Mzimba, November 25, Mana: Child Affairs Officer in the Ministry of Gender, Community development and Social Welfare, Neil Masamba says government intends to train over 40,000 care givers in Early Childhood Development (ECD) to enhance their tutorial skills. 

Masamba made the remarks on Sunday at Embangweni in Mzimba during an open day organised by the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC)'s Development Broadcasting Unit (DBU). 

She said there are many caregivers who lack requisite skills to train young minds hence the plans by the ministry to offer them training. 

"We acknowledge the gaps in teaching skills among care givers and because of that we will be training them in phases. The aim is to equip them with skills in teaching children", said Masamba. 

MBC's DBU coordinating officer, Sebastian Mthatiwa, urged parents at Embangweni in Mzimba to send their children to ECD centres.

"Early Childhood development is critical in children between 0 and 8 years because it helps build cognitive skills such as language skills, problem solving and memory retention. We therefore urge communities to embrace ECDs for their children," he said. 

Mthatiwa said MBC has entered into a contract with Unicef to raise awareness on the role of men and women in ensuring children between 0 and 8 years attend ECD centres.

Mmbelwa District Council official, Isabel Chakhame said the council attaches great significance to education of children and encouraged parents to send their kids to the centres.

Traditional Authority Mzukuzuku urged organisations to help set up ECD centres in more villages to ensure more children attend early childhood lessons.

By Wanangwa Tembo

Kasungu, November 25, Mana: Democratic electoral processes are predicated on the assumption that voters will make informed choices and the importance of an informed electorate is reflected in international norms that place significant value on the importance of civic education.

As part of the processes leading to the September 16, 2025 General Elections, the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) is conducting voter identification exercise whose third and last phase starts this Thursday and will end on December 11.

National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Public Trust Executive Director, Gray Kalindekafe says voter registration process is a fundamental pillar that upholds the integrity of the entire electoral system, describing it a bedrock upon which the legitimacy of elections rests.

“The shared aspiration to participate in the democratic process can only be realised if the voter registration process is accessible and inclusive, where every eligible citizen, regardless of their status and location, has the opportunity to register and vote.

“This inclusivity is crucial in a diverse society like Malawi, where marginalised groups often face barriers to participation. By addressing these barriers through targeted outreach and simplified registration procedures, the electoral process becomes a true reflection of the people’s will,” Kalindekafe says.

He says Nice takes civic education as a crucial element of the electoral process and employs various methodologies in what it calls a ‘360 Degrees’ approach to civic education where the mission is to leave no one behind.

“People’s participation is the hallmark of democracy. To get them involved, we need a robust voter registration that is transparent. This transparency is achieved through public awareness campaigns that educate citizens about the registration process and their rights.

“When people understand how the system works and their role within it, they are more likely to trust and engage with it. So this is where we come in, employing strategies that reach everyone, regardless of where they are,” he says.

The 360 Degrees strategy involves bombarding all available mediums – the air, water and land – with messages about election processes and citizen participation.

Specifically, it involves the use of music and dance shows, radio and television programmes such as jingles, drama, debate and music.

Additionally, it employs village community meetings, letters and door-to-door visitations, interactive sports bonanzas, drama performances, visits to video show rooms, interactions with bicycle taxi operators and fishermen in water bodies and every other available space for mobilisation.

“We understand the electorate comprises of people with different literacy levels and capabilities hence the model guides us to use various approaches that befit the audience being targeted.

“It worked well in 2014, 2019, 2020 and we are using it in the current processes beginning with voter registration. And with a team of over 12 000 volunteers and programmes officers in all districts across the country, we are assured of reaching out to every person that needs to participate,” Kalindekafe says.

A visit to some districts in the central and southern regions last week revealed that registration numbers had picked up, raising hope for better outcomes than feared.

In Kasungu, District Programmes Officer, Gerald Chirwa says numbers were bad in the initial days of the registration but improved in the subsequent days following a successful mobilisation campaign.

“There is a trend that people tend to do things at the last instance. It was the same with the registration. But we are hopeful that we will have good figures looking at the interventions that we employed.

