Items filtered by date: May 2025

By Beni Bamusi

Thyolo, August 2, Mana: Thyolo Police Station has embarked on sensitization campaign aimed at creating awareness among communities in the district on the negative impacts of committing crimes.

Speaking during the campaign on Tuesday in the area of Traditional Authority (TA) January, Thyolo Police Officer in Charge, Isaac Norman said it was high time people in the district should refrain from breaking laws saying Police would continue to arrest people involved in different crimes.

He said it was pathetic that Thyolo continues to record high cases of crime like homicide and theft hence the need for everyone to take full responsibility of making sure that their homes and community resources are secured.

“Security entails safety of a person and one's resources. If one's life and resources are safe, family and community development will be attained with much ease.

“Some crimes are committed by children, we need to train them discipline so that they can become productive citizens,” he said.

TA January has since commended police in the district for the timely sensitization saying it would reduce crime rate since the law enforcers are equipping community with relevant knowledge.

“This gathering has enlightened people and I believe there is going to be a positive change because other people were committing crimes out of ignorance,” he said.

Among other things, Thyolo Police is conducting the sensitization campaign to address issues of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and road safety use.

In the first half on 2023, the district registered 20 cases of homicide which is higher comparing to 2022 during the same period where the district recorded 11 cases of homicide.

By Golden Kang’oma

Salima, August 2, Mana: Salima District Health Office (DHO) has it was worried with the increase of Sexual Transmitted Infection's (STI’s) among youth in the district which has been attributed to lack of knowledge and information.

The development was revealed during a community service fair which was organized by Center for Youth Empowerment and Civic Education (CYECE) in collaboration with Salima DHO in the Area of Senior Tradition Authority (TA) Makanjira.

Speaking on the sidelines of the fair, Anti-Retro Therapy (ART) Coordinator for Salima District Hospital, Lucia Matambo revealed that from January to June, 2023, the district has registered 74 percent increase in STI cases in youth ranging from the ages of 10 to 35.

She said that, "The situation is very worrisome as we are receiving more STI cases, and this is putting most of the youth at risk of getting HIV, if they are not careful.”

Matambo said the initiative by CYECE would help most of the youth to have vast knowledge on Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) related information as most youth had no knowledge and it would help to reduce STI cases.

District Coordinator for CYECE, Aggie Chan’g said they organized the fair to ensure that young people have access to SRH and make sure that they have the right information which they can easily share with others.

“Our aim is to make sure that adolescent’s girls and young women have access to different sexual and reproductive health services and information, so the program is a live reality that most young people in our rural communities do not complete their education because of several challenges,” she said.

Chan’g said that they are impressed with how most youths have patronized the event and how they have accessed the services that were being rendered.

One of the youths, Lucia Hassan said that the initiative has helped most of the youth to access quality health services and take off some myths about SRH that surrounded them.

CYECE with funding from amplified change are implementing a Sexuality Education for Transformation (SET) project in the area of TA’s Makanjira and Kuluunda.

By Joel Phiri

Mzimba, August 2, Mana: District Nutrition Officer for Mzimba, Gift Simukonda has challenged communities in the district to be practicing diversified diets for good healthy and reduce stunting which emanates from malnutrition.

He was speaking on Tuesday during a visit to some households at Manyamula in the district to appreciate nutrition promotion initiatives as the district prepares for a nutrition open day to be held in the district this month.

Simukonda said that he observed that most households have vegetable gardens, livestock such as goats and pigs and chickens.

He advised the people that apart from indulging in animal husbandry and poultry for sell, they should consume animal meat and vegetables for healthy living.

‘‘We always advise you to grow diversified crops besides rearing livestock and not all should be sold away. You should store some for your balanced diet consumption for good nutrition,’’ Simukonda said.

Group Village Head Kawimbo under Paramount Chief M’mbelwa said he in collaboration with some traditional leaders advise his subjects on the advantages of consuming balanced diets.

‘‘I always tell people in this area that as they sale, they should keep some for themselves,’’ he said.

A recent survey conducted by Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources indicated that malnutrition and stunting levels is at 39 percent exceeding national level which is at 35 percent.

