Items filtered by date: June 2025

By Ireen Mseteka

Likoma, August 24, Mana: Likoma District Council on Thursday elected its new council Chair, Ernest Gulu who has taken the leadership from Barnabas Sambamo.

The election was conducted during an extraordinary council meeting held at the district's community hall.

In his acceptance speech, Gulu said he was delighted to attain the chairmanship saying that people should expect continuity of development projects in the district.

"Iam glad to assume the seat. The district needs to continue developing. We need to construct tarmac roads and complete unfinished structures in the district,” he said.

The outgoing chairperson, Sambamo said he was very grateful for the support which was rendered to him by the secretariat and council members during his tenure of office.

"I have been the council chairperson for the past two years. Iam grateful for the support they rendered to me. We have worked diligently together. Let’s support the new chairperson in order to continue developing our district," Sambamo said.

Likoma District has got one elected Member of Parliament (MP) and two councilors, one from Likoma and the other one fr

By Yamikani Yapuwa

Blantyre, July 24, 2023: Blantyre Water Board (BWB) on Monday signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with University of Malawi (UNIMA) where the board would be using UNIMA’s laboratories for water testing with the latter sending chemistry students for internship.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Blantyre, BWB Chief Executive (CEO), Dr Robert Hanjahanja said the MOU provides an opportunity for them to verify the quality of BWB’s water through the school laboratories.

“The water that we treat and supply in the city of Blantyre complies with Water Organization standards as well as Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) with above 95 percent compliance and we are always confident with the water that we distribute.

“It is good practice for a third party to have a look at what you are doing and just to make sure that what you are saying and committing to the public is indeed very viable and true.

“We will have access to UNIMA’s chemistry laboratory so that if there are any tests that we want to do but we do not have the facilities, we can take advantage of the fact that they have a state of art laboratory,” he said.

Hanjahanja added that UNIMA would help them with second opinion in case there are any queries from customers as well as issues that have risen from MBS.

“If there is any research or issues we are uncertain of and we want extra knowledge, we have access to the university so that they can advise or share information,” he added.

The CEO said that the partnership would grant the Board an opportunity to give back to the community as they would be taking in Chemistry students from UNIMA to work with the board as attachés.

“It is an opportunity to allow students from UNIMA to come to BWB, learn from us and share their knowledge. We strongly believe that young people have ability to innovate and think differently so we are looking forward to learn from them.

“BWB intend to identify and support high performing girls studying sciences at UNIMA. We will support them with fees as well as open the doors for them to come and work with the institution after they have finished their education,” Hanjahanja added.

UNIMA’s Deputy Vice Chancellor, Dr Sunduzwayo Madise said the institution was very prepared to implement the MoU with BWB as it already has the expertise, the highly sophisticated chemistry and chemical engineering laboratory as well as students who are eager to learn and offer insights.

“For us it is good because one of the things we do in the university apart from teaching is research and community outreach, meaning that whatever we do must have an impact on the community.

“We know that BWB provides portable water to residents of Blantyre and surrounding areas therefore this partnership can help us to ensure that they provide good, clean and high quality water that is benefiting the country.

“What it will mean is that the residents of Blantyre and the country at large will be more satisfied that the water they are drinking is safe and of high quality because us as an independent institution will do research, water analysis and we will be able to tell BWB if there are issues they need to address,” he said.

Madise said the experience that students would get while doing internship at BWB would go a long way in giving them specialized training to enable them have experience when they go and start working wherever they want.

By Harris Kulemeka

Lilongwe, August 24, Mana: Hope Ministries International has urged people from surrounding Mwabwera Village in Traditional Authority Masumbankhunda in Lilongwe district to protect and conserve natural resources as one way of mitigating natural disasters in the area.

Hope Ministries International Project Manager Judith Likosa made the call Tuesday during an interface meeting with Mwabwera Village Natural Resources Management Committee at Malingunde in Lilongwe district.

 “We have been training these people on how they can protect and conserve the natural resources because we know that it is not only the role of government to ensure that people are protecting natural resources,” she said

Likosa said as an organization they have been providing tree seedlings to Mwabwera Village Natural Resources Management Committee so that they plant more trees for future generation to use and prevent them from natural disasters caused by deforestation.

She also encouraged people in the area to grow vegetables and some fruits which will later assist them as source of income and food for their good health.

Mwabwera Village Natural Resources Management Committee Secretary Enock Chiwanga thanked Hope Ministries International for the initiative saying it has assisted them to take an active role in sensitising people in the area to know the importance of protecting natural resources.

‘’Previously people were destroying natural resources in the area but since this organisation came in the area many people have known the importance of conserving natural resources.

“As of now we are able to replace trees in order to prevent disaster. We have managed to make by-laws that have been put in place to protect and conserve our natural resources,’’ said Chiwanga

During the interface the organisation also donated vegetable seeds like tomato, onions, chinese, cabbage and pesticides to the committee which will help them to generate funds for its sustainability.

Hope Ministries International is a Christian organization that deals with climate change and overpopulation.

