By Ireen Mseteka

Likoma, February 14, Mana: Likoma District Council on Friday conducted a clean-up routine exercise which was aimed at raising awareness of the importance of maintaining hygiene in public places hence preventing the spread of diseases in Likoma.

Speaking after the exercise at Mbamba market in Likoma, the Director of Administration and Human Resources for Likoma district council, Moses Jere emphasized the importance of the exercise saying that it is a responsibility of everyone to keep the environment clean.

“We need to ensure that our surroundings are clean, especially here at the market. Customers need hygienic places for them to buy goods from sellers and we all need to be healthy people including our families,” said Jere.

He added that people should ensure that they are using toilets whenever they want to defecate to eradicate diseases such as cholera, especially during the rainy season.

Chairperson for Mbamba Market, Henry Singano asked the council to take into consideration the construction of additional toilets at the market to prevent open defecation which may fuel the spread of diseases.

“Here we only have one toilet. As a result, people help themselves wherever they feel like doing so. If we have more toilets, this will help in hygiene practices since people will be using the toilets as a result, all the surroundings will be clean,” said

He then hailed government through the council for the clean-up initiative saying that it is a good move to curb the spread of diseases as the environment will be always clean.

By Chisomo Kambandanga

Nkhata Bay, February 14, Mana: Mtetete Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) Head Teacher in Nkhata Bay, Sally Msiska has commended students from Vijle University in Denmark for donating 20 computers to the school through Climate Action Resilience for Malawi (CARMA).

In an interview Thursday after the official handover ceremony of the computers, Msiska said the school will now introduce computer lessons, which will enable learners to improve computer skills.

"Lack of computers was a very great challenge to us to introduce computer as a subject. We will immediately start offering the subject after having received the 20 computers. Our students will have hands-on experience helping them to excel in national examinations.  We are very grateful", she said.

She therefore appealed for support from well-wishers to help the school in constructing a computer laboratory.

"We are currently having 172 students, and we don’t have a computer laboratory. Let me appeal to well-wishers to help us construct a special computer laboratory as we have just currently improvised for that," she added.

Project Manager for CARMA Innocent Phiri said the organization requested the donation to bridge a technical gap in Information Communication Technology skills identified in most of the schools in the district.

"These computers have been donated by students who are on an education visit to Malawi. We requested it because we understand that if most students have computer skills, they can be exposed to various information that will help in various spheres of life.

He added that their goal is to reach out to more schools in Nkhata Bay, and they have also already donated the same to St Augustine CDSS in the district.

In her remarks Anna Grandt Nielsen, a teacher in computer skills communication, art and design who led the students from Denmark expressed optimism that the computers will ignite the interest of learners in computer courses and take part in the fight against climate change.

"These visits are crucial to our students as they have already started learning many things in Malawi which will help them to think globally and I am hopeful that through CARMA, this collaboration of students will continue," she added.

By Petro Mkandawire

Blantyre, February 14, Mana: Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN) monitors and trains Chimembe Mother Care Group (MCG) on the group’s capacity for under-five vaccine awareness.

MEHN Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Florence Khonyongwa, told Malawi News Agency (Mana) at Chimembe Health Center in Blantyre, Thursday that the visit to Chimembe was to identify problems and challenges the MCG faces as it raises awareness on child vaccine.

“We are satisfied with the way mother care groups are performing. However, there is a need for improvement, especially in advocacy,

“The group needs to find other channels in raising awareness so that the immunization process should yield better results,” said Khonyongwa.

According to Khonyongwa, the supervisory tour helped to re-energise and motivate group members and enhance collaboration and coordination with healthcare providers apart from providing mothers and caregivers accurate information about vaccine and immunization schedules.

“Monitoring mother care groups helps to strengthen vaccine and immunization programmes and reduce the risk of outbreaks among under-five children, Monitoring visits also help us to track vaccination coverage and identify areas where coverage is low,” she added.

The Chimembe Mother Care Group, established in 2019 comprises 30 members and currently collaborates with three public health posts to raise awareness on child vaccines and other health-related initiatives.

Chairperson for Chimembe Mother CGG, Joyce Harry said the care group has been successful in reaching out to 500 families every month, with an 89 per cent community participation rate in their vaccination initiative.

