MANAonline
President Chakwera leaves for China
By Sellah Singini
Lilongwe, September 1, Mana: President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera on Sunday morning left for China to attend the Fourth Summit meeting of the Forum on China- Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which will be held on 4th and 5th September in Beijing, China.
In an interview at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) President Chakwera said the summit is crucial, as it will strengthen bilateral relations between Malawi and China as well as bolstering Malawi’s infrastructure development and Agriculture, Tourism and Mining (ATM) strategy.
"We have outlined several issues that we will discuss with China since China has committed itself to the development of this country,” he said.
Apart from the summit, Chakwera will hold bilateral talks with the president of China Xi Jinping.
The talks are expected to strengthen the cordial bilateral relations between Malawi and China and further enhance Malawi - China cooperation in various transport infrastructure projects.
During the summit, President Chakwera, will join other African Heads of State and Government to consider and adopt the 2025-2027 Beijing FOCAC Plan of Action, which will guide China- Africa engagements in various sectors for the next three years.
President Chakwera and Madam Monica Chakwera were seen off by Vice President Michael Usi, some cabinet ministers and other government officials.
The President is expected to return to Malawi on 7th September through Chileka International Airport.
Zomba Institute of Management and Accountancy graduates 31
By Solister Mogha
Zomba, August 31, Mana: Zomba Institute of Management and Accountancy (ZIMA) a private college offering courses in various programmes graduated 31 students on Friday in its first congregation this year.
Students graduated with diplomas in various fields, including Accounting, Business Management, Public Health, Administration, and Community Development
ZIMA’s first congregation was held at Robins Park in Zomba City, a day after public university, the University of Malawi (UNIMA) held its own graduation on Thursday.
The college’s Director of Administration, Wilson Mkwanda, said it was pleasing to see that the institution was contributing to Malawi’s education sector as well as the labour industry.
He added that demand for professional education is on the rise in the country and government institutions alone cannot meet the growing demand hence the need for private institutions to come in.
“The college has been in existence since 2017 and our goal is to be a fully-fledged college with campuses in Zomba. We believe that through our teachings, we should be able to make a difference to the country’s education system,” Mkwanda added.
He therefore urged graduating students to be role models and demonstrate their potential and capabilities in the work places.
“You have been trained to make a difference to the society, as such, go there and bring-out that much anticipated change,” Mkwanda added.
One of the graduates, Mercy Mwangomba expressed excitement having completed her diploma course with the college and promised to use knowledge and skills gained for the benefit of the country.
“We are going to the industry to make a meaningful contribution,” she said.
Director of Education and Training at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Malawi (ICAM), Chrissie Jere hailed Zomba Institute of Management and Accountancy for being among institutions offering professional studies.
She said ICAM will always support institutions that strive to make a difference in the Malawi's professional industry.
Chitsulo advocates for strong legal framework
By Gift Chiponde
Dowa, August 31, Mana: Coordinator of Chairpersons for the Malawi National Assembly Chairpersons, Joyce Chitsulo, has emphasized the necessity for legislators to establish a legal framework that fosters the adoption of digital trade protocols in the nation.
She made the remarks Saturday during a one-day African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Training Protocol Sensitization Workshop for the Malawi National Assembly at Chikho Hotel in Mponela, Dowa.
Chitsulo, who was speaking on behalf of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Chatherine Gotani Hara, underscored the importance of enacting laws that support digital trade within Malawi and across Africa.
"It is imperative for us as a country to align with global digital trade practices as the majority of activities are now conducted electronically and digitally," said Chitsulo.
She emphasised that lawmakers have a vital role in advocating for increased funding to facilitate the implementation of digital marketing initiatives, ensuring that constituencies benefit from such endeavors.
Chitsulo commended the Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA) for leading efforts to provide internet connectivity in Community Day Secondary Schools, noting that this initiative will bolster and advance digital trade in the country.
"As Members of Parliament, we are committed to raising awareness in our constituencies about the significance of digital trade.
“Despite facing challenges with internet connectivity government, through MACRA, is executing various projects such as the 'connect to a school' initiative, which is poised to support the implementation of digital trade," she said.
Secretary for Trade and Industry, Christina Zakeyo, hailed the workshop as a significant milestone in the collective endeavor to ensure Malawi's active participation in the AfCFTA framework and maximize its benefits.
