By Arnold Namanja

Machinga, September 5, Mana: Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) Liwonde Customs and Excise Station has registered a record increase in monthly revenue collection from MK500 million to MK2 billion, authorities have confirmed.

Speaking in an interview with Malawi News Agency on the sidelines of Southern region editors’ tour of Liwonde station, MRA Marketing and Communications Manager, Wilma Chalulu attributed the increase to revival of the railway line from Nacala to Nayuchi.

Chalulu said the station, which also houses the Authority's Flexible Anti-Smuggling Team (FAST) for the Eastern region, has successfully collected the revenue as a result of the revival of the railway line which has led to importation of various commodities such as fertilizer, coal, clinker, among others.

“This record increase in revenue collection can be connected to the revival of railway transport which has seen increased volumes of goods being cleared at Liwonde Rail Station resulting in more revenue," she said.

According to Chalulu, MRA has been clearing commodities such as fertilizer in quantity of 10, 000 metric tonnes (MT), 12, 000 MT of wheat, 20, 000 MT of clinker, 1.5 MT of coal to 3 million litres of fuel monthly.

“We have had around 300 containers cleared through our inland stations.,” the marketing communications manager said.

However, Chalulu decried increasing cases of smuggling, saying the malpractice leads to crippling of government’s obligation to provide social services to the citizenry.

She said the authority is in the process of enhancing surveillance to curb smuggling by constructing road blocks in hotspots, engaging drones, enhancing taxpayer education to boost voluntary tax compliance as well as introduction of tax stamps.

“We have deployed several strategies to deal with the problem of smuggling which deprives government of the much needed revenue. We very much rely on the communities through their leadership in fighting smuggling,” Chalulu added.

She observed that sometimes smugglers become hostile to law enforcers and warned them that the law will always take its due course in such situations.

“We've had several cases where some culprits have wanted to intimidate our offices, but we don't bow down to such threats because we are protected by law. Our law enforcement partners have also been very crucial in this regard,” Chalulu said.

In a separate interview, Head of News at Capital FM Malawi, Wezzie Nyirongo Chamanza expressed satisfaction with MRA’s efforts in revenue collection, noting that revenue collected from goods transported on railway give hope that Malawi’s economy can grow significantly.

“These success stories are worth reporting about because the country depends on taxes for government operations such as procurement of drugs in hospitals,” Chamanza said.

MRA has taken editors from the Southern region on a tour to some of its establishments to appreciate its operations.

On Wednesday, the editors were taken on a tour of Marka-Nyathando Border Post in Nsanje and MRA Zomba Domestic Taxes Office.

By Winfrida Kamwana

Mchinji, September 5, Mana: Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) has asked Mchinji-based journalists to help them in sensitizing the public on electoral governance and anti-corruption.

Speaking during the media interaction that took place in the district where the association was introducing its project on Electoral Governance and Advocacy, the Programme Coordinator for EAM, Frazer Chikhase said media plays an important role in disseminating information, especially on the issues that affect the nation.

"The media play a bigger role. As we are getting closer to campaigns and elections, we need the media to disseminate as much information as possible so that people are well equipped with electoral knowledge and their rights," said Chikhase.

He said Malawi has new roles enacted in the electoral governance, hence people need to be educated and media is a perfect weapon to help spread the message.

Chikhase said the project will not only focus on electoral governance but will also include acquiring information from people on public service delivery and how they can overcome corruption.

Speaking on behalf of Mchinji journalists, Francis Zulu appreciated EAM for including media practitioners in the project and said Mchinji media team will work with the association accordingly.

"The media understands its role when it comes to communicating with the people, so EAM will be able to achieve the purpose of the project easily," said Zulu.

EAM is working on a project called "Churches United for Peace, Justice and Electoral Governance in Malawi" in three districts namely Mchinji, Karonga and Lilongwe.

The project has funding of 315, 000 Euros and will run for three years from November 2024 to October 2026.

By Tikondane Vega

Lilongwe, September 5, Mana: Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Labour Chikondano Mussa says government is committed to provide decent working conditions among Malawians in line with international standards.

