Items filtered by date: June 2025

By Manasse Nyirenda

Lilongwe, August 19, Mana: President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has arrived in South Africa ahead of the five-member grouping of Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa (BRICS) meeting which officially opens on Tuesday, August, 22 at Sandston Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

President Chakwera arrived through Lanseria International Airport in the company of First Lady Monica Chakwera and was welcomed by Malawi's High Commissioner to South Africa, Stella Ndau and other South African delegates.

On arrival the president said the summit will provide the country an opportunity to engage development partners on ways of addressing debts.

"We will champion our cause with emerging and fellow developing markets through multilateral cooperation to rebalance the world’s economic and political tectonics and make the global system conducive for inclusive growth," he said.

The summit is being held under the theme "Brics Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multiteralism"

High on the agenda for the summit among others will include discussions on expanding the grouping's membership to include more countries.

So far a number of African States have expressed interest to join the grouping which include Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Tunisia, Senegal and Egypt among others.

By Manasse Nyirenda

Lilongwe, August 19, Mana: President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has arrived in South Africa ahead of the five-member grouping of Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa (BRICS) meeting which officially opens on Tuesday, August, 22 at Sandston Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

President Chakwera arrived through Lanseria International Airport in the company of First Lady Monica Chakwera and was welcomed by Malawi's High Commissioner to South Africa, Stella Ndau and other South African delegates.

On arrival the president said the summit will provide the country an opportunity to engage development partners on ways of addressing debts.

"We will champion our cause with emerging and fellow developing markets through multilateral cooperation to rebalance the world’s economic and political tectonics and make the global system conducive for inclusive growth," he said.

The summit is being held under the theme "Brics Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multiteralism"

High on the agenda for the summit among others will include discussions on expanding the grouping's membership to include more countries.

So far a number of African States have expressed interest to join the grouping which include Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Tunisia, Senegal and Egypt among others.

Twimepoki Mangani

Lilongwe August 18 Mana: FCB Nyasa Big Bullets Gaffer, Kalitso Pasuwa has said Bullets will need to dig deep and be on top of their game tactically if they are to salvage a good result against Dragon FC on Sunday at the Malabo stadium when they kick off their 2023 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions league campaign.

For their first preliminary match, Bullets were drawn to play Dragon FC, from Equatorial Guinea on the road followed by a reverse fixture on the 27^th August at Bingu National Stadium.

In an interview, Pasuwa said preparations for the anticipated match have been rolling out smoothly while he also noted that little information is known on their opponent.

“The guys are doing well, the local games are different from international games hence we need to be tactically good as we hope for the best.

“I have played Dragon before on national level however I wouldn’t say I know so much about their style of play,” he said.

Pasuwa highlighted injuries and transfer of players to other clubs as some of the challenges ahead of the regional showpiece but remained optimistic that available players will be up to the task.

“The problem I am having is that we are losing the spine of the team, most of the guys who are regulars and there is nothing we can do however I would have wanted one or two experienced guys around,” Pasuwa added.

While noting that indeed more recruits are joining Bullets, Pasuwa said players are looking for where they can have better livihoods and hence budgets will need to be revised in the future to be at par with the demands of the champions’ league.

Meanwhile Bullet’s Kenyan defender, Clyde Senaji who has frequently played in the champion’s league said the key to such matches is ample preparation while he also relished the opportunity on play on such a stage representing his family, Kenyans and Malawians. 

“I think every player wants to play on this stage, it’s a chance for us all to showcase our talent and these are tactically matches that need discipline from the team.” He said.

Senaji who did not feature in Bullet’s recent match against Extreme due to discomfort confirmed that he is in good shape and fit.

In 2022 Bullets failed a consecutive 4^th time to exceed beyond the preliminary stage of the champions league after facing defeat to Tanzanian’s Simba SC, having previously exited the continental showpiece to Gor Mahia (Kenya), Platinum FC(Zimbabwe) and Amazulu FC(South).

FCB Nyasa Big Bullets departed Malawi on Thursday and is presently in Equatorial Guinea set for the match.

Mana/tm

By Kondwani Magombo

Lilongwe, August 18, Mana: The 2019-2020 Financial Year flashes into the minds of Nkhotakota District Council management staff with unpleasant recollection. It was the year that the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD), a five-year US$100 million World Bank-funded project, put councils under microscope to assess their performance in service delivery, and determine which ones should get project’s Performance Based Grant (PBG).

