers regard them as anarchist organizations which aim to bring companies down. Union members are offered money or other incentives to compromise them and if they stand their ground are intimidated or even fired.

Labour officers at the district offices are unprofessional and easily corrupted by employers. Often times they side by the employers. They only assist if they suspect someone has some knowledge of the law and threatens to take the matter further. Unskilled workers, who are the most abused and have very little knowledge of the law, literally end here with their grievances.

The Industrial Relations Court is under staffed and overwhelmed with cases dating as far back as fifteen years or more. Very long periods pass between the time when the case is filed and the first hearing, and judgement. This is justice denied to aggrieved Malawian workers. Due to these long periods, Trade Unions sometimes ask aggrieved unemployed members to contribute extra money to cater for legal fees. This is unfair and should not be case because the union still receives monthly contributions from its active members.

As we commemorate Labour day this year, I am asking the Malawian government to do more in enforcing the Labour Act and protect vulnerable workers from exploitation and various kinds of abuses by employers. The labour minister should keep up the surprise visitations to various companies and organizations, small and big. Something has to be done on the problems the Industrial Relations Court is facing. The court often times sites lack of Assessors as the main cause of delays, damn.

May I take this opportunity to congratulate the government on the introduction of the mandatory pension scheme. We need to do more than this.

WATER POLITICS

One Isaac Mpazula of Soche Township in Blantyre intrigued me with his water hole project. On the 10th of April, 2011 he was interviewed live on Capital FM radio on his water hole project which supplies water to about twenty thousand people in Chilobwe Township. Isaac Mpazula constructed a ten metre deep water hole on Soche hill and supplies water by gravity to a kiosk downhill. He sells the water to the local community. The whole project cost him about two million kwacha plus or minus periodic maintenance.

This highlights the problems people in Blantyre city and its surrounding areas are facing due to water shortages, and the various methods the desperate citizens have resorted to. Regulation and health concerns do not have to matter in such situations. One cannot stay without a bath for two weeks because the law stipulates he cannot dig a shallow well in an area under the city’s jurisdiction. If you cannot drink water from a shallow well because of health concerns, you will eventually die from dehydration. The government has the obligation to provide its citizens with clean water, if it cannot manage to do that then it is proper and logical to forget about the law (abiding by it will kill people) and let private individuals and organizations try to make ends meet, without burdening them with regulation which at the moment only makes solving the problem at hand impossible.

In fact the citizens from Chilobwe are lucky as compared to other townships like Bangwe in particular. I have been living in Bangwe township from 2004 and having been using water from a shallow well ever since. Before 2004 I used to stay in Chilomoni and the situation there was better off because we used to have running water almost every twenty four hours mostly around midnight. In Bangwe my family has to keep water in a 210 litre drum which my wife bought at Limbe market priced at K7000. Last year my family moved to another house and the water situation is now even worse. In the worst situations we stay for two weeks without tap water. During the night when we are supposed to be sleeping peacefully, we always keep our ears sharp listening for any signs of water from the toilet cisterns. When the water is running everybody has to wake up and assist in filling the 210 litre drum and the other buckets and gallons that we keep. This water we use for drinking and cooking. The water that we buy from the shallow well at K10 per 20 litre bucket is used for sanitation and laundry. The water from the well is definitely unsafe since most people in the township use pit latrine toilets.

At the moment it is a curse to live in a house with a water closet. We have adapted to the situation by learning to control our bowel movement by timing it to once a day. It costs a K10 bucket full of water to flush the toilet. It is now normal to take advantage of the situation, by relieving yourself when you are at work or go visiting. Just remember to ask or check if the taps are running to save yourself from embarrassment.

