MANAonline
First Lady Meets IFRCRC boss
By Gift Chiponde
Lilongwe, 29 May, Mana: First Lady, Madame Monica Chakwera has expressed gratitude for the good work that the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRCRC), through the Malawi Red Cross Society, is doing in Malawi, especially after Cyclone Freddy and the recent floods in the country.
She made these remarks on Tuesday, after paying a courtesy call to the Secretary General of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRCRC), Jagan Chapagan, at the IFRC Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland.
Madame Chakwera reiterated her passion towards the work done by the Red Cross, particularly in ensuring that the education of the girl child is not interrupted during times of crisis, considering that girls normally have a limited number of years they can adequately attend school.
She further assured the Secretary General of her commitment to collaborate with IFRCRC in humanitarian programs, considering that the world is still facing many crises.
“The crises Malawi is experiencing are beyond what the country is prepared for,” she said.
During the meeting, Chapagan and his team from the Health and Education departments highlighted different programs being implemented in Malawi through the Malawi Red Cross Society.
He indicated that among priority areas which IFRCRC is focusing on, include support for crisis-related challenges, strengthening the capacity of the Red Cross in Malawi, collaboration with the Ministry of Health on disaster preparedness and planning for re-position preparedness on disaster with the Global Fund.
“Plans to scale up community-based crisis-related response, mitigation, and preparedness are underway”. he said
On education, the IFRCRC through the Danish Red Cross with funding from the European Union provides support to schools to be better and safer places with continued education provision during crises to avoid the disruption of education services as most times, education facilities become temporary places of accommodation.
He stated that plans in education include climate change-related activities – greening schools to be more climate change resilient, assisting in ensuring agriculture practices that are climate resilient, and first aid awareness for teachers and pupils, young people and students, including behavioral change programs and family support, among others.
SCTP transforming the Lupachi community in Nkhotakota
By Wongani Mkandawire
Nkhotakota, May 29, Mana: Some Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP) beneficiaries at Lupachi in the area of Sub Traditional Authority Katumbi in Nkhotakota says the program has made a notable impact on their livelihoods, transforming the entire community.
Speaking in an interview on Monday in Josiya Village, 43-year-old Joseph Nyirenda said he has benefited from the program as he has managed to build a decent house and ventured into livestock production to offer economic support to his family.
Nyirenda who started receiving the money in 2018, said the program has indeed improved his family through a group livestock business they ventured into as a community.
“I am now paying school fees for two of my children to a total tune of MK70,000.00 for Helshima Private School here in Lupachi and another at Ehehleni Community Day Secondary School in Mzimba district and it all started with the little money from Mtukula Pakhomo.
"Let me advise my fellow beneficiaries to invest the money they are receiving in small-scale businesses to become self-reliant for their economic well-being, while preparing themselves to graduate from the program, it is not too late," said Nyirenda.
Another beneficiary in the same community, Juvita Nkhata, a 53-year-old widow said that before enrolling in the programme in 2018, she was struggling to feed her family. Nkhata said she has the responsibility to feed her seven dependants and pay school fees for one of her children.
"I joined a village savings and loans (VSL) group in our community. I have managed to buy pigs and iron sheets for my house using proceeds from the group. Now, I am relying on livestock and VSL operations to feed my family and pay school fees for my child who is in Form 3 at St. Bosco Private School," said Nkhata.
Principal Social Welfare Officer for Nkhotakota district, Oswald Mwale says they continually advise beneficiaries to join VLS groups to develop a saving culture, maximize benefits, and become self-reliant once they exit the program.
Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP) was introduced in the Nkhotakota district in 2018, to support the ultra-poor community with financial support through the Social Support for Resilient Livelihood Program (SSRLP) implemented by the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) with funds from the World Bank through the Malawian Government.
Boat marking and registration exercise launched in the country
By Innocent Chunga
Nkhotakota, May 29, Mana: Pact Malawi, through Restoring Fisheries for Sustainable Livelihoods in Lake Malawi (REFRESH) project on Tuesday launched the boat-marking and registration exercise at Ngala Fish Landing Site in the area of Senior Chief Kanyenda in Nkhotakota district.
