By Mtisunge Gwedeza

Blantyre, August 21, Mana: Youths in Mulanje have organized a festival called Mulanje Peaks and Rhythms, a platform for young people to showcase their efforts in the tourism industry and to interact with established tourism stakeholders from August 30 to September 1 in Mulanje.

The Director and Founder of the festival, Michael Kwapata told Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Tuesday that the festival will feature an environmental parade with key messages on reducing plastic use, promoting recycling, and supporting sustainable practices.

“The festival will take place in various places like Chitakale, Gateway Lodge, Mulanje Sports Club, Dziwe la Nkhalamba, and Cork and Bottle; whereby, discussions, demonstrations, and activities such as tourism practices, guided hikes and opportunities for the youth to showcase entrepreneurial activities will be conducted.

“This engagement will not only provide exposure but also encourage young people to explore careers in tourism and environmental conservation,” Kwapata said.

“In addition, we have formed partnerships with local environmental NGOs, community groups and businesses committed to sustainability. These collaborations are helping us to provide resources, expertise and outreach necessary to achieve our festival goals and continue to seek additional partnerships to broaden our impact and strengthen initiatives,” he said.

Some of the collaborations and partnerships the festival organizers have formed include We Forest, Cork and Bottle, Conservation Arts, Mulanje Youth Organization, Malawi Travel, Nalipiri Lodge and many more.

These companies told Mana that partnering with Mulanje Cultural Festival aligns with their core values of community engagement and cultural preservation.

To spice up the event, organizers have also invited local and big artists like Tay Grin also known as the Nyau King and Lulu and the Mathumela Band have confirmed their presence at the festival.

In a separate interview, Tay Grin expressed his excitement to headline at the festival. 

“Mulanje has such a special vibe with its stunning landscapes, the energy at these festivals is always next level and being part of that, seeing people come alive to the music, dance and traditions is what I look forward to the most,” the Nyau King said.

“I want to convey messages of unity, pride and celebration of Malawian identity. Through my performance, I want to remind everyone that our culture is powerful, beautiful and deserves to be showcased on every stage. Let’s celebrate who we are and look forward to a future where our culture continues to shine brightly,” Tay Grin added.

On his part, Lulu also confirmed his performance at the festival, saying he is excited to share his music and energy with the crowd.

“I am so excited to be part of these great minds, people see things we don’t see in ourselves. So, we are going to give them what they deserve but mostly we are looking forward to enjoy the environment,” he said.

Attendees can support the Mulanje Peaks and Rhythms Festival goals by staying connected with partner organizations, participating in ongoing conservation and practicing sustainability in their daily lives.

By Sellah Chunda

Lilongwe, August 21, Mana: Police at Chitipi in Lilongwe have arrested three men suspected of stealing 300 bags of soybeans valued at K22 million from the Sunseed Oil Company warehouse at Airwing on August 19, 2024.

Police have successfully recovered 37 bags of the stolen soybeans.

The suspects have been identified as Lazarus Watson (31), Nickson Yekweliya (39), and Sungeni Mlangeni (21).

According to General Inspector Hastings Chigalu, the suspects, who were all casual workers at the company, allegedly conspired with the warehouse supervisor and six security guards to siphon the bags over less than a month this August.

When the property owners reported the missing soybeans to Chitipi Police, detectives launched an investigation that led to the arrest of the suspects. They were apprehended while offloading the recovered 37 bags at a warehouse in Mpingu on Monday.

Meanwhile, police are still searching for the warehouse supervisor and the six security guards, who are currently on the run. Efforts are ongoing to recover the remaining 270 bags of soybeans.

The suspects will soon appear in court to face theft charges.

Lazarus Watson hails from Nkhwazi Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mabvere in Mchinji, Nickson Yekweliya is from Kamphinda Village, T/A Chitukula, and Sungeni Mlangeni is from Mphande Village, T/A Kabudula, both in Lilongwe District. 

By Wanangwa Tembo

Kasungu, August 19, Mana: It is month end and salaries are in. Like many others, Jimmy Yosofati, a primary school teacher residing in the populous Chitete Township of Kasungu Municipality rushes to the bank to make withdrawals.

The banking hall is full and there is an equally long and snaking queue at the auto-teller machine (ATM). Yosophati joins the queue on which he stands for about an hour before his turn comes.

As he cashes out a bundle of MK5000 notes, he knows he has to spend another good time on another queue, now to pay water bills at the nearby water board payment point domiciled at the Malawi Post Office building.

“In Malawi, you have to queue for everything.  You have to queue to deposit money. You have to queue to get the same.

“At the bank, at the filling station, at water board and everywhere you have to stand long hours on the queue,” he laments as he wipes some beads of sweat off his face.

Yosophati has a long day because after paying water bills, he has to join another queue to purchase electricity units.

The circus will repeat the other month.

Malawi is one of the countries where there is low adoption of digital financial services with the majority stuck with the traditional cash payment system which the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) says is not only costly but also that it drains the scarce forex.

For example, RBM spent over MK23 billion last year to reprint damaged currency notes, according to Deputy Governor Macdonald Mafuta Mwale.

