MANAonline
Kantukule says only strong coordination can resuscitate Michiru forest
By Tikondane Vega
Blantyre, April 12, Mana: Minister of Tourism Vera Kantukule says there is need for a strong coordination between stakeholders at all levels if the country is to resuscitate Michiru forest reserve which has almost been depleted.
Kantukule said this in Blantyre on Friday after discussing with stakeholders on how to address Michiru Nature Sanctuary and Michiru forest reserves problems.
The minister said stakeholders have agreed that to protect the forest, all concerned stakeholders need to play their part continuously as the lasting solution to deal with the challenge.
“We have been engaging Malawi Defence Force to guard the forest and when they go back after the expiring of their time, people go back and start cutting down trees while others continue to burn charcoal. It means this way alone is not sustainable because they cannot be there every time.
During our meeting, Judiciary has assured us that they will continue handing custodial sentences to all perpetrators and on the other part, police will arrest and bring to court the suspects connected to Michiri destruction,” she said.
Kantukule said other stakeholders like civil society organizations will continue to carry out sensitization meetings for people surrounding the forest though many are of the view that people who destroy the forest are not the surrounding community but from other areas.
She added,” when I go to Lilongwe, I will hold a meeting with Minister of Defence and Homeland security on how we can consistently protect the forest bearing in mind that the duty to protect the forest does not lie in the Ministry of Natural Resources or tourism only.
“The meeting today has brought all relevant stakeholders and this only shows the seriousness that government has towards Michiru forest. Going forward we shall also continue capacitating all stakeholders for them to discharge their duties well.
On his part, Maliko Chikaonga who is Founder of Dzuka Chilomoni and a member of Friends of Michiru said the meeting has been an eye opener as all stakeholders have agreed to work as one as they continue to protect Michiru forest.
Chikaonga said more things need to happen as ways to protect the forest suggesting to economically empower the surrounding communities with income generating activities like bee keeping so that they should not think of destroying the forest as part of their survival.
Statistics show that in 2023, the forest registered 60 cases and there has been 100 percent conviction rate, but the sentences have been small, a thing judiciary has already started addressing by giving custodial sentences with no fine as option.
Karonga flood survivors to receive cash from Red Cross
By George Mponda
Karonga, April 12, Mana: The Malawi Red Cross Society has said it will disburse cash to 600 households which were affected by flooding in Karonga for shelter rehabilitation.
Emergency Operations Coordinator for Malawi Red Cross Society Lewis Solomon said this Thursday during a Disaster Risk Management Commitee (DRMC) meeting in Karonga.
Solomon said; "We have secured funding through our partner International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and we will disburse cash amounting K250,000 to support those whose houses were heavily damaged by floods to do rehabilitation works.
"We also have complimentary interventions in water and sanitation as well as health services and we are working with the District Health Office (DHO) to conduct health promotions in the targeted areas," he added.
According to Solomon, the intervention will run for three months to the end of June but all activitiess will be conducted concurrently to make sure they are delievering comprehensive support.
"We have also intergrated issues to do with protection, gender and inclusion as well as accountability in the disbursement process and I would like to urge the beneficiaries to use the funds for their intended purpose," he explained.
Acting Director of Planning and Development for Karonga District Council, Khumbo Mkandawire hailed the Malawi Red Cross Society for bailing out the flood survivors.
"The council is always grateful to Malawi Red Cross who step in to support whenever disasters befall us. K250, 000 is a lot of money which will go a long way in ensuring that those whose houses were damaged should rebuild stronger houses and we will support this initiative for it to have an impact," she said.
According to the Disaster Risk Management Officer for Karonga District Council Humphrey Magalasi, over 1600 households are in dire need for support following floods which affected areas of Paramount Chief Kyungu, Senior Chief Mwakaboko and Senior Chief Kilipula
National ID not voter registration card – MEC
By Tawonga Moyo
Mzuzu, April 12, Mana: The Malawi Electoral Commission’s (MEC) Regional Elections Manager for the South, King Norman Rudi has called on Malawians who wish to vote in the 2025 general elections to register with the commission and not necessarily rely on national IDs for voting.
Rudi made the remarks on Tuesday in Mzuzu at a district youth dialogue meeting which it conducted in collaboration with Youth and Society (YAS).
The meeting, which was conducted under the Malawi Support Elections Programme, was aimed at providing a platform for young people and various stakeholders to discuss electoral processes and law reform ahead of the 2025 general elections.
“In September 2024, we will begin the process of registering prospective voters. Many people think that because they registered with the National Registration Bureau and have national IDs, then it’s enough for them to go and vote.
“That isn’t registration of voters. You will be required to register in the voter roll when registration of voters start for you to be eligible for voting. We need the media and various stakeholders to help us in disseminating this information to people,” said Rudi.
