MANAonline
WASH DSIP launched in Dowa
By Sylvester Kumwenda
Dowa, May 8, Mana: Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Liana Kakhobwe Chapota has government was committed to ensuring that every Malawian has access to potable water and good sanitation in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 6,
She said this Tuesday during the launch Dowa District Councils' 2024-2028 District Strategic Investment Plan (DSIP) for Water, Sanitation and Health (WASH).
'We are geared to ensure that as well as the Malawi 2063 which amongst others vies for potable water and sanitation for all.
"We want District Councils to align their initiatives to the policies and initiatives of the Ministry, so that they work hand in hand. We are therefore excited with this launch because this document has taken into consideration all these essential requirements," Chapota said.
She called all relevant stakeholders to put in concerted efforts to develop the sector.
The Deputy Minister said the launch marks a significant milestone in the council's commitment towards sustainable and Resilient WASH development for the District.
Chapota pointed that the Council should ensure full implementation of the plan saying the launch should not be the end towards its execution.
"In order to ensure that the Plan is operational, I request the District Council and all partners present to ensure that everyone knows about the plan and has access to it, all actors are aligned to it and report against it, and potential funders are approached and have committed to the plan.
" The Plan should be monitored and annually reviewed with all stakeholders for accountability, periodically updated, use the plan to influence annual planning and budgeting, and institutional capacity building for effective and sustainable implementation of the plan," she said.
Chairperson for Dowa District Council, Mayamiko Kambewa said the district was improving in terms of WASH and sanitation.
" We are currently at over 80 percent in terms of access to potable water for the population. In terms of open defecation, we only have 2 percent of the population still doing that.
"But in issues of sanitation, even if one person is not being hygienic enough, it might affect the whole village or community. So, we want to reach 100 percent in all these aspects," he said.
Kambewa urged all implementing partners in the district to align their work towards the plan and reach out to all communities including hard to reach ones.
The Plan was developed in collaboration with WASH players such as World Vision, Red Cross, Pump Aid, Beyond Water, Feed the Children, Beyond Water, Orant Charities and Self Help Africa.
Systems Manager for Self Help Africa, Joseph Kiambuthi said the Plan was home grown, and a product of an intensive and participatory process involving mapping of WASH access, developing a shared vision of universal WASH access, and identifying steps required over the fine years to deliver the joint vision.
"I would like to take this opportunity to confirm Self Help Africa and partners for their commitment to supporting government, the Ministry and District councils where we are working in to strengthen WASH systems to achieve sustainable WASH services," he added.
The WASH DSIP is to guide the council's implementation of activities in WASH and sanitation for the period and was launched under the theme “Delivering Sustainable and Resilient WASH Services for Productive Human Capital Development”.
Poor Law enforcement catalyses poverty in the country
By Majona Mnjuzi
Mchinji, May 8, Mana: Research findings presented by Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD) in partnership with Christian Aid and Lilongwe University of Agricultural (LUANAR) unveiled that poor law enforcement nurtures vendors and other unscrupulous individuals to rob from farmers,
Speaking during a research presentation at Mchinji District Executive Committee (DEC) meeting, Director of Centre for Agricultural Research and Development (CARD) from LUANAR, Innocent Pangapanga Phiri, stressed that lack of capacity of the existing local and central government structures provide room for vendors to offer unaccepted price of farm produce.
“Vendors are buying agricultural commodities at lower price. Notable example is maize, Government set K650 as starting price but vendors are buying at K410 for maize which is exploitation of the farmers. With such prices, farmers cannot graduate from poverty,” Phiri said.
Mchinji District Principal Nutrition and HIV/Aids Officer (PNHAO), Davie Panyani, hailed the research findings as a whistle blower for relevant stakeholders to develop policies that will deter such vendors’ tendency.
“The research findings have been presented on time, and as Mchinji district council we will incorporate these findings in our District Development Plan (DDP) to ensure swift action has been taken. Currently, we are intensifying climate smart agriculture as the first pillar of Malawi Vision 2063, and ensure that people are graduating from poverty line,” said Panyani.
LUANAR in partnership with Christian Aid and CARD conducted a development study aimed at “rethinking poverty” at Tradition Authority (T/A) Mavwere in Mchinji district.
Similar study is also expected to be done in Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo.
