This happens to be the last Friday of the year 2016. As Richie, it has been an eventful year but above that, this year's has been awesome for the Richie Online blog. Those of you who started following from last year or before would agree to the fact that this year has seen Richie Online grow in terms of diversity of articles and whatever else. This, dear reader, would not have been possible without your clicks on the blog, your feedback, your article requests (for some reason some people requested that we write about some things, and sometimes we did comply) and the articles for those who did that sort of thing called guest writing.
The other positive thing that we have registered is the increase in the number of followers. When we write we need people to read and the boom in the number of followers comes as an encouragement to those who put the pen to the paper. Simply that. If you are a follower of the Richie Online blog on Facebook or if you are the sort of person who clicks the link first thing upon receiving it (like TNO), or any other time, really (Achina George Liomba ndi Stephen Macheso amawerenga Saturday and Sunday respectively), feel it that You are awesome, even by Richie Online standards, which I must say are mean.
Ideally people would expect me to be writing something about preparing for the new year and writing down goals. We discussed that last year and I had a discussion with one reader called Ian, who upon reading the article in which I recommended buying a diary went straight and bought one only to come back and ask me on how to use it.
All in all, goals were set for 2016. When I look at the 10 goals I set, I think they have been fairly achieved, but worth noting was the fact that my success rate when is comes to achieving goals has dropped in the year 2017. Some of you might be wondering why I am personalizing this whole thing, but as usual, despite every personal or stupid thing I say or write, there is always a moral. Well. Almost always. Not always.
When I look at the goals I have achieved, they were the sort of goals that I was working on alone; no help, and (minimal or) no involvement of other people. No examples Will be cited, but worth noting is the fact that I have miserably failed to come to the realization of all the goals that involved external parties... if you know what I mean. I probably would have been in the US now and probably married, but the people I counted on didn't come through. Here I am, a bachelor languishing in Chitawira, with nowhere to watch the night's English League games. The moral is that you shouldn't count on people too much, because they disappoint. Almost always. Do I sound bitter? Adopt the rest of the article. I will allow you to maintain your views on this chunk only.
Some of you have seen the Whatsapp message of Henry Kachaje's Facebook post which actually says we shouldn't think things will change for the better just because of the mere fact that 7 is replacing 6 on the year number or something. While that may be true, I still believe in 2017 Ambuye atisinthira nyengo. If pastor said tibooleza, who is Kachaje to say no? Breakthrough, basi.
We could say a lot of hibber jabber here, but the point is that for 2017 to be the year we want it to be, it has to be nicely calculated. Nkhani ndiyomweyo.
As CEO of Richie Online, I am thinking of bringing in some innovations. We could probably have a Whatsapp group for this and maybe t shirts. Who knows? Some of you have suggestions for the improvement of this whole thing. Bring them over, because this isn't just a one man show as we have seen lately.
One little favor. Would you please vote for the article you liked the most this year?
Management is preparing an e book of Richie Online 2016 writings and it will contain all the articles we published including some of the unpublished views on the abortion bill (analemba achina Nandi Nyirenda and they sent them ndilibe airtime yopangila post).
I am wishing you a wonderful weekend and above that a Happy New Year.
Consider this an Epistle.
Much love from Richie.
Friday, 30 December 2016
Friday, 23 December 2016
Power Banks
It is yet another Friday as we go towards Christmas and the new year. Other people who have similar platforms are probably writing about Christmas in a time like this. If you were expecting the same from the Richie Online blog, you are in for a shocker. I don't think there is any one on the list of writers here who would write something about Christmas at the moment. The thing with articles in the festive season is that they are too predictable. If I were to write such an article, it would have a few verses just to drive home the fact that Christmas is a religious thing and it has to be treated as such. It would have another line and possibly a backing paragraph that would emphasize on the second coming of our Lord or something like that. And then there would be the issue of prudence with finances and alcohol when having Christmas fun. Nice and easy. You all know that, anyway.
A lot has been going on in the political sector and those who like to comment have commented about it. The Chakwera vs Peter "failed state" feud. The new K2000 note is among us and I haven't yet seen it giving us trouble in minimises contrary to my initial fears. The Access to Information Bill and the politics surrounding it. All of those things have given some of us reality checks and reminders that we are Malawians, people who reside in a country that needs some serious fixing.
While people in many areas are complaining of hunger, we in the urban areas are complaining of things like water and electricity. I don't want to be one of those people who seem the issue of electricity and water as trivial because I have been on the disadvantaged side when it comes to the two. This is why I, contrary to my stubbornness succumbed to the pressure from ESCOM and bought a power bank. Very important device, that one. Especially if you are the type of person that doesn't like to have a corpse of a phone in the pocket after hours of heavy browsing have coincided with a power cut.
The concept of a power bank is not a new thing. I remember having met a vendor who was selling some sort of mobile charger that used an AA size battery. It was a good alternative to the whole thing of going to a socket and plugging your phone in. Obviously also a better option for those who don't have electricity and do not want bother their neighbour with charging issues.
In the later day, power banks are being sold at the as those yellow buns as they are being sold in all sorts of places ranging from big shops to the window of your minibus at Shoprite in Lilongwe or Mibawa in Blantyre. With the popularity of the product has of course come an influx of counterfeit products and obviously some have gotten ma power bank a Kanengo. Welcome to Africa. All in all, I should repeat to say that these devices are important.
The concept of having backup sources of power has been hugely replicated and upscaled. Large buildings (like Livingstone Towers in BT) have a whole huge space dedicated to a backup power unit. It makes noise in town, but it powers someone's laptop and air conditioner (Achina Edmond Kachale). In other words it keeps work going. I have also worked on a research team that had dedicated 2 TB hard drives for storing the data we had collected despite having uploaded them on some server and in everyone's laptop. This concept, in my view should give us all a lesson on having a well laid plan B in case our initial plans fail.
I have for a long time been an idealist whose things have always worked at the first attempt, but one of the things 2016 has practically taught me is that we cannot always have it in life and we need to sort have draft backup plans for each and every single thing we do. Those of you who were spoilt in the same way as me could borrow a leaf.
I found a strange application of backing up stuff when I was chatting with my lady friend this other day. We were asking each other about how our relationships were going on (then) and she told me something interesting; her relationship with bae was not okay but that day she was going on a date with her "power bank".
There you are, people with spouses. You are ESCOM and when you black out your other half might be the type that taps into a power bank. That might explain a certain statement that I heard from some buddies of mine who once told me that ever since they started dating, they have never been single for more than a week. In other words they move from one relationship to another. That sort of makes me wonder as to whether the relationships they move into are an effect of the breakup or rather the cause of the same. Zimenezo sitikudziwa, but there might be an element of having a power bank in the whole thing.
Two sides of the same coin, right?
Ndi zimenezo za ma power bank. If you don't have one, do buy. You won't regret. I am talking about the one we use to charge phones, though. As of the other things, every reasonable plan needs a backup but we at Richie Online do not agree with the whole thing of backing up a spouse.
A Merry Christmas to you all.
By the way, my dwelling place does not have power and this article wouldn't have been made possible without some involvement of a power bank. That's how significant these things are.
A lot has been going on in the political sector and those who like to comment have commented about it. The Chakwera vs Peter "failed state" feud. The new K2000 note is among us and I haven't yet seen it giving us trouble in minimises contrary to my initial fears. The Access to Information Bill and the politics surrounding it. All of those things have given some of us reality checks and reminders that we are Malawians, people who reside in a country that needs some serious fixing.
While people in many areas are complaining of hunger, we in the urban areas are complaining of things like water and electricity. I don't want to be one of those people who seem the issue of electricity and water as trivial because I have been on the disadvantaged side when it comes to the two. This is why I, contrary to my stubbornness succumbed to the pressure from ESCOM and bought a power bank. Very important device, that one. Especially if you are the type of person that doesn't like to have a corpse of a phone in the pocket after hours of heavy browsing have coincided with a power cut.
The concept of a power bank is not a new thing. I remember having met a vendor who was selling some sort of mobile charger that used an AA size battery. It was a good alternative to the whole thing of going to a socket and plugging your phone in. Obviously also a better option for those who don't have electricity and do not want bother their neighbour with charging issues.
In the later day, power banks are being sold at the as those yellow buns as they are being sold in all sorts of places ranging from big shops to the window of your minibus at Shoprite in Lilongwe or Mibawa in Blantyre. With the popularity of the product has of course come an influx of counterfeit products and obviously some have gotten ma power bank a Kanengo. Welcome to Africa. All in all, I should repeat to say that these devices are important.
