By Brian Wasili

Mwanza, February 4, Mana: Mwanza District Council took a learning tour of Lilongwe to tap knowledge and experiences on strategies that has seen Lilongwe District Council a good performer in revenue mobilisation.

Lilongwe District Council Chairperson, Mathias Chiopsanjati, hailed Mwanza District Council for choosing Lilongwe as a learning point among other district councils saying the recognition is an honour.

“This signifies that performance of the Council on revenue collection is outstanding and is visible to other local authorities,” said Chiopsanjati.

The said the Council will keep on exploring other ways of improving revenue mobilisation, citing introduction of e-payment in most of its revenue collecting points.

Lilongwe District Council is one the outstanding councils in the country in local revenue generation such that by December 2024, the Council had already generated K1.2 billion against the projected K1.4 billion.

The Council chairperson disclosed that plans were at an advanced stage to construct more infrastructure such as modern toilets in markets to improve service delivery and local revenue.

Lilongwe District Council also introduced performance driven incentives among its revenue collectors.

Apart from listening to presentations by various council sectors on local revenue mobilisation, the hosts took the visiting team on a tour of market places, shops, lodges and recreational centres among others where Lilongwe District Council collects its revenue.

Mwanza District Council Chairperson, Emmanuel Kapawe, said knowledge gained from the tour will be applied to improve resource mobilisation.

“We will go for strategies that are applicable so that we should improve on local revenue both in short and long term,” said Kapawe.

He said Mwanza District Council mainly depends on fees generated from two major markets namely; Boma and Chipatala.

The Council also introduced border entry fee to improve revenue mobilisation.

“Revenue collection is so far not adequate for staff salaries and for effective service delivery,” said Kapawe. 

During the 2025/2026 budget hearing session in Blantyre, National Local Government Financial Committee hailed Lilongwe District Council for updating its Local Revenue Enhancement Strategic Plan (LRESP)

By Agatha Kadzinje

Blantyre, February 4, Mana: Christos Ambassadors Students Ministries (CASM) has organized a conference called Blantyre Secondary Schools Conference (BSSC), scheduled for February 8, 2025 at Blantyre Secondary School as a way of strengthening the spiritual and academic life of secondary school students.

Speaking with Malawi News Agency (MANA) on Tuesday, CASM Vice Chairlady, Patience Chikwanda, said one of the major challenges secondary school students face is lack of direction in life.

Chikwanda said most students believe Christianity alone will make them excel, failing to recognize that faith must be accompanied by hard work for one to flourish.

She emphasized that the conference aims to enlighten secondary school students on how best they can succeed in academics.

“They will be motivated by representatives from different colleges across the country who will share their experiences on how they succeeded and reached where they are today.

“Students will learn how to achieve their academic goals despite their current academic state. One can easily be inspired when they see and hear from someone who has directly experienced similar challenges,” she said.

Chikwanda emphasized that attendees should look forward to learning new ways of navigating different aspects of life, as the wisdom shared at the conference will be guided by God’s grace.

The conference will include mentorship sessions, awards, music and arts performances, praise and worship and preaching of the Word of God.

In a separate interview founder and guest speaker for CASM, Kennie Mulinde, concurred with Chikwanda saying most secondary school students struggle to differentiate between influences that could impact their future positively or negatively.

Mulinde shared his personal story of how he once abused drugs and alcohol in secondary school until he attended a youth conference that challenged him to change his life.

“That experience inspired me to become the man I am today and establish my own ministry,” he said.

Last year’s conference was attended by over 300 secondary school students. CASM expects this year’s event to attract more participants and have a greater impact.

Mulinde called upon different ministries to initiate programs that guide students not only intellectually but also in various aspects of life, helping to build responsible citizens who can contribute to the country’s development.

CASM is an interdenominational, campus-based ministry and a branch of Christos Ambassadors Ministries International founded in 2023

By Patience Longwe

Lilongwe, February 4, Mana: Police in Kawale, Lilongwe have arrested 29-year-old, Mikel Juwawo, for attempting to have carnal knowledge with a three-year-old girl child.

According to Kawale Police Spokesperson, Precious Mabvuto Phiri, the incident occurred on February 2, 2025 within Kawale 2 location.

Reports indicate that on the aforementioned date the mother to the child heard an uncontrollable cry of the child in the maize field close to her house and immediately rushed there.

"As she approached the place where she heard the cry, she met Mikel who sensed danger. He was seen coming out of the maize garden while zipping up his trousers in haste.

