By George Mponda

Karonga, September 28, Mana: Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) has warned politicians to stop allocating beneficiaries of mobilised resources for the implementation of recovery and resilience after a disaster or any related emergency along political party lines.

DoDMA Chief Disaster Resilience Officer, Sam Gama, issued the warning Friday in Karonga during an orientation of council members on the Disaster Risk Management Act which was organised by the Catholic Development Commission in Malawi.

Gama said: "Councillors and Members of Parliament have a mandate so that people in their wards and constituencies receive adequate and quality national services such as security, electricity and relief in major disasters.

"According to section 50 of the Disaster Risk Management Act, anyone found guilty of deploying equipment being used in search and rescue operations or provision of relief assistance to other tasks shall, upon conviction, be liable to a fine of K10,000,000 and imprisonment for three years."

Karonga District Council Chairperson, Bellium Msukwa, said there is need for proper coordination between politicians and the council secretariat when responding to disasters.

"Politicians should not interfere in the distribution of relief items but instead, we should act as watchdogs to ensure those who are affected by disasters are benefitting from the resources mobilised despite their political affiliation," Msukwa said.

Paramount Chief Kyungu said eversince Malawi became a democratic nation in 1994, alot of politicians became very corrupt and are derailing development.

"We have tolerated corruption for too long and in the process government has lost alot of money. We need to stop being selfish and change our mindset inorder to develop our districts," Kyungu said.

By Ivy Yohane

Blantyre, September 28 Mana: Blantyre Institute for Community Outreach (BICO) is making strides in promoting eye health among learners in Blantyre through a campaign under the theme; Children, Love Your Eyes.

BICO Optometrist, Hendrine Nyondo, said on Friday during the campaign at Catholic Institute (CI) Primary School that children need to be taught ways of caring eyes and sign and symptoms of eye infection.

“Itching of eyes, white or yellow sticky discharges, difficulties to see at a distance, difficulties with near vision and headaches during the day are some of the signs that your eyes have been affected.

“Washing your eyes will help to reduce itching in the eyes. You should be more hygienic so that you can avoid eye diseases. For those who have difficulties to see at a distance and difficulties with near vision l advise you to visit a doctor so that you can be given glasses,” she advised the learners.

In line with the theme, BICO is selling glasses to children at a reduced price of 50 percent discount.

CI Primary School teacher, Angella Kachoka, said most parents have no time to know their children’s eyes to detect problems associated with eyes.

“It is very important for organizations like BICO to teach children how to take care of their eyes, as many of them do not have information about health and eye care,” she said.

Apart from CI, BICO had already held mobile eye talks to school such as Blantyre Girls and Zingwangwa.   

By Kondwani Magombo

Lilongwe, September 28, Mana: Malawi Government has asked Chinese company, StarTimes Media to consider inclusion of local channels for viewers in the country's rural areas to have access to local programs, in addition to foreign content provided under the project.

Principal Secretary (PS) for Ministry of Information and Digitalization, Baldwin Chiyamwaka, made the call in Lilongwe on Friday when he received equipment for Phase II of the ChinaAid's Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages, and officially opened the project.

Chiyamwaka hailed StarTimes Media for the project which will see 200 villages across the country access satellite TV and have their knowledge broadened regarding what is happening around the world.

However, the PS said much as the foreign content is necessary for the viewers to appreciate the broader picture of the world, local content on the service provider’s list of programs would allow Malawians have a wider spectrum of events happening across the globe.

“So, just like we now have some channels on DSTV, we would like, also, to have local channels like Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), Zodiac Broadcasting Services (ZBS), Times, and other channels on Start Times – and that's the agreement,” he said.

The PS described the Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages as an enabling tool for Access to Information, one of the legislative provision that government is advancing to ensure transparency and accountability between duty bearers and the citizenry.

“It's a very, very good source of information for people in the rural areas: We're expecting them to follow current affairs, apart from education and entertainment,” said Chiyamwaka.

He also asked the Chinese company to consider increasing the number of villages to benefit from the second phase of the project so that as many Malawians as possible should access the satellite TV services and be connected to the world.