The concept of having backup sources of power has been hugely replicated and upscaled. Large buildings (like Livingstone Towers in BT) have a whole huge space dedicated to a backup power unit. It makes noise in town, but it powers someone's laptop and air conditioner (Achina Edmond Kachale). In other words it keeps work going. I have also worked on a research team that had dedicated 2 TB hard drives for storing the data we had collected despite having uploaded them on some server and in everyone's laptop. This concept, in my view should give us all a lesson on having a well laid plan B in case our initial plans fail.
I have for a long time been an idealist whose things have always worked at the first attempt, but one of the things 2016 has practically taught me is that we cannot always have it in life and we need to sort have draft backup plans for each and every single thing we do. Those of you who were spoilt in the same way as me could borrow a leaf.
I found a strange application of backing up stuff when I was chatting with my lady friend this other day. We were asking each other about how our relationships were going on (then) and she told me something interesting; her relationship with bae was not okay but that day she was going on a date with her "power bank".
There you are, people with spouses. You are ESCOM and when you black out your other half might be the type that taps into a power bank. That might explain a certain statement that I heard from some buddies of mine who once told me that ever since they started dating, they have never been single for more than a week. In other words they move from one relationship to another. That sort of makes me wonder as to whether the relationships they move into are an effect of the breakup or rather the cause of the same. Zimenezo sitikudziwa, but there might be an element of having a power bank in the whole thing.
Two sides of the same coin, right?
Ndi zimenezo za ma power bank. If you don't have one, do buy. You won't regret. I am talking about the one we use to charge phones, though. As of the other things, every reasonable plan needs a backup but we at Richie Online do not agree with the whole thing of backing up a spouse.
A Merry Christmas to you all.
By the way, my dwelling place does not have power and this article wouldn't have been made possible without some involvement of a power bank. That's how significant these things are.
Friday, 16 December 2016
RHETORICAL NONSENSE
with the failed prophet, only known as Hope
It's always a pleasure to, again, contribute on this forum, myself being an avid reader of innumerable informative and educative snippets pasted here every Friday, and most recently, on odd days.
Only some few 360 hours to run down the 2016 clock, it dawned on me of how incredibly these few remaining hours occupy a large chunk of our exciting yearly moments. The inevitable Christmas razzmatazz is allowed to penetrate deeper into many a worker's fat pockets, which a few days before were screaming with useless pentangular coins. Everyone knows that Christmas is an invaluable ritual that should not only be observed with an antipathetically arranged but tithing rewarding Church services but also with a crate of Kuchekuche; thus a few days of rest after a tiring year won't kill. Perhaps more for those who are noble workers of the largest employer, the government. They will have to rest their limbs for a good three weeks, according to a hastily-edited press release from Kamuzu Palace. And we hear the squalling of the briefcase Civil Societies and renegade opposition political zealots to any ear that cares [Zodiac always care for these renegade and has paid a terrible price to MACRA] to listen that public service delivery is at the lowest ebb of mediocrity. And social-economic statistics by various financial whipping organs like the IMF have painted a gloomy tale that our agro-based economy is planets away from salvation. Briefly, the economic policies and social service delivery have not yielded anything to improve the life of someone living in a shanty hut kwa Mtopwa. Seriously, why do you give a civil servant a fortnight of snoozing when in fact he will knock on the HR manager's door to claim his legitimately 1 month rest as per normal labour laws in the coming months? What we want to have is a government that rewards workers but also stands tall to gas out any benefits if the input rendered has not been satisfactory. Satisfaction is when civil servants have telescopic contracts that evaluate regularly their performance for efficiency. For example, I was by default watching MBC news last week just to get on the same page with the robust activities of our dear DPP gaff’ment, and one senile looking Headteacher was commending efforts by a private company which had bought some pine wooden desks for the souls who digest the books there. He proudly highlighted that the donation will improve the quality of education and that both teachers and pupils are geared to improve an ancient record of not producing even a bare pass in Maneb exams. And this fella and his comrades will make noise when the paying master overlooks their accounts by just a couple of days, yet with minimum resources they can’t remove the cobwebs in the cerebrums of peasants’ children. Such lackadaisical workmanship should be arrested and uprooted. I also mean that the civil service should get rid of our grandfathers who should have retired at the dawn of multiparty but are still gnawing their toes as if they are the eighth wonder of the world. Retirement age has never been enforced in Malawi, perhaps because we are used to the idea that there is wisdom in ancient things. No wonder we voted for an old man who had been forced by laws to retire in America.
Now that we don’t care that one is using a walking stick so long as he can deliver a well memorized speech to maintain his post, just last week our esteemed Finance and Economic Planning minister, was celebrating becoming an octogenarian. His head, which should have been preserved at the museum, is now tasked with regurgitating the failed economic policies he learned when Sir Glynn Jones was governor of Nyasaland and apply them on the sinking ship we proudly call the warm-heart of Africa. He is still viewed as an authority in the sector but that respect will dwindle into ashes as the try and error policies the government is using keep backfiring on their noses. We still remember he is the same guy who confessed that our economy is in the hands of God and we should consider 40 days of fasting to resuscitate it. Various commentators challenged him and asked him to resign, the rhetorical machine, however, twisted to say it was just a slip of a wine drenched tongue. No one protested further. He should have been retired. It is certain that we are passive Malawians and seemed to be extra redundant especially when the propaganda machinery has been employed. We seem to accept rhetorical nonsense that they can throw in our ears. I won’t talk about that long winded speech by one good fake professor, the Reverend president. His impassioned well articulated sermon will fall on the deaf ears once again, and we have already seen how the DPP have paraded some misguided chiefs, ungodly fellow reverends, social analysts from recently unaccredited colleges and recycled politicians to MBC to find errors in the speech, chasing shadows.
Well Access to Information Bill that awaits the Big Kahuna's signature will surely change the tone of misinformation we are used to now. The Bill should have been one of the few things that the country should have taken to the streets for and not recent big walks about abortion and same sex marriages that infested major streets of Malawi. We spent a lot of time discussing trivial things, with all due respect to the cause. Abortion or no abortion is something that needs sober reflection rather than to go beyond our priorities, which are just too many. That the government want to amend the law is a fact, but our religious institutions seem to have realized their moral teachings are falling on deaf ears. Instead of forcing the hand of government they should adapt their dogmas to reflect the changing worldview. This is not 100 AD by the way. That as it may, the political spectrum of our country hasn’t evolved much to suit modernity. It’s high time the citizenry became vigilant and denounce neo-ethnic political structure taking root.
It’s only in Malawi where a Bill prepared/reviewed by the same government is vehemently trampled upon by the same entity because they realize they will be under scrutiny if it see light of the day. In other words, they feel their own manifesto is not palatable for the country. Looking closer at the ATI Bill, only 3 eMuPs for the government sided with opposition while the rest felt the bill is not good for the country. And usual innuendoes were echoed by a shameless misinformation minister claiming that the government was all along supporting the bill. The point is that we care to talk a much about mediocrity and allow dunderheads to clarify statements that are already lucid. Our failures in Malawi are largely due to ineffective policies that are well publicized but lacking critical mechanization for implementation. We have spent the year talking about issues without showing the same zeal to talk of solutions. The year which at tail's end, we spent weeks lamenting Escom's failures, days went by mourning the killings of albinos, argued for hours on the definition of ‘robust health,' and cried on the skyrocketing prices of goods and taxes. By the way, no one cares that sugar prices have been revised by 9.9%. All because we would rather laugh at one Billy Mayaya for demonstrating on his own against Escom, or better call Winiko a lunatic for his comedy of nudity. Yet we throng en masse with our spiritual fathers and prophets to rue over homosexuality. We crave to get the worst services available and applaud nonsensical rhetoric explanations.
Going forward, its good to write or talk what you can’t do, but changes should always begin with you. This past week, the Vice President, whom I’m informed, drove himself to and from the stadium to watch Wanderers triumph in a small bonanza, sent some few district officers away because they came very late and that some did not wear clothes befitting the function. Reforms they say. Its something we can learn from, discipline is important for a successful endeavor. Similarly, if we can discipline our ears and get rid of those comrades who have nothing to say but just waste our time, we can forge ahead in life. Gossip is a vice
Good weekend folks.
Sorry readers, but management doesn't know much about Hope. All we know is that he have us articles on the Friday Sobriety and Trump's victory. We are yet to know why he hides his real identity.
It's always a pleasure to, again, contribute on this forum, myself being an avid reader of innumerable informative and educative snippets pasted here every Friday, and most recently, on odd days.
