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Sparking disability inclusion through empowerment
By Wanangwa Tembo
Kasungu, April 27, Mana: When Tilile Nabanda of Mponda Village in Traditional Authority Kaomba in Kasungu got pregnant in 1976, she did not think about the possibility that she would give birth to a child with some form of disability.
However, when the baby came out to the world, Nabanda noticed that its legs were not in the right shape.
“No woman expects that to happen to her child. But it is something you do not have control over,” she says.
Nabanda, now in her early 70s, says children, whether born with some disability or not, are precious gifts and must be given the best care a parent can offer.
“Unfortunately for me I did not have anything to offer my child. We were a very poor family such that we couldn’t even send the child to school,” she recollects.
That child, named Monica Kafantandala, needed assistance in form of mobility assistive gear to attend school but the parents couldn’t afford any.
At 48 years old now, Monica is a poor illiterate single mother of two, struggling with the realities of life.
“It was my wish to get educated. Unfortunately, schools were at far distances and I couldn’t walk. At least if there was a wheelchair my story could be different,” Monica says.
Her two children, born in 2000 and 2004, dropped out of school upon reaching standard 7 due to lack of parental support after the father bolted away.
“He told me he was going to Lilongwe to look for piecework and that was it. He never came back.
“So the children have grown up in very difficult conditions. They both just dropped out of school and started doing piece works to support me,” she says.
Monica attributes her family’s impoverishment to the disability which made her fail to get to school.
She is not alone.
District Social Welfare Officer for Kasungu, Ephraim Njikho, says people with disabilities often suffer in silence because they are invisible as they lack exposure.
“In most cases, they are confined to their homes and end up missing out on socioeconomic opportunities.
“When they meet various difficult situations, such as being excluded in socioeconomic activities, they don’t come in the open. They are invisible and suffer in silence,” Njikho observes.
He says there is need to raise community awareness through advocacy and trainings to help them enjoy their rights on equal footing like anyone else.
Esther Luhana, who chairs Kasungu District Disability Forum, says in most families headed by a person with disability, there are high levels of poverty because of lack of education.
“While there may be some systematic exclusion of people with disabilities in some cases, the major cause of poverty is that most of our members did not get proper education because of their conditions.
“Most of them have not received proper support in terms of education hence they are living in miserable conditions,” she says.
According to the 2018-2023 National Disability Mainstreaming Strategy, there are over 1.5 million people with disabilities in the country and about 90 percent of them live in the rural areas surviving on subsistence farming.
International Labour Organisation (ILO) noticed this challenge and hatched the Sparking Disability Inclusive Rural Transformation (Spark) project for promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities.
Broadly, the Spark initiative seeks to ensure that persons with disabilities, particularly women like Monica, and youths, actively participate in, and benefit from, rural development projects tailored to fit the specific profiles of their disabilities, priority needs, constraints and opportunities.
The two-year project seeks to create and promote employment opportunities among people with disabilities in programmes that are funded by the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) in Malawi.
It also aims to expose them to opportunities that are there so that they live a quality and independent life through participation in inclusive socioeconomic activities.
National Project Officer for Spark, Vincent Kavala, says at least 300 people with all kinds of impairments have already found opportunities in the IFAD funded projects, specifically Transforming Agriculture through Diversification and Entrepreneurship (TRADE) and Financial Access for Rural Markets, Smallholders and Enterprise (FARMSE).
The TRADE project supports rural communities in the agriculture value chain while the FARMSE programme supports household economic development through promotion of access to financial services.
Kavala says: “We are targeting people with any type of impairment through a rights based approach towards inclusion. We understand that people with disabilities face a number of barriers, including attitudes from communities, extension officers and inaccessible infrastructure which hinder their participation.
“We have made good strides in that we have over 300 beneficiaries included in IFAD funded programmes in Kasungu only, against our target of 428. We are sure by the end of this year we will have reached our target.”
In Kasungu, the project is targeting persons with disabilities in Traditional Authorities Chulu, Chisemphere, Kaluluma and Kaomba. Elsewhere, it is also being implemented in Thyolo, Nkhata Bay and Chitipa.
So far, the project has trained 20 Disability Inclusion Facilitators from each of the target districts to provide professional advice on understanding disability and how to make disability inclusion work.
In turn, the facilitators have helped to build capacity of IFAD programmes and implementing staff on how to include people with disabilities in the various livelihood and agricultural value chain programmes.