“Being focused to see what was wrong with the child, she proceeded to where the child and found her alone without underwear,” she said.

Phiri said the suspect tried to escape from the jaws of angry villagers but it was too late as he found himselself in the hands of vigilant residents who brought him to Kawale Police for further action.

Juwa, who hails from Thabwa in Chikwawa will, after completion of paper work, appear in court soon to answer charges of indecent assault.

By Innocent Chamtulo

Mulanje, January 28, Mana: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Malawi on Monday engaged Mulanje District stakeholders on disinformation during an election period.

MISA Malawi Chairperson Golden Matonga said as Misa Malawi they have conducted similar sessions with other districts in order to furnish them on how they can deal with disinformation-related cases as the country heads towards September 2025 polls.

“Peaceful transfer of power during an election is very important for the development of the country. Therefore people from the grassroots level must be fed with the right information for them to make the right decisions and prevent indulging in activities that might fuel violence during elections,” he said.

He said Misa Malawi is implementing the 'I verify' initiative, which will enable members of the public to inquire about election issues that they have heard about through internet sites, and Whatsapp forums that will be handled by MISA.

“Misa has assembled a team of experts that will be able to verify the information and give feedback as well as disseminating to other people,” he said.

Mulanje District Commissioner David Gondwe hailed the initiative saying that it has come at the right time, as the project will help to clarify allegations that surround general elections in September 2025.

“Disinformation often stimulates negative emotions, such as fear, anger, and distrust, to manipulate individuals into believing false or misleading information. Therefore, it is important that district members engage grassroots people to avoid such emotions among people,” he said.

By Mary Makhiringa

Balaka, January 28, Mana: Local councils in the country have been asked to fully utilize and maximize local revenue collection in their districts, which local business investors always bring as this will improve the financial status core at the councils.

This comes amid concerns that came Monday in Blantyre, as District Commissioner for Balaka, Tamanya Harawa presented how the council performed during the last financial year, during the 2025-2026 budget review session with the National Local Government Finance Committee (NGLFC).

Harawa said, among other challenges, Balaka has been getting inadequate and inconsistent funding from the treasury, which he observed, affected their day-to-day service delivery.

“As a way of cushioning ourselves from financial problems, Balaka District Council has developed the Quinquennial Valuation Roll (QVR) in which all businesses and dwelling houses were revalued so that the council starts collecting more money for its day-to-day activities.

“We also would like to start utilizing our bus depot, we know the depot can be used by big bus companies as their offices, taxi operators, as well as minibuses, can also be utilizing the same for our good,” he said.

Harawa also disclosed that the council with support from Centenary Bank intends to start electronic payments in their strong hold markets so that revenue is enhanced.

He also noted that in the last financial year, Balaka District Council has managed to pay all outstanding salary arrears to its direct employees as one step forward in making sure that service delivery is enhanced.

“We know that when an employee is not motivated, he or she cannot perform well in his or her duties, that is why although we had arrears for five months when we started the previous financial year, we tried and settled all before December,” he added.

On his part, Director of Infrastructure and Economic Development at NGLFC, Paul Chipeta urged all councils to always strive for more revenue so that service delivery is not compromised.

“At first, councils used to complain that funding is inadequate, we have since changed some things. For example, councilors’ honoraria are being funded by the NGLFC not from the monthly funding, yet councils are still complaining of funding gaps, that is why we are urging councils to be proactive in local revenue collection.

 “The local revenue performance that they have presented needs to be checked by endorsing several measures to enhance revenue collection. They need to enhance awareness to the locals on the need to pay tax, as well as improving service delivery to the people so that the citizen in turn can pay the much-needed tax,” Chipeta said.

However, Chipeta commended Balaka District Council for paying all outstanding salary arrears to all its direct employees, saying it was a step forward in enhancing revenue collection.

“I was listening attentively to the budget presentation and I saw that there are no serious issues that need to be worked on when you go back, this also shows the kind of commitment that you have put during the entire budget formulation process,” he said.

In a separate interview, Balaka District Council Director of Planning and Development, Chris Nawata said the council has already seen potential in the mining companies, which are exploring mining opportunities for various minerals in the district.

“We are geared to make sure that Balaka must also benefit from the various mining activities happening in a lot of areas so that the council increases its local revenue base; thereby, enabling good service delivery to the locals,” he said.

