MANAonline
President Chakwera dates Huawei Technologies
By Chikondi Chimala, in Beijing, China
Beijing, September 3: Mana: President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera Tuesday morning met the Technical Management Team of Huawei Technologies led by Vice President Li Junfeng in Beijing, China.
In his remarks, Chakwera reminded the Huawei delegation that he was proud to have inaugurated Malawi's first State-of-the-Art National Data Centre in the city of Blantyre on 21st July, 2022, thanks to the successful execution of the Fibre Backbone Project by Huawei which helped to position Malawi on the global digitalization map, on par with highly developed nations.
Chakwera who was accompanied to the meeting by Minister of Information and Digitalization, Moses Kunkuyu, said Malawi had significantly benefited from the exceptional services that Huawei provides through cutting-edge solutions offered, ranging from smart devices to advanced digital solutions.
“My administration is also keen on collaborating with Huawei in the following specific areas of Smart Village Initiative for rural communities the company is implementing similar projects elsewhere in Africa, Establishment of technical training centres for ICT to help us upskill our youth in digital skills, including AI and cybersecurity, Smart agriculture solutions to support our large-scale farm initiatives, and Cybersecurity for Malawi's digital landscape,” said Chakwera adding that his officials are prepared to discuss further the issues and the potential areas of collaboration that he outlined.
The president also asserted his administration's unwavering commitment to the minigrid project as Malawi seeks to expand electricity access across the country saying he is exploring financing opportunities to scale the project based on the results of feasibility studies that identify numerous eligible areas across the country.
The Malawi leader also took the opportunity to request Huawei to explore financing opportunities in China for the project.
In an interview with the Malawi News Agency (Mana), Huawei Technologies Managing Director for Malawi, Gomez Gu, said his company was geared to support Malawi in digitalization, and power through microgrid solutions, especially for rural areas.
On his part, Kunkuyu disclosed that the government will soon launch the first Smart Villages project in the villages that will help increase the number of smart villages in Malawi thereby increasing access to connectivity and various online services in rural areas.
The meeting was a continuation of President Chakwera’s engagement with various Chinese Companies including Huawei on the sidelines of the Summit of Forum of China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) that runs from Wednesday up to Friday.
The 2024 FOCAC Summit will among others focus on building relations and cooperation in supporting Africa’s industrialization, energy and trade as a priority, talent development, accelerating agricultural modernization, agenda 2063 of the African Union, modernization and mutual learning among civilizations, political, peace, and security cooperation as well as poverty reduction.
FOCAC was established in the year 2000 to foster relations between China and the 53 African nations and the African Union (AU) and is held every six years while the minister’s conference is held every three years.
The 2024 Summit is being held under the theme, “Working together to promote modernization and build a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.”
Eagles Sisters finishes on high annotation
By Tione Andsen
Lilongwe, September 3, Mana: Blue Eagles Sisters have finished on high annotation for the first round of K 40 million Mpico Gateway Mall Central Region Netball League on Saturday after thrashing Boma by 53 baskets to 18 at Gateway Mall netball court.
According to the General Secretary for Central Region Netball Association, Daniel Chigowo, the second round of the netball league will commerce on September 21, 2024
The Sisters have a 100 percent record after playing nine games and have collected 18 points and are yet to lose the game in the remaining nine game until November.
They have netted 481 baskets against 189 with goal difference of 292.
Civonets are closing on them with 16 points from the same number of games played have scored 431 baskets against 268 with 163 as goal difference.
The Servants had to slender Young Eagles on the final round one games with 31 baskets against 29 to climb the ladders and the Eagles dropped one step down.
Young Eagles have registered their first defeat of the season and have dropped on the ranking third after netting 451 baskets against 253 with goal gap of 198 and are having 14 points in their bag.
Lioness are fourth after beating Dyna Queens by 51 baskets to 32 with 12 points recording 381 baskets against 291 with baskets minus of 90.
Vanessa are fifth with nine points after posting a winning by 60 baskets to 23 against Sharpshooters while Dyna Queens are sixth with eight points.
Boma helped themselves to move to seventh after they claimed a win over Immigration by 51 baskets to 25 and have six points while Immigration are still stuck on ninth position with two points.