“We chose democracy and it has its pillars, one being that people must participate in electoral processes, specifically, choosing their leaders. It is a process that starts with voter registration, so people must always be willing to take part in this process or democracy will die,” Chirwa says.

His Zomba and Blantyre and Dowa counterparts also describe the turnout as being fair, pointing out that more women turned out than men.

“We used various strategies to woo people to register such as letters read in prayer houses, night criers, market visits, village meetings, mobile vans and many others.

“One thing that has to be appreciated is that there has been an increase in the number of registration centres which also means that distances have significantly reduce. On its own, this should have been an encouragement for people to go and register,” says Kondwani Neba, officer for Zomba.  

He says citizens must participate in democratic processes such as elections so that they are able to influence the direction of their country.

“When elected officials are truly representative of the population, they are better positioned to address the needs and aspirations of their constituents,” he says.

Elinati Chipwaila of Lupsya Village in the area of Senior Chief Wimbe says she is excited to have registered as a voter, describing it as capital for her children’s future after 2025.

“Messages are all over that we should go and register. The registration process is itself very simple.

“My advice is that wherever the exercise is still in progress, let people go out in large numbers. This is our only political capital and comes once in in a while so we cannot afford to miss it,” Chipwaila says.

On his part Chikumbutso Lyford, from Chibwenza Village in Traditional Authority Chakhaza in Dowa says organisations such as Nice invest a lot and work tirelessly towards electoral processes as demonstrated in the previous elections which should signal to people that participating is important.

He says while participation is not compulsory, good citizenship entails that one must participate in making decisions that affects his or her life, in this case, registering to vote.

There have been calls from various stakeholders to extend the voter registration exercise citing challenges such as alleged unavailability of National Registration Bureau crew in registration centres to assist prospective registrants who do not have a citizen identity card as demanded by the new electoral laws. It is feared the challenges would result in many people being disfranchised and leading to a low voter participation.

However, MEC Communications Officer Richard Mveriwa says the electoral body is impressed with the turnout so far.

The MEC has already registered voters in 28 councils and the last phase will cover seven councils which are Lilongwe City and Rural, Mzimba, Mwanza, Chikwawa, Mangochi and Nsanje.

The commission is yet to release figures for its second phase of the registration which covered Likoma, Nkhata Bay, Ntcheu, Kasungu, Dowa, Luchenza, Thyolo, Zomba, Mchinji and Blantyre.

However, in the first phase, MEC identified 2 224 307 voters against a projection of 3 423 066 12, representing 65 percent.

The first phase covered Machinga, Chiradzulu, Neno, Phalombe, Mulanje, Nkhotakota, Ntchisi, Salima, Dedza, Mzuzu and Karonga where at least 56.7 percent of the projected males and 72 percent of the projected females turned out to register.

In line with the 360 Degrees strategy, Nice looks at civic education as a war against the twin enemies of elections which are low registration and voter turnout and null and void votes.

The 2025 general elections, will be the seventh national contest since the introduction of multiparty democracy in 1994 and the third to be held in a tripartite fashion.

Experience shows that intensive and sustainable mobilisation employing the 360 Degrees paradigm is key in dealing with disinterest, voter fatigue and electoral myths and misinformation that result in apathy.

By Pempho Nkhoma

Blantyre, November 24, Mana: In a bid to promote and expose young talented artists, a record label called Warge Records held an Urban Music competition dubbed: 'The Next Big Ting.'

The competition started on October 5 and it was open to artists from different genres.

Founder and Producer at Warge Records, Wanangwa Phiri told Malawi News Agency (Mana) that over the years they have been contributing to Malawi music industry by giving young artists a platform to present their art.

“We have unearthed young talents that have eventually achieved superstar status in our country through our Riddim Projects, as well as Music Shows. It is in the same spirit that we introduced the Warge Records ‘Next Big Ting’ music competition,” he said.

Phiri added that the competition was targeting young artists from the age of 20 below to be given a chance to record five songs for free.

“During the competition the elements that the judges were looking for were originality, melody, composition and lyrics. After the analysis Rixy-B emerged the winner,” he said.

