By Chisomo Kambandanga

NKhata Bay, April 22, Mana: Leaners at Usisya Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) have attributed their improved performance in class to the construction of a K12 million Constituency Development Funded (CDF) classroom block.

Speaking in an interview on Friday, Chimwemwe Mkochi, a Form 4 student at the school said before the construction of the two classroom block, there was high absenteeism and at times lessons were disrupted during rainy season since some were learning under the tree.

"Before the construction of this classroom block, focus on lessons to us was difficult as some were learning under the trees and it was also hard to continue with lessons during rainy seasons.

“At times we were jam packed in the small entertainment hall which prompted some of us to miss classes and it was putting our lives at risk of contracting communicable diseases,” Mkochi said.

Mkochi therefore asked for continued support to the school from government as there are few desks and a fence would be ideal for the safety of the leaners.

Head Teacher for Usisya CDSS, Richard Gondwe said that the school block has reduced congestion of learners in classrooms.

"By design, our school is double stream meaning we get 100 learners per year and these are supposed to be accommodated in two classes of 50 learners per class.

“However, this was not possible because of the classroom challenge and we were having 100 learners in a class. This block has assisted to ease the challenge in form four and three," Gondwe said.

In her remarks, Member of Parliament for Nkhata Bay North Constituency, Chrissie Kanyasko assured the learners that for a start, she will buy 40 more desks for the school with the next CDF, and eventually facilitate construction of a fence around the school.   

By Beatrice Chingwalu

Zomba, April 21, Mana: Joy has filled the air as the countdown begins for the highly anticipated Zomba City Festival slated for April 26 to 28, 2024.

Speaking to Malawi News Agency on Saturday, one of the organizers of the festival, Laura Schuerwegen, expressed confidence in the event’s preparations despite facing challenges in raising funds.

“Preparations are going on very well. This is our fourth year and our team has grown with us such that everyone is capable in their role. It’s been hard to raise funds due to the economic recession but overall, it’s been quite a smooth run,” she said.

Schuerwegen added that this year’s festival is introducing new activities to enrich the experience for the audience of all ages, from workshops for artists, stage performances, modeling and a DJ workshop for women sexual identity minorities, to crafting sessions and special deals at selected venues.

This year’s lineup includes artists such as Issabel King, Provoice, Trappy, the renowned poet Q Malewezi and Chanco Traveling Theatre, among others.

“Families can look forward to dedicated kids’ zone in the botanic gardens, performances, art exhibitions, and handcraft workshops, among others,” Schuerwegen said.

This is the fourth edition of the Zomba City Festival with unique experience, offering a diverse range of arts for attendees to explore. It serves as an opportunity for Zomba residents and visitors to relax, unwind and explore the various venues of the festival.

By Fostina Mkandawire

Salima, April 21, Mana: Principal Secretary responsible for Administration in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Richard Pelekamoyo, on Saturday underscored the importance of designing community oriented interventions towards addressing climate change.

Pelekamoyo made the remarks when he presided over the launch of a project called ‘Climate Just Communities (CJC) Malawi’, in the area of Senior Chief Ndindi in Salima district.

He said projects must emphasize the principles of climate justice, aiming to empower local communities.

"We are pleased that local communities will actively participate in climate adaptation and mitigation efforts," he said.

He said building resilient communities that can withstand the impacts of climate change and thrive in the face of disasters should be a common goal.

He said the CJC has been specially tailored to be implemented in seven districts that have been heavily impacted by climate change effects, including recurring droughts, devastating floods and cyclones.

"The climate related disasters have had severe consequences on the communities affected, including loss of lives, destruction of property and disruption of livelihoods," he said.

Pelekamoyo reaffirmed government's commitment to addressing these challenges and has implemented various initiatives to mitigate and adapt the impacts of climate, emphasizing the importance of collaboration with other institutions and projects, such as CJC.

"Launching this project marks a significant milestone in our collective efforts to address the pressing challenges of climate change in our communities, it aligns perfectly with the government's vision and policies aimed at building climate resilience and promoting sustainable development across," he said.

The CJC project will be implemented through a consortium of partners with Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI) as the lead partner whereas Scottish Government will provide financial support, with a theme dubbed ‘communities standing up for climate justice’.

In her remarks, DAI global UK Senior Director for Sustainable Growth, Nand Hall, said the project is focusing on vulnerable communities as they are the ones mostly affected by climate change, so that they generate solutions to problems they face.

She said the project will create long term, sustainable change within the communities in line with the pillars of climate justice.

"We will focus on disaster risk management, livelihoods security, loss and damage, resilient schools and WASH and inclusion especially gender mainstreaming and empowering persons with personalities," she said.

