MANAonline
Nice urges media to promote violence-free elections
By Zenak Matekenya
Dedza, August 28, Mana: National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) programmes officer for Dedza and Lilongwe Daniel Malango has urged the media to promote violence-free elections in the upcoming 2025 Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government elections.
He was speaking Tuesday in Dedza at a media workshop on the amended Electoral Laws of Malawi and NICE’s preparedness for the forthcoming elections.
Malango emphasized the critical role of the media in sensitizing youth about the new law, which imposes a penalty of K10 million and five years’ imprisonment for engaging in violent acts.
He noted that in the past, politicians have exploited youth as tools of violence, with some perpetrators going unpunished.
“As a nation, we need a peaceful election. In a democracy violence is not acceptable,” he said.
He further said eligibility of the voters is another critical issue that needs to be clarified to the communities saying the law only talks about national identity cards as valid identification.
He said for a person to be registered they need to prove that they are Malawian or have stayed in Malawi for at least seven years.
“The law talks about national identification as the only proof of eligibility for someone to be registered. However, the Malawi Electoral Commission has a waiver and will accept expired IDs and the receipt that one gets while waiting for their ID to be published.
“All this will be done to allow many eligible voters to register and take part in all the electoral processes,” he said.
A Malawi News Agency journalist Steve Chirombo said the meeting was critical in helping reporters to report in line with the amended laws.
He urged journalists to be neutral and apply a sense of responsibility in the line of duty.
“We have to follow ethics because people expect a lot from us as journalists,” he said.
UNIMA awards Nyusi Honorary Degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy
By Solister Mogha
Zomba, August 28, Mana: President of Mozambique, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi was on Thursday awarded an Honorary Degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy by the University of Malawi (UNIMA) at the Great Hall in Zomba.
Malawi’s president, Dr. Lazarus Chakwera who is also UNIMA Chancellor conferred the honorary degree to the Mozambican leader, the third person to be awarded an honorary degree since the establishment of the university 59 years ago.
Speaking before conferring the degree to Nyusi, President Chakwera said the award of the Honorary Degree to President Nyusi is a great respect and recognition of the enormous achievements that the Mozambican leader has made and continues to make to foster the relationship between the two countries.
He said that since Nyusi took over leadership of Mozambique, Malawi has enjoyed cordial and bilateral relationships in various development areas, from transport to trade.
The president added that apart from promoting the relationship, President Nyusi has been at the forefront of supporting Malawi in times of disasters citing Tropical Cyclone, Anna, Gombe and Freddy devastations.
“Today, we celebrate another chapter of the relationship of our two countries. President Nyusi has portrayed a transformative and instrumental leadership and that cannot go unrecognized.
"Through his leadership, we have witnessed the birth of peace and stability in the region and Malawi has benefited from this," the president added.
Chakwera said through Nyusi's leadership, the two countries have signed a number of Memorandum of Understandings (MOU) in various sectors of economy that has seen Malawi benefiting.
The Malawi leader expressed hope that Malawi and Mozambique will continue to support each other to open more areas of bilateral relationship.
In his acceptance speech after being awarded the doctorate degree, President Nyusi said he was happy to be recognized by the prestigious institution in Malawi.
President Nyusi said he did not take the award as a mere thing but a great recognition of the strong relationship that exist between the two countries.
The Mozambican president therefore promised to continue supporting Malawi in many aspects to ensure that the bond between the two countries continues to get stronger for the benefit of both states and the entire Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region,
“We will continue to create safe environments for our people by fighting terrorism while at the time promoting trade and industrialization,” Nyusi added.
UNIMA Vice Chancellor, Prof Samson Sajidu said the honorably degree was based on the contribution that President Nyusi has made in addressing challenges within Mozambique and across the region.
Born on February 9, 1959, in Mueda District, Cabo Delgado Province, Nyusi became the 4th Mozambican leader on January 15, 2015, and was re-elected in 2019, serving his second term.
His academic career started in 1976 when he attended his secondary school education at Mariri Secondary School in Cabo-Delgado Province.
In 1982, he completed his high school education at the Samora Machel Secondary School in Beira, Sofala Province.
In 1990, Nyusi obtained a Master’s Degree with distinctions in Mechanical Engineering from VAAZ Brno Military Academy in Czech Republic.
The Mozambique leader also has postgraduate qualifications in Management from Victoria University, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Before ascending to the seat of the presidency, Nyusi worked with the Mozambique Ports and Railway Company, while there, he rose to the ranks of assistant to the head of the general shop's service, a Railways Director and later Managing Director of the Maputo Ports and Railways Company, in charge of business operations.