A tool called Local Authority Performance Assessment (LAPA) was used and Nkhotakota, alongside three other districts, scored very poorly on the audit report scale, which has four classifications namely, unqualified opinion (top status), qualified opinion, disclaimer, and adverse opinion (lowest status).

Nkhotakota district council got adverse opinion – the worst status on the scale and, alongside Nchinji, Blantyre and Thyolo, they lost the opportunity to tap from the GESD’s Performance Based Grant (PBG).

Nkhotakota district council and its population saw a total sum of MK337million, which could have supplemented the council’s District Development Fund (DDF), escaping through the fingers.

“It was a very bad experience and it weighed heavily on us to think that we had deprived the people of Nkhotakota funds that could help in improving service delivery in the district,” explains the council’s Director of Finance (DoF), Khumbo Masankhula.

According to the DoF, there were four main issues that the council fell short on: valuation of non-current assets; failure to provide supporting documents for some figures which were material in the financial statements; miscalculation of some balances in the statement of the financial positions; and failure to remit payee to Malawi Revenue Authority.  

But rather than draining the council’s energy to rise and remain standing, the adverse opinion score only succeeded in making Nkhotakota District Council management stronger than ever before.

From the adverse opinion, Nkhotakota put its house in order and, alongside three other councils across the country, the council attained unqualified opinion status in the subsequent financial year of 2020-2021.

Unqualified opinion audit report, according to National Local Government Financing Committee (NLGFC) financial analyst, Sara Banda Chizinga, is the top classification on the audit reporting scale and it means that “auditors have gone through all financial statements and that, in the auditors’ assessment, the financial statements are free from material misstatements, and also that the statements are showing a true and fair view”.

Nkhotakota district council continues to walk tall after making it again, alongside seven other councils that have attained unqualified opinion audit report for the 2021-2022 financial year.

“The adverse opinion audit report was a big wakeup call and, as council, we told ourselves that it would never happen again,” explains Masankhula. “So, we started preparing proper books of accounts and putting everything in order and here we are: It’s exciting news and we are happy that we are now able to access the GESD’s Performance Based Grants. The people of Nkhotakota are happy too.”

While the unqualified opinion status remains a must for all councils in the country as it is a prerequisite for them to tap into GESD’s PBG, for Nkhotakota it is a thing to die for as the council’s next most ambitious leap depends on the attainment of another unqualified opinion.

“We just have to make it again – it is critical for us,” explains Masankhula. “The council is in the process of releasing a bond to raise financing for big investments, including construction of an industrial park. So, we are working with some stake holders like Malawi Stock Exchange and one of the requirements for us to go to the market and issue a bond is that we secure unqualified opinion for 3 financial years.”

Elsewhere in Chitipa and Phalombe, the councils’ DoFs and their respective managements are basking in a similar glory, having steered their councils to safer grounds by attaining unqualified opinion audit report twice in a row i.e. in 2020-2021; and 2021-2022 Financial Years.

For Chitipa, the council’s DoF, Gift Msowoya, admits that the journey has not been all smooth to get where the council is regarding proper documentation and records keeping.

“When I came here in 2021, I found that many things were not in order: the cheques were handwritten, and a number of accounting staff did not know how to go about their job in terms of transacting,” explains the DoF.

“So the first thing that I did was to put in internal controls that could help better management of public financial resources,” he adds.

The number of councils obtaining unqualified opinion audit report has doubled to 8 i.e Chitipa, Rumphi, Nkhotakota, Lilongwe, Ntcheu, Phalombe, Thyolo and Nsanje, in 2021-2022 Financial Year, from four i.e Chitipa, Nkhotakota, Dowa and Phalombe, in 2020-2021 Financial Year.

Like it has been the case with Nkhotakota and Chitipa district councils, the attainment of unqualified opinion audit report for two consecutive years has been a big energizer to Phalombe and the population the council serves.

The status has not just enabled Phalombe qualify for GESD Performance Based Grant for service delivery, it has also enabled the council win public trust and donor confidence, according to the council’s DoF, Martin M’baya.