By Martin Chiwanda

Machinga, August 2, Mana: Kapua Charity Climbers, a group from Finland which raises funds to support girls in the country has said inclusion of Sexual Reproductive Healthy Rights (SRHR) education in schools’ curriculum could play a huge role of reducing sexual violence.

The Group’s representative, Pia-Maria Lausas said they have noted with concern that most of the adolescent girls in the country have little knowledge of sexual violence and sexual reproductive healthy hence the call.

She was speaking on Tuesday when the group visited Kaombe Primary School in the area of Senior Chief Liwonde in Machinga to appreciate efforts being made by Centre for Youth Empowerment and Civic Education (CYECE), on empowering communities especially girls and women on issues to do elimination of all forms of violence in the district.

Lausas said her grouping wants to advocate that Sexual reproductive healthy rights and Gender Based Violence (GBV)be included in the school’s curriculum which would subsequently reduce all form of violence in the future.

"We want to advocate that issues to do with Sexual reproductive healthy rights and GBV be in the school’s curriculum. Once we begin to teach these little ones right from school, it will help to reduce sexual violence in the society," she said.

CYECE Executive Director, Lucky Mbewe said through empowerment initiative, the organization has established different strategies in schools and communities including youth clubs and village savings loans groups to give girls platform so that they can talk about issues that negatively contribute to their poor participation on issues that affect their lives.

"Our object is to empower communities to be self-reliant in developing sustainable strategies that protect women and girls from all forms of violence and allow a girl child to stay in school while we continue bringing awareness to communities on issues that affect them in attaining basic education," he said.

District Gender Officer for Machinga, Olive Msyamboza applauded CYECE for "Prevention of Sexual gender based violence in rural Malawi" project which the organization was implementing in the areas of Traditional Authority (TA) Liwonde, citing the project has tremendously improved the knowledge gap on gender related issues among communities.

"Prior to the inception of the project we had challenges such as child marriages, high school dropout rate, especially among primary girls due to early pregnancies which eventually lead to early marriages," she noted.

By Lekereni Chinkhota

Salima, August 2, Mana: Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change Tuesday expressed concern at the pace which the country was executing National Implementation Plans (NIPs) for mitigating Persistent Organic Pollutants due to inadequate resources.

The development was revealed in Salima during an inception meeting held to review and update the National Implementation Plans (NIPs) of the Stockholm Convention on the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in Malawi.

Deputy Director of Environmental Affairs Department, Victoria Kachimera said the main challenge the country was facing over time in implementing the NIPs that were developed in 2004 and 2019 has been low or inadequate financial resources allocated to implementation activities.

She added that by not implementing activities underlined in the NIPs it has made it difficult for government to determine if the actions outlined in the NIP are effective or not in mitigating POPs, as the chemicals could cause serious human health and environmental problems.

"Malawi developed two NIPs which allowed us to come up with plans on how we will manage a group of chemicals which are called POPs. These chemicals are particularly dangerous because they stay in the environment for a very long time and they are difficult to get rid of.

"Another challenge is the complexity of the chemicals themselves. While the country may not have the capacity to analyse or detect the chemicals in products, there are opportunities for ou institutions of higher learning to conduct research in the said areas," Kachimera added.

She pointed out that the involvement of different stakeholders during the inception meeting would assist in reviewing and updating the 2019 NIP with assistance from United Nations Environmental Programmes and Africa Institute.

The Deputy Director said after sourcing views from different stakeholders from the workshop, a platform for strategic objectives, capacity building, and mobilising resources for management of POP chemicals has been put forward to benefit the country in eliminating the problem.

Assistant Programme Coordinator for the Africa Institute, Vincentius Mughongora said the adoption of NIP's idea by Malawi government was a good idea to mitigate the usage of POPs.

"It is important to strengthen the political will regarding the adoption of the NIPs. The Africa Institute helps in facilitating the funding that countries receive to ease their objectives that are developed by the countries to mitigate the availability of POPs," he said.

The workshop which involved stakeholders from agriculture, forestry, higher education institutions and universities, media and district councils among others aimed at collecting ideas that can be used to implement the launched NIP and how best it can run for the benefit of the country.