He also disclosed that in the next elections which will be held on 16th September 2025, people will cast their votes from 6AM to 4PM and that the day will be a public holiday.
In her remarks, Programmes Coordinator for Youth and Society, Mwandida Theu said as Civil Society Organizations, they have a crucial role to play in educating the masses on law reforms and to encourage them to take part in electoral processes.
“Through our project, we are also targeting young people because we understand that they have limited capacity when it comes to electoral processes. Once we educate them, it will help in ensuring a high voter turn-out,” said Theu.
Among others, Section 80 (2) of the Malawi Electoral Commission Act has been amended to provide for what should happen if the first poll does not yield a winner at the set threshold of more than fifty percent of valid votes cast.
CEED awards best performing teachers, students
By Wanangwa Tembo
Kasungu, April 12, Mana: Central East Education Division (CEED) on Thursday awarded best students, teachers and schools in the 2022 and 2023 academic years at a ceremony that took place at Chankhanga Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) in Kasungu.
During the award ceremony, Loyola Jesuits Secondary scooped the best school award for both academic years with its teachers dominating in the best teacher category for various subjects.
The Kasungu-based national school which registered 100 percent pass rate in the 2023 national examinations also had its head teacher Father Kenneth Simalawa declared best of best school managers alongside Abel Newa of Mponela CDSS.
In an interview, CEED Manager Billy Banda said the awards, which began in 2016 to motivate teachers and students so as to improve the division’s performance in national examinations, have started bearing fruits.
“At that time, we were on position five out of the six divisions in terms of performance. We quickly improved such that we were position one in 2021, then position two in 2022 and 2023, and our aim is that the division performance must be above the national average.
However, we have some problems in CDSSs because that is where we lack teaching and learning materials and even the resource envelope for managing those schools is low compared to the activities that have to be undertaken,” he said
To further motivate the teachers, Banda said the Ministry of Education should combine both interviews and teacher performance in schools when promoting teachers instead of using interviews only “which make undeserving teachers to get promoted.”
Director in the Department of Teacher Education and Development, Zizwa Msukuma, said there is need to align individual teachers’ achievements to promotions so that excellence is awarded.
“The ministry is now introducing a Continuous Professional Development Model to ensure that only deserving teachers and those that achieve something as individuals are promoted,” Msukuma said.
He said awarding best performers in schools is another way of setting clear benchmarks that guide and enable schools to achieve the national education standards through positive competition.
Vincent Medson of Chipoka Secondary School and Odala Chafulumira of Robert Blake Secondary School won the best students awards for 2023 academic year after scoring nine points in the best six subjects, including English.
In the other categories, Mponela CDSS was declared the best CDSS for chalking a 71.6 per cent pass rate while Nkhotakota won the best conventional secondary school award with its 98.2 percent pass rate.
Winning schools received microscopes, beakers and flasks while individual winners went away with mattresses and blankets courtesy of Grey Matter, Copyright Society of Malawi and Malawi Secondary Schools Headteachers Association CEED chapter.
Chirimba Muslim Brothers Celebrate Eid Al Fitr
By Petro Mkandawire
Blantyre, April 12, Mana: Sheikh Rafiq Dyton Kazembe has encouraged Muslims to be consistent and brave when preaching the word of God and that they should not indulge in things which are against the teaching of prophet Mohamed.
Kazembe made the plea on Thursday at Chirimba Primary School ground in Blantyre during Eid Al Fitr under the theme: "What have we learnt in Ramadhan," aimed at encouraging Muslims to be loyal to Allah.
"There are many things that can take us away from Allah, it is our responsibility to guide and help each other in bad as well as good situations, let us be equal and obey as he does the same to us," said Kazembe.
Over 2000 people participated in the celebrations as Eid Al Fitr an Islamic traditional Holiday of Breaking the Fasting and is celebrated by Muslims worldwide marking the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of the Holy Month of Ramadhan.
Speaking during the event, Tanzanian based Sheikh Ibrahim Bakhiz expressed gratitude with the large turn up, saying everything that has been preached during the ceremony about Ramadhan should be sustained and ensure that they put in practice.
"Eid prayers, charity, social gatherings, festive meals, gift-giving, dressing up, are some of the things that we should practice just as Muhammad did, it's great honour to have you all here please let's encourage one another in doing what God wants," said Bakhiz who was the guest of honour at the event.
In his remarks, one of the members from Chirimba Muslim Brothers, said it is important to celebrate during such festivities.
"We decided to perform and celebrate in an open air space in order to allow other believers to celebrate with us. I therefore urge you to stop racing on things that might separate us with God, let's not forget to pray in each and everything," said Ephraim.
Parliamentary Committee optimistic on SVTP economic impact
By Leah Malimbasa
Chikwawa, April 11, Mana: Chairperson for Parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance, Gladys Ganda, has said Shire Valley Transformation Project (SVTP) has potential to improve the economy of this country.
