By Arnold Namanja

Blantyre, August 21, Mana: Nineteen couples on Saturday entered into holy matrimony in a mass exchange of vows at Saints Peter and Paul Chilobwe Parish under the Archdiocese of Blantyre.

Officiating the marriages, Chilobwe Parish’s Priest Rev. Fr. Francis Masuku said the exchange of vows is a milestone in the church’s history, as more people will now start receiving sacraments.

“The Catholic Church is premised on different sacraments, including the Sacrament of Marriage, and what this means now is that more people will be participating in the sacred sacraments and also in various church activities,” Masuku said.

He said whether one chooses to have a glamorous or low profile wedding, what is important is to live an active Catholic Christian life and be liberated from any obstructions.

“For me, what is important is that everyone should take part in the life of sacraments, which is the basis of the Catholic Church’s teachings,” Masuku added. 

In his sermon, drawn from Genesis 2:18–26 and Mathew 5:13–16, Masuku said God created man in his own image and gave him power to reign over all living things, apart from recreating the world.

He added that in a similar fashion, the Bible encourages Christians to be the salt and light of the earth through their deeds.

“People should see Christ in us and we also need to take care of our neighbours besides supporting the church in its various endeavours,” Masuku added.   

Catechist for Chilobwe Parish, Patrick Magombo, commended all the couples for making a bold decision in taking the marriage vows, saying it will go a long way in consolidating growth of the church.

“We all need to support our colleagues as they start the journey in marriage. Today is a big and joyous day for the church in Chilobwe and the Catholic Church at large,” Magombo said. 

One of the couples, Annastazio and Rhoda Magreta from St. Louis de Montfort, said they are overjoyed to have their marriage blessed after being unofficially together for five years.

“This is the best moment in our life as we will now be free to participate in church activities without any hindrance. In fact, we will now join the Catholic Family Movement to contribute meaningfully to the church,” Magreta said.

This is the second time for the parish to conduct such a ceremony, as last year at least 43 couples also walked the aisle to make their marriage vows at Chilobwe Parish.

By Maston Kaiya

Ntcheu, 19 August, Mana:  Vice president Dr. Saulos Chilima has hailed various roles the church plays in the national development of this country.

Chilima made the remarks on Saturday during the launch of a yearlong Golden Jubilee Celebration of Small Christian Community (SCC) / (Limana or Mphakati) in the Catholic Church at Saint Peter Clever of Nsipe Catholic Parish in Ntcheu district.

"As a government we appreciate the partnership that we have with the Church in serving the people if Malawi. We will also constantly rely on the Church to pray for us so that we must always put the welfare of the people first as we serve our positions," said Chilima and pleaded that the relationship between government and religious institutions in the country continue to coexist for continued development. 

The Vice President highlighted that SCC plays a crucial role in evangelism such as teaching the word of God, helping people to practice Bible study and encourage people to receive the sacraments of the Catholic faith.

SCC are small units of families that come together to share the word of God weekly, sitting in a circular form, guided by the seven steps of gospel sharing. 

Archbishop of Archdiocese of Lilongwe George Desmond Tambala urged all Christians to dedicate their lives to God all the time.

He then commended the Vice President for his continued support and dedication of his faith.

Bishop Rogath Kimaryo, Bishop Chairperson of the AMACEA Pastoral Department said the Pastoral department will be spearheading the yearlong celebrations in the region.

He commended the theme of the Golden Jubilee which is " Small Christian Community, 50 years of building the church as a family of God in AMECEA Region” not only as a theme but as a MOTO for the celebrations aswell.

Chairperson for the National Laity Council Virginia Mahata said it was in 1973 in Nairobi, Kenya when Bishops from the AMACEA region resolved to adopt the small Christian community as a new way of building the church.

"This meant SCC to be part and parcel of the christian structure in the AMACEA countries which includes; Malawi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.

She advised communities not to take SCC as a fundraising tool but a place for prayers.

Andrew Misomali from Saint Peter Claver Mphakatj commended Dedza Diocese for the Golden Jubilee celebrations which he said had empowered not only his Limana but all Limana's in the country.