Zakeyo highlighted that the adoption of the digital trade protocol will furnish Malawi with continental agreements, offering a platform to embrace digital trade practices that have the potential to unlock new economic opportunities, enhance business competitiveness, and increase citizen engagement in the digital economy.
Her Liberty Organization ask women to seek reproductive health services
By Solister Mogha
Zomba, August, 31 Mana: Her Liberty, a Women and Youth led Non-Governmental Organization based in Zomba has urged women in the district to seek right reproductive health services.
Her Liberty Project Manager, Kettie Mikwala, made the appeal Friday during a community awareness meeting at Traditional Authority (TA) Malemia’s area.
She expressed concern over women’s limited access to information on reproductive health issues.
Mikwala said 18 percent of maternal deaths in the country are as a result of unsafe abortions, a development she described as equally worrisome.
She, therefore, said through the organization’s interventions, women will be empowered to understand issues about reproductive health and rights as well as how to access modern and appropriate contraceptives.
“Our goal is to contribute to a safer and healthier environment by advocating for safe spaces for young people.
“What we want, at the end of the day, is to bring about positive change to the lives of adolescents, women and girls by diminishing the prevalence of unsafe abortions and tackling the root causes contributing to unsafe practices.” She said
Senior Chief Malemia hailed Her Liberty organization for bridging the information gap on reproductive health issues, saying people will be able to make informed decisions only if they are empowered.
“Health information is paramount in our day to day life. It is our expectation that, through these engagements, cases of maternal death will be reduced since community members will have right information,” the Chief said.
Heath Promotion Officer for Zomba District Health Office, Arnold Mndalira, said partners have a role of complementing government’s efforts in providing adequate information on reproductive health to women.
He commended the organization for championing issues of reproductive health in the district.
Vandalism of MAREP resources worries Ministry of Energy
By Clarabella Chipolonga
Chiradzulu: August 31, Mana: Deputy Director for Rural Electrification in the Ministry of Energy, Francisco Chingoli, has deplored theft and vandalism of Malawi Rural Electrification Programme (MAREP) property in Chiradzulu where four project sites have been affected after items including more than 400 metres of electricity cables were stolen, frustrating Phase 9 of the rural electrification drive.
He, therefore, called on people in the district to jealously guard MAREP equipment against theft and vandalism saying the programme is to bring electricity in many parts of the district.
Chingoli told Malawi News Agency (MANA) on Friday at Makuwa Community Day Secondary School in the district during a joint site meeting with chiefs, police officers and other stakeholders that they ought to be instrumental in tackling theft and vandalism of MAREP equipment in the district.
The stakeholders meeting also discussed ways and means to successfully implement MAREP in the district for wider electrification.
“We came here to touch base with the community to tackle the issue of vandalism which is rampant in the district. I am glad that all stakeholders have promised to fight against this malpractice,” said Chingoli.
He asked police, the district council and community members to work together to deal with theft and vandalism so that most people in the district should continue benefiting from the MAREP.
“Our duty is to bring development. It is the communities’ responsibility to take care of it. If people vandalize electricity equipment, they will suffer for not having the electricity.
“We expect that the contractor will start and finish his job without being distracted. There is a new law that says a person will be imprisoned for 30 years or else pay K150 million if found vandalizing electricity resources,” he said.
Chiradzulu Police Station Community Policing Coordinator, Mark Munama, assured the ministry that police will emphasize to the communities on the importance of MAREP and gravity of vandalism electricity resources in the district.
“We will revamp all community policing structures and bring in new structures. We have already deployed our officers including those in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in all zones to gather intelligence information so that we should arrest all suspects that are connected to theft and vandalism of MAREP property.
“This is crime prevention issue and it is a joint approach, the police alone cannot reach everywhere. This is why we are calling others stakeholders to support us with reflectors, torches and any other resources that can be useful in dealing with this problem,” he said.
Traditional Authority Sandrak expressed concern over vandalism of electricity equipment, saying this is retrogressive to rural development.
“We use maize mills powered by electricity because they are better than diesel powered. With electricity all over we will not walk long distances to maize mills,” she said and pledged to join the fight against theft and vandalism of MAREP property in her area.
She said they will engage in massive sensitization with village heads and will reach out to their subjects to raise the much-needed awareness on the negative effects of theft and vandalisms on development.
“We will also tell them what new law is saying on those caught stealing or vandalizing electricity equipment,” said Traditional Authority Sandrak.