Ganda was speaking during the committee's supervisory visit to SVTP site in Chikwawa district on Thursday.
Ganda highlighted the project's alignment with President Lazarus Chakwera's vision to increase investments in agriculture, tourism, and mining as outlined in the State of the Nation Address.
“As the Budget and Finance Committee, our focus now is to collaborate with the Ministry of Finance to expedite this project. Accelerating this project will address foreign exchange challenges and reduce our dependence on imports, ultimately boosting our national energy levels,” said Ganda.
The Chairperson further underscored the importance of timely allocation and utilization of funds to ensure the project's successful completion within the projected timeline of seven years.
She then added that the benefits of the project would extend to all Malawians, emphasizing its broader impact beyond individual sectors or regions.
“This project is not just for our country; it is for every Malawian. It is important therefore to support it adequately and reap its full benefits,” she added.
In his remarks, SVTP Project Coordinator Stanley Khaila said the project is progressing well despite facing challenges.
“Despite Cyclone Ana setback, our progress stands at 63 percent, indicating significant strides in Phase 1.
“We anticipate completing this 1st phase by May 2025, although a couple of months’ delay is a realistic expectation, given the circumstances,” he said.
He added: “We need an additional 150 million dollars to overcome Cyclone Ana's impact and also to ensure that the first two farms commence irrigation by 2025.”
After inspecting the project, the committee visited Mwanaalirenji Cooperative, one of the cooperatives expected to benefit from the SVTP, where they interacted with members of the cooperative.
Minister urges vigilance against illegal mining
By Bishop Witmos
Mangochi, April 11, Mana: Minister of Mining Monica Chang’anamuno has urged district councils in the country to support her ministry in regulating the mining industry to arrest illegal mining, which she said is rampant in the country.
Speaking during an awareness meeting with members of Mangochi District Council and Mangochi Municipal Council on Wednesday, Chang’anamuno observed that some foreigners were operating small-scale mining in the country without authorization.
The minister said illegal mining benefits foreigners at the expense of local people who, by virtue of being Malawians, were supposed to be benefitting from the mining industry.
She said that while government is in the process of devolving Ministry of Mining to local councils, it is the duty of relevant sectors in district councils to take a leading role in preventing illegal mining and mineral trade.
“We have established that there has been a tendency of people coming from outside the country to do mining and some of them come here without licenses.
“As a result, so many foreigners are doing small-scale mining by extracting minerals in hotspot districts. This is illegal because it is only local people who are supposed to do small-scale mining,” she said.
Added Chang’anamuno: “Therefore, we would want district councils to be vigilant in making sure that they are following up on the issues that are happening in the hotspot areas. As a ministry, we cannot do this work on our own, and we would want every sector at district council to take their role.”
She further said that some investors are taking advantage of ignorance of local people on pricing by buying minerals at give-away prices.
Chang’anamuno therefore said that government will within this financial year establish a mining authority to bring sanity in the mining industry.
In his remarks, District Commissioner for Mangochi, Smart Gwedemula, commended the minister for the awareness meeting, saying it was timely.
“The coming of the minister is timely, as in Mangochi we have had so many concerns regarding the way mining activities have been operated. Indeed, mining activities must be owned by everybody, including those in rural areas, in order for us to benefit from these natural resources,” said Gwedemula.
Before visiting Mangochi, the minister toured Zomba where she ordered that illegal mining in Traditional Authority Mbiza should stop after observing the extent of land degradation and many social ills associated with the illegal mining in the area.
Maternity wing to end safe motherhood challenges in Mzimba rural
By Joel Phiri
Mzimba, April 11, Mana: Medical Assistant for Vibangalala Dispensary in Mzimba South, Wisdom Nyirenda, has described construction of Vibangalala Maternity Wing in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Mzukuzuku as a solution to challenges of safe motherhood expectant women face in the area.
Speaking in an interview on Wednesday during a media tour of the area, Nyirongo said the wing, which M’mbelwa District Council has constructed using funds from the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD), will help cut costs and medical expenses families used to incur to travel to other medical facilities to access help.
‘‘Here at Vibangalala dispensary, we only run outpatient department as well as antenatal clinic. But, when it comes to delivery, we refer expectant women to other medical facilities such as Embangweni Mission or Mzimba District Hospital.
“While at Embangweni Mission Hospital people pay to access services, services are free of charge at Mzimba District Hospital but they have to foot costs for the travel. So for expectant women around the area, the construction of the Vibangalala maternity wing will help lessen those challenges as we will be helping them right here,’’ said Nyirenda.
He said over 15 expectant women come for antenatal services at the dispensary per week.
Grace Jere from Chimombo Jere Village in T/A Mzukuzuku said it has been costly to deliver in far-flung areas.