Speaking at the event, Director of Fisheries Dr. Hastings Zidana said the boats that operate on the water bodies across the country, will be registered and marked for easy identification a development which he said is expected to help in dealing with barbaric behaviors including illegal fishing activities.
Zidana said the development will go a long way in conserving unique fish species in sanctuaries on Lake Malawi and rivers, as boats will be easily identified using the colors representing their district of origin.
"We have targeted to register 60,000 boats across the country and the exercise will assist us in giving penalties to those breaching Acts,” said Zidana.
He said the Marine Department is also part of the exercise and therefore expects that this will assist with the control of illegal importation of goods on the lake as well.
Pact Malawi-REFRESH Chief of Party, Daniel Jamu said the exercise will assist in ownership of the boats in terms of licensing, observing that by-laws for both marine through inland shipping and Waters, as well as Fisheries Management and Conservation Acts, provides that boats must be registered and licensed.
"We hope the exercise will address the challenges on the lake because this has never been done before. Our local structures as Beach Village Committees are involved to ensure the exercise's successful implementation," said Jamu.
Hassan Phiri, who represented Chairperson for Nkhotakota District Fisheries Association (FA) said they have committed to assist both parties in addressing challenges in water bodies in the district and across the country.
With financial support from Pact Malawi, officials from the fisheries department, marine, Pact, Rumphi, Karonga, Likoma, Nkhotakota, Salima, Dedza, and Mangochi district councils, Chiefs, Beach Village Committees and partners for Pact Malawi attended the event.
The boat marking exercise will be undertaken in partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change through the Department of Fisheries and Marine, according to Zidana.
Thyolo MPLC for a violence free general election campaign.
By Beni Bamusi
Thyolo, May 29, Mana: In an unprecedented display of unity, political party leaders and the Thyolo Multiparty Liaison Committee (MPLC) put aside their differences and joined forces to work towards peaceful 2025 general election.
On Tuesday, the leaders toured Thunga, Bvumbwe, and Goliati trading centers, sending message to the electorate to coexist peacefully and refrain from violence during election campaign period.
Thyolo District Election Officer who is also MPLC Secretary, Daniel Majamanda said this tour will help to have peaceful elections in 2025.
“Touring the trading centers has sent a strong message that even political parties can live together and promote peace in the district. This will be emulated by the party followers in trading centers and will proliferate to the whole district,” he added.
United Democratic Front (UDF) District Governor, Steven Kazombe said the tour was necessary and expressed hope that the message of peace and coexistence was loud and clear enough to reduce political violence and promote coexistence among party followers.
“This move will allow people to walk freely, wearing their party colors without fear of intimidation,” he added.
District Governors of People’s Party (PP), Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) concurred with Kazombe, emphasizing that unity and tolerance among parties will minimize election-related violence and will make the 2025 general elections credible.
The tour was organized by NICE in collaboration with Thyolo MPLC under Boma Lathu Project.
MPs impressed with payment system to tobacco farmers
By Patience Longwe
Lilongwe, May 28, Mana: The parliamentary committee on agriculture and irrigation is impressed that the payment system which caused hurdles to tobacco farmers and hindered them to access their dues on time has been rectified.
In an interview in Lilongwe on Tuesday, Deputy Chairperson for the committee, Ulemu Chilapondwa, acknowledged the challenges which caused delays to effect payment.
"It was a problem to do with a new system whereby they had one company buying in Malawi Kwacha and the rest in United States Dollars. And for them to bring together that system, they had to rework on it and bring a new system to ensure everything is normal," said Chilapondwa.
He said, as a committee, they are happy with what they have heard from both the Tobacco Commission and Auction Holdings on how they have worked tirelessly to have the system working perfectly for the benefit of the farmers.
Public Relations Officer for Tobacco Commission, Telephorus Chigwenembe, said they are impressed with how the committee took interest on how tobacco trading is progressing this season.
"There were some challenges with information technology systems, human resources officers, banks and also delays in payments from some tobacco buying companies. The good thing is that all these issues have been resolved," said Chigwenembe.