Mussa was speaking in Lilongwe on Thursday during the opening of a two-day labour laws consultative meeting which will among others look at the Labour Relations Act of 1996, the Employment Act of 2000 as well as the prohibition of hazardous work for children order of 2012.

She said it is high time Malawi reviewed its labour laws and several emerging issues need to be incorporated to enhance service delivery and respect human rights.

“We need laws that cater for emerging challenges and at the same time should promote decent and productive work. So, government believe the only way to do that is to solicit views from relevant stakeholders.

“At the end of the day, we need labor laws that align with the international conventions Malawi has signed to foster economic development,” said Mussa.

She mentioned that some of the laws currently under review have created gaps in the working environment, as they do not address the current conditions.

She added,” At the end of everything we believe Malawi can have labour laws that can shape the relationship between employers and workers.

On his part, Secretary General of Malawi Congress of Trade Union (MCTU), Madalisto Njolomole said over 50 percent of Malawians work in the informal sector hence reviewing laws is a welcome development that can create a conducive working environment.

Njolomole noted that previous reviews of similar laws failed to address major challenges and has since urged participants to take the matter seriously saying matters related to labour laws are dynamic and diverse.

“We commend the government that has considered to review some labour laws in the country. The review is overdue and need to be speed up if people are to enjoy themselves in their working places. Malawi needs to domesticate all international conventions,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Employers Consultative Association of Malawi's past President, Emmanuel Banda feels the review of the laws will enhance best workplace practices that would contribute positively to the development of Malawi.

Banda said such gatherings create a platform to get diverse views from relevant stakeholders that are interested in the welfare of both workers and employers.

“We need to properly look at the laws and make necessary changes where possible with a clear mind,” he said.

By Lyte ali

Mangochi, September 5, Mana:  Police Traffic Officer, Sub Inspector Cliff Kokha who was stationed at Namwera Police Post in Mangochi died on Wednesday in a motorcycle collision at Sumaili village along Bakili Muluzi highway in the district.

Mangochi Police Public Relations Officer, Inspector Amina Tepani Daudi confirmed the accident, saying that Kokha aged 45 who was riding a Yamaha DT motorcycle, registration number BR 4783 collided with another motorcycle, ridden by 51 years old Meja Majidu from Mkambiri village, Traditional Authority Bwananyambi in Mangochi.

“The other cyclist (Majidu) was ridding unregistered Lifo motorcycle from Chiponde direction towards Namwera and reaching Sumaili village he swerved onto the other side of road to a void rumble surface. He suddenly re-entered the main road without signaling Kokha who was travelling the same direction behind him,” she said.

Daudi added that the impact of the collision left Kokha with severe head injuries and fractured nose while Majidu also sustained head injuries and multiple fractures on his right arm.

Both were rushed to Namwera Health Center and later referred to Mangochi District Hospital where Kokha was pronounced dead upon arrival, according to the police publicist.

Kokha came from Chonde village, Traditional Authority Chimaliro in Thyolo.

By George Mponda

Karonga, September 5, Mana: Karonga District Council (KDC) have said their exchange visit to the United Republic of Tanzania where they engaged Kyela District Council officials will improve service delivery.

Acting District Commisioner (DC) for Karonga, Frank Mkandawire said this Wednesday at Kyela district in Tanzania at the end of the exchange visit.

According to Mkandawire, one of the objectives of the exchange visit was to learn how their Tanzanian counterparts have managed to develop their district.

"Our mandate as a district council is to represent people within our jurisdiction and provide for their well being. We have been facing challenges in some of our service provisions this is why we requested to visit Kyela inorder to gain knowledge which will help us fulfill our mandate to the people of Karonga.

"In Karonga, we have challenges in controlling animals in the central business district (CBD), sanitation, under collection and pilferage of local revenue and formulation of bylaws. But with the knowledge we have gained here, we will go back and re-strategise inorder to overcome these challenges," he added.

On his part, Kyela District Vice Chairperson Adam Kapeta said knowledge sharing among the two districts which are neighbours is benefitial for people in both countries.

Kapeta said; "Among other things, this trip will foster cooperation between Karonga and Kyela business communities mind you there are several bottlenecks experienced by business people from both sides.

