By Sarah Phiri

Mzimba, February 13, mana: Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC)’s District Elections officer for Mzimba District Chrispin Chakhumbira has cautioned female political party aspirants in the district to refrain from politics of castigating other aspirants ahead of the 2025 September 16^th Tripartite elections as this is against the law.

Speaking during an interface meeting with Women female aspirants organized by Women’s Legal Resources Centre (WOLREC) in partnership with Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (OXFAM) Malawi and its stakeholders on Wednesday in Mzimba, Chakhumbila stressed the need to be responsible in expressing their freedom of speech as politicians.

“Some of you are about to compete in primary elections for ward councilors and member of parliament seats in your political parties, please respect your competitors to avoid tarnishing your image and breaking the law” he said.

 Chakhumbila also advised each participant on the need to know their geographical boundaries to avoid reaching out to the wrong audience.

“Due to the recent constituency and ward demarcations, I urge each one of you to come to our offices to know which centers are within your ward/constituency so that you do not waste your time and resource approaching people who are outside your boundary” he also said.

He further stressed the need for each aspirant to desist from the culture of handouts “people should love you because of your commitment to the development of your area and your manifesto not because of bribing them with money, food and other things “he added.

Coordinator for the community policing branch in the Department of Victim Support Unit for Mzimba Police Station Sub Inspector Peter Chima called upon all the aspirants to report any threats, and verbal and physical attacks to their nearest police stations.

“It is our duty as police to protect people and property therefore, I urge all of you to report and seek protection from us whenever you feel your rights are being violated. Some of the ignored but recurring abuses include; insults, removal of flags and podiums, and interrupting political rallies among others.

One of the Aspirants, Kettie Nthengwa who is preparing to compete for primary elections as a councilor for Mzimba Boma ward under Perekezi constituency has expressed gratitude to WOLREC AND OXFAM for the support.

“As a first-timer contesting in politics, I am deeply thankful to these organisations for the mental and financial support they are giving us. Money is a big challenge to us women so for them to assist us with nomination fees and training to prepare us before elections is relieving and a great win to us" she said.

Country Director for OXFAM Malawi Lingalireni Mihowa, has revealed that they are working with several stakeholders to politically empower women aspirants.

“We are working with the media to produce programs and stories that will mobilize the masses to vote for women and the youth. This will help change people’s perceptions of women” she said.

Mihowa also stated one of the strategies they have used is to work with political parties to create a conducive environment in their politics for female aspirants to achieve a 50/50 campaign.

 “From research we conducted, most women complained that they are isolated on important matters and face abuses that prompted us to engage the political leaders and negotiate with them to accept the women compete fairly” she said.

The project, Promoting Gender Transformative and Youth Inclusive Democracy in Malawi, targets to support 64 female aspirants from Mzimba District with funding from the European Union and OXFAM.

By Mary Makhiringa

BALAKA, February 14, Mana: Deputy Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture Joyce Chitsulo on Thursday challenged all councils in the country to always strive to give outstanding projects.

Chitsulo said, that giving to the community substandard projects is the same as denying the beneficiaries their right to development.

She said this in Balaka, when she toured Kwitanda and Chiyendausiku Maternity Wings which were constructed through District Development Fund and Hospital Rehabilitation Fund respectively and Rivirivi Extension Planning Area constructed through Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) funds.

Said Chitsulo: “I am very impressed and commend the council for putting up such magnificent structures. For example, the Chiyendausiku Maternity Wing that we saw, was my first time seeing that kind of maternity wing in Malawi, and you would think that it is not in Balaka. It is very beautiful, durable and standing.

“We are in the modern times, and we expect our structures that we come up with to be modern ones so that our people also access modern services.”

However, the Deputy Minister cautioned Balaka District Council to always strive to be the best and avoid losing out on GESD funds like how it happened during the 2023 financial year.

“The council lost almost K600 million which is a huge sum of money that could have helped in building more developmental structures for the people of Balaka,” she said.

District Commissioner for Balaka Tamanya Harawa assured the people of Balaka that measures were already taken to ensure that no funds are lost due to any form of failure.

“No leader would want to fail, and failing to access GESD funds was not deliberate, but it was because of desperation as you know in the very same year our district hospital was gutted down by fire. So, the council utilized some funds not meant for it to purchase hospital pots so that patients at the facility are provided with food during their stay.

“Let me assure the people of Balaka that we are so keen and following the rules of the game especially the requirements and doing all due diligence so that we do well in all aspects, so we are forward moving on,” he said.

The DC therefore revealed that even though the council missed out on GESD funds, they managed to construct tangible infrastructure such as Community Day Secondary School at Nkasi where learners used to walk over 15 Kilometers to school, and through the funds that they will secure in the 2025-2026 financial year, they will construct more classroom blocks and teachers houses at the same school so that it is a complete package.

