MANAonline
Youths to lead in spreading the word of God
By Pempho Nkhoma
Blantyre, June 10, Mana: Youths in Blantyre have been encouraged to take an active role in spreading the word of God.
This was said on Saturday at a youth inter-denominational conference organized by Doing It for Christ (D4C) in partnership with Ablaze Lilongwe at Jacaranda Cultural Centre in Blantyre.
Speaking during the event, Founder of Ablaze, Maya Mdala advised the youth to understand their calling and know the cost that comes with it.
“The journey of serving the Lord has its own demands and those who understand the cost of such demands will be able to continue carrying and spreading the gospel,” he said.
Mdala added that the youth need to be awake spiritually and not to allow anything disconnect them from God.
“We should never be at peace at a place where the spirit is dry because only when your spirit is active is when you can receive the instructions from God,” he said.
Annie Mvumbe, who also spoke at the conference, urged the young believers to influence other people to follow God.
“We need to keep our spirit on fire and let others see the light for them to abandon their bad behaviors and follow God,” she said.
One of the participants, Joseph Nyale from Ndirande commended the organizers, saying the conference was soul winning and needs to be happening regularly.
This was the first time for D4C and Ablaze to organize such a conference in Blantyre.
The event was spiced up by urban gospel music from Chiggo97, Zion the Messenger, Regenerate and TNO.
Parliamentary caucus dates Mangochi chiefs on child marriages.
By Nephtali Kalumbi
Mangochi, June 10, Mana. In an effort to combat early pregnancies and child marriages in Mangochi District, Parliamentary Women’s Caucus in collaboration with OXFAM, on Saturday engaged traditional leaders in senior chiefs Chimwala and Katuli areas on their role in the fight against the practice.
Mangochi is among districts in the country with the highest numbers of early pregnancies such that between 2023 and 2024, the district registered over 19,000 early pregnancies, among girls whose ages ranged from 10 to 19.
Speaking in the area of Senior Chief Katuli, Cchairperson of Parliamentary Women's Caucus, and Roseby Gadama said the caucus was geared at sensitizing communities in the country on laws that were enacted in Parliament to protect young people against all forms of sexual crimes and exploitation.
“As lawmakers, we set a recommended age at which one can get married, however what is happening in some areas, especially in the rural areas is not the case. As such, we would like chiefs as well as parents to help us to enforce these laws as we do not want to lose our future leaders.
“Let us not condone cultural beliefs such as kusasa fumbi, chimwanamayi and fisi as they are fueling early pregnancies and child marriages,’’ said Gadama.
She also pleaded with chiefs and parents in Mangochi to help girls that dropped out of school due to pregnancy to go back, so that no one is left behind on education.
District Commissioner for Mangochi, Dr. Smart Gwedemula said the council will continue to mobilize chiefs in the district to discourage child marriages so that girls should not rush into marriages.
“In our 2024 to 2030 District Development Plan, we outlined guidelines to help in the fight against early pregnancies, I therefore urge all chiefs to have effective bylaws to help in winning this fight,” said Gwedemula.
Senior Chief Katuli commended the parliamentary caucus for visiting his area, saying it brought the much needed awareness to his subordinates on issues of early pregnancies and child marriages.
“We thank Oxfam and the parliamentary caucus for paying us a visit. We promise to remain committed in the fight for the bright future of our children,’’ said Katuli.
NBS Bank donates football equipment to Chitipa United FC
By Andrew Gondwe
Chitipa, June 9, Mana: NBS Bank Saturday donated football equipment worth K11 million to Chitipa United Football Club (FC) and K5 million after noting that the club depends on community contributions and well-wishers.
Speaking in Chitipa during the handover of the equipment, NBS Bank Chief Retail Banking Officer, Victoria Chanza, said the donation was made to motivate the team.
“They demonstrated a courageous spirit in the last TNM Super League season and would like seeing them continue doing so. We are pleased to make the donation to the team today,” said Chanza.
Chanza said NBS is a caring bank and advised the team to be the bank’s ambassador so that the mutual relationship between the two parties is sustained.
