By Innocent Chunga

Nkhotakota, February 12, Mana: Deputy Director in the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, Davis Kalima, has tipped communities in Nkhotakota on the need to enhance community-based management of ecosystem in the country's wetlands, saying they are key in environmental conservation.

Speaking during the commemoration of Wetlands Day on Friday at Chizongwe Ground in the area of Senior Chief Mwadzama in Nkhotakota district, Kalima said government is committed to work with stakeholders and traditional leaders in ensuring that the wetlands are well conserved to gain international recognition.

He said wetlands provide an opportunity to improve both tourism activities and economic well-being of surrounding communities in the country.

Kalima added that wetlands are a hotspot of biodiversity and the country uses wetlands as a site for ecotourism activities, saying government is therefore trying to promote the wise use of wetlands to remain attractive to tourists.

“In areas around Elephant Marsh, which is the biggest marsh in the country, we have organized communities around it to have different tourism activities. They work together there with support from other stakeholders and partners like Shire Valley Transformation Programme.

“Here in Nkhotakota we have Wildlife Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM) which is taking care of Chia Lagoon through its bird management project, which it is implementing,” he said.

WESM board member Victor Mangochi disclosed that as an organization they are committed to support government in enhancing and conserving the environment.

Chairperson for Nkhotakota District Council, Councilor Charles Chimzukuzuku, said the council will continue providing support to stakeholders who are committed to support them in protecting wetlands to be in line with the district's plans of turning the district into a tourism city.

Malawi has commemorated the World Wetlands Day in the district under the theme ‘Wetlands and human well-being’.

By Wongani Mkandawire

Nkhotakota, February 12, Mana: Dwasco SACCO in Nkhotakota district has reported a 30 percent total asset value increase, from K1.1 billion in its 2022-23 financial year to K1.5 billion this year.

This was disclosed at the SACCO’s 30th Annual General Meeting held at Dwangwa Club in Nkhotakota district on Saturday.

Speaking during the meeting, Abel Musopole, who is the Board Chairperson for the institution, said it has taken huge commitment and discipline from both members of the SACCO and employees to make possible these profits during the just ended period as well as the past five consecutive years of growth.

Musopole said the SACCO business is guided and regulated by guidelines and rules set up by the government through responsible bodies like the Reserve Bank of Malawi and the Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives Limited (MUSCCO) and, as such, SACCOs need to adhere to the guidelines to make sure the business grows.

MUSCCO Business Development Manager Ezekiel Thindwa said Dwasco SACCO is among the 15 institutions of this nature which have a minimum of K1 billion asset value.

“There are about a total of 45 SACCOs that have a total net worth of K70 billion and one of them is Dwasco SACCO, standing at K1.5 billion,” said Thindwa.

By Lekereni Chinkhota

Salima, February 12, MANA: Communities in the area of Senior Chief Khombedza, who were hit by stormy rains on February 6, are in celebratory mood after Member of Parliament for Salima North West constituency, Enock Phale, donated assorted items as part of relief to them.

Speaking after hand-over of the relief items at Katitima Primary School over the weekend, Phale underscored the importance of various entities to join hands in assisting those affected by stormy rains, with the little they can afford.

“After receiving a communication that households have been affected by the stormy rains, I quickly rushed here with council members responsible for disaster management to conduct a quick assessment and we recorded about 40 houses that were damaged together with two classroom blocks and two teacher’s houses at Katitima.

“Generally, once assessment is done by disaster management team, a report is produced for proper intervention. But I thought that before the report comes I should provide a little bit of small relief. Therefore, I and my family decided to go and cheer those affected and give them a little something that will help them even it means it’s only for few days,” he said.

Showing gratitude to Phale’s gesture, Disaster Risk Management Officer for Salima, Gloria Chinangwa, said her department alone cannot manage to assist affected households therefore collaborative efforts are what is needed.

“We are thankful to what Honourable Phale has done to help these people. I also urge anyone with the same kind heart to bring anything of help to our offices so that we should reach out to as many people affected by various disasters,” she said.

One of the beneficiaries, Enelesi Chilalo of Matumba Village, appreciated the items she has received, citing that most people lost their basic needs during the disaster.

“We have been heavily hit by the stormy rains that affected our houses and everything in them. But today we are happy for our MP brought these relief items that will help us for some days as we are getting back on our feet. I am also grateful because he has given a blanket to my child who got injured when a wall collapsed on him,” she said.