It will also unlock opportunities for the betterment of our districts since we have shared ideas on what we are doing in terms of revenue mobilisation, service provision to the citizenry, disaster management and town planning in general."

At the end of the exchange visit, KDC officials gave gifts of Malawian made products to the officials from Kyela District Council.

The team which travelled from Karonga comprised of all ward councillors, Senior Chief Makwaboko, a representative of interest groups in the district and officials from the council secretariat.

By Elia Chibwe

Lilongwe, September 4: The Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture has revealed that the Shire Valley Transformation Program requires significantly more funding to be completed within the scheduled timeline.

In a separate interview with media after Parliamentary session on Wednesday, in Lilongwe, Vice Chairperson for Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Ulemu Chilapondwa highlighted that the committee is happy with tremendous progress of the project, however more funds are needed to speed up the project.    

"We are very happy and impressed with the tremendous progress. About 96 percent of the construction over the 6 km stretch is complete, which gives us hope that the project is indeed moving forward.

"However, the committee also discovered that the project requires significantly more funds to avoid delays. This will ensure it is completed on time, allowing farmers to begin accessing it as planned," Chilapondwa said.

He urged government to be committed on funding the project as one way for preventing stoppages of the project.

"In our report, we urge the government to ensure that funds are provided promptly to prevent any interruptions or delays in progress. Timely funding is crucial to completing the project on schedule,” he said.

He said first phase is expected to be completed in December so that farmers should start growing crops along the stretch.

In his report, Chairperson for Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Sameer Suleman said the program aims at increasing productivity and commercialization of households in Shire Valley and improve sustainable management of utilization of natural resources.

He urged government to ensure that beneficiaries would also be able to benefit from the subsidized irrigation materials.

"The committee will be happy if beneficiaries would also be able to benefit from the subsidized irrigation materials such as solar pumps in order to put the project in good use," he said.

According to Suleman beneficiaries around the project area are estimated to be 279,550 which is 60,772 households and the project aims at providing irrigation to over 43,000 hectares through phase construction of new gravity fed irrigation scheme to 27,600 hectares of agriculture land.

He also indicated that the program is being done by government with support of World Bank and African Development Bank.

By Patience Kapinda

Lilongwe, September 4, Mana: In a move to transform the city's environmental landscape, Lilongwe Mayor, Councilor Esther Sagawa, has launched the "Clean Green City Challenge."

The initiative encourages residents to take an active role in cleaning their city, fostering community participation and pride.

She said the 'Clean Green City Challenge' is a call to action for all residents to join forces in creating a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment for Lilongwe city.

 "We want to make Lilongwe a model for other cities in Malawi and beyond, showcasing the power of collective action in creating a more sustainable urban environment," Sagawa said.

Among others, the campaign invites citizens to post photos or videos of areas in need of cleaning within the city center or old town by tagging the Mayor on social media and use the hashtag #CleanGreenCityChallenge.

The Mayor's team will then clean the areas, and then before-and-after photos will be shared to celebrate the progress.

A local business owner, Mphatso Makoti, is excited to participate in the initiative. "I am inspired to participate in the 'Clean Green City Challenge' because I believe that every business has a responsibility to contribute to the well-being of the community and the environment," she said.

To encourage customer participation, Makoti plans to offer incentives such as discounts for customers who bring their reusable bags or containers. "I will also educate them on the importance of sustainability and provide tips on how they can reduce their waste," she added.

In terms of reducing waste and promoting sustainability in her operations, Makoti plans to reduce single-use plastics, compost organic waste, and use energy-efficient equipment.

Charles Mkoka, Executive Director of the Coordination Union for the Rehabilitation of the Environment (CURE), praised the initiative, saying it will have a transformative impact on Lilongwe's environmental landscape.

The "Clean Green City Challenge" aligns with the broader vision of making Lilongwe a sustainable and livable city.

As Mayor Sagawa emphasized, "I hope to leave a legacy of a cleaner, greener, and more responsible community that takes pride in their environment."

By engaging the community in the process, the "Clean Green City Challenge" sets a shining example for other cities in Malawi and beyond, demonstrating the power of collective action in creating a more sustainable urban environment.