Four out of 10 houses in Malawi have access to electricity and government says MAREP is there to improve the current status by 2063.
Chiradzulu and Chikwawa have more cases of vandalism on MAREP phase nine resources. Chiradzulu has ten MAREP 9 sites out of which four have been vandalised.
The vandalized sites are; Makuwa, Chamdimbo, Kukhumula and Chelewani where 400 plus meters of wire was stolen.
Minister assures access to interim plane crash report
By Leonard Masauli
Lilongwe, August 31, Mana: Minister of Information and Digitilization, Moses Kunkuyu, has assured that every Malawian will have access to the interim report released by the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Investigation (BFI).
Kunkuyu made the remarks during a Press Conference on Saturday, held at Central Office of Information (COI) in Lilongwe.
On August 30, 2024, the German investigators released a report of the aircraft accident that killed late Vice President Dr Saulos Chilima and eight others.
The Minister said the report has technical language which might be difficult for others to comprehend and hence, it has been translated to Chichewa to enhance understanding of its content to Malawians.
"We feel not all Malawians can have access to internet to read the report and furthermore, the technical language in the report cannot be understood by everyone.
"In consideration of such, we thought to translate it to Chichewa so that you the media can help us share the information contained in the report,to Malawians," said Kunkuyu.
He said, among others, highlights in the report, indicates that during the time of the accident, visibility was difficult due to bad weather.
Kunkuyu said the report also indicates that the plane had enough fuel of 483 litres that could run it for approximately two hours and 30 minutes.
“The pilot and co-pilot were both qualified and had license from Civil Aviation Authority of South Africa and license from the Military of Malawi Airforce,” said Kunkuyu in reading the report.
Among the recommendations, the FBI has recommended that, the Civil Aviation, Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Defence should ensure planes carrying people have all necessary equipment meant for communication.
MERA drills journalists on Malawi`s fuel pricing mechanisms
By Stanley Nkhondoyachepa
Lilongwe, August 31, Mana: Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) says it is important for the media to understand how fuel pricing in Malawi is done so that the public gets information that is factual.
MERA Director of Economic Regulation, Patrick Uka, said this in Lilongwe on Saturday at the end of a media orientation on Malawi fuel pricing mechanism.
He observed that journalists play a critical role in information dissemination and, therefore, needs to be conversant with the technicalities involved in fuel pricing.
“It is important for journalists to understand how fuel pricing in Malawi is done since they are responsible for disseminating information to the public; this will help in the dissemination of information that is factual, truthful, balanced and fair” he said.
In his presentation, Uka highlighted the different elements that determine the fuel pricing in Malawi which, he said, include transportation costs and levies, among others.
“MERA is guided by two principles which are, cost reflective and uniform pricing which ensures that investors in the oil industry are getting fair returns, and also that prices of fuel are uniform in all parts of the country.
He said, currently, Malawi is using the Automatic Pricing Mechanism (APM), which takes into account the exchange rate, global fuel price changes, among others, noting that with the system, the cost of fuel changes to reflect the cost of importing the commodity.
Director of Information, Arthur Chipenda, said the orientation was organized as part of ongoing efforts to have a strong partnership between MERA and the media so as to create a well-informed public.
He said fuel is a strategic commodity, noting the orientation was necessary to equip journalists with knowledge on fuel pricing mechanism.
Chipenda hoped that the orientation will help the media to understand how fuel is priced and the factors that influence its pricing so as to help in factual reporting.
He orientation drew participants from different media houses from the central region.
Catholic Bishop urged youths to take part in politics
By Joel Chirwa
Mzuzu, August 31, Mana: Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of the Catholic Diocese of Karonga has urged Catholic youths in the country to be active in politics with the goal of attaining the common good of less privileged people.
Mtumbuka was speaking during a memorial mass service celebrated in honour of the former Vice President, Late Dr. Saulos Chilima, and eight others who died in plane crash in June this year.
He said young people need to borrow a leaf from Late Chilima who, during his life, was not only spiritually active but also played an active role in social life and promoted agenda of prosperous and development of the country.
"The church in its teachings espouses its adherents to contribute to national politics. You need to stand up to be counted in confronting wrong things.
“It is your God given right to take an active role in politics. However, you need to lean towards virtues of good governance that are for the common good of the less privileged people," said Mtumbuka.
He added that the country is going through a lot of social and economic challenges that warrant youth to take a bold step to advance principles of good governance.