“The unqualified opinion status is very crucial to us as a council: Currently we are submitting a proposal to EU worth MK1billion and the unqualified opinion audit report is a requirement,” explains M’baya.

Chitipa, Nkhotakota, Phalombe, and the rest of the other councils that have attained the most sought-after unqualified opinion status in the 2021-2022 Financial Year are all touting teamwork and visionary leadership at council level as key to their success.

“I owe it to the team that I work with; I provide all the required technical skills to the people that I supervise and, together, we make sure that we are following the procedures that are laid out in the financial management manual,” explains Nkhotakota DoF, Masankhula.

The winning councils also confess that they could not have attained the unqualified opinion status without the support of GESD through the NLGFC whose financial analysts have always worked with the councils, providing guidance.

NLGFC Financial Analyst, Sara Banda Chizinga, applauds the councils for attaining the unqualified opinion audit report, a status she says requires dedication, hardworking, and special attention to all the procedures making sure that all the assets, the liabilities and transactions, payments, receipts, are in place and have been accounted for.

Chizinga advises that the process starts at budget level where councils need to put in much effort as whatever they budget is what they implement.

She explains: “Councils need to make sure that all the transactions are in line with what they budgeted for to avoid over expenditures; they need to be within the budget. And then after that they need to make sure that all the transactions are being captured within the IFMIS, which we currently have in all the councils.

“Councils should, also, make sure that they have strong internal controls, for instance: fuel should be accounted for; they should have proper records filing, ledgers, allowances, payment vouchers – all should have supporting documentation.”

In terms of fixed assets, Chizinga says councils should make sure that all the donated assets are recorded and accounted for, and that all the assets that are purchased are accounted for.

All government guiding instruments such as Procurement Act, Local Government Act, Public Finance Management Act, and other guidelines must be followed by councils, according to the analyst.

But while it is every council’s dream to attain the unqualified opinion audit report and attract not only GESD funds but other donor funds as well, some factors may affect progress in the councils.

Chizinga cites transfers as being among the factors that can affect progress in council’s attainment of the top audit score.

“Mostly when there are transfers, say, when someone has started within the year and it happens that amid preparation of financial statements the person has been moved, it becomes a challenge for the one who has come in to start preparing the financial statement,” she observes.

But Chizinga is quick to point out that with dedication and hard work, councils can get themselves from a mess (adverse opinion) to safety (unqualified opinion audit report), a precedence which other councils like Nkhotakota have just set.

Out of the 28 councils in the country, three councils, namely Balaka, Machinga and Zomba have completely missed the GESD Performance Based Grant for the subsequent funding after scoring poorly in the 2022 LAPA.

Mana/km/scm

By Esnath Kalawe

Lilongwe, August 20, Mana: Mentors International Malawi on Friday awarded international certificates to 115 students after successful completion of a 15-week training course in different programmes.

Mentors International Centre of Education and Mentoring (CEM) is a high quality training centre which focuses on the success of its students sponsored by foreign donors, who understand that the only way out of the cycle of poverty is through providing education, and one to one mentoring.

The graduation provided foreign donors a platform to watch the function live via zoom.

Guest speaker, Leinhad Amos, Civil Engineer and Managing Director for XLT Construction Company urged the graduating students to be disciplined and utilize the acquired skills to allow them discover other opportunities.

“This is great motivation to see you graduating today. When you go out there, be committed, grab the opportunities and impress your employers. The skills learnt are highly interactive and will be used throughout your life in career advancement or building your own businesses,” said Amos.

Mentors International Malawi Country Director, Lameck Chisale was glad seeing students graduating after 15 weeks of hard work.

Chisale said it is an inspiration to many hence urged the students to work hard as they embark on altered prospects to be self-reliance.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA) one of the students, Thokozani Kumwenda, a Microsoft Office Essentials graduate, acknowledged Mentors International for providing the opportunity of high quality education hence assured to utilise the skills to positively contribute towards the development of the nation.

“We thank God for taking us this far. I have acquired great experience with Mentors International. The skills will help us be marketable in grabbing opportunities as we go out there,” said Kumwenda.

Mentors International is a non-profit charitable organization that aims at uplifting the less privileged students from developing countries by providing them with basic education.

Students attained different credentials in Microsoft Office Essentials, English, Keystone as well as Graphics and Designing.

