By Joel Phiri

Mzimba, August 26, mana: M’mbelwa District Council construction supervisory team member Adini Phiri has appealed to members of Area Development Committees (ADCs) in the district to be vigilant in monitoring various construction projects the council has embarked on for contractors to achieve high-quality work.

Phiri made the appeal on Saturday during the supervisory and monitoring tour of Euthini and Mbalachanda GESD construction projects.

Phiri said when contractors are given work to do they are supposed to be monitored regularly and supervised by council staff as well as members of area development committees to avoid shoddy work.

‘‘Both council staff and members of ADCs hold the key in ensuring that these contractors come up with strong and durable structures. But for them to deliver quality works they need close supervision’’, said Phiri.

He added that vigilance is needed among ADCs to ensure quality is achieved at construction sites.

‘‘These construction companies are hired to construct these structures but they don’t live here. Once they finish they will go.  

” The beneficiaries of these structures will be members of the communities who will suffer if contractors come up with substandard structures and because these structures belong to community members, ADCs should be critical in monitoring how works are being done on site to ensure quality’’, he said.

M’mbelwa District Council has pumped K132 million into the construction of the Mbalachanda Police staff house.

The contractor, Spectrum Construction Company, will also build a toilet and do maintenance works for the Mbalachanda Police Unit.

The Council has also funded the construction of Euthini Rural Hospital’s laboratory and laundry to the tune of K169 million.

Both projects are under the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) which is a performance grant funded by the World Bank.

In his remarks, Euthini ADC member responsible for projects, Julius Nyirenda said they will be vigilant to ensure the community benefits from the structures being constructed.

In an interview, hospital In-charge Steve Manda hailed the council for the construction of the laboratory saying it will enhance laboratory services at the facility.

By Memory Chatonda

Blantyre, August 26, Mana: National Water Resources Authority (NWRA) has challenged editors and media managers from various media institutions to make deliberate efforts that would change people’s mindset on issues around water resources management in the country.

NWRA Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Dwight Kambuku gave the challenge on Monday in Blantyre during the high level engagement meeting with editors and media managers from the southern region.

Kambuku said the significance of editors and media managers in any set up could not be overstressed as they are the cardinal point on which success or failure of any institution rotates.

“It is for this reason that we ask for your support. Help us persuade the citizenry towards involvement in matters of managing water resources and avoidance of any water related catastrophe,” he said.

Kambuku said he is optimistic that through the interaction, NWRA and media managers would share notes on how best they could sustainably manage and regulate water resources at the same time and also jointly implement strategies of averting any water related catastrophe among the citizenry.

“I believe the outcomes will resonate well with the Malawi 2063 Agenda as it focuses on jointly contributing towards achieving country’s long term development plans,” he said.

Meanwhile, NWRA has penalized councils and companies for contravening water resource Act and regulations during their operations.

“As you are aware, no one is allowed to drill a borehole without obtaining a license from the authority, no one is allowed to extract water from the rivers for irrigation or domestic use, no one is allowed to use the water resource for generation of hydro-electric power not even discharging effluent into water bodies without the permit from the Authority.

“So, those that were penalized, in a big way they violated these conditions as captured in the water resource Act of 2013 and also the regulation of 2018,” he said, adding that some of the councils that have been penalized include Zomba, Lilongwe and also Mount Meru.

On his part, Secretary General for Malawi Editors Forum, Gracian Tukula described the meeting as crucial in ensuring that manager and editors understand better the mandate of the NWRA for them to ably disseminate messages to the masses to save life and property.

“Water is life because we cannot talk about sustainable life without water. Therefore, this interaction is of paramount importance and it remains our responsibility to use the information we have gathered regarding to water resource management for publication through different platforms,” Tukula said.

NWRA was established by the Act of parliament in 2013 and it became operational in 2019. Among other things, the authority is mandated to control, regulate and conserve water resources.

By Beatrice Bangula

Blantyre, August 26, Mana: Chilomoni Assemblies of God Pentecostal Revival Centre under the leadership of Rev. Maxton Chipungu celebrated Young Adults Day on Sunday in Chilomoni Blantyre where the young adults took charge of the Sunday service.

Director of Young Adults Ministry, Mercy Mwase explained to Malawi News Agency in an interview on Sunday that this year’s Young Adults Day focused on: Fishing Souls for Jesus Christ, which according to Mwase means, young people engaging in personal evangelism to save lives.

