I WELCOME you!

Dear Good People,

I warmly welcome you to my Blog and it is my profound hope that you will find it useful and worth the time you spend on it. On this Blog, I have posted some of the articles and pieces that I have writen just for record purposes and also for sharing. You might have read these articles in the papers but it could also be possible that you missed them.


Please be advised that these are my toughts and purely my opinions. You are free to comment on them and/or to critic them. I will appreciate any of your comments.

Thank You.

Hastings Maloya
+265 888864241 or +265 999950953

About Me

Mulanje, Southern Region, Malawi
Is an experienced journalist, writer, specialist in development communications, public relations, publications, desktop publishing, information technology, photography, environmental education and rural development. Hastings Maloya is currently working as Programme Officer responsible for Environmental Education, Awareness and Communications for the Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust (MMCT) since September 1, 2002. Hastings, comes from Tradional Authority Mabuka in Mulanje District, is an Adventist Christian, and has two daughters Eva and Eve.

On the 2007 Mt Mulanje Porters Race

Master retains Mt Mulanje porters title

By Hastings Maloya

Point proven, she is a genius. She did not only defend her championship but also beat her own record of last year. Tereza Master has, for a second year running won the Mount Mulanje Porters Race after doing the trek in 2 hours 42 minutes seven minutes less of her 2006 record of 2 hours 49 minutes. She walked home K20, 000 richer and a trophy from NBS Bank. Her long time friend Nancy Matanda, current national marathon champion, came second after doing the distance in 2 hours 48 minutes, followed by Doris Fisha on the third position.

“This is a consolation as I was supposed to be at the All Africa Games in Algeria had everything gone as planned, but anyway I am very happy to have defended my title.” said the excited Master. She said the race helps her keep her fitness.

In the men’s category, a new name in the athletic circles, Charles Musowa, who has been on second position for the past two consecutive years, breathed fire and claimed the championship of Malawi’s only extreme sport. He also K20, 000 bank voucher to open an account with NBS Bank thanks to NBS Bank, the proud sponsors of the 2007 Mount Mulanje Porters Race.

Musowa, one of the porters from Likhubula zone, did the 25km mountain trek in 2 hours 9 minutes beating last years record of Francis Khanje at 2 hours 17 minutes. Mike Tebulo from Zomba came second while Khanje came third and received K15, 000 and K10, 000 respectively from NBS Bank.

“I have finally done it,” said the excited Musowa adding: “its time now Malawi knew that from Mulanje now comes another name in athletics.” He said his wish now is to claim championship at the national marathon.

Khanje accepted defeat and praised his colleague. “It is painful to see your championship taken away but I congratulate Charles. I really wanted to defend my title but my preparations were not very good,” he said while shaking hands with the new champion adding that this encourages him to do better but also shows that there is still hidden talent in Mulanje that needs to be explored.

Both winners were offered a one night full board accommodation courtesy of Kara O’ Mula Country Lodge in Mulanje.

The race this year, which attracted 304 participants was fully sponsored by NBS Bank to a tune of K1.3 million that included prizes and all administrative costs. The chief executive of the Bank, Mr. John Biziwick said his Bank is excited to be associated with the mountain race and also proud that it is playing a role in bringing out the unnoticed talent in athletics.

“As a caring Bank, we feel honoured to be associated with events like these. Let me assure you all that we are willing to sponsor the race again next year,” said Biziwick amid ululations and handclapping from the over five-thousand crowd that braved the chilly weather to witness the event.

Biziwick said apart from the lovely sport, his Bank is willing to support small scale projects that are aimed and natural resource and environmental management.
“This is your Bank and your Bank needs to be closer to you. While I congratulate the winners today, I would like to call upon everybody here to be associated with NBS Bank in one way or another” said Biziwick adding that plans are underway to open a branch at Likhubula which is a tourist spot.

And the district commissioner for Mulanje Moses Chimphepo thanked NBS Bank for the support and for making the Porters race such a beautiful event. He said the Mulanje District Assembly is always excited that the district is leading in as far as athletics is concerned.

The 304 runners, 112 of whom were women, trekked in a rocky and hazardous route with small paths from Likhubula to Chambe Plateau then along the plateau to Lichenya and descend back from the starting point. In total it requires a total of 11 hours for a good mountain climber to cover such a trek of about 25 kilometres.

The annual Mount Mulanje Porters Race which was in the eleventh anniversary this year has attracted the attention of runners both male and female from all over the world that athletically compete up and across the lovely plateaus of Mount Mulanje. This year it attracted 58 international runners.

On Political Defections - Dausi

,.....Its a political miscalculation

By Hastings Maloya

Politics, politics politics.

It is not amusing to comment on political issues especially when you are not a politician. It is therefore quite tricky to comment on the subject under debate today but living in a country thus governed by politics leaves all of us with no choice but to comment on political matters. After all, the fact that we all get involved in the process of choosing governments, makes all of us become politicians.

