By Andrew Phiri

Balaka, January 30, Mana: Minister of Basic and Secondary Education, Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima has said Government is committed to improve the teaching and learning environment for primary and secondary schools in the country.

Wirima made the sentiments on Wednesday when she toured the newly constructed classrooms and toilets under Malawi Education Reform Programme (MERP) at Ferry Primary School in Balaka District.

According to the Minister, the construction of over 10,000 classrooms under MERP across the country will help to reduce the challenge of congestion in both primary and secondary schools.

"I am very excited to see that the project is bearing fruits as now our children can enjoy learning in modern classrooms here at Ferry Primary School. Government believes this will help schools serve more children", she said.

She added that MERP has helped to create a conducive learning environment that has also enabled learners to perform well in their education.

She said: "It is the utmost goal of Government to improve the primary and secondary education in the country and it is for this reason that we have also previously employed over 4,000 auxiliary teachers in primary schools"

Wirima therefore called for a concerted effort from all stakeholders in the education sector to provide adequate teaching and learning materials in order to further improve education in Malawi.

Meanwhile, Chairperson for Balaka District Council, Pharao Kambiri has applauded Government for putting primary and secondary education at heart saying it will help to brighten the future of children in the district.

He said the council will continue working tirelessly and collectively to improve the education of children in Balaka.

Funded by the World Bank and the Global Partnership on Education (GPE), MERP has been implemented for over four years across the country to improve the learning environment in the lower education sector.

Lilongwe, January 30, Mana: Parliamentary Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism met with the Ministry of Trade and Industry together with the Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday in the parliament building, where they had a round table discussion on the progress of the Shire Valley Transformation Programme (SVTP) that is taking place in Chikwawa.

Speaking with Malawi News Agency (MANA), Vice Chairperson of the committee, Arthur Chipungu said the aim of the project is to improve agriculture productivity and promote the export process of the country through mega-farms.

“The project is all about collecting water from the Shire River to some areas that are having rain problems through the irrigation canal that is about 140 kilometres,” said Chipungu.      

Geoffrey Mamba, Principal Secretary, Irrigation Services in the Ministry of Agriculture said SVTP is receiving funding from the World Bank and the government saying there has been a significant investment in the project so far.

“About 300 million US dollars are being invested, and besides construction, the funds are also being used to establish cooperatives and provide cooperative education”

“We are improving in terms of our airlines that will be in a position to uplift some of the crops that would be coming from the valley into South Africa and other markets,” said Mamba.

Mamba continued to say that Illovo is one of the companies that will benefit from the canal, and livestock production will also thrive as the area is being transformed through this project.     

More than 25 crops, including cotton, beans, groundnuts, fruits, and vegetables, are being

By Sheminah Nkhoma

Lilongwe, January 30, Mana: Senior International Researcher Dr Greenwell Matchaya of Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) has called for more investment in agricultural research and innovation to transform food systems in the country.

Speaking as an eminent speaker during the 14th Ndizotheka eminent speakers series on Wednesday in Lilongwe, Matchaya said the country needs to invest in new technologies like the use of artificial intelligence ( AI) to help in agricultural development.

He said, that as a country, Malawi has been doing well in the agricultural sector but there is a need to improve and embrace modern technology in the agricultural.

“As we know the world is developing so like Malawi, we need to change the ways of doing our agricultural system, technology should be used in the agricultural industry like the use of machines in fields can help to improve the productivity of farmers if we want to boost our economy,” said Matchaya.

Director responsible for knowledge and learning at National Planning Commission, Joseph Nagoli said, it is important to do more research so that Malawi can go beyond the normal practice of agriculture and venture into modern farming.

“We should go beyond just producing the food but looking on how best we can benefit from that food including processing the food, human capital development and packaging of agricultural products,” he said.

Programme Manager for livelihood resilience at Oxfam Steve Kulivazi commended the event as it provided stakeholders a platform to discuss ways to improve the country's food systems.

Mwapata Institute, National Planning Commission and Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) in partnership with Oxfam organized the event with financial support from Germany Cooperation through GIZ.

The event was held under the theme “Leveraging Food Systems Transformation to Achieve Livelihoods Resilience, Nutrition Security and Environment Sustainability in Malawi.

By Bazilio Chingoli 

Ntcheu, January 30, Mana: Youths from Ntcheu district have been encouraged to listen Radio programmes that can help transform their lives.

The remarks were made by Bruce Matabwa, Green Jobs For Adolescent Youth (GJ4AY), Project Coordinator for Ntcheu district during a 4-day radio listening club training which took place in the area of Sub Traditional Authority Tsikulamowa in the district.