Senior Chief Ndindi, in whose area the launch took place and will benefit from the project, bemoaned that his area has been largely affected by effects of climate change and with the coming of the project he is hopeful that through the interventions, people's lives will be transformed.

The project will run for two years to a tune of about K17 billion, and about 460,075 people across the seven targeted districts of Salima, Mzimba, Neno, Karonga, Chikwawa, Machinga and Zomba have been targeted to benefit.

By Wanangwa Tembo

Kasungu, April 20, Mana: Dickson Kadzimete has stayed in Malenga Village, Sub-Traditional Authority (STA) Chambwe in Kasungu district since he was born, 53 years ago.

He says he has many times been a witness to horrific and shameful incidents that have been happening at Kasikizi river as people tried to cross the notorious stream to access social services on the other side at Mtunthama trading centre.

“This stream has caused a lot of troubles for all the communities on its western side because they couldn’t cross it to go Mtunthama where they access most of the social services.

“Our communities here are so much dependent on Mtunthama because that is where we have secondary schools, hospitals, banks and market for our produce. But for a long time, it hasn’t been easy to get there owing to lack of a bridge at Kasikizi river, making life miserable for us,” he says.

Kadzimete recalls incidents where motorcycles ferrying patients and merchandise used to fall into the stream endangering the safety of both passengers and the motorcyclists.  

“It’s a place where people have lost their property and lives. During rainy season, it almost meant that we were cut off from essential life sustaining goods and services.

“Oxcarts carrying good or patients could not cross this river. Equally, learners could not access school on the other side. We needed a bridge,” he says.

Group Village Headman Nthumbo says Kasikizi crossing point was a place where women could lose their dignity as they sought help to cross the stream.

He says: “There used to be a team of young men and boys assisting people to cross. So think of women, some of them pregnant, being carried by boys who took advantage of their desperation to touch them in areas that showed no dignity.

“On the other hand, vehicles carrying supplies such as fertiliser, relief items and sometimes funerals could not get through. So in a way, we were on the losing end.”

Nthumbo says the river’s wide bed made it difficult for the communities to construct even a monkey bridge stressing that the area needed real engineering works.

Geopolitically, Kasikizi river, a tributary of Bua river, is itself the boundary separating Kasungu East Constituency and Kasungu South East Constituency and also demarcates Traditional Authority Chilowamatambe and STA Chambwe.

This time, GVH Nthumbo and his constituents are a happy people following the completion of a K73 million bridge on the stream.

Funded through Governance to Enable Service Delivery (Gesd), Kasikizi bridge has earned praise for changing the lives of the people of Nthumbo community and the surrounding areas who say they have now forgotten the despair and death that were personified in flagrant waters of Kasikizi river.

“You know this is a farming community. When we need fertiliser, the shops are at Mtunthama. When we need fuel, iron sheets, cement, and other essentials, we travel to Mtunthama. So the construction of this bridge has taken away our frustrations.

“Just for instance, we are constructing a school block at Chimwayi Primary School and tracks carrying cement, iron sheets and other items are passing with ease. We are very thankful to government for considering this community with the bridge project,” Nthumbo says.

He says the communities were heavily involved at all stages of the project, a development he says ensured that the structure be of quality standards.

Inspecting the bridge recently, Chairperson for the Parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee, Gladys Ganda, said strict adherence to projects implementation and spending guidelines is key to ensuring that taxpayers get the value for their money in projects being implemented in councils.

She said: "Ours is a fact finding mission as per our mandate to carry out oversight roles on institutions that operate on taxpayers’ money. We want to see value for the money that government invested in councils.

“Out there, people have a view that Members of Parliament abuse some funds like Constituency Development Fund. So we want to follow up on what is on the ground and also appreciate levels of adherence to implementation guidelines.”

While expressing some reservations with cost of the bridge, Ganda expressed satisfaction with most of the development projects that are taking place under Kasungu District Council stating that they are being implemented in accordance with the prescribed guidelines and the required set of standards.

She said the good relationship that is there between the council secretariat and Members of Parliament as well as the involvement of the community from project identification up to implementation phase, have made Kasungu deliver quality structures, including bridges.

District Commissioner for Kasungu, James Kanyangalazi acknowledged that the cost of the bridge was on the higher side but clarified that it was due to the project’s abandonment by the initial contractor.

“The initial contractor failed to complete the bridge so we did a retendering process. And as the processes were being undertaken, the currency was devalued by 44 percent and in the end the project costs had to be adjusted,” he said.

Kanyangalazi said delayed funding and the devaluation of the currency have affected the implementation of some projects not only in terms of costs but also completion time.

“When funding is delayed, work plans and budgets are somehow affected and this affects the implementation of the projects,” he said.

