Catholic Bishop Msusa clarifies snub of First Lady donation: ‘Beautify Malawi Trust did not provide information’
Archbishop Thomas Msusa, the chairperson of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), a grouping of Catholic bishops in the country, on Saturday turned down the First Lady Gertrude Mutharika’s offer through her Beautify Malawi (Beam) Trust to give 40 bags of cement towards the rehabilitation of Providence Girls Secondary School hostel in Mulanje.
His Grace, Msusa, explained that the donation was rejected because the Catholic church had already identified a foreign donor to carry out rehabilitation works for the hostel that was gutted with fire early this year.
According to Bishop Msusa, Beam Trust did not provide any information to the diocese on the issue of the donation.
Catholic Church owns the Providence Girls Secondary School.
But Msusa said the owners were not consulted in the requirement prior to the First Lady’s visit to the institution.
“They did not ask us. They just came to the school without any knowledge. In fact, they just came without any information,” said Msusa.
He said Msusa said the church has on its part solicited some support from local and international donors, noting that the response towards the renovation of the girls’ hostel at Providence was overwhelming.
Msusa said he had gone the school with the donors who came from Germany.
Head Girl for Providence Secondary School Vanessa Disoni said some of the students who were affected by the fire were not yet back from recovery as their parents were poor to replace some of the personal belongings destroyed by the fire.
The First Lady was accompanied at the school by Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Bright Msaka, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Kondwani Nankhumwa, Minister of Culture, Civic Education and Community Development, Cecilia Chazama, Home Affairs and Internal Security, Grace Chiumia and DPP General Secretary Grelzeder Jeffrey.
Msaka commended the First Lady for her commitment to promoting girls education in the country through construction of hostels, provision of sanitary amenities and teaching and learning materials.
The assorted items which the First Lady donated include: 40 suitcases, 40 school bags, 40 mattresses, plastics cups and plates, soap, exercise books, mathematical instruments, bathing and facing towels, sanitary pads, 40 double deck beds and school uniforms for the affected 39 and the needy at the school.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
spending alot of millions from lilongwe to mulanje to give stuff worth less than 1million…. what kind of campaign is this? we are watching you… dont think we are blind, the IT specialists you’ve brought in this country and the MEC officials and local IT engineers you are buying we know them, i have reliable sources for this!
Vote buying… all the politicians do it.. DPP, MCP, PP etc etc. Donate some cement, some school uniforms, bags, plates and cups?? Seriously? Certainly, it will help the desperate student. Good job to the First Lady and Honourable Ministers on that. But then what? The First Lady, and politicians, MPs, NGOs Andrew businesses really, really do need to think of the long term. Do we not think it would be more productive use of our time and resources to work hard to get more funding for the Ministry of Education, for example. And make sure it’s used effectively. Teachers are… Read more »
The head girl had said it all. Makolo ena ndi osowa ndipo mpaka lero ana ao akuvitikabe kusowa Thandizo. Where are the so called donors? Archbishop, apatu mwaphera ufulu ana a anzanu.
4 ministers plus the first lady for what? DPP wanted to ploticise the donation i guess. this is why the bishops has turned down the offer. as a matter of fact you dont go into somebody’s house without knocking.
some time not long ago the office of one of Govt officials was about to be refurnished with furniture amounting to 64 million MKW just a single office, now the entire hostel was estimated on 40 bags of cement which costs less than half a million hahahahahahahahaha you people are acting nice comedies…fools!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lets hope what the men of God have done will stand otherwise I know Malawi these people can release a press statement claiming that they were misquoted. With money anything is possible in Malawi. Mark my word it will not take long before screws will be put to collect this anomaly. Though l am a Catholic myself, sometimes I don’t trust these men of God in the way they take sides with political parties in Malawi. Had it been it was Bishop Mtumbuka may be I could trust him but not Bishops from southern Malawi
The state of Providence Girls Secondary School buildings(hostels, classes etc) is a sorry state. My dota just left Providence in 2017 after sitting for her MSCE. I think and am sure my thinking is right, in all fairness to the school this bishop would have received the donation regardless of having received funds from other donors. Ma building ndi oonongeka, ma class room doors are almost dismantled, its really a pathetic state of affairs. Holding all other things constant anayenera kulandira kuthandizapo pa renovation yama block onse. Ma bed a ana ndi otchoka, ine ngati kholo lomwe mwana wanga anali… Read more »
I also understand your way of thinking but I will side with the bishop. It is not fair for this lady to steal tax money from government through husband. Money which should have gone to rehabilitate schools. Then she goes to the school as good Samaritan is indeed pathetic. The bishop knows that this is stolen money.
As much as I appreciate that they have already identified donors to renovate the school but still more they have accepted the donation. Should we say they only rejected the cement and received the other items? As much as am not a DPP supporters what the management of the school it’s not good. If anything they were to reject everything if ever the received part of it. TO REFUSE AN OFFER IT’S UNLUCKY. Don’t be too political you both sides.
The children received the gifts. It’s a personal rescission. But the church refused the donation because they know it’s stolen money. After all Beam didn’t return the AIDS money. Catholics are not foolish.
Is it not the same Msusa who was used by Chakwera to back the 50+1 nonsense? Is it not the same Bishop who called out the catholic faithfuls to go for PERETE to show their side on the 50+1 nonsense? How many of those he called attended the demos? With such a bruised bishop do you expect anything positive with government? Msusa should know that gone are the days when the church could dictate things to its faithfuls. Gone are the days when its faithfuls followed the church blindly. Why didn’t he send back the materials for students? He knew… Read more »
@ Santana.
Ntchito ulinayo mbale kwabasi yobakira DPP stupidity . Ndiye sunati chifukwa amalawi sanati apa kutukwana these failures and pathetic people in government
Amenewo ndi akatolika omwe sacheza moppusa ngati DPP. That is a sign of downfall for dpp. 4 ministers, presidential advisers SG party and first lady kukapereka 40 bags of cement za ziii katolika ndi boma palokha lisasatani muona.