By Ireen Mseteka

Likoma, January 2, Mana: Traditional dancers in Likoma converged at Mvumu ground on Monday to showcase Malipenga traditional dance in a bid to celebrate and preserve their culture.

Captain for Zomba Boma Malipenga dancers, Joseph Chirwa said the dance performances are held annually on the first and second day of January to celebrate the new year.   

“Traditionally, we have been coming together on 1 and 2 January every year for Malipenga dance performances since 1925.

“The purpose is to preserve our culture for future generation to follow suit and maintain culture for the island. We also do it as part of celebrations for the new year,” Chirwa said.

He expressed concern that this year’s performances were poorly patronized due to rainfall.  

Secretary for the dance troupe, Dustan Mhone said some people thought the program would be called off because acting Sub Traditional Authority for the area is sick.

Twimepoki Mangani

Lilongwe, January 2: Minister of Tourism, Vera Kamtukule has hailed Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) The Jesus Nation Church for their efforts in driving spiritual tourism.

Kamtukule made the remarks in Kanengo, Lilongwe on Sunday during the ECG crossover service themed Night of Wealth Transfer.

She said tourism is a strategic sector of the economy hence the need for the church to take part in promoting the sector.

Kamtukule said what the church has accomplished is an embodiment of what the ministry embraces that Malawi is the warm heart of Africa.

“When the prophet invited me I thought I should honour it. There is no hotel in the city with extra room because of this conference. Therefore, I want to thank Prophet Bushiri and the leadership. The Night of Wealth Transfer has anchored our economy massively,” she said.

She, therefore, urged ECG to continue staging such events welcoming international conferences for women and the youth.

The minister also graced the hosts of worshippers with her melodic voice as she performed with ECG’s songstress, Swazi Dlamini.

Prophet Shepherd Bushiri hailed Kamtukule for the recognition awarded to ECG for its contribution towards the economy, and all participants for gracing the crossover.

Bushiri, who preached on the essence of wealth transfer, said God will open doors for his people who walk in truth so as to enable the church help the poor in fulfillment of the prophecy of Jesus Christ which reads “you are the light of the world”.

“In 2023 we had the year of soul winning. We are many today because we took time to preach the word and so many people came to Christ. The Bible says we should seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all things shall be added unto us. So, our main aim is to seek the kingdom,” Bushiri said.

The crossover had an attendance of almost 30,000 with thousands of visitors from South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Angola, Lesotho, Australia, United States of America, the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada.

In a bid to further the spread of the gospel the church announced the launch of the Jesus Nation Application and the Jesus 24/7 radio (95.4 FM).

By Aliko Munde

Chitipa, January 1, Mana: As most Malawian farmers rely on rain-fed agriculture, 51-year-old Jane Mtambo of Sendelera Village in the area of Senior Traditional Authority (STA) Mwenewenya in Chitipa District has found gold in irrigation farming.

Mother of five children - two boys and three girls - says she regrets after having wasted time on rain-fed agriculture, saying irrigation farming is more profitable than the latter.

“Irrigation farming is a game changer. I have been experiencing food shortage year in year out because I was only relying on rain fed farming,” Mtambo says.

Mtambo is one of the 437 farmers doing irrigation farming in a 131-hectare Mafinga Irrigation Scheme in Group Village Head Mwenechisenga under STA Mwenewenya in the district.

The K1 billion Mafinga irrigation Scheme was constructed by Programme for Rural Irrigation Development (PRIDE) Project with funding from International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

PRIDE Project commenced construction of the irrigation scheme in May 2022, as one of the interventions towards reducing food insecurity in the district and country as a whole.

This is in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number two which emphasizes promoting sustainable agriculture, ending hunger and achieving improved nutrition by 2030.

“From a maize quarter acre piece of land, I am expecting to harvest 600 kilograms, which is equivalent to 12 bags, each weighing 50 kg. My plan is to sell a few bags and reserve some for consumption at my household,” she explains.

This initiative also serves SDG three, which talks of promoting healthy lives and well-being for all at all ages.

“After harvesting the maize, I plan to plant Irish potatoes. I am even thinking of paying a fee for another piece of land within the irrigation scheme so that I can have two plots for Irish potatoes,” she says.

Mtambo then appeals to other farmers to adopt irrigation farming, describing it is a viable agriculture intervention in the advent of climate change.

The irrigation scheme will go a long way in alleviating poverty amongst small holder farmers and households, as the initiative will also provide them with income and economic opportunities.

The Mafinga Irrigation Scheme is also going to cement SDG eight, which talks of promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth for farmers.

President for the scheme, Mathias Kanyika, assures the government that farmers will take good care of the facility for it to last long.

“In the past we have been failing to irrigate our crops because of shortage of water. But after the completion of the construction of this scheme, we have managed to utilize 27.4 hectares of irrigable land. After harvesting the first round of crops, we are expecting to put into use all the 131 hectares for the second round,” said Kanyika.

Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale says government has realized the importance of promoting irrigation agriculture in dealing with food insecurity.

“This is why apart from Chitipa District, the government is doing similar irrigation schemes across the country,” said Kawale.

He adds that his ministry is currently investing government resources as well as resources from the country’s development partners heavily in irrigation schemes to achieve food security as well as economic security both at household and national levels.