"We do our business with different communities and they should also benefit from us hence our support towards Chitipa United FC as a community team Chanza,” she said.
District Commissioner for Chitipa, who is also Patron for Chitipa United FC, MacMillan Magomero, was pleased by the bank’s gesture to the team.
He appealed to the Bank to become an official sponsor of the club as, currently, the team has no sponsor who can meet players’ salaries and other expenses.
“Let me also appeal to NBS Bank to re-open its service branch at Chitipa Boma so that people in the district cut down on expenses they incur as the nearest service branch is in Karonga,” said Magomero.
Chairperson for Chitipa United FC, Fidelis Kambalame, commended the Bank for the donation, which he described as a timely intervention.
He assured the Bank and Chitipa community that the team will strive to always be on the winning side.
The team is on position nine on TNM Super League log table with five points.
Chilima returns from Korea
By Sellah Singini
Lilongwe June 9, Mana: Vice President Dr Saulos Chilima on Sunday returned home after successfully attending the Korea-Africa summit which was held on June 4 and 5, 2024 in Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Upon arrival at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA), Chilima accompanied by his wife Mary, was welcomed by government officials and many others.
Among other engagements during the summit, Chilima had an audience with Korean Prime Minister, Dr Han Duck Soo.
He also had talks with former United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, who now heads the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), an intergovernmental organization supporting and promoting sustainable economic growth in developing countries which currently has 48 member states.
The Vice President also had an interaction with Malawians living in South Korea on a number of developmental issues.
The Summit provided an opportunity for Malawi to engage with Korean government officials and the private sector towards win-win solutions that will build up an equal and strategic partnership between Malawi and Korea.
It also provided an opportunity and foundation for deepening diplomatic relations between two countries.
The Korea-Africa summit attracted more than 50 heads of state and government.
Promote women in politics, organizations appeal
By Innocent Chunga
Nkhotakota, June 9, Mana: Centre for Civil Society Strengthening (CCSS) and Oxfam say now is the right time to promote women in political leadership positions.
Executive Director for CCSS, Viwemi Chavula, made the remarks Friday in Nkhotakota during the District Executive Committee (DEC) meeting after presenting the advocacy project of "Liu la Amai M'ndale" which will promote participation of women in political and decision making by September 2025 in Nkhotakota and Mangochi districts.
According to Chavula, Gender Based Violence is a big issue that keeps women away from the political space as such the project will encourage women, youths and people with disabilities to participate in political leadership in the September 2025 general elections.
"We have received over K500 million from the Embassy of Iceland in Lilongwe to implement the advocacy project in Nkhotakota and Mangochi to enhance political representation of women, young people and people with disabilities to be elected into political positions next year,” he said.
Nkhotakota has no female Member of Parliament in its five constituencies and out of ten wards, only one is female.
According to Chavula, the project is meant to increase awareness among communities to prioritize women in political and decision-making process.
Principal Gender Officer for Nkhotakota, Alick Munthali, believes that the project will also address bottlenecks that hinder women's progress and drive for equality in political leadership in the district.
Munthali said: "Women are always on the forefront in voting; hence they have potential in politics by assisting in realizing solutions to challenges in the areas."
Among other things, the project seeks to develop training manuals to support the campaign in addition to conducting coaching and mentorship of female aspirants in the two districts.
Government urged to prioritize gender mainstreaming in climate justice
By Levison Lester
Lilongwe, June 9, Mana: District Coordinator for Total Land Care, Malumbo Banda, has appealed to government to involve more women in restoring the endangered environment saying women are custodians of natural resources in the country.
In an interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA), Banda said women's perspectives are crucial in strengthening policies that help in sustaining the country's biodiversity as such, government should not exclude women in decision making processes.
"In Malawi, women are the main custodians of biodiversity and that automatically means they are custodians of Malawi's natural resources hence the need to involve them in the conservation and environmental protection.
