By Joseph Mtendere Ligowe

Blantyre, October 7, Mana: The Unleash Hack Malawi over the weekend conducted a two-day hackathon at Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), which was aimed at providing young Malawians with the knowledge to create innovative solutions through mentorship that can bring impactful changes within their society.

Speaking during the activity, the team leader for Unleash Hack Malawi, Joe Nkhula said that the youths are the solutions to the problems we are facing as a nation hence they need to be equipped with knowledge that will positively impact their community.

“We want youths to take charge of their community by identifying a problem in their community and be able to find a solution on how they can solve that problem for themselves. So we are part of it because if the solution needs money we can help them find the donor provided they can provide proof that they can do it,” said Nkhula.

One of the participants, a second-year student from MUBAS Eneless Martias said that the hackathon has been fruitful for her as a young star.

“This workshop has been an eye opener because we have realized that we as youths have the power to come up with the solutions to the problems that our communities are facing and also help in reducing the unemployment rate,” she said.

Unleash Hacks is a global initiative that aims at providing local talents with tools, knowledge, and support to address sustainability challenges in their society.

By Priscilla Phiri

Lilongwe, October 7, Mana: In preparation for World Post Day, Malawi Postal Corporations (MPC) has affirmed its dedication to serving Malawians with integrity.

During a media tour organized ahead of World Post Day, which is celebrated annually on October 9th, MPC's International Mail Processing Manager for Kamuzu International Airport (KIA), Enala Jumpha, emphasized the importance of security in their operations.

"All mail and parcels that we receive and send here are scanned to ensure there are no illegal items, so you can see that security is a priority at MPC. We urge Malawians to trust us as they do business with us," said Jumpha.

She also mentioned that to embrace digitalization, the corporation has implemented an IPS system to scan all incoming and outgoing mail, thereby speeding up the tracking process for international mail.

"Currently, the only challenge we have is that we rely on one airline to ship our mail. Previously, we had South African Airways, which played a vital role in transporting our mail. But due to COVID-19, we switched to using Ethiopian Airlines (ET) for our business; however, the demand is there," elaborated Jumpha.

On Wednesday, Malawi Posts Corporation (MPC) will join the global postal community in celebrating 150 years of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) global postal service leadership.

Since its establishment in 2000, MPC, along with 191 other UPU members, has benefited from the union’s leadership in overcoming disasters and adapting to rapid technological changes, ensuring the best service provision to everyone, especially the most vulnerable.

By Vida Msiyo

Blantyre, October 7, Mana: Malawi's young people have been urged to take an active role in environmental conservation efforts to help achieve the country’s sustainability goals. 

Speaking in an interview with Malawi News Agency on Monday, Chief Executive Officer for the Centre for Youths and Environment, Calvin Mataya said that the energy and potential of young people make them ideal for spearheading environmental activities such as cleaning cities, places they stay and tree planting. 

“Youths are the ones that are still energetic. Even though older people can do some environmental activities, youths can do that work much better. They can involve themselves in cleaning our cities, planting trees and a lot to do with the environment for a better Malawi. We must invest in our youth and provide them with the necessary tools and knowledge to lead environmental initiatives,” he said

In providing youths with necessary tools, Mataya said as the country there is a need to invest in young people because they influence their friends to do positive things in their communities.

“When youths are empowered, they can influence their peers and communities, creating a flow effect that can lead to significant positive change,” he added.

Environmental expert Mathews Malata also emphasized the importance of youth involvement, saying that Malawi is a country full of young people and there is a need to push them to act.

“Malawi is a country full of young people. Transformational leadership and development is when you can see how best to pass on knowledge from one generation to another, this is in the Malawi 2063 vision enabler 7, which emphasizes environmental sustainability,” he said. 

Malata added that youths play a key role in driving innovation and change as they act as a bridge for knowledge transfer, innovative leaders and agents of change.

“We cannot win if we focus on the same people who brought us where we are now. We need to target young people, some of whom are in secondary schools and universities so that they can be at the center of our transformation,” he explained. 

By Steve Chirombo

Dedza, October 7, Mana: Some beneficiaries of the Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP), in Dedza district have hailed the intervention saying it has enabled them to move from poverty to better living conditions.

Speaking during a tour conducted to appreciate the progress of SCTP, beneficiaries in Chief Chilikumwendo said they have made strides since they started benefiting from the programme.

Edna Henderson from Mphizi Village said unlike in the past, her family can now breathe a sigh of relief as they can eat good food and that hunger is a thing of the past.

“From the money I received from the programme, I invested some through joining the Village Savings and Loans (VSL) group. With time, my money multiplied which saw us opening a grocery shop and venturing into the sale of farm produce mainly maize,” said Henderson.