Government commits to improving inclusive education
By Sheminah Nkhoma
Lilongwe, May 28, Mana: Deputy Director for Inclusive Education in the Ministry of Education, Lucy Magagula, says government will continue supporting the education sector in order to diversify education system in the country.
Speaking during the opening of a four-day National Inclusive Education Strategy Review workshop in Lilongwe on Tuesday, Magagula said the review will help reflect the unwavering commitment so that no learner is left behind in line with Malawi 2063 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
She said the Ministry finds it imperative to promote inclusion of learners with diverse needs through different interventions in education institutions.
“Government realises the need to intervene in the development of inclusive education because they are a lot of special needs students in the country hence the need for effective partnerships to promote the system,” she said.
According to Magagula, primary schools in Malawi have 193,880 learners with special education needs whereas secondary schools have 11,521 and tertiary has 229 students.
“There is need for collaboration and coordination with other stakeholders to develop a new inclusive strategy in line with the inclusive policy which the Ministry is working towards,” she said.
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Education Office Director, Dr Jill Jupiter Jones, said their organisation shares the same commitments with Malawi Government as it is supporting the implementation of the National Reading Program through the Next Generation Early Grade Reading Activity, also called NRP Nexten, whose goal is to ensure that all children learn to read during the early grades of primary school.
She urged all Malawians and donor partners to continue supporting children with disabilities by bringing projects that can lead to more systematic and sustained improvement to a clear shared national strategy.
Keynote speaker, Jenipher Ngwira, said it is important to embrace inclusive education because they are many children with special needs and disabilities in the country.
Ngwira highlighted that stakeholders and government should have a deep understanding of the concept of disabilities so that they promote inclusion in areas of social, health, human rights and culture.
MEC dates electoral staff ahead of 2025 elections
By Patuma Kachoka
Machinga, May 28, Mana: Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Deputy Chief Elections Officer Harris Potani said electoral staff have a unique role to ensure that next year's general elections are conducted in a free, fair and credible manner.
Potani was speaking Tuesday in Machinga District during a bridging course in electoral administration and voter registration for its members of staff.
He said it was important to hold such training with electoral experts as they are crucial in the electoral process to make the process credible.
"This meeting is important because it will assist the members of staff in their day to day work; for us to serve the Malawian nation better, we want people who are well knowledgeable in their duties.
"So, we want our staff to be on top of the game and if they are excellent in delivery of their work, it means the elections will be free, fair and actually will have credible results," Potani said.
He disclosed that MEC is migrating from the old system to a new system called Election Management Device (EMD) which will be used in most electoral processes, including voter registration.
"For the next registration of voters, we are moving away from the old kit and will be now using the Elections Management Devices. Shortly, we will be recruiting people who will be trained on how to operate these gadgets as we plan for voter registration," he said.
Earlier, Assistant District Elections Officer for Balaka, Davis Konondo, said the training was timely.
"The training will help us to work properly as we are preparing for the elections; the training will give us an opportunity to know the new laws so that we should follow all the new laws that have been approved," Konondo said.
MEC is expected to roll out the voter registration process from September to December 2024.
Proposed legislation to improve ethical conduct
By Levison Lester
Lilongwe, May 28, Mana: Chairperson for Law Commission, Justice John Chirwa, has emphasized the need to legislate Protection of Whistleblower Act, saying this will enhance the culture of reporting malpractices that dwindle individual integrity in the management of public resources.
Speaking during National Validation Conference on the Development of Legislation for the Protection of Whistleblowers in Lilongwe on Tuesday, Chirwa said the enactment of the act will help to deter fraudulent activities in the country.
He further said apart from adequately punishing perpetrators for their actions, whistleblowing will also help nurture the culture of following code of conduct.
"As a democratic nation built on fundamental principles of transparency, accountability and rule of law, adopting legal framework for protection of whistleblowers will foster a safe environment for those who intend to divulge sensitive information on misconduct for the greater good of the country.
"Whistleblowing not only ensures that perpetrators of misconduct are apprehended and punished for their actions, but it also helps to nurture a culture of transparency, integrity and ethical conduct," he said.
