By George Mponda

Karonga, February 15, Mana: Karonga District Council has warned contractors working on various projects in the district that they risk being blacklisted if they execute substandard work.

Karonga District Council Acting Director of Public Works, Yamikani Bokosi, sounded the warning Thursday after touring projects under Constituency Development Fund (CDF), Infrastructure Development Fund (IDF), District Development Fund (DDF), Health Rehabilitation and Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD).

"Substandard works are retrogressive to the council’s vision of improving livelihoods of it's residents as they drain the council's already limited funds by allocating resources to the same projects," said Bokosi.

He warned that contractors delivering substandard works will be asked to redo the work so that they hand over a structure in good usable state or else they will no longer be considered for future engagements.

“When contractors are given a job to do, we expect them to deliver quality work on time. This prevents government from spending resources on the same projects when other areas need the same," he explained.

Chairperson for Karonga District Council’s Works Service Committee, Councilor Isaac Kalambo said it was sad to note that some contractors abandoned projects without justifiable reasons.

"We also had a contractor who did a poor job on Nyungwe Area Development Commitee offices and we have since blacklisted that company from our projects," Kalambo said.

Kalambo said they will sit down with the Council secretariat to ensure that payments should not be made to contractors who perform below what is required of them.

By George Bulombola

Mzuzu, February 15, Mana: Ministry of Education, through its Teacher Education and Development Reform area, intends to upgrade teachers’ qualifications from Initial Teacher Primary Education (IPTE) certificate to diploma and above as one way of motivating primary school teachers.

Ministry of Education Director of Teacher Education and Development, Dr Zizwa Msukuma, made the remarks in Mzuzu on Wednesday when he opened a 10-day school leadership training for head teachers, deputy head teachers, female section heads, teachers and primary education advisors (PEAs) from Mzimba North.

Msukuma said, currently, teachers are awarded IPTE certificates after finishing their studies at teachers training colleges and their entry point into the ministry is Grade L.

“Grade L is a very low grade in the civil service and chances for them to be promoted to higher grades are very slim because of their low qualifications.

“We hope that, with the planned introduction of diploma and above qualifications, teachers will be motivated and promoted hence improving basic education performance in the country,” said Msukuma.

He said teachers are supposed to have leadership knowledge and skills for better management of their schools hence the training as most of the teachers in leadership positions assumed their roles without any training.

“Lack of knowledge in leadership roles, among other factors, impact negatively on schools’ performance,” said Msukuma.

Chief Education Officer for Mzimba North, Jessy Kapombe, said most teachers in leadership positions are appointed or recommended by the PEA without undergoing any formal orientation on their roles.

“I, therefore, hope that by the end of this training teachers will come up with realistic and relevant school action plans which can go a long way in improving learning and teaching at their schools,” said Kapombe.

PEA for Lusangazi Education Zone, Elisha Nyirenda, described the training as beneficial to his role as zone manager.

“As a PEA, I need to have knowledge, skills and guidance so that I handle schools, teachers, learners and other primary school education related issues competently,” said Nyirenda.

By Wanangwa Tembo

Kasungu, February 15, Mana: Programmes Manager for Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), Mwai Sandram, says there is need to invest more in interventions that seek to promote women’s participation in politics if the country is to register meaningful female representation in elected positions.

He was speaking in Kasungu on Wednesday when the Good Governance Campaigner unveiled a K170 million project meant to increase women participation in elections.

Sandram noted that it is worrisome that despite more women than men turning out to register and vote, very few show interest to contest for positions.

He said: “Given the low numbers of female candidates, the low numbers of women elected is not and should not be surprising. Very few women show interest to contest due to several factors.

“We talk of economic, cultural and ethnic factors, lack of affirmative action and intra-party inclusivity and other retrogressive practices. So, we have come up with this project to ensure that we create interest and space for more women players in the coming elections.”

He said women’s ability to make meaningful impact in male-dominated councils and parliament will always be limited unless their representation reaches a minimum of 30 percent to enable them have a collective voice.   

Chairperson for Kasungu Civil Society Network, Braxton Banda, said the project has come at the right time when all countries are fighting to increase women representation in decision making institutions.

“Representation is very key in influencing decision making. That is why we welcome this initiative as it will ensure that more women get interested and contest in the elections.

“We understand our politics is heavily commercialised such that women find it difficult to join the race due to financial restraints to sustain the campaign that is dominated by handouts,” Banda said.  

He appealed to civil society institutions to help clear the way for more women participation by challenging the vices that oppress and disadvantage female candidates during elections. 

Funded by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the project will be piloted in the newly created Kasungu South West Constituency before spreading to other areas.

Out of the 193 Members of Parliament in the country, only 44 are women representing 23 percent, and only 15 percent of the councillors are female.

By Salome Gangire                              

Neno, February 15, Mana: World Vision International (WVI) has donated 167 desks and nine chairs, valued at K104 million, to Mchenga and Mpimbi Primary Schools under Nsambe Education Zone in Neno to improve quality of education in the district.

Speaking during the handover at Mchenga Primary School on Wednesday, World Vision District Programs Manager for Mwanza, Neno and Nsanje, Samson Semu, said they made the donation to improve learning environment among learners.

“One of World Vision’s aspirations in the 2021-2025 strategy is to ensure children are able to read and write with comprehension at an early age. For that to happen, learners need to have a good learning environment and this includes facilities such as desks, among others,” Semu said.

