By Alex Kachingwe

Blantyre, July 13, Mana: Senior Group Village Head Ntotela of Traditional Authority Makata in Blantyre has expressed satisfaction with Domwe Active Youth Organization’s (Dayo) continued campaign dubbed: Timveni Amayi which is aimed at raising awareness on abuse against women in the area.

SGVH Ntotela disclosed that most of the women in his area have been facing different kind of abuses from their husbands like being denied access to family planning services and participation in business activities.

“It is true that most women in my area have been facing these challenges which is a total violation of their rights. But the introduction of this campaign has made a lot of men to realize their roles and responsibilities in protecting and respecting the rights of women in a family,” said Ntotela.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana), Dayo Executive Director, Kachale Kainga said after conducting a study, the findings indicated that many women from villages under T/A Makata are facing abuses on issues concerning business participation and accessing family planning services.

Kainga said the organization decided to provide counselling services to all men who did not understand the rights of women in order to allow women, pursue business activities and access family planning services in Domwe, Namwalisiyo and other surrounding villages.

A beneficiary of Dayo interventions, Pinna Manduwa said initially her husband could assault her for trying to access family planning services, but that such is no longer the case because Dayo intervened to make her husband understand the importance of allowing her to access family planning services and conduct a small business of Mandasi.

Blantyre District Gender Officer, Stephano Joseph stressed that the Constitution under Section 24, emphasizes on the freedom of women in the decision-making processes especially on matters that affect their wellbeing.

“Thus restricting women from taking part in socio-economic activities and access to family planning services is an absolute violation of their rights,” Joseph said.

He urged men to always respect the rights of women, saying anything that infringes on the rights of women is an offense punishable by the laws of Malawi.

Apart from raising awareness on abuses against women, Dayo is also providing entrepreneurship skills to women in T/A Makata such as sausages making in an attempt to make them self-reliant and improve their livelihoods.

By Lisa Lamya

Blantyre, July 12, Mana: Environmental activist, Matthews Malata says mindset change remains key if Malawi is to thrive in the switch to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) campaign.

Malata made the sentiment with the background of some business owners still resorting to using charcoal as opposed to gas.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Friday, Malata said there are different perceptions that people have towards gas but the benefits of using it outweigh the dangers.

“We need more awareness on gas so that people have the right information because most of the reasons being advanced are that gas is expensive and that it is dangerous so there is still a lot of work to be done,” he said.

He said a recent survey by the Ministry of Energy has found that only 0.3% of Malawians use gas while only 1.7% using electricity.

“Looking at the practical issues on the ground, we need to ensure that cylinders are available, affordable and of good quality so that people can be motivated to buy. On the other hand, we are aware that the Ministry of Energy is in talks with Tanzania and Mozambique so that they can supply gas to Malawi. I believe this will address the pricing concerns being raised,” Malata said.

However, Mana engaged some of the women plying restaurant businesses in Blantyre to find out why they do not use gas, whereby some cited lack of awareness and some pricing as major setbacks.

Thokozani Sapangwa said she has never used gas before and would not consider doing so because she feels it is expensive and unprofitable for her business.

“I have heard that gas is expensive and for a business like mine, I doubt if I will be able to get a return on investment. For instance, when I cook nsima I leave it on the charcoal burner until lunch hour so that it stays warm, I do not think I can do the same with gas,” she said.

Emily Wilson, another restaurant business lady said she does not even know that gas exists since all her life she has cooked on firewood and charcoal burner but if given a chance, she would want to learn more about gas.

“I have never used gas before and I am not sure how it works but if the information is available it would be good to know what gas is all about, where we can access it and how we can use it, that would be helpful,” Wilson said.

Some gas users have, however, indicated that gas is efficient and reliable and those that are not using gas are missing out.

“I have been using gas for six years now and I must admit it is fast and reliable. I have a 6 kgs cylinder that sustains me for at least 3 months so it is quite fair,” one of the gas users Mervis Makwinja said.

The current price for Liquefied Petroleum Gas is K3, 245.00 which may not be affordable for the average Malawian.

Reacting to the concerns, Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA), Consumer Affairs and Public Relations Manager, Fitina Khonje said the pricing is influenced by global factors and exchange rate and all other costs along the supply chain.

Khonje said the issue of sensitization is not MERA’s responsibility alone, acknowledging the work that the Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, LPG importers and non-governmental organizations are doing to promote the use of alternative sources of energy.