Afro Pop artist, Rixy-B real name Alickangelo Lazaro for winning the competition will get a five all paid for studio sessions at Warge Records, shoot videos and promotion for the five songs that shall be recorded.

In his remarks, Rixy-B observed that the competition was tough, acknowledging that there were many talented artists while expressing gratitude to Warge Records for the opportunity on account that it will help him to grow musically.

“I have been looking for this opportunity to push my music, given a chance to record five songs at Warge Records will shape my career because this is a big studio,” he said.

One of judges, reknowned artist Blaze, real name Blessings Gwengwe said the competition has the potential of helping young stars to find a platform they are pursuing in music circles.

“Being one of the fruits of Warge Records in Malawian music industry, I believe young talented musicians can benefit from this initiative if they follow and subscribe to all the terms and conditions,” he said.

The competition was participated by 15 young artists who recorded their songs with the same instruments and submitted to the panel of judges.

Over the years Warge Records have promoted the talent of artists like the late Mafunyeta, Malinga Mafia, Blaze, Mady P, Gibo Lantosi, among others.

By Maria Tembo

Ntchisi, November 22, Mana: CARE Malawi in collaboration with Eclt Foundation has withdrawn 910 children from child labour and taken them back to school in Ntchisi district.

CARE Malawi Education Program Lead, Limbani Chipembere, made the remarks during a ground breaking ceremony of a two classroom block at Chandawe Primary School in the area of Senior Chief Chilooko in the district.

Chipembere said through Protect the Future: Ending Child Labour in the Agriculture Industry in Malawi (PROCLAIM) project, being implemented in Mchinji and Ntchisi, the organization has also managed to protect 30,000 children from child labour in the two districts.

He said it is encouraging to see that Community Child Labour Committees (CCLC) continue to help the organization by withdrawing children from child labour and reporting the perpetrators of the malpractice to relevant authorities.

He said: “We will continue withdrawing children from child labour and sending them to school because we want to see them becoming reliable citizens of the country. We also support their families in different ways because we want them to avoid sending their children to work in tobacco and coffee fields.”

Head Teacher for Chandawe Primary School, Andrew Banda, thanked the organization for the school block project and said once completed it will help ease insufficient school blocks the school is currently facing.

“The classroom block project will act as a motivation to our learners as some of them, specifically standard 3 and 4 learners, learn in churches. We believe that performance among learners will also increase.

“The enrollment rate has increased through PROCLAIM project. We believe that, going forward, we will see a lot of children being enrolled at the school,” he said.

Eclt Foundation Programme Officer, Vincent Raad, said four school blocks and two teacher’s houses will be constructed in Mchinji and Ntchisi districts and more than 400 million will be used for both projects.

By Zenak Matekenya 

Dedza, November 22, Mana: Leader of the House in Parliament, who is also Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture, Richard Chimwendo Banda, Thursday announced reinstatement of Dedza as a town assembly after the district was stripped off the status in 2010.

He made the announcement during the first ever out of chamber parliamentary sitting at Dedza Stadium.

Chimwendo Band said the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) led government then removed town council status for Dedza, Salima and Karonga districts. 

The announcement followed a question by Member of Parliament (MP) for Dedza South, Ishumael Onani, who wanted to know if Dedza District Council will revert to town council status.

Onani stated that with the status of a town council, people of Dedza feel they will have more advantages including benefiting from many development programs unlike being a district council.

Responding to the question, Chimwendo Banda said Dedza has a big population befitting a town and has a booming economy with many people doing trade.

Dedza was declared as a town council by the first President of Malawi Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda in 1978.

“I am pleased Madam Speaker that it has pleased President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera to declare Dedza and Salima as town councils,” he said attracting applause from the government side.

He added that the declaration will be gazetted from Tuesday next week and changes in terms of funding for Salima, Dedza and Karonga will be reflected in the 2025/2026 national budget.

MP for Mangochi South West, Shadric Namalomba, asked government to expedite completion of Dedza Loop Road adding trenches dug on it remain uncovered for long.

Speaking after the Parliament sitting, Senior Chief Chauma hailed Parliament for bringing the August house to Dedza.

