By Yanjanani Mendulo

Chiradzulu, May 9, Mana: The Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA), on Thursday,  distributed 1,800 50kg bags of maize to vulnerable beneficiaries in Lupanga Village, Traditional Authority (TA) Likoswe, in Chiradzulu.

The distribution exercise, which took place at Chisombezi Admarc aimed to provide crucial food assistance to households facing food insecurity in the area.

Disaster Risk Management Officer for Chiradzulu District Council, Patrick Mulinga said the initiative is part of the government's ongoing efforts to mitigate the impact of crop failure and economic hardship on vulnerable populations across the country.

"The government is committed to ensure that no Malawian goes to bed hungry. This maize distribution in Lupanga Village is a testament to that commitment because this is their third time to receive this help and we will continue to work tirelessly to reach all those in need," said Mulinga.

Chairperson for Lupanga Area Civil Protection Committee, Doris Matamanda warned the beneficiaries not to sell the maize but to use as it is intended.

"The bags have been distributed to two groups of people; the first group is the ones who were receiving Ntukula pakhomo money and the second group are the local people from the village," added Matamanda.

One of the beneficiaries from the village, Eliza Matope, expressed gratitude for the timely assistance.

 "We are very thankful for this maize. It will help us feed our families during this difficult time," she said.

By Monica Banda

Mchinji, Thursday 9, Mana: Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chairperson, Annabel Mtalimanja, has urged traditional leaders to disseminate messages concerning voter verification exercises to their communities and maintain peace and stability during the time of elections.

Mtalimanja made the remarks on Thursday during a meeting with different stakeholders at Pinda Primary School in Traditional Authority (TA) Pinda in Mchinji.

"It is imperative for registered voters to come forward and verify their records and to make them aware of the coming activity. They can also use the live SMS platform to verify their records which started on May 5 and will continue until the poling day this year," Mtalimanja said.

TA Pinda encouraged his fellow leaders and all stakeholders to promote peace and avoid favouring political leaders in their communities.

" As local leaders, we should avoid favouring particular candidates who are participating in the coming elections and we must disseminate true news. My fellow chiefs make sure that you take the message that you got here to your community members to ensure that everyone has verified his or her voting history as a valid voter," Pinda said.

He also urged people to feel free to go and ask MEC officials if they do not understand what MEC said to prevent people from spreading news that can lead to chaos in communities.

Voter inspection and verification exercises will be conducted in three phases, each of which will last three days.

Phase one will start from May 13 to 15, 2025 while phase two will start from May 21 to 23, 2025, and the final phase will start from May 29 to 31, 2025.

By Alice Ndunya and Doricah Mkwapatira

Machinga, May 9, Mana: A non-governmental organization, Child Care through Malawi Children project, provided books and pens on top of 50 kilograms bags of relief maize to learners from targeted vulnerable households in Machinga District in an effort to address educational disparities among needy learners.

Apart from maize, Child Care distributed ten note books and two pens each to 32 learners from Liwonde and Naungu primary schools on Thursday.

Rebecca Thomas, a standard 5 learner at Liwonde Primary School hailed Child Care for providing educational materials and relief maize in the wake of food scarcity.

“My parents could not afford to buy me writing materials. I could only use three exercise books against nine subjects. This was challenging but I am glad that I am equal to my classmates that have adequate materials,” she added.

A parent, Malita Andiochi from Ntonda Village, Traditional Authority Sitola appreciated the support saying it will motivate her child to concentrate on education.

“My child is a hard worker and bright but lacks writing materials. This pulls him down. Scarcity of food at home is another challenge, this results into prolonged absenteeism,.

“The donated items will definitely help him attend classes each and every school day. I believe good health, leads to a healthy mind,” she added while commending Child Care for responding to plight of most needy learners.

Naungu School Head teacher, Watson Mmanga, lauds the organization's gesture, saying their donation was a timely intervention.

He added that the support will motivate learners to work hard in class, observing that financial challenges at household level affect child education

“Financial constraints triggers absenteeism and drop outs. Such donation is a sigh of relief and hope for learners and I am sure this will motivate them to remain in school,” the school head teacher added.

Team leader for Malawi Children project, Victor Julius said Child Care was obliged to support the needy learners in a bid to promote child education.

“Our primary focus is child protection against issues that hinder academic success, both in schools and at home. By providing the educational support, we aim to promote child education outcomes in Malawi, ultimately empowering children to thrive,

“To ensure that our goals are met, child protection workers conduct regular follow ups at households to monitor effective use of resources that we provide,” he added.