In his remarks, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Masauko Chamkakala said the protection of whistleblowers is vital in prosecuting cases, saying people will be able to disclose information of national interest without being intimidated.
He further said the proposed law will not be used for witch-hunting but to promote justice in the course of fighting against corruption.
"DPP is coming in firstly as a policy holder for law reforms, and secondly we provide much needed secretarial services for the law reforms. The law is typically for the protection of whistleblowers in the country. This law will help us to get information which will be used to prosecute cases," he said.
NCST engages Blantyre media on biotechnology
By Evance Chisiano
Blantyre, May 28, Mana: National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) on Tuesday trained Blantyre-based media on biotechnology in a bid for the scribes to appreciate benefits of various bio-technological researches universities in the country carry out to improve on production and as a control to pests and diseases.
NCST Acting Director of Research Lyton Kampira said media training was part of routine process the commission undertakes with various stakeholders in bio-technology.
“We wanted to engage the media so that when the public discuss issues to do with bio-technology, the media should be able to understand as well and interpret the messages for the benefit of consumers of such media products,” he added.
Kampira said NCST observed that there were a lot of myths, misconceptions and misinformation surrounding bio-technology on food and other crops that need to be clarified by stakeholders, including the media.
He, therefore, expressed hope that the trained media would disseminate right information about bio-technology products in Malawi, regulatory framework for bio-technology activities in Malawi and genetically maize confined field trials currently taking place at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR).
“We feel you should know more about bio-technology because you are key players in information dissemination,” Kampira said, adding that there was need to inform Malawians on safety of the bio-technology products and its contribution to sustainable agriculture and small-scale farming.
Journalists from Malawi News Agency, Nation Publications Limited, Times Group, Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Islam, and Mlimi Radio were among those that attended the training workshop.
Mlimi Radio journalist Augustine Mulomole said the training was relevant and informative on issues of bio-technology and genetically modified crops, adding that the knowledge acquired from the workshop will enable the radio to communicate effectively on issues about bio-technology, the mandate of NCST and the role of researchers on bio-technology crop production.
“We will be able to bring to light issues of bio-technology wherever myths and misinformation arise,” Mulomole said.
Others from the academia from Malawi’s higher learning institutions included Professor James Bokosi of LUANAR, who explained on Malawi’s current research on genetically modified maize that will be resistant to army worms attack.
Professor Wisdom Changadeya from the Biological Science Department of the University of Malawi defined bio-technology and explained benefits of biotechnology products, such as a cotton variety currently in use.
NICE engages men in championing women political participation
By Golden Kang'oma
Salima, May 28, Mana: National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Trust, under its Nthawi Yawo Project funded by United Nations Development Program (UNDP), has employed male champions to encourage women participation in the upcoming elections.
The initiative aims to foster inclusive participation of women in Malawi's political landscape.
NICE District Civic Education Officer Queen Mataya highlighted the strategic deployment of male champions.
"The role of the male champions is to try to change the minds of the people in different areas. In Salima we have about 12 Traditional Authorities (T/As), and each T/A has two male champions whose aim is to garner community support for women in politics," she said.
Mataya emphasized the project's goal of widespread public sensitization.
"Our expectation is that they will reach out to as many people as possible, encouraging support for women in politics. We want to empower women to take part in various positions in the 2025 elections," she said.
Mataya added that the male champions will undergo various training sessions to effectively carry out their roles.
Gender Officer for Salima District Council, Friness Samaliya, stressed the importance of male advocacy in this patriarchal society.
"We are calling on these male champions to spread the message. The campaign period is not yet in, but we want to prepare women to show their interest in politics.
"In a patriarchal set-up where men make most family decisions, it's crucial for these champions to penetrate male-dominated communities and encourage fellow men to support women candidates," she added.
Samaliya further explained the focus on male gatherings.
"If men support women, we will see more women surviving in the political arena in Salima," she added.
Bisalomu Gowa, one of the male champions, expressed his commitment to the cause.
"We are going to work tirelessly to ensure that women's participation in politics increases," Gowa said.
The initiative marks a significant step towards enhancing women's political representation in Malawi, aiming to bring about a more inclusive and balanced political environment.