He, however, asked Parliament to consider using vernacular languages during such gatherings to enable more people f ollow deliberations and further meet the intended purpose of bringing parliament to the people.

District Commissioner for Dedza, Thomas Chigwenembe, hailed Parliament for the initiative.

He called on the Parliament to also take the initiative to other districts.

By Solister Mogha

Zomba, November 21, Mana: Youth for Development Productivity (YODEP), a local youth organisation based in Zomba on Thursday trained community and district disaster risk management committees on search and rescue, one of the important aspects in disaster response.

Speaking during the opening of the two days training, YODEP Programmes Manager, Joy Mwandama said considering reports of heavy rains that the country is expected to experience this year, the organisation felt it necessary to empower both district and community disaster structures with search and rescue skills.

Mwandama said it is only when the district and community structures have been empowered with the necessary knowledge and skills that they can take the required steps during search and rescue missions.

"Obviously we expect floods and other forms of disasters in Zomba and it is therefore important that our teams are fully equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills," he said.

Mwandama said it is the expectation of YODEP that the training will be of great impact to communities of Zomba.

Among those participating in the training are members of the District Disaster Risk Management Committee, Area Disaster Risk Management Committee and Village Risk Management Committee.

Zomba District Disaster Risk Management Officer, Violet Jimu described the training as crucial, especially now that the district was preparing for various disasters.

Jimu said capacity building on disaster is crucial and hailed YODEP for the orientation, saying it will enhance the capacity of disaster structures.

During the training, participants were taking through topics like fire-fighting, survival skills, search and rescue techniques.

The training also involved disaster structures from Neno District who are also beneficiaries of the localised project with support from the Save the Children.

By Damiano Thengo

Nkhotakota, November 21, Mana: Minister of Trade, Sosten Gwengwe has asked Ethanol Malawi Company to scale up production in order to meet the high demand of its products at both local and global markets.

Gwengwe made the call in Dwangwa on Wednesday when he visited Ethanol Company to appreciate their work and the progress of the Fertilizer factory construction project in Nkhotakota district.

The minister said was impressed with the rapid expansion of Ethanol Malawi Company saying the production company is able to satisfy the global ethanol market.

Gwengwe further said the company is producing products of good quality and high value that can assist the country in sourcing foreign currency through export.

" So, basically the Ethanol Company is doing quite a lot in terms of venturing into various kinds of products, what I can advise them is simply scaling up what they are doing right now,” said Gwengwe.

Chief Executive Officer For Ethanol Malawi in Dwangwa, Lusubilo Chakaniza said the company is planning to construct another production unit in Salima district in order to scale up production.

By Patience Longwe

Lilongwe, November 21, Mana; The Vice President of the Republic of Malawi Dr. Micheal Usi has highlighted the importance of access to information saying it’s a fundamental right to Malawians.

Speaking during the launch of MBC2 On the Go, at MBC Area 4 studios in Lilongwe, Usi said televisions provide the basics of information, education and entertainment.

“Broadcasting images and sounds becomes an integral part of how people imagine, understand, and form judgments. Therefore, the responsibility that accompanies this power is immense.

“No one can doubt that the mass media, the field of broadcasting have a very important place in contemporary society. The broadcasters form an important and influential bridge, a crucial channel, between government and people,” he said.

Usi also added that the development plans of the government for all parts of the country will not succeed without adequate provision for channels of information, that is both for information to the people and information from the people.

The Minister of Information and Digitalization, Moses Kunkuyu, noted that the use of television creates lasting impression in human memory and it is critical in influencing perceptions and attitudes.

“I would therefore urge program producers to use the power of the media to transform the image of Malawi and the continent in general by sharing Malawi’s inspiring and motivational stories and technology innovations with the world,” said Kunkuyu.

Meanwhile, Board Chairperson of Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Rev. Vasco Kachipapa said their goal is to be relevant and engage Malawians intensely while modernising ways of working and ensuring long-term financial sustainability.

“With the imminent migration to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), MBC’s aim is to create a sustainable platform for broadcasting and content distribution in the digital age,” he said.