"Limana is a root for the church and plays a crucial role in Christians lives including when people are planning to have a church marriage, children baptism and many other issues, " said Misomali.

Nsipe parish has 16 Limanas and the Celebration on Saturday involved all the nine Countries in AMACEA region of Africa.

By Mitchell Tholiwa

Mulanje, August 27, Mana: A team of rock climbers from the United States of America (USA) is training tour guides in Mulanje in rock climbing skills as one way of helping Malawi boost tourism through mountain adventure.

One of the trainers, Mario Stanley said Climb Malawi and a non-profit making organization, Global Climbing Initiative (GCI) from USA asked the team to train local tour guides to support growth of rock climbing in Malawi.

Stanley said Mulanje Mountain is a good place to develop rock climbing.

According to Stanley, the training will help hiking guides in Malawi to diversify their business as it will give them an opportunity to create two revenue streams, hiking services and climbing services.

Currently, there are only hiking services offered in Malawi.

He said rock climbing is an economic opportunity for Malawi as it will become another way of generating income through tourism.

“This has opportunity to add to Malawi's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) although it may take time for the results to start coming out but as long as Malawi takes rope climbing as a business model to bring another source of revenue, tourism sector and economy in Malawi is going to improve," Stanley explained.

He said at the meantime, GCI will be providing climbing materials to Malawi as starter packs and expressed hope that Malawi will be able to provide for itself climbing materials in five years.

Trainer of trainers, Geoffrey Mwantisi was happy to be part of the training as it will help him acquire new knowledge and skills in climbing mountains using ropes.

He added that this will be another way of generating revenue once he completes the training.

“At first I was afraid as people have been saying that rock climbing is dangerous and most people here think that rope climbing is useless. I want to encourage them, especially youths to come to us once we complete this training so that they should also benefit from the knowledge we have acquired,” he said.

Mwantisi has promised to train others who have interest in rock climbing after the training so that many young people should become rock climbing guides.

The seven-day training focused on route development, climbing instructions, gym route setting and wilderness first aid.

By Joel Phiri

Mzimba, August 14, Mana: Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture, Richard Chimwendo Banda has hailed Mzimba Heritage Association (MZIHA) for its efforts in promoting and preserving Ngoni culture through the yearly Umtheto Cultural Festival.

Speaking Saturday at Hora Heritage Centre in the district, Chimwendo Banda said many cultures are dying because there are no deliberate measures put in place by tribal associations to preserve them.

He, therefore, said teaching and inculcation of cultural values in children that MZIHA is doing will help in deepening and strengthening the Ngoni culture for generations to come.

“As government, we are proud that MZIHA is deepening Ngoni culture by teaching its youth about it. When you teach young ones, they stick to what they learn and they will never abandon their culture,” he said.

He urged other associations to borrow a leaf from MZIHA and inculcate the culture in its younger ones for preservation and strengthening of the culture.

Chimwendo Banda also applauded the Ngonis for taking a leading role in preserving the environment.

He said natural disasters such as Cyclone Freddy were as a result of poor environmental management.

Chairperson for MZIHA, Mzondi Moyo said they will continue promoting the Ngoni culture through Umtheto Festival.

The festival was held under the theme ‘Integrating culture and the environment to mitigate climate change.'

By Andrew Magombo

Lilongwe, August 22 , Mana: Linda Msiska is a charismatic head teacher at Chipoka 1 Primary School which lies a few miles from the defunct Chipoka Port along shores of Lake Malawi in Salima District.

Under her tutelage, the school strives to perform well during national exams against a backdrop of inadequate staff members and poor infrastructure for both classroom facilities and teachers’ accommodation.

“We only have 13 teachers against 1072 students because we do not have enough houses hence teachers turn us down when they are deployed here,

“There are only six houses which are also in dilapidated state and this is a big challenge because it affects our teaching capacity against the enrollment,” laments Msiska.

The Chipoka community is home to over 35,000 households as such one Cannon Chenjezi who is the founder and Executive Director of Luso Langa Community Foundation decided to raise K800,00 from the community for renovations using a gospel music fundraising show.

Chenjezi says their area barely has meaningful development projects within the last two decades hence driven by 'anger', in 2017 he formed a blended team of youthful and order people with different skills to promote local mobilisation of resources for community projects.