From 2002 to 2008, he worked as a mathematics part-time lecturer at the Pedagogical University in Nampula.
As president, Nyusi, has served in various portfolios such that in 2020 he was elected SADC Chairperson where he played a huge role of mobilizing the private sector to play a major role in regional economic integration.
From 2015 to 2016, he chaired the SADC organ on politics defence and security cooperation where he actively played another role of preserving peace and stability in the region.
In 2022, President Nyusi was appointed by the African Union heads of state and government as champion for Disaster Risk Management in the continent.
On the political landscape, President Nyusi has made some remarkable achievements one being restoring the lasting peace through dialogue with RENAMO and signed a Peace and National Reconciliation that saw 5,221 ex-combatants of RENAMO being disarmed, demobilized and reintegrated into society.
Bilaterally, President Nyusi has leveraged relations with Malawi with bold initiatives in the areas of transport and communications, energy, social and cultural exchanges.
Dodma donates bags of maize to vulnerable households
By Martha Simchimba
Lilongwe, August 28, Mana: Government through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) under special needs support program, has donated 6,000 bags of maize to vulnerable households in Lilongwe district.
The donation targeted the elderly, orphans and people living with disabilities who were affected by the effects of El Nino such as, dry spell that hit the district.
Speaking during the distribution exercise on Tuesday in the area of Traditional Authority Chimutu, a 70-year-old woman Letiyana Chisanjika, thanked government for the donation saying it will reduce food challenges in her household.
"I am so happy to receive a bag of 50kg of maize today. I have been sleeping on an empty stomach since I cannot afford to buy the five litre bucket of maize which is now going at MK4,000.
“We are struggling a lot to find food, because we did not harvest anything from the field due to lack of fertilizer and the dry spell which affected the country," she said.
On his part, Group Village Head Kachule Kam'mwamba Kofi said the donation was timely as a lot of people especially the elderly, orphans and people with disabilities are struggling to find their day to day food.
"We are grateful for the support as you may be aware that many farmers were affected by dry spells which translated to poor harvest in the field, hence a number of people are starving with hunger," he said.
Kam’mwamba then appealed to government to continue rendering support to the less privileged people across the district as dry spell affected the entire district.
Lilongwe District Disaster Officer, Anganile Kalonga urged those who have received the donation to use them for the intended purpose and not sell the maize, saying the behavior is counterproductive.
Vulnerable households from 12 Traditional Authorities in the district namely: Chadza, Chimutu, Chitukula, Chiwawula, Kabudula, Kalumba, Khongoni, M'bang'ombe, Malembo, Masula, Masumbankhunda and Msinde benefited from the donation.
Environment activist urges MEPA to call for more awareness on dangers of illegal sand Mining
By Elia Chibwe
Lilongwe, August 27, MANA: Environment Activists have urged Malawi Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) to create more awareness on dangers of illegal sand mining, highlighting that there are increased cases of illegal sandy mining in the cities across the country as people have insufficient information about the dangers of such practice.
In an interview with Malawi News Agency-MANA, Environment activist, Mathews Malata said MEPA has to create more awareness on dangers of illegal sand mining to prevent consequences followed by the practice.
"We need to create awareness on the dangers of sand mining as it appears that most people are not fully aware of the consequences that come a long with sand mining. We need to sensitize people on procedures, which ought to be followed for people to do sand mining, as it is not completely prohibited.
"Sand mining can lead to significant issues, including landslides, which pose serious risks to life. In severe cases, landslides can even result in fatalities," Malata said.
He said illegal sand mining brings disruption on ecosystem such as land degradation and environment degradation.
"When discussing biodiversity, significant disturbances can occur, and in some cases of flooding, rivers may take new courses that did not happen in the past," he said.
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He added that illegal sand mining also affect the quality of water and that affects preservation of marine species.
Spokesperson for Lilongwe City Council, Tamara Chafunya, said the council has witnessed a number of people practicing illegal sand mining along riverbanks, which has enforced them to enforce the laws in fear of the consequences of the practice.
"In Lilongwe, we have observed that many people are engaging in illegal sand mining along riverbanks. Recently, the Lilongwe City Council has been actively enforcing the law along the Lilongwe River."
"As we know that the impacts of illegal sand mining are environment degradation and occurrences of over flooding during the rainy season," Chafunya said.
She said they would continue arresting those who would continue mining illegally.
According to Chafunya, most affected rivers within Lilongwe city are Lilongwe, Lingadzi, Nankhaka and Chankhandwe River.
