By Aisha Chiwaya

Salima. December 4, Mana: Care Malawi on Tuesday commenced distribution of relief money aimed at curbing cases of malnutrition in Salima District as part of El Nino response.

Beneficiaries, that have been drawn from Traditional Authorities (TA) Pemba, Ndindi and Maganga, will receive K140, 000 for two months until January 2025.

Speaking during the launch of the exercise, District Nutrition Officer for Salima District Hospital, Macdonald Mtengula, highlighted that the intervention is expected to benefit 1,544 households targeting expectant mothers, malnourished children and the elderly.

"The funds will assist to buy six food groups to improve their health for two months," he said.

Mtengula expects that the intervention will improve nutrition status of the beneficiaries if they use the money wisely.

TA Maganga commended Care Malawi for the exercise saying it will help reduce hunger.

"My area was greatly affected by drought as such most households are not food secure. Therefore, we appreciate such gestures from well-wishers and we ask others to emulate it," she said.

One of the beneficiaries of the project, Agness Zwaki, described the cash she received as timely.

“Last season we did not harvest due to El Nino weather conditions. We were worried as to how we would sustain ourselves and our families but we are good to go with this money,” she said.

The beneficiaries are also expected to receive 50 kilogram of maize in the next two months.

Care Malawi is distributing the funds in partnership with GIZ through the government of Malawi.

By Richard Kagunda

Kasungu, December 4, Mana: Principal Secretary for Department of Procurement and Supply Services, Chikumbutso Mtumodzi, has emphasized the need for transparency and accountability in procuring and supplying of government commodities saying this helps to prevent all forms of corruption.

Mtumodzi said this in Kasungu on Wednesday when he visited and inspected the works of Central Government Stores offices in the district.

He said his office has come up with an action plan that is geared to provide proper guidance on how workers under the department and other government institutions must conduct themselves during procuring and supplying of commodities.

"We are on tour checking sub-offices under the department to correct any anomalies that were there and appreciating the positive things therein so that the action plan that we have put in place works efficiently and becomes a success.

"Generally, works under the department are going on quite well as more people have realized that commodities procured from the department are of good prices and are recommended by the government," Mtumodzi said.

He added: "The action plan will enable workers in government institutions not to go astray when procuring and supplying. Soon we will be distributing leaflets containing all the information about us."

Supplies Assistant for Central Government Stores in Kasungu, Joseph Kalenje, said it is paramount for ministries, departments and agencies to be working hand in hand with his office thereby helping that government funds are not lost or exploited.

"It is paramount for them to be working with us because government money flows from one institution to the next and this is one way of combating crookedness and corruption.

"Besides that, when they work with us only one quotation is provided to them to procure several commodities which is not the case when they do the procurement with other departments outside government," Kalenje said.

He pointed out that one of the challenges the department faces is that most entities are not aware of their presence in the district and urged them to take note and open up to work with them.

The Department of Procurement and Supply Services was set up by an Act of Parliament to procure, manage and dispose of suppliers or assets required for public use in ministries, departments, and agencies.

By Prisca Mashushu

Lilongwe, December3, Mana: Deputy Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture, Owen Chomanika, has hailed national arts and heritage workshop as crucial in promoting culture in the country.

He made the remarks Wednesday at Crossroads Hotel in Lilongwe during a two-day workshop, which aims at increasing national awareness, understanding and appreciation of the mandate, powers and operations of national arts and heritage in the country.

The Minister said the coming in of the national arts and heritage will help to make the industry robust and big by promoting competitiveness and innovation from different people of the country.

“The workshop has underscored important policies that matter which includes promoting cultural exchange, building community identity through traditional dances and music, folktales and crafts, literature and poetry, culinary traditions, language dialects and others.

“We are now going to be able to actualise arts and heritage policies on the ground since we are good at making policies without implementing them,” he explained.

Acting Deputy Executive Secretary for the Malawi National Commission for UNESCO, David Mulera, said everyone should actively participate and contribute to the issues of arts and heritage since it plays a crucial role in everyday life.

“The workshop has helped participants to make policies implementable on the ground.

“It will help to address and strengthen cultural arts and heritage activities since it contributes not only to the economy of the country but also is a source of employment and entertainment to the native people,” he said.

Coordinator for the Chewa Heritage in Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique, Senior Chief Lukwa, thanked government for implementing cultural heritage saying it will help traditional leaders to obtain resources for it’s operations from government easily.

“This is going to help expose our culture to other countries thereby attracting foreigners that can bring the much needed forex,” he explained.

One of the participants from the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), Roselyn Peter Thompson, said the coming of the law will help boost the industry that has been undermined for a long period of time despite it’s potential to boost sustainable development in the country.

