When Ken Lipenga speaks, people in Malawi tend to listen. The former Cabinet minister and one of the country’s most respected literary voices does not often wade into public controversies. So when he chose to break his silence on the conclusion of Leston Mulli’s court battle, the words carried weight. His Facebook post was personal. […]
Given how fiercely mankind defends religious positions, I hastily declare a disclaimer: this brief comment is not a judgment on the merits or otherwise of the purported message in this now famous (or infamous, depending on which anthill you’re standing on) billboard. All I want is to look at one word used in the advert […]
University of Malawi (Unima) political scientists have said that the three former Cabinet ministers regarded a s nomadic politician who on Sunday joined the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will add no value to the governing party. The three are Ken Lipenga, Henry Phoya and Brown James Mpinganjira, well known as BJ. Also joining DPP […]
President Peter Mutharika on Sunday welcome into the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) fold widely considered nomadic politicians Brown Mpinganjira, Dr Ken Lipenga, Henry Dama Phoya and Reverend Daniel Gunya as well as supporters from the former ruling People’s Party (PP). Apart from Reverend Gunya, the trio of Mpinganjira, Lipenga and Phoya served as Cabinet […]
Former Malawi Finance Minister Ken Lipenga has been linked to be behind a column, the Talking Blues in Malawi’s flagship Daily Times newspaper despite insiders at the newspaper company saying it is another person. Talking Blues column under the pseudo name, Mapwiya Muulupale was first published the column in the Daily Times of 29th April, […]
Times Media Group, the country’s oldest publishing house and well known for declaring employees redundant, has fired its Times TV’s Head of Programmes Affairs, Gracian Tukula, five months after he was poached from their rivals Nation Publications Limites (NPL). The company, which publishes The Daily Times, Malawi News, The Sunday Times, and recently purchased Matindi Radio, has […]
Life in a dynamic news organisation is often breathtaking. An unhappy Goodall Gondwe walked into my former editor Vynn Phiri’s office one day to complain about a story one of our reporters had done on him. He wanted to meet the offending reporter, but when told that the reporter worked in the Lilongwe office he […]
Former Malawi minister of Finance Ken Lipenga has told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament that his hands are clean as he was not aware that some civil servants were siphoning billions of public funds from government coffers. “I was head of the ministry, yes. It’s a fact that what I should […]
Malawi President Joyce Banda announced a new cabinet on Wednesday dropping finance minister Ken Lipenga and senior lawyer Ralph Kasambara as Justice Minister. She didn’t give any reasons but new information has emerged that she blames Lipenga for failing to deal with the malfeasance at treasury and Kasambara is being linked to the shooting of last […]
Commentators have lauded President Joyce Banda for not retaining Ken Lipenga as finance minister, replacing him with Dr Maxwell Mkwezalamba a former World Bank economist as the new finance minister on Tuesday. President Banda appointed a new cabinet Tuesday after staying without one since last Thursday when she fired all the ministers to save her face from […]
Malawi President Joyce Banda said Sunday she already knew about the massive looting of government funds and had given the former Minister of Finance, Ken Lipenga, an ultimatum before the Capital Hill scam came to light. President Banda, speaking during the 80th Anniversary of St Columba CCAP Church in Blantyre, said Lipenga was given four weeks to put […]
The financial mess that has rocked Capital Hill in Lilongwe has just brought to the fore the country’s sick system that is in dire need of redemption, claim the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) and the Centre for Development of the People (CEDEP). “We, at CHRR and CEDEP, are of the firm view […]
Presidential candidate for the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF)Atupele Muluzi has said “Malawians angry” with financial disorder at the Capital Hill – the seat of government – coming in the aftermath of the shooting of Ministry of Finance budget director Paul Mphwiyo on September 13. Atupele told Nyasa Times in an interview added his voice to […]
The opposition Peoples Transformation Party (Petra) has joined calls asking Malawi’s purse keeper Ken Lipenga to step down following Capital Hill financial mess, saying that is the honorable thing he can do or the appointing authority should crack a whip on him. The call for Lipenga’s ouster have been triggered by financial woes coming in […]
Malawi Finance Minister Ken Lipenga said on Friday that he has no intention of resigning to pave way for public purse looting at Capital Hill. The call for resignation was sounded by opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president Lazarous Chakwera on Thursday. Chakwera called for the resignation of Lipenga, Secretary to Treasury Radson Mwadiwa and […]
Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president Dr Lazarous Chakwera has joined Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) president Professor Peter Mutharika in persuading President Joyce Banda to return from her trip in the United States of America and deal with “looting” at Capital Hill. Addressing a news conference in the capital city Lilongwe on Thursday, Chakwera said it […]
Malawi Government and the Saudi Fund for Development on Monday signed a K4 billion loan deal towards the construction of Phalombe District Hospital. Minister of Finance, Dr Ken Lipenga, and the Saudi Fund for development Technical Department Director General, Hassan Alattas signed the deal in Lilongwe on behalf of their respective governments. Lipenga said the […]
A total of K215 billion has been set aside for social spending in the 2013/14 Budget, representing 47 percent of Recurrent Expenditure, and 15 percent of gross domestic production (GDP), Finance Minister Ken Lipenga disclosed Tuesday. Addressing journalists in Lilongwe, Lipenga said the high level of social spending showed government’s commitment to cushion the country’s […]