Nsundwe stadium construction begins September
By: Andrew Mkonda
Lilongwe, August 28, Mana: The construction of a 10,000 seater Nsundwe stadium in Traditional Authority Kalolo in Lilongwe will begin in September, 2024 after Lilongwe District Council awarded the contract to Bonongwe Building Construction.
Speaking on Tuesday after handing over to the contractor in the area, Director of Public Works for Lilongwe district council Sydney Chiphaka said the contractor has been given 12 months to complete the construction works of the stadium.
“I am very happy that finally we have identified and handed over to the contractor. As you may be aware we started working on this project almost a year and some months ago, so to reach this far, it’s a very big achievement.
“Now the work is on the ground, all along we have been doing paper work, which in most cases gives an impression as if nothing is happening on the ground, but with this development, I am very happy,” he said.
Chiphaka then urged the contractor to stick to the standards that he has been given and cooperate with the community for the smooth implementation of the project.
Commenting on the development, Bonongwe Building Construction Manager, Malisen Mtondela assured the general public that he will stick to the standards that he has been given and complete the construction works on time.
“This is not our first project of this nature, we are also constructing another stadium in Mwanza though it is a bit smaller than this one, but I can assure you. We will do a good work here,” he said.
Speaking on a separate interview, one of the members of the community, Mannuel Jali thanked government for the development saying the stadium will boost businesses in the area, thereby improving livelihood.
Jali then asked the contractor to consider employing local people as skilled labourers so that they too benefit from the project.
Government through Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture will use MK8.2 billion to construct Nsundwe stadium.
Lilongwe council conduct athletics competition
By: Andrew Mkonda
Lilongwe, August 28, Mana: Lilongwe District Sports Officer, Eckima Chikafa has called on parents and teachers to encourage learners in their schools to show interest and take part in different sporting disciplines.
Chikafa made the call on Tuesday at Mdzobwe Primary School, in the area of Traditional Authority Kalolo in the district during the athletics competition.
“Learners are born with different talents, and for those talents to be exposed, there is need to encourage them in different sporting disciplines such as athletics. One may not be good in class, but he may be good at a certain sporting activity,” she said.
Councilor for Kachawa ward Laxton Mkasauka thanked Lilongwe district council for the initiative saying it will not only expose the learner’s talent, but also reduce drop-out rate in schools.
“We have seen some learners going to school and participate in sports. Let us encourage these sporting activities in schools,” he said.
Mkasauka then asked the district sports office to continue organizing such events in all educational zones in the district in order to identify genuine talents among the learners.
Speaking on behalf of other learners, Wycliff Godfrey of Mdzobwe primary school who won a medal in 200m race, expressed his excitement with the initiative saying it was his first time to win a medal in such competition.
“I am very excited with this initiative and I am encouraging my fellow learners to work hard in such competitions so that they too win awards in the future,” he said.
During the competition, five schools participated namely: Sawuzawana primary school, Chambwe, Mdzobwe, Chigunda and Mdzobwe Community Day Secondary School.
Among other activities, learners competed in 3,000 metres race, egg-race and sack-race. The wining learners went away with different medals.
Five killed in Kasungu minibus accident
By Wanangwa Tembo
Kasungu, August 28, Mana: Three women and two men have died after a minibus they were travelling in overturned at Thondolo village along the Santhe-Chinkhoma M18 road in Kasungu district.
Briefing reporters at Kasungu District Hospital Tuesday evening, Kasungu Police Public Relations Officer Joseph Kachikho only identified the two men being the driver, Cossam Banda and his conductor, Jairos Kamanga.
He said the minibus, registration number MZ 10677, coming from Lilongwe going to Jenda had 16 people on board.
“Upon reaching Thondolo near Lusa river along the M18 road, the rear tyre exploded forcing the minibus to overturn.
“Due to the impact, we have lost five people while six others have sustained varying injuries and are admitted to Kasungu District Hospital. Five others were treated as out-patients,” Kachikho explained.
Kasungu District Council Director of Planning and Development, Annie Zimba, told reporters at the mortuary that government, through the Department of Disaster Management Affairs, will assist the bereaved families with coffins.
“It’s another sad day for us here in Kasungu considering that just a few days ago we had another fatal accident which claimed 26 lives. We are deeply saddened and we send our condolences,” Zimba said.
Commissioner of Police for Central East Region, Rhoda Manjolo, Officer In-Charge for Kasungu Police, Obrey Nyirenda, senior council officials were present at the mortuary where hundreds of mourners had gathered.
This is the second fatal accident within six days in Kasungu district following another one which killed 26 people on Thursday last week.