By Aliko Munde

Chitipa, August 24, Mana: Press Trust on Wednesday donated medical equipment and supplies worth K500 million to Chitipa District Council through the Ministry of Health for the upgrading of Nthalire Health Centre into a rural hospital.

Speaking after receiving the donation, Minister of Health, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, thanked Press Trust for being a true partner in the country’s development which has been manifested by the trust in allocating K2 billion for the health sector.

"The donation which Press Trust has handed over to Chitipa District Council is fit for purpose. We sat down with Press Trust to look at the challenges we have. Today’s donation follows our request which we presented to the Trust. This is how corroboration is should be," Chiponda said.

Chiponda, therefore, asked health workers in the district to use the equipment for the intended purpose to improve service delivery and win trust of organisations and development partners.

Chairperson for Press Trust, Engineer Wilson Chirwa said the trust decided to strategically focus its social investment in the health sector targeting maternal and child health interventions.

"We would like to contribute towards the increase of Malawians with health care seeking behaviors, reduce maternal related deaths and under-five deaths and decongestion of secondary health facilities through upgrading of health centres into community rural hospitals," said Chirwa.

He further said that the initiative aligns well with the strategic focus in Malawi Investment Plan (MIP) 1 of the Malawi 2063 and the Health Sector Strategic Plan (2020-2030).

Chairperson for Chitipa District Council, Toweracharo Mnyenyembe was grateful to Press Trust for the donation.

"Your generosity will undoubtedly go a long way in improving the quality of healthcare services. We value your partnership and commitment to our district's development,” said Mnyenyembe.

Senior Chief Mwabulambya thanked the trust for the gesture which he said will assist not only people of Chitipa but also neighboring countries of Zambia and Tanzania.

Some of the medical equipment and supplies included sick beds, mattresses, CD scanning machines, wheelchairs and gloves, among others.

Press Trust is expanding Ntaja Health Centre in Machinga and Nthalire Health Centre in Chitipa districts into rural hospitals.

By Ireen Mseteka

Likoma, August 24, Mana: Promoter for Yofu and Makulawe (YOMA), Tuntufye Mwambafula has applauded Invest in Early Years Programme (IEYP) for improving livelihoods in Likoma through promotion of nutrition in the district.

Speaking on Thursday during a cooking demonstration and nutrition open day organized by IEYP and Sustainable Fisheries, Aquaculture Development and Watershed Management (SFAD - WM), Mwambafula said beneficiaries of the project are able to prepare balanced diets after the program distributed to them livestock and seedlings for various fruits.

"We are able to eat all the six types of food because, through the program, we were given goats, chickens, ducks, crops and fruit seeds. The programme is helping community members to sustain their nutritional status," she said.

IEY Community Facilitator for Likoma, Vision Mkumbwa said the programme specifically targets lactating mothers, pregnant women and under-five children to improve nutritional statuses.

"The project promotes food diversification among community members using locally available food stuffs. That is why the program provides crop seeds, fruit seedlings and livestock to the targeted beneficiaries so that they can be able to diversify their diets,” said Mkumbwa.

District Fisheries Officer (DFO) for Likoma, Richard Banda commended the programme for promoting fish production in the district, saying fishes are a basis of livelihoods and economic wellbeing for most people in the island district. 

By Tiwonge Kampondeni

Karonga, August 24, Mana: Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda has noted with concern gaps in service delivery at Kaporo Rural Hospital in Karonga as it is transitioning from a health centre.

Chiponda visited the hospital on Wednesday where, among others, she observed that some departments, including the dental department which has state-of-the-art dental equipment, are not offering services.

“We cannot have equipment sit and gather dust like this. Our attitude should change to match that of a hospital otherwise it will be discouraging to the donors who are supporting us with different equipment,” Chiponda said.

Other challenges the hospital is facing include limited expansion space as some residents have, over the years, encroached on the hospital’s land.

Chiponda said the Ministry will take up the issue to ensure that all land allocated for health service delivery should be secured with deeds as a control measure.

The Minister, therefore, warned the staff against breaching work ethics saying the malpractice compromises the service delivery.

She called for frequent supervision to ensure that staff report for work on time, have a good relationship with patients and take care of resources such as medicine.

Kaporo Rural Hospital Clinical Technician, Martha Wandawanda said infrastructure and shortage of staff are key challenges the hospital is facing.

“We serve over 74,000 people but we only have two clinicians, we also don’t have houses for staff,” Wandawanda said.

Karonga District Director of Health and Social Services, Dr David Sibale said understaffing is a challenge that is affecting all health facilities in the district.

By Margret Praise Kalua

Nkhata Bay, August 24, Mana: Dowa District Council has described peer to peer learning visits as a significant tool in ironing out problems councils encounter in executing their duties.

Dowa District Council Revenue Collection Supervisor, Alexander Andersen Chigalu said this on Wednesday when a delegation from Dowa District Council paid a peer to peer learning visit to Nkhata Bay District Council aimed at sharing knowledge and experiences on revenue collection and management.

