MANAonline
Mzuzu City residents commemorate World Aids Day
By Tracy Mtegha
Mzuzu, April 19, Mana: Residents of Mzuzu City and surrounding areas on Friday gathered at Kavibale Primary School Ground to commemorate World AIDS Day with a call for enhanced prevention of the pandemic.
Member of Parliament for Lilongwe West, George Zulu, who represented Speaker of Parliament, Catherine Gotani Hara, asked communities to come up with measures that work better for HIV prevention.
He said community members should to be involved in raising awareness about the pandemic and propose what should be promoted and discouraged in the fight against HIV in order to achieve zero new HIV infections by 2030.
“As we continue fighting the spread of HIV and other epidemics, we should also avoid stigmatizing and discriminating against people with HIV and AIDS and refrain from promoting practices which facilitate new HIV infections,” said Zulu.
Director of Health and Social Services for Mzimba North, Dr Naomi Mulwafu, said apart from letting communities lead in the fight against the pandemic, people should also use all the preventive measures to contain the pandemic by, among others, practicing abstinence, faithfulness and condomising.
Mulwafu urged people living with the virus to continue adhering to anti-retroviral therapy for enhanced effectiveness of the therapy and good health.
World AIDS Day is celebrated on December 1 annually.
The event was commemorated under the theme ‘Let community lead in the fight against HIV and AIDS’.
Ministry of Education donates bicycles to female teachers in Balaka
By Mary Makhiringa
Balaka, April 19, Mana: Ministry of Education, through Malawi Education Reform Programme (MERP), has donated 20 bicycles to 20 female teachers in Balaka District as one way of motivating them to teach in the hard to reach areas.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Balaka District Principal Education Officer, Baxter Chakwera, said government has made the initiative as one way of easing mobility challenges teachers in hard to reach areas face when discharging their duties.
He said when female teachers go too hard to reach areas they will motivate learners and the community that it is possible for a girl child to excel in life.
“Apart from the bicycles, these teachers will also be getting a top up allowance of K50,000 and state of the art house with solar electricity that will be built in the schools for the female teachers,” said Chakwera.
According to Chakwera, many hard to reach schools are being shunned which deprives learners from getting quality education.
One of the female teachers who has benefited from the initiative, Shamillah Billy, from Nambira Primary School said the move will motivate more teachers to discharge their duties even in hard to reach areas.
“I was teaching at Mpilisi Primary School, but decided to go to Nambira Primary School and I am the only female teacher at the school.
“The bicycle will go a long way in helping me reach my duty station on time as I am waiting for government to construct a house at the school,” she said.
School libraries to boost learners’ performance in Likoma
By Ireen Mseteka
Likoma, April 19, Mana: Chief Education Officer for Likoma District, Zimulange Mhango, says construction of Chima and Same Primary School libraries in the district will help improve performance of learners once completed.
In an interview on Thursday, Mhango said the libraries, which are being constructed with finances from Constituency Development Fund (CDF), will provide education resources for both learners and teachers.
"The libraries are at the Centre of teaching and learning. These libraries will provide education resources for both teachers and learners, which will lead to improved performance in schools.
"Communities prioritized construction of libraries because they value quality education. Once completed, learners have responsibility to pay back by ensuring that the facilities are properly utilized," said Mhango.
He thanked Member of Parliament (MP) for Likoma, Ashems Songwe, for his efforts in improving education standards in the district saying, leaners can only enjoy quality education if resources are made available.
Likoma District Council Chairperson, Ernest Gulu, said construction of primary school libraries will also enhance reading culture among the learners.
“We thought of constructing libraries in two primary schools to improve education standards. The idea is to ensure that every school should have advanced libraries that will have computers and books. We are looking forward to having them connected to the internet," explained Gulu.
He noted that in the absence of libraries, studying is becoming a challenge to most learners in the district hence affecting their performance in schools including writing and speaking good English.
Moses Dossi remains off to Chikwawa for burial
By Arkangel Tembo
Blantyre, April 19, Mana: Choir members from St Pius Catholic Church were singing, "A Mpingo tsalani ngakhale mundikonda, Ambuye tsogoleleni ndili ndekha,” as the brown casket carrying the remains of late Moses Dossi, a former Member of Parliament (MP) and cabinet minister, was taken inside the church.
Pall bearers were moving in a slow pace while in the background women could be heard crying.
Leading the procession were four priests moving slowly to the altar.
Inside the church, speeches of the bereaved family including the deceased’s children, church members and the Parish priest were made.
At least each and everyone who made a speech described the late Dossi as a dedicated man to the nation and the church.
After the mass the remains of the late Dossi were taken outside the church and people moved out of the church in dejected mood as choir members were changing tunes from A to B.
"Tinali awiri dzana, tinali awiri dzana tinali awiri dzana koma ndatsala ndekha ocheza naye palibe," choir members sung while the casket was being taken outside.