“We want to renovate teachers houses at Chipoka 1 and Chitipi Primary Schools and a Community Based Care Centre at Muonekera, it is possible to raise funds from the community for local projects without waiting for politicians or Non-Govermental Organisations (NGOS),

“This is our 8^th development project since our establishment, we would like to show that communities can be resilient and independent we just need to be creative in resource mobilisation with a changed mindset,” says Chenjezi.

Through proceeds from the gospel show and contributions from Chipoka residents including those migrated in diaspora, Chipoka Primary School can now accommodate student-teachers from Lilongwe Teachers Training College (TTC) in a refurbished house.

“We are very happy that next term our staff will be boosted by the student-teachers who will be staying in a smart and secure house this will improve the teaching and learning process thanks to the efforts of the community foundation,” says Msiska, the head teacher.

Apart from the supporting basic education, Luso Langa Foundation is also championing free technical skills training for Chipoka youth as well poultry farming at their base in Justin village.

The exploits by Luso Langa Foundation in promoting local giving and project ownership by communities are being mirrored by nine other Community Foundations (CFs) which were transitioned from community based organizations by World Connect Malawi (WCM), an NGO that invests directly in the ideas of communities and empowering them to be self-reliant for sustainable development.

“We cannot talk about our progress without WCM, since 2019 they have groomed us into who are we today such that we engaging an extra gear in mobilizing sources through matching grants by giving the community an equal amount of money they can raise for a targeted project,” says Chenjezi.

Communications and Outreach Coordinator for WCM Danielsoni says with support from Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, they have worked with 10 Community Based Organizations across 10 districts in a Pioneer Community Foundations Development Project.

Chisoni adds that the initiative which has also been recently boosted with support from African Philanthropic Network (APN), focuses on small-scale but impactful projects that have been collectively identified and prioritized by the community.

Unlike traditional NGOs which often focus on themes as dictated by donors, the CFs initiate local multifaceted projects across sectors of education, health, culture, agriculture, infrastructural development and climate change using funds mobilized from the community.

“Community Foundations are a powerful tool for sustainable development because by mobilizing local contributions they empower communities to determine their own priorities, this approach allows the people to select development projects that best suit their needs,

“We have enhanced their capacity by facilitating their registration as Local Civil Society Organizations, providing training in local giving, supporting the knowledge building among communities and coaching on local fundraising,” says Chisoni.

At a glance, the power shift engrained in community foundations is vital in the realms of national development as it promotes self-reliance by communities coupled with ownership of projects which augments sustainability of projects.

Since 2018, WCM has supported over 270 locally-led development projects across Malawian communities impacting the health, education, environment, human rights, and economic advancement of 300,000+ Malawians and advancing Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of the national Malawi Strategy 2063.

The advent of their Community Foundations Development Project in 2019 has effected more positive change in Malawi as communities are now mobilizing resources and fostering collaboration with various stakeholders to conduct needs assessments and tailor solutions to community challenges.

Community development expert Prince Chizimba observes that adoption of the community foundations which work hand in hand with existing local government structures at grassroots level can propel Malawi into a self-reliant nation with sustainable socioeconomic development.

“This is a powerful tool capable of facilitating sustainable development in communities because through these local giving and fundraising initiatives for community projects, we can erode the spirit of dependency which is engrained in the nation despite our sovereignity since 1964,” says Chizimba

Mana/am/scm

By Kondwani Magombo

Lilongwe, August 18, Mana: The 2019-2020 Financial Year flashes into the minds of Nkhotakota District Council management staff with unpleasant recollection. It was the year that the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD), a five-year US$100 million World Bank-funded project, put councils under microscope to assess their performance in service delivery, and determine which ones should get project’s Performance Based Grant (PBG).

A tool called Local Authority Performance Assessment (LAPA) was used and Nkhotakota, alongside three other districts, scored very poorly on the audit report scale, which has four classifications namely, unqualified opinion (top status), qualified opinion, disclaimer, and adverse opinion (lowest status).

Nkhotakota district council got adverse opinion – the worst status on the scale and, alongside Nchinji, Blantyre and Thyolo, they lost the opportunity to tap from the GESD’s Performance Based Grant (PBG).

