One night I sat, had a couple of beers and read the ‘Nation’. A lot of corruption stories dominate the pages. At the moment twenty MP’s are under investigation for stealing money from the Community Development Funds allocated to promote development in the communities they represent. The treasury is even increasing allocations in the face of these charges. It has been proven that eighty million kwacha (£90,000) has not been accounted for in sixteen of the twenty six districts. It doesn’t sound like a lot of money but in the context of Malawi it hinders development of grass roots projects. MP’s have been sourcing quotations themselves for work and giving contracts to family members.

‘Cashgate’ rumbles on in 2017. After five years of investigation the High Court in Lilongwe says twelve suspects have a case to answer with conspiracy to defraud the government, theft and money laundering on the list. The ‘mastermind’ Conrad Nambala and eleven others from the Ministry of Disability, Elderly and Children’s Affairs are accused of stealing two hundred million kwacha. The group had someone in the Accountant Generals Office making the writing of bogus vouchers easy. Cheques were cleared, cashed and shared. It all seems as if the government is creating some ‘scapegoats’ so the top officials protect each other. Foreign donors still refuse to support the government directly. A new ‘gate’ has hit the news lately. This time it is dubbed ‘Maizegate’. The Minister of Agriculture and MP for the ruling party the Demographic Progressive Party Mr Chiponda was found with $200,000 cash in his house when he was arrested. He had sanctioned maize that was not required to be bought from a Zambian private company at a much higher price instead of Zambian government sources which were cheaper. A big cheque was cashed, little maize was actually delivered and he kept the change. He is still a MP in the ruling party and is being protected by the Mutarika government. The Malawian people are being cheated by their ‘so-called’ leaders. The primary school teachers who we met with their monthly salaries of £50 and these children from Chitipa are being cheated every day. That is why it is important to create ‘people to people’ two way relationships to help each other in a small way.

With the training course over we turned our attentions to a visit to Nachiwe Primary School in Chitipa. I wanted to use the opportunity to demonstrate some cricket, netball and volleyball lessons to Rowland. There are two thousand children at the school with classes between seventy five and one hundred. We asked for fifty children per session. It was great fun and the children really enjoyed the lessons. The hope is that Rowland will visit the primary schools in and around Chitipa on a more regular basis. He now has some equipment, model lessons and no excuse I hope. To be honest Rowland does look a bit more comfortable in the office than on the field but his enthusiasm and commitment is important. My message to him is use the equipment, group the children well and progress the skill with good teaching points. I managed to get lots of nice pictures for the sponsors. It was a positive, well organised day and I hope it is the start of something in Chitipa. The cricket equipment donated by The Lord’s Taverners was used well. Rowland will now visit other Chitipa schools and deliver the introductory cricket lesson. Over the next six months I hope reports, pictures and numbers will come back and encourage the Taverners to donate and ship equipment next year.

A lot of crowd control was required at the school. When the break came we had to abandon and seek refuge in the Head’s office while teachers on duty used their sticks liberally to disperse rampant children. The children were forced back like a line of rioters pushed back by police. The children surged forward once more. It was relentless. It must be almost impossible for Rowland to visit these schools and actually have enough calm to deliver a productive session. Rowland has agreed to draw up a weekly schedule to visit all local schools.

The Misuku Hills have been dominating the skyline outside Chitipa all week. I find a truck driven by Mr Chiona travelling there today and returning this afternoon. He is delivering maize to Chisansu CDSS first as we take a twenty kilometre detour off the main road. It is fresh and green up in the hills. As we climb up through the pines his truck is struggling. There is a big noise as a spring gets sprung and then a clonk as the fuel tank comes loose. Some old rope does the trick and we are soon away again. The views through his shattered windscreen were beautiful as we made it up into the Misuku Hills. Seventeen years ago the road was terrible but now some sections have been concreted on the steep sections and graded. I meet the Lughesyo Primary Education Adviser Mr Mutchoma Msuskwa who tells me his three teachers have already reported back and together they are busy planning the course and festival. Mr Chiona for the return journey has people, huge sacks of cabbages, bananas and two criminals hand cuffed together and to the roof. The Ministry of Justice official with them told me they were going to Chitipa court for trial as ‘one guy had sold somebody else’s trees’. Mr Chiona is busy chatting to a young girl sitting alongside me in the front. I only recognise the word ‘Chisango’, a condom brand. I can only imagine what Mr Chiona was talking about. The Misuku Hills straddle the Malawi Tanzania border and form a natural barrier along with the Songwe River.