Shiregate: Revealing loose ends to in the Malawi disaster relief mission

It’s not always that one must be physically in a location to learn and talk, with near authority and strongly, about social illsand crimes committed by individuals and groups alike.Masinga HA  HA HA

Be they religious, public or private sector.

The floods in Lower Shire have been devastating and fatalities have been registered. In one instance, an entire village near where Luwo joins the Shire river, was washed away save for the village chief who was out responding to some extra conjugal rights upland.

Whether he now prays to God ‘polygamy’ for his sparing his life is another subject for another day for moralists.

Many people died. Many lost their beloved relatives and friends. They lost livestock en masse. Thay lost homes, pots, clothes, foodstuffs – they lost all the property thay had.

Many are displaced, hungry, naked, diseased, and phychologically wounded, spiritually lost, and physically crushed, etc, as we speak today.

And that is why government led in the declaring the situation a disaster in the 17 affected districts.

In response, millions have been donated to help those affected. The government Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) did all it can until, inexplicably, in just a week had all its relief financial resources depleted.

Faith groups, individuals, private sector, brother and sister nations, foreign groups, donor partners have all come in to assist, realising billions for only the Lower Shire intervention.

And we all know there are also Salima, Karonga, Lilongwe. Kasungu, Mzimba, Thyolo and many places that equally deserve all our support efforts.

As we start to move from the handouts mode to relocation phase, its heart breaking that despite all tthis collective effort, many relief works especially in government are busy taking advantage of the situation to enrich themselves.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have Shiregate at hand, where:

  1. Aid workers are pocketing donated relief cash to personal use. One woman had a young man arrested in Area 47. She asked him to help out with something in her car as she walked into a shop. Only return, she screamed the young man had stolen her K700,000 from her DoDMA office which was in the car.

The young pool playing innocent boy was arrested as she proceeded to enjoy the relief money.

  1. Almost all aid workers seive through the material relief items, picking out the best clothes, food items, etc, and taking them home to their families – leaving the ‘unfit’ for consumption of the victims.

As government slowly drills its blunt arrests mechanism in the main unflinching Cashgate case, it will be more important to unleash its crime prevention, crime investigation, and crime prosecution machinery to stop Shiregate right in its infancy.

Sadly, even crime handling officials and authorities are part and parcel of this unfortunate and inhumane, immoral, profiteering.

Mulungu akukang’antheni.

Malawi sadzatheka. Eiiish!

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Chimani. Game
Chimani. Game
8 years ago

These people take after their dad big kahuna,and peter mathanyula,the damn big thieves,nothing new here

Chikolopa
Chikolopa
8 years ago

We need evidence packed stories pliz!

John
John
8 years ago

Its so sad. Sadly, even in some reputable NGOs such as World Vision, Red Cross, Action Aid, Blantyre Synod, this is happening.

koma Umbulu?
koma Umbulu?
8 years ago

People gain rich through many ways, and one of it is thru floods. Indirectly, when on relief duties, you are given month long allowances to carter for incidentals. Some clever people use given resources economically to improve their households. In turn, jealousy fools thinks relief workers are thieves. Most lazy Malawians are naive in their thinking and always take progress as the work of illicit business. Stop this foolish thinking. Also relief workers, sometimes not all, still as Patricia has put it. In Std 5, way back, I learnt that good locations for building a house is upland areas. I… Read more »

common sense
common sense
8 years ago

when the law enforcers are corrupt. Doomsday for the country is not far

soko
soko
8 years ago

Comment kubela anthu ngati amenewa omwe adataya chilichonse omwe akakhala paokha akungolira kukumbuka zomwe akumana nazo ndi tsoka.sizikusiyana ndikuba ndiwo mumphika pamaliro

Gandry Pensulo
8 years ago

Comment Stupid accusessions

Shimba
8 years ago

abale sikuba chipepeso cha pamaliro,ai ndithu Mulungu akukhululukileni

sakamundende
sakamundende
8 years ago

The story isnt real. Unfortunately the author has twisted story to suit his taste.
Very shameful that the owner of this place has lied here becuase isnot in terms with lady who got robbed of money.

Jabu
Jabu
8 years ago

How do you know that the 700,000 was from relief funds? Is there a law that says civil servants should not have money and should not own houses or if they own houses the houses should be substandard? Am a Kenyan who has lived in this country since 1998. I have found the scale of jealousy in this beautiful country very difficult to understand. Unfortunately it would seem that the ACB also follows the same line of thinking that if Mr X has xyz property it must have been acquired through corruption. Surprisingly where real corruption takes place ACB doesn’t… Read more »

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