Member of Parliament for Balaka West Bether Ndebere hailed Government for what she described as true love to the people of Balaka through the various development activities that the district has seen over the years.

Kwitanda Maternity Wing was constructed during the 2022/2023 financial year to the tune of K49 Million, Chiyendausiku Maternity Wing was constructed during 2024/ 2025 financial year to the tune of K797 Million and Rivirivi was constructed in the 2021/ 2022 financial year to the tune of K338Million.

By Previous Mwakifuna

Nsanje, February 14, Mana: Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare Jean Sendeza in the week visited Nyamithuthu camp in Nsanje to appreciate welfare of Mozambican asylum seekers and urged Nsanje District Council to speed up food distribution to asylum seekers to meet their food and nutritional needs.

The minister’s tour came after reports that the camps had a short supply of food to cater for the increasing number of asylum seekers coming in from Mozambique.

“The ministry is aware of the issues affecting the asylum seekers. The council needs to make their logistics faster to cut the needs of the camps especially food” Sendeza added.

Sendeza further commended Nsanje District Council and its various partners for providing support to the asylum seekers soon after they arrived in the district, saying, “Providing support to the asylum seekers is a national and humanitarian duty,”

Nsanje District Commissioner, Dominic Mwandira said the council will engage with relevant partners to speed up food distribution.

The district Commissioner therefore hailed all partners for their various support towards the Mozambican asylum seekers.

In his remarks, Nyamithuthu camp chairperson, Jasi Daster said the asylum seekers appreciate support from Nsanje Council and partners though there was a need to speed up food supply,

“We are grateful for what government and its partners are doing so far. Food is another issue that needs to be investigated,” he added.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) Representative to Malawi, Kwame Modeste also applauded the Malawi Government for being accommodative and supportive to the Mozambican asylum seekers.

“Our priority is to support Malawi to protect these asylum seekers until they return home,” Kwame added.

Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Refugees in Malawi, Ivy Chihana, hailed the UNHCR for supporting government and others partnering in caring for refugees and asylum in campos, citing the Malawi Red Cross Society and World Food Programme’s humanitarian support.

There are more than 7,000 asylum seekers in Nsanje District.

By Sellah Singini

Lilongwe, 14 February, Mana: Judges for the Dolo Kwambiri Amavotera Chakwera music challenge are set to select 15 songs out of 212 songs that were submitted for the competition from various artists in the music industry.

The judges include musician Graiton GD Pasanje of the Dare Devils music group, music producer Tapps Bandawe and Sophie Mponda.

Speaking in an interview, one of the judges for the competition, Tapps Bandawe, said the judges started their camping yesterday on Thursday in Lilongwe to select 15 songs for the next round of the competition and will finish their task on Sunday.

He said the judges are well prepared for the task as artists are putting their talents and dreams in the judges’ hands and that they will take the task very seriously because it is about pushing the talent forward.

“The criteria we are going to use is going to be based solely on an individual's talent. It is our first time meeting as a panel of judges, so when we meet later during the day, we are going to decide what categories we are going to choose. whether it's creativity 10 points, songwriting 10 points, vocal range, whatever it is. So, we will put together the right criteria,” Bandawe said.

In his remarks, one of the organizers of the challenge Yikamikani Chinguwo said the judges have been given four days to shortlist 15 songs that will be uploaded on the Dolo Amavotera Chakwera website so that the public can choose five winners out of the 15.

He said the public will start voting for the best five winners latest on Tuesday next week.

The competition, dubbed Dolo Kwambiri Amavotera Chakwera, will see winners walk away with K5 million each.

The music challenge was introduced by Minister of Labour Vitumbiko Mumba during last year’s youth concert held at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe.

By Chisomo Kambandanga

Nkhata Bay, February 13, Mana: Director of Education and Sports in Nkhata Bay, Votie Mboweni has disclosed that 60 more public primary schools in Nkhata Bay will be benefiting from the Building Education Foundations through Innovation and Technology (BEFIT) program in the next academic year.

In an interview Thursday during media engagement event organized by Nkhata Bay Gouncil and Organization for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development Initiative (OSSEDI), Mboweni said this is a plus to the district, as more learners will be exposed to the technology.

"I can confirm that an assessment of schools has been completed, and 60 additional schools will join the current 29 participating schools.

"This means more learners will benefit from the programme, which aims to improve foundational literacy and numeracy skills using innovative technology and teaching methods through the tablets," he said.

He therefore expressed optimism that by 2029 the program will be rolled out in all 202 schools in the district.

Project Manager for OSSEDI, Alick Makiyi noted that the programme has shown improved performance in mathematics and increased attendance of leaners in Nkhata Bay.

"Putting all programmes in Chichewa has not only helped learners understand all 4000 programmes easily but also helped them to understand the language easily," he added.

He therefore said that the involvement of the media will help publicize the programme to rural areas.

"Many people are unaware of the programme, and there are misconceptions that need to be cleared.

