Malawi may have to pay for the five million litres of fuel President Michael Sata donated to help facilitate funeral arrangements for its late president Bingu wa Mutharika.
Earlier last week, Chief Secretary to Government Bright Msaka acknowledged the donation and issued a statement saying President Joyce Banda expressed her deep gratitude to Sata, the government and people of Zambia for the kind and generous donation.
However when speaking to the Malawian press when he made a symbolic presentation of the ‘donation’, Zambia’s Mines and Energy minister Christopher Yaluma said Malawi and Zambia will discuss the payment soon after the mourning period.
For the last two years Malawi has been facing serious economic problems, among them critical shortages of fuel which saw increased smuggling of the commodity from Chipata through the Mchinji border.
Ukwa the “indian giver”, gives with one hand and takes with another. (Typical of Ukwa, you can not take what he does or says at face value). I pity the person who wakes up to face this man on a daily basis. He makes a horrible boss. One is left to wonder if the Malawians asked for this fuel which they now made to pay for. Can they afford the bill in the light of their economic circumstances – and an unplanned expense at that. All at Ukwa’s whim!
Imwe bafeekala, if he didnt ask for a refund, you would have been condemning HEMCS. Mwaba shani kanshi ?
Journalist are supposed to inform correctly not bring half truths.Is it a sale or donation please you can ask the same question to the minister than being not sure what is your role please.Its definately to predict the future as most of these scribes are doing.
THIS IS CONFUSING. ON WHICH PLANET DO PEOPLE PAY FOR DONATIONS?
Problem is people relying on half-baked info!!
Same people would have been saying Sata is abusing his powers & plundering the economy!! Lets wait for full facts before jumping to conclusions!
@1 Sage; have respect for our president. Some of You Zambians are an embarrassment clearly shows the kind of Families you come from.
With regards to Fuel payment, don’t think we can ask them to pay, if it was a Donation. Malawians are our brothers and sisters. Just that our government is very conscience as ZAMBIANS like condemning everything, including $10,000 that the president donated in Botswana, can Imagine the Fuel. They would call our President names.
Bakalamba ba Sheikh, we are talking about 5million litres here (K40billion…$8m), what kind of donation is that! Kwangala uko, it can never be a donation. Bazalipila unless the figure is wrong. And why would they need so much fuel for the funeral, anyway? That would fill 50% of all the vehicle on our roads with a full tank!
:(:(:(:(:(:( am so so so sad that when you donate something you want dpayments after some time.. If this true shame and shame indeed fto our government for such a move.
:((
The Malawians drunk from a “poisoned chalice”. What appeared like an unsolicited brotherly show of kindness and sharing in bereavement in true African spirit has turned into “nkongole”. Thats Ukwa and his antics for you! Chisoni kwa abale ku Malawi.
I kind of find our journalism quite frivolous; the pen is mightier than the sword it is said. Often I read reports that have no conclusion, no clarity and open to innuendos and speculation. Is this small wonder that we have a huge rumor-mill in Zed? I am sure when it comes down the wire we will learn that this fuel was actually not donated but sold at favorable rates under equally generous conditions taking the funeral scenario into account (you can see from my suggested reasoning how unclear our reporting renders things!)
Who pays for a donation?!
PF cadres are really vinyo. this is a very simple report as reported ont he Wat chdog. Sata made a donation but then realised that itr was too much so he is trying to have it paid for. But PF cadres/thieves are saying journalists, journalists
Zambia is not Saudi Arabia, the fuel which was donated was paid with hard earned dollars. It’s just right to let Malawi pay this “donation”
The trouble with most bloggers on this site is they rush to comment without checking the veracity of the information. The information on this website is half-baked 99% of the time.Â
Are we being given the true Story by journalists?
We are always saying fake reporters, what report has gone up and has been proved wrong so far?
Zambian journalists fipuba fyekafyeka,they are the same chaps bringing confusion because of wrong reporting.What is happening in journalism field kanshi?This is very bad reporting probably poorly taught by a very poor lecturer.When you report half baked news, you create havoc like the way this poor journalist has done.
hehehehe..yaba drama..!
RUMORÂ HAS IT THAT THE FUEL WAS DIVERTED BYÂ POLITICIANSÂ IN MALAWI. THIS IS THE THING
sad turn of events if true. let the donation go as is. if Malawian politicians diverted it, that is a Malawi problem.