By Lekereni Chinkhota

Salima, August 18, Mana: Balaka and Salima District Councils Civil Protection Committees on Friday exchanged ideas on best practices to be followed on early warning systems as a way of protecting lives and property from floods.

Speaking during a learning visit in Salima, Balaka Disaster Risk Management Officer, Blessings Kantema, said the meeting would benefit both districts to mitigate effects of disasters among the communities through installation of proper gadgets to warn the vulnerable areas on time.

“The meeting has been fruitful for we have shared many interventions being implemented in the two districts regarding early warning systems.

“We have also learnt new interventions [from Salima] that we will replicate when proper assessment is made," he said.

 Kantema further said Balaka would install proper gadgets and adopt different systems that Salima is currently using to warn vulnerable areas in his district.

On his part, Salima Water Monitoring Assistant, Owen Wisikisi, stated that Salima District uses data acquisition units up-stream to send information of a possible disaster to data uploading unit located at a nearby place.

"The information is sent to a caretaker’s house to distribute the information down-stream. The down-stream attendant triggers a siren that gives people information to take precaution of possible disaster," he explained.

He added that having early warning systems functioning in districts will save lives because people will be given proper messages and this will alert them.

“The meeting will bring a great change on our knowledge on early warning system strategies to make sure that we are successful. Salima and Balaka share similar disasters, floods and heavy winds, so, sharing what is being done in one district to help another is pertinent,” he said.

According to Wisikisi, Salima has thrived different disasters because of good coordination that exists among caretakers of the gadgets used for warning systems such as river line alliance, village civil protection committees and area civil protection committees.

The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) in collaboration with different stakeholders is spearheading installation of early warning system gadgets in disaster-prone areas.

By Chihalo Kamanga

Karonga, August 18, Mana: The National Water Resources Authority (NWRA) has challenged local authorities to be proactive in ensuring that people have sustainable potable water as one of the means of preventing waterborne related diseases.

Spokesperson for NWRA, Masozi Kasambara, made the remarks, Thursday during the authority’s engagement meeting with members of Karonga District Council.

Kasambara said a survey which the authority conducted in the cities of Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Zomba revealed that 75 percent of 44 sample boreholes are contaminated.

He said the revelation have necessitated the authority to immediately embark on sensitisation on the significance of quality water.

“We therefore call on communities and authorities to ensure that boreholes that were drilled without undergoing registration to register with NWRA so that we reduce cases of waterborne diseases that come through   contaminated water,” Kasambara said.

He also advised local authorities to be checking quality and legality of water abstraction points to reduce the authority’s work load.

Karonga District Coordinator for Malawi Red Cross Society, Reuben Malemia said that the society is already rehabilitating some boreholes in the district and that they will take advantage of the exercise to establish registered and none registered boreholes.

NWRA is a government entity that is mandated among other functions to issue licences to borehole drillers and constructors and regulate water suppliers such as the all water utility bodies in the country.

By Joel Chirwa

Mzuzu, August 18, Mana: Vice President Dr. Saulosi Chilima has described the country's youth as an important asset that can contribute immensely to national development if their skills and energies are harnessed.

Speaking at Mzuzu Stadium on Friday when he headlined this year's International Youth Day, Chilima said government recognises the value of the youth hence it came up with a national development blueprint, Malawi 2063 which is youth-centered.

“Government has already set the pace by ensuring great involvement of the youths towards the implementation of our economic blueprint called Malawi 2063.

"We realise the importance of the youths as they constitute majority of the country population. I therefore also appeal to the private sector and international partners to invest more resources in youth development,” he said.

Youth Representative Salome Kadazi said the commemoration was an important event to the youth as it helped them celebrate their capabilities while recognising the challenges that are preventing them from realising their full potential.

"We are determined to use our energies, numbers and skills to move Malawi to the level of development aspired in Malawi 2063. However, for us to achieve all our aspirations, there are critical challenges which government and other stakeholders need to address," she said.

Among others, Kadazi said government and other stakeholders should improve learning by constructing adequate and improved learning structures in both primary and secondary schools and equip the learning institutions with adequate learning materials.

UNFPA Deputy County Representative, Dr. Ezizgeldi Hellenov said the youth are an essential capital for sustainable development and their demographic dividend should be grasped by investing in them and building their capabilities.