At Michesi village (Maldeco) in Mangochi district, the situation is almost the same. Maldeco Fisheries shares some of its pumped water to the local community from a water kiosk for free. This water point is not enough to cater for the whole population, and Maldeco’s pumping capacity cannot suffice an increase in the number kiosks. Women start queuing for water at the main kiosk as early as 4am which also makes them vulnerable to other social problems. Some people have to walk about three kilometers to access this clean water. This has provided some youths with a lucrative trade supplying water to working class homes on wheel-barrows. A 20 litre gallon costs K20 or more depending on the distance. Not all amongst the local population are able to access this clean water and some or even many go to the lake to draw water, bath, wash dishes and do their laundry. The water at the lake is very unclean and full of trash and dead sea weed. Whether this is due to water pollution or some unknown environmental phenomenon, I do not know but I have always been wondering how these people are able to use this water at all. The government has a plan of developing Makawa, a fishing village about five kilometers from Maldeco on the road to Monkey Bay into a Rural Growth centre which might ease the lack of portable running water in this area.

In my day to day living, lack of electricity is just a nuisance though it costs the country billions in economic losses. I cannot charge my phone, watch TV, iron my clothes, heat my food quickly in the microwave etc. Lack of water is a misery and a near death situation, period. Water is life and I cannot live without it.

Some may wonder why we commemorate World Water Day? Is it to remind ourselves of the above problems and raise awareness or is it to lobby donors for funding. Speeches and colourful displays but no deeds. If at all there is action then we are doing very little.

FOR HOW LONG IS USISYA GOING TO WAIT?

Forty seven years have passed since independence and Usisya still doesn't have a good all-weather road. Members of parliament have come and gone with promises which have never come to fruition. Should we put the blame on our hard working MPs or is it the government which doesn't want to uplift the people of Usisya?

Transport to Usisya is either by road or lake. The mode of transport on the road which is by truck is risky and very dangerous. If one was to use this mode of transport for the first time, he/she would be mistaken to think these were refugees freeing from Darfur or some other trouble zone. Vibwayila (luggage) and merchandise mixed with people. I encountered one such truck as the minibus I was traveling in careered up the hills from Usisya, I did not like the site. Desperate people of Usisya still prefer to travel in such unsafe style because in this fast world of today, who wants to travel on the damn slow MV Ilala? Trucks are fast and convenient that the risk factors are ignored. I hear the truck business is quite lucrative.

MV Ilala is slow, inconvenient and sometimes doesn't keep her schedule. If you are going to Mzuzu it does not only make your journey long via Nkhata-Bay, it adds an extra cost. If you are unfortunate like I was, when I wanted to go on sunday by Ilala and come back the next day Monday, and it failed to appear, you incur extra costs on food and accommodation. I couldn't get to Usisya by road either because it was during the rainy season and the road was slippery. Personally I still prefer the Ilala because it is safe and fun, though getting on and off the boats is unpleasant especially when the lake is rough.

People of Usisya are we going to stand and watch as we suffer year after year without making our voice heard? Our friends in Ntchisi have roads, and Chitipa will have its road completed soon. Not only do we need electricity and a cellular network, we thank the present government for that, we also need to travel safely and comfortably on an Axa bus to Mzuzu and come back the same day; and fast on a new ferry to Nkhata-bay in less than hour.

That is the question!

THREE PLACES TO VISIT IN MALAWI

I stumbled upon a book in a second hand shop titled “A THOUSAND PLACES YOU MUST VISIT IN THE WORLD”, I have forgotten the author and I am not sure I have gotten the title right. Please do forgive me for that. The book lists the best places one must visit in the world and unfortunately for Malawi, the book only lists Nyika Plateau. I don’t know what criteria the author used to come up with the list but I would have loved it had the author included two more places, these being Lake Malawi and Mulanje Mountain.

I am a great fan of Nyika National Park and I can easily see why the author listed it, the scenery is just splendid, talk of the Orchids (wild flowers), zebras, roan antelopes and the rolling hills, Nyika is paradise on earth. It has the second highest place in Malawi, Nganda Hill. At Nyika one can enjoy guided horseback safaris and camping. Want to know more, why not google the place out?