Chigalu said Nkhata Bay is among the councils performing well in a number of developments hence the team decided to learn from them.

“Much as we are also doing well in other developmental areas, we thought it wise to learn new ideas from our counterpart. We believe we will improve our performance with the knowledge learned from the council,” he said.

Market Supervisor for Nkhata Bay District Council, Malumbo Mkandawire said the council also benefited from Dowa council’s visit.

“It is inspiring to see how our friends are managing and interacting with the vending community in a big business center like Dzaleka and managing revenue collection,” he said.

Nkhata Bay District Commissioner (DC), Rodgers Newa said the visit by Dowa District Council which came barely weeks after the district also hosted a delegation from Chitipa council is a sign that Nkhatabay is striving well in development.

By Margret Praise Kalua

Nkhata Bay, August 24, Mana: Dowa District Council has described peer to peer learning visits as a significant tool in ironing out problems councils encounter in executing their duties.

Dowa District Council Revenue Collection Supervisor, Alexander Andersen Chigalu said this on Wednesday when a delegation from Dowa District Council paid a peer to peer learning visit to Nkhata Bay District Council aimed at sharing knowledge and experiences on revenue collection and management.

Chigalu said Nkhata Bay is among the councils performing well in a number of developments hence the team decided to learn from them.

“Much as we are also doing well in other developmental areas, we thought it wise to learn new ideas from our counterpart. We believe we will improve our performance with the knowledge learned from the council,” he said.

Market Supervisor for Nkhata Bay District Council, Malumbo Mkandawire said the council also benefited from Dowa council’s visit.

“It is inspiring to see how our friends are managing and interacting with the vending community in a big business center like Dzaleka and managing revenue collection,” he said.

Nkhata Bay District Commissioner (DC), Rodgers Newa said the visit by Dowa District Council which came barely weeks after the district also hosted a delegation from Chitipa council is a sign that Nkhatabay is striving well in development.

By Shaffie Bakali

Mangochi, August 24, Mana: Mangochi Police Station has expressed satisfaction with increased number of men reporting various forms of Gender Based Violence (GBV) to the station’s Victim Support Unit among them denial of conjugal rights.

Mangochi Police Station, Public Relations Officer Amina Daudi disclosed this on Wednesday at the end of two-days media training organized by the Media Council of Malawi at Mangochi Boma saying the there is an increase on case reporting compared to past years.

“We are happy that there is an increase in number of men reporting cases of GBV to our Victim Support Unit. Almost four men report their cases every week and most cases being denial of conjugal rights as well as increased expenditure demanded by their wives “

“To us this is an achievement. Previously a month would go without registering any GBV case from men,” said Mangochi Police Station publicist and attributed the new trend to the efforts made by the station through public awareness on GBV and urged other partners to continue with public awareness on the GBV and its effects.

Daudi said Mangochi Police was compelled to carry out series of public awareness after the station did a research that revealed a link between GBV and suicide among men.

MCM organized the media training with funding from Malawi Irish Consortium for Gender Based Violence.

District information officers and other eastern region-based journalists, gender officers and police officers attended the two days training.

District Gender Officer for Mangochi, Pilirani Malonda expressed gratitude on efforts by various partners to raise awareness that make people to come in the open to report GBV, saying the awareness also contributes to a decrease in GBV cases this year's first half comparing to the same period 2022.

“Our office is pleased that men are coming in the open to report GBV and we would like to report that GBV cases from January to June this year have declined by 14 percent compared to the same period last year,

“There is a decrease in physical and sexual violence as 21 and 45 cases were recorded respectively in 2023's first half while last year (the same period) 36 cases for physical violence and 66 for sexual violence were recorded” Malonda said.

She also called on development partners to train more media practitioners to ensure increased awareness on GBV and its physical and psychological effects.   

By Aliko Munde

Chitipa, August 24, Mana: Senior Chief Mwabulambya has asked government to construct a modern hospital in the district saying the current hospital is small, as the district is fast growing.

He made the call on Thursday during handover of medical equipment and supplies to Chitipa District Council through the Ministry of Health by Press Trust.

Senior Chief Mwabulambya said health workers are overwhelmed with patients at the hospital as it caters even patients from Tanzania and Zambia.

"We don't have a district hospital in Chitipa because this was a health centre in those days. The facility is very small with the fast growing of the district," Senior Chief Mwabulambya said.

Chitipa District Council Chairperson Towerachalo Mnyenyembe concurred with the Senior Chief, saying even health centres in Chitipa district are few and there is need to construct more.

Mnyenyembe said that with the terrain of Chitipa which is hilly and rocky, it is difficult to maintain and service the ambulances.

"Due to inadequate funding we are failing to service our ambulances and we have almost 8 ambulances which are grounded," she said.

The Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, acknowledged the challenges health workers face at the health facility saying they have taken the request on board.

But she was quick to say that plans are in pipeline to construct the health centre at Kapoka and health posts at Titi, Kavomolo, Zimelo and Sokolo.

Press Trust is expanding Nthalire health centre into a community rural hospital.