Matabwa said radio listening groups are eyes and ears for behavior change in their areas.

"We have created these radio listening clubs so that they should be gathering together and listen to programmes that will transform their lives and be able to discuss how they can address problems they face in their lives through listening to Tidzidalire Achinyamata radio programmes," he said.

According to Matabwa, it is important to impart young people with radio listening skills so that they are able to appreciate what their fellow youths from other areas are doing to earn a living as well as protecting the environment.

On his part, Mathews Longwe, a member of Manjawila-Njoka radio listening club said the training is an eye-opener to them as they will start using the Radio to benefit GJ4AY project participants and their respective communities.

"We have learnt that as youths we can come together and listen to Radio programmes and discuss matters of our interest while shaping our lives in the long run and improve our livelihood," said Longwe.

Martha Gobede, Community Agent for GJ4AY project advised youth to be open to each other when discussing things that affect their lives after listening to radio programmes.

Green Jobs For Adolescent Youth is a 3 years project which is being implemented among youths of Senior Chief Ganya, Masasa and Sub Traditional Authorities Tsikulamowa and Mkutumula in Ntcheu district with funding from Save the Children Italia.

By Beni Bamusi

Thyolo, January 29, Mana: Minister of Health, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, has appealed to Malawians that they should not wait for reminders to construct and maintain proper sanitation facilities, on account that access to clean and safe toilets is essential in preventing waterborne diseases such as cholera.

Chiponda made the remarks Wednesday at Kwenegwe Community Ground in the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Bvumbwe when the community was officially declared Open Defecation Free (ODF).

“As a ministry, and in line with United Nations protocols, we encourage every household to have a toilet. Here, toilet coverage was previously at 40 percent but now the situation has significantly improved.

“We commend the communities, Self-Help Africa and traditional leaders for making this project a success,” she said.

Chiponda, however, urged traditional leaders to enforce by-laws that require every household to have a clean toilet with proper hand-washing facilities.

Self-Help Africa Deputy Country Director, Smolden Chomoka, expressed delight with TA Bvumbwe’s ODF achievement, noting that the initiative was community-led and implemented in collaboration with the Thyolo District Council.

He reaffirmed Self-Help Africa’s commitment to improving Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Thyolo, disclosing that the organization has secured £270,000 in funding to sustain ODF status in areas that have already achieved the status.

TA Bvumbwe hailed the initiative, emphasizing that proper sanitation will help reduce cases of cholera and other waterborne-related diseases in the area.

The chief, therefore, urged his subjects to embrace and sustain the project to ensure long-term benefits.

By Robert Nayeja

Nsanje, January 29, Mana: An economic expert in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Elisha Limbe, has expressed optimism that the National Social Protection Policy will help limit duplication and reduce other challenges social protection programmes are facing in the country.

He was speaking Tuesday in Nsanje during the review of social protection programmes in the district.

Limbe said the new policy will eradicate duplication in the implementation of social protection programmes on top of enhancing collaboration among implementing stakeholders.

“The policy will bring sanity in social protection programmes as it brings all programmes under one roof and incorporate both social support and protection,” he said.

He said the new National Social Protection Policy has been approved by the cabinet, adding that it will soon be launched.

“This policy has incorporated all groups of people and this is in line with Malawi 2063 which says; leaving no one behind,” he said.

The economist described the review meeting as a milestone in the implementation of social protection programmes.

“This is the time when stakeholders share experiences and discuss ways and means of addressing bottlenecks,“ he said.

District Community Development Officer for Nsanje, Patrick Sipuni, said the review meeting will strengthen collaboration among stakeholders implementing social protection programmess in the district.

He said social protection programmes will help reduce poverty among people in the district.

The social protection annual review meeting was one of the activities funded by European Union through UNICEF under the SP GEAR project.

By Robert Nayeja

Nsanje, January 29, Mana: Flash floods have affected operations at Mbenje Health Centre in Nsanje following non-stop rains in the district since Sunday.

Director of Health and Social Services for Nsanje, Gilbert Chapweteka, confirmed disruption of services at the health centre as the flash floods hit the facility on Tuesday.

"The flash foods also affected staff houses rendering them inhabitable," he said adding that patients at the facility were transferred to a nearest health centre.

Chapweteka said there are no damages of drug and other medical supplies so far.

“Services will resume once water moves out of the facility premises,” he said.

Chapweteka emphasised on the need to construct a dyke to protect the health centre from floods saying this is not the first time Mbenje Health Centre was affected by floods.

By Yamikani Sabola

Mzuzu, January 29, Mana: Executive Director for National Youth Council of Malawi (NYCOM), Rex Chapota, has asked youth cooperatives in the country to invest more in value addition of both crop and livestock value chains to boost their earnings and create jobs for more youths.

