New ICT Developments Offered In Malawi

Malawi has in rescent months seen an up surge in use of cordless phones. The
models are all Chinese. The are good because of the following

- Ease of installation and getting a line
- Its mobile within major city you register
- New breed of entrepreneurs ( Used for pay phone ladys)

Its not all rosy

- Models range from MWK 20000 to MWK 50000. Thats expensive
- Not very good to use when connecting on D-up internet.

So in all this is a really good ICT development for Malawi, I believe when the upgrade their
exchanges we should get good services. My hope is that it improves the Internet penetration of and ability of Malawians to communicate.

Malawi's World War I battles

On Saturday I had the opportunity to attend a talk on the above subject presented by Dr Du Mhango.( Whole talk organised by the Society of Malawi )

It was a brief but very informative talk. Of how the British defeated the Germans in Malawi. The fought two battles in Karonga and Nkhatabay.

1- NAVAL BATTLE - Nkhatabay

This war was won with no major skirmishes because of two simple reasons.
i - The Naval Commanders were buddies.
ii - The German vessel had broken down in nkhatabay & was
waiting for supplies.
After the capture of the German Captain, the two captains had Whisky together.

2- LAND BATTLE - Karonga

This Battle took place at the Karonga Boma which led to the loss of Malawian, Tanzania, British & German lives. Although the latter were much better prepared compared to the British they still lost.
The reason the British succeeded was because of the Kyungu influence, (FYI the Kyungu sphere run FROM LAKE MALAWI TIP TO LAKE TANGANYIKA). Which was split between the Fwerefwere ( Germans) and Angelezi (British).

Chief Mwakilima [ aNephew of Kyungu ] was paramount chief and Mwandindi was a junior chief. The latter was sent to spy on the British. But betrayed the Germans with the understanding that the Kyungu boundaries were going to be returned to the pre Scramble of Africa boundaries.

This resulted in the ambush of the Germans & Tanzanians because of the information provided by Mwandindi and Mwakilima.

In conclusion the speaker lamented the fact that the British never honored their side of the bargain.( So the Nigerian government is not so bad after all on Charlie Taylor i guess the learnt from their colonialists on agreements) Also the fact that the African soldiers on both sides werent given a descent burial, even after the rising water levels when the British and German remains in Karonga were moved to higher ground. But nothing was done for the African remains which have been lost to the lake.

My take on all this was that why havent the Africans shown interest in doing so themselves? I feel its the price we paid for blind loyalty.

BLOGGING ALOUD

ICT in Malawi's Northern Region

ICT is said to be in its infancy in Malawi but in the Northern
region it can be said it has been conceived and injected some
hi-growth feed. This can be attributed to factors below:

- Openining of Malawi SDNP office in Mzuzu.
- Establishment of two Universities in the Northern region ( Mzuni and Livingstonia ).
- Establishmnt of the Mzuzu Central hospital
- Growth of Ekwendeni ( 20km from Mzuzu)
- Growth of Nkhatabay as a tourism spot
- Projects likely to impact the face of the region CHITIPA road and Uranium mining in Karonga.

The 2 University communities are leading in the demand for Internet services and other ICT related services. Mzuni is offering programmes in ICT, Library Science, Renewable energy which if combined will utilise the power of ICT in Malawi. So far the is an initiative MALICO which has resulted in the Northern region's first publicly accessible V-sat.

Malawi SDNP has committed itself and believing in the potential of the region are rolling out a Wireless network to add to their presence on the ground. Malawi SDNP will participate in activities not only limited to ICT only.

MALAWI QUEENS ARE COSANA CHAMPS

The Malawi Netball team pka ( Populary Known As) the "QUEENS" who are a netaball household name in the region and recently made an impact @ the commonwealth games 2006. The have done the Nation proud again by beating their Arch-rivals South Africa 37-35 . Its these moments which make me proud of our women and nation. Not when we make a name as a nation of the hopeless who cant pay their debt.

Had oesophagtitis (sp) due to some Acidic gas build-up and before furthre treatment I had to go for an HIV test. glad to say it was negative.

TYPING ALOUD

The Northern Question

As a proud Malawian it pains me that the Northern region has not caught up with the rest of the country 40 plus years of independence have passed. The essential development structures still have some way to go.

The popular blame culture is that the is no political will and the fingers point to the Trio who have lead us since independence namely KAMUZU BANDA, BAKILI MULUZI and now BINGU WA MUTHARIKA.

Now with the above way of moving forward really taking Malawians nowhere on the development map, collective responsibility is the way forward.

Some players in the Private sector have helped efficiently retard development.
For instance the two main players (Stanbic and National Bank) in the banking sector have archaic banking halls in the capital of the North, Mzuzu. The impression this gives an investor is that this ain't a place to stay after making money its lets go.

Some banks are doing fine like the First Merchant Bank whose hall although small, it is modern and are building a new structure which is going to change the face of Mzuzu.

Patriotic Malawians have a choices to make.

Entrepreneurs - Have to find ways of attracting Malawians investment and cash for services right in the North e.g Mzuzu Coffee and Travel bureau recently opened in Mzuzu are some of the ways to help in developing.

They have to strengthen their private sector organisations and make them more visible.

Middle Class and Proffessionals - The group mentioned have to realise that investing in our big cities is expensive and the are competing with the real big boys.
Typing Aloud !!!!!!!!