“The church encourages its faithful to create a just society that has a common good for everyone. Therefore, church members especially young people need not to be spectators when they have what it takes to make a positive contribution to the national political agenda.
"It will be meaningless for you to complain and do nothing when politicians are mismanaging things yet your influence is better placed to improve lives of downtrodden and underprivileged people," he said.
He said Late Chilima inspired many people because of his vision which envisaged a developed and a prosperous Malawi.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony, Bishop the of Diocese of Mzuzu, John Ryan, said the event was organized for the family of Late Chilima to have closure.
"Considering the unexpected nature of the death of Late Chilima, we felt that it was essential to organize prayers so that Madam Mary Chilima and family should move on and have a closure to the loss of their beloved one," said Ryan.
Some of the people present during the ceremony included, wife to Late Chilima, Mary and family members, United Transformation Movement (UTM) Secretary General, Patricia Kaliati; former Vice President, Khumbo Kachali and President for Alliance for Democracy (AFORD), Enock Chihana.
The memorial which was mass was celebrated on the theme ‘Stay Awake,’ was jointly organized by Mzuzu and Karonga Catholic dioceses.
Council disburses K 119,366,518.51 under CECF
By Petro Mkandawire
Blantyre, August 31, Mana: Blantyre District Council through World Bank funded Malawi Watershed Services Improvement Project (MWASIP) has disbursed about K119,366,518.51 into Community Environmental Conservation Fund (CECF) to support communities in the district to participate in various activities that are meant to restore degraded land.
Communities under Kapichira Catchment, where the project is being implemented, will access the funds, on revolving basis, to engage in income generating activities other than charcoal production and selling to support their livelihoods.
Speaking during the disbursement of the funds to participating communities at Traditional Authority (TA) Kunthembwe, MWASIP District Coordinator, Owen Malimba, said the money will support communities to implement sustainable land management activities in 48 villages in TAs Kuntaja and Kunthembwe.
“This money is very important to the communities because it acts as a motivating factor for them to continue implementing different activities under the project such as soil and water conservation, gully reclamation among others. The money will address immediate community livelihood needs,” he said.
One of the participants, Judith Fumulani, who is also Vice Chairperson for Mulanga Catchment Management Committee in TA Kunthembwe said the money has come at an opportune time when communities have known and understood effects of climate change and importance of conserving the environment.
She pledged to continue participating in sustainable land management activities under MWASIP saying participating communities are looking forward to receiving the money to go into businesses in order to improve household income.
“We are motivated with this gesture. As the Vice Committee Chairperson, I will encourage those that are not participating in the project to start participating in MWASIP interventions as MWASIP is here to improve communities ‘livelihood,” said Fumulani.
CECF is a conservation benefit sharing initiative implemented by MWASIP to address immediate community livelihood needs.
MWASIP, which runs from 2020 to 2026, is being implemented in Blantyre, Neno, Balaka, Machinga, Zomba and Mangochi.
Drones to deliver health products too hard to reach areas in Karonga
By George Mponda
Karonga, August 31, Mana; A drone delivery company called Village Reach has been authorized to start delivering lifesaving health products to health facilities in hard to reach areas in Karonga to ensure equitable access to health facilities.
Speaking during a District Executive Committee (DEC) meeting Thursday, Senior Programs Officer for Village Reach, Innocent Mainjeni, said the organization has for the past 20 years been working on how to improve transportation of vaccines, medical drugs and laboratory samples in low income countries.
“People who live in remote or hard to reach areas have difficulties in accessing medical products and services and Karonga, being a disaster prone district, the drone delivery service will play a vital role in ensuring that health care services are not an option but a right for all,” said Mainjeni.
He said the drone delivery system will overcome challenges, which are associated with infrastructure and logistics thereby optimizing supply chain systems for them to be more effective and reliable.
Mainjeni explained that the drones made by an Australian company, Swoop Aero, are capable of covering a distance of 100 kilometers carrying a package weighing a minimum of three kilograms.
Director of Social and Health Services (DHSS) for Karonga, Dr. David Sibale, said the initiative will mitigate challenges in transportation of drugs and other small health service related items to facilities, which are far from the district hospital.
“This will greatly assist in making sure that supplies are readily available in health facilities around Wiliro, Kayelekera and Kaporo.
“I would like to urge community members to have a positive attitude towards this initiative as sometimes people associate new innovations with misconceptions,” Sibale said.