Only some few 360 hours to run down the 2016 clock, it dawned on me of how incredibly these few remaining hours occupy a large chunk of our exciting yearly moments. The inevitable Christmas razzmatazz is allowed to penetrate deeper into many a worker's fat pockets, which a few days before were screaming with useless pentangular coins. Everyone knows that Christmas is an invaluable ritual that should not only be observed with an antipathetically arranged but tithing rewarding Church services but also with a crate of Kuchekuche; thus a few days of rest after a tiring year won't kill. Perhaps more for those who are noble workers of the largest employer, the government. They will have to rest their limbs for a good three weeks, according to a hastily-edited press release from Kamuzu Palace. And we hear the squalling of the briefcase Civil Societies and renegade opposition political zealots to any ear that cares [Zodiac always care for these renegade and has paid a terrible price to MACRA] to listen that public service delivery is at the lowest ebb of mediocrity. And social-economic statistics by various financial whipping organs like the IMF have painted a gloomy tale that our agro-based economy is planets away from salvation. Briefly, the economic policies and social service delivery have not yielded anything to improve the life of someone living in a shanty hut kwa Mtopwa. Seriously, why do you give a civil servant a fortnight of snoozing when in fact he will knock on the HR manager's door to claim his legitimately 1 month rest as per normal labour laws in the coming months? What we want to have is a government that rewards workers but also stands tall to gas out any benefits if the input rendered has not been satisfactory. Satisfaction is when civil servants have telescopic contracts that evaluate regularly their performance for efficiency. For example, I was by default watching MBC news last week just to get on the same page with the robust activities of our dear DPP gaff’ment, and one senile looking Headteacher was commending efforts by a private company which had bought some pine wooden desks for the souls who digest the books there. He proudly highlighted that the donation will improve the quality of education and that both teachers and pupils are geared to improve an ancient record of not producing even a bare pass in Maneb exams. And this fella and his comrades will make noise when the paying master overlooks their accounts by just a couple of days, yet with minimum resources they can’t remove the cobwebs in the cerebrums of peasants’ children. Such lackadaisical workmanship should be arrested and uprooted. I also mean that the civil service should get rid of our grandfathers who should have retired at the dawn of multiparty but are still gnawing their toes as if they are the eighth wonder of the world. Retirement age has never been enforced in Malawi, perhaps because we are used to the idea that there is wisdom in ancient things. No wonder we voted for an old man who had been forced by laws to retire in America.
Now that we don’t care that one is using a walking stick so long as he can deliver a well memorized speech to maintain his post, just last week our esteemed Finance and Economic Planning minister, was celebrating becoming an octogenarian. His head, which should have been preserved at the museum, is now tasked with regurgitating the failed economic policies he learned when Sir Glynn Jones was governor of Nyasaland and apply them on the sinking ship we proudly call the warm-heart of Africa. He is still viewed as an authority in the sector but that respect will dwindle into ashes as the try and error policies the government is using keep backfiring on their noses. We still remember he is the same guy who confessed that our economy is in the hands of God and we should consider 40 days of fasting to resuscitate it. Various commentators challenged him and asked him to resign, the rhetorical machine, however, twisted to say it was just a slip of a wine drenched tongue. No one protested further. He should have been retired. It is certain that we are passive Malawians and seemed to be extra redundant especially when the propaganda machinery has been employed. We seem to accept rhetorical nonsense that they can throw in our ears. I won’t talk about that long winded speech by one good fake professor, the Reverend president. His impassioned well articulated sermon will fall on the deaf ears once again, and we have already seen how the DPP have paraded some misguided chiefs, ungodly fellow reverends, social analysts from recently unaccredited colleges and recycled politicians to MBC to find errors in the speech, chasing shadows.
Well Access to Information Bill that awaits the Big Kahuna's signature will surely change the tone of misinformation we are used to now. The Bill should have been one of the few things that the country should have taken to the streets for and not recent big walks about abortion and same sex marriages that infested major streets of Malawi. We spent a lot of time discussing trivial things, with all due respect to the cause. Abortion or no abortion is something that needs sober reflection rather than to go beyond our priorities, which are just too many. That the government want to amend the law is a fact, but our religious institutions seem to have realized their moral teachings are falling on deaf ears. Instead of forcing the hand of government they should adapt their dogmas to reflect the changing worldview. This is not 100 AD by the way. That as it may, the political spectrum of our country hasn’t evolved much to suit modernity. It’s high time the citizenry became vigilant and denounce neo-ethnic political structure taking root.
It’s only in Malawi where a Bill prepared/reviewed by the same government is vehemently trampled upon by the same entity because they realize they will be under scrutiny if it see light of the day. In other words, they feel their own manifesto is not palatable for the country. Looking closer at the ATI Bill, only 3 eMuPs for the government sided with opposition while the rest felt the bill is not good for the country. And usual innuendoes were echoed by a shameless misinformation minister claiming that the government was all along supporting the bill. The point is that we care to talk a much about mediocrity and allow dunderheads to clarify statements that are already lucid. Our failures in Malawi are largely due to ineffective policies that are well publicized but lacking critical mechanization for implementation. We have spent the year talking about issues without showing the same zeal to talk of solutions. The year which at tail's end, we spent weeks lamenting Escom's failures, days went by mourning the killings of albinos, argued for hours on the definition of ‘robust health,' and cried on the skyrocketing prices of goods and taxes. By the way, no one cares that sugar prices have been revised by 9.9%. All because we would rather laugh at one Billy Mayaya for demonstrating on his own against Escom, or better call Winiko a lunatic for his comedy of nudity. Yet we throng en masse with our spiritual fathers and prophets to rue over homosexuality. We crave to get the worst services available and applaud nonsensical rhetoric explanations.
Going forward, its good to write or talk what you can’t do, but changes should always begin with you. This past week, the Vice President, whom I’m informed, drove himself to and from the stadium to watch Wanderers triumph in a small bonanza, sent some few district officers away because they came very late and that some did not wear clothes befitting the function. Reforms they say. Its something we can learn from, discipline is important for a successful endeavor. Similarly, if we can discipline our ears and get rid of those comrades who have nothing to say but just waste our time, we can forge ahead in life. Gossip is a vice
Good weekend folks.
Sorry readers, but management doesn't know much about Hope. All we know is that he have us articles on the Friday Sobriety and Trump's victory. We are yet to know why he hides his real identity.
Thursday, 15 December 2016
OBFUSCATORY “SAFE ABORTION” DISCOURSE
with Alexious Kamangila.
Malawi has been through an active as well as passive debate on whether abortions should be legalized or not. Seemingly the Pregnancy Termination Bill being handled as a “Top State Secrecy” matter, aims to legalize restrictive abortions which would be a ratification of the protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women. The Anti-Abortion camp argues that Life begins at conception making extraction of a foetus equal to killing a human being. Such understanding categorizes abortion in the same realm as taking away the life of a human being. Abortion defies the universally accepted concept of the sanctity of life, that no one should never be allowed to take it away as it’s sacred. No civilized nation should legalize the act of taking away life intentionally or harming it without punishment. It is from this background of an existing Bill that this article advances the Anti-Abortion agenda by discussing the arguments of Abortion proponents. Obfuscator
The pro-abortion camp always refer to the act of legalizing the extracting of the foetus from the womb as the path towards having safe abortions. What is essential to note here, is that abortion is a medical procedure, and just as any medical procedure has room for error and complications, abortion is no exception. An abortion can result in many medical complications such as; ectopic pregnancies doubles, miscarriage probability increment and pelvic inflammatory defamation, just to mention a few. Now the argument here is not to say because a medical procedure may lead to complications then you should not venture into it. Not at all. Rather it is to denounce the pro-abortionists who present abortion as an all rosy option. Such misleading information is actually unacceptable.
Strong arguments are raised in support for abortion in cases where a woman is pregnant as a result of a criminal offence such as rape or incest. In the instance of rape and incest, medical care and psychological support can ensure that a woman recovers from the trauma and learns to cherish the pregnancy. For all resentment, why pour the vengeance on the innocent unborn baby instead of punishing the criminal. This is a clear misdirection of vengeance and a clear sign of disgruntled ignorant solution. In any case, where the mother can not live to see the baby, the state has an obligation to create institutions not only support the pregnancy but most of all to take the baby from the mother who does not want it or can’t stand it (cater for medical expenses). The thing about arguing for outright abortion in instances of rape or incest is that it is blind intentionally I suppose, to the fact that going through an abortion is also traumatic. Now for someone who has gone through the trauma of such heinous experience, for instance of rape, to go through another traumatic experience is atrocious. Again what does it mean to say abortion should be legalized so that when people get pregnant from rape or incest, they should not be forced to keep the baby? Are we saying the solution to such horrendous acts is to allow the victim to abort? Seriously, the Pro-abortion movement needs to find better reasons to enhance their agenda.