MEC dates Kasungu stakeholders
By Wanangwa Tembo
Kasungu, May 8, Mana: District Commissioner for Kasungu, James Kanyangalazi has appealed to the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to deploy civic and voter educators in good time considering that there are new electoral laws in place.
Speaking Tuesday in Kasungu at the end of a MEC’s two-day stakeholders engagement, Kanyangalazi said since there has been enactment of new legislation for elections, it is imperative that there should be thorough civic education for the electorate.
“We know that many things have changed in the management of elections. For example, constituency and ward boundaries have changed in some areas.
“Likewise, there are also changes in some of the laws governing the elections. All this require that civic educators be deployed in good time so that there is proper awareness,” he said.
Kanyangalazi said the district team is ready and willing to support the electoral process in order to help the commission deliver credible elections.
MEC Commissioner Olivia Liwewe said the engagement was a platform for the electoral body to interact with stakeholders so that they also prepare for the polls.
“We were here to interact with chiefs, political leaders through the Multiparty Liaison Committee, civil society, the media and other stakeholders on the forthcoming elections.
“We have given out the elections calendar and also highlighted critical issues in the laws that have changed so that we walk together knowing how the elections will be conducted,” she said.
Liwewe, who chairs the commission’s electoral services committee, said it is important to involve stakeholders so that they know how the electoral body has prepared for the general elections.
In an interview, Senior Chief Simlemba thanked MEC for the engagement saying such activities enhance the transparency of the electoral process.
Some of the crucial electoral laws that have changed are the adjustment of the time to close polling centres from 6pm to 4pm, outlawing of handouts and criminalisation of podium insults of other political players.
At least 10.5 million Malawians will be heading to the seventh democratic general elections on 16 September, 2025 to elect president, members of parliament and councillors.
Norwegian Government commits to continue supporting smallholder farmers in Malawi
By George Mponda
Karonga, May 8, Mana: Norwegian Ambassador to Malawi Ingrid Marie Mikelsen has pledged her government’s commitment to continue supporting smallholder farmers in Malawi amidst adverse effects of climate change.
Mikelsen was speaking Tuesday when she inspected a Rice Milling Plant belonging to Kaporo Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi which is under National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi (NASFAM) and paddy fields belonging to some rice seed multipliers in Karonga District.
" Partnership between NASFAM and Norwegian Government started in 2000. Smallholder farmers promote government efforts in ensuring food security, they should add value to their farm produce for them to have ready markets for their produce," Mikelsen said.
Norway understands the effects of climate change on agriculture in Malawi. This is why our government will continue supporting smallholder farmers for them to be resilient and mitigate such effects by practising climate smart agriculture,” said Mikelsen.
In her remarks, Chief Executive Officer for NASFAM, Betty Chinyamunyamu hailed the Norwegian Government for its support to smallholder farmers in Karonga who grow Kilombero Rice under KASFAM.
" We depend on smallholder farmers in terms of food security and forex through their agricultural exports. We encourage them sell their farm produce and sell in bulk to attract good prices as such, NASFAM Commercial buys from them hence realizing reasonable profits," Chinyamunyamu said.
She then advised smallholder farmers in Malawi to form cooperatives for them to access better markets and farm mechanisation equipment at cheaper prices.
One of the seed mutlipliers under KASFAM, Kings Mwambene from Fundi Village in the area of Senior Chief Kilipura in the district said collective selling out farm produce has proved a very productive and efficient initiative in agribusiness.
PDU hail pre-Tourism lab session
By Sheminah Nkhoma
Lilongwe, May 8, Mana: Director of Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU) responsible for Industrialization and infrastructure development Enwell Kadango has applauded the Pre- Tourism Lab session as a significant step in the preparation of main lab.
Speaking during the closing ceremony of two -day Pre-Tourism Lab session in Lilongwe, Kadango said the meeting has been successful because of the active participation as they were able to highlight gaps which are in the Tourism Sector.
“We were looking on issues of policy and legal frameworks, products and marketing as well as Infrastructure Investment which are not fully developed in the Tourism sector”, said Kadango.
Kadango further said the Pre-Lab helps to bring issues together with the aim of finding solutions.
“To ensure the success of Tourism sector we had to bring stakeholders from different sectors which are connected to this industry to help each other so that tourism strives in the country”, he said.