Nkhotakota district council and its population saw a total sum of MK337million, which could have supplemented the council’s District Development Fund (DDF), escaping through the fingers.

“It was a very bad experience and it weighed heavily on us to think that we had deprived the people of Nkhotakota funds that could help in improving service delivery in the district,” explains the council’s Director of Finance (DoF), Khumbo Masankhula.

According to the DoF, there were four main issues that the council fell short on: valuation of non-current assets; failure to provide supporting documents for some figures which were material in the financial statements; miscalculation of some balances in the statement of the financial positions; and failure to remit payee to Malawi Revenue Authority.  

But rather than draining the council’s energy to rise and remain standing, the adverse opinion score only succeeded in making Nkhotakota District Council management stronger than ever before.

From the adverse opinion, Nkhotakota put its house in order and, alongside three other councils across the country, the council attained unqualified opinion status in the subsequent financial year of 2020-2021.

Unqualified opinion audit report, according to National Local Government Financing Committee (NLGFC) financial analyst, Sara Banda Chizinga, is the top classification on the audit reporting scale and it means that “auditors have gone through all financial statements and that, in the auditors’ assessment, the financial statements are free from material misstatements, and also that the statements are showing a true and fair view”.

Nkhotakota district council continues to walk tall after making it again, alongside seven other councils that have attained unqualified opinion audit report for the 2021-2022 financial year.

“The adverse opinion audit report was a big wakeup call and, as council, we told ourselves that it would never happen again,” explains Masankhula. “So, we started preparing proper books of accounts and putting everything in order and here we are: It’s exciting news and we are happy that we are now able to access the GESD’s Performance Based Grants. The people of Nkhotakota are happy too.”

While the unqualified opinion status remains a must for all councils in the country as it is a prerequisite for them to tap into GESD’s PBG, for Nkhotakota it is a thing to die for as the council’s next most ambitious leap depends on the attainment of another unqualified opinion.

“We just have to make it again – it is critical for us,” explains Masankhula. “The council is in the process of releasing a bond to raise financing for big investments, including construction of an industrial park. So, we are working with some stake holders like Malawi Stock Exchange and one of the requirements for us to go to the market and issue a bond is that we secure unqualified opinion for 3 financial years.”

Elsewhere in Chitipa and Phalombe, the councils’ DoFs and their respective managements are basking in a similar glory, having steered their councils to safer grounds by attaining unqualified opinion audit report twice in a row i.e. in 2020-2021; and 2021-2022 Financial Years.

For Chitipa, the council’s DoF, Gift Msowoya, admits that the journey has not been all smooth to get where the council is regarding proper documentation and records keeping.

“When I came here in 2021, I found that many things were not in order: the cheques were handwritten, and a number of accounting staff did not know how to go about their job in terms of transacting,” explains the DoF.

“So the first thing that I did was to put in internal controls that could help better management of public financial resources,” he adds.

The number of councils obtaining unqualified opinion audit report has doubled to 8 i.e Chitipa, Rumphi, Nkhotakota, Lilongwe, Ntcheu, Phalombe, Thyolo and Nsanje, in 2021-2022 Financial Year, from four i.e Chitipa, Nkhotakota, Dowa and Phalombe, in 2020-2021 Financial Year.

Like it has been the case with Nkhotakota and Chitipa district councils, the attainment of unqualified opinion audit report for two consecutive years has been a big energizer to Phalombe and the population the council serves.

The status has not just enabled Phalombe qualify for GESD Performance Based Grant for service delivery, it has also enabled the council win public trust and donor confidence, according to the council’s DoF, Martin M’baya.

“The unqualified opinion status is very crucial to us as a council: Currently we are submitting a proposal to EU worth MK1billion and the unqualified opinion audit report is a requirement,” explains M’baya.

Chitipa, Nkhotakota, Phalombe, and the rest of the other councils that have attained the most sought-after unqualified opinion status in the 2021-2022 Financial Year are all touting teamwork and visionary leadership at council level as key to their success.

