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144,415 households to receive cash transfers through Scalable Mechanism Safety Nets
By Memory Kutengule Chatonda
Blantyre, Feb 16, Mana: Government is set to provide top-up cash transfers to 144,415 households which are already on the Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP) and Climate Smart-Enhanced Public Works (CS-EPWP).
The households in Blantyre, Chiradzulu, Karonga, Mwanza, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntcheu, and Thyolo districts will receive the cash transfers in the event that they are affected by climate-related shocks this year.
Speaking during a stakeholders briefing on the 2024/2025 Scalability Mechanism Safety nets over the weekend in Blantyre, National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) Social Protection Officer Mateso Kazembe observed that Malawi continues to face various types of climate-related disasters, such as floods, drought, and strong winds.
He said the events were the threats to social and economic well-being of the population and further observed that disaster occurrences make it hard for vulnerable households to recover from poverty
“We know that Malawi has a disaster risk financing strategy to provide a response to climate shocks after the disaster has occurred. There is also need for an operational mechanism to channel resources quickly and on time, especially to poor households once the disasters have struck hence, having a scalable mechanism safety net.
“This safety net targets 17 percent of the district population, with 10 percent being the beneficiaries of Social Cash Transfer Programme, while the rest is for participants of Climate Smart-Enhanced Public Works Programme.
“Though the scalability mechanism targets the entire district, in this 2024/2025 season, however, the targeted areas within the district will only be those that are heavily affected by the drought,” Kazembe said.
He said such places will be identified in consultation with the district council officials.
Kazembe further said the targets for the scalable mechanism for Blantyre, Chiradzulu, Karonga, Mwanza, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntcheu and Thyolo are 20,793, 17,289, 12,742, 5,754, 13,583, 12,026, 28,982 and 33,246, respectively.
He said each household is expected to receive a cash transfer of K150,000 for three months to cushion their vulnerabilities.
“These are households with elderly members above 64 years, elderly households keeping orphans, households’ heads with chronic illness, and those vulnerable households with labor capacity,” he explained, adding that the safety net programme will soon be extended to other districts across the country.
In his remarks, Director of Administration for Blantyre District Council, Redgson Mkolombwe, hailed the taskforce championing scalability mechanisms at NLGFC for briefing the council on scalability mechanisms.
He pledged the council’s commitment to work together with the central government in ensuring that the exercise is a success.
The Scalable Mechanism Safety Net is a component of the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project, commonly known as Tidzidalire.
The project, which is supported by the World Bank and Multi-Donor Trust Fund, aims to improve resilience among the poor and vulnerable population and strengthen the national platform for safety nets in Malawi.
Masidi Primary School gets a new lease of life through GESD project
By Martin Chiwanda
Machinga, February 16, Mana: Masidi Primary School in Machinga, established in 1989, has - for a long time – had challenges in providing quality child education due to among other things, inadequate infrastructure.
With an enrollment of over 800 learners, the school serves learners from six surrounding villages under Senior Chief Liwonde.
However, shortage of classrooms made teaching and learning extremely challenging as the school only had four classroom blocks.
According to the school's head teacher Ibrahim Lifa, the situation compelled learners to learn under trees and in harsh weather conditions, thereby contributing to poor performance of learners, as well as school dropouts.
“Learners were exposed to the elements, and it was almost impossible for them to focus on their studies. Lack of proper classrooms contributed significantly to poor academic performance and high dropout rate. It was heartbreaking to see learners struggling to learn in such harsh conditions.” he says.
The headteacher commended Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) for the construction of a brand-new classroom block, which has replaced the uncomfortable and distracting outdoor learning spaces. Learners can now focus on their studies without disruptions.
Lifa further said the new classroom block has also improved learners’ performance and increased enrollment at the school, which has risen to Over 800 leaners from bellow 700 in the previous years.
“The additional classrooms have enabled the school to accommodate more students, reducing the student-teacher ratio and allowing for more personalized attention," Lifa adds.
This support by GESD, which is World Bank funded programme, has dramatically changed the school's fortunes, as observed by Lifa.
According to Machinga District Council’s Director of Public Works, Clement Mtambo, the classroom block construction is part of the 2022-2023 financial year GESD-funded projects in the district.