“There are currently 114 outlets from less than 30 selling points that were there in 2021 with some more applications being assessed and if more entrepreneurs join the LPG sector it will help ease access,” Khonje pointed out.

By Isabel K Banda

Lilongwe, July, 12, Mana: A 22-year-old innovator George Kalichero who continues to amaze Malawians with his wonderful innovations by bringing his ideas into reality, is currently working on a planting Hoe which will speed up the planting process for farmers.

Speaking with Malawi News Agency, on Friday, Kalichero said the planting hoe will help farmers by reducing the time that they spend when planting their seeds.

“This hoe is different from the local ones because it has a bottle attached to store seeds and the handle has a button which releases the seed into the planting holes, hence reducing the time the farmer spends when planting with the traditional hoe,” he said.  

According to Kalichero, the new innovation will take him about a month to be finalized and be made available for use.

He also revealed that the planting hoe is one among some of his innovations that he has invented since he started in 2017.

“My first innovation was done in 2020 and it was a windmill which generates electricity and powers my grandmother’s house and 10 of her neighbors in Mulanje, but most people know much about the electric bike which I invented during the fuel crisis period in 2023,” he said.

Kalichero says he gets his inspiration from William Kamkwamba among other local innovators as well as some of the international innovators that are shown on television.

He however, lamented the lack of resources, financial support and mockery that he constantly faces in his innovation journey and urged government and different stakeholders to support and promote innovators for meaningful development.

Recently, Research Manager for National Planning Commission, Dr. Andrew Jamali said there is hope for the innovation sector in Malawi as more youths are emerging with solution-based innovations in the country.

He said: “It is very exciting as you know Malawi vision 2063 is centered on the youths and we just launched the vision about 3 years ago and already we see young people running with the vision by identifying problems and making innovations like these hence this brings hope to the country.”

Kalichero’s brilliance hit the headlines on social media in the past years and drew attention of many in the country. In 2021 he was among innovators that were selected at the Institute of Industrial Research and Innovations at Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST).

By Tawonga Moyo

Mzuzu, July 12, Mana: Great Hope Foundation, an organization which is campaigning for the endorsement of Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, has urged city councils to endorse their campaign, which seeks to persuade people to transition from the use of fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

Director for the Foundation, Steve Chinsendenji made the call on Thursday in Mzuzu when the organization briefed Mzuzu City Council on their campaign and ask for an endorsement.

The Treaty, which has the endorsement of 191 member states, is a diplomatic and civil society campaign which aims to stop fossil fuel exploration and expansion and phase-out existing production in line with the targets of the Paris, France Climate Agreement of 2015.

Chinsendenji said the use of fossil fuel products such as thin plastics has contributed to adverse effects of climate change which come as a result of factors such as land and air pollution.

"Sometimes, people do things due to lack of knowledge on how their actions can negatively impact the environment; hence we want to raise awareness first and one way is through engaging city councils and other stakeholders for them to help us in our quest.

As a country, we have witnessed natural disasters which occurred due to adverse effects of climate change and we hope that by the end of our campaign, government establishes measures that combat the causes such as the use of thin plastics," Chinsendenji said.

He said the organization will soon take the campaign to districts like Karonga where mining activities take place to get the message across to the masses, for them to desist from actions that pollute the environment, hence leading to climate change.

In his presentation, environmental activist and Director of Green Homes Initiative, Maloto Chinkombero encouraged continual debate on the issue of thin plastics, saying doing so can eventually lead to lasting solutions.

"As African countries, our aid mostly comes from those Western countries whose economy depends on fossil fuels, so it's hard for us to put pressure on them to stop producing the fuels.

It's an issue that is debatable, hence it's important for us to keep on talking about it so that our concerns get heard and one such way, is by boycotting buying plastic products from companies that are taking a restraining orders against government's proposed ban on plastics," he said.

He said it's worrisome that the country is struggling to put an end to the use of thin plastics which destroy the environment and contribute to health problems, saying mindset change was crucial in addressing the matter.

In his remarks, Mayor for Mzuzu City Council, Kondwani Nyasulu applauded the organization for the move, and pledged to get the message across to people on the importance of minimal use of plastics for a safer environment.

Comenting on the matter, Assistant Director of Parks, Leisure and Environment for Mzuzu City Council, Gerald Mchacha described the meeting as important, saying in as much as plastics are produced by developed countries, campaigns can go a long way in making a difference.

The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty was adopted in 2015 in France at the United Nations' framework convention on climate change.

Some of the countries which agreed and joined the treaty include United States of America, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea.