Catholic church Snubs first lady

First Lady Gertrude Mutharika had a rude awakening on Saturday when the Catholic Church rejected her donation of 40 bags of cement towards the rehabilitation of a Providence Girls Secondary School hostel in Mulanje.

Archbishop Thomas Msusa , who is chairperson of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) turned down the First Lady’s offer through her Beautify Malawi (Beam) Trust on the basis that the church had already identified a foreign donor to carry out rehabilitation works for the hostel that went up in flames early this year.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Msusa, who is archbishop for the Archdiocese of Blantyre which covers Blantyre, Mwanza, Neno, Thyolo, Chiradzulu, Mulanje and Phalombe districts, said he was compelled to decline the offer because the First Lady and her Beam Trust officials did not provide any information to the diocese on the issue.

He said besides, the archdiocese, as owners of Providence Girls Secondary School, was not consulted on the requirements prior to the First Lady’s visit to the school.

Said Msusa: “I did not deliberately reject the offer… As a church, we are partners with government, but I didn’t know that she [the First Lady] would give us that gift. They did not ask us. They just came to the school without my knowledge. In fact, they just came without any information.”

The archbishop said the archdiocese had already invited donors identified by the church who were already in the country from Germany for the school’s rehabilitation project; hence, it would be discourteous to tell them that the First Lady would do it.

Said Msusa: “I am in Chisitu [the school’s location] right now with the donors. We have just finished the function on the project… The donors have come all the way from Germany.

“Should I tell them to stop the project because the First Lady is giving us the donation? If they [Beam Trust] had asked me before that they were coming to the school and what we needed, I would have told them our needs. But it was a surprise visit.”

When contacted yesterday for his reaction, Beam Trust chairperson Dingiswayo Jere requested for an e-mail questionnaire which he was yet to respond to as we went to press.

But in her speech, the First Lady said as Beam, one of its focus areas was construction of girls’ hostels and they were prepared to do so.

She said: “But since we have been told that some donors are already helping with that, we will still leave the cement here to be used for other purposes.”

The First Lady, as patron of Beam Trust, visited the school which belongs to the Catholic Church to donate different items, including materials for refurbishment of one of the hostels that was gutted by fire last month.

Mutharika, among others, went to the school with 40 bags of cement and was reportedly scheduled to deploy a contractor to start the renovations yesterday (Sunday).

During the visit, the First Lady was accompanied by Cabinet ministers Bright Msaka (Education, Science and Technology), Kondwani Nankhumwa (Local Government and Rural Development), Cecilia Chazama (Culture, Civic Education and Community Development) and Grace Chiumia (Home Affairs and Internal Security). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) secretary general Grelzeder Jeffrey was also part of the delegation.

However, Mutharika went ahead to donate some basic items to 39 students who lost their personal effects during the February 21 2018 inferno that destroyed students’ property worth more than K100 million.

The items included 40 suitcases, 40 school bags, 40 mattresses, plastics cups and plates, soap, exercise books, mathematical instruments, bathing and facing towels, sanitary pads, 40 bunk beds and school uniforms to the affected and needy students, according to Malawi News Agency.

She said they were touched upon hearing that a hostel had been destroyed by fire.

Msaka commended the First Lady for her commitment to promoting girls’ education through construction of hostels, provision of sanitary amenities and teaching and learning materials.

Head girl for the school, Vanessa Disoni, also commended the First Lady for showing interest and offering a helping hand. n