Lake Malawi is the third largest lake in Africa and the tenth in the world in terms of area, and the second deepest in Africa and the fourth deepest in the world. It has more than 250 unique species of cichlids (locally known as Mbuna) found only in its waters. Its fresh crystal clear waters make diving and snorkelling an experience to remember, with the mbuna fish in different colours swimming all around your face mask, you can even feed these little fish from your hand. No wonder David Livingstone called it “the lake of stars”. If water sports are not your thing then why not try out sun bathing on the unspoilt sandy beaches of Cape Maclear? You haven’t been to Lake Malawi if you haven’t tasted the succulent Chambo fish, a delicacy of Malawi. Just ask the chef at your resort, he/she knows how to make the perfect dish to tickle your taste buds. A cruise on the colonial times MV Ilala won’t be a waste of time either. It was built in Scotland and is one of the oldest vessels in its class still plying the waters of the world. It is the only means of transport for the local population along the northern parts of the lake and Likoma Island. Major events are the Lake Malawi international yachting marathon and the Vinspired Lake of Stars international music festival. The music festival is scheduled for October. Places to try out are Cape Maclear, Senga Bay, Nkhota-Kota, Nkhata-Bay, Likoma Island just to mention a few.

Mulanje Mountain is the highest in Central Africa and the mystic appeal of Sapitwa peak cannot be over emphasized. The arrogant few who ignored the advice from the locals not to climb the mountain without a porter or guide have succumbed to its mystical powers; lost after losing their bearings in the mist which covers the peak or spooked by the angry spirits of our ancestors perhaps unhappy with the intrusion into their resting place. This is a place for the dare-devils who don't mind coming back dead or alive. The major event is the Mulanje Mountain Porters race. Porters compete by racing up the mountain tracks and back. I have never been to Mulanje so I can’t recommend any places in particular but I know there are some nice lodges in Mulanje like Kara O Mura country lodge. Satemwa Tea Estate just on the road to Mulanje, has some cottages where you can enjoy horse rides sightseeing the tea estate and surrounding areas.

Next time you visit Africa, don't forget to visit Malawi and try out these three places. You won’t find the experience they provide anywhere else in the world, and yet there they are; prone, untapped, unspoilt and little advertised, for you to explore. The friendliness of the people is unsurpassed and I just heard recently that we are the happiest country on earth.

Welcome to the warm heart of Africa.

Lake Malawi International Yachting Marathon 2010

The Lake Malawi yachting marathon kicked off today morning at Nkopola Lodge beach club. This is the world's longest fresh water yachting Marathon. Unfortunately it doesn't receive as much publicity as it deserves.

I counted more than 35 yachts, some zoomed very close to our fishing trawler MFV Kandwindwi on the south side of Boadzulu Bird Island. I cheered the indigenous Malawian participants led by veteran yachtsman Gilson Jana as they sailed past us by our trawler's the stern.

The damn things are fast, our crew thought they had motors on them. One of the yachtsmen literally hangs outboard over the water, I guess for stability, with water splashing all over him/her.

Malawi needs more of it's indigenous citizens participating in this international event. Sponsors need to come up and sponsor a team by buying them the hobie and cart, other equipment, training and providing funds for the participants and support crew who travel alongside the race on the lakeshore. The support crew organises camping and repairs after each leg and prepares the team for the next leg.
If sponsors were to come up, I would be first to volunteer for training and be part of this fantastic international event. Gilson's team is sponsored by Club Makokola, Toyota Malawi (assuming by the logos on the main sail) and other organisations.

The sport is not for every Jim and Jack, swimming and physical fitness I guess are a prerequisite; navigation and sail handling etc equally important.

By the way the marathon is a charity event, the prize money is donated to charity, so these guys are not doing it for money but fun and humanity.

Goodluck guys, I am praying for some good mwera winds this year.