At exactly, 11:20am, the white Mnthunzi hearse left St Pius Church for Chapananga in Chikwawa District where late Dossi will be laid to rest on Saturday.
The late Dossi died Thursday morning at Blantyre Adventist Hospital in Blantyre.
The late Dossi served as MP for Chikwawa West from 1999 to 2004.
During his tenure, he also held the position of Minister of Sports in the Bakili Muluzi administration.
Agriculture key to economic growth – Chakwera
By Eunice Disi
Lilongwe, April 19, Mana: President Dr Lazarus Chakwera has emphasized on the need to exploit opportunities in the agriculture sector as a key factor to accelerating Malawi’s economic growth.
Chakwera made the remarks in Lilongwe on Friday during the official opening of the Agriculture Investment Conference.
He said Malawi’s economic growth depends on agriculture hence the need to invest more in the sector.
“Malawians need to invest more in agriculture as it is the driving force of our economy. I am impressed with the agricultural products that we have as a country; indeed, Malawi is very wealthy.
“Agriculture is for everyone; richest people like Bill Gates invest their money into farming and you that claim to be educated do not want to do the same but want to be in offices,” said Chakwera.
He condemned the primitive kind of thinking where people consider agriculture as for the rural and poor people.
Chakwera appealed to the youths, as well as women, to join hands and combine their smaller scale farms into mega farms which promotes the use of mechanization.
He, therefore, encouraged Malawians not only to depend on rain fed agriculture but also venture into irrigation farming.
Minister of Agriculture, Sam Kawale, concurred with President Chakwera that agriculture plays a pivotal role in stimulation of economic growth.
“Our task is to make sure that agriculture sector thrives in increasing production for domestic use and import substitution through agro processing; that it is mechanized thereby generating forex for the country,” said Kawale.
The two-day conference runs under two objectives of attracting any Malawian with farm land above five hectares to invest in commercial farming by introducing them to various profitable agriculture value chains and supporting services including financing and viable off taker markets, among others.
MOC trains 20 sports administrators in Phalombe
By Doreen Kachingwe
Phalombe, April 19, Mana: Malawi Olympic Committee (MOC) has highlighted the need for sports administrators to have adequate skills for them to execute sports professionally in various sectors.
Phalombe District Council in partnership with MOC organized a three day Sports Management and Development training for 20 sports administrators in sports management and development which ended on Thursday.
In an interview with MOC President, Jappie Mhango, said well-trained sports administrators can help those in the technical areas and athletes with improved execution of sports development activities.
"Sports is divided into three different groups which are administrators, coaches and players, so if there is no good relationship between these three groups, sports industry cannot bring any impact in the country. This training will help sports administrators to gain new skills on how to handle issues in as far as sports in concerned," he said.
Phalombe District Sports Officer, Edward Malumero, hopes the administrators will use the sports management skills acquired to improve sports development in the district.
“Administrators are responsible for making decisions and policies with regards to sports development. We believe that after training them they will be able to execute sports management skills acquired to improve the way we organize and administrate sports activities in the district," explained Malumero.
Phalombe District Council is expecting to produce athletes who can represent the district at regional or national level as a result of the training.
The training is targeting 120 sport administrators in the district.
Malawi set to embrace groundnut industry
By Paul Madise
Lilongwe, April 19, Mana: Minister of Agriculture, Sam Kawale, has reiterated his ministry’s continued collaboration with the private sector to ensure Malawi boosts its chances of supplying consistent and reliable high-quality groundnuts globally.
He was speaking Thursday at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe during a groundnut tour.
The event serves as a cornerstone of Malawi's sustainable agricultural development and innovation strategy to achieve one million metric tons of groundnuts annually by 2030.
Kawale called for more financial support into Mega Farms which ensures Malawian farmers are accessing farming equipment and other farming technologies.
United States Chargé d'Affaires, Amy Diaz, commended Malawi Government for its commitment to support private sector businesses such as Pyxus Agriculture Malawi, to invest and expand into value chains like groundnuts that have significant market growth potential.
She, therefore, urged Government of Malawi to accelerate reforms that diversify the economy and spur responsible private investment.
"The U.S. government remains committed to partnering with the government and people of Malawi to attract transparent and responsible investment and increase jobs, income and exports.
“As an enduring partner, we will continue to support innovative approaches that harness the combined resources of public, private and community actors to improve livelihoods, strengthen resilience, and accelerate Malawi's development aspirations," she said.
Irish Ambassador to Malawi, Seamus O`Gradys, reiterated Malawi's groundnut industry potential in achieving one million metric tonnes of groundnut annually by 2030.
Epilepsy patients for adequate drugs
By Loness Gwazanga
Lilongwe, April 18, Mana: Epilepsy patients in the country have pleaded with government to ensure that necessary drugs are readily available in all health facilities to avoid compromising their wellbeing.
One of the patients, 21-year-old Olivia Melusi, made the call at Ntaja in Machinga District on Thursday during the commemoration of International Epilepsy Day.