“I owe it to the team that I work with; I provide all the required technical skills to the people that I supervise and, together, we make sure that we are following the procedures that are laid out in the financial management manual,” explains Nkhotakota DoF, Masankhula.

The winning councils also confess that they could not have attained the unqualified opinion status without the support of GESD through the NLGFC whose financial analysts have always worked with the councils, providing guidance.

NLGFC Financial Analyst, Sara Banda Chizinga, applauds the councils for attaining the unqualified opinion audit report, a status she says requires dedication, hardworking, and special attention to all the procedures making sure that all the assets, the liabilities and transactions, payments, receipts, are in place and have been accounted for.

Chizinga advises that the process starts at budget level where councils need to put in much effort as whatever they budget is what they implement.

She explains: “Councils need to make sure that all the transactions are in line with what they budgeted for to avoid over expenditures; they need to be within the budget. And then after that they need to make sure that all the transactions are being captured within the IFMIS, which we currently have in all the councils.

“Councils should, also, make sure that they have strong internal controls, for instance: fuel should be accounted for; they should have proper records filing, ledgers, allowances, payment vouchers – all should have supporting documentation.”

In terms of fixed assets, Chizinga says councils should make sure that all the donated assets are recorded and accounted for, and that all the assets that are purchased are accounted for.

All government guiding instruments such as Procurement Act, Local Government Act, Public Finance Management Act, and other guidelines must be followed by councils, according to the analyst.

But while it is every council’s dream to attain the unqualified opinion audit report and attract not only GESD funds but other donor funds as well, some factors may affect progress in the councils.

Chizinga cites transfers as being among the factors that can affect progress in council’s attainment of the top audit score.

“Mostly when there are transfers, say, when someone has started within the year and it happens that amid preparation of financial statements the person has been moved, it becomes a challenge for the one who has come in to start preparing the financial statement,” she observes.

But Chizinga is quick to point out that with dedication and hard work, councils can get themselves from a mess (adverse opinion) to safety (unqualified opinion audit report), a precedence which other councils like Nkhotakota have just set.

Out of the 28 councils in the country, three councils, namely Balaka, Machinga and Zomba have completely missed the GESD Performance Based Grant for the subsequent funding after scoring poorly in the 2022 LAPA.

Mana/km/scm

By Monica Banda

Mchinji, August, 28, Mana: Young people in Mchinji have been urged to take active role in taking care of the environment.

This was said on Saturday when Girls Activists Youth Organisation (GAYO) commemorated International Youth Day in the district under the theme, ‘Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World’.

Environmental District Officer Chrispin Soko said youths these days are lazy to concentrate on future endeavours, let alone to take care of the environment.

“I appreciate what GAYO has done, and I would like to encourage them to be doing this kind of events frequently so that they should be reminding the youth on what to do with the environment because the future belongs to them,” Soko said.

GAYO Executive Director Richard Batch said the aim of commemorating the day was to realize the potential that youth have towards the shift to sustainable environment.

“The issue of climate change in Malawi has affected each and every one, hence we are urging young people to take part in protecting the environment such as planting trees,” Batch said.

According to a representative of the Mchinji Youth Office, Joseph Dalitso Manthalu, such events empower young people about environment, adding this helps them to take care of the environment instead of destroying it.

“As a department, we cannot leave the youths behind, and this is part of Malawi’s Vision 2063 which is about environmental sustainability of which the youth are the movers,” said Manthalu.

The function drew together different youth organisations based in Mchinji, and Ozone Wood Art Theatre spiced up the event with performances.

By Chilungamo Missi

Blantyre, August 10, Mana: Commissioner for Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DODMA), Charles Kalemba has said his department was geared to improve disaster preparedness and response having learned from challenges that were encountered when the country was hit by Tropical Cyclone Freddy (TCF).

He was speaking on Thursday during the opening of a two-day post-action review meeting in Blantyre aimed at reflecting on how different sectors and stakeholders faired during the TCF response.

Kalemba said that the reflection meeting would enable the country do better next time it experiences a similar situation as each and every sector and cluster would be assessed saying that Malawi wants to build resilience which cannot be achieved if relevant pillars are not properly assessed.

“We warned people of the impending cyclone however we were focused on flooding, we did not anticipate mudslides and landslides, now it means that on paper we know the hazards that can impact us but we are not holistically looking at those hazards and are prepared for them.