In his remarks, Secretary for Tourism Chauncy Simwaka, appreciated the PDU for organizing the event as it has helped them to know some of the setbacks faced in the tourism sector.
“Stakeholders came together to look into various impediments in the development of tourism sector because they are a lot of challenges which needs to be addressed to have an effective industry”, said Simwaka.
The main Pre -Tourism Lab session is expected to take place on May 28, 2024.
Public urged to embrace resilient spirit
By Moses Nyirenda
Lilongwe, May 7, Mana: Office of President and Cabinet (OPC) Principal Secretary, Dr. Anjimile Mtila has urged people in the country to embrace the spirit of resilience if they are to move on amidst various natural catastrophes such as droughts and floods which the country experiences.
She made the remarks on Tuesday in Lilongwe during the opening ceremony of the three-day National Resilience Strategy Phase 1 Review Workshop organized by Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA) and its partners including Care Malawi and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) among others.
Mtila said that people in the country are strong and there is need for them to exercise resilience to the shocks induced by natural disasters.
“Malawians are already resilient by birth, all of us survived childhood diseases and we are very strong and when disasters come we are able to face them,” Mtila said.
She also said that people in the country should stop relying on maize cultivation in order to maintain crop production resilience amidst natural calamities.
“We focus too much on maize and when there are problems such as drought then we have no food the whole year, but if we focus on other crops like cassava, sweet potatoes and sorghum then we would have food all year round.
In addition, when we grow maize the next six months after we harvest, land just stays idle as we do not grow anything else on the land until the next rains and with this we always have food in security all year round,” she said.
Also speaking during the opening of the three-day workshop, DoDMA Director of Resilience and Recovery, Peter Chimangeni said that as DODMA they are striving to develop various strategies and interventions aimed at building resilience in the country.
“We have the 2063 agenda and so many other documents that highlight what can be done to bring the country to resilience, we are very positive that we are going to achieve what is needed on the issue of resilience.
But also the coming of the new disaster law is also quite handy for us to make sure that we spearhead issues to do with resilience building and we are sure that we will make substantial progress by 2030,” Chimangeni said.
Also speaking at the function, Care Malawi Chief of Party, Daniel Abbott said that his organizations is committed to working with government in implementing projects that would help to come up with resilient solutions to the problems caused by natural disasters.
Malawi for improved fertilizer usage, soil management
By Patricia Kapulula in Nairobi, Kenya
Nairobi, May 7, Mana: Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale says Malawi is geared to ensure an improvement in fertilizer usage and soil management in the country in the next two years, thereby achieving greater results in the agricultural sector.
Kawale was speaking in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health (AFSH) Summit currently underway in Kenya.
He said through policies and programmes put in place, the country will see a 25 percent jump in the usage of fertilizer as well as soil management.
Kawale said this will see the country achieve food and nutrition security and a tremendous economic progress.
“Currently, the policies and programmes that we have put in place will help increase production of organic fertilizer which is cheaper than chemical fertilizer. Organic fertilizer improves soil health because it puts nutrients back into the soil,” he said.
The Summit, which has brought together all relevant stakeholders to highlight the crucial role of fertilizer and soil health in stimulating sustainable pro-poor productivity growth in African agriculture, will agree on an African Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan that will deliver concrete recommendations to be taken by African leaders in the next 10 years.
According to Kawale, Malawi has a lot of success stories and programmes that it may not even take 10 years to ensure that the action plan is implemented.
African Union (AU) Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (ARBE), Josefa Sacko, said Malawi is doing well in fertilizer usage with 96 kilogrammes of fertilizer used per hectare compared to other countries which are at an average of 40 kilogrammes per hactare.
President Lazarus Chakwera is expected to attend the Heads of State and Government AFSH meeting scheduled for Thursday.
In June 2006, AU Heads of State and Government endorsed the Abuja Declaration on Fertilizer for the Africa Green revolution, a continental strategy to reverse the worrying trend of poor productivity of the African soils.
The declaration focused on key targets required for agricultural growth, food security and rural development in Africa, with a focus on fertilizer.
Chitoliro productions integrates sports into UMP festival
By Levison Lester
Lilongwe, May 7, Mana: Spokesperson of Urban Music People (UMP), Marie Thom has said integration of sports in the upcoming festival will enhance experience, audience engagement, and promotion of physical activities in the country.