“This day is celebrated once every year and mostly on Sundays whereby all church activities are led by Young Adults Ministry including preaching, church announcements, welcoming of visitors and convening.

“Young Adults Ministry is a ministry of the church, and it is a ministry of young people aged from 18 years old to the time of marriage. After marriage, females join Otumikira Mwa Chikondi (OMC) Ministry which is a women's ministry and males join men’s ministry, a ministry for men within the church, she added.

The day’s preacher Doreen Mkwamba focused on Christians being the salt and light of the world and in her preaching explained she that young adults as young people should not always wait for older people to preach the gospel and win souls to Christ.

She added that young people should be at the forefront of preaching the gospel and take an active role in church activities.

Leader of Chilomoni Assemblies of God, Rev Chipungu hailed Young Adults Ministry and encouraged parents to encourage their children to join the ministry, saying young adults learn the word of God and walk in the way of the Lord.

“As parents and pastors, we say it is a great thing to see a young lady preaching the word. It was also interesting to listen to great testimonies from Young Adults Ministry,” he added.

He said when children are raised in the way of God, they are guided by His power and remain in God

By Andrew Mkonda

Lilongwe, August 26, Mana: The National Youth Network on Climate Change (NYNCC) has stressed the need for members of the media to be committed on reporting issues of animal welfare and rights that are deteriorating in the country.

NYNCC National Coordinator Dominic Nyasulu made the call on Saturday in Lilongwe during a day-long media training on animal welfare and cage-free farming.

Nyasulu noted that the caged farming system in the country is one area that needs to be looked into, since it is not only hampering the welfare of the animals such as chickens, but also affecting the environment.

He said it is pathetic that many poultry companies in the country are still using charcoal as a source of energy which is contributing to degradation of the environment.

“There is a huge gap in terms of our registrations and policies. If you look at what is governing the industry now, it is an outdated policy that was formulated in the 70s and if you compare it with what is happening on the ground, it is bad,” he said.

Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), Head of Animal Science Department Jonathan Tanganyika, attributed the issue of animal welfare to ignorance, lack of information and law enforcement as some of the factors contributing to the deteriorating in the country.

“Animals have freedom just like human beings. They have freedom from hunger, thirsty, discomfort, pain, injury or fear and distress. But many people do not observe these things, which is bad,” he said.

Tanganyika said as LUANAR, they will keep on doing research and share the results with the relevant authorities for proper dissemination of the information to the masses.

Speaking in a separate interview, one of the journalists Mercy Lwanja of Radio Alinafe thanked NYNCC for engaging members of the media on animal welfare and cage-free farming, saying it has been an eye-opener.

“We are happy that some of the information we have gained here, will go a long way in improving the welfare of animals and the environment in the country,” she said.

By George Mponda

Karonga, August 25, Mana: Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS) on Saturday used 'Tithetse Nkhaza' Football Bonanza to raise awareness and curb rising cases of gender-based violence (GBV) among disaster survivors in Karonga District. 

In an interview on the sidelines of the football bonanza at Kambwe, Malawi Red Cross District Coordinator for Karonga, Reuben Malema said they were alerted of rising cases of GBV cases especially in areas which were affected by floods.

"We are already implementing the Flood Response Project in these areas, so we decided to mobilize people from this area for dangers of GBV awareness so that we among others fight against early marriages which are on the rise.

“Sporting activities bring a lot of people of different age groups together, so we used this opportunity to relay messages on the dangers of GBV. The district’s statistics indicate that such cases are on the rise in the area of Paramount Chief Kyungu which is always affected by flood annually," Malema said

District Gender Officer for Karonga, Ireen Mwenelupembe said that her office has GBV Information Management System (GBVIMS) which has indicated that cases are high in the area of Paramount Chief Kyungu as compared all traditional authorities in the district.

"Using sports is one of the interventions to mobilise people but we also work with community structures such as community victim support units, mother groups and women forum groups to ensure that we curb GBV in this area,” said Mwenelupembe.

Chairperson for Mbande Area Development Committee, Chancy Mlelemba said that GBV affects the development of the area.

 “We have since developed by-laws and we enforce them in curbing such a vice, besides that, people are urged to report anyone who marries off their children at an early age to relevant authorities,” said Mlelemba.

Kalaria Football Club emerged winners after beating Karonga United Reserves 1-0 and they walked away with three balls while their opponents received two balls from MRCS.