He however assured Kasungu residents that the council will always strive to deliver quality projects within planned costs and timeframes.

Launched in April 2021, Gesd is a five-year performance based project financed by the World Bank to the tune of $100 million and is facilitated by the Ministry of Finance and the National Local Government Finance Committee.

The project is expected to assist in ensuring strict adherence of desired standards of public service delivery by all the 28 district councils for citizens such as those of GVH Nthumbo to appreciate the positive impacts of the nation’s decentralization drive.

By Willy Kadewere & Leah Malimbasa

Chikwawa, April 20, Mana: Remains of the body of former Minister of Sports, Youth and Culture, Moses Tobias Dossi were buried on Saturday in his home village Kalimanjira in Traditional Authority Chapananga in Chikwawa.

Dossi who was also Member of Parliament for Chikwawa West representing United Democratic Front (UDF) died on Thursday at Blantyre Adventist Hospital.

In his eulogy, Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Deus Gumba who represented President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, described the late Dossi as a man who expressed patriotism.

“Dossi was always advocating for peace and unity through sports in the country,” said Gumba.

"We will remember the late Dossi for his hardworking spirit; he was a hero who loved this nation and participated in various disciplines, including politics and sports," he added.

Gumba, therefore, advised other politicians to emulate the life of the late Dossi, who always wanted development in his area in particular and Malawi in general.

Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture, Richard Chimwendo Banda concurred with Gumba that the nation has lost a hardworking man who was passionate about development.

While highlighting the role Dossi played in develop Chikwawa West Constituency, Chimwendo Banda announced that government will construct Chapananga Road, pointing out that it is already included in the 2024/2025 national budget.

In his remarks, Senior Chief Chapananga said he will remember the late Dossi for having the interest of underprivileged people at heart.

Chapananga said late Dossi paid school fees for over 200 learners and that he had passion to develop Chapananga area as evidenced by his efforts which brought electricity to the area and facilitated the construction of Chapananga Secondary School.

Apart from Gumba, other notable figures who attended the burial included Speaker of Parliament, Catherine Gotani Hara, Minister of Information and Digitalization, Moses Kunkuyu and Acting President for UDF Lilian Patel.

Dossi died at the age of 70. He is survived by six children and 14 grandchildren.

By Salome Gangire

Neno, April 20, Mana: Deputy Director in the Department of Crop Development under Ministry of Agriculture, Ida Mwato has commended Livelihood Improvement Programme (LIP) that Umodzi Consulting is implementing in Neno for promoting homestead farming.

Speaking on Friday at Matembe Cooperative Producers Marketing Limited in the area of Traditional Authority Mlauli when Ministries of agriculture, Finance and Trade officials visited Mlindi, Mfundazi and Matembe cooperatives which are demonstration sites under the LIP project to appreciate the impact of the project, Mwato said the organisation is complementing government efforts which currently is being promoted.

She said “This is a good initiative, as Ministry of agriculture we also promote integrated homestead farming and the project is encouraging farmers to have homestead garden in their homes,”

Mwato said with the project, a lot of farmers will be reached thereby contributing to the development of the country.

She said it is pleasing that members of cooperatives are benefiting in terms of nutrition but also cash as they sell surplus they grow thereby improving their well-being.

Umodzi Consulting Director of Business Development, Frank Mkumba said the organisation with USD 4.5 million funding from Helmsley Charitable Trust through the United States African Development Foundation is implementing a three-year LIP in Neno working with 14 cooperatives.

“LIP identified 14 farmer organisations aligned with health facilities around the district to set up community-owned Integrated farming system demonstration units in the communities that are part of “Partners in Health” (PIH) package of Essential Non communicable Diseases (NCDs) Interventions” Mkumba said.

He said the aim of the project is to help address socio-economic, food and nutritional challenges in the district especially to people with NCDs.

“The programme seeks to improve patient outcomes, their livelihood and building strong resilience of its members and their families.” he said.

Mkumba then said the demonstration units serve as farmer field schools where programme participants learn skills, technologies, and techniques in managing agricultural activities adding participants are encouraged to replicate the demonstration units at the household level to scale impacts.

He added.” the project has had an impact in the district as beneficiaries have replicated the technologies they are learning at the demonstration site in their homes by having backyard gardens where they grow various vegetables and fruits and they are also rearing livestock’s.

“4, 417 participants are benefiting from the project in the district of which 2,268 NCD patients and of these 291 are diabetic patient with type 1 and type 2.

Chairperson of Matembe Cooperative Producers Limited, Mighty Feremu said the project is helping them to improve their nutrition status as they are growing different kinds of crops and rearing animals.

He added that the project is also improving their livelihood as they sell excess crops they grow and buy shares at the cooperative.