“The care group's advocacy has led to a significant change in behaviour, with more men now taking active roles in vaccinating their children. This marks a positive shift from previous times when they were reluctant to get involved,” added Harry.

Apart from Blantyre, MHEN is implementing a child vaccine campaign in nine districts namely, Mchinji, Ntchisi, Kasungu, Dowa, Mzimba south, Mzimba north, Chitipa and Lilongwe with financial support from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI).

MHN is yet to continue monitoring other health facilities in Blantyre.

By Ireen Mseteka

Likoma, February 14, Mana: Principal Education Officer (PEO) for Likoma, Lizzie Banda says the introduction of BEFIT program will help to improve education standards and reduce dropout rates in Likoma.

Banda made the remarks Friday at the end of a two-day training for BEFIT zonal Implementation Team (ZIT) and District Implementation Team (DIT), which was held in Likoma.

“Once the program has been implemented, it will help to improve the attendance of learners in schools,” said Banda.

She added that all stakeholders who have undergone the training have a vital role to play inorder to make the program successful in the district.

Banda explained that the training was important, as the trained officers will go in schools to train all teachers, which will help them to be able to implement the program.

A participant, McDonald Kondowe thanked Government for the training saying the participants have been imparted with skills and knowledge on how teachers should conduct BEFIT sessions in their respective schools.

“We need to go out and impart the knowledge and skills to teachers and later to our learners because they are the targeted. We will ensure that we conduct more sessions with them so that they should improve learning and numerical skills,” said Kondowe.

BEFIT is a government program aimed at improving the foundation literacy and numeracy skills of learners in standards 1-4 in public schools in the country.

By Rennie Tembo

Lilongwe, February 14, Mana: Member of Parliament for Lilongwe Msozi North Sosten Gwengwe, has commended the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA) for its tireless efforts in distributing food aid to vulnerable communities affected by food insecurity.

Gwengwe who is also Minister of Trade and Industry made the remarks Wednesday during the distribution exercise in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Chadza in the district.

He said the distribution of the relief maize to supporting food-insecure families, is assisting many households to have food in their homes.

"DoDMA has demonstrated exceptional dedication to alleviating food insecurity among many households. Their selfless efforts have not gone unnoticed, and we appreciate the critical role they play, “he said.

However, Gwengwe issued a stern warning to Chairpersons of Village Development Committee (VDC) who collect money from beneficiaries, emphasizing that such practices are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

"We have received reports of some VDC chairpersons taking advantage of vulnerable beneficiaries by collecting money from them, this practice is unacceptable and will be dealt with accordingly. The government will not allow anyone to exploit its people,” he said

Jusabu Musa, 83-year-old beneficiary, thanked government through DoDMA for their timely initiative saying his family had been struggling to make ends meet.

Lilongwe District Disaster Officer, Anganile Kalonga, said that DoDMA has so far distributed over 103,869 bags of maize to food-insecure families since December 2024.

"DoDMA remain committed to providing timely support to those affected by disasters. We work tirelessly to ensure that relief items reach those who need them most," she said.

She further urged the beneficiaries to use the donation for its intended purpose and not sell the maize, saying the behaviour is unacceptable.

The food distribution exercise is part of government's efforts to mitigate the effects of food insecurity, which has affected many households across the country.

By Sarah Phiri

Mzimba, February 13, mana: Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC)’s District Elections officer for Mzimba District Chrispin Chakhumbira has cautioned female political party aspirants in the district to refrain from politics of castigating other aspirants ahead of the 2025 September 16^th Tripartite elections as this is against the law.

Speaking during an interface meeting with Women female aspirants organized by Women’s Legal Resources Centre (WOLREC) in partnership with Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (OXFAM) Malawi and its stakeholders on Wednesday in Mzimba, Chakhumbila stressed the need to be responsible in expressing their freedom of speech as politicians.

“Some of you are about to compete in primary elections for ward councilors and member of parliament seats in your political parties, please respect your competitors to avoid tarnishing your image and breaking the law” he said.

 Chakhumbila also advised each participant on the need to know their geographical boundaries to avoid reaching out to the wrong audience.

“Due to the recent constituency and ward demarcations, I urge each one of you to come to our offices to know which centers are within your ward/constituency so that you do not waste your time and resource approaching people who are outside your boundary” he also said.