Sharp Shooters are anchoring the 10 team log with no point and they have a mountain to climb.
Blue Eagles Sisters coach, Madano Tepetheya admitted that this year’s Mpico Gateway Mall Netball league has been tough.
“We used to win with wide margins but today the story is different, this means teams are preparing for games and they planning well in order to contain us,” he said.
Coach for Sharp Shooters, Kondwani Nyirenda noted that his charges were not good in the first round and promised to do better in the last round.
“We are urging our supporters to come and watch us in the next set of games and they will enjoy them,” he promised.
Let us collaborate to fight GBV-Minister
By Rennie Tembo
Lilongwe, September 3, Mana: Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare Jean Sendeza has emphasized the need for collective action from parent’s community leaders and stakeholders to protect children from early marriages and Gender Based Violence (GBV).
Sendeza made the call Monday at Mpingu Primary School in Traditional Authority Mbwatalika during the commemoration of International Day of African Child.
Sendeza said it is sad that despite different interventions by the government and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), issues of GBV are continuing in several parts of the country.
“You need to know that every child has the right to education and it is every parent’s responsibility to ensure that their children are going to school so that they become responsible citizens soon,” she said.
Sendeza then expressed concern with the recent Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PSLCE) examination poor results from the central region despite well-wishers and other organizations paying their examination fees.
“This is a wake-up call for all of us, paying school fees alone is not enough. These poor results show clearly that there are a lot of challenges that affect children be it inadequate resources at school or challenges at home.
“We must work together as it is not a one-man show and there is a need to bring up stiff penalties to all parents who send their children to early marriages,” she said.
Lilongwe District Social Welfare Officer Derrick Mwenda thanked the government through the Ministry of Gender and NGOs for the support in advancing child welfare and education.
However, Mwenda expressed concern over cases of GBVs and school drop-out rates among girls in the district due to early pregnancies and marriages.
“Just imagine, Mpingu alone registered 592 cases of GBV in the 2023/24 among adolescent which is very alarming,” he said.
Mwenda then thanked the police for their vital role in making sure that every child who has been abused receives the necessary support.
Lilongwe Civil Society Organization Network Chairperson Gibozi Mphanzi said despite their efforts there are still challenges that children are facing that need more attention and action.
‘’We are worried with the recent examination results, this shows that many children are struggling and there is need to support our education system more. As NGOs we are committed to continue working hand in hand with the government to address the root causes of these challenges,” he said.
This year’s International Day of African Child was spiced up by poems, drama and dances, and it was cerebrated under the theme “Quality and Inclusive Education for all children; It starts now,”
DoDMA calls for decentralization of UBR
By Chisomo Kambandanga
Nkhata Bay, September 3, Mana: Commissioner for Disaster Risk Management Affairs (DoDMA) Charles Kalemba has called for consideration to decentralize the Unified Beneficiary Registry (UBR) system to local councils for it to be regularly updated and give accurate data.
Speaking Monday in Nkhata Bay during a two-day workshop on lean season response targeting and implementation, Kalemba said the UBR sometimes contains data that is not reliable.
“Apart from the Joint Emergency Food Assistance Program (JEFAP), councils use UBR to identify beneficiaries to be supported in lean season programmes. There is a problem that the UBR takes years to be updated and contains data that is outdated.
“People relocate, die and economic statuses change and for someone to have correct data for beneficiary selection in social protection programs there is a need for data that is updated at least every year,” Kalemba said.
According to Kalemba, updating the UBR yearly at the council level can be less costly than doing it at the central level hence the urgent need to decentralize updating of the UBR data just as it is done at the National Registration Bureau (NRB).
Kalemba then advised against political and local leaders’ interference in all processes involved in selection of beneficiaries in lean season response programmes.
Data Management Assistant at UBR Management Unit in the department of Economic Planning and Development, Chimwemwe Saidi said the call to regularly update data in the UBR system is a welcome idea and it is currently in the pipeline.
“We are establishing what we call a UBR dynamic update to have the data in the UBR active. Surely this will respond to some challenges raised and all we need is collaborative efforts from all stakeholders involved so that we move forward together, ’said Saidi.