In line with the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy, the 2021 ILO Disability Inclusion Policy commits to mainstreaming disability inclusion in its quest to promote decent work for all people including those with disabilities.
Malawi Council for Disability Affairs (MACODA) District Manager for Kasungu, Wisdom Mseteka, says the Spark project has helped to built capacity of organisations of persons with disabilities to enable them to effectively represent the needs of their membership and offer technical expertise on disability inclusion.
“There are many people with disabilities in the district who live in similar circumstances like Monica’s.
“But we are thankful to ILO through the Spark project for uplifting their lives, giving them the dignity that they deserve just like any other person,” he says.
Mseteka says the Spark project has assisted a lot in terms of mobilisation of persons with disabilities, fighting for their inclusion in various community projects and also empowering them.
“Through awareness conducted by Spark disability inclusion facilitators, most people with disabilities have joined cooperatives and farmers’ clubs, which is helping to uplift their livelihood.
“And again as MACODA, through our partnership with the Spark initiative, we have managed to conduct awareness activities through which we have identified people with disabilities and linked them with service providers, especially those that provide assistive devices,” he says.
According to Mseteka, over 131 people with disabilities identified through the project activities, including Monica, have already been assisted with tricycles and clutches to enable them to participate in development activities and conduct businesses that have improved their livelihoods.
“We want to see total inclusion, making sure that the rights of people with disabilities are respected and recognised at all levels. We do not want them to lag behind.
“People with disabilities must take up positions in their communities and that whoever is carrying out development initiatives in the community must recognise them by ensuring their involvement,” Mseteka says.
Funded to the tune of $230, 000 (about K400 million), the Spark project is implemented together with the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare as the policy holder on disability issues.
Furthermore, ILO is also working with Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi, Ministry of Labour, Malawi Congress of Trade Union, and Employers Consultative Association of Malawi, at both national and district levels.
Malawi, US sign defence partnership
By Patricia Kapulula
Lilongwe, April 27, Mana: Malawi, Zambia and the North Carolina National Guard, courtesy of the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program (SPP), have signed the first ever trilateral partnership agreement at a ceremony that took place at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe on Saturday.
President Lazarus Chakwera hailed the agreement, saying it will enhance cooperation for the benefit of the people in the two countries.
“Malawi has been working with the United States in a number of areas such as health, infrastructure development, disaster management, governance, diplomacy, peace and security. This partnership is important as it will extend the already existing relationship,” he said.
Minister of Defence Harry Mkandawire said the partnership is not only about defence but goes beyond several sectors like agriculture and health for the benefit of the people.
Malawi Defence Force (MDF) Commander Paul Valentino Phiri said the partnership is an opportunity for MDF to boost capacity building and vital equipment to strengthen defence infrastructure.
“This cooperation will provide an opportunity to enhance knowledge and skills in cyber security, as well as search and rescue operation, among others. It will also enhance innovation in the realm of security and defence,” said Mkandawire.
North Carolina National Guard Adjutant General Todd Hunt said the cooperation will go a long way in teaching best practices and techniques in the military.
Since its inception in 1993, SPP has been a cornerstone of US security cooperation efforts around the world.
Malawi and Zambia join over 100 other partners with National Guard Units of all 54 American states and territories.
Chilima courts Malawian community in Tanzania
By Sylvester Kumwenda
Dar es Salaam, April 27, Mana: Vice President Saulos Chilima on Friday urged the diaspora community in Tanzania to contribute towards the socio-economic development of Malawi.
He made the remarks after a meeting with the Community of Malawians living in Tanzania (COMATA), which was held at Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dar es Salaam after he attended Tanzania’s Union Day commemorations.
Chilima said the meeting dwelled on a variety of issues ranging from challenges the community is facing to how they can contribute to the development of Malawi.
“They raised a few issues some of which are not new. These include how they can do diaspora remittances, land allocation issues and about bringing in investments back home. Most of these are already being handled at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs level, but we have assured them that we will make appropriate follow-up.
“But we have encouraged them that we all have responsibility to Malawi. It does not matter which corner of this planet we operate from; we have the responsibility to contribute to the socio-economic development of our country,” said Chilima.
He added that the meeting also presented a chance to know who is where and what they are doing.
Some of the members included representatives of businesspersons, students and staff working at the High Commission of Malawi to Tanzania, among others.