In local revenue, Balaka intends to collect K345 million in 2025-2026 against K231 million last financial year.

By Abednego Sibale

Nkhata Bay, January 28, Mana: Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have applauded National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) for its efforts in addressing food insecurity through the provision of loans for agricultural inputs to smallholder farmers in Malawi.

The remarks were made Tuesday at Chintheche by Fyson Chodzi who represented NGOs when NEEF distributed 308 bags of fertilizers on loan to 55 smallholder farmers.

"NEEF through this initiative is doing a great job in embracing food security efforts across the country.

“We also attest that the initiative is being conducted transparently," Chodzi said.

He also commended NEEF for establishing its offices in rural areas, thereby making it easy for farmers to access the organization’s services.

“This programme contributes to the growth of the country’s economy besides promoting financial inclusion. The initiative does not only benefit clients of the farm input loan facility but also contributes to the overall growth and development of the country,” he said.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Benedicto Chambo said it is the aim of the government to eradicate food insecurity in the country.

“To achieve this the programme is empowering smallholder farmers who have the potential to engage in crop production but lack necessary resources,” said Chambo.

Chambo also encouraged farmers to utilize fertilizers and loans responsibly so they do not face challenges when paying the loans.

Executive Director for NEEF, Humphrey Mdyetseni, emphasized the importance for the clients who have benefited from the loan facility to ensure that they pay back the loan for the program’s sustainability.  

"We are today distributing 308 bags of NPK fertilizer, worth K386,000,000 to 55 people who are organized in 11 groups here at Chintheche,” said Mdyetseni.

Chairperson of the Tikolole Group, Brenda Kaunda said members of the groups will work hard in their fields to realize maximum benefit from the initiative.

 Senior Chief Malanda of Nkhata Bay thanked the government for initiating the intervention and pledged to encourage the benefitting clients to repay their loans.

In a related development, NEEF also distributed 388 bags of fertilizer to 76 smallholder farmers who are in 14 groups.

By Ruth Kumwenda

Blantyre, January 28, Mana: Ministry of Tourism through the Department of Tourism and Hotels Board has closed some of the tourism enterprises in Blantyre for failing to comply with operational standards.

The facilities lacked the required tourism and hotel board licenses; hence, did not meet the minimum standards for operation.

Malawi Institute of Tourism (MIT), Alendo Hotel, Max & Sherry Dine and Lounge, La Carvena and Cafe, Serenity, Elite Lodge, including Cassim Car Hire are among the tourism enterprises, which have been shut down in Blantyre.

Speaking during the inspection tour, Regional Tourism Officer for the South, Gift Mwale emphasized the importance of compliance in maintaining the integrity of Malawi’s tourism sector.

“Every tourism enterprise is supposed to operate with a valid tourism and hotel license which is issued after meeting minimum standards. The closure is because all those that are on the list have not met the minimum standards.

“There are some who meet the minimum standards and were given licenses but could not pay for the license and they were operating without a valid license which is illegal. So, they have also been closed because they are not complying with standards,” explained Mwale.

Mwale clarified that each enterprise was given a comprehensive inspection report detailing specific issues that needed to be addressed and was warned several times.

“Actually, those that are being closed were inspected three times before but still could not comply;  that is why we are undertaking this exercise to enforce the law,” said Mwale.

Meanwhile, the ministry has urged tourism entities to rectify the identified issues before resuming operations. The units have also been assured that the ministry will revisit to open their services.

The ministry earmarks closing over 200 tourism enterprises in the Southern Region with at least 83 in Blantyre alone. The sector is expected to intensify the inspection exercise in other districts.  

By Patience Longwe

Lilongwe, January 28, Mana: Minister for Higher Education Dr Jessie Kabwila has commended Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) for coming up with different interventions that continue to shape the future of the country.

Kabwila was speaking on Tuesday after conducting a familiarization tour at the school.

She said her visit to LUANAR was aimed to see excellent work being done including exploring how they can strengthen their collaboration.

"We can happily say that LUANAR remains a centre of excellence that is producing graduates who are not only knowledgeable but also ready to tackle the pressing issues of our time,” she stated.

On his part, Vice Chancellor, at LUANAR, Professor Emmanuel Kaunda emphasized the institution's goal to make partnerships with fellow academic institutions, governments and organizations.

"These collaborations are aimed to increase LUANAR's educational and research capacities. I have confidence that under Dr. Kabwila’s leadership, LUANAR will receive the necessary support to drive its mission forward,” he said.