Sauli advocates for a comprehensive scholarship program to support the needy
BY Gift Chiponde
Lilongwe, August 27, Mana: Biggers Sauli, a Malawian-born educator specializing in Chinese language and Literature, has passionately urged secondary school administrators in Malawi to grant scholarships to deserving students, drawing on his own extraordinary journey as a testament to the transformative influence of education.
In an interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA) Sauli highlighted that he was granted a pivotal scholarship to enroll at Maranatha Boys Academy in Blantyre, where he excelled in his academic pursuits from 2014 to 2016.
He noted that the opportunity paved the way for him to pursue a bachelor's degree at the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), and that he is currently embarking on his first year of a Master's Degree program in Chinese language and Literature in China.
"Secondary education is pivotal in shaping one's trajectory.
"It serves as the gateway to higher education and ultimately a prosperous career. I stand as living proof of this assertion," Said Sauli.
In his remarks, Ernest Kaonga, the Managing Director of Maranatha Academy, expressed admiration for Sauli's accomplishments, saying the institution is committed to fostering excellence and providing top-notch education, we take immense pride in the impact we have had in our community.
"We take great pleasure in Sauli's narrative and we are exceedingly proud of him and all those who have preceded and succeeded him courtesy of Maranatha.
"Sauli's remarkable odyssey stands as a beacon of hope for numerous young Malawians, underscoring the crucial role that education plays in unlocking individual potential and propelling national progress," said Kaonga.
Kaonga further stated that Sauli's tale serves as an inspiration for a new generation of scholars to pursue their aspirations, undeterred by any obstacles.
President Filipe Nyusi to undertake state visit in Malawi
By Tikondane Vega
Lilongwe, August 27, Mana: President of the Republic of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi is scheduled to visit Malawi on Wednesday, to undertake several state engagements.
The President’s visit is at the invitation of his Malawi counterpart, President Lazarus Chakwera, in recognizing the strong bilateral relationship between the two countries.
While in the country, President Nyusi is expected to be awarded an Honorary Degree from the University of Malawi in Zomba.
“I am pleased to announce that The University of Malawi will award an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Affairs and Diplomacy (Honoris Causa) to Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi,” said the University’s Registrar, Martin Matululu in a statement released on 26th August 2024.
President Nyusi will also be a special guest at the opening of the 2024 Trade Fair in Blantyre.
Malawi and Mozambique share a rich history of cooperation, rooted in their geographical proximity and deep cultural connections.
On economic cooperation, Mozambique is Malawi’s gateway to global trade through vital ports like Beira and on energy partnership, Malawi-Mozambique power interconnection project is a milestone in a bilateral relationship.
Furthermore, both countries have been instrumental in promoting peace and security in the region, collaborating within the SADC framework to address shared challenges.
Currently, Malawi and Mozambique share many cultural bonds especially among the ethnic communities that live along the border such as Lomwe and Yao, this has fostered close relations between the two countries.
This year, Malawi and Mozambique also agreed to strengthen their bilateral relationship at the grassroots through a joint technical meeting, which attracted technocrats from departments of international affairs, defence, police as well as local government from the two countries.
Recently, Malawi’s High Commissioner to Mozambique Wezi Moyo said the two countries are also strengthening communication whereby many Mozambicans are embracing English while as Malawi plans to introduce Portuguese and Swahili in its curriculum to improve social integration.
Meanwhile, Malawi is connecting its railway at Marka to the Sena Corridor from Vila Nova de Fronteira de Mark, the country will be transporting bulky cargo at a lower cost.
Man arrested in Neno for possessing coffins
By Salome Gangire
Neno, August 27, Mana: Police in Neno district arrested a 42-year-old man, Christopher Manyika on allegations of possessing two coffins, which he and an accomplice who is at large bought for rituals following a herbalist’s instructions that the coffins will transform into vehicles.
Neno Police Public Relations Officer, Rebecca Msoliza said police received a tip-off from members of the community that Manyika and his friend, Henry Kapakasa engaged in ritualistic practices for two consecutive nights at Bwalo la Ndege ground at Chifenthe village in the district.
"On the night, Monday (August 26, 2024), police followed it up and found the suspects at the mentioned location, each carrying a coffin," said Msoliza, adding that Manyika was arrested at the scene while Kapakasa managed to escape leaving his coffin behind.
The publicist said Manyika revealed during questioning that he and Kapakasa were acting under instructions of a herbalist who convinced them that the coffins will transform into vehicles.
The police have since recovered the coffins and are intensifying their efforts to arrest both Kapakasa and the herbalist.
Christopher Manyika comes from Zomodya village, Traditional Authority Mlauli in Neno district.