The issue that is at the centre of human rights advocacy for abortion, is the principal of human autonomy upheld in Roe v Wade (A case that legalized abortion in USA). This prophesizes that a woman, as a human being should be allowed to make decisions independently more especially about her body/health. After all the baby is a parasite and she is hosting it as such if it is an inconvenience whether in health, academic, career and what have you, then as an autonomous being a woman should be allowed to abort. What is interesting is that this argument is made as if autonomy is absolute without responsibilities or consequences. It is a crime to make attempts to take one’s life despite one’s autonomy. The Penal Code of all civilized nations penalizes a human being who attempts to take one’s life. This stems from the universally accepted norm that life is sacred that no one should be allowed to take it away, not even one’s own life. Now, if such is the case, why should the pregnancy be treated with an extreme autonomy without responsibilities? Just as an attempted suicide is a crime, so should abortion.
A further analysis of Roe v Wade would reveal the hypocrisy surrounding the freedom to terminate pregnancy. In Roe v. Wade the Court said that a fetus is not a person but "potential life," and thus does not have constitutional rights of its own.
The Court also set up a framework in which the woman's right to abortion and the state's right to protect potential life shift: during the first trimester of pregnancy, a woman's privacy right is strongest and the state may not regulate abortion for any reason; during the second trimester, the state may regulate abortion only to protect the health of the woman; during the third trimester, the state may regulate or prohibit abortion to promote its interest in the potential life of the foetus, except where abortion is necessary to preserve the woman's life or health. The question is, why should a state have interest in a potential life where such remains a private affair? If a foetus is not a life to be protected just a potential life, then the state should continue letting private affairs be private. The potential life as described in Roe v Wade arises throughout the pregnancy hence State should have interest from the time fertilization happens to delivery, rather than shift allegiances.
Usually, those that fight for the legalization of abortion argue that abortion should be legalized because where the pregnancy is a threat to the mother, then the mother should be saved. Medical practice does not work substitution method or prioritizes one life over the other even where the other life is not complete (foetus). Medical practitioners in instance of pregnancy complications, work or should work towards saving the life of both the mother and the unborn child. Don’t medical practitioners already take the safest path in times where mother’s life is at stake and the survival of the unborn is of least probability if not impossible? Finally, the statistics of pregnancy termination (done or supposed to have been done) as a result of medical complications is never brought out to light or discussed. Such tells a story.
The main issue surrounding abortion, which is rarely discussed, is the denial of responsibility. Every action has a reaction and sexual intercourse among other things results in pregnancy. Sexual Intercourse is a responsibility but most times, it is treated as a mere source of pleasure to the extent that even what results in it is nothing but an inconvenience. It is essential that all ages, with emphasis on young people, should be acquainted with the value of life and resistance to acts leading to unwanted pregnancies. Of importance is the empowerment of the girl child who when empowered cannot be [easily] victimized to rape or incest. This also goes together in State combating crime such as rape and defilement as well as bad cultural practices. The Church on the other hand, needs to stop its hypocrisy and slumbering. It is hypocritical for the Church to come-out and condemn abortion just because the issue is being considered for legalization, when everyday Pharmacies are selling thousands of pills to inhibit zygote’s growth or Banja La Mtsogolo clinics are terminating pregnancies. The danger in this Church’s slumber lies in that the rich and well to do get the services at a cost as they can afford, while the poor are condemned to reprimands of the law. This is unacceptable. Churches should be defenders of the poor not perpetrators of unjust treatment. In another script, this sounds/looks like the Church would rather have abortions take place in secrecy and private and enjoyed only by the haves than all citizens in an organized and recognized systems/platforms.
Abortion is the act of ending the development of a human being inhibiting that progress to prevent the foetus from becoming a full and autonomous human being. To argue for abortion on the substantive point of promoting the autonomy of a human being, is clearly Ironic. While a woman has rights, when exercising such rights, she should not be allowed to exercise them at the expense of a foetus. Whereas the life of the woman matters, the survival and full development of a foetus matters too just like #BlackLivesMatter. Fighting against the law to legalize abortion is very recommendable, but the Church in Malawi has to do more as far as saving the unborn is concerned. The slumbering efforts taken to fight abortions perpetrates injustice against the women living in poverty as it sentence them to unsafe abortions. Efforts need to go beyond fighting legalizing abortion to fighting premarital sex, unwanted pregnancies and abortions (secret) where one gets pregnant. Of great importance is fighting stigma against girls or women who get pregnant in school or outside wedlock. Such is as powerful as eliminating secret hot-spots for pregnancy terminations. There is no Cause worthy standing for more than the Pro-Life Movement whether against Death Penalty or Abortion, as the sanctity of life needs no further decoration for approval. Abortion is never Safe, whether medically, morally, spiritually or in whatever context as such Safe Abortion campaigns have no nod in human race.
By Alexious Kamangila; Private Legal Practitioner (Naphambo&Co.), Feminist.
Malawi has been through an active as well as passive debate on whether abortions should be legalized or not. Seemingly the Pregnancy Termination Bill being handled as a “Top State Secrecy” matter, aims to legalize restrictive abortions which would be a ratification of the protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women. The Anti-Abortion camp argues that Life begins at conception making extraction of a foetus equal to killing a human being. Such understanding categorizes abortion in the same realm as taking away the life of a human being. Abortion defies the universally accepted concept of the sanctity of life, that no one should never be allowed to take it away as it’s sacred. No civilized nation should legalize the act of taking away life intentionally or harming it without punishment. It is from this background of an existing Bill that this article advances the Anti-Abortion agenda by discussing the arguments of Abortion proponents. Obfuscator
The pro-abortion camp always refer to the act of legalizing the extracting of the foetus from the womb as the path towards having safe abortions. What is essential to note here, is that abortion is a medical procedure, and just as any medical procedure has room for error and complications, abortion is no exception. An abortion can result in many medical complications such as; ectopic pregnancies doubles, miscarriage probability increment and pelvic inflammatory defamation, just to mention a few. Now the argument here is not to say because a medical procedure may lead to complications then you should not venture into it. Not at all. Rather it is to denounce the pro-abortionists who present abortion as an all rosy option. Such misleading information is actually unacceptable.
Strong arguments are raised in support for abortion in cases where a woman is pregnant as a result of a criminal offence such as rape or incest. In the instance of rape and incest, medical care and psychological support can ensure that a woman recovers from the trauma and learns to cherish the pregnancy. For all resentment, why pour the vengeance on the innocent unborn baby instead of punishing the criminal. This is a clear misdirection of vengeance and a clear sign of disgruntled ignorant solution. In any case, where the mother can not live to see the baby, the state has an obligation to create institutions not only support the pregnancy but most of all to take the baby from the mother who does not want it or can’t stand it (cater for medical expenses). The thing about arguing for outright abortion in instances of rape or incest is that it is blind intentionally I suppose, to the fact that going through an abortion is also traumatic. Now for someone who has gone through the trauma of such heinous experience, for instance of rape, to go through another traumatic experience is atrocious. Again what does it mean to say abortion should be legalized so that when people get pregnant from rape or incest, they should not be forced to keep the baby? Are we saying the solution to such horrendous acts is to allow the victim to abort? Seriously, the Pro-abortion movement needs to find better reasons to enhance their agenda.
The issue that is at the centre of human rights advocacy for abortion, is the principal of human autonomy upheld in Roe v Wade (A case that legalized abortion in USA). This prophesizes that a woman, as a human being should be allowed to make decisions independently more especially about her body/health. After all the baby is a parasite and she is hosting it as such if it is an inconvenience whether in health, academic, career and what have you, then as an autonomous being a woman should be allowed to abort. What is interesting is that this argument is made as if autonomy is absolute without responsibilities or consequences. It is a crime to make attempts to take one’s life despite one’s autonomy. The Penal Code of all civilized nations penalizes a human being who attempts to take one’s life. This stems from the universally accepted norm that life is sacred that no one should be allowed to take it away, not even one’s own life. Now, if such is the case, why should the pregnancy be treated with an extreme autonomy without responsibilities? Just as an attempted suicide is a crime, so should abortion.