Chapota was speaking in Mzuzu on Wednesday after presenting a K6 million grant to Wamaka Youth Farmers’ Cooperative which deals in fisheries.

He said apart from increasing income, investing in value addition across all agriculture sub sectors is a more effective and efficient way of curbing post harvest losses mostly experienced by smallholder farmers.

“I am encouraged that Wamaka youths are looking at value addition as a key vision for their enterprise. This is very important because what will happen is that they will get more income than when they are selling the raw product.

“They want to have their fish tinned so that it can be sold in major chain stores and even exported to other countries. This is a unique scenario we are seeing from Wamaka cooperative. I urge other youth cooperatives to adopt value addition,” Chapota said.

Wamaka Youth Cooperative is one of the 18 youth cooperatives nationwide which has benefited from NYCOM grants totaling K100 million to empower them economically and enable them do productive entrepreneurship. 

Executive Director for Wamaka Youth Farmers’ Cooperative, Francis Chirambo, thanked NYCOM for the grant, saying it will help them increase production and earnings.

“Previously we have been rearing fish from our six ponds which could make us produce about one and half metric tons of fish. For now, with grants from NYCOM, we are going to increase the number of fish ponds to 12 and increase our production to seven metric tons,” he said.

Chairperson for Parliamentary Committee on Social and Community Affairs, Savelo Kafwafwa, said his committee will lobby parliament to increase NYCOM’s grants allocation so that the Council reaches out to more youth cooperatives.

Kafwafwa noted that 121 youth cooperatives had applied for the grants. However, only 18 were successful because the K100 million, which NYCOM was allocated was not adequate.

By Prisca Promise Mashushu

Lilongwe, January 29, Mana: The Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU), has commended Ministry of Labour for intensifying labour inspections which have brought to light multitudes of decent work deficits and violations that workers in the country are being subjected to.

According to a statement  signed by the Union’s President, Charles Kumchenga, and Secretary General, Madalitso Njolomole, on Wednesday MCTU has commended Minister of Labour, Vitumbiko Mumba, for leading an impact labour inspection.

The statement explained that the labour inspections will enhance working conditions for Malawian workers and at the same time identify employers who fail to comply with the country’s labour laws and policies.

“From these inspections, it is evident that many employers subject their workers to inhumane conditions, including but not limited to, inadequate or poor provision of protective equipment, unhygienic work environments, low wages and insufficient representation of workers’ rights,” reads the statement.

“To keep the momentum towards the advancement of workers’ rights, MCTU has called for increased budget allocation to the Ministry of Labour which, they say, will effect effectiveness of labour inspections and expansion.

MCTU has asked for strengthening of worker representation, promotion of employer compliance, enhanced union membership and formalization of the informal economy in a quest to enhancing access to justice for the country’s labour force.

According to MCTU, the Malawi labour and employment sector should use the strides registered by the Ministry to join hands to ensure a healthy and motivated workforce that will in turn, boost workplace productivity towards national development.

By Pempho Kantayeni & Pickson Chipeso

Lilongwe, January 28, Mana: Parliamentary Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism on Tuesday engaged Sovereign Metals Ltd to discuss overview of the Kasiya mine exploration.

Sovereign Metals Ltd estimates that it will take five to six years before they start mining rutile from the Kasiya mine deposit.

Speaking at Parliament Building, Chairperson for the committee, Paul Nkhoma, asked Sovereign Metals Ltd to minimize the time frame to at least two years in order to expedite the process to the benefit the country.

The Committee asked Sovereign Metals to share with them a report of the findings of the feasibility study.

“From the report, we will extract the timelines at which time they will require something from any government department, from where we will oversee those government departments. If the government credits are given to them on time, they will be able to start operations much earlier,” he said.

Sovereign Metals Ltd Social Performance Manager, Garth Lappeman, said structures required to enable the project to be mined typically takes between two to three years.

He said even when expedited, it is a huge undertaking which needs to be taken with caution.

“If all goes according to plan, we are looking forward to be moving the project into an operation phase in the next five to six years,” he said.

He added that government of Malawi wants this project expedited as it is an opportunity for a significant amount of development of Malawi’s economy with a substantial amount of benefits for the people of Malawi.

“As Sovereign Metal Ltd, our legacy is important. We are a company that cares about the impact that we are going to have on communities and the environment.

“So over the next nine months, up until the end of October, we will have teams of consultants and specialist working very hard to define the feasibility of the project,” he said.

He said once fully informed, they will move to seeking and applying for a mining license.

Kasiya deposit mine was discovered in 2019.