Mtambo added that the project has been implemented at a cost of over K52 million aims to improve the learning environment and provide better educational facilities for the students of Masidi Primary School.
For the learners, the new classroom block has been a dream comes true, they are now happy with their new learning environment.
“I'm so happy to have a comfortable and quiet place to learn, Before, for the past years while I was in standard 4 and 5 and I used to learn under the tree which was becoming more difficult for us as female leaners, we used to get distracted by the noise and heat outside, but now we can focus on our studies without any disruptions.” say Ellen William, now a Standard 8 learner.
Rasid Askim, a Standard 3 learner, echoed similar sentiments, “I like my new classroom. It looks so beautiful and accommodative and I can see the blackboard clearly. I feel happy and excited to come to school every day knowing that I will be learning in a safe and conducive environment,” he says.
Chairperson of the school’s Parents and Teachers Association (PTA), Kandaya Chitsulo, lauds the government's initiative through GESD funds, citing its instrumental role in overcoming the community's perennial challenges.
“In the past, we would often enroll our children in Standard 1 at an older age due to inadequate learning facilities. But now, thanks to the new classroom block, we can rest assured that our children are learning in a safe and conducive environment, regardless of the weather,” adds the chairperson.
School Management Committee chairperson, Grace Sanjira, said members of community were committed to maintain the new classroom block in case of maintenances.
“We will work together to take care of the classroom block, ensuring it remains a safe and conducive learning environment for generations to come,” says Sanjira.
Among others, under the project, Masidi Primary School has also been provided with additional amenities, including two modern toilets for both female and male learners and 120 desks.
New ADMARC depot brings hope of maize accessibility to community
By Fostina Mkandawire
Salima, February 16, Mana: Salima South East Member of Parliament Mike Mwawa on Saturday handed over a K38 million Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) depot aimed at enhancing food accessibility in his constituency in the area of Senior Chief Kambwiri.
The Kapiring'ombe ADMARC depot has been constructed under the Community Development Fund, with anticipation that it will ease the distance that people trailed to find the next depot located 20 kilometres away.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Benedicto Chambo commended Mwawa for prioritizing food security amongst different developments.
"Government commends such collaborative efforts that puts the people's needs first and having a depot assures people of having maize easily accessible to the people," Chambo said.
He reaffirmed government's commitment to ensuring food security by stocking ADMARC depots with maize across the country.
Mwawa called upon chiefs and community members to further be custodians of the facility by ensuring that vendors who take advantage of buying maize from them and sell at higher prices are not given a chance.
He said it is important that people must have food therefore ADMARC should be stocking the depot regularly, taking into consideration that the hunger situation at the moment is very critical.
On his part, ADMARC Chief Executive Officer Fodreck Nyongani observed that there is a huge scramble for maize in the country and they are trying every means possible to ensure that they reach every part.
"Our main challenge is transportation of the commodity to depots hence there is usually a delay in restocking of maize in our depots, we are tirelessly working to make sure that this challenge has been curbed," he said.
Responding to the vendor situation, Nyongani said the complaints have reached his office and they have engaged the Malawi Police Service to be on top of the situation and arrest suspects.
Also present at the ceremony was Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture Richard Chimwendo Banda, who underscored the need for Members of Parliament to do an assessment of the people's needs before bringing any development.
"This ADMARC depot truly reflects a dire need that has been in the area for a long time, and bringing the depot closer to the people is a relief and assurance of having maize accessible to people, and also whenever they want to sell their produce they will not struggle," he said.
Currently, ADMARC depots are operational and selling maize in all the depots across the district, bringing relief to people who were heavily affected by drought in the 2024/2025 farming season.
MCGs initiatives yield impressive results
By Petro Mkandawire
Blantyre, February 16, Mana: Malawi Health Equity Network (MHEN) Executive Director George Jobe has expressed gratitude over mother care groups (MCGs) contribution on improved vaccine coverage in under-five children in Blantyre rural and other districts where MHEN works with the MCGs on child immunization.
Jobe expressed his appreciation over MCGs role on Saturday during a monitoring tour of Namikoko Health Centre in Traditional Authority Lundu in Blantyre where MHEN was tracking the care group’s performance to see areas that needed improvement to address capacity gaps.
Jobe observed that the under-five vaccine and Immunization coverage greatly improved with over 98% due to MCGs’ support, following advocacy and community mobilization that are carried out to deal with factors that hinder vaccine process.
