By Josephine Chipofya

Lilongwe, January 31, Mana: The Ministry of Health has urged its stakeholders to strengthen their health finances and stop relying on donations only.

Speaking during the handover ceremony of vehicles and medical pieces of equipment to its stakeholders, Minister of Health Khumbize Kadondo Chiponda said her ministry has already launched its health financing strategy which will help them to source funds on their own.

"As a ministry, we sat down and discussed how we can source funds top from what we get from the Ministry of Finance so we came up with a financing strategy, I am also urging the stakeholders to come up with their own in case donors decide not to give them donations their work should not stop," she said.

The Minister also urged the stakeholders to have a proper maintenance policy, to ensure sustainability.

In her remarks, the Manager for Global Fund and Gavi Implementation Unit in the Ministry of Health Doreen Sanje said, that Global Fund has been a true partner to the Government of Malawi through its various grants such as Tuberculosis (TB), Malaria and COVID grants.

"It is through the Covid grants that we have been able to procure these vehicles and medical equipment. Global Fund wants to see the money given being used for the intended purpose," she explained.

Ministry of Health handed over vehicles and medical equipment worthy $5.3 million to Malawi Defence Force, Malawi Police, Christian Health Association (CHAM) Civil Society Organisations,  Mzuzu Central Hospital, Kasungu District Hospital, Bwaila and Mangochi hospitals.

By Max Mahara Medison

Salima, January 31. Mana: In an ongoing digital financial literacy awareness campaign under the Ministry of Finance and Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), Mgwirizano Savings and Loan (VSL) group in Salima has embraced digital financial services, moving away from traditional cash storage methods.

Speaking on Thursday during a discussion on the use of digital channels over cash, in Chindungwa village, in the area of Senior Chief Pemba, Salima campaign awareness Field Supervisor, Shazel Lambat introduced Chitsanzo VSL Group members to mobile banking platforms.

She said they demonstrated how the group could enhance security, efficiency, and convenience in managing their collective savings.

"We want to impart skills in savings groups on how they can maximize digital platforms in securing their savings, we are happy that the majority of the groups we have visited have shown interest in adopting digital financing," she said.

Chairlady for Chitsanzo VSL Group Bunaya Levison said they will no longer store money in a metal box they will transition to more secure digital ways.

“We have always relied on using a metal box with two keys distributed among different members of the group, but after learning about digital banking, we see how much safer and easier it is to manage our savings.

"With access to digital financial services, we can deposit, transfer, and monitor our funds, making management and storing of funds easier and safer," she said.

Digital Financial Services (DFS) comprise a broad range of financial services, delivered through digital channels such as mobile financial services (MFS), and banking payments through money transfers.

The awareness-raising campaign of digital financial literacy and technology education is in its final phase in Salima, Zomba, Neno and Chiradzulu.

The Government of Malawi with support from the African Development Bank has been carrying out digital financial literacy awareness campaigns in all the 28 districts across the country. Salima district has been one of the districts that have benefited from the campaign

By George Bulombola

Karonga, January 31, Mana: Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Benedicto Chambo HAS urged the National Economic Empowerment Fund to provide comprehensive farm input packages through its agricultural farm inputs loan program.

Chambo was speaking Thursday at Uliwa in Karonga when he presided over distribution exercise of over 400 bags of fertilizer worth about K45 million to 64 smallholder farmers drawn from Chilumba and Uliwa catchment areas in the district.

He said that fertilizer which was provided to the farmers through NEEF’s Agriculture Farm Inputs Loan Program does not suffice to improve agricultural productivity hence the need for NEEF to provide farmers with comprehensive farm input loan packages.

“I expect you to be including seed and pesticides of your clients’ choices besides the fertilizer so that the program becomes a success, “said Chambo.

Chambo also advised NEEF to ensure that it rolls out the distribution of the farm inputs before the onset of rains for the farmers to effectively plan and implement their farm activities, thereby realizing maximized bump yield.

“You are today bringing fertilizer to farmers, imagine if rains had started earlier, this initiative would be of benefit to your clients who are expected to repay their loans after harvest,” he said.