In an interview with Malawi News Agency, Thom said the integration of sports into UMP will feature diverse range of beach and niche activities that sports diehards enjoy.
“UMP festival will feature a diverse sports disciplines like table Tennis, beach volleyball, female beach football, darts, pool, arm wrestling, canoeing, fishing competition as well as kayaking competition.
“We are thrilled to introduce sports into the UMP Festival enriching the event with activities that celebrate athleticism, camaraderie, and community spirit. By incorporating these exciting sporting events, we aim to offer attendees a dynamic and diverse experience,” Thom said.
Thom further said the triumph of the sports integration will depend on the collaboration with stakeholders saying this enhances better execution of sporting events.
“To ensure the success of the sporting integration, Chitoliro is actively involving various local sports clubs, associations, and relevant authorities to facilitate the organization and promotion of the sports,” She added.
In his remarks, basketball player for Cobbe Barracks Ettiene Nyamilandu, said the initiative is a good development saying the integration will help teams to work-hard.
“This is a good development. It will help athletes to perform at higher level so that they can be recognised as the best and then get the award. In addition, this will also motivate teams and individuals to push for the greater good,”
UMP festival which began as a mini-concert at Grin Bamboo in Blantyre is expected to hold this years’ celebration on 25 to 28 October at Cape Maclear in Mangochi.
Norwegian Government impressed with functionality of NRIS
By George Mponda
Karonga, May 7, Mana: Norwegian Ambassador to Malawi, Ingrid Marie Mikelsen has said her government is committed to ensuring that Malawi’s citizenry have national identity cards for them to participate in the 2025 General Election.
Mikelsen was speaking Tuesday when she toured National Registration Bureau (NRB) offices at Karonga District Council.
"Elections are coming up in a year from now and we need more people to have national identity cards so that they can vote for leaders of their choice., Norway, has since 2016 been supporting the NRB with National Registration and Identification System (NRIS). We are proud that the system is functioning well.
Norway has provided more than K5 billion to make sure that the project is implemented successfully. We understand that there are challenges in terms of equipment but nonetheless, the system is functioning well," Mikelsen said
She added that through collaboration between different stakeholder and the Norwegian Statistical Bureau, the data in the system is very reliable.
Principal Secretary for NRB in the Ministry of Homeland Security, Mphatso Sambo said for a long time, Norwegian Government has played a crucial role in supporting Malawi Government in implementation of the project.
"The NRB will register all eligible candidates and provide them with national identity cards. We are currently in the 8th phase of the National Registration Outreach Programe.
Our job is to register eligible people so that they access identity cards but we do not register people for elections. We only support the electoral process through the registration of Malawians,"said Sambo.
Sambo added that the NRB will soon be launching a mop up exercise in all districts from June 1 whereby all people who will be missed in the current phase, should be served.
NGO trains sign language to assist students with hearing impairment
By Memory Khutuliwa
Blantyre, May 7, Mana; Tikonze Apapa, a Non-Government Organization dedicated to empower people with hearing impairment has trained six sign language interpreters in Chiradzulu to assist students with hearing impairment in vocational Centre’s in the district for inclusive education
A refresher training for volunteer sign language interpreters took place at Chiradzulu Secondary School recently where six volunteers acquired additional skills in sign language interpretation through a project called Muchitadala.
Executive Director for Tikonze Apapa, Katiana Lafrance said limited resources is a setback that prevents Tikonze Apapa from accomplishing the project which targets students with hearing impairment across Malawi.
“The aim of this project is to support students with hearing impairment in schools across the country by providing sign language interpreters to facilitate their academic progress,” she said.
The director added that Tikonze Apapa’s ambition is to reach out to more students with hearing impairment as a way of promoting inclusive education for student with hearing impairment whom she said were mostly denied right to education.
Currently 14 students with hearing impairment will benefit from the pilot phase of the project.
“Students with hearing impairment often face challenges in understanding teachers due to communication barriers. The project will bridge the communication gap,” she added.
One of the trainees, Steve Nkhamani said the training equipped him with practical skills and knowledge directly applicable to specific career needs.
“I will be able to fill the gap between students with hearing impairment and teachers. This is in line with inclusive education policy,” he said.
Tikonze Apapa is an organization dedicated to empowering people with hearing impairment through various initiatives including vocational training and education sponsorship in some of the districts in the country.