In his remarks, Nkhata Bay Director of Planning and Development Edgar Chihana commended DoDMA for the training as it has reached out to all district and community representatives who are crucial in lean season response targeting and implementation processes and expressed optimism that the knowledge and skills gained will be put into good use.
According to the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee, a total of 5.7 million people are projected to be food insecure between October 2024 and March 2025 of which 10 494 people are from Nkhata Bay.
Malawi Government through DoDMA is set to provide food assistance to these families through financial and in-kind donations mobilized from various humanitarian partners.
DRTSS advise people to be road safety cautious
By Memory Kutengule Chatonda
Blantyre, September 3, Mana: Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services (DRTSS) has advised Malawians to be road safety cautious, observing that 98 percent of road accidents happening in the country could be prevented.
Principal Road Transport Officer responsible for safety at the DRTSS, Charles Maluwa, said in Blantyre, Tuesday when the directorate established the District Road Safety Committee.
He added it was always disheartening to note that the country continues to lose a lot of lives and property because of the culture of 'carelessness.'
"We should know that 95 to 98 percent of road accidents are preventable, so it is high time that we embraced a culture that could help people prevent accidents so that we save lives and property," he said.
In the meantime, the DRTSS is setting up district-based road safety committees across the country to promote road safety through effective coordination and implementation of road safety initiatives to reduce fatalities and injuries at the district level.
Maluwa said that so far, the DRTSS has set up committees in 12 districts, including Blantyre, Thyolo, and Chikwawa.
"The committees will act as a steering committee for the delivery of the National Road Safety Strategy 2022-2030, which, among other result areas, seeks to capacitate institutions to mitigate accidents in the best way they can," he said.
He therefore advised committee members for Blantyre to identify and address district road safety concerns by conducting regular meetings and site visits.
The Director of Administration for Blantyre District Council, Redgson Mkolombwe, hailed DRTSS for the initiative, saying the council will collaborate with various stakeholders on road safety best practices.
The committee will be chaired by the District Commissioner and will have members from various departments, such as health, education, police, public works, civil society organizations, local elected leaders and traditional leaders.
MP pleads with government to address space issues in schools
By Priscilla Phiri
Lilongwe, September 3, Mana: Member of Parliament (MP) for Nkhotakota Central, Peter Mazizi has expressed concern over the lack of space in secondary schools in his constituency saying it is contributing to students’ poor performance.
He made this statement during a parliamentary session on Monday, during supplementary questions to the Minister of Education.
The legislator highlighted severe overcrowding at Linga Community Day Secondary School (CDSS).
“Linga CDSS has 1,200 students against six classrooms, and each classroom accommodates 200. Let it be known that the issue has taken six years without being addressed, which has contributed to poor performance for the students. I therefore ask the Minister of Education to clarify when this will be addressed,” pleaded the MP.
In response, the Minister responsible Madalisto Kambauwa Wirima acknowledged the challenges in the education sector saying her Ministry is quite aware of the lack of space in schools that the country is facing.
“What Malawians need to know is that for so long, the education sector was neglected in terms of building new infrastructure. During that period of neglect, the population grew, which led to exerting a lot of pressure on the limited resources available, including infrastructure,” she said.
She further mentioned that some issues in the education sector contradict the country’s education policy and hence need immediate attention.
“We have also heard that students are walking about 20 kilometres one way just to reach school, which is not only against the Ministry’s policy but has also contributed to high rates of school dropouts and put girls at a disadvantage,” she added.
She also highlighted that due to the country’s limited resources, addressing issues to close the gap in the sector has been a challenge, hence the need for more resources to promote education in the country.
Wirima further assured the MP that through the ministry’s partners and some of the projects currently rolling out in the country, Linga CDSS and other schools facing similar challenges will be considered.
“Currently, we are working on creating more space in our schools to reduce the pressure that is there in the country. Government is building about 10,000 classroom blocks for primary education, and we are hopeful that soon enough this will extend to the secondary level to solve the issue of space. We have a lot of learners who are not selected to secondary schools because there are no spaces in our schools, as well as not enough desks,” she said.
The minister assured Malawians that her Ministry will address the most pressing challenges once resources are available.
NWRA urges editors and media managers to change people’s mindset on water
By Christina Mkutumula
Mponela, September 3, Mana: National Water Resources Authority (NWRA) has urged editors and media managers in the country to assist the authority in changing people’s mindsets on issues surrounding water resource management.