“These printers and suppliers are paid in dollars which means the country is losing a lot of forex just to replace damaged notes.

“If more Malawians adopt digital financial services, our projections show this figure will go down as there will be no demand to print more notes,” Mwale said.

He was speaking in Kasungu during the launch of a national awareness campaign on using digital financial services.

The campaign, which seeks to achieve a cashless economy where individuals can make financial transactions without using cash for an extended period, is being implemented by the Ministry of Finance through the RBM with financial support from the African Development Bank.

Funded to the tune of $14.3 million, the campaign which started in July will cover all the country’s 28 districts to scale up use of digital payment methods amongst communities.

“The world is going digital; why should Malawi be left behind? It is important now that we should encourage the population to go digital.

“One is for safety, efficiency and effectiveness when it comes to transferring of money, payments of bills and payments for any other goods or services.

“If we use more of the digital methods, then our demand to produce the actual Kwacha will go down and the bill to produce will also go down and we save the already scarce forex,” Mwale said.

He said it is high time Malawians adopted the modern ways of transacting which are convenient, reliable and secure.

“Keeping money in houses is not safe. Consider incidences of fire, for example. With digital platforms, safety is guaranteed and transacting is also simplified as you can pay while in the comfort of your house and the supplier with bring the goods for you,” he said.

Adding: “As we go digital, there are some people trying hard to manipulate the system so that they scam others. So there are those risks and we have to teach people on how they can be protected from such scams.

“There are also issues of unreliable networks. These are the issues we need to address as we run the campaign. People adopting digital methods should have minimal encounters with such challenges.”

Mwale said government will work hand in hand with the service providers to improve network signals to ensure that there are reduced challenges that discourage people from adopting these technologies, which include phones, internet, ATMs, banks, points of sale and digital village banking, among others.

The campaign has identified women, persons with disabilities, youths, small to medium enterprises, internally displaced people, the illiterate and the rural population as the targeted marginalised audiences.

“We want to get to every corner of the country raising awareness about the opportunities available in the digital financial services.

“For example, people think we need to withdraw cash on ATMs or Mpamba and Airtel Money agents and go somewhere to pay bills yet you can do that without necessarily withdrawing the money,” said Joshua Kunkumbira, the campaign lead person for Kasungu and Dowa.

He added: “Rural communities, including those in village banks and recipients of social cash transfers, need to be educated on the benefits of digital financial services, such as using Airtel Money, Mpamba, and bank accounts for transactions.

“Village banks must go digital. The youths that are engaged in businesses must be encouraged to transact digitally and not forgetting persons with disabilities whom we must identify and ask them about the challenges they encounter so that they are addressed.”

Kunkumbira also said the campaign will tackle issues of fraud and phishing schemes, over indebtedness, social engineering scams, data and identity theft and emerging innovations so that digital service users are protected from evil schemes.

“So in specific terms, we want to create awareness of digital financial services among the general public in order to increase usage and adoption.

“We also want to reinforce consumers trust in digital finance services opportunities and help local populations to better deal with the associated challenges, and also change perceptions and build awareness of risks, available consumer guidelines, costs and benefits in order to gain acceptance and utilisation among users.”

African Development Bank representative, Albert Mafusile said the Pan-African development and financial institution believes that digital financial services are safe, efficient and cost-effective.

“It is our hope that through the use of digital financial services, the Malawian public will enjoy the safety associated with the transactions which give you freedom to do anywhere as long as you have network.

“It is in our interest to see that these services are provided efficiently to those that use them,” Mafusile said.

He said while access to digital financial services in the country is growing, the services have not yet reached everyone hence the need for awareness raising activities.

“This campaign gives the opportunity to financial services to showcase what they offer and as the public get educated, it will be easier for them to start using them.

“For us, we want an inclusive financial services sector that does not leave anybody behind. And it is our hope that the partnership that African Development Bank has with Malawi will continue to grow,” he said.

Lack of information, fear of fraud and poor network feature highly as factors discouraging people like Yosophati to adopt and use digital financial services in the country.

As of March 2024, fraud on mobile money had decreased by 53 percent from MK28 million to MK13 million and 15 percent from MK2.7 million to MK2.3 million on Airtel Money and TNM Mpamba, respectively.

Parliamentary Committee on Media, Information and Communication described the decrease as a positive step towards promoting digital financial services.

By Gift Chiponde

Lilongwe, August 20, Mana: Minister of Trade and Industry, Sosten Gwengwe, has underscored the necessity for Malawi and India to address pivotal trade issues, specifically the exorbitant tariffs impacting Malawi's exports of mangoes and macadamia nuts to India.

Gwengwe made the remarks during a meeting with India's Minister of State, Shir Kirti Vardan Singh, at the 19th CII India Africa Business Conclave, currently being held at the esteemed Hotel Taj Palace in New Delhi, India from August 20th to 22nd, an event to which the minister was invited by the Indian government.

During the meeting, Gwengwe highlighted the obstacles posed by the prevailing high tariffs that have substantially impeded the competitiveness of Malawi's agricultural exports in the Indian market.