Chilima arrives back from Tanzania
By Moses Nyirenda
Lilongwe, April 27, Mana: Vice President Saulos Chilima has arrived back from Tanzania where he attended the celebrations of 60 years of the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which resulted into formation of the Republic of Tanzania.
The Vice President attended the celebrations upon invitation to Malawi by Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
Other government officials who patronized the celebrations include Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture, Richard Chimwendo Banda, Deputy Secretary to the Office of the President and Cabinet, Janet Banda, and Malawi’s High Commissioner to Tanzania, Andrew Kumwenda.
While in Tanzania, Chilima emphasized the importance of the country to attend event, saying that it would strengthen the bilateral relationship that exists between Malawi and Tanzania.
“A union means people coming together, doing things together, setting aside perceived or real differences as opposed to setting ourselves apart and dividing ourselves.
“Tanzania has 60 years of doing things together after Tanganyika and Zanzibar unified, so there are lessons to be learnt like putting aside differences which could derail development for our people,” Chilima said.
Malawi and Tanzania share a common border, primarily through the major land crossing at Songwe-Kasumulu.
Additionally, various ferries operate between the two countries on Lake Malawi between Mbamba Bay (Tanzania) and Nkhata Bay (Malawi) ports.
Tenancy labour a barrier to inclusive wealthy Malawi
By Levison Lester
Lilongwe, April 26, MANA: Minister of Labour, Agnes Nyalonje says a report which National Statistical Office (NSO) has launched indicates that the country needs collaborative efforts from stakeholders and government in order to address work deficits and rights of workers in the tobacco sector.
Speaking in Lilongwe on Friday during the launch of the report on the survey of Tenant Growers in Malawi’s Tobacco Industry, Nyalonje said the country is comprised of people whose majority are the youth, as such the issue of tenancy labour needs to be addressed if Malawi is to achieve inclusive wealth by 2063.
She said that tobacco industry is one of the biggest employers in Malawi hence workers in the sector needs to be protected against the challenges they face.
“In 2021, the government amended an employment Act to abolish the tenancy labour in the tobacco industry. When you pass a law, the implementation is a process which requires a baseline of information. So in 2022, the government through the ministry of labour commissioned the study which NSO carried out. The report is a confirmation of why the government was committed to abolish tenancy labour.
“Our president, Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has audibly indicated that Agriculture is one of the pillars that can take the country into 2063. ATM aims at improving the productivity and commercialization in agriculture sector. So Malawi being a country full of young people, it means tenancy labour has not spared them. Therefore, there is need to address the issue of tenancy labour if we are to improve decent work in this sector,”
Nyalonje also added that the country has been struggling to deal with issues of tenancy labour because many Malawians take the issue as culture, as such it becomes difficult to change the people’s way of life.
Director of International Labour Organizations (ILO), Wellington Chibebe said the report by NSO has uncovered instances of harassments which needs to be quickly addressed for workers in tobacco sector to enjoy international labour laws.
He said the issue of child labour, land ownership, working conditions portray the existence of modern slavery, as such stakeholders should work hand in hand to abolish tenancy labour.
"The report has highlighted key areas relating to strategic decent work which include incidences of forced and child labour, food insecurity, household financial accessibility, and land ownership. In addition, the survey has also provided tenets that needs clear understanding of the issue at hand. The report has challenged us all to focus and do the needful in making sure that decent work is legal in Malawi following the abolishment of tenancy labour in 2021," He said.
In his remarks, Executive Director for Employers Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAM), George Khaki said the report is commendable because it will help to focus on areas of improvement in as far as policy implementation is concerned.
The report on the survey on Tenant Growers in Malawi's Tobacco Industry was conducted in 2022 in tobacco growing 15 districts.
The report indicates that 42.3 percent of children between ages of 5-17 engage in child labour, 99 percent of tenant growers lack knowledge on the importance of joining Trade Unions, and 75.9 percent of tenants are not informed in deductions that incur from inputs.
Muslim Journalists urged to be united
By Sheminah Nkhoma
Blantyre, April 26, Mana: Minister of Water and Sanitation Abidah Mia has encouraged Muslim journalists to be in the forefront in promoting Islam in the country.
Speaking on Friday during Annual General meeting of Association of Muslim Journalists (AMUJO) at Malawi Sun Hotel in Blantyre, Mia said it is the responsibility of Muslim Journalists to be reporting on issues that will unite the nation.