StarTimes Media Chief Executive Officer (CEO), David Pan, said his company would consider the PS’s appeal and that the requested local TV channels will be included on the ‘free-to-air’ list.

On the need to increase the number of villages to benefit from the project, the CEO said the proposal “is under talks” and he hoped for the better.

“We’re in talks with officials from the Chinese government, through the Chinese Embassy, and for me, I believe that we might have some updates on this point,” said Pan.

The second phase is building on the first phase that saw successful installation of the satellite TV sets in 500 villages across the country in 2019.

By the end of this year, StarTimes Media is expected to have installed 4,000 digital decoders, 400 solar projection satellite TV systems, and 200 digital TVs for free in public institutions and households under the second phase of the project.

Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages project is a ChinaAid initiative that was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2015, and Malawi is among the countries benefiting from the project.

By Brian Wasili

Mwanza, September 28, Mana: Khudze Ward Councillor, Emmanuel Kapawe has been elected as Mwanza District Council Chairperson while Frazer Bandiele of Thambani Ward as his vice.

In his acceptance speech after the elections held in the Council Chamber on Friday, Kapawe pledged to work with all stakeholders to ensure that development activities in the district are distributed evenly regardless of distance and political ideologies.

“I will make follow up on projects that are underway to see to it that they are completed on time and operational,” he promised.

Kapawe called for coordination between the council secretariat and the elected members for improved service delivery for the benefit of people in the district.

Kapawe who defeated his vice (Bandiele) by four votes against two is replacing outgoing Mitseche Ward Councillor, Steve Bellon Kasambwe whose two consecutive terms of office have expired.

His vice Frazer Bandiele amassed three votes defeating Kasambwe who collected two votes while Mpandadzi Ward Councillor, Kayisi Chimbalanga had one vote.

According to Local Government Act, council chairperson is elected into the office to serve for 12 months’ subject to re-election for another term in contrast to City Mayor who serves for two and a half years’ term once elected.

Mwanza District has four wards and two constituencies stretching in three Traditional Authorities of Nthache, Kanduku and Govati.

By Joseph Mtendere Ligowe

Blantyre, September 28, Mana: Ministry of Lands on Friday engaged members of Blantyre District Council, including chiefs, to sensitize them on the new Land Act that is encouraging land owners to register their land including customary land.

Speaking during the meeting, Director of Administration in the Ministry of Lands, Dr. Victor Chinyama Sandikonda, stressed the need to register customary land.

“When one registers his or her land, it shows ownership and there is proper care because he or she becomes responsible for the land they own. This also helps in reducing land conflicts as there will be certificate of ownership. So, we are encouraging communities to take advantage of this Act,” said Sandikonda.

Senior Chief Kunthembwe welcomed the development saying he will work with government so that people should register their land.

“We have a lot of land conflicts and if this initiative comes into existence it will ease and reduce conflicts in our areas,” said Senior Chief Kunthembwe.

By Mirrium Fumulani

Balaka, September 27, Mana: Officer In-charge for Balaka Police Station, Senior Superintendent, Dan Sauten Friday warned students at Balaka Secondary School to refrain from vandalizing school property saying would never condone violent scenes in schools.

The warning has come following the ugly scenes which occurred during the night of September 26 to 27, 2024 after form 4 students went on rampage to vandalize school property.

Over 18 students got injured in the course of the incident that ensued when the form 4 students were up against junior students over food.

Sauten said that, “As long as I am In-charge of Balaka Police, I will not tolerate any misconduct at this the institution. 

“The conflict began when form four students, who traditionally have the privilege of being the first to receive meals, found themselves challenged by their junior students,”

There was in form of damaged windows, torn mattresses and desks were thrown all over in the course of the chaos.

Meanwhile, no student has been punished for their involvement in the vandalism of school property but the authorities warned them never to repeat the acts.

Balaka Secondary School Head teacher, Catherine Gunde, thanked the Balaka Police Officer In-charge and his team for addressing the students saying this was timely intervention.