She added that from the proceeds, her family has managed to purchase two pieces of land where they are doing their farming activities.

Another woman, Ida Moffat from Chimutu Village said the programme moved her family from a grass thatched house to a better house she constructed on top of having livestock.

“We have a cow, goats and local chickens. These are proceeds from the cash we received. My husband is a butcher man and all this is possible because we utilize the cash we received properly,” said Moffat.

Nyadei Julius, plying restaurant business at Kabwazi Trading Centre in the district said she started with tomato business and that she can support her children’s education.

“For example, when I put in K20,000 I would get K15,000 profit while during market days I can get up to K120,000 after investing K50,000. I can confidently say that I am better than before,” she said.

In his remarks, Emmanuel Khumba, Social Cash transfer officer at Dedza district Council who is also desk officer for the programme said several beneficiaries will be graduating from the initiative after achieving the intended purpose.

“The over-role objective of the programme is to get the vulnerable families out of poverty. We believe that by the end of four years, there will be a great change in their socioeconomic status. We thank the government through other initiatives that are being implemented by FARMSE and other partners who are championing the graduation models. We hope that by the end of 4 years, 1500 households will be officially assisted by government to get out of the programme,” he said.

19,555 household beneficiaries are on the Social Cash Transfer Programme in Dedza district.

The program is being implemented by the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) through the district council with funding from the Social Protection, Multi-Donor Trust Fund and the World Bank.

By George Mponda

Karonga, October 7, Mana: Disaster Risk Management Officer for Karonga District Council, Humphrey Magalasi, Monday said that 13,803 households are expected to benefit from2024/25 Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Programme.

Speaking when he briefed Karonga District Disaster Risk Management Committee on the initiative, Magalasi said each household will receive a 50-kilogram bag of maize for three months each month.

"These 13,803 households represent a population of 62,114 who have been identified from senior traditional authorities Mwakaboko, Kilupula, Wasambo, Mwinuka, Mwilang’ombe and Paramount Chief Kyungu.

They will receive relief assistance from December 2024 to February 2025," Magalasi said.

He highlighted that prioritized in the initiative are child-headed households, homes with malnourished children and people with disabilities and the elderly among others.

Group Village Head Malema under Paramount Chief Kyungu hailed government for the initiative, which he said, would go a long way in addressing food insecurity in the district.

"A lot of people were affected by floods which hit the district early this year and they lost their household properties including foodstuff, so this is a very welcome development which will ensure households are food secure for the stated three months.

As traditional leaders, we will corroborate with village civil protection committees to ensure that only deserving beneficiaries are registered to benefit from this humanitarian intervention,” said Malema.

According to the 2024 Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee Report, about 5, 700,000 people are expected to experience acute food insecurity with 553, 000 of these residing in urban areas from October 2024 to March 2025.

By Wanangwa Tembo

Kasungu, October 7, Mana: Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Simplex Chithyola has commended Oxfam for promoting women's participation in agriculture and ensuring access to profitable markets for their produce.

Chithyola was speaking at Chaima in Kasungu District during activities that Oxfam and its partners organized to raise awareness of women's rights to agriculture.

The activities were part of the project called ‘Enhancing access to profitable and inclusive agriculture markets for smallholder farmers in Kasungu District’ being implemented by Circle for Integrated Community Development (CICOD) and the Catholic Development Commission in Malawi (CADECOM) with funding from the Flanders Government through Oxfam.

Said the minister: “I am impressed that this project has some focus on establishing market linkages to ensure that our farmers have access to profitable markets which is key to ensuring that they benefit from their work.

“As government, we are responsible for looking for off-takers that can provide profitable and inclusive markets. We will do everything to ensure they are good markets for our farmers.”

He encouraged farmers to get into cooperatives to increase their bargaining power for better prices of their produce.

“If you make cooperatives, you are better placed to bargain for good prices from off-takers and make more profits.

“We commend Oxfam for promoting this kind of approach to agriculture and we are aware of the huge impact this project has had on our farming households,” he said.

Gender Coordinator at Oxfam, Lindiwe Jere said there is a need to raise awareness of women’s rights by focusing on gender-based violence, child labour and social norms that affect women’s participation in agricultural production and access to profitable and inclusive markets.

“Apart from enhancing the capacity of smallholder farmers, particularly women and youths, to produce marketable and profitable agriculture commodities, we are also promoting gender transformative approaches to enhance equal participation.

“We are conducting campaigns to end violence against women and the use of child labour in the target extension and planning areas [EPAs],” she said.

Through the project, which is being implemented in Santhe, Chamama, Mtunthama and Chulu EPAs, farmers have been trained on new agriculture approaches, and marketing and have been given warehouses.