MANAonline
President Chakwera urges partners to continue assisting Malawi by boosting food security systems
By Arkangel Tembo, New York, USA
New York, September 21, Mana: President Dr Lazarus Chakwera has reaffirmed his commitment to improve food security in Malawi through various interventions including infrastructure development and utilizing skills of various Universities.
President Chakwera made the remarks on the sideline meeting of the 79th United General Assembly (UNGA) at Columbia University on Saturday during the World Leaders Forum which tackled issues of global challenges and cultural perspective.
He noted that Universities are key in supporting government through their research to achieve food security.
Chakwera said, "The issue of food security remains a great challenge to many African countries hence the need for collaboration with various stakeholders. The government of Malawi is doing everything possible to improve food security through irrigation and establishment of Mega farms among others.
The President stressed that through efforts made by his administration, food production will be improving and turn more Malawians into commercial farmers through the introduction of Mega farms.
In addition, President Chakwera revealed that during his tenure of office, he has been declaring Malawi a state of disaster because of climate change effects.
The Malawi leader who is attending UNGA alongside other world leaders and various international organizations said his government has made strides to initiate the Shire Valley Transformation Programme to boost farming production by not relying on rain-fed Agriculture.
In his remarks, Ambassador Ertharin Cousin founder of Food Systems for the Future commended Malawi for its efforts in dealing with food security.
The Columbia University World Leaders Forum is an incredible event that brings together global leaders, policymakers, and thinkers to discuss pressing issues facing nations and the world.
Since its inception, the forum has welcomed over 300 heads of state and governments and international World leaders from 85 countries, making it a premier platform for learning, discussion, and debate.
Also in attendance were the Prime Minister of Haiti, Garry Conille and Ambassador Ertharin Cousin founder of the Food Systems and former World Food Programme Chief Executive Officer.
Journalists advised to remain non-partisan when covering political issues
By Moses Nyirenda
Lilongwe, September 21, Mana: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Malawi chapter Chairperson, Golden Matonga has advised journalists in the country to remain non-partisan when covering political issues.
Speaking on Saturday during a fun run that MISA Malawi organized to raise funds for the construction of its training centre at Mtolankhani House in Lilongwe, Matonga said journalists should always remain neutral when writing or covering political issues.
“Journalists should adhere to neutrality in all contexts, it is something we have been sharing with our colleagues in a fraternity that we do not want to see any incident where journalists have been involved in partisan politics.
“It is very imperative that we remain neutral just as a referee in a game of football,” Matonga said.
He added that journalists should maintain ethical standards and present the views of all political parties professionally.
He also said that as MISA Malawi they will not protect journalists who might involve themselves in partisan politics.
“As MISA Malawi we will not defend any journalist who is involved in partisan politics supporting one candidate openly or indirectly, we have to remain as neutral as possible and that will inspire confidence from our audiences as well as our journalism,” he said.
Matonga further called upon politicians in the country to help in promoting ethical journalism as well as media freedom.
Also speaking at the fun run one of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Officials who participated in the fun run, Engineer Vitumbiko Mumba said as politicians they will continue working together with the media in promoting media freedom in the country.
MISA Malawi's fun run among others attracted journalists and politicians who had a run from Game Complex to Gateway Mall in Lilongwe.
The event was sponsored by members of various political parties namely: MCP, United Transformation Party (UTM), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) company, Lab20 Innovations.
Almost 14 thousand Mwanza households assured to receive maize
By Brian Wasili.
Mwanza, September 21, Mana: A total of 13,950 households which have been affected by hunger in Mwanza District have been assured to benefit from the 2024/25 Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Programme which government is distributing to hunger-affected households.
The assurance was made by Deputy Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture Owen Chomanika MP who was guest of honour at the district launch of the programme at Phanda School in the area of Senior Chief Nthache (Mwanza West Constituency) in Mwanza District on Friday.
“It is the government’s commitment to ensure that this programme is rolled out to all districts of the country so that every household affected by hunger is given food,” said Chomanika.