Some of the chemicals covered under the Stockholm Convention include chlordane that is used in construction for termite control, as well as Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) that are found in transformers and capacitors. 

By Tione Andsen

Lilongwe, August 2, Mana: Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change has warned that deadwood in Ministry would be thrown out if progress was to be made.

Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Dr Michael Usi made the warning Wednesday during a Press Briefing on the Progress of his Ministry in Lilongwe.

He said the Ministry need to bring in mind set change among its officials to value their services they provide to the public.

The Minister said there are some officials who are deliberately frustrating the Ministry’s efforts to attain its objectives and mandate

Usi noted that dismissing civil servants from the public service has been a challenge to the absence of appraisals reports within ministries, departments and government agencies.

“I have already informed my Principal Secretary to make sure that appraisal reports should be made available by end August, 2023 and this will provide an opportunity to have a basis to remove the deadwood from the Ministry,” he charged.

The Minister pointed out that all civil servants are subjected to removal from the public service if there is clear evidence that are failing to perform their work and if they could challenge their dismissal the ministry should be in a position to provide tangible evidence of their action.

He said there are high quality officials within the Ministry who are relevant to their work and they need to be motivated to more.

“We have an example where officials of the Ministry have deliberate delay in processing application letters for mining.  Department of Forestry has expedited the process and all applicants have been responded to within a week and this is what we need,” Usi added.

He said it becomes frustrating to note that some officials are not taking up their assignments and this tendency needs to be stopped.

The Minister said the issue of Viphya housing scandal is one of example which need addressed thoroughly and amicable solutions should be found.

Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Dr Yusuf Nkungula emphasized said the Ministry has a mandate to implement.

He said everything need to be done through teamwork, collaboration, coordination and networking.

By Eunice Disi

Lilongwe, August 2, Mana: National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority (TEVETA) on promoting quality in tertiary education.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Lilongwe on Tuesday, TEVETA Board Chairperson Dr Don Whaya emphasised on the need for collaborative efforts in promoting quality education.

“The MoU brings an agreement between the two institutions which are involved in regulating education trainings.

“Although the two institutions were doing almost the same things, it was difficult to work together since we did not have an agreement. This is time we will be able to share information and experience on training institutions,” said Whaya.

Whaya elaborated that the two institutions will ensure that quality in the education and training institutions is not compromised.

“We want to make sure that when people graduate from these institutions they should be of the standards that the industry demands,” he said.

NCHE Board Chairperson, Professor Beatrice Mtimuni said the MoU will ensure that regulatory functions are done cordially and that there is sanity.

“Most institutions are operating illegally in Malawi and tend to lie to have been accredited by NCHE or TEVETA.

“Our responsibility is to ensure that young people are getting quality education in universities or vocational training skills though TEVETA hence the importance of the MoU between the two institutions in shaping education in Malawi,” said Mtimuni.

The MoU, which will run for three years, seeks to regulate the issuing of fake certificates by institutions who are not accredited by the two regulatory authorities.

By Blackson Mkupatira

Dedza, August 2, Mana: Dedza District Council Monday elected Councillor for Thiwi Ward, Themuka Nkhwewu as the new Council Chairperson and Councillor for Magomero ward, Shyreen Gamulani as Vice Council Chairperson.

Nkhwewu won after gaining seven out of the 18 votes, defeating Joseph Kwenda (6), Isaac Ziyaya (2), Gift Balaka (1), and Stanley Manase (1), whereas Gamulani amassed 10 out of the 19 votes casted to defeat Joseph Kwenda (7), and Numerie Kanjere (2).

In his acceptance speech, Nkhwewu who has taken over from Councillor Francis Chimpikizo pledged to strengthen the relationship between the council's elected members and secretariat, promote professionalism among council staff for better service delivery and to push for timely completion of developmental projects in the districts.

"I am very happy and thankful to my fellow councillors for having faith in me to lead them as the new chairperson," Nkhwewu said, who also served as the council chairperson in 2020.