“The irrigation scheme that we are seeing here was financed by IFAD, and is one of the many schemes that we are developing in this country.

“Our goal is to make sure that we eliminate hunger by making sure that farmers across the country are harvesting two or three times annually,” Kawale says.

Kawale also says that the Ministry of Agriculture will not spare any resource the country has to make sure that government serves both smallholder and large scale farmers to invest in irrigation.

“I must be quick to say that we know the pressure surrounding food insecurity that we have currently as a nation. We will continue working with farmers of different calibres to sustainably sort out hunger. Some of them will be put on contract farming so that they produce more crops in a shortest period of time for us to achieve food security,” he explained.

He further explains that government is taking one step at a time to invest in different irrigation schemes across the country.

“Malawi can produce enough food to sustain itself as well as for export. We are on track,” says Kawale.

By Kondwani Magombo

LILONGWE, January 1, Mana: Former students of Lilongwe’s Bwaila Secondary School have bailed out 25 students at the school who could not afford to pay Malawi National Examination Board (MANEB) examination fees for the 2024 Junior Certificate of Education (JCE) and Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE).

MANEB set Sunday, December 31 as deadline for receiving JCE and MSCE examination fees for the year 2024, but 11 MSCE students and 14 JCE students at Bwaila Secondary School had not yet paid the fees by Saturday, December 30, forcing the school's administration to send an SOS to the alumni for support.

The matter was brought to the attention of the former students through their WhatsApp platform called Bwaila Alumni Chat Group at exactly 14:15 Saturday, by the Treasurer, Innocent Njati, who shared the students’ individual details, including their individual MANEB invoice numbers.

"The total amount required is K582,070. Since we may not have sufficient funds in the Alumni Fund account, the executive would like to request for contributions from fellow alumni," wrote Njati, with an apology for the short notice.

One after another, the alumni chat group members responded by making contributions, ranging from MK6,000 to MK75,000 and, by 23:10 Saturday evening, all the 25 students had been paid for.

Publicity Secretary for Bwaila Alumni Chat Group, Nandi Mambucha, said members of her grouping felt duty-bound to respond to the call swiftly to bring happiness on the faces of the 25 stranded students who could have failed to sit for the MANEB exams.

“This is a very welcome development. It's part of our mandate to come in whenever need arises,” explained Mambucha.

“It’s not that those members who have contributed have excess money on them, no. The need and the urgency of the matter compelled them to contribute,” she added.

The head teacher for Bwaila Secondary School, Steve Banda, could not hide his excitement and relief when contacted to confirm the development.

“I was very heartbroken when I learned from the examination committee that 25 students had not yet paid their exam fees. So I quickly referred the matter to the Alumni group because they have always been there for us,” explained the head teacher.

“Now I'm very happy and relieved to hear that the students will now be able to write their exams. The parents, too, are very appreciative of the Alumni’s swift response,” he added.

Bwaila Alumni Chat Group has a membership of about 300, with some former students exit years dating back to as early as 1980s.

According to the alumni’s chairperson, Charlie Msusa, the grouping has carried out a number of activities before, aimed at improving the learning environment at their former school.

Some of the tasks include painting the roof of the administration block, painting the walls of some blocks and learning classes, donation of computers, and provision of prizes to outstanding students at graduation ceremonies.

By Wanangwa Tembo

Kasungu, January 7, Mana: Kasungu District Hospital authorities say although the district has not recorded any cholera case, they are on high alert and prepared to provide effective response in an event of an outbreak.

The hospital Public Relations Officer Catherine Yoweli said in an interview on Sunday that Kasungu is at risk of registering cholera cases because it shares boundary with Zambia which has been heavily hit by the outbreak.

On Friday, Zambia recorded 336 cases and 22 deaths in 24 hours as it took its tally of cumulative cases to 4, 433 and 172 deaths since October 2023 and has since banned street vending and delayed opening of schools.

Kasungu borders Zambia to the west, with many cross border trade activities taking place through Chinsinga, Kachinda and Nthunduwala.

Yoweli said: “As much as we have not registered any case, we are well prepared, also recognizing the fact that we share boundary with Zambia where they are registering many cholera cases. On the prevention side, we have been distributing chlorine in communities to ensure that people are drinking safe water.

“As a district, we have also been actively involved in the Tipewe Cholera campaign through which we have been disseminating messages on prevention and control, targeting local leaders and the community at large.”

Yoweli, who is also a health promotion officer, said they have also carried out house inspections in communities checking the availability of proper sanitary facilities.

“These activities are ongoing. And we have intensified surveillance of cases so that when found, they should be treated at the earliest opportunity.

“During a similar period last year, we had recorded 15 cumulative cases. So it is encouraging that we are at zero cases this year,” she said. 

Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda told reporters on Friday that the country has already registered 47 cholera cases and two deaths since the beginning of the 2023/24 rainy season, raising fears for another outbreak.

She said it is worrying that despite the Ministry’s efforts to contain the surge, some people are not complying with preventive measures and ignore health guides.

She however expressed optimism that the country will win the battle against the disease with everyone pulling in the same direction.

Last year, Malawi was heavily hit by cholera registering close to 59, 000 cases with at least 1, 768 fatalities before it was declared “no longer an emergency” early August 2023.