Items filtered by date: May 2025

By Majona Jabesi

Mchinji, February 16, Mana: Young people under Mlatho Farms and Agri-Learning Hub have reaffirmed their commitment of restoring environment by planting 50,000 trees in Mchinji district.

Speaking on Sunday at Kangwele Primary School, the organization’s Founder, Daniel Chibwe, said the initiative is part of organization’s broader environmental programme, which seeks to integrate sustainable agriculture practices into the farmer's operations and contribute positively in combating climate change.

“We are dedicated to environmental sustainability, and planting trees is one of the most effective ways to combat the effects of climate change while improving the local ecosystem.

"And as you witnessed here, there is community members including chiefs, farmers and Parent Teachers Associations (PTA). We will be working together to make sure that every tree we planted today is able to survive," Chibwe said.

Senior chief Kangwele hailed Mlatho Farms Group for the initiative by highlighting that the gesture will help to restore nature.

"It is my role to make sure that these trees are protected. For those who have livestock, we are going to advise them not to feed them here", Chief Kangwele said.

Meanwhile, Linda Dula one of the Emerging Public Leaders fellow, commended the initiative and urged more youth to be involved in the fight against climate change through tree planting.

Mlatho Farm and Agri-Learning Hub, which planted 1,000 trees at Kangwele Primary School on the day, is expecting to plant trees in several other schools and places in Mchinji District by the end of this rainy season.

By Memory Kutengule Chatonda

Blantyre, Feb 16, Mana: Government is set to provide top-up cash transfers to 144,415 households which are already on the Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP) and Climate Smart-Enhanced Public Works (CS-EPWP).

The households in Blantyre, Chiradzulu, Karonga, Mwanza, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntcheu, and Thyolo districts will receive the cash transfers in the event that they are affected by climate-related shocks this year.

Speaking during a stakeholders briefing on the 2024/2025 Scalability Mechanism Safety nets over the weekend in Blantyre, National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) Social Protection Officer Mateso Kazembe observed that Malawi continues to face various types of climate-related disasters, such as floods, drought, and strong winds.

He said the events were the threats to social and economic well-being of the population and further observed that disaster occurrences make it hard for vulnerable households to recover from poverty

“We know that Malawi has a disaster risk financing strategy to provide a response to climate shocks after the disaster has occurred. There is also need for an operational mechanism to channel resources quickly and on time, especially to poor households once the disasters have struck hence, having a scalable mechanism safety net.

“This safety net targets 17 percent of the district population, with 10 percent being the beneficiaries of Social Cash Transfer Programme, while the rest is for participants of Climate Smart-Enhanced Public Works Programme. 

“Though the scalability mechanism targets the entire district, in this 2024/2025 season, however, the targeted areas within the district will only be those that are heavily affected by the drought,” Kazembe said.

He said such places will be identified in consultation with the district council officials.

Kazembe further said the targets for the scalable mechanism for Blantyre, Chiradzulu, Karonga, Mwanza, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntcheu and Thyolo are 20,793, 17,289, 12,742, 5,754, 13,583, 12,026, 28,982 and 33,246, respectively.

He said each household is expected to receive a cash transfer of K150,000 for three months to cushion their vulnerabilities.

“These are households with elderly members above 64 years, elderly households keeping orphans, households’ heads with chronic illness, and those vulnerable households with labor capacity,” he explained, adding that the safety net programme will soon be extended to other districts across the country.

In his remarks, Director of Administration for Blantyre District Council, Redgson Mkolombwe, hailed the taskforce championing scalability mechanisms at NLGFC for briefing the council on scalability mechanisms.

He pledged the council’s commitment to work together with the central government in ensuring that the exercise is a success.

The Scalable Mechanism Safety Net is a component of the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project, commonly known as Tidzidalire.

The project, which is supported by the World Bank and Multi-Donor Trust Fund, aims to improve resilience among the poor and vulnerable population and strengthen the national platform for safety nets in Malawi.

By Martin Chiwanda

Machinga, February 16, Mana: Masidi Primary School in Machinga, established in 1989, has - for a long time – had challenges in providing quality child education due to among other things, inadequate infrastructure.

With an enrollment of over 800 learners, the school serves learners from six surrounding villages under Senior Chief Liwonde.

However, shortage of classrooms made teaching and learning extremely challenging as the school only had four classroom blocks.

According to the school's head teacher Ibrahim Lifa, the situation compelled learners to learn under trees and in harsh weather conditions, thereby contributing to poor performance of learners, as well as school dropouts.

“Learners were exposed to the elements, and it was almost impossible for them to focus on their studies. Lack of proper classrooms contributed significantly to poor academic performance and high dropout rate. It was heartbreaking to see learners struggling to learn in such harsh conditions.” he says.