This year's International Youth Day was commemorated under the theme; "Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World."

By Arnold Namanja

Blantyre, August 18, Mana: Blantyre City Council (BCC) disclosed that it has pumped in over K14 billion towards construction of roads to decongest traffic volume in the commercial city.

The roads which include the two kilometres (km) Chiwembe – Newlands – Manje at the cost of K1.8 billion, the 5km Makhetha – Ndirande to the tune of K3.3 billion and the 1.2km stretch from Chipatala to Kamba Market have constructed with support from the Roads Fund Administration and the Malawi Government.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana), BCC, Director of Engineering Services, Chimwemwe Mndelemani said the local authority embarked on the road infrastructure improvement programme to keep in tune with the Malawi 2063 Agenda, adding that the transport sector is one of the key priority areas in the agenda.

“We secured funds from the Roads Fund Administration and the Treasury for the road projects. We would like to complement government in fulfilling its Malawi 2063 Agenda. But most importantly, we want to ensure a seamless flow of traffic in the city by decongesting some of the major roads,” Mndelemani said.

Mndelemani added that most of the roads under construction in the city will be opened to traffic by September this year, noting that completion of Makhetha – Ndirande Road has delayed due to some logistical issues.

“The Makhetha Road has delayed more than the rest because we had some issues with the community which meant we had to start the project seven months later than scheduled; but we are optimistic to complete on time,” he said.

The director said fuel shortage and economic issues were set back in the implementation of the road project at Makhetha.

“Fuel shortage and inflation in the course of the project implementation also affected most of the contractors and as a result that has had an impact on the delivery of the projects,” he added.

Mndelemani added that all the contractors have been instructed to install solar street streets to add to the beauty of the city as well as enhance city’s security. 

He said upon completing the six roads, the council will then embark on nine new projects within the 2023- 2024 national budget.

Some of the contractors entrusted with the work are CAS Civil Engineering for Namiwawa _ Sunnyside Road, Top Range Contractor was building the Lali-Lubani – Kenyatta Drive Road while Dika was awarded the Makhetha – Ndirande Road, among others.         

One of the motorists, Yamikani Chinomba of Makhetha Township expressed happiness with the new roads being constructed in the city, saying the roads will help in decongesting the volume of traffic in busiest roads of the roads especially during peak hours of the day.

“Blantyre City Council should be commended for the road projects spread across the city. It will go a long way in easing traffic and travelling from home to town will be much faster and easier,” he said. “In fact, the roads, clearly marked, will add beauty to the city.”

By George Mponda

Mzuzu, August 17, Mana: Football Association of Malawi (FAM) has with effect from Wednesday August 16, 2023 banned Mzuzu and Civo Stadiums from hosting official elite football matches.

According to a memo which FAM Chief Executive Officer, Alfred Gunda has released, the matches include the Super League and knockout competitions at national level.

"Recently, FAM instituted inspections which were conducted on July 27, 2023, at Mzuzu Stadium as part of the stadium’s assement under FAM Club Licensing. We regret to inform Mzuzu City Council (MCC) that the stadium does not meet the minimum requirements and consequently banned from hosting official matches under FAM,” reads part of the memo.

According to FAM, Mzuzu Stadium has been banned due to poor state of the pitch, official authorized capacity not known, poor players tunnel, missing technical benches, poor condition of perimeter fence, poor dressing rooms, no public address system and dilapidated scoreboard.

For Civo Stadium, the main highlights are non-functional public toilets, official authorised capacity not known, non-functional public address system, poor condition of perimeter fence and lack of scoreboard, among others.

FAM has since appelaed to authorities for both stadiums to initiate renovations after which they will be inspected again upon invitation.

Reacting to the development, Benjamin Thole, Team Manager for Ekwendeni Hammers who use Mzuzu Stadium as their home ground said he was disappointed with the development.

"It has come as a surprise that FAM has decided to close Mzuzu Stadium which is in the similar condition as Dedza and Kasungu stadiums.

“However, we will sit down with officials from Moyale Barracks FC and Mzuzu City Council to map the way forward," Thole said.

Thole said his team might consider using Rumphi Stadium which is he said is costly and the teams is currently already resource challenged.

When contacted, Spokesperson for MCC, McDonald Gondwe said their office has not yet recieved an official communication on the issue.