He emphasised the importance of mango and macadamia exports for Malawi's economy, particularly for smallholders who rely on mango and macadamia nut cultivation for their sustenance.

The deliberations were aimed at reaching a consensus and negotiating reduced tariffs or other trade facilitation measures that would empower Malawian exporters to penetrate the Indian market more effectively.

Both parties conveyed a strong commitment to bolstering trade relations and exploring avenues to fortify economic bonds between the two nations.

The Indian Minister of State acknowledged the raised concerns and exhibited readiness to collaboratively address the issues for the mutual benefit of both countries, underscoring India's keen interest in nurturing closer economic partnerships with Malawi and other African nations.

The meeting signifies progress in dismantling trade barriers and potentially unlocking new opportunities for Malawian agricultural products in the Indian market.

By Richard Kagunda

Kasungu, August 20, Mana: Kasungu District Environmental Health Officer, Rudolf Zinkanda Banda says access to safe and potable water is an entitlement that every individual must have regardless of where they live.

During a meeting organized by Water for People in Kasungu on Tuesday, Banda said proper sanitation and healthy living cannot be achieved in the absence of safe and potable water in homes.

“It is our wish to see that every individual has access to good quality water because health living and national development can only be achieved by those that are living a healthy life and safe water plays an important role towards that.

“As a country, we have been struggling with cholera outbreaks and one of the contributing factors was that a good number of people were unable to access safe and potable water,” he said.

Banda applauded Water for People for complementing government efforts in ensuring that communities have access to safe and clean water.

The non-governmental organization is set to pilot a project called Wash System for Health (WS4H) in Kasungu, Dowa and Chikwawa by rehabilitating non-functional water pumps.

Senior Sustainable Manager for the organization, Joseph Magoya, said the project stands to benefit many people in Kasungu and beyond.

“Our programme intends to further strengthen some of the systems that were already being implemented in the district. For example, Pump Aid has a social enterprise part called Beyond Water, which is implementing professional management of water pumps in rural communities in Kasungu.

“So, our project intends to rehabilitate non-functional water pumps in the areas where Beyond Water is already implementing its projects and then extend to other areas in due course,” he said.

On his part, Chikondi Kaomba who is programme manager for Pump Aid, the mother organization that owns Beyond Water, said his organization is geared towards providing safe and potable water to the masses.

“Before we started the project as Beyond Water, about 40 percent of water pumps in the area of our operation were non-functional. But with our intervention, the figure has gone down to 5 percent meaning 95 percent of the water points are now functional.

“So, as we collaborate with Water for People, the plans are to reach out to more areas,” Kaomba said.

By Evance Chisiano

Blantyre, August 20, Mana: Deputy Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture Owen Chomanika opened southern region quarterly coordination meeting for local authorities and its development partners on Thursday in Blantyre where he called for proper coordination on service delivery for citizen satisfaction.

The southern region’s coordination meeting is the first of a series of meetings, which the ministry will also hold in Dowa and Mzuzu to institutionalize regular engagement with local government authorities to address challenges with management and coordination of council operations.

The Deputy Minister said proper coordination among council staff, elected councilors and members of parliament and non-governmental organizations can easily ensure implementation of projects and quality service delivery to citizens who always believe that local authorities have capable human resource and adequate financial capacity for quality service delivery.

“We have the duty to serve the people whose expectations is to be served better and adequately. They live to our expectations,” Chomanika added. 

He observed unsatisfactory service delivery in some councils, which arise from low staff commitment at council secretariat and members of parliament neglecting their mandatory roles to serve people in their respective areas.

The Deputy Minister said quarterly coordination meetings provide room for local authorities to reflect on their successes and shortfalls and discuss ways and means of improving service delivery through coordination with other players in development.

Chomanika therefore expressed hope that the meeting in Blantyre will come up with resolution of proper coordination for improved service delivery in line with the Ministry of Local Government mandate and decentralization policy and guidelines, which the local authorities should abide by.

Secretary for Local Government, Unity and Culture, Richard Hara said the quarterly coordination meeting were crucial since they started in 2020 as they remind local authorities of their statutory obligations in service delivery.     

“We cannot serve people better if we are not well coordinated in our respective councils. Let us create a conducive environment that should satisfy the citizens we serve. If we cannot serve our people better, they cannot trust us,” Hara added.

Non-Governmental Organization Regulatory Authority (NGORA) Chief Executive Officer, Edward Chileka Banda observed that huge sums of financial resources go to councils through non state actors but with minimal impact.

He therefore called for proper coordination between NGOs and local authorities to ensure that finances that go to local authorities have impact on the citizens.

“We are also concerned that donor partners through NGOs provide huge financial support yet Malawi is still poor,” Banda said and pledged that NGORA will work with local authorities to track donor investment.

The Southern Region Quarterly Coordination Meeting will also allow Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture to provide strategic direction and policy guidance to local authorities on how they should deliver services per their statutory obligations.

District Commissioners, city and municipal chief executive officers, Members of Parliament, ward councilors, city and municipal mayors, officials from National Local Government Finance Committee, National Local Government Service Committee, National Aids Commission, NGORA among others attended the Southern Region Quarterly Coordination Meeting.