The headteacher commended Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) for the construction of a brand-new classroom block, which has replaced the uncomfortable and distracting outdoor learning spaces. Learners can now focus on their studies without disruptions.

Lifa further said the new classroom block has also improved learners’ performance and increased enrollment at the school, which has risen to Over 800 leaners from bellow 700 in the previous years.

“The additional classrooms have enabled the school to accommodate more students, reducing the student-teacher ratio and allowing for more personalized attention," Lifa adds.

This support by GESD, which is World Bank funded programme, has dramatically changed the school's fortunes, as observed by Lifa.

According to Machinga District Council’s Director of Public Works, Clement Mtambo, the classroom block construction is part of the 2022-2023 financial year GESD-funded projects in the district.

Mtambo added that the project has been implemented at a cost of over K52 million aims to improve the learning environment and provide better educational facilities for the students of Masidi Primary School.

For the learners, the new classroom block has been a dream comes true, they are now happy with their new learning environment.

“I'm so happy to have a comfortable and quiet place to learn, Before, for the past years while I was in standard 4 and 5 and I used to learn under the tree which was becoming more difficult for us as female leaners, we used to get distracted by the noise and heat outside, but now we can focus on our studies without any disruptions.” say Ellen William, now a Standard 8 learner.

Rasid Askim, a Standard 3 learner, echoed similar sentiments, “I like my new classroom. It looks so beautiful and accommodative and I can see the blackboard clearly. I feel happy and excited to come to school every day knowing that I will be learning in a safe and conducive environment,” he says.

Chairperson of the school’s Parents and Teachers Association (PTA), Kandaya Chitsulo, lauds the government's initiative through GESD funds, citing its instrumental role in overcoming the community's perennial challenges.                                                                                                                                            

“In the past, we would often enroll our children in Standard 1 at an older age due to inadequate learning facilities. But now, thanks to the new classroom block, we can rest assured that our children are learning in a safe and conducive environment, regardless of the weather,” adds the chairperson.

School Management Committee chairperson, Grace Sanjira, said members of community were committed to maintain the new classroom block in case of maintenances.

“We will work together to take care of the classroom block, ensuring it remains a safe and conducive learning environment for generations to come,” says Sanjira.

Among others, under the project, Masidi Primary School has also been provided with additional amenities, including two modern toilets for both female and male learners and 120 desks.       

By Fostina Mkandawire

Salima, February 16, Mana: Salima South East Member of Parliament Mike Mwawa on Saturday handed over a K38 million Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) depot aimed at enhancing food accessibility in his constituency in the area of Senior Chief Kambwiri.

The Kapiring'ombe ADMARC depot has been constructed under the Community Development Fund, with anticipation that it will ease the distance that people trailed to find the next depot located 20 kilometres away.

Speaking during the handover ceremony, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Benedicto Chambo commended Mwawa for prioritizing food security amongst different developments.

"Government commends such collaborative efforts that puts the people's needs first and having a depot assures people of having maize easily accessible to the people," Chambo said.

He reaffirmed government's commitment to ensuring food security by stocking ADMARC depots with maize across the country.

Mwawa called upon chiefs and community members to further be custodians of the facility by ensuring that vendors who take advantage of buying maize from them and sell at higher prices are not given a chance.

He said it is important that people must have food therefore ADMARC should be stocking the depot regularly, taking into consideration that the hunger situation at the moment is very critical.

On his part, ADMARC Chief Executive Officer Fodreck Nyongani observed that there is a huge scramble for maize in the country and they are trying every means possible to ensure that they reach every part.

"Our main challenge is transportation of the commodity to depots hence there is usually a delay in restocking of maize in our depots, we are tirelessly working to make sure that this challenge has been curbed," he said.

Responding to the vendor situation, Nyongani said the complaints have reached his office and they have engaged the Malawi Police Service to be on top of the situation and arrest suspects.

Also present at the ceremony was Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture Richard Chimwendo Banda, who underscored the need for Members of Parliament to do an assessment of the people's needs before bringing any development.

"This ADMARC depot truly reflects a dire need that has been in the area for a long time, and bringing the depot closer to the people is a relief and assurance of having maize accessible to people, and also whenever they want to sell their produce they will not struggle," he said.

Currently, ADMARC depots are operational and selling maize in all the depots across the district, bringing relief to people who were heavily affected by drought in the 2024/2025 farming season.

By Petro Mkandawire

Blantyre, February 16, Mana: Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN) Executive Director George Jobe has expressed gratitude over mother care groups (MCGs) contribution on improved vaccine coverage in under-five children in Blantyre rural and other districts where MHEN works with the MCGs on child immunization.

Jobe expressed his appreciation over MCGs role on Saturday during a monitoring tour of Namikoko Health Centre in Traditional Authority Lundu in Blantyre where MHEN was tracking the care group’s performance to see areas that needed improvement to address capacity gaps.