As an aspiring candidate for a parliamentary seat, it is purely a challenge to comment of political matters as readers, especially those that call shots in political parties may chose to read with different minds all together and make wild conclusions far from what is on the table. But all the same an opinion remains thus and certainly you will agree with my points of view. Please read on.

Recent political happenings in Malawi have to a greater degree made us all fail to concentrate on issues to do with development and have only turned us into serious politicians. What with the unfortunate debates in parliament and its subsequent suspension, the independence celebrations that saw a section of Malawians absconding and of course political statements from different commentators in all angles.

Any recent political development has in its own received different opinions from different people and different groups of people depending on which side one has tilted oneself to. Very unfortunate, but as said above we are in a situation that gives us limited choice and to comment soberly without taking sides is becoming a far-fetched trial.

But the biggest political news of recent times came on Sunday July 8 with the defection of one Mr. Nicholas Dausi from the ‘mighty’ Malawi Congress Party (MCP) to the ‘ruling’ Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Mr. Dausi was not just a mare member of the MCP. Worse still not only its spokesperson but the vice president, yes, second in command. Defection of a person holding such a portfolio is not only surprising but also put the party in a very awkward situation both within and outside it.

I believe Mr. Dausi’s decision to leave MCP is not only miscalculated but also wrongly timed. The reasons given are also far from convincing let alone slightly vague and unpalatable. Without mincing words, Mr. Dausi has made a wrong political decision or a good one but with wrong reasons and at a wrong time. Yes, with the current political tension, the move by Mr. Dausi is more or less adding sand on an already bruised eye.

Least I say, Mr. Nicholas Dausi happens to be a very good friend of mine and I have followed his political life with keen interest. Very understanding and helpful that man is. His most outstanding character being his ability to easily mix with people of all ages and races – very rare among politicians! Nevertheless, his recent political turn is today subject for debate.

Mr. Dausi is not knew on the political scene. He made the MCP tick in the southern region despite having not a single member of parliament. He has always been composed, a friend of the media and his political comments have always been intelligent. It is completely out of context to say the departure of Dausi from MCP is a good riddance – whoever said those words must be ashamed, but hear this…..
On June 15, Mr. Dausi was among hundreds of opposition leaders that celebrated the supreme court’s landmark judgement on section 65. He was quote in the media hailing the judgement and said it was now up to the speaker of the national assembly to do justice to members of parliament that obviously had crossed the floor. Mr. Dausi’s expectation, just as is the case with all opposition leaders, was that as soon as parliament meets, heads will roll and that would mark the exit of DPP as a ruling party.

Is it not interesting therefore, that three weeks later the same person will come round and tell the nation that he hates his former party because it is excited with the section 65 ruling?

How about the love for Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda?

Mr. Dausi tells us that he is impressed with the DPP and its leadership because it respects the former leader and founder of the Malawi nation. Again the interesting pustule will be the fact that ever since the death of Dr. Banda, MCP has maintained his face not only on its cloth but also on badges. Very ironic indeed for Mr. Dausi to see the love of Kamuzu in a different party thus away from his own. Interesting.

This former vice president also indicates that he was not respected or honoured in the party and was frustrated. Smells something. One can not be too sure what type of respect thus being described here and whether the leadership of MCP to which he was second in command was not following its own rules and regulations. Or there is nothing of that sort in MCP. No governing principles? And the Vice President could not work on some?

In different interviews with different media houses including the national broadcaster – the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Mr. Dausi had described DPP as a group of frustrated politicians and surely the least thing we were supposed to hear is someone joining a group of frustrated individuals.

Many a people would definitely be surprised why Mr. Dausi remained in MCP all these years. It still remains guess work as to when did he become conscious that MCP does not have the welfare of the people of Malawi at heart. And when did he come to realize that it’s the DPP and its leadership that recognizes and respects Dr Banda? It must have taken him quite sometime to compose the reasons and bring them forth and they are yet to become valid.

Maybe thus what politicians are supposed to do.

Nicholas Dausi is such an eloquent man and surely he has, for a long time, put the government in check. His comments and statements benefited the nation to a certain extent. Now chances are high that in him we will soon get praise-singing if he is not going to be silenced completely. This is a loss.

In summary where are these defections taking us to? Are we building Malawi? MCP just as any other political party in Malawi needs people of Dausi’s caliber.. people with brains that would help check the government is its operations. People that would give provoking thoughts in relation to different situations, for the love of the country. It is yet to be seen if this defection will help Malawi move some steps forward not just politically but in is democratic maturity.

Decisions that are seen to attract individual gains shall never be helpful. It should therefore be our prayer that when Mr. Dausi feels the heat in the new camp, we should not be here again to write about his next defection. And the DPP should not be excited with defections for the sake of it. Of course with Mr. Dausi, it’s quite a good catch.

Nonetheless, Mr. Dausi did a lot of service for Malawi while in opposition. He could have stayed put. We therefore expect a lot from him but not his personal gains.

Hastings Maloya writes in his personal capacity