The Minister said that districts of Mwanza, Blantyre and Neno are the top three worst affected by the hunger situation in the country due to various reasons such as El-Nino, which resulted in a dry spell in some areas therefore the government could not wait until the situation got out of control.
The maize distribution exercise is a response to the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee 2024/25 report which projected that about 5.7 million people in the country would require food aid between October 2024 and March 2025, citing delayed onset of rains, prolonged dry spells and high cost of agricultural input as some key contributing factors.
Under the programme each targeted household is expected to receive 50 kilograms bag of maize per month up to March 2025.
In Mwanza, of the total of 62,777 people that need food support 13,950 households have been targeted for the programme, translating to 5,185 from Traditional Authority (TA) Nthache while 6,108 and 2,657 families are in TAs Kanduku and Govati respectively.
Chairperson for Mwanza District Council Bellon Kasambwe commended the government for considering distributing the maize a month earlier (September) than anticipated when many households in the district are suffering from hunger.
He urged all those who received the maize not to sell or exchange it for beer because doing so would frustrate government’s effort to fight hunger in the district.
Member of Parliament for Mwanza West Constituency, Joyce Chitsulo thanked government for rolling out the programme saying it will address food shortage among some of the affected households in her area and asked for more support from stakeholders to reach out to the rest of the people in need of the food aid across the district.
“It is not that people in my constituency did not grow the staple food but because the rains did not come as expected over the past two consecutive growing seasons,” said Chitsulo
A beneficiary, Joyce Golasi, 62, from Nguteya Village in the area said she has lived on eating mangoes therefore the maize will address the food shortage in her household.
“I will take care of this food so that my children should not suffer because of hunger,” said Golasi.
Health service delivery to improve in Machinga
By Martin Chiwanda and Mike Nambwale
Machinga, September 21, Mana: The delivery of health services in Machinga district’s nine health centres will improve following the commencement of rehabilitation works at these centers.
This follows government allocation of K947 million to Machinga Council for the renovation of health works in the district.
Machinga District Director of Health and Social Services Jones Chise, said on Friday the rehabilitation of the health facilities in the district will improve the quality of service delivery to the citizenry.
Chise said those that are being rehabilitated are the ones that have issues of maternity, water accessibility and under five infrastructures among others.
He said that they were having challenges in the delivery of services in health centres because of the infrastructure as they were not in good shape.
"The purpose of the rehabilitation works is to improve health service delivery within the district. We considered how we provide our services to pregnant women, under-five children but also those who come with various issues in our outpatient department, hence we chose the nine which had problems with that."
One of the health centers to be renovated is the Machinga Health Center which is operating in the old offices of the district council.
Akuzike Mkalie, Machinga health facility in charge, said the rehabilitation works at the center will address the challenges they used to face like shortages of working space.
He said: "This is going to address quite number of challenges we used to face before this project was approved. Prior to this, we used to have limited rooms such that other crucial services were not being offered but now we will have plenty of space hence we will offer services that were not offered."
Traditional authority Nkula whose center falls under his area, said was happy with the development as some rooms will be conditioned to the standards in delivery of quality health services.
He further added that he will make sure that the rehabilitation work goes according to plan and without any setbacks.
"I am happy because the centre is in a small space house, and I asked for consideration on our health centre and finally it has been considered. I will make sure that the project goes well and also this project will provide opportunity to our youths who will be employed and thereby be able to develop themselves," he said.
Currently, the contractors have been handed over to five health facilities namely Machinga District Hospital where a TB ward is to be rehabilitated, Machinga Health Center and Mlombwa Health Center with funds amounting to K99.7 million, K144 million and K44 million respectively.
The rehabilitation works are expected to be completed within the space of two months.
ECD crucial for improving the literacy of elementary learners
By Chisomo Kambandanga
Nkhata Bay, September 21, Mana: Principal Education Officer for Nkhata Bay District Council Mcvinly Dennis Kamata has reiterated the need for education stakeholders to strengthen Early Childhood Development (ECD) education saying it is vital in improving literacy levels for learners in elementary classes.
Kamata was speaking Friday when the Department of ECD under Synod of Livingstonia presented a final project report of K350 million 'School Readiness Initiative' which was implemented from 2020 to June 2024 to the Nkhata Bay District Executive Committee.