Come out from the dark…. Do you have to use the word DONATION if you want Malawi to pay after funeral .. No no.. you should consider the word *lending* fuel whose price will agreed after the funeral .. In modern life you can’t donate and ask for the costs of the goods, fuel, commodate to be settled thereafter.
Agreed. The article does not report what was said but the writer’s voice makes all the implications which makes it a confusing read.
Ah. It is different people. Badly written in order to make ‘donation’ the subject. Will seek clarity elsewhere :)
Something is wrong with this story.This must be some half truth
for a long time i have wondered what type of journalist we have in zed,but at last i found the answer.(1 )TRANSLATION-is an exact word -for -word account of the message.
(2)INTERPRETATION-one person gives an understanding of what another has said ,but in the interpreter s own style as expressed through his own particular personality.90% of the report on LT fails in the second category ,the reporters normally use wrong word choices and interpret .they dont make a follow up for clarification before reporting and some bloggers end up blaming the president,SATA .please lets learn to analysis and proof read the news before we blog.so we shud hold our journalists accountable for misleading us especially us who are overseas who depend on internet as we have no access to broadcast stations.
Zambian journalists hates Zambia.
I dont question the truthfulness of this story.From start,it appeared in The Post & Zambian Watch Dog.I therefore question the shifting of posts by GRZ,from donation to business transaction.But am against free donation of 5ML because we get that oil at huge costs
this story has been running in our papers for the last 3 days.I don’t get why you Zambians are so thick and can’t understand plain English.Your President donated Fuel for the funeral and when your energy minister came to Malawi he caused confusion by saying payment terms will be discussed later.We are still buffled as to why your minister is asking us to pay for something your president donated.Check nyasatimes . comÂ
Zis izi madness! Please people can someone shed more light.
Ni zanu ndalama olo ni ndani kansi???? Anyani!
My understanding is the issue may have been misreported. Malawi has fuel shortages. Zambia decided to lighten their burden by giving them a Fuel credit facility.
I feel you have a point No. 29, coz that’s the only explanation I can understand and not ifyabupuba if tuletalikishanyapo. I strongly feel it was just a credit assistance and should be paid back.
and you complain when they call you a disorganized race,,,bunch of sh!t
The continent shaped like a question mark (?) is full of questions!!
Payment for a donation??
Officials must speak with the same voice or sing from the same hymn sheet. That is why there is only one spokesman usually for these foreign affairs or matters.
I have been blogging for over a month and I have heard enough of these ‘journalist not report right’ nonsense and not one story has been proven wrong. For me as long as there is smoke, there has to be a fire. I am not in Zed but I believe it was in the papers. At the end of the day, we talking about $8m worth of fuel. That can never be a donation, not from us anyway!
People lets face reality as it is, there’s no way we can donate such huge amount of fuel when the govt strongly warned retailers smuggling fuel to Malawi from Chipata……….. i on one can’t be for the donation idea
interesting paying for a donation
I am shocked that some people are shocked with PF behaviour.
I thought 7 months after elections you have began to understand PF way of doing things!!!
PF will say one thing and mean the very opposite, and they dont ever even fell slight ashamed at all.
It was on this basis that W/Province voted for them,
It was on this basis that the youths voted for them,
It was on this basis that the worker voted for them,
It was on this basis that they won the elections.
But very sad and sorry for President Joyce Banda, because she did not know PF properly. I am sure she will be careful next time.
Anyway, there is nothing we can do as Zambians because that is the party in power for now!
If this was a donation, then it was abuse of power and someone has to pay for it.
The majority Zambians are wallowing in abject poverty and who in his right frame of mind would donate such an collosal amount?
The 5 million litres of fuel (petrol/diesel average) as at today’s rate translates to $7,739,938.08 which in Zambian terms is K40, 000, 000, 000-00.
Can this extravagance surely be justified?
:-?
Rupiah Banda must be laughing out aloud.
Bwezani donated maize to Zimbabwe and Sata and the PF had a field day criticising the lack of priorities.
Afterall, Mbingu declared Sata a prohibited person in Malawi. Ba kolwe basekana ifipato (monkey laugh at each other’s backsides)
The same old story contnues. It was Banda and Zimbabwe, now its Sata and Malawi. What’s the difference? For the difference is the same. Plunder of National resources in broad day light, some one will have to pay for this.