MANAonline
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.
Lupaso community applaud council for under five clinic
By George Bulombola
Mzuzu, June 8, Mana: Lupaso community has hailed Mzuzu City Council (MCC) and Member of Parliament (MP) for Mzuzu City, Bennex Mwamlima for constructing K22 million under five shelter in the area.
Speaking during the handover ceremony of the clinic which has been financed with Constituency Development Fund (CDF), Group Village Head, Wainga Singini said the construction of the facility was an indication that there was good working relationship amongst the community, MP and council.
He added that the establishment of the health facility was a step towards reaching out to people with health services for their good health.
“Women used to travel either to Mapale Health Centre of Mzuzu Central Hospital for antenatal and under five children services which was costly.
With this development, we expect that parents will be motivated to develop early treatment seeking behavior for their children since the clinic is just within their door-steps,” Singini pointed out.
Mwamlima expressed gratitude to government for the provision of CDF which was meant to address some of the immediate needs of the communities in constituencies across the country.
“You should expect more development projects since Mzuzu City Constituency has been demarcated into three constituencies, this means there will be more resource trickling to the council in the of CDF,” he said.
Health Promotion Officer for Mzimba North District, Lovemore Kabaghe said the clinic would among others, provide nutrition assessments, vaccinations for under five children besides providing family planning services, Hypertension and Diabetes examination in adults.
Environmental Health Officer for MCC, Augustine Gama advised community members in the area to observe hygiene and sanitation practices to avoid disease out breaks,
“Every household should have a toilet and should consume potable water so that we reduce cases of disease out breaks in our area,” he said.
The Facility will serve Lupaso, Nkhorongo, Doroba, Dunduzu and Msiki communities.
Parliamentary committee impressed with ADL projects
By Lesnat Kenan
Lilongwe, June 8, Mana: The Parliamentary Committee on Transport and Public Infrastructure says it is impressed with progress of different projects Airport Development Limited (ADL) is undertaking in different airports including at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) in Lilongwe.
Speaking Friday after meeting ADL and Malawi Catering Service officials, Chairperson for the Committee, Enock Phale, said the committee was impressed to see ambitious plans ADL has such as rehabilitation of cargo terminals at KIA in order to develop air transport industry in the country.
"As a mother body for transport and public infrastructure in the country, we came to appreciate their plans and what they are doing as well as their reforms which have a huge potential to contribute to the country’s economic growth,” he said.
Phale, therefore, assured ADL that the committee will continue to support air transport saying it has potential to help Malawi generate more revenue.
ADL Chief Executive Officer, Victor Lungu, expressed gratitude for the meeting saying it will help ADL work together with the committee in improving air transport in Malawi.
"We have shown the committee where we are and briefed them on the programs and reforms we have at our airports. We have assured them that we will continue to do our best to have quality services from our airports,” he said.
According to Lungu, ADL has plans to construct a canopy at KIA which will provide shades to passengers especially during rainy season and also a transit passenger facility as one way of rehabilitating the airports in the country.
He said these reforms also include construction of the airport city at KIA which will include a shopping mall, hotels and aviation university among others.
Restructuring of the airport sector has led to ownership of all airports in the country placed under ADL.
Farmers urged to be innovative
By Sheminah Nkhoma
Lilongwe, June 7, Mana: President Dr Lazarus Chakwera has called upon farmers to be innovative by focusing on non-food agricultural products such as cotton, and not only food crops, in order to achieve the country’s economic growth.
He was speaking at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe Friday evening during a presidential dinner hosted for Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) leaders and members.
Chakwera said there is need for farmers to adopt new strategies in farming as the country imports a lot of products which can be locally produced.
"The government will continue supporting farmers so that they improve in production of agricultural commodities as agricultural sector plays a significant role on the global market”, he said.
He appreciated the farmers for the efforts they put in producing crops despite challenges they face in their fields.
FUM President, Maness Nkhata, expressed gratitude to the president for supporting efforts which farmers put in their work saying it is encouraging to farmers.
“We are pleased for the assistance we receive from government. As farmers, we are going to continue working for the betterment of country,” Nkhata said.
