Blessings Tambala

Group Village Head Chilambwe of Traditional Authority (T/A) Chadza in Lilongwe and Alice Gubudu of T/A Kachere in Dedza – both of them smallholder farmers – are ecstatic about the prospects of eliminating pests in their respective fields.

They believe that dealing with pests will result in increased and improved production, which will help them to meet the food and nutritional needs of their families.

“Over the years, our yields have been declining steadily due to the outbreaks of pests, especially the destructive fall armyworms. I cannot quantify how much I have been losing to the pests, but the destruction has been very substantial,” narrated Chilambwe.

The SGVH and Gubudu made the sentiments at Bunda Campus of the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) where planting breeding and genetics experts are conducting trials on biotech (BT) maize.

Government-subvented National Commission for Science and Technology (NCST) and Open Forum for Agriculture Biotechnology (OFAB) are jointly financing the trials whose major objective is to find a lasting solution to pests that tend to lower yields of the staple grain.

Professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics at LUANAR, Moses Maliro, who is leading the project implementation team, admitted that the introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops like maize brings in a new aspect in addressing food security problems in Malawi.

It is a new aspect indeed because, in a country where fake news and prejudices against GM crops, experts will have an uphill task to convince the over 19 million population why it should embrace BT maize.

Of course, various studies, including those done in South Africa and Nigeria, spoke highly and positively about the use of GM crops to address problems of food insecurity and malnutrition.

In South Africa, for instance, research on BT and RR maize revealed higher output and less labor. On the other hand, non-GM maize used a significantly higher number of hours of land preparation, weeding, insecticide, herbicide, top dressing, and total labor per hectare than GM maize.

Inspired by these results, LUANAR, NCST and OFAB took an initiative to conduct a trial on BT maize in order to identify a variety that would become a lasting solution to perennial hunger due to droughts and fall armyworms.

On March 11, 2024, the three institutions took members of Parliament (MPs) and dozens of smallholder farmers from different districts to appreciate the progress being made on the confined field trial (CFT) site at Bunda Campus.

Dr. Kingdom Kwapata, one of the lead researchers in the project, said biotechnology has proven to be the most effective way to manage pests, especially in the maize crops.

Kwapata advised the MPs and the farmers to ignore the fears and rumours associated with GM maize, reassuring that GM crops are safe for human consumption.

In his remarks to the MPs and the farmers, LUANAR Vice Chancellor Professor Emmanuel Kaunda lamented that fall armyworms have left many farmers destitute in the country.

Kaunda said the study will therefore benefit of a lot of farmers because it will spawn genetically modified maize that is resistant to adverse climate change conditions.

“Agriculture is the first pillar of our development to achieve 2063 agenda and we want to increase maize production. So, through this trial, we want to find ways through which we can increase maize production and address poverty in Malawi,” he said.

Chairperson of the Parliamentary Caucus on Women, Roseby Gadama, expressed satisfaction with the technology, stressing that this is the only way to go as the country is going through various challenges emanating from climate change.

Gadama urged the government to provide and empower researchers with all the necessary materials so that they are able to achieve their goal.

And speaking after touring the site, Gubudu said as a mother, who bears the burden of fending for the children whenever hunger strikes a home, she will gladly embrace BT maize once the government commercializes it.

“I am ready to grow BT maize even today. Why would I hesitate when I have seen for myself how resistant the variety under trial is to pests and diseases?” said the bemused farmer.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services has met the directive of President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera to resume printing of passports within 21 days.

At the launch of two online systems, the Malawi Business Registration System (MBRS) and the Land Information Management System (LIMS), at the Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) on February 29, 2024, President Chakwera challenged information and communication technology (ICT) experts to expedite the restoration of the passport printing system.

This was after the Head of State had revealed during the presentation of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in the National Assembly that the system had been hacked and that the hackers were demanding huge sums of money as a ransom.

Chakwera warned that he would not allow his people to continue suffering to get passports when the country has plenty of ICT technocrats.

He later summoned ICT gurus from from the Department of E-Government in the Ministry of Information, the National Registration Bureau in the Ministry of Homeland Security, and the Department of Innovation and Creativity in the Office of the President and Cabinet, MACRA and ICT Association of Malawi (ICTAM) whom he challenged to identify the problem and find a solution to it.

Last week, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services announced that it was making significant progress in its efforts to resume issuance of the passports.

This was followed up by another announcement on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, from the department that the restoration of the e-Passports Issuance System has been completed.

The department’s Director General, Brigadier General Charles Kalumo, stated that the development means that the e-Passport Issuance Services have resumed.

Kalumo added that the printing of passports will start gradually in Lilongwe this week before expanding the services to other regions.

“Further, the department is pleased to inform the public that government has reduced the e-Passport fee by 55 percent for local Malawians, from K90, 000 to K50, 000, for ordinary passports with waiting processing time of 10 days when the system is fully calibrated and operating optimally. More details will be announced soon when the Honourable Ministers of Homeland Security and Information hold a press conference,” reads the DG’s announcement.

Kalumo thanked Malawians for exercising patience during the time the e-passport issuance system was being fixed by a team of local experts from various entities who ‘worked around the clock to complete the task within the timeframe set by His Excellency the President’.

The international president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), TANAKA Akihiko, last week visited Malawi to appreciate the impacts of the projects the Government of Malawi is implementing with financial and technical support from the agency.

Through JICA, the Government of Japan has been providing substantial financial and technical support to various development projects in Malawi.

In the transportation sector, notable projects include the reconstruction of the Lilongwe River Rridge which is almost done; the Bakili Muluzi Bridge, the reshaping of the M1 Road into a four-lane carriageway between Old Town Hall Roundabout and Old Town Market.