He said the donation was part of the organisation’s contribution to government towards uplifting education standards in Malawi, in particular, Chilimbondo area where World Vision is implementing its programme.

World Vision made the school furniture donation with support from their sponsors in the United States of America.

Primary Education Advisor for Nsambe Education Zone, Mixion Migoza, thanked World Vision for the donation saying most schools in the zone lack desks and have inadequate classrooms blocks, among others.

He said Mchenga Primary School, which has an enrolment of 1,314, did not have desks prompting learners to sit on the floor thereby compromising school attendance among girls.

Migoza said the desks will help boost school enrolment as other learners, especially girls, were not coming to school because they felt uncomfortable sitting on the floor.

“Apart from lack of desks, the school has inadequate toilets and does not have change rooms for girls and this affects their education,” Migoza added.

A standard eight learners, Francis Malemia, thanked World Vision for the gesture saying the desks will improve school attendance especially during cold seasons as most learners stay away from school because of cold weather.  

By Aliko Munde

Chitipa, February 15, Mana: Chitipa District Council, during its full council meeting on Wednesday, approved a K7.5 billion budget for the 2024/2025 financial year.

Chitipa District Council Finance and Audit Committee Chairperson, Councilor Saidi Lwanja, said the district budget is guided by Malawi 2063 First 10-Year Implementation Plan (MIP1)  

He said, as a Council, they anticipate to get K179 million in locally generated revenue while estimated budget for other recurrent transaction (ORT) is pegged at K2.8 billion.

“The estimated budget for Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) is at K316 million while the estimated budget for District Development Fund (DDF) is K60 million. Other allocations include Constituency Development Fund (CDF) budgeted at K215 million and Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme at K3.9 billion,” Lwanja explained.

District Commissioner for Chitipa, MacMillan Magomero, expressed optimism that the 2024/2025 budget will change the face of the district.

“We will make sure that we reach the target set to generate local revenue and utilise the funds diligently and prudently,” he said.

Chairperson for Civil Society Organisations (CSO) in Chitipa, Patrick Ziba, said as non-state actors, they will make sure that funds in the budget are used for the intended purpose.

By Andrew Mkonda

Lilongwe, February 15, Mana: Lilongwe District Council Principal Nutrition and HIV and AIDS Officer, Edna Nakanga Mwangonde, has emphasized on the need for collaborated efforts in scaling-up school feeding programme in the district saying very few learners are benefiting from the programme.

Mwangonde made the call Wednesday during a District Nutrition Coordinating Committee (DNCC) quarterly meeting which was conducted to update stakeholders on nutrition activities taking place in the district.

She said it was sad that out of 490 primary schools in the district, only 105 schools are on the programme representing 21 percent of those benefiting from school meals.

“We are very much behind and it is a danger considering high levels of malnutrition and food insecurity among children particularly those from poor and rural households,” she said.

Mwangonde, therefore, appealed to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to support the district so that it reaches out to more learners with the progamme.

Lilongwe East District School Health and Nutrition Coordinator, Joseph Kanyangala, said if well implemented the programme has potential to reduce drop-out and malnutrition rates.

“The program is a great success because it addresses school drop-out rate which was high in the past. Even classroom attendance, which was very low, has improved. We just need to add more schools,” he said.

Lilongwe Civil Society Network Chairperson, Gibozi Mphanzi, said the figures are worrisome hence the need for stakeholders to map the way forward as quick as possible.

“My worry is that we are in lean season and this may also affect school attendance and learner’s performance. Additionally, cases of malnutrition among learners may also increase,” he said.

The National School Feeding Program, which is implemented by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with various ministries, development partners, and NGOs, is aimed at providing daily meals to primary school children.

By Chisomo Kambandanga

Nkhata Bay, February 14, Mana:  Programme Manager for National Malaria Control Program (NMCP), Dr Lumbani Munthali, has disclosed that the Ministry of Health is geared to distribute 11.7 million insecticide treated nets (ITN) across the country.

Speaking on Tuesday during review meeting for indoor residual spraying (IRS) programme in Salima, Munthali said the mass distribution is in line with government’s goal to eradicate malaria in the country by 2030.

Munthali said the nets are expected to be in the county by July while the distribution exercise is expected to start in September this year.

“Due to lack of funds, we are no longer continuing with IRS in the four districts of Nkhata Bay, Balaka, Mangochi and Nkhotakota. So, we decided to conduct mass net distribution in all 28 districts with the inclusion of public primary schools in the districts where IRS was implemented.

“There will be high intensity of community sensitization before, during and after the exercise. We lobbied our partners to put more resources for awareness and we expect high utilization of the nets and let me plead with all communities to make sure the nets are used for the intended purpose,” he said.

He said 6.4 million malaria cases were registered in Malawi in 2023, of which 1,600 people died, indicating that malaria is still a public health problem. 

Munthali then commended World Vision and Vector Link for successful implementation of IRS in the country for over three years which contributed to 40 percent reduction of malaria cases in the first year and consistent reduction of malaria cases in subsequent years in the districts where IRS was being implemented.

Lovemore Mtotera, a resident in Salima town under Traditional Authority Kalonga, commended government for the initiative of mass net distribution as not everyone can afford to purchase them.

The ITN mass distribution will be implemented with support from Global Fund and US Presidential Malaria Initiative (PMI) with a total cost of US$50 million.