The remarks were made by the Chief Executive Officer of NRWA Dr Dwight Kambuku, at Chikho Hotel in Mponela, on Monday, when his organization engaged editors and media managers from Central and Northern regions.
“Editors and media managers should help the citizenry to manage water resources and avoid any water-related catastrophe.
“This interaction today recognize the pivotal role that the media has in changing the mindset of the citizenry on water resource management issues,” he said.
He further stated that projections indicate that as a country, Malawi may have the worst water-related catastrophe for encroachers on the buffer zones of Lake Malawi and rivers in the next hydrological years.
“This is where editors and media managers become critical in disseminating warning messages to the populace to save life and property, by involving their reporters,” he said.
He said no individual can spur the country’s socio-economic development without sustainable water resources, hence the need to involve gatekeepers as they have an enormous task towards realization of the Malawi 2063 through publication and broadcasting water-related issues.
“For us to have sustainable water resources, editors and media managers are central by virtual of being gatekeepers of all the information from their media outlets,” he said.
He then expressed hope at the end of the meeting that the authority believes that editors and media managers will send messages to the masses on water resource management that could help to avoid catastrophe scenarios.
In his remarks, Secretary General for Editors Forum Gracian Tukula said editors and media managers are gatekeepers in the newsroom and make decisions saying it is important therefore to get the right knowledge of NWRA so that they can properly guide the reporters on how to come up with good stories.
One of the editors, Gloria Kany’ang’wa from Mlimi Radio thanked the authority for organizing the interface saying the knowledge that has been imparted to them will help how they can assign reporters to cover issues of water management.
The meeting was convened to share notes on how best the authority can sustainably manage and regulate water resources to avoid any water-related catastrophe among the citizenry.
President Chakwera arrives in China, meets Chinese Veep
By Chikondi Chimala, in Beijing, China
Beijing, September 2: Mana: Vice President of the People’s Republic of China, Han Zheng, has hailed President Lazarus Chakwera for enhancing relations between the two countries.
Zheng was speaking Monday evening at the Diaoyutai State Guest House when he held bilateral talks with President Chakwera and also hosted him and his delegation to a welcome dinner for the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).
“We are pleased to welcome you again to China for the Focac Summit. This comes after meeting you during your successful visit in June last year when you delivered the keynote address at the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE).
“Relations between our two countries continue to improve and President Xi Jinping looks forward to further discussing more areas of cooperation with you tomorrow during your meeting,” said Zheng.
President Chakwera hailed the support from China and the ever-improving relations between Malawi and China that were formally established in 2008.
Said Chakwera: Malawi is incredibly thankful to China for its generous support of numerous influential projects in our country, facilitated through grants and concessional loans during our nearly two decades of diplomatic relations.”
China has successfully implemented vital infrastructure projects in transportation, education, healthcare and energy. This includes the duplication of the M1 road from Mchinji Roundabout to Kanengo, through grant funding, and the National Fibre Backbone Project II through a concession loan.
The president also hailed the Chinese government which has already conducted a feasibility study for the construction of the Judiciary Complex in Lilongwe through grant financing which he said Malawi awaits a positive response.
Chakwera also expressed Malawi’s support for the inclusion of the Belt and Road Initiative in this year’s FOCAC Summit as particularly it emphasizes infrastructure development and regional connectivity projects.
The 2024 FOCAC Summit will among others focus on building relations and cooperation in supporting Africa’s industrialization, energy and trade as a priority, talent development, accelerating agricultural modernization, belt and road cooperation and agenda 2063 of the African Union, modernization and mutual learning among civilizations, political, peace, and security cooperation as well as poverty reduction.
President Chakwera arrived in Beijing China through the Beijing Capital International Airport earlier on Monday and was welcomed by among others Cao Shumin, Head of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, Beijing Municipal Vice Chairman, Mr. Han, Malawi’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nancy Tembo and Malawi Ambassador to China Allan Chintedza.
The President is expected to hold bilateral talks with President Xi Jinping on Tuesday and is expected to hold meetings with various industry captains and partners with a view of fostering developments in Malawi.