A further analysis of Roe v Wade would reveal the hypocrisy surrounding the freedom to terminate pregnancy. In Roe v. Wade the Court said that a fetus is not a person but "potential life," and thus does not have constitutional rights of its own.
The Court also set up a framework in which the woman's right to abortion and the state's right to protect potential life shift: during the first trimester of pregnancy, a woman's privacy right is strongest and the state may not regulate abortion for any reason; during the second trimester, the state may regulate abortion only to protect the health of the woman; during the third trimester, the state may regulate or prohibit abortion to promote its interest in the potential life of the foetus, except where abortion is necessary to preserve the woman's life or health. The question is, why should a state have interest in a potential life where such remains a private affair? If a foetus is not a life to be protected just a potential life, then the state should continue letting private affairs be private. The potential life as described in Roe v Wade arises throughout the pregnancy hence State should have interest from the time fertilization happens to delivery, rather than shift allegiances.
Usually, those that fight for the legalization of abortion argue that abortion should be legalized because where the pregnancy is a threat to the mother, then the mother should be saved. Medical practice does not work substitution method or prioritizes one life over the other even where the other life is not complete (foetus). Medical practitioners in instance of pregnancy complications, work or should work towards saving the life of both the mother and the unborn child. Don’t medical practitioners already take the safest path in times where mother’s life is at stake and the survival of the unborn is of least probability if not impossible? Finally, the statistics of pregnancy termination (done or supposed to have been done) as a result of medical complications is never brought out to light or discussed. Such tells a story.
The main issue surrounding abortion, which is rarely discussed, is the denial of responsibility. Every action has a reaction and sexual intercourse among other things results in pregnancy. Sexual Intercourse is a responsibility but most times, it is treated as a mere source of pleasure to the extent that even what results in it is nothing but an inconvenience. It is essential that all ages, with emphasis on young people, should be acquainted with the value of life and resistance to acts leading to unwanted pregnancies. Of importance is the empowerment of the girl child who when empowered cannot be [easily] victimized to rape or incest. This also goes together in State combating crime such as rape and defilement as well as bad cultural practices. The Church on the other hand, needs to stop its hypocrisy and slumbering. It is hypocritical for the Church to come-out and condemn abortion just because the issue is being considered for legalization, when everyday Pharmacies are selling thousands of pills to inhibit zygote’s growth or Banja La Mtsogolo clinics are terminating pregnancies. The danger in this Church’s slumber lies in that the rich and well to do get the services at a cost as they can afford, while the poor are condemned to reprimands of the law. This is unacceptable. Churches should be defenders of the poor not perpetrators of unjust treatment. In another script, this sounds/looks like the Church would rather have abortions take place in secrecy and private and enjoyed only by the haves than all citizens in an organized and recognized systems/platforms.
Abortion is the act of ending the development of a human being inhibiting that progress to prevent the foetus from becoming a full and autonomous human being. To argue for abortion on the substantive point of promoting the autonomy of a human being, is clearly Ironic. While a woman has rights, when exercising such rights, she should not be allowed to exercise them at the expense of a foetus. Whereas the life of the woman matters, the survival and full development of a foetus matters too just like #BlackLivesMatter. Fighting against the law to legalize abortion is very recommendable, but the Church in Malawi has to do more as far as saving the unborn is concerned. The slumbering efforts taken to fight abortions perpetrates injustice against the women living in poverty as it sentence them to unsafe abortions. Efforts need to go beyond fighting legalizing abortion to fighting premarital sex, unwanted pregnancies and abortions (secret) where one gets pregnant. Of great importance is fighting stigma against girls or women who get pregnant in school or outside wedlock. Such is as powerful as eliminating secret hot-spots for pregnancy terminations. There is no Cause worthy standing for more than the Pro-Life Movement whether against Death Penalty or Abortion, as the sanctity of life needs no further decoration for approval. Abortion is never Safe, whether medically, morally, spiritually or in whatever context as such Safe Abortion campaigns have no nod in human race.
By Alexious Kamangila; Private Legal Practitioner (Naphambo&Co.), Feminist.
Friday, 9 December 2016
Random Thoughts on the Abortion Bill
with Richard Kamwezi... who we presume you already know.
Another Friday.
Ever since I started sharing the views of people on the Termination of Pregnancy Bill (and even before that) people have been asking me what my views were. Rather interestingly, some have been asking me for my “professional opinion” taking it from the fact that I come from the health profession. I found that pretty interesting because the last time I went into a debate on the Abortion Bill, I was in a meeting of the Society of Medical Doctors and a rather hot debate emerged. At the end of the day, even the Society of Medical Doctors did not reach a conclusion as to what the stance of medical doctors on the legalization of safe abortion is. This is probably why such a thing as a professional opinion would be rare if not non-existent as it all goes back to personal beliefs and convictions.
There has been a surge of reactions to the abortion bill following the demonstrations organized by the Episcopal Conference of Malawi and the Evangelical Association of Malawi. The social media is awash with comments on the issue of abortion and some of the comments make me wonder if people know what the new bill and its implications.
So, how did we end up with the bill that has divided Malawi’s elite into pro-life and pro-choice? The Malawi government decided to review its policies on termination of pregnancy and there were special “people” (I think they call them commissioners or something) who were chosen to review the draft. The commission comprised of lawyers, religious leaders and rather necessarily a gynecologist (only one). I would have had the names of the people who were on the commission if I put some effort into it, but I doubt that I would have had the courage to put them in this article with the heat around the issue. The job of these people was to draft a new bill on the termination of pregnancy for tabling in parliament. As expected, they came up with the document we are all reacting to and referring to as the abortion bill.
In short, the bill talks about the circumstances in which termination of pregnancy can be allowed, who has to do it and under what conditions. I have reasons to believe that most of you have some vague knowledge of some of what I have said. I personally would say that I understand the viewpoint of the people who drafted the bill. Looking at the conditions that abortion can be allowed I the country as stipulated by the bill, one would note that the rules have been loosened. The possible reason for this, however might be that people might have seen the need for bringing in the safety for those people who would like to terminate pregnancy for reasons like incest or rape. Their reasoning might be that whether it is done in the hospital or not some of them still go on and procure abortions and that some of them do it in the “unsafest” of places. The interesting thing is that they later present with post-abortion complications using up government resources, human or otherwise.
On the other side of the same coin, I know Malawi as a country where regulation of pretty much anything is a bit of an issue. While the termination of pregnancy issue has conditions on when termination of pregnancy should happen, I am inclined to think that the legalization of the termination of pregnancy as stipulated by the bill will equate to the legalization of abortion on demand. Every person who has been in Malawi for at least a year would understand this and it is because people have their own way of manipulating the system. This is the same fear that people who have labeled themselves as pro-life are using as one of their arguments (only that they are not presenting it the right way). On the other end of the spectrum, we have people who are realists; those who acknowledge that abortions are happening in the country and that we just need to bring the safety to those who need them. The two groups have gone on to copy western faction system where we have pro-life people on the “holy” end of the spectrum and the pro-life on the liberal side of it. I find this very faulty for the issue at hand and this is why I am not commenting on whether we should legalize abortion or not, but rather on what it wrong with the bill. This should not be a debate on whether the bill should be passed or not because MPs are the ones who have the constitutional power of waiving or shooting it down. What we should soberly be discussing (and not debating) is the issue of what should be changed in the termination of pregnancy bill to make it more practical so that it should do more good than harm. I am bringing this up because I have seen an intersection of arguments and that what all people want; whether pro-life or pro-choice might just be the same thing at the end of the day; a healthier nation.
I have heard people who are campaigning against the legalization of the termination of pregnancy putting up arguments that even in situations that endanger the life of the mother, termination should not occur. What we are failing to see here is the fact that if we lose the mother in pregnancy we also lose the child whose rights we claim to be fighting for. I am not sure as to whether to comment on the issues of rape and incest because when I look at those, I find myself in agreement with the pro-life; there are other ways of avoiding pregnancies resulting from such and we should capitalize on them rather than push for legalization of termination. One might argue that things are not always perfect and that we still need to make a provision for when things go wrong. While that might be a valid point, our bill is very loose when it comes to who authorizes the act of termination unlike in other countries like Zambia where after obtaining a police report, two specialist gynecologists have to sign for you to get your termination. The level of effort people have to put in acts as a hinderance and people do not terminate as frequently.