“People will be able to express themselves through music, traditional dances, arts and others due to the availability of the new law passed in Parliament that promote arts and heritage in the country,” she said.

By Andrew Phiri

Balaka, December 4, Mana: Ministry of Finance in partnership with Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) and AC Consulting have urged people in the country to adopt electronic ways of financial transactions on business activities in order for government to save money it spends to print new bank notes.

RBM Senior Analyst, Blaim Mofolo, made the remarks in Balaka on Tuesday when appreciating Digitalization Financial Inclusion and Competitiveness (DFIC) project awareness campaign currently underway in the district.

"This project is encouraging people to use technological ways of sending and receiving money as opposed to old ways whereby people would use cash on every transaction.

"As RBM, we know that with digital money it is hard for someone to lose money either through theft, fire or natural disasters," he said.

Ministry of Finance DFIC Project E-Trade Specialist, Sangwani Mkandawire, said the project is aimed at empowering rural communities and marginalized people on social economic welfare by leveraging in digitization and competitiveness on trade activities.

He said: "Government is committed to providing strong relationships within various social economic programs targeting people in rural communities such as Social Cash Transfer, Village Savings and Loans Groups, among others, hence embracing digital ways of financial transactions would ease the link."

Balaka Digital Financial Services (DFS) Field Supervisor for AC Consulting, Bernadette Maele, said the campaign will help spread technical skills and knowledge on how business operators, consumers and other parties would embrace fast, easy and secured digital ways of financial transactions.

DFIC awareness campaign, commonly known as DFS, is being implemented in Balaka for 20 days with financial support from African Development Bank (AfDB).

It will also run across the country with a major aim of embarking Malawians to a digital financial transaction era.

By Mary Makhiringa

Balaka, December 4, Mana: There was jubilation and dancing in the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Nkaya on Tuesday when the Churches Action in Relief and Development (CARD) launched food distribution to families affected by El Nino.

Many danced that they will now afford three meals a day as about 1,700 households in the area have been earmarked for the program and are expected to receive K90, 000 per month for a period of five months.

CARD Executive Director, Melton Luhanga, said the emergency response has come to give hope to all the people facing serious food problems in the catchment area.

"As an organization, we are responding to the EL-Nino emergency declared by the State President looking at how communities have been negatively affected. This cash distribution is meant to buy food items.

“This initiative comes on top of what we are already doing in the area. We have a program that looks at enhancing climate resilience, which we launched in May. We are aware that this program will suffer when people are hungry, that is why we have come up with this program to make sure that people have food so that they participate in the other program,” he said.

TA Nkaya hailed CARD for what he described as timely response, saying communities were struggling to make ends meet.

"Let me, therefore, ask all the people benefiting from this program to utilize the funds for the intended purposes," he said.

The TA reminded all his subjects not to relax but go back to their fields and try again so that next year, God willing, they may have food to feed their families.

One of the beneficiaries, 51-year-old Loveness Hahjie with physical challenges, expressed gratitude to the organization for the support.

“We were hit hard with the dry spells; we did not harvest anything from our fields. I am so grateful that I have been included to benefit from this program,” she said.

With support from Canadian Food Grains Banks, CARD has rolled out the project to caution families facing serious hunger problems in the area following effects of El Nino, which affected most parts of the country.

By Fostina Mkandawire

Salima, December 3, Mana: As one way of supporting surrounding communities, JCM Solar Company in Salima has distributed farm inputs worth K57 million under its Livelihoods Restoration Programme.

The inputs, which include fertilizer, maize seed, and pesticides, aim to mitigate challenges posed by recent dry spells that affected crop yields in the area.

Speaking Tuesday, during the distribution, JCM Community Liaison Officer, Levison Masamba, said the initiative targets 211 project-affected people and provides resources to enhance food security and economic stability.

“Our goal is to ensure that these communities have sufficient food supplies in the coming year. In addition, the programme, which began in November 2020 and runs until June 2025, also incorporates a revolving loan system through Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) to ensure long-term sustainability," he said.

Masamba said the beneficiaries use smaller quantities of fertilizer to make organic Mbeya manure, an affordable alternative to chemical fertilizer.

One of the beneficiaries from Kanzimbe 2 village, Grace Makanya expressed gratitude to JCM Solar, highlighting the transformative potential of the programme.

“This distribution goes beyond addressing hunger. After harvesting, we sell some produce, which helps us financially. We use the proceeds to tackle household challenges, including paying school fees for our children,” she said.

Makanya also urged fellow recipients to utilize inputs responsibly to combat hunger and foster financial independence.

In her remarks, the Area Extension Development Coordinator for Chinguluwe, Alice Kafunda, described the distribution as a major step toward community development.

“The livelihood Restoration programme is a significant ladder for improving livelihoods and fostering economic growth in this area,” she noted.