Monday, October 4, 2010

Current News & Fun Facts About MALAWI













CURRENT NEWS

****Malawi ranked 21 in continental governance rating
****President wa Mutharika has in a few short years, turned Malawi into an agriculture-based economy where agriculture contributes over 80% of export earnings; 38% GDP and supports 85% of the population.
FUN FACTS!!!


Weekend - Saturday, Sunday
Islamic holidays depend on the sighting of the moon and can change from notified dates.

Customs & Duties
Malawi Customs officials will allow certain items for personal use without levying duty. A maximum of 200 cigarettes or 250g tobacco, 1 litre of spirits, 1 litre of beer or wine; 250ml of eau de toilet and 50g of perfume will not incur any duty. Passengers above 16 years only are allowed to bring in alcoholic substances. Narcotics and arms are not allowed in at all though the import of firearms is allowed after a permit has been bought in advance from the Registrar of Firearms.

Electricity
Electricity is supplied at 220/240 volts AC, 50Hz in Malawi. The standard plug used in most hotel rooms is the square 3-pin. If your electrical appliances have different settings/ plug pins, an adaptor or converter will be required so pack one in your luggage.

Weights & Measures
The standard Metric system is used in Malawi. This basically means that measurements used are grams and kilograms instead of ounces and pounds, litres instead of pints and kilometers in place of miles

Tipping
Hotels and restaurants add a 10% service charge to the bill that should mean a tip is not required but the waiters/other staff gets only a meagre 4% of the 10% while the rest goes to the Ministry of Tourism. Smaller establishments do not add the service charge so the staff in both kinds of places is happy to receive additional remuneration.

English Language Media
Malawi has a number of publications in English apart from the two main daily newspapers, The Daily Times and The Nation and the weekly newsmagazine, The Malawi News. Visitors can catch the English language broadcasts on BBC and VOA at different frequencies (frequencies change from time to time).


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