The pro-choice are putting a lot of emphasis on the fact that we need to promote safe abortions whose unsafe versions are already happening in the society. It is a valid point if you look at the complications of abortion that we treat in our hospitals on a daily basis. We could probably save a bit of money we spend on treating these post-abortion complications and we could prevent loss of life if we were providing safer options for our women and girls. When I look at the potential abuse this may face, however, I find myself wondering why we should divert our attention from other issues to start providing the termination of these potentially avoidable pregnancies.
I find myself partly agreeing and partly disagreeing with both the pro-life and the pro-choice. That tells me that we do not need these factions. What we need to do is to sit on the same table and to see what can be allowed into the bill to make it accommodative while making it abuse free at the same time. We have to look at each other as allies not as enemies. What we have to know is that abortions, whether necessary or not, are happening in our hospitals and in our communities. I find it faulty to be fighting against necessary terminations that are aimed at saving the lives of the mother and I suggest that we focus our attention towards the discussion on the other conditions for the termination of pregnancy.
While pondering on what is best for the bill and for the country, think of the 14 year old girl who has no proper support system and is pregnant having been a victim of rape. Would you be inclined to provide termination to save their life? Or would you overlook the complications of pregnancy and childbirth ahead? I do not have the answers, but these are the sort of dilemmas that people will have to deal with when the law is passed.
There are a lot of people who are arguing based on religious beliefs while others are arguing based on science and statistics. I think there is a provision for merging the two and we can come up with a solution that is appealing for both. The commission that came up with the bill we are debating had both ends plus people from the legal profession. I am sure that could be replicated as we aim at amending the bill.
Final word? The issue of the termination of pregnancy bill should be a discussion more than it should be a debate. The bill is a necessary thing but I would want to see it amended before it is passed.
Pro-life and pro-choice fellas. Let's get off the extremism and get on the discussion table. It is not easy, but this bill can be fixed.
Another Friday.
Ever since I started sharing the views of people on the Termination of Pregnancy Bill (and even before that) people have been asking me what my views were. Rather interestingly, some have been asking me for my “professional opinion” taking it from the fact that I come from the health profession. I found that pretty interesting because the last time I went into a debate on the Abortion Bill, I was in a meeting of the Society of Medical Doctors and a rather hot debate emerged. At the end of the day, even the Society of Medical Doctors did not reach a conclusion as to what the stance of medical doctors on the legalization of safe abortion is. This is probably why such a thing as a professional opinion would be rare if not non-existent as it all goes back to personal beliefs and convictions.
There has been a surge of reactions to the abortion bill following the demonstrations organized by the Episcopal Conference of Malawi and the Evangelical Association of Malawi. The social media is awash with comments on the issue of abortion and some of the comments make me wonder if people know what the new bill and its implications.
So, how did we end up with the bill that has divided Malawi’s elite into pro-life and pro-choice? The Malawi government decided to review its policies on termination of pregnancy and there were special “people” (I think they call them commissioners or something) who were chosen to review the draft. The commission comprised of lawyers, religious leaders and rather necessarily a gynecologist (only one). I would have had the names of the people who were on the commission if I put some effort into it, but I doubt that I would have had the courage to put them in this article with the heat around the issue. The job of these people was to draft a new bill on the termination of pregnancy for tabling in parliament. As expected, they came up with the document we are all reacting to and referring to as the abortion bill.
In short, the bill talks about the circumstances in which termination of pregnancy can be allowed, who has to do it and under what conditions. I have reasons to believe that most of you have some vague knowledge of some of what I have said. I personally would say that I understand the viewpoint of the people who drafted the bill. Looking at the conditions that abortion can be allowed I the country as stipulated by the bill, one would note that the rules have been loosened. The possible reason for this, however might be that people might have seen the need for bringing in the safety for those people who would like to terminate pregnancy for reasons like incest or rape. Their reasoning might be that whether it is done in the hospital or not some of them still go on and procure abortions and that some of them do it in the “unsafest” of places. The interesting thing is that they later present with post-abortion complications using up government resources, human or otherwise.
On the other side of the same coin, I know Malawi as a country where regulation of pretty much anything is a bit of an issue. While the termination of pregnancy issue has conditions on when termination of pregnancy should happen, I am inclined to think that the legalization of the termination of pregnancy as stipulated by the bill will equate to the legalization of abortion on demand. Every person who has been in Malawi for at least a year would understand this and it is because people have their own way of manipulating the system. This is the same fear that people who have labeled themselves as pro-life are using as one of their arguments (only that they are not presenting it the right way). On the other end of the spectrum, we have people who are realists; those who acknowledge that abortions are happening in the country and that we just need to bring the safety to those who need them. The two groups have gone on to copy western faction system where we have pro-life people on the “holy” end of the spectrum and the pro-life on the liberal side of it. I find this very faulty for the issue at hand and this is why I am not commenting on whether we should legalize abortion or not, but rather on what it wrong with the bill. This should not be a debate on whether the bill should be passed or not because MPs are the ones who have the constitutional power of waiving or shooting it down. What we should soberly be discussing (and not debating) is the issue of what should be changed in the termination of pregnancy bill to make it more practical so that it should do more good than harm. I am bringing this up because I have seen an intersection of arguments and that what all people want; whether pro-life or pro-choice might just be the same thing at the end of the day; a healthier nation.
I have heard people who are campaigning against the legalization of the termination of pregnancy putting up arguments that even in situations that endanger the life of the mother, termination should not occur. What we are failing to see here is the fact that if we lose the mother in pregnancy we also lose the child whose rights we claim to be fighting for. I am not sure as to whether to comment on the issues of rape and incest because when I look at those, I find myself in agreement with the pro-life; there are other ways of avoiding pregnancies resulting from such and we should capitalize on them rather than push for legalization of termination. One might argue that things are not always perfect and that we still need to make a provision for when things go wrong. While that might be a valid point, our bill is very loose when it comes to who authorizes the act of termination unlike in other countries like Zambia where after obtaining a police report, two specialist gynecologists have to sign for you to get your termination. The level of effort people have to put in acts as a hinderance and people do not terminate as frequently.
The pro-choice are putting a lot of emphasis on the fact that we need to promote safe abortions whose unsafe versions are already happening in the society. It is a valid point if you look at the complications of abortion that we treat in our hospitals on a daily basis. We could probably save a bit of money we spend on treating these post-abortion complications and we could prevent loss of life if we were providing safer options for our women and girls. When I look at the potential abuse this may face, however, I find myself wondering why we should divert our attention from other issues to start providing the termination of these potentially avoidable pregnancies.
I find myself partly agreeing and partly disagreeing with both the pro-life and the pro-choice. That tells me that we do not need these factions. What we need to do is to sit on the same table and to see what can be allowed into the bill to make it accommodative while making it abuse free at the same time. We have to look at each other as allies not as enemies. What we have to know is that abortions, whether necessary or not, are happening in our hospitals and in our communities. I find it faulty to be fighting against necessary terminations that are aimed at saving the lives of the mother and I suggest that we focus our attention towards the discussion on the other conditions for the termination of pregnancy.
While pondering on what is best for the bill and for the country, think of the 14 year old girl who has no proper support system and is pregnant having been a victim of rape. Would you be inclined to provide termination to save their life? Or would you overlook the complications of pregnancy and childbirth ahead? I do not have the answers, but these are the sort of dilemmas that people will have to deal with when the law is passed.
There are a lot of people who are arguing based on religious beliefs while others are arguing based on science and statistics. I think there is a provision for merging the two and we can come up with a solution that is appealing for both. The commission that came up with the bill we are debating had both ends plus people from the legal profession. I am sure that could be replicated as we aim at amending the bill.
Final word? The issue of the termination of pregnancy bill should be a discussion more than it should be a debate. The bill is a necessary thing but I would want to see it amended before it is passed.
Pro-life and pro-choice fellas. Let's get off the extremism and get on the discussion table. It is not easy, but this bill can be fixed.
Thursday, 8 December 2016
Oppressing a silent majority, the fight against safe abortion
Views on the Abortion Bill with Chikondi Mwale
The poor continue to be denied access to the much needed services they seek
Those who can afford abortion in Malawi, do manage to get safe termination of pregnancy. Those who can't afford it come to Government hospitals with complications of their unsafe abortions.
I think you get my stancce. It is those who can't afford it, that are being denied this service regardless of whether it is legal or not. The rich/middle class abort safely whenever and however they want. Funny enough they are the ones protesting in the streets.
The poor and those who really need it are being silenced by the well to do religious leaders.
Chikondi Mwale is a medical doctor at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi.
The poor continue to be denied access to the much needed services they seek
Those who can afford abortion in Malawi, do manage to get safe termination of pregnancy. Those who can't afford it come to Government hospitals with complications of their unsafe abortions.
