Reading Time: 3 minutesMany people have accomplished great things in circumstances that were least likely to enable them achieve such exploits. If and when the rural electrification program gets to Masitala Village in Kasungu district, the implementers of that program will find the village already electrified, courtesy of one William Kamkwamba. In 2002 William, a school drop out […]
Reading Time: 3 minutesToday’s society is very intolerant of underperformance by those in leadership, as it is of leadership’s failure to deliver what they ought to deliver. They are even more intolerant of any acts of impunity from the leadership or from those that hold public office. Sharp criticism of leaders is always in the air. Yes, it
We should also direct criticism at ourselves Read More »
Reading Time: 3 minutesWalking within Blantyre Mission grounds several years ago, I came across a team of boys playing. One after another they would take a sprint, step on a rectangular concrete block, launch themselves into the air and perform a forward somersault before landing on a cushion of cut grass conveniently placed on the other side of
Youthful enthusiasm needs to be tamed Read More »
Reading Time: 3 minutesIn my article of several years ago, about the lessons that we can learn from Ben Carson, I referred to a claim by a Zimbabwean prophet that candidates who chose anointed pens would pass examinations regardless of whether they studied or not. “Anointed” means of getting what people crave are becoming very popular these days.
The folly of courting cheap prosperity Read More »
Reading Time: 3 minutesA friend recently narrated to me what the MBC Band great, William Malikula, had shared with him. In the 1970s MBC Band was invited to perform in Namibia along with bands from Rhodesia, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia itself. When they got there and started to practice, they said to each other, “koma sitichitako manyazi
The folly of shunning cultural identity Read More »
Reading Time: 3 minutesA recent post on a forum that I belong to showed a maize garden in which the seedlings had withered as a result of application of herbicide. More likely than not, the garden owner did not follow the right instructions as he was applying the herbicide. The entire maize crop was damaged as a result.
The pitfalls of oral tradition Read More »
Reading Time: 3 minutesI recently bought an item from the technician that repairs our genset when it develops mechanical problems. He is amazingly good at diagnosing the problems and remedying them. I requested a receipt for the item I purchased from him then I discovered that he could barely write. He struggled to produce the receipt. A few
Blue collar workers develop economies Read More »
Reading Time: 3 minutesAs the year drew to a close, many cross over functions were organized by different religious groups in the country. Shepherd Bushiri stood out as having organized, yet again, a particularly successful cross over rally, with many participants drawn from outside Malawi, mainly from South Africa. They jam packed the expansive Auction Holdings floor. In
Private citizens can cause the economy to tick Read More »
Reading Time: 3 minutesIt was common during the time that I went to school for schools to compete in a variety of sports events. In those days, track events used to be popular. It was possible to have long distance events on the pitch. The competitors would have to run around the pitch several times. Each round was
Crazy worlds with crazy new years Read More »
Reading Time: 3 minutesOne of the most popular Christmas stories is that of the wise men from the East, who are reported to have seen a strange star and followed it until it led them to the baby Jesus. It happens to be one of the stories with yawning gaps and, therefore, one of the most interpolated ones.
Whence the popular, mysterious wise men? Read More »