Machinga District Commissioner, Rodrick Mateauma, also applauded the organization for providing educational materials and food to needy learners, saying this will ease school related challenges among learners.

“I know these learners come from marginalized households that only rely on farming. With unfavourable weather in the district, most households did not harvest enough food and this brought a lot of challenges,

“The items will help to ease some of the problems," he said and urged other non-governmental organizations to collaborate with Machinga District council to champion  quality and inclusive education for children from marginalized households.

The organization implements child focus project in various districts in the country including, Zomba and Chiradzulu with financial support from the Catholic Church.

In Machinga, the organization provides educational support to 60 learners in five primary schools with assistance worthy USD 20,000 per school term.

By Santos Zefania

Lilongwe 8 May, Mana:  National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) has called for peaceful co-existence among Malawians, and the organization has urged all to refrain from political violence as the country is preparing for the general election slated for September 16, 2025.

NICE Programs Officer Daniel Malango’s made the call in an interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA) on Thursday, saying as a democratic society, Malawi must raise the bar in order for the country to deliver credible election results.

Malango said people must understand that peaceful co-existence is one of the principles of democracy, which needs to be respected if peace and unity are to be achieved.

“For 2025 general elections to be credible, Malawians should participate peacefully; let us all exercise our democratic right responsibly. A credible election also depends on all of us playing our part with integrity,” he said, adding that people should desist from spreading misinformation.

Similarly, Director for Center for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), Michael Kaiyatsa, hailed the existing partnership between his organization and different stakeholders, including NICE, Malawi Police Service, the District Elections Supervisory Teams, and civil society platforms, with an agenda to curb political violence.

“We recognize voter apathy as a serious challenge. That’s why our civic education includes targeted dialogues with youth, women, and marginalized communities, especially those who feel disillusioned,” explained Kaiyatsa.

He said CHRR and its partners are using relatable messages and local languages, emphasizing the power of each vote to bring about change, and that the stakeholders are also sharing success stories and practical ways in which citizens can influence governance through active participation.

“This election is not just about choosing leaders; it's about shaping Malawi’s future. We encourage voters to focus on issue-based politics, scrutinize candidates’ manifestos, and reject any form of bribery,” said Kaiyatsa in an interview.

He added: “I would also like to remind everyone that peaceful participation strengthens democracy: let us make this election a model for unity and national development.”

National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) and Center for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) are among organizations accredited by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to conduct voter education across the country in view of the 2025 general election.

By Chisomo Kambandanga

Nkhata Bay, May 8, Mana: Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) District Elections Officer for Nkhata Bay, Peter Mukhula, has urged traditional and religious leaders in the district to mobilize their subjects to verify their voter details during voter verification exercise.

Speaking, Tuesday during voter verification and inspection sensitization meeting with traditional and religious leaders in the area of Sub Traditional Authority Mndola, Mukhula said the exercise is scheduled for May 21-23, 2025.

According to Mukhula, the meeting was aimed at equipping the leaders with the knowledge on the importance of voters to verify their details ahead of the September 16, 2025 General Elections.

"We are meeting with traditional and religious leaders across the district to disseminate information about the upcoming voter verification exercise.

This is one of the ongoing exercises in preparation for the general elections and we urged the leaders to take the message to people so that they turn out in large numbers for the exercise," said Mukhula.

He added that the exercise was important as it will rectify issues such as spelling errors, mismatching names and facial elements which cannot be corrected on the polling day.

“Those who lost their voter registration certificates or identity cards can still participate in the exercise by providing their names and dates of birth,” he said.

Mukhula informed the leaders that voter verification can also be done through phones by dialing *2509# and entering the voter registration number starting with "G" or National Identity number and that the service is free.

In his remarks, Sub Traditional Authority Mndola said the leaders are geared to mobilize their communities.

"As local leaders, we have a responsibility to ensure that our people are aware of their rights and responsibilities.

We will work closely with the MEC in mobilizing people so that the exercise becomes a success.

Mndola expressed optimism that the electronic verification process will help reduce congestion in centres and save time for people.

Consolidated preliminary figures of registered voters indicate that Nkhata Bay has 107, 314 registered voters with 186 polling centres.

By Doricah Mkwapatira

Machinga, May 8, Mana: Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP)’s lean season top up support participants in Machinga have hailed government and its development partners for providing support that helped them build resilience during the recent past dry spell.

The participants expressed their gratitude on Wednesday when Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare officials visited the district’s traditional authorities Sitola and Nsanama to appreciate how the social support programmes have contributed to better livelihood.