The deputy minister took advantage of the ceremony to urge Ministry of Agriculture to provide NEEF with office spaces in all Area Extension Areas across the country to bring NEEF services and products close to the people.

Earlier, Chief Executive Officer for NEEF Humphrey Mdyetseni urged the benefiting clients to ensure that they repay their loans saying farm input loan facility is a revolving fund hence it is a requirement they pay the loans for the sustainability of the initiative.

“I am concerned over poor loan repayment by NEEF clients in this area and Karonga Boma. Some clients especially you people tend to default on loan repayment and escape to South Africa. This is counterproductive to the program’s goal,” he said.

Speaking during a similar ceremony at Karonga Boma, Senior Chief Kalonga of Karonga advised NEEF to involve traditional leaders in all stages of loan processing for its clients.

“You faced such challenges because you bypassed some stakeholders such as traditional leaders in the loan processing procedures. Now you will not have loan defaulters since you have decided to involve us,” said Kalonga.

By Tiyanjane Tsankhwimbi and Robert Nayeja

Nsanje, January 30, Mana: Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change, Owen Chomanika called on Nsanje District Council to come up with alternative economic empowerment programmes that should stop communities from over-depending on Matandwe Forest Reserve in the district as a source of livelihood.

The minister made the call on Thursday at Mwanda Village, Traditional Authority Malemia where he hailed community efforts that were meant to protect Matandwe Forest Reserve from depletion.

Chomanika observed the continued careless cutting down of trees in the forest reserve, saying this was the case because communities still relied on the forest for livelihood.

“Let the council prioritise on empowering communities economically so that people should stop relying on the forest for a living,” Chomanika added.

He further observed that careless cutting down of trees in Matandwe Forests leads to land degradation that in turn ignites other environmental-related problems such as flash floods.

“Farming is not productive as it used to be in Nsanje due to careless cutting down of trees leading to land degradation. I am optimistic that once trees are replanted in the forest, food production will improve and on the other hand flash floods in the district will reduce,

“Communities can find money from Thabalaba tubers they get from the forests. We want to promote the production of Thabalaba tubers in their community garden so that we can protect the forest reserve,” said the minister.

Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Dr Yusufu Nkungula said there was a need to protect Thabalaba which is claimed to cure 38 diseases.

“The ministry is committed to reducing challenges the forestry office is facing in protecting the forest reserves. Currently, we are recruiting forest guards to patrol the forest,” he added.

Chairperson for Nsanje District Council, Hussein Ngwali expressed worry over the continued depletion of Matandwe Forest Reserve following careless cutting down of trees.

He therefore advised communities in Nsanje District to take full responsibility for protecting  Matandwe Forest Reserve and other forest areas against encroachment.

"Let chiefs and everyone here be in the forefront in protecting Matandwe Forest Reserve because it is the treasure of Nsanje and the nation at large," he added.

Matandwe Forest Reserve is one of the protected forests in Nsanje District.

On Wednesday Chomanika took a familiarisation tour of the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services (DCCMC) head office in Blantyre where he was taken to sever rooms, DCCMC studios and the national Metrological Center (NMC

By  Sheminah Nkhoma

Lilongwe,  January 30, Mana: Police in Lilongwe are keeping in custody a 26-year-old on suspicion that he murdered his 13-year-old sister-in-law after defiling her in area 36, Lilongwe on January 25, 2025.

According to the spokesperson of Lilongwe police, Hastings Chigalu, the man was identified as Tsisa Mbangali, who was staying with the girl and her husband in the same house.

Chigalu said, that on the day Mbangali woke his wife around 1 a.m., claiming there was an intruder in the house, upon investigation, they found no signs of forced entry or exit.

“Seeing no such an intruder in the house, the couple only discovered that the 13-year-old girl was missing from the sitting room where she used to sleep. However, she was found outside, lying dead in a maize field almost five meters away from the couple's house,” he said.

Chigalu stated that Indications were there that the only person who was capable of having access to the girl, in this case, defilement, was the person who was inside, hence the arrest of Mbangali.

Meanwhile, a postmortem examination at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) revealed that the victim's skull had been depressed by a heavy object and she had been strangled and defiled.

DNA samples from both the suspect and the victim have been collected for further analysis.