“There are a lot of fake news that are published about Muslims in the world so as journalists I urge you to be writing on issues that are true and will not divide the nation”, Said Mia.
She further said as Muslim Journalists they should make sure that they follow the Islamic teachings as well as the laws of the country when they are working.
In his remarks Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) general secretary, Dr Alhaj Twaib Lawe emphasised on working together with the Muslim Journalists in the country.
“As a mother body of Muslims in the country we are going to make sure that we give support to the Journalists because they work so hard in disseminating information to the public “, Said Lawe.
Organising chair for the event Alhaj Chekaukutu Ndege says the gathering will help shape the way for the organisation.
The two days meeting is under the theme "Empowering Muslim journalists to dispel misconceptions about Islam and bring sanity to the world"
Luchenza business operators petitioned municipal council over tax hike
By Andrew Phiri
Thyolo, 26 April, Mana: Business operators at Luchenza Municipal Council in Thyolo District have demonstrated and petitioned Luchenza town assembly over tax hike of about 400 percent on various businesses and substandard public infrastructure such as bus depot which was constructed few years ago but is said to be in a sorry state.
Delivering the petition to the Luchenza Municipal Council Chief Executive Officer, Wanyapakucha Mzumara, one of the leaders for the group, George Jubeki, said it was worrisome to see the council raising business tax with 400 percent as majority of businesses are small.
He said the demonstrations have provided opportunity for them to raise their concerns, adding that businesses such as kabaza bicycles operators, mandasi and chips sellers face various abuses from council’s mobile tax collectors.
“We hope that the issues we have raised in our petition will help the council to reduce the taxes because we have been paying tax for many years but there is no tangible development.
" Many businesses are closing because they are failing to operate with the tax standard so it is our hope that by next month, all these issues will be addressed," he said.
Speaking after receiving the petition, Mzumara said before raising the business license fees, the council made systematic review in all areas.
"We normally do consultations and we engaged one of the business leaders in the previous meetings and expected to receive feedback from them which has not been the case until today,
"We will ensure that there is good relationship between our members of staff and business people because Luchenza is a business oriented municipal council," he added.
People demonstrated from Makande Trading Center via Luchenza community ground to the municipal offices and this was the first time for business operators in the area to hold peaceful demonstrations.
Minister urges students to practice peace and love
By Lesnat Kenan
Lilongwe, April 26, mana: Minister of Mining Monica Chang'anamuno has argued all students in the country to preach and demonstrate peace and love to one another emphasizing that this will help Malawi to improve in the education sector.
Chang'anamuno was speaking on Friday at Mbinzi Secondary School in Lilongwe during the re-launch of World Day of Prayers in Secondary and Primary Schools in Malawi by the Malawi Council of Churches (MCC)an event which attracted participants from 30 public secondary schools from Lilongwe.
"The re-launch of World Day of Prayer is important because as Malawi, we are having Malawi 2063 vision and for us to achieve this we need peace and for that to come we need love, therefore the theme is in line with this as it talks about bearing love with one another”. She said.
Chang`anamuno said the youths need to grasp peace and love as a country that doesn't have peace can never fulfill its vision therefore, adding it is important to go to schools and let students know that they need to practice peace and love while they are young.
Malawi stopped observing the day in primary and secondary schools because of the COVID 19 pandemic.
General Secretary for Malawi Council of Churches, Reveland Alemekezeke Phiri, said that the future for this country is in the hands of the younger generation therefore re-launching the World Day of Prayers in schools is a right step forward as the youths are the ones to implement vision 2063.
"As MCC, we have sensitized other churches that wherever there is a school, members should ensure that this day is maintained and prayers should continue, “He said.
He also advised student in schools to participate in world day of prayer and that peace, love and prayer should be part of their everyday life's.
In her remarks, Phalace Samuel a student at Mbinzi Secondary school expressed gratitude for the re-launch of this day saying it helps to bring unity and love between students, teachers and Malawi as a nation.
She also pleaded other students to stop practicing vandalism in schools as this disturbs education learning.
Women's World Day of Prayer is an annual event held on the first Friday of March. This year, the day was held under the theme "I beg you...Bear with one another in love"
CSO'S asked to track development projects in councils
By Salome Gangire
Neno, April 26, Mana: Center for Social Accountability and Transparency (CSAT) has called on Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working in Mwanza District to track development projects which Mwanza District Council and partners implements to ensure quality service delivery.