She said scarcity of Epilepsy medication is the major challenge the patients are currently facing.
Melusi, a Form Four student, said the situation makes her have regular seizures which affects her education.
"Sometimes we default treatment for months as we are mostly told that the drugs are not available in our nearest health facilities. This has a negative impact on my academic journey to becoming a journalist,” explained Melusi.
Ministry of Health Chief of Health Services (Technical), Dr Lilian Chunda, acknowledged the problem and assured of government's commitment in managing Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), Epilepsy inclusive, to ensure universal health coverage.
"While we still have some Epilepsy drugs in most of the health facilities; we acknowledge the problem. In the past we used to focus on infectious diseases only while neglecting some diseases like Epilepsy.
"A strategic plan is already in place to make sure that neglected diseases are also given the much needed attention because untreated Epilepsy is a life-threatening disorder,” said Chunda.
Epilepsy Association Chairperson, James Tebulo, stressed that government alone cannot manage to satisfy patient needs hence the need for collaboration.
He assured of continued networking with both local and international organizations for convenient access to quality health care.
Epilepsy, which affects people of all ages, is a condition characterised by recurrent seizures. It is ranked among top five causes of global neurological disability.
Globally, 125,000 estimated deaths per year are related to the condition.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), 25 percent of Epilepsy cases are preventable with certain criteria such as preventing head injury, taking adequate perinatal care and avoiding drug use among others.
This year's commemoration was held under the theme Milestones on my Epilepsy journey.
68% of Malawians have access to internet - survey
By Moses Nyirenda
Lilongwe, April 18, Mana: The national survey report on access and use of information and communication technologies by households and individuals in Malawi for 2023 has revealed that 68 percent of the people in the country have access to internet through the use of mobile phones and computers.
The revelation was made on Thursday in Lilongwe during the launch of the survey report which was organized by Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) and National Statistical Office (NSO).
Speaking after launching the survey report, MACRA Director of Economic Regulations, Andrew Nyirenda, said that the percentage of the internet users indicated in the survey report portrays that people in the country are now aware about the benefits of internet.
“According to the data presented on the report of the survey, it shows that a lot of people are now using internet and this means that people are now aware that they can find more information on internet, as well as doing other activities such as businesses and school,” Nyirenda said.
However, he said that through the information presented in the survey report MACRA will lobby government to develop policies that would assist to encourage more people in the country to start using internet.
“We will make sure that the information gathered through the survey should help us to develop policies that would help to attract more people to start using internet services.
“In other countries, 100 percent of the population uses internet, but we are on 68 percent which means we still have a lot of work which we need to do,” he said.
He further expressed optimism that the recent launched survey report would help them as MACRA to come up with the way forward that would help to enhance internet usage among individuals in the country.
Also speaking during the launch of the survey report, NSO Commissioner of Statistics, Shelton Kanyanda, said that the results of the survey they conducted with MACRA would also help MACRA to improve internet connectivity as well reducing the cost of other ICT services in the country.
“This is very important for our colleagues in the regulatory body as you can see the data is collected up to district level, so what we are assuming is that the findings of the survey should be able to improve internet accessibility in different areas where there are challenges.
“They should also be able to reduce prices of other Information and Technology (IT) services the cost shows that it is high; it is very important for our colleagues at MACRA to be able to make adjustments by negotiating with service providers,” Kanyanda explained.
He also said that as NSO they are willing and open to support MACRA in conducting research that would promote the use of internet and IT related services among the people across the country.
Solar energy key to sustainable development
By Sheminah Nkhoma
Lilongwe, April 18, Mana: Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola has urged the public to adopt the use of solar energy as one way of generating electricity for agricultural production.
Speaking during the launch of “Putting Energy to Work” which was held on Thursday at Sunbird Capital Hotel in Lilongwe, Matola said for Malawi to develop there is need to have new strategies in the energy sector.
“We want to achieve the Agricultural, Tourism and Mining (ATM) strategies of which energy is the enabler for all these sectors to be implemented.
“With the use of solar energy we will be able to pump in water which will be used for agriculture; this means that people can be harvesting more than 2 times a year,” said Matola.
He said there is need to review some energy policies in order to move with new technologies for them to have opportunities in the energy sector.
“Indeed at our Ministry we need technical support; as such, we need to look into some acts which are in the policy for us to achieve the intended goals,” he said.
In her remarks, Coordinator for United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) in Malawi, Iris Kissiti, hailed the country for launching “Putting Energy to Work” project, saying it will greatly contribute to the agricultural sector, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
“As we know energy is a driver to economic development, so if we have productive use of energy, it means the agricultural production will be high in the country because the solar energy will generate a lot of water to use for irrigation, which will help in the economic growth,” said Kissiti.
Germany Ambassador to Malawi Ute Konig thanked the Malawi government and all donor partners for launching such a huge project, saying that solar energy will increase in the production for agribusinesses in the country.
The project is funded by German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) together with European Union (EU).