Mbangali, who hails from Buluzi Village in Lilongwe District, is currently being held by the Lilongwe Police as they investigate the matter further.

By Beni Bamusi

Thyolo, January 30, Mana: Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda has officially opened Lomola Health Centre in Thyolo to ensure universal health coverage.

Addressing the people at the health post on Wednesday after opening the facility, Chiponda thanked Global Fund for financing the project, saying the new facility has reduced distance in-between facilities. 

“We are very excited that we have officially opened the Lomola Health Post; this shows  government’s commitment to ensure people do not walk more than five kilometers to access health services. We are grateful to our partners, Global Fund, for providing resources,” she said, adding that the facility will be connected with solar energy while waiting for ESCOM grid power. 

The minister appealed to the health post workers to be dedicated to duty to ensure they provide better services to communities and further appealed to communities to refrain from encroaching the land around the facility.

Chiponda said encoachment of the land has potential to hamper plans to extend the facility into a health center. 

Lomola Health Centre Medical Assistant Marvelous Chingwanda said before construction of the facility, people in the area had to walk 20 kilometers to access medical assistance at Thyolo District Hospital. 

He said the facility was providing outpatient services, patients short-stays, antenatal care, postnatal and sexual reproductive health services among others. 

In his remarks, Senior Chief Ndalama expressed gratitude for the health post, saying it has reduced  distance that people covered to access medical care.

He therefore thanked late Mr. Namphota who donated land for the facility and vowed to take care of the facility to continue serving people in his area. 

The chief added that the facility serves people not only in Traditional Authority Ndalama but also those fromTraditional Authorities Nanseta, Kapichi and Nthiramanja in Mulanje District.

Lomola Health Post  has a catchment of 18,620 people.

By Bishop Witmos

Mangochi, January 30, Mana: National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) has wrapped up its 2025/2026 budget review sessions for district, municipal and city councils with a call for the local authorities to take a business unusual approach by attaining financial stability status.

The exercise, which was taking place in Blantyre, took the committee two weeks to scrutinize and validate the budgets of councils and cities, thereby ensuring that they align with national priorities and adhere to principles of effective resource allocation at the local government level.

Speaking during a closing session with Mangochi Municipal Council on Thursday, NLGFC Executive Director Kondwani Santhe urged district, municipal as well as city councils to develop robust strategies for local revenue generation to reduce their dependence on central government funding.

Santhe observed that most councils end up into hospitality industries such as operating rest houses and lodges, but that they do no excel due to poor management.

“Councils are encouraged to venture into businesses for local revenue generation. However, time for owning assets such as rest houses is gone, as it has proved that most councils are not good at hospitality.

“The NLGFC would like to see councils diversifying their revenue streams and that they are exploring innovative ways of generating income. Councils require resources such as natural attractions, agricultural produce as well as human capital to create revenue generation opportunities,” he said.

Santhe also stressed the importance of councils engaging with their local communities to understand their needs and priorities and to involve them in the planning and implementation of revenue-generating initiatives.

NLGFC facilitates fiscal decentralization, financial management as well as development in local government.

In his remarks, Chief Executive Officer for Mangochi Municipal Council, Ernest Kadzokoya, said that during the 2024/2025 fiscal year, the council did well in revenue generation as it collected K440 millon.

Kadzokoya attributed the success to strict enforcement of by-laws, intensification of supervision of revenue centres as well as upward adjustment of various fees and licenses.

“As of December 31, 2024, our council had collected almost K440 million as locally generated revenue, representing 88 percent of the locally generated revenue budget. This is an improvement of 31.1 percent of the previous fiscal year where we collected K335 million.

“During the year, the council graded roads in all wards, including maintenance of drainage for the main road and face-lifting of the main round-about using Municipal Roads Fund and we also upgraded the town road to tarmac with funding from Roads Fund,” Kadzokoya said.  

Kadzokoya said the 2025/2026 budget for Mangochi Municipal is pegged at K1.4 billion.

By Majona Jabesi

Mchinji, January 30, Mana: In a generous move aimed at supporting vulnerable children, the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA) on Wednesday donated 240 bags of maize relief to Home of Hope Orphanage in Mchinji.