He further stressed the need for each aspirant to desist from the culture of handouts “people should love you because of your commitment to the development of your area and your manifesto not because of bribing them with money, food and other things “he added.

Coordinator for the community policing branch in the Department of Victim Support Unit for Mzimba Police Station Sub Inspector Peter Chima called upon all the aspirants to report any threats, and verbal and physical attacks to their nearest police stations.

“It is our duty as police to protect people and property therefore, I urge all of you to report and seek protection from us whenever you feel your rights are being violated. Some of the ignored but recurring abuses include; insults, removal of flags and podiums, and interrupting political rallies among others.

One of the Aspirants, Kettie Nthengwa who is preparing to compete for primary elections as a councilor for Mzimba Boma ward under Perekezi constituency has expressed gratitude to WOLREC AND OXFAM for the support.

“As a first-timer contesting in politics, I am deeply thankful to these organisations for the mental and financial support they are giving us. Money is a big challenge to us women so for them to assist us with nomination fees and training to prepare us before elections is relieving and a great win to us" she said.

Country Director for OXFAM Malawi Lingalireni Mihowa, has revealed that they are working with several stakeholders to politically empower women aspirants.

“We are working with the media to produce programs and stories that will mobilize the masses to vote for women and the youth. This will help change people’s perceptions of women” she said.

Mihowa also stated one of the strategies they have used is to work with political parties to create a conducive environment in their politics for female aspirants to achieve a 50/50 campaign.

 “From research we conducted, most women complained that they are isolated on important matters and face abuses that prompted us to engage the political leaders and negotiate with them to accept the women compete fairly” she said.

The project, Promoting Gender Transformative and Youth Inclusive Democracy in Malawi, targets to support 64 female aspirants from Mzimba District with funding from the European Union and OXFAM.

By Mary Makhiringa

BALAKA, February 14, Mana: Deputy Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture Joyce Chitsulo on Thursday challenged all councils in the country to always strive to give outstanding projects.

Chitsulo said, that giving to the community substandard projects is the same as denying the beneficiaries their right to development.

She said this in Balaka, when she toured Kwitanda and Chiyendausiku Maternity Wings which were constructed through District Development Fund and Hospital Rehabilitation Fund respectively and Rivirivi Extension Planning Area constructed through Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) funds.

Said Chitsulo: “I am very impressed and commend the council for putting up such magnificent structures. For example, the Chiyendausiku Maternity Wing that we saw, was my first time seeing that kind of maternity wing in Malawi, and you would think that it is not in Balaka. It is very beautiful, durable and standing.

“We are in the modern times, and we expect our structures that we come up with to be modern ones so that our people also access modern services.”

However, the Deputy Minister cautioned Balaka District Council to always strive to be the best and avoid losing out on GESD funds like how it happened during the 2023 financial year.

“The council lost almost K600 million which is a huge sum of money that could have helped in building more developmental structures for the people of Balaka,” she said.

District Commissioner for Balaka Tamanya Harawa assured the people of Balaka that measures were already taken to ensure that no funds are lost due to any form of failure.

“No leader would want to fail, and failing to access GESD funds was not deliberate, but it was because of desperation as you know in the very same year our district hospital was gutted down by fire. So, the council utilized some funds not meant for it to purchase hospital pots so that patients at the facility are provided with food during their stay.

“Let me assure the people of Balaka that we are so keen and following the rules of the game especially the requirements and doing all due diligence so that we do well in all aspects, so we are forward moving on,” he said.

The DC therefore revealed that even though the council missed out on GESD funds, they managed to construct tangible infrastructure such as Community Day Secondary School at Nkasi where learners used to walk over 15 Kilometers to school, and through the funds that they will secure in the 2025-2026 financial year, they will construct more classroom blocks and teachers houses at the same school so that it is a complete package.

Member of Parliament for Balaka West Bether Ndebere hailed Government for what she described as true love to the people of Balaka through the various development activities that the district has seen over the years.

Kwitanda Maternity Wing was constructed during the 2022/2023 financial year to the tune of K49 Million, Chiyendausiku Maternity Wing was constructed during 2024/ 2025 financial year to the tune of K797 Million and Rivirivi was constructed in the 2021/ 2022 financial year to the tune of K338Million.