"We're confident that media platforms will help share correct information, contributing to the programme's sustainability," Makiyi said.

However, Makiyi expressed concerns about implementation challenges, including topography in Nkhata Bay, which makes weekly monitoring difficult and malfunctioning gadgets affecting school tasks.

BEFIT is a Malawi government's program being implemented by Ministry of Education across the country and through OSSEDI in Nkhotakota and Nkhata Bay aiming at improving the foundational literacy and numeracy skills of all primary school learners in standard 1-4 by use or tablets.

By Ernest Mfunya

Mangochi, February 13, Mana. In response to the recent floods that affected communities in Mangochi, CARE Malawi has donated Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) items worthy k5 Million to Mangochi District Health Office, aimed at promoting hygiene and preventing the spread of diseases among flood survivors that are currently sheltering in camps.

Floods affected over 1500 households, and three people died while 48 others sustained injuries in Traditional Authorities (TAs) Chimwala, Mapira and Mponda.

Speaking during a symbolic handover ceremony of the items at Mangochi District Hospital on Wednesday, Care Malawi Project Manager, Chimwemwe Gremu said the organization thought it wise to support the survivors because of the floods, which has affected their livelihood.

Gremu said his organization is implementing a project called Malawi Drought Response project in Traditional Authorities Chiunda, Chowe, Namabvi and Makanjira, targeting 3000 households.

"We decided to make a donation of WASH items because of the floods which affected communities in T/As Chimwala, Mponda and Mapira, who are currently staying in camps. We have donated 1000kgs of chlorine powder, 100 H2S strips and 1200 tablets of soap to support the survivors," said Gremu.

District Environmental Health Officer (DEHO) for Mangochi District Health Office (DHO), Chimwemwe Jella described the donation as timely, observing it will go a long way in supporting the district to promote hygiene in the established camps.

Jella said the wash items are very important for the DHO to enhance safety and health status of the people in the communities.

"The chlorine will be used to treat the water that people are using on daily basis. The water testing kit is meant to monitor the quality of water and the soap for the people's normal hygiene routine," added Jella.

He therefore urged stakeholders in the district to continue supporting the DHO for it to be able to provide integrated health services and wash items in established camps.

Apart from WASH and nonfood items, care Malawi will also through the project distribute cash amounting to K92,500 for three months to selected survivors.

By Joel Phiri

Mzimba, February 13, Mana: Chairperson for M’mbelwa District Council, Morgan Tembo has heaped praise on councillors and Members of Parliament (MPs) in Mzimba for nodding to the council’s proposed 2025/2026 annual financial budget pegged at K67 billion.

Speaking in an interview on Wednesday after passing the budget, Tembo said people living in Mzimba are looking to have various projects from the money in the budget.

‘‘There are schools and bridges that need to be constructed, dilapidated structures that need to be renovated and roads that need to be upgraded. All these will now be possible with the funding that has been approved’’, said Tembo.

The budget approval did not however pass easily as Member of Parliament for Mzimba South, Emmanuel Chambulanyina Jere expressed concerns on how developments funded by Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) funds are distributed in constituencies.

Jere observed that most GESD projects have been concentrated in Mzimba Solola and Mzimba East Constituencies leaving other constituencies with little developments from the GESD Funding, estimated at K1.6 billion.

‘‘There are some constituencies that are benefiting more from GESD funds than others. We need to distribute developments fairly without side-lining others,’’ said Chambulanyina Jere.

“If the GESD funds cannot be used to develop the areas fully, let authorities appeal to the donors if they could allow us to pool the funds and embark on one big development project that will benefit all people of Mzimba other than coming up with piecemeal funding that are not helping areas have impactful projects’’, said Chambulanyina.

He cited the state of most roads as being in a very bad state and if GESD funds can be pooled together and buy a grader it would be used to upgrade all roads in various constituencies to facilitate easy mobility.

‘‘Some of these developments such as school blocks, can be constructed using Constituency Developments Funds (CDF). Let us use GESD funds for big projects that an individual MP cannot manage to do using CDF funds’’, he said.

However, Tembo said the suggestion by Chambulanyina Jere to have one big project is untenable because every politician wants to have projects in their areas to impress his people and there is little chance that other MPs and councillors would settle for the one big-for-all project.

In his response, District Commissioner for Mzimba, Rodney Simwaka said projects are initiated and agreed by the members of development committees and there was need for the committee to scrutinize all projects by various constituencies before allocating them.

Among others, in the budget for 2025/2026, personal emoluments have been pegged at K45 billion, the development budget stands at K17 billion while the operational budget is pegged at K4.6 billion.

Among other proposed projects in the budget include the acquisition of land for residential and commercial plots at Euthini and the construction of access roads at Raiply Malawi Limited.

Others are construction of a staff house and VIP toilet at Chipho and the construction of two-span bridge at Emazwini.

The budget will be financed by three windows of government and donor transfers and locally generated revenue.