"In times of climate crisis, women often wear the brunt of the impacts of climate change as such government, in partnership with Civil Society Organizations, should priorities gender mainstreaming in environmental and climate policies that ensure women's perspectives, needs and contributions are integrated into decision making processes and program implementation. For a society to be considered a thriving society, no group of people should be left behind," she said.
Banda said, apart from providing affordable clean sources of energy in rural areas, government should also embark on awareness campaigns to help change the people’s mindset towards environmental protection.
In his remarks, Programmes Coordinator for Sekelera Foundation, Abel Chilenga, said government should provide subsidies that can help rural citenzry to use clean sources of energy unlike imposing a ban on charcoal use.
He said aspirations and needs of people who live in rural areas should be at the center of policy implementation.
"The issue of environmental sustainability is crucial in achieving a self-reliant Malawi hence government should provide solutions that will ease pressure on the use of natural resources. “Together with stakeholders, government should priorities giving subsidies that will help rural masses to use clean sources of energy," he said.
Four die, 50 injured in Kasungu road accidentlo
By Wanangwa Tembo
Kasungu, June 9, Mana: Four people, including a two-year old boy, have died in a road accident involving a lorry and a passenger vehicle which happened Saturday evening at Camel Trading Centre along the M1 Road in Kasungu.
Kasungu Police Public Relations Officer, Joseph Kachikho, said the two-year-old Isaac Phiri, Thokozani Foster, 32; Blessings Kaphiza, and one other man yet to be identified were pronounced dead upon arrival at Kasungu District Hospital.
According to police, the accident involved a Mitsubishi Canter registration number BZ 8931 driven by Jekapu Mpanang'ombe and a Toyota Voxy registration number PE 3189 driven by James Mtendere.
"Mtendere was driving from the direction of Kasungu heading towards Lilongwe with passengers on board and upon reaching the said place, he started overtaking an unknown rider and in the process, collided head on with the Mitsubishi Canter which was coming from the opposite direction with 48 passengers on board," said Kachikho in a statement.
He said the people in the lorry were coming from a funeral in Dowa.
"As a result of the impact, the four passengers, two from each vehicle, were pronounced dead upon arrival at Kasungu District Hospital, while four other male passengers sustained head and internal injuries and are admitted at the facility,” said Kachikho.
At least 50 people escaped with various injuries and were treated as outpatients, police say.
Meanwhile, the police in the district have advised road users to adhere to all road traffic rules and regulations to prevent accidents.
Ministry of Lands upbeat on transforming cities, towns
By Lekereni Chinkhota
Salima, June 9, Mana: Ministry of Lands has emphasized the importance of working with local authorities in transforming trading centers, towns and cities to have modern infrastructures that are aligning with the Malawi 2063.
Speaking in Salima during an interface meeting with District Commissioners, Chief Executive Officers and secretaries of city and district councils, Minister of Lands, Deus Gumba, said his ministry wants districts, councils and trading centers to fall under physical development plans and controls.
“For quite some time we have been building without following physical plans. We want to be serious this time for us to align our developments with the Malawi 2063 by having proper structures across our cities and towns,” he said.
Gumba added that the ministry wants to make sure that villages have special models that will have modern improved structures.
“We will start with councils down to Area Development Committes (ADCs) and Village Development Committees (VDCs).
“Looking at 2063, as a country, we are optimistic that with proper physical planning of development and control, we should be able to get to the status of our neighboring countries like Kenya and Zimbabwe,” he explained.
To ensure progress, the ministry has already embarked on various activities such as recruitment of land officials and physical planners that have been deployed in all districts of the country to monitor activities.
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture, Richard Hara, said it is a shared responsibility to transform villages and towns as councils act as a planning area for such transformation.
“Land related laws have been enacted under the Ministry of Lands but when it comes to execution of these pieces of legislation, local government particularly district councils are identified as agents and have delegated functions from the main law that they are supposed to implement,” he said.
Hara said it is unfortunate that Ministry of Lands was doing things on its own because the functions needed to be transferred to their ministry and councils so that they should look at the aspects of capacity and needed bodies to be recruited to implement them.