‘‘Because of the absence of a maternity wing in the area, most women deliver in other facilities located far away. Two of my kids were delivered at Embangweni Mission Hospital. So the construction of this wing will help cut costs associated with delivering in other hospitals located far off,’’ said Jere.
According to Emmanuel Nkuna, who lives in Andrea Village in the area, there is need to ensure the maternity wing, completed in 2023, is opened.
In a recent interview, M’mbelwa District Council chairperson Morgan Tembo said the council would look for funds to furnish the maternity wing with all necessities for it to open this year.
Speaking on Monday during a review meeting of GESD projects, M’mbelwa Council director of planning and development, Walter Chikuni, said the council will use part of GESD funding that the council has received for the 2023/2024 cycle to buy materials needed for all completed projects under GESD Cycles 2 to be operational.
GESD is a US$100 million World Bank project meant to strengthen district councils’ institutional performance, responsiveness to citizens, and management of resources for service delivery.
Council commits to support to public works programme
By Innocent Chunga & Wongani Mkandawire
Nkhotakota, April 11, Mana: In an effort to protect and address the effects of climate change, Nkhotakota District Council has committed to continue providing technical support in the Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme (CSEPWP) for smooth implementation of the project in the district.
Speaking after a catchment supervision visit of the programme in the areas of Senior Chiefs Mwansambo, Mphonde and Mwadzama on Wednesday, Desk Officer for CSEPWP in the district, Arthur Chiwayula, said the project aimed at addressing climate change, environmental degradation and sustainable development to communities in the district and so needs expert technical support.
Chiwayula said beneficiaries in the district are conserving soil and water resources through various activities which are being implemented to achieve the project's goals, such as making swale and tree planting, among others.
“We will continue to assist target beneficiaries in the district, as the structures have helped them to restore their land and improve yields as these projects reduce soil erosion in some parts in the district," said Chiwayula.
In an interview with Malawi News Agency, Agriculture Extension and Development Officer (AEDO) for Mwansambo Extension Area (EPA), Grace Phiri, said before introduction of the programme, her catchment area was affected by running water, leading to low yield of crops as well as degraded soil fertility in the area.
“Our beneficiaries here have seen improvements in yields in all catchment areas as these projects reduce soil erosion, helped communities in protecting natural resources and adopt climate smart agricultural techniques,” said Phiri.
Chairperson for Thanga Catchment Management Committee (CMC) in the area of Senior Chief Mwansambo, Stanley Benjamin, has since asked for more support from officials, as the project continues in its third cycle, to teach them to incorporate environmental conservation technologies in addressing challenges related to climate change.
“We are doing various activities here at Thanga, including planting trees and making swales to control surface run-off and the programme has helped us a lot in improving soil fertility,” he said.
Another beneficiary, a member of the Mandowa sub-catchment area, said government should continue supporting the project to vulnerable communities, citing that it is enhancing lives of people in the area.
The multi-billion kwacha programme is a component of the Social Support for Resilient Livelihood Programme (SSRLP), a Government project implemented through the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) and funded by the World Bank and the Social Protection Multi-Donor Trust Fund.
Access to inputs hinders cotton production
By Patricia Kapulula
Salima, April 10, Mana: Challenges such as inadequate access to inputs such as seed has hindered the potential of cotton production in Malawi, as well as Southern Africa, making farmers shun growing the crop.
Department of Crop Development Deputy Director, Martin John Gausi, made the remarks in Salima on Tuesday during a field day on cotton seed multiplication.
He expressed concern that cotton production hactarage is going down as there are less farmers in the field hence the need for partnerships so that farmers can access inputs at affordable prices.
“In the cotton sector, one of the challenges is availability of seed. Mostly, farmers access hybrid seed which is imported from India and is expensive. So the field day showcased alternative seed varieties such as OPV which farmers can also buy and grow the crop,” he said.
He said in the uncertainty future of tobacco amid the global anti-smoking initiatives, cotton emerges promising to meet both local demand and contribute to export earnings.
Regional Head of Programmes for Solidaridad Southern Africa, Humprey Nxumalo concurred with Gausi saying issues of access to seed is very crucial in as far cotton is concerned.
He said in order to increase production, his organization has partnered with Cotton Council of Malawi, Masapa and Kvuno to establish seed that can be available to farmers at an affordable price.
Regional Operations Lead for Kvuno, Lydia Banda, described partnerships as important to enhance seed availability among smallholder farmers.
“Kvuno supports seed multiplication to ensure that farmers are accessing it at affordable prices as well providing alternative solutions to purchasing the seed such as loans and credit schemes,” she said.
The field day, which was held under the theme ‘Fair and Sustainable Cultivation of Cotton for all’ was done to celebrate OPV cotton varieties and demonstrate recommended agronomic practices.