On her part, Gamulani said she would use her newly acquired position to transform the lives of her fellow women in the district socio-economically by ensuring that they are given equal opportunities as men and include them in decision making and developmental activities taking place in the district.

"Most of the times women do not hold leadership positions because people think that women cannot perform as men. I am glad I have been given this chance, I hope to deliver," she said.

District Commissioner (DC) for Dedza, Thomas Chigwenembe advised council members to render their full support to the newly elected members for development to flourish.

By Twimepoki Mangani

Lilongwe, August 2, Mana: Extreme FC Tuesday secured a spot in the 2023 FDH Bank Cup round of 16 after defeating Mbabzi United 1-0 at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe.

Mbabzi United had the better first half amassing 12 chances against Extreme FC’s 7.

They were close to breaking the dead lock seconds after kick off when Patrick Joseph directed a cross into the penalty box for Sosten Esau who managed to create space away from goalie Maclean Mwale but drifted too far right to score.

Momentously Mbabzi launched yet another attack, piling pressure on the Super League side however Extreme FC maintained a hold on the game as they tried to unlock the proceedings from their midfield led by Grevin Ng’anjo.

Mbabzi were given a scar when Francis Pukusu’s well curved corner was heading for goal but goal keeper Mpondabasi Mwale tipped it over the bar.

Extreme, kept begging from the corner kicks and in the 25th minute Sanudi Frank’s corner landed at Innocent Chipolopolo’s feet who blasted the effort wide.

Chipiku Premier Division side began the second half on a high note as Tony Moyo grabbed the first chance an effort over the bar.

Esau had the brightest of chances when he had a 1-v-1 moment with the keeper who made himself big to deny the effort.

The well-disciplined Mbabzi, shined the most when defender Mike Chimkwasa consecutively cleared off counter attacks by Babangida Ishaya and Innocent Chipolopolo respectively.

The breakthrough came in the 59^th minute through Beston Jimu who headed home a Tonny Phiri corner.          

Coach for Extreme FC, Elvis Kafoteka expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance while remaining optimistic of their round of 16 tie.

“The players have done well, of course we had moments were we lost concentration, there was a bit of fatigue and you noticed we used our goal keeper Blessings Juma as a second half substitute because most of our usual strikers are nursing injuries,”

“Ahead of the Bullets encounter we know it’s going to be a challenge but we shall be ready since it’s a motivation for our boys to play a team that’s at the top of the Super League,” he said.

Coach for Mbabvi, Justine Waya on the other hand said his team got punished for not maximizing their chances but hopes improvements will be attained as they focus on the Castel Cup and the League.

Extreme FC will play FCB Nyasa Big Bullets on Saturday, August 5, 2023 at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe for a spot in the quarter finals.

By Carolyn Khola

Lilongwe, August 1, Mana: Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare is migrating from manual data management to digital information management system called Child First Software (CFS) in Child Care Institutions (CCI) as one way of improving accuracy and efficiency during operations.

This was said on Monday during the District Technical Working Group (TWG) meeting at Lilongwe District Council offices.

Child Development Officer in the Ministry, Kondwani Mhone highlighted that migration will help increase accuracy and have reliable data when tracking children status in the system.

“The transition will enable us, as a ministry, to have all data related to CCI be available in the system. We will be able to register the child, monitor them and be able to improve in service delivery since all information pertaining to the child is captured in the system.

“We believe the CFS will help us address challenges that come in data management in the district. The system will ease the district from so much paper work that can be lost due to fire and misplacement,” he said.

Country Director for Both End Believing (BEB), Joyce Maganga stated that her NGO will work hand in hand with the ministry to provide the software that will be used in institutions so that they can have digital records.

She highlighted that the organisation will ensure to work in a professional manner so that they can build accurate data for the district’s vulnerable children as well as providing training and mentorship support to officers who will be managing the system.

Lilongwe District Social Welfare Officer, Derrick Mwenda appreciated the development describing it as very crucial for the development of the country.

"This is a good initiative and it is helpful if well implemented. I hope it works out for the benefit of the council," said Mwenda.

BEB will be the implementing partner in the transition aimed at transforming child welfare with technology.