I think you get my stancce. It is those who can't afford it, that are being denied this service regardless of whether it is legal or not. The rich/middle class abort safely whenever and however they want. Funny enough they are the ones protesting in the streets.
The poor and those who really need it are being silenced by the well to do religious leaders.
Chikondi Mwale is a medical doctor at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi.
Wednesday, 7 December 2016
"Let's Sort the Real Issue"
Views on the Abortion Bill with Morgan Kamanga.
I truly believe that this whole abortion thing is being handled in a wrong way. I would not give you the “it is a sin” argument considering that we are from different religious beliefs and after all we are all sinners. I take Abortion as a symptom to a bigger problem in the society. Legalising it will just be the same as giving painkillers to a malaria patient and expect them to get better. I have asked some of the advocates of abortion why they believe killing innocent babies is okay and should be protected by the law. Some argue that some of the women have been raped and any child born from it would be a constant reminder of the horror and would derail the future of the woman because she now has to be taking care of a baby she did not plan for. What these people fail to see is that the problem is the rape. Why can’t we focus on dealing with rape issue to protect the women so that they wouldn’t have to make this horrible choice of ending the life of the unborn?
In all scenarios most of the women, if not all, resort to abortion because they did not want the pregnancies they have. I believe if we could do a sober reflection on the issue and try to find the root cause of these unwanted pregnancies by any of the numerous root cause analyses either the Five Why’s, the fish bone analysis or any other, and deal with the real cause, the “malaria”, we would be in a better position. If we can focus on reducing or even eliminating the number of the unwanted pregnancies we wouldn’t have to worry about abortions. For example, if we punish rape harder and encourage those who have been raped to report in time, which is in less than 48 hours, they could get help to prevent the pregnancy.
To those who argue that we spend more on treating the incomplete abortions or complications of the unsafe abortion, I bet we have spent even more on other preventable conditions, okugwa mu mtengo wa mango, drunk drivers, those who have destroyed their liver on ma sachet and many more. I have never heard of anyone suggesting cutting down all the mango trees to save money for P.O.Ps. It’s somebody’s life not ours. We can’t put a dollar value on life, never. Am telling you, you can drink as much as you want, smoke every leaf on earth and if you get cancer or any other disease from it the so called free health system will pay for your hospitalisation until you die. And you are telling me let’s kill the babies in the hospitals to save on the MK 900.00 course of antibiotics, be serious.
Not to lose focus, it is not like if it is done in the government hospitals people will automatically stop doing it themselves, they are a lot of factors and it will take a lot of convincing for someone not to take some pills she got from a friend to go to a hospital. With the already strained health system this would be a nightmare to handle all the abortions. Ku pewa kuposa kuchiza. Let us, as a nation focus on eliminating the root causes of the unwanted pregnancies. The only people who will benefit from these mass-baby-killings will be the pharmaceutical companies producing the drugs used in abortion. It has never been about protecting our women, that’s why they never talk of eliminating the rapes or help in making family planning accessible to everyone. Politicians from the countries they force us to adopt this get campaign money from these companies. Let us not loss focus and remember abortion is advocated by those who have themselves, born. Let’s fight for those who can’t.
Morgan Kamanga is a pharmacist who practices at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital.
I truly believe that this whole abortion thing is being handled in a wrong way. I would not give you the “it is a sin” argument considering that we are from different religious beliefs and after all we are all sinners. I take Abortion as a symptom to a bigger problem in the society. Legalising it will just be the same as giving painkillers to a malaria patient and expect them to get better. I have asked some of the advocates of abortion why they believe killing innocent babies is okay and should be protected by the law. Some argue that some of the women have been raped and any child born from it would be a constant reminder of the horror and would derail the future of the woman because she now has to be taking care of a baby she did not plan for. What these people fail to see is that the problem is the rape. Why can’t we focus on dealing with rape issue to protect the women so that they wouldn’t have to make this horrible choice of ending the life of the unborn?
In all scenarios most of the women, if not all, resort to abortion because they did not want the pregnancies they have. I believe if we could do a sober reflection on the issue and try to find the root cause of these unwanted pregnancies by any of the numerous root cause analyses either the Five Why’s, the fish bone analysis or any other, and deal with the real cause, the “malaria”, we would be in a better position. If we can focus on reducing or even eliminating the number of the unwanted pregnancies we wouldn’t have to worry about abortions. For example, if we punish rape harder and encourage those who have been raped to report in time, which is in less than 48 hours, they could get help to prevent the pregnancy.
To those who argue that we spend more on treating the incomplete abortions or complications of the unsafe abortion, I bet we have spent even more on other preventable conditions, okugwa mu mtengo wa mango, drunk drivers, those who have destroyed their liver on ma sachet and many more. I have never heard of anyone suggesting cutting down all the mango trees to save money for P.O.Ps. It’s somebody’s life not ours. We can’t put a dollar value on life, never. Am telling you, you can drink as much as you want, smoke every leaf on earth and if you get cancer or any other disease from it the so called free health system will pay for your hospitalisation until you die. And you are telling me let’s kill the babies in the hospitals to save on the MK 900.00 course of antibiotics, be serious.
Not to lose focus, it is not like if it is done in the government hospitals people will automatically stop doing it themselves, they are a lot of factors and it will take a lot of convincing for someone not to take some pills she got from a friend to go to a hospital. With the already strained health system this would be a nightmare to handle all the abortions. Ku pewa kuposa kuchiza. Let us, as a nation focus on eliminating the root causes of the unwanted pregnancies. The only people who will benefit from these mass-baby-killings will be the pharmaceutical companies producing the drugs used in abortion. It has never been about protecting our women, that’s why they never talk of eliminating the rapes or help in making family planning accessible to everyone. Politicians from the countries they force us to adopt this get campaign money from these companies. Let us not loss focus and remember abortion is advocated by those who have themselves, born. Let’s fight for those who can’t.
Morgan Kamanga is a pharmacist who practices at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital.
Tuesday, 6 December 2016
Let God Do the Job
Views on the Abortion Bill with Louis Kaitano
Well, our country is already morally bankrupt as such I wouldn't impose my choices on some else. We are not a ' God-fearing nation as we claim.
I heard some people marched today claiming to be Pro-Life and Pro-Family, well good for them. I would love if they did the same thing against the many ills that have befallen us. Our brothers and sisters born with albinism were/are hunted in broad day light nobody gave a rat's bum.
We have our so called elected leaders who are emptying government coffers of our hard earned money. Nobody gives a rat's bum.
Our universities remain closed for some SIMPLE reasons. These universities happen to be led by the very learned idiotic good for nothing professors. You mean a learned professor can't find a common resolution with the grieved when faced with a crisis?? Come on even my drunken Group Village Headman can solve these problems easily without requiring sophisticated formulations
Any my point is, let's not be hypocrites when it comes to Abortion and Gay Laws. Our society is rocked with so many vices, what have we done as the youth, women, the clergymen, leaders etc deal with them.
We are so foced on anti-abortion, but how do these women and young girls get pregnant in the first place?? As a healthcare provider I have been approached on several occasions by girls who seen to abort after being impregnated by over libidoed pot belly idiots who promised these girls the world but left them after gushing their seeds into these unsuspecting girl and women. These women are left helpless with shuttered dreams. Hence seek abortion.
The Bible says we shouldn't judge. So, let the "MAN" above do his job.
Louis Kaitano is a regular reader on Richie Online. He practices as a Pharmacy Technician in the southern District of Nsanje.
Share your thoughts on the Richie Online Facebook page
Well, our country is already morally bankrupt as such I wouldn't impose my choices on some else. We are not a ' God-fearing nation as we claim.
I heard some people marched today claiming to be Pro-Life and Pro-Family, well good for them. I would love if they did the same thing against the many ills that have befallen us. Our brothers and sisters born with albinism were/are hunted in broad day light nobody gave a rat's bum.
We have our so called elected leaders who are emptying government coffers of our hard earned money. Nobody gives a rat's bum.
Our universities remain closed for some SIMPLE reasons. These universities happen to be led by the very learned idiotic good for nothing professors. You mean a learned professor can't find a common resolution with the grieved when faced with a crisis?? Come on even my drunken Group Village Headman can solve these problems easily without requiring sophisticated formulations
Any my point is, let's not be hypocrites when it comes to Abortion and Gay Laws. Our society is rocked with so many vices, what have we done as the youth, women, the clergymen, leaders etc deal with them.