“Ministry of Lands has done a lot by devolving the functions and the Department of Human Resource Management and Development created the positions and functions. We are jointly working with the ministry to manage the recruitment of the people who can implement the pieces of the legislation,” he said.
Ministry of Lands will be working in conjunction with the Ministry of Local Government, Unity and Culture to strengthen the capacity of councils to facilitate all land related laws for easy sustenance.
Japanese government commits to supporting farmers
By Wanangwa Tembo
Kasungu, June 9, Mana: Japanese Ambassador to Malawi, Youichi Oya, says the ‘Response to Impacts of the Russia-Ukraine War on Agriculture in Malawi’ project will help ensure food security in the country.
Oya made the remarks Friday in Kasungu after handing over solar pumps, seeds and fertilizer to farmers’ groups in Kasungu district.
He said, through the project, Malawi can mitigate food insecurity which has come about due to El Nino weather conditions.
"This project was responding to the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war but it will also help to reduce the food insecurity that is there due to the El Nino weather," Oya said.
He said the country should adopt winter cropping to supplement its food needs in the face of changing climatic patterns.
Oya said the Japanese government is committed to supporting various interventions towards agriculture and help the country achieve food security.
Controller of Agriculture and Technical Services in the Ministry of Agriculture, Alfred Mwenefumbo, commended the Japanese government for the support rendered to Malawi government's agriculture sector.
He said Ministry of Agriculture is promoting adoption of new farming technologies among farmers so that there is increased production even in the face of climate change-induced shocks.
The Japanese funded project is being implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Kasungu and Mzimba South.
FAO Representative for Malawi, Zhijun Chen expressed gratitude to the Japanese government for supporting the project and entrusting FAO to work with the government of Malawi and other stakeholders to contribute towards food security and climate change resilience in the two districts.
"The Japanese government remains a strong and committed partner to FAO and their support symbolizes the confidence they have in the partnership between FAO and the Government of Malawi," he said.
Through the project, FAO has been providing support towards addressing agricultural needs, providing safeguards, and strengthening the resilience of farmers.
Overall, the project aims to improve food and income security among smallholder farmers affected by the ongoing macroeconomic situations in the country.
Parliamentary committee inspects projects in Blantyre
By Abel Ikiloni
Blantyre, June 8, Mana: Chairperson of Budget and Finance Committee in Parliament, Gladys Ganda has praised the Blantyre District Council for the teamwork they employed with Members of Parliament and communities, which has led to the successful implementation of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) projects in the district.
She said this on Saturday after touring projects under CDF and (District Development Fund (DDF) in Blantyre such as Namikango classroom block under CDF and Matandani concretely bridge under DDF.
Ganda said the committee is mandated by the constitution and Public Finance Management Act to play the oversight role on the funding that is channeled to the councils and to do budget tracking, hence the visit.
"So we had to inspect projects under CDF and DDF. As you might be aware, the money for CDF increased from K100 million to K200 million. That's quite a lot of money that needs to be supervised in terms of how it is being utilized. Besides, the councils have DDF and Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) projects.
"For Blantyre District Council, we didn't inspect GESD projects because they have none. For two consecutive years, they didn't receive the funds due to poor performance.
"In terms of CDF, we praise the council for the teamwork because from the presentation they made and on the ground, it was clear that they were working hand in hand with MPs and communities. Under this funding mechanism, we have also seen the bridge that was constructed under the CDF," she said.
Ganda said overall, the councils across the country still have challenges but they are improving from it, every time.
"As a way forward, we would like to convene the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Local Government, and National Local Government Finance so that we can consolidate the information we have gathered. We will check the lessons learned and map the way forward so that at the end of the day, every council should be able to perform well and receive GESD funds for the implementation of infrastructural development projects to benefit the local citizenry," she said.
Speaking on behalf of the District Commissioner (DC) for Blantyre, Director of Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources, Edward Katunga hailed the parliamentary committee for the visit to inspect projects done by the council.
Ganda was joined by members of the Budget Committee, Parliament Secretariat, officials from Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Local Government and Culture and National Local Government Finance Committee.