CSAT Head of Programs and Policy, Albert Lulaka made the call on Friday during a training of CSOs at Mwanza Hotel which was meant to equip them with skills and knowledge on how they can track development projects to assess impact.
CSAT in partnership with International Republican Institute (IRI) with funding from National Endowment for Democracy (NED) are implementing a one-year project called Strengthening Local accountability in Malawi (SLAM) in Mwanza, Mzimba and Salima districts.
Lulaka said failure to monitor development projects at implementation stages results in councils providing substandard projects to citizens, adding that SLAM project was looking at ways and means of strengthening local CSOs in civic engagement apart from local government processes and systems.
“CSOs monitoring of projects will provide checks and balances to projects and systems like Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and District Development Fund (DDF), District Development Plans and Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) to ensure that quality services reach citizens,” Lulaka said.
He said the training was organized after observing that most CSOs lack capacity to monitor projects at grass root level such that CSAT further observed that there was no proper direction in district councils in terms of service delivery.
International Republican Institute (IRI) Consultant, Gavalet Mzembe said development plans for the council comes from Village Development Committees and Area Development Committees which are fed into District Development Plans.
She therefore said there was need for the CSOs and citizens to monitor development activities to ensure they are of good quality and relevant to meet citizen’s development aspirations.
The consultant added that project monitoring will ensure that District Development Plans respond to the needs of the people.
“It’s very important for citizens to track and demand accountability on the development plans that they submit to councils because it’s the only way the community is going to develop,” she said.
District Community Development Officer (DCDO) for Mwanza, Wesley Saidi expressed hope that the training will strengthen collaboration between the council and CSOs in the district.
He said Mwanza District Council will involve CSOs in the implementation of various projects as the CSOs claim that the council only involves them in planning and not in the implementation stages.
Mwanza CSO vice Chairperson, Bertha Gondwe said the training will increase CSOs knowledge on local government systems and structures.
She added that CSOs will learn how to engage duty bearers to ensure transparency and accountability in all the development activities taking place at the council.
SLAM project aims at providing capacity to members of local NGOs to effectively monitor funds allocated to projects for improved service delivery at the local level.
Government committed to alleviate unsustainable population growth
By Andrew Phiri
Thyolo, April 26, Mana: Deputy Director for Civic Education in the Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture, Lawrence Useni, has assured communities in Thyolo District that government is committed to provide dialogic platforms where community members including youths should discuss with relevant authorities’ various factors that contribute to Malawi’s rapid population growth.
He made the remarks on Thursday at Bvumbwe Trading Centre, Traditional Authority (TA) Bvumbwe in the district where Directorate of Civic Education in collaboration with Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) were recording Malawi Wanga program dubbed Pabwalo, a television and radio play which is aimed at promoting citizen engagement for proactive participation on issues of national development.
He observed that lack of job opportunities among youths and limited access to medical services in some hospitals across the country are among major factors that contribute to alarming population growth as shown by National Statistics Office 2018’s population figures which puts the country`s total population at 18 million.
"One of the issues that came out of the discussion is early marriage. Many youths do not have stable income generating activities.
He said that currently, government is rolling out various initiatives under the Ministry of Youth such as loans through National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) and vocational skills through TEVETA among others so that the youths should have something to do. He advised the youths to utilize the programmes.
Useni called on parents, guardians and other relevant authorities and sectors to provide proper guidance on the youth on the right time to get married.
"We are also calling upon parents to take an active role in advising the youths on the right time for marriages and we believe this will help the government and Civil Society Organizations to work effectively on various programs," he said.
Chairperson for Bvumbwe Area Development Committee, Maulidi Kawere, said MBC and Directorate of Civic Education’s Pa Bwalo was a timely initiative, adding that the initiative has the potential to provide opportunity to youths to speak out their concerns on matters of national interest.
One of the youths in the district, Dickson Makaya, concurred with Maulidi saying there was need for the Ministry of Local Government and MBC to sustain the initiative for public and policy makers interest if the youths were to effectively contribute to Malawi 2063 Agenda.
"Government should strive to reach out to people in the rural areas where many are facing socio- economic challenges such as hunger and poverty. I believe that most challenges that are hindering this country to develop are in rural areas," he said.
Centre for Social Concern, Economic Governance Officer, Agness Nyirongo applauded government for rolling out the initiative.
She called on government and its partners to take extra efforts in investing in health and education sectors, saying the two are key to national development.