We are so foced on anti-abortion, but how do these women and young girls get pregnant in the first place?? As a healthcare provider I have been approached on several occasions by girls who seen to abort after being impregnated by over libidoed pot belly idiots who promised these girls the world but left them after gushing their seeds into these unsuspecting girl and women. These women are left helpless with shuttered dreams. Hence seek abortion.
The Bible says we shouldn't judge. So, let the "MAN" above do his job.
Louis Kaitano is a regular reader on Richie Online. He practices as a Pharmacy Technician in the southern District of Nsanje.
Share your thoughts on the Richie Online Facebook page
Friday, 2 December 2016
Random Thoughts on Education
Greetings, good people.
It is yet another wonderful Friday and we get to read something. While of you never give a thought to what happens in the developing of an article and the level of effort people put in writing these things (si milandutu), some have asked about how long it takes to write and how these topics are chosen. I do not think that this is the best platform for answering such questions, but I have to point out that writing these articles has its own challenges. There are times that you sit down with ideas streaming down to the fingers and down to the keypad and there are times that the same article takes you years because you do not have some juice to add to it. There are times that you have to dig around to find what to write on and there are times like today; times when you have a lot of people pouring champagne on other people’s cereals (if you know what I mean) thus giving you something to write about.
When I was thinking of something to write about today, a number of topics came to mind. There was that move by the National Council of Higher Education to discredit come colleges and there were the Doom anointing issues. I also had some filed experiences that I could have shared. All those had some lessons for everyone, but for some reason I have decided to tell you about my secondary school graduation.
25th September, 2009. That is the day that me and a bunch of other equally interesting people officially bade farewell to St Patrick’s secondary school. It was a colorful ceremony and I could write a book about how I injured my right hip (still hurts) while playing football against staff members, the special meal we had and the disco. Those, however, are not good for a Friday so I will talk about the speech by the Guest of Honor instead.
The man in the spotlight on the day was one Dr Isaac Munlo. I can’t remember what capacity he was acting in then let alone which international organization he worked with then (or now). While we all loved the proceedings, we all hated the delays that came with the speeches as we looked forward to the special meals and the all-men disco that followed. This was no exception and s soon as Dr Munlo was done bragging about what he had done and how much goodies he had accumulated half the hall went to sleep.
Anyway. The speech.
Rather unusually, Dr Munlo chose to title his speech”Education for What”. I still haven’t figured out whether that was a question of statement but that is probably not important. The speech focused on the main purpose of education and gave hints on why we all should treat education with the seriousness it deserves. I didn’t get much from the speech because it was probably too big for my 16 year old brain then, but he touched on a couple of crucial areas. He talked of the different viewpoints that people have when it comes to the perceived benefits of education and how some just go through it aimlessly as one of those routines. He also talked of how others have gone beyond looking at education as a means to good earnings to enhance self development in all areas of life i.e. social life, spirituality and many other areas you can think of. Sadly, I did not pay attention to the whole of the speech, but I guess he concluded with words of encouragement and told us to make the best use of education for our good and the good of those around us and the country. I am pretty sure that he said that. Definitely. Maybe.
The memory of that speech and recent experiences make me wonder as to whether more of us need these speeches. It reminds me of the rude expression, “educated savages” and makes me wonder as to whether we have too much of those around here.
One would tend to wonder why people study medicine and still get sick; study economics or other finance related “courses” and still be poor. Well. That is an extreme way of looking at the application of education, but there are times that such radicalism makes sense because on the other extreme we have people who do not have anything to show for their education outside their workplace.
On one particular day, I happened to be walking with a friend from college. He had some papers in his hand and for some reason he decided to tear them into small pieces and to throw them all over the road. When I asked him why munthu wakusambira like him was doing that, he gave me a statement I have come to relate with my experiences. He said, and I quote “sukulu imatichotsa umbuli koma siimatichotsa uchitsiru”. Ca veut dire, “school takes away our ignorance, but it does not take away our stupidity”. It is probably true, to an extent, but I am pretty sure that all of the people who feed on these articles are better than that.
I, like Dr Munlo, do believe that there is more to education than we see. It is probably why we can comfortably close universities because some plumber failed his job somewhere and that a college had dry taps. It is probably why we are busy discrediting institutions instead of creating environments that would help make them world class institutions that can fill the gap that the public universities have left. Our lack of seriousness with issues to do with education is the reason our school curriculum has little to apply in real life and it is the very reason some would rather use the money they have been given for fees to buy a gadget or drinks.
In the midst of all this, what does education mean to you?
It’s a call to all of us to use the education we have, however little to positively transform our lives and to transform the lives of others around us. Who knows, maybe we could transform the country.
It is yet another wonderful Friday and we get to read something. While of you never give a thought to what happens in the developing of an article and the level of effort people put in writing these things (si milandutu), some have asked about how long it takes to write and how these topics are chosen. I do not think that this is the best platform for answering such questions, but I have to point out that writing these articles has its own challenges. There are times that you sit down with ideas streaming down to the fingers and down to the keypad and there are times that the same article takes you years because you do not have some juice to add to it. There are times that you have to dig around to find what to write on and there are times like today; times when you have a lot of people pouring champagne on other people’s cereals (if you know what I mean) thus giving you something to write about.
When I was thinking of something to write about today, a number of topics came to mind. There was that move by the National Council of Higher Education to discredit come colleges and there were the Doom anointing issues. I also had some filed experiences that I could have shared. All those had some lessons for everyone, but for some reason I have decided to tell you about my secondary school graduation.
25th September, 2009. That is the day that me and a bunch of other equally interesting people officially bade farewell to St Patrick’s secondary school. It was a colorful ceremony and I could write a book about how I injured my right hip (still hurts) while playing football against staff members, the special meal we had and the disco. Those, however, are not good for a Friday so I will talk about the speech by the Guest of Honor instead.
The man in the spotlight on the day was one Dr Isaac Munlo. I can’t remember what capacity he was acting in then let alone which international organization he worked with then (or now). While we all loved the proceedings, we all hated the delays that came with the speeches as we looked forward to the special meals and the all-men disco that followed. This was no exception and s soon as Dr Munlo was done bragging about what he had done and how much goodies he had accumulated half the hall went to sleep.
Anyway. The speech.
Rather unusually, Dr Munlo chose to title his speech”Education for What”. I still haven’t figured out whether that was a question of statement but that is probably not important. The speech focused on the main purpose of education and gave hints on why we all should treat education with the seriousness it deserves. I didn’t get much from the speech because it was probably too big for my 16 year old brain then, but he touched on a couple of crucial areas. He talked of the different viewpoints that people have when it comes to the perceived benefits of education and how some just go through it aimlessly as one of those routines. He also talked of how others have gone beyond looking at education as a means to good earnings to enhance self development in all areas of life i.e. social life, spirituality and many other areas you can think of. Sadly, I did not pay attention to the whole of the speech, but I guess he concluded with words of encouragement and told us to make the best use of education for our good and the good of those around us and the country. I am pretty sure that he said that. Definitely. Maybe.
The memory of that speech and recent experiences make me wonder as to whether more of us need these speeches. It reminds me of the rude expression, “educated savages” and makes me wonder as to whether we have too much of those around here.
One would tend to wonder why people study medicine and still get sick; study economics or other finance related “courses” and still be poor. Well. That is an extreme way of looking at the application of education, but there are times that such radicalism makes sense because on the other extreme we have people who do not have anything to show for their education outside their workplace.
On one particular day, I happened to be walking with a friend from college. He had some papers in his hand and for some reason he decided to tear them into small pieces and to throw them all over the road. When I asked him why munthu wakusambira like him was doing that, he gave me a statement I have come to relate with my experiences. He said, and I quote “sukulu imatichotsa umbuli koma siimatichotsa uchitsiru”. Ca veut dire, “school takes away our ignorance, but it does not take away our stupidity”. It is probably true, to an extent, but I am pretty sure that all of the people who feed on these articles are better than that.
I, like Dr Munlo, do believe that there is more to education than we see. It is probably why we can comfortably close universities because some plumber failed his job somewhere and that a college had dry taps. It is probably why we are busy discrediting institutions instead of creating environments that would help make them world class institutions that can fill the gap that the public universities have left. Our lack of seriousness with issues to do with education is the reason our school curriculum has little to apply in real life and it is the very reason some would rather use the money they have been given for fees to buy a gadget or drinks.
In the midst of all this, what does education mean to you?
It’s a call to all of us to use the education we have, however little to positively transform our lives and to transform the lives of others around us. Who knows, maybe we could transform the country.
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