According to Kamata the project which among others aimed at securing a good start and entry into primary school for vulnerable children has improved literacy for beneficiary schools.
"When learners graduate from ECD centres, they are well prepared and able to understand lessons at primary school with ease," Kamata said.
ECD Project Coordinator in the Synod of Livingstonia, Evance Mwale said that the initiative had registered improved coordination amongst various players in ECD and primary schools.
between the project and local stakeholders and awarding best-performing Community Based Child Centres and primary schools.
Northern Region police chief promises improved security in Livingstonia
By Manasse Nyirenda
Rumphi, September 21, Mana: Regional Commissioner of Police for the north, Richard Luhanga has pledged to deploy more officers to newly opened K42 million Livingstonia Police unit in the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Kachulu in Rumphi.
Luhanga made the remarks Friday during official opening of the police unit which has been built by Rumphi District Council with funding from Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD)
He said that police presence in the area will also assist in fighting against entry of illegal immigrants and pledged to deploy 10 more officers in addition to three who are already at the unit to strengthen security.
Luhanga then urged the people in the area to report anyone harboring illegal immigrants to police and also warned against vandalizing public property whenever there are misunderstandings between police and the community.
"We expect that whenever there are differences, they should be settled within the lines of the law. Those who destroy government property will be hunted down and brought to book. They are here to serve you and we expect peaceful coexistence between officers and community.
Similarly, I expect my officers to be exemplary and professional when discharging their duties. I am going to discipline all errant officers," said Luhanga.
District Commissioner for Rumphi, Emmanuel Bulukutu said that security is important in the area because Livingstonia is one of the areas which is earmarked for hotel development under President Chakwera's Agriculture, Tourism and Mining (ATM) Strategy towards attaining Malawi 2063.
He also pledged to community members that the council will build houses to provide conducive accommodation to the officers.
TA Kachulu said he was grateful for the intervention saying it would help in reducing cases of gender-based violence, and child abuse among others in the area.
GESD is a performance-based grant which is funded by the World Bank.
Limited financial resources and personnel capacity undermine disaster response in Nkhata Bay
By Chisomo Kambandanga
Nkhata Bay, September 21, Mana: Disaster Risk Management Officer for Nkhata Bay District Council, Rachel Kamanga Friday has cited financial hiccups and inadequate capacity building for personnel as some of the factors that affect the council in responding to disasters effectively.
Kamanga was speaking when Umunthu Plus presented to the District Executive Committee, Capacity Building Project on Disaster and Logistics Management in the district.
The project among others aims at improving the capacity of the council to respond to all forms of emergencies.
"This is a timely project considering we are going towards the rainy season when disasters are imminent.
At times we fail to effectively respond to such disasters due to lack of capacity by personnel at all levels apart from financial constraints and this project is a good intervention," Kamanga said.
Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for Umunthu Plus, Rumbani Mgula said that the project strived to fill gaps the council experiences when disasters hit the district.
"We observed that some councils just keep relief items in trucks due to limited storage facilities and this trend can lead to theft of the items, hence the project will fill that gap," Mgula said.
The six-month project which is funded by the World Food Program is expected to be implemented in Nkhata Bay, Karonga and Nkhotakota with each district getting about K23 million kwacha.
Nsanje DC tips communities on irrigation farming
By Robert Nayeja
Nsanje, September 21, Mana: District Commissioner for Nsanje, Dominic Mwandira, has challenged communities in the district to adopt irrigation farming if the district is to reduce episodes of hunger.
Mwandira was speaking Friday at Dzaladzala Irrigation Scheme in the area of Traditional Authority Malemia during supervision of interventions implemented by the Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) in the area.
He said community’s dedication at the scheme is an indication that irrigation farming can bail out Nsanje District from hunger.
"I am impressed with farming activities taking place at this scheme. This is the way to go to deal with hunger in the district," said Mwandira.
One of the farmers, Grace Banda, from Chingwe Village in the area of Traditional Authority Malemia, said despite the district facing hunger, her family has food because of irrigation farming using solar system donated by EAM.