Meanwhile, Phale has assured the affected people that he will continue paying them visits and find other partners who can also help them. He promised to use the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to rehabilitate the damaged school infrastructures at Katitima, Kamphedza and Nnema.

Among the relief items donated, there was maize flour, cooking oil, salt, sugar and soya pieces.

By Abubakar Kanjoka

Kasungu, February 12, Mana: Authorities at Kasungu District Health Office (DHO) have expressed concern with the state of sanitation and hygiene at a mining site at Chimbiya in Traditional Authority Wimbe, fearing it could spark cholera outbreak.

Gold deposits in Chimbiya stream have attracted a horde of miners who have congested the site, extracting the precious metal at a place that has no single Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (Wash) facility.

Inspecting the area on Monday, Wash Coordinator for Kasungu DHO, Maclear Masambuka, said the absence of wash facilities, specifically toilets and clean water, makes the area a fertile ground for a cholera outbreak.

“What we have seen here is a serious health hazard that could explode into diseases like cholera. There are literary no toilets such that the miners use the nearby bush to relieve themselves while others defecate in the same stream they fetch water for domestic use.

“Worse still, this is a rainy season, meaning all the faecal matter in the bushes is carried and deposited into the stream which is the only source of water here as there are no boreholes around,” he said.

Masambuka urged the local chiefs in the area to ensure that they quickly dig toilets around the site to avert the possible occurrence of diseases.

Group Village Head Chimbiya said she will ensure that the site, including surrounding houses, has all the sanitary facilities as advised.  

“We will temporarily not allow anyone to go for mining up until they have constructed the toilets. We promise that within seven days everything will be in place,” she said.

In his remarks, Peter Manjale, who is Director for K2 Tigwirane Manja Aids Support Organisation (K2-TASO), said his organisation will be distributing chlorine to all the households around the area to ensure they use treated water.

Supported by K2-TASO, the inspection was part of the cholera response plan activities aimed at maintaining the zero-case cholera status in the district.

By Wanangwa Tembo

Kasungu, February 11, Mana: Member of Parliament for Kasungu West Constituency, Jairos Bonongwe, has bemoaned the tendency of selling and leasing out arable land, saying it increases incidences of hunger amongst the communities in the area.

Bonongwe said many people have either sold or leased out their land and have nowhere to cultivate crops hence they perpetually experience food shortages.

He was speaking on Saturday at Chidzenje in Traditional Authority Lukwa during an interface he organized to discuss possible solutions to the perennial food shortages being experienced in his constituency.

“It is sad to note that most of us now are not engaged in any type of farming because we have sold our land for some quick cash. Some of us have leased out our own farms such that we have become labourers in our own farms.

“This lust for quick money that does not even last has thrown us into deep poverty. We don’t have food; we don’t have anything. In the end we blame the President and the government for our own mistakes,” Bonongwe said.

He said he organized the interface to give the constituents a chance to suggest practical solutions to hunger and make the area self-reliant and food secure.

As part of the solutions, people agreed to form farmer’s clubs through which they will be growing diverse early maturing crops that do not require fertilizers, such as cassava and sweet potatoes while the MP will support the groups with cuttings.

Representing Senior Chief Lukwa, Group Village Headwoman Uthonde thanked the MP for the initiative, saying it would make the communities have food all year round.

She said: “I commend the MP for taking this path. In a way it will also help reduce cases whereby people lease out land for many years and stay all that time without engaging in any kind of farming.

“This initiative will also ensure that we harvest several times in a year and also reduce over reliance on maize as a food crop. If we take it seriously, we will defeat hunger.”

According to the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) report, out of the country’s 4.4 million people that are food insecure this year, at least 143,000 are in Kasungu district.

By Andrew Gondwe

Chitipa, February 11, Mana:  Chairperson for Chitipa District Council, Toweracharo Munyenyembe, has expressed concern that some business people and communities in the district are not participating in clean-up exercises.

Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of a clean-up exercise at Chitipa Boma on Friday, Munyenyembe said the tendency is retrogressive. 

She said people should stop thinking that the clean-up campaign is for officers from the district council only.

Munyenyembe said: "For hygiene and sanitation to be fully achieved in the district, we need to work together as citizens of Chitipa. However, it brings questions when other business people don't participate in the exercise.