The relief came as the organisation’s lifeline as the orphanage had been facing food shortage in recent few weeks.

Home of Hope founder, Rev. Thomson John Chipeta, expressed gratitude for the support, noting the importance of such donation in sustaining their operations.

“We are very thankful to God that government has come to rescue us on food shortage. Although we do farming, we have many children and there was a need of addition maize.”

Speaking on behalf of DoDMA, Mchinji District Commissioner Lucia Chidalengwa attributed the donation to government’s effort made through Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, which engaged DoDMA to help ease food shortage at the orphanage.

“Home of Hope has been sustaining themselves through farming. But last year they did not harvest much. But also there is a lot of children that they support because they are getting children from around the villages.

“So, supporting Home of Hope Orphanage is just one way that government through the department of social welfare is working to make tangible difference in the lives of children,” said Chidalengwa.  

Home of Hope Orphanage started its operations in 1998 and provides shelter, food, medical care, and education to over 750 children from different parts of the country

Blantyre, January 30, Mana: Ministry of Education, through Malawi Education Reform Programme (MERP), has constructed a school block with two classrooms worth over K31 million at Makhetha Primary School in Blantyre to provide conducive learning environment for learners.

Speaking during the monitoring of construction works this week, Minister of Education Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima said that through MERP, government is expected to construct about 11,000 classrooms by December this year in various primary schools across Malawi.

She emphasised the need for the government to build more classroom blocks to address overcrowding of learners in many primary schools in the country.

“This intervention is very paramount as it will add more blocks and facelift the schools to attract other learners to come to school; at the same time, it will also address the overcrowding challenge experienced in many primary schools,” the minister added.

Wirima said that through MERP, government has also recruited more than 4,000 auxiliary teachers to meet the recommended standard for learner-teacher ratio.

“We would like to recruit these teachers permanently and in large numbers because we know that for the country to achieve good quality education, having adequate teachers is pivotal,” she added.

Headteacher for Makhetha Primary School, Nophan Chipelere, commended government for constructing the classroom blocks, adding that the development will help reduce the overcrowding of learners, as the school has over 4,000 learners.

“With the few blocks, we were having double shifts, but the construction of the classroom block will enable learners to learn in a conducive environment and will be able to concentrate on their studies," the headteacher said.

By Hope Chimwala

Blantyre, January 30, Mana: In an effort to restore the degraded environment, a youth-led non-governmental organisation called Big 2 Projects has planted 7,000 trees through its nationwide One 4 Five tree planting competition which was launched in December 2024.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency (MANA) on Thursday, manager for Big 2 Projects, Blessings Mlelemba, said the competition, launched to encourage adoption of sustainable land management practices and initially targeted only farmers, now includes primary schools supported by DAPP.

“We received a request from DAPP to allow primary schools which they are supporting join the competition nationwide. We accepted the request as one way of equipping the youth at an early stage while in primary schools to start loving and caring for the environment, and currently 16 schools are already in,” Mlelemba said.

Mlelemba said the competition aimed at having more than 10,000 trees planted, adding that so far over 7,000 trees have already been planted and more will be planted as 286,000 trees were registered during the registration period.

“Over 7,000 trees have been planted in different districts. We are hoping that more trees than we estimated will be planted and over 70% of the trees surviving,” he added.

DAPP Project Coordinator Patrick Jafali said that they decided that their schools should join the competition as one way of teaching primary school learners their responsibilities in environmental protection.

“By the end of the competition, apart from winning prizes, learners will have been equipped with knowledge on how to take good care of trees hence making them responsible citizens in environmental protection,” he said.

Environmental expert and executive director for Coordination Union for the Rehabilitation of the Environment (CURE), Charles Mkoka, told MANA that tree planting projects empower communities to play their role in reducing climate change.

“These projects do not only address environmental issues but also empower communities to take ownership of their role in climate adaptation and mitigation,” he said.

The competition followed after the release of a book titled ‘Agriculture 100 YEARS from now’, which tackles much on climate change impacts on Agriculture, climate smart farming and environmental conservation.

The competition will end in April this year with K1.6 million spared for the winners.