“We need to be always prepared in terms of what people will eat and where people should go when disasters hit. Because we had no places designed for people that needed shelter then. During the disaster people had to run to schools which showed a lack of preparedness,” he said.

The Commissioner added that the department was committed to making sure that people living in disaster-prone areas have relocated to safer areas saying the process already started in Chiradzulu, Nsanje, Phalombe, Mangochi and Mulanje adding that in other districts land was yet to be identified in order to carry out the same process.

United Nations Resident Coordinator, Rebecca Adda Dontoh underscored the importance of coordination among stakeholders involved in the disaster response.

She said, “Coordination is very important in every humanitarian action, it reduces transactional costs and reduces duplication that takes away the minimum resources we already have.

“In this review meeting, we are looking forward to reflecting on how UN humanitarian actors, government, and everybody coordinated in the TCF preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience.”

By Harris Kulemeka

Lilongwe, August 24, Mana: Hope Ministries International has urged people from surrounding Mwabwera Village in Traditional Authority Masumbankhunda in Lilongwe district to protect and conserve natural resources as one way of mitigating natural disasters in the area.

Hope Ministries International Project Manager Judith Likosa made the call Tuesday during an interface meeting with Mwabwera Village Natural Resources Management Committee at Malingunde in Lilongwe district.

 “We have been training these people on how they can protect and conserve the natural resources because we know that it is not only the role of government to ensure that people are protecting natural resources,” she said

Likosa said as an organization they have been providing tree seedlings to Mwabwera Village Natural Resources Management Committee so that they plant more trees for future generation to use and prevent them from natural disasters caused by deforestation.

She also encouraged people in the area to grow vegetables and some fruits which will later assist them as source of income and food for their good health.

Mwabwera Village Natural Resources Management Committee Secretary Enock Chiwanga thanked Hope Ministries International for the initiative saying it has assisted them to take an active role in sensitising people in the area to know the importance of protecting natural resources.

‘’Previously people were destroying natural resources in the area but since this organisation came in the area many people have known the importance of conserving natural resources.

“As of now we are able to replace trees in order to prevent disaster. We have managed to make by-laws that have been put in place to protect and conserve our natural resources,’’ said Chiwanga

During the interface the organisation also donated vegetable seeds like tomato, onions, chinese, cabbage and pesticides to the committee which will help them to generate funds for its sustainability.

Hope Ministries International is a Christian organization that deals with climate change and overpopulation.

By Sylvester Kumwenda

Dowa, August 23, Mana: Dowa Director of Planning and Development, Mercy Mpakule, has urged the District Environmental Sub Committee (DESC) to provide thorough environmental impact scrutiny for projects that will have effects on the environment to protect the same.

Mpakule made the remarks Tuesday during a DESC consultative meeting held in the district with consultants of firms that have projects in the district.

“When we are having a project in the district that will have an impact on the environment, it is the responsibility of this committee to learn more of the project and analyze it. We need to see if the impact is detrimental to the environment and the people.

“It is not a must that we approve anything, but rather make sure that whatever is accepted is safe for the environment and our people. If anything goes wrong, it will be our fault, so we need to be careful in analysing projects,” Mpakule advised DESC members.

She further said it was high time issues of environmental safeguards are taken seriously in all the projects being implemented in the district.

The planning director also advised project implementers to ensure they protect their workers from harm by, among other things, providing them with essential personal protective equipment.

During the meeting, computing consultants made a presentation on behalf of Ferrous Engineering Limited on the potential of Choma Gypsum Project which intends to develop a gypsum mining at Chola in Traditional Authority Kayembe in the district.

There was also a discussion with RUO Consultants who have been hired by the Roads Fund Administration to design four additional tollgates and supervise the works, one of which will be constructed at Nkhamanga in Dowa.

“These are category two types of projects and require environmental and social management plan.

“So, our coming here is to consult the council on concerns, expectations and fears amongst other things in terms of environmental and social management as regards the construction of the tollgate so that the Roads Fund Administration should take these into consideration,” said a RUO Consultant, Robert Masina, during the meeting.