A 57-year-old Leonard Mwakhula, a father of seven children, from Mtila Village, Group Village head Napwanga, Traditional Authority Sitola, testified how the SCTP, popularly known as Mtukula Pakhomo, improved his household’s income and how the lean response food package addressed food challenges during the dry spell.

“We were very poor; Mtukula Pakhomo has been a game changer to me. I invested some of the cash in my mat weaving business, which brings more returns to my family,

“From the business profit, I am able to send my four children to school, besides buying livestock that will sustain me even if Mtukula Pakhomo phases out,” explains Mwankhula, adding that he, also, received food in the lean season that bailed him out of difficult moments of acute food shortage.

The father of seven commended government and development partners for responding to the lean season food insecurity.

Another participant of the lean season response package, Patuma Sailesi, 87, from Group Village head Kwilasya, Traditional Authority Sitola, said the intervention saved her from starvation.

“I was included in the maize distribution programme and it saved my household as I did not harvest anything at all due to lack of fertilizer, besides poor rain pattern.

“With a full stomach, I now strongly carry out economic activities like selling fruits for more income to buy basic needs,” she explained, thanking government for “its timely intervention”.

Another elderly participant, Esnart Walasi, 80, from Gawo Village, Traditional Authority Nsanama said she used to sleep on empty stomach and that her nutrition status was critically compromised.

“I could spend two to three days with no food, and this put me at the verge of malnutrition. After receiving maize for three months, I have been eating consistently and I am strong enough to interact with my grandchildren as my health has been restored,” she said

Machinga District Council’s Principal Social Welfare Officer, Daniel Zidana, has since expressed happiness with the testimonies from the SCTP participants.

“I commend the beneficiaries for their dedication to this programme. This demonstrates that they are keen to work with the vision of the ministry in achieving livelihood transformation.

“To achieve total excellence, I urge relevant officials to work on meeting the timeline of events to improve inconveniences that come with delays in carrying out SCTP activities,” he said.

Machinga District has 18,173 SCTP participants, including 61,827 under expansion programme, totaling 80,000 people benefiting from the whole social protection programme.

By Yanjanani Mendulo                    

Chiradzulu, May 8, Mana: People from Gomani and Ngusiche villages, Senior Chief Likoswe in Chiradzulu, will soon have better mobility after Chiradzulu Nguludi aspiring legislator for the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), Winston Bergi started the construction of Mapanje Bridge estimated to cost K1.8 million.

Speaking to Malawi News Agency (Mana) during a visit to the site on Wednesday, Bergi said good roads and bridges are important for development.

“This bridge is more than just cement and poles. It will connect people, help them go to markets, schools, hospitals, and make their lives better,” he said.

The shadow member of parliament said many people, especially farmers, struggle to take agricultural produce to markets as they could not cross Mapanje River during rainy season.

Group Village Head Gomani thanked Bergi for listening to the people’s concerns over mobility, saying; “For a long time, we have suffered. This bridge will end our struggles and make grow as a community,”.

He also asked villagers to take care of the bridge once it is finished and warned people in the area against stealing project materials, saying the law will take its course.

Mirriam Keyala from Ngusiche Village, said the bridge will facilitate transportation of goods and services.

“Vehicles will transport our farm produce without problem, Learners will no longer miss classes during the rainy season because the bridge will help them cross safely to schools” she said.

Works on the bridge have already started with completion expected soon.

By Ella Mlenga

Rumphi, May 8, Mana: Director of Education and Sports for Rumphi District, Fides Msowoya, has commended government for its efforts of improving female teachers lives by providing them with easy transportation through the Malawi Education Reforms Programme (MERP).

Msowoya made the commendation on Wednesday during a media tour, adding that the bicycles have significantly enhanced the district's education standards by providing better and easy transportation to female teachers.

"I am very grateful that government has also considered giving female teachers bicycle for easy transportation. This development will tremendously improve education standards in Rumphi district," she said.

However, she appealed to government to prioritize addressing accommodation and transportation challenges that female teachers are facing, so that they do not run away from teaching in rural areas.

Nellie Chawinga, Head teacher at Kakuyu, one of the primary schools in the district, welcomed the initiative, describing it as timely.

"As a way of safeguarding this development, we already have existing by-laws and regulations in place to protect the bicycles and ensure it continues to serve future generations," Chawinga said.

She also advised fellow headteachers against personalising the bicycles, emphasizing that they are intended to serve all teachers in the district and promote equitable access to transportation.