"I would love that everyone in the district should understand and participate in promoting hygiene and sanitation so that Chitipa should be free from diseases like cholera that might emerge due to poor waste disposal.”

Senior Chief Mwabulambya, however, said there is need for duty bearers to sensitize citizens on the importance of the clean-up exercises to encourage more people to participate. 

In his remarks, chairperson for Chitipa Civil Society Organizations Network, Patrick Ziba, said non-governmental organizations working in the district will continue to work with the council in promoting sanitation and hygiene.

By Aliko Munde

Chitipa, February 11, Mana: Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) of Karonga Diocese has introduced a new project in Chitipa District aimed at encouraging more women in the district to contest in 2025 elections.

Gender Coordinator for CCJP Karonga Diocese, Janet Mhango, said during a district executive committee (DEC) meeting on Friday that the organization wants women to have a better understanding of their civic rights and responsibilities.

She noted that women have been used for a long time in political parties to dance during political rallies without being given room to contest for leadership positions.

“Our project goal is to enhance the participation of women in the 2025 general elections through civic education and increased engagement in participatory processes,” she said.

Mhango said among the activities, CCJP will organize district stakeholder dialogues with the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), husbands to female aspirants, political parties, and other stakeholders for increased support for female aspirants.

District Gender Officer for Chitipa, James Gubudu, applauded CCJP for the project, which he said will help to stir a sense of participation in the electoral process for women in the district.

“We have got very few partners that are doing issues of gender and I am happy with the coming in of the project. Looking forward to working with CCJP to make sure that women are taking part in the coming elections,” he said.

The one-year project titled ‘Enhancing the Participation of Women in the 2025 Malawi General Elections’ is funded by the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) through the CCJP National Office.

By Mary Makhiringa

Balaka, February 11, Mana: Destiny Church in Malawi on Friday hosted luncheon to over 80 people with special needs in Balaka district as a way of showing love to the people.

Speaking during the event, Reverend Patricia Mankhanamba said people with special needs are equally human beings who need to be loved and given a chance to showcase their talent.

Said Mankhanamba: “We wanted to give them hope so that they should believe that there is God in heaven and, in short, we wanted to give them love.

“We also gave them a chance to showcase their activities whether drama, singing, among others. As you know, many times people discriminate them thinking they cannot do anything on their own.”

Apart from dancing and chatting with them, the church also donated food items.

“We are in a difficult period due to hunger that has stricken Malawi hence providing 10 kilogrammes of maize, 2 kilogrammes of beans and some packets of soya pieces to each of them so that they take home and eat with their family members,” she said.

On his part, Eliza Chambo, who was part of the celebration, hailed Destiny Church for reaching out to them in these hard times where food and love are essential.

By Andrew Mkonda

Lilongwe, February 10, Mana: National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) has hailed community radio stations in the country for playing an important role in ensuring their surrounding communities are well informed on government policies and projects being implemented in their areas.

NLGFC Knowledge Management and Communication Specialist, Hamilton Chimala said this on Friday when officials from NLGFC and Lilongwe district council had an interface meeting with members of the community of Mlinde catchment area in the area of Traditional Authority Malili in the district.

Chimala said it was pleasing to hear that through the programmes aired on community radios such as M’bwezela Zachilengedwe, members of the communities are able to understand and make use of the critical knowledge aired in such programmes.

“We are happy that through these programmes we introduced in October last year, members of the community are able to change their mindset and make use of the knowledge such as planting trees, making swales, check dams and many more.

“We are airing these programmes on nine community radios on pilot phase, but with the information we have got in Kasungu and Lilongwe, I think there is need to scale-up these programmes on community radios for the benefit of rural masses,” he said.

One of the beneficiaries in Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Programme, Lucia Banda said through the programmes aired on community radios, they have been able to construct swales, check dams and planting trees which she said have assisted in reducing natural disasters.

“Through these programmes we are able to learn and make use of the important information from our friends,” she said.

Nkhoma Community Radio Producer and Presenter Abel Kafera thanked NLGFC for entrusting Nkhoma community radio to be part of the community radios airing programmes of M’bwezela Zachilengedwe which he said has assisted several communities in Lilongwe in different ways.

Kafera said many people are able to get the information through community radios because their programmes are being aired in vernacular.

“The only problem we have as community radios is inadequate resources, but we are able to influence a large audience within short period of time,” he said.