“The ultimate goal for the mother care group is to ensure that almost every child is vaccinated. We are really impressed with the established of outreach clinics which help to restrain people from walking a long distance to get vaccines.
“Mother care groups are doing their work responsibly, more especially on demand creation, advocacy and community mobilization on the importance of vaccine and other development projects. As such, it is my wish that stakeholders should come in to support the initiative,” added Jobe.
Namikoko MCG chairperson Amina George commended MHEN for empowering the care group, saying the group plays significant role in child vaccination within its catchment with vaccine coverage ranging from 42% in 2020 up to 91% recorded in January 2025.
“Our group has made significant progress, including building a vaccination clinic, increasing participation, and addressing misconceptions which resulted in 287 children under five being vaccinated per month," added George.
She therefore appealed to MHEN and other partners to support the Namikoko MCG with resources, such as push bicycles for easy mobility and uniforms for identification.
The MCGs operate under the Healthy System and Immunization Strengthening (HSIS) project, a seven-year initiative implemented by MHEN in nine districts with funding from Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), to strengthen immunization systems among under-five children.
Likoma District Council conducts clean-up exercise
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.
Danish students donate computers at Mtetete CDSS in Nkhata Bay
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.
MHEN empowers MCGs on under-five children vaccine awareness
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.
BEFIT program to improve education standards in Likoma
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.
New office complex to face lift Mzuzu City
By George Bulombola
Mzuzu, February 11, Mana: All departments under Mzuzu City Council (MCC) are expected be in a one stop-centre in a magnificent Mzuzu City Civic office once is completed.
The functionality state of the art structure which is currently at an advanced level will contribute towards improved coordination and service delivery.
Besides boasting such attributions to the K18 Billion office complex, Chief Executive Officer for Mzuzu City Council, Gomezgani Nyasulu, says the structure is a pacesetter for investors in the city.
According to Nyasulu, the twin multi story building which has an underground car pack, situated next to construction site of Mzuzu Youth Center in the city, will be dubbed as one stop centre as clients will be accessing all services without struggles within a single building.
“This office is one of the landmark projects which MCC is implementing and commenced in 2022 with an expectation that it will be through by February, 2025 but due to some challenges we have pushed it to August, 2025,” says Nyasulu.
He adds that the project will also enhance coordination of services saying that that currently various departments are scattered all over, hence becoming a challenge to effectively coordinate services.
“Once its completed, all departments under the MCC and devolved sectors will also be housed in this office complex.
As we bring all departments and sectors together, we will be creating a one stop centre as such people will not struggle in accessing services from various departs because we all housed in one unit,” says Nyasulu.
Nyasulu also says that currently developers wanting to process their construction plans, have to firstly make payment at the current civic offices and thereafter travel to planning office which is located some kilometers from the civic offices.
“These movements are costly for developers and service consumers,” he said.
The chief executive narrates that the MCC as a government agency, the structure demonstrates in setting construction pace of standards for developers and investors.
“The office is a magnificent project that we want to see other developers emulate from and the nation is talking of having world class urban centres according to Malawi 2063 and within the same we are challenged to put up structures that can attest the taste of times,” he added.
He says the structure will besides other elements, serve the cooperate image of the council as the current offices where we are operating from do not befit city status.
The project is being funded Ministry of Finance through Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development after being re-launched several times by previous regimes.
According to Nyasulu, implementation of the project has taken government’s commitment and interest in the development of the city.
The MCC is also working on road infrusture including a K7 billion by- pass road from Dunduzu off M1-Road to Sonda connecting to M1 Road at Admarc Headquarters for the north which will be taking traffic direct to Lilongwe without passing through the city.
Beside this road, there is another by pass road running from Dunduzu Road Block connecting M5 Road just close to Mzuzu Government Secondary School.
Commenting of the road infrusture development, one of the residents of Sonda area, Osward Zimba said the Dunduzu off M1 Road to Admarc Headquarters for the north, will be a catalyst for development in the area once completed.
The road will attract business people to invest in the area, communication will be simplified as taxis and minibuses will result to plying their trade using the road.
“I, therefore thank government for this imitative which will go a long way in lifting the face of our area,” said Zimba.
Gwengwe applauds Dodma for relief maize
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.