“It was difficult using treadle pumps but with the donation of solar powered irrigation equipment we are able to cultivate on a large scale,” she said.
However, Banda said they need additional irrigation pipes so that they can extend the irrigation area.
Among others, the District Commissioner also inspected Khome Cooperative in TA Ndamera which has also benefited from EAM.
EAM provided solar dryer and a mill to the cooperative.
Secretary for Khome Cooperative, Nowa Kamasho, said the donation by EAM will help transform the communities economically.
Maliya Women commended for resilience
By Beatrice Bangula
Blantyre, September 21, Mana: United Nations (UN) Women Country Representative to Malawi, Letty Chiwara, has expressed satisfaction with the way Maliya Women Groups in Blantyre are responding to Women’s Resilience to Disasters (WRD) programme.
Chiwara made the remarks Thursday during a monitoring visit by Second Secretary for the Australian High Commission to three WRD programme activities at Maliya Village in Traditional Authority (TA) Kuntaja in the district.
She said the training given to the women by Foundation for Civic Education and Social Empowerment (FOCESE) in partnership with Christian Aid has made a positive impact to their families and the communities.
“In this tour, we have witnessed women’s resilience and hard work in this comprehensive initiative which touches on agriculture, climate smart agriculture systems, agriculture innovative systems and economic empowerment for women,” she said.
Chiwara said it is important for women in Malawi to be resilient to disasters as they experience disasters almost on annual basis.
“Over the years, the narrative has been women suffer most from disasters but what WRD is doing is changing that narrative where we have women as change agents who can make the communities ready to deal with any disaster,” she said.
According to Chiwara, UN came up with the project because of the devastating impact of Tropical Cyclone Freddy.
Chiwara recalled that she visited a number of districts in the southern region when Cyclone Freddy had occurred which moved her to liaise with other partners in Geneva, managing WRD programme at global level to intervene in the situation in Malawi hence the initiative.
Chairperson for Maliya Irrigation Scheme, Elita Chingala, described the training by FOCESE and Christian Aid as very beneficial.
“In the past, we were practicing farming at family level but the returns were very marginal. Cultural norms which put men as the head of the family relegated to the sidelines in making some important decisions which is not the case now,” she said.
The women are expected to realize about K4 million from the sale of tomato which is in the field.
“The group will keep K1 million from the proceeds of tomato while the K3 million will be shared equally among the members to improve individual household economic status,” Chingala said.
Executive Director for FOCESE, Linda Masoo, said the primary beneficiary of project is a woman;
So far, the programme has reached out to 6,500 women with not less than K500 million.
“Women are mostly affected by disasters. So, if we don’t empower them to be resilient, we are killing the whole family,” she said.
WRD is a one year programme which started in June 2023 with funding from Australian Aid through the UN Women and is being implemented by Christian Aid in partnership with FOCESE.
MEC declares pilot registration exercise a success
By Robert Nayeja
Nsanje, September 20, Mana: Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has described the just ended pilot voter registration exercise in as a huge success.
MEC Director of Media and Public Relations, Sangwani Mwafulirwa, made the remarks at the end of the pilot registration exercise in Nsanje on Friday.
He said the aim of the activity was to test the electoral process and equipment to have a credible and perfect voter registration exercise for the 2025 general elections.
“The turn up was good though we can't compare to the actual voter registration. Basically, the reason was not to gauge the turn out but rather to test the process and equipment so that during registration exercise we should not have challenges with the process,” he said.
Mwafulirwa said the equipment has proved to be resilient and can work under different weather conditions, certifying it for the task.
Nsanje District Commissioner, Dominic Mwandira, said the pilot voter registration exercise was very crucial as it has managed to establish existing gaps.
Mwandira said some monitors at registration sites were failing to mention their party when asked.
“Through Multi-Party Liaison Committee, we are going to encourage political parties to civic educate their monitors including their roles during registration,” said Mwandira.
The pilot phase was done on September 18 and 19 in Nsanje, Chitipa, Lilongwe and Neno.
MEC is expected to roll out fresh voter registration exercise in October ahead of September 16, 2025 general elections.