Jobe observed that the under-five vaccine and Immunization coverage greatly improved with over 98% due to MCGs’ support, following advocacy and community mobilization that are carried out to deal with factors that hinder vaccine process.

“The ultimate goal for the mother care group is to ensure that almost every child is vaccinated. We are really impressed with the established of outreach clinics which help to restrain people from walking a long distance to get vaccines.

“Mother care groups are doing their work responsibly, more especially on demand creation, advocacy and community mobilization on the importance of vaccine and other development projects. As such, it is my wish that stakeholders should come in to support the initiative,” added Jobe.

Namikoko MCG chairperson Amina George commended MHEN for empowering the care group, saying the group plays significant role in child vaccination within its catchment with vaccine coverage ranging from 42% in 2020 up to 91% recorded in January 2025.

“Our group has made significant progress, including building a vaccination clinic, increasing participation, and addressing misconceptions which resulted in 287 children under five being vaccinated per month," added George.

She therefore appealed to MHEN and other partners to support the Namikoko MCG with resources, such as push bicycles for easy mobility and uniforms for identification.

The MCGs operate under the Healthy System and Immunization Strengthening (HSIS) project, a seven-year initiative implemented by MHEN in nine districts with funding from Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), to strengthen immunization systems among under-five children.

By Memory Kutengule Chatonda

Blantyre, February 15, Mana: Blantyre District Council has approved a K44.6 billion budget to be implemented in the 2025/2026 financial year, mainly through projects, personal emoluments, and social protection programmes.

Presenting the budget at a full council meeting on Friday, Chairperson for the Finance and Audit Committee, Councilor Jeremia Jumbe, said personal emoluments have been allocated K35.1 billion, a 10 percent increase from the 2024/2025 budget, which was pegged at K31.8 billion.

He added that the development budget has jumped from K1.6 billion to K3.4 billion due to the introduction of the Regional Climate Resilience Programme 2.

Jumbe further said that under the Social Protection, the council had earmarked K7.2 billion for the Social Cash Transfer Programme and activities under the Climate-Smart Enhanced Public Works Programmes.

Blantyre District Council, Director of Finance, Martha Kabambe said, that through locally generated revenue, the council planned to collect K483.7 million from its various local sources, such as market fees, rentals from shops, development fees, licenses, and permits, among others.

She emphasised that locally generated revenue for the council has been increasing with each passing financial year, citing that in the 2022/2023 FY, the council collected revenue amounting to K429.8 million, while in the 2023/2024 FY, it collected K459 million.

“In 2024/2025, by January, the council had collected K493.7 million,” she added.

Councillor for Linjidzi Ward, Akima Chipwatali welcomed the budget, saying it speaks to the needs of local people.

“We welcome the budget, but we urge the government to provide the required funding in time so that the council expedites the implementation of various developmental projects among others, to fulfil its mandate,” she said.

Recently, during the review of draft budgets by local authorities in Blantyre, National Local Government Finance Committee, Executive Director, Kondwani Santhe applauded Blantyre District Council for performing well in revenue collection

By Patience Harawa

Karonga, February 15, Mana: Community Energy Malawi (CEM) has planted 5,000 trees in Group Village Head (GVH) Walamba in Karonga district, a development which aims at promoting sustainable energy practices and reducing deforestation,

Speaking during the tree planting exercise on Friday at Gumi in the area of Senior Chief Mwirang'ombe, CEM Country Director Edgar Kabiza Bayani said the organization is committed to promote clean energy and sustainable development in Malawi.

Bayani said; "The tree-planting exercise is part of the initiatives to support Nkhongono Kuwanthu Cooperative which works with Community Energy Malawi to reduce its over-reliance on firewood and adopt sustainable energy practices as the cooperative runs its bakery business.

“We believe that by working together with local communities and organization, we can make a significant impact and create a better future for ourselves and future generations."

The country director said besides the tree planting exercise, his organization will also provide a solar-powered oven to Nkhongono Kuwanthu Cooperative which would help reduce cases of deforestation in search of firewood.

“This initiative will not only promote sustainable energy practices but also help reduce deforestation and careless cutting down of trees,” he explained.

In his remarks, Chairperson for Karonga District Council Councillor Belliam Msukwa commended Community Energy Malawi for their tree planting initiative in Malawi, citing its importance in addressing deforestation and climate change.

“I am so pleased with the efforts the organization is making in restoring our environment. The 5000 trees we are planting today will go a long way in restoring our environment and promoting sustainable development in the district,” Msukwa said.

Echoing the Chairperson's sentiments, Secretary for Nkhongono Kuwanthu Harriet Mwenendeka expressed her heartfelt gratitude to CEM for providing the trees to the cooperative; a gesture she said will have a profound impact on the community’s environment and livelihood.