Focac was instituted in 2020 to foster relations between China and the 53 African nations and the African Union (AU) and is held every six years while the minister’s conference is held every three years.
Tourism advocate pushes for investment
By Lisa Lamya
Blantyre, September 2, Mana: One of the country’s tourism advocates Colby Mughogho said Malawi should invest more in road infrastructure to make tourist destinations more convenient and accessible to make the industry a reliable and all-time forex earner.
Mughogho made the sentiments in an interview with Malawi News Agency on Monday as the country observes the tourism month of September.
“Malawi has the potential to generate more forex from the tourism industry but we need to invest in infrastructure development among other key issues, for instance, tourists endure a 15-hour drive from Lilongwe to Nyika National Park because of poor roads. I believe if we had a good airport in the North it would ease this burden,” Mughogho said.
Mughogho who has also represented Malawi at several international tourism expos noted that digital marketing has significantly expanded in Malawi over the years and that Malawi is leveraging it effectively to attract tourists
“We have uncovered hidden gems, and when shared online, both local and international tourists show interest in visiting. However, challenges persist such as, poor road conditions and subpar standards at lodges in some areas,” he added.
He shared plans to promote several lesser-known destinations and emerging destinations in the tourism month and according to Mughogho these destinations hold great potential and can lure more tourists.
“There are various destinations that we will promote this year for instance Misuku Hills in Chitipa, the Usisya to Livingstonia hiking trail, and Vwaza Game Reserve which offers Lake Kazuni where one can enjoy a boat ride while spotting some of the big five, such as elephants,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Tourism through its spokesperson, Joseph Nkosi said this year’s tourism month offers yet another opportunity to sell Malawi’s attraction sites.
“September is a month of tourism in Malawi and so we will capitalise all opportunities to ensure we generate revenue but also encourage Malawians to patronise attraction sites not just the well-known ones but also the least known,” said Nkosi.
In his State of Nation Address in February this year, President, Lazarus Chakwera said his administration was on course to promote the tourism sector by increasing the number of airlines traveling into Malawi and working on bilateral Air Service Agreements with countries like Mozambique, Uganda, and Kuwait among others.
Nzeka Arts host talent show
By Alex Kachingwe
Blantyre, September 2, Mana: Youths from various townships in Blantyre caught their leisure time at Chichiri Museum on Sunday, where Nzeka Arts organized a talent show dubbed, ‘Luso Langa Talent Exhibition’.
The talent show which was scheduled for September 1, 2024 at Chichiri Museum was aimed at promoting various art disciplines like music, poetry, drama, storytelling and dances (urban and traditional) to embrace Malawian culture.
The show saw performances from various artists representing different art disciplines and reached a climax following a magnificent Beni dance performed by Chichiri Heritage Cultural Troop which received great applause from the audience.
Speaking after a colorful performance, Bernard Kapanda, Chairperson for Chichiri Heritage Cultural Troop told Malawi News Agency (Mana) that the talent show was very important as it provided a platform for the youths to showcase their talent to the audience.
He said these kinds of events bring people from different cultural backgrounds together and allows them to learn from each other, an experience which has the possibility to promote arts and culture in the country.
Director for Nzeka Arts, Harris Kamwendo expressed satisfaction with how people and youths around Blantyre city welcomed and showed up to the event, saying it was a message that people want to see the world of art and culture developing in the country by unearthing and exposing new talents.
“As Nzeka Arts we conducted a session with the youths before the event, sensitizing them to the essence of incorporating culture in their talents and the importance of producing quality artistic work out of their talents,” he said.
Kamwendo promised that Nzeka Arts will continue organizing more talent shows in the future as one way of creating platforms for people especially the youth to showcase their talents, and he added that these talent shows are also utilized to address various social issues affecting the youths like suicide, anxiety and substance abuse.
Ireen Navitcha, Miss Culture Malawi 2023, guest of honor at the event, hailed Nzeka Arts for organizing the talent show, saying the event created a platform for the youth to showcase their talents.
“Arts has been struggling to develop in the country as it lacks sponsorship. Through these functions we can attract sponsors who play a vital role in promoting artistic work among the youths,” she said.
Navitcha emphasized that having well blended arts and culture would also add more value to national development as it helps to promote the tourism industry in Malawi.