“We are extremely thankful to Community Energy Malawi for the 5,000 trees they have provided to us. The trees will greatly benefit our cooperative, providing us with a sustainable source of energy and reducing our reliance on firewood," Mwenendekha said.

By Patience Longwe

Lilongwe, February 15, Mana: The Headteacher for Gwengere Primary School in Dedza, Sandram Nachiola highlighted the importance of coming into the Building Education Foundation Through Innovation and Technology (BEFIT) programme at their school saying it will contribute to an educated community as learners at the school will have strong educational foundational skills contributing to their success throughout their academic journey.

Speaking at the end of a two-day teacher training on the BEFIT programme, Nachiola expressed optimism that once rolled out, table-based learning will enable Standard 1-4 learners to acquire literacy and numeracy skills.

“With this programme, we are expecting to witness retention of those who dropped out of school since they will get attracted by the tablets, cases of absenteeism will also be dealt with as learners will not want to miss the tablets. I will ensure that technology-based learning is fully embraced by all teachers” he said.

Nachiola Commended the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education through the BEFIT programme for training all the teachers at the school, arguing if a designated teacher is absent, any teacher will be able to handle the lessons for that day.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Education Public Relations Officer, Mphatso Nkuonera said government remains committed to reducing learning poverty hence the rolling out of BEFIT programme throughout the country with a target of reaching all 6000 public schools by 2029.

“In schools where BEFIT is running, cases of absenteeism have reduced and there is an improvement in literacy and numeracy levels among learners who are now used to interactive tablet-based learning” he stated.

The BEFIT programme will continue to roll out to new schools each year and is expected to reach full scale serving all 6,000 Malawi primary schools by 2029

By Robert Nayeja

Nsanje, February 15, Mana: Electoral stakeholders in Nsanje hailed Women’s Legal Resources Center (WORLEC) and Oxfam for their commitment towards violent free 2025 general election.

Traditional Authority Nyachikadza noted on Friday that the two organisations have been on the ground in the district to ensure Nsanje attain violence-free elections.

“Traditional leaders sometimes stop candidates from holding political meetings. This also fuels violence,

“From WORLEC and Oxfam, we learnt that traditional leaders need to give equal opportunity to all candidates wishing to hold political meetings," said Nyachikadza.

Nyachikadza said was happy to see all political party representatives in the district interacting and sharing ideas during the stakeholder's meeting.

Malawi Congress Party, District Chairperson, Steven Kamanga said the meeting with WOLREC and Oxfam came up with better ideas for conducting primary elections to avoid political violence.

“We are going to use a secret ballot so that people should choose freely the candidate of their choice. This will help to reduce political violence during primary elections,” he added.

WORLEC Project Officer, Ireen Ntonga said the organization is advocating for free and fair elections by encouraging women youth and persons with disabilities to participate in politics.

“Political parties will soon hold primary elections and we want to encourage them to open for the youth, women and people with disability to compete,” she added.

She therefore appealed all political parties to mobilise their followers to embrace multi-party multiparty democracy and think of a violent free electoral process.

Apart from traditional leaders, UTM, Alliance for Democracy (Aford), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), United Democratic Front (UDF) representatives, and civil society organisations attended the meeting.

WORLEC and Oxfarm are currently implementing; the Promoting Gender Transformative and Youth Inclusive Democracy project in Malawi with support from the European Union.

The project seeks to increase the participation of women, youth and marginalised groups in decision-making positions and political processes ahead of the 2025 general election.

By Pempho Nkhoma

Blantyre, February 15, Mana: Malawi Kickboxing Association (MAKBA) has organised a training programme for kickboxing trainers on May 24, 2025, at Blantyre Sports Arena to equip trainers with knowledge and skills in the sport and mixed martial arts.

MAKBA General Secretary, Bright Limani told Malawi News Agency (Mana) that the programme will promote Kickboxing across Malawi.

“It will not take part in another district due to budgetary constraints but people from other districts who can manage can come to Blantyre for training,” he said.

Limani added that Malawi can benefit from the sport, saying that kickboxers have the potential to bring glory to Malawi on the international stage.

“We have participated in five international tournaments, so far and we got over 22 medals and two trophies from these outings,” he added.

One of the Kickboxer trainers, Arthur Bello, commended MAKBA for arranging the training session, saying the training has come at the right time as the country is in the process of developing the game.

“We are excited about the training programme for coaches because we will do a refresher in Kickboxing techniques and rules. The training will have a direct impact on the performance of our players,” he said.

He therefore encouraged practising and inspiring coaches to attend the training, citing that it would be beneficial to their careers.

MAKBA will conduct a coaches training programme concurrently with the training of female kickboxers.