These roads have been improved to create a safe and reliable and affordable transport. The Japanese Government also funded the rehabilitation of the Kamuzu International Airport terminals.

In the energy sector, the Japanese Government financed the improvement of the electricity as reconstruction of the Old Town Substation Project for the improvement of substation in Lilongwe City.

Hence, during his tour to Malawi, JICA president Akihiko visited Mitundu to appreciate the work of the farmers under the MA SHEP.

JICA is providing training to farmers to improve and increasing the income by investing in the horticulture sector.

He then proceeded to Kabuthu Zone primary schools where Japan offers lessons to improve access to and quality of pre- primary education in the target area.

The Japanese Government has assisted Malawi in many ways considering the; Agriculture, Education, Transport, Water, Natural Resources Management, Energy and Health, most of the projects are the Grant Aid.

In his remarks touring the projects, Akihiko expressed satisfaction with the impact the JICA-supported projects have on Malawians.

He pledged that his agency would continue providing support to the Government of Malawi to ensure it [the latter] successfully implements and transforms lives of Malawians.

JICA, in accordance with the development corporation charter, will work on human security and quality growth.

Private Schools Association of Malawi (PRISAM) – an association of the owners of private schools in Malawi – have commended President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera for directing relevant ministries to adjust upwards loans for university students.

At the launch of the University Innovation Pod (UniPod) at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), President Chakwera directed Ministries of Education and Finance to work with the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) to review and increase the students’ loans and allowances to ensure they are consistent with the prevailing cost of living.

He said it would be unfair for the loans’ board to continue giving students old rates when the cost of living had gone up.

Reacting to the development, PRISAM president Ernest Kaonga described the move as a big relief to the students, saying it the upward adjustment of the loans will address challenges emanating from the rise in cost of living, including the recent devaluation of the Malawi kwacha.

Kaonga said the review will largely benefit students from underprivileged families who are struggling to meet the cost of living.

“As PRISAM, we receive many letters from students from both secondary schools and universities asking for school fees. We adopted some students but we believe what the Malawi leader has done will help to alleviate financial challenges among these students, allowing them to concentrate on their education,” he said.

President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera on Thursday consoled survivors of the devastating floods in Nkhotakota, assuring that his government will do everything within its means to support them.

Chakwera also sent a message of condolence to the families, which lost their beloved ones to the raging waters.

After suffering a prolonged dry spell, which lasted for almost one month, the finally started receiving rains last week. But alas! The much-sought after rains were accompanied by storms and flooding in other districts such as Nkhotakota and Karonga.

At least seven people were swept and killed by the floods while hundreds of houses have been reduced to a rubble in Nkhotakota.

Speaking after touring the camps where the survivors are being sheltered, President Chakwera mourned the untimely deaths, stating that the country is losing a human resource it badly needs to develop.

“Our country’s economy is already crippled because of the huge borrowing the previous administrations made. It’s very sad therefore natural disasters should be taking even the little resources we. The disasters have swept away our food and other valuable properties, leaving enterprising families and businesspeople poorer,” he said.

President Chakwera, while assuring the survivors of his government’s steadfastness in providing support to those affected, appealed to both local and international organizations to mobilize resources towards building resilience among the affected families.

President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has thanked United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for undertaking various projects aimed at improving the quality of education in Malawi.

Speaking during the official opening of the UNIPOD at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) in Blantyre on Wednesday, Chakwera described UNDP as an embodiment of a collaborative rather than imperialist approach to development.

“Your Excellency, Madam Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa, I am conveying to you and your team my gratitude on behalf of all Malawians for the financial and technical support you have rendered to make this development possible. In fact, the naming of the collaborative space inside this building in your honour is most fitting,” said the Malawi leader.

Chakwera said UNIPOD sets a model for the future of vocational education in Malawi.

He commended the MUBAS Management for demonstrating dedication and hard work during the implementation of the project.

Turning to his Cabinet ministers, President Chakwera directed Ministers of Education and Finance to ensure that these principles are found in the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (NSTIP).

“This is important because we are in the age of digitization, so we should use our power and wisdom to digitize our economy so that our commerce becomes E-commerce, our learning becomes E-learning, our health becomes E-health, our governance becomes E-governance. So in order to promote this, from next month, my government through the National Commission for Science and Technology will organize a Hackathon worth 50 million at UNIPOD here, and this year’s Hackathon will be to design products that generate electricity without reducing energy, in English they say Renewable Energy Technology. So you businessmen and foreign organizations who help us with development projects, also invest in this to make this Hackathon hot,” said the President.

Malawi’s Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services has disclosed that it is making significant progress towards resolving the cybersecurity breach that resulted in the disruption of the printing of passports.

When he presented his State of the Nation Address (SONA) in the National Assembly on February 9, 2024, President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera revealed that the system had been hacked and that the hackers were demanding huge sums of money in ransom.

And when he launched Malawi Business Registration System and Land Information Management System on February 29, 2024, President Chakwera directed the department to rectify the problem within 21 days, stressing that he would not allow his people to continue suffering to get passports.

And barely four days after the directive, the department has announced that it is making significant progress in its efforts to resume issuance of the passports.

“The public may also wish to know that aside from the combined and tireless work of IT experts from the Department of E-Government in the Ministry of Information, the National Registration Bureau in the Ministry of Homeland Security, and the Department of Innovation and Creativity in the Office of the President and Cabinet, another directive the President issued five days ago to expand the recovery team to include IT experts from MACRA and ICT Association of Malawi (ICTAM) has been complied with. With such an army of experts working under continued vigilance of concerned Malawians, the deadline set by the President is within reach,” reads press release in part.

“We therefore thank all affected Malawians for continuing to exercise patience during this time, and any inconvenience caused in the meantime is sincerely regretted,” it adds.

The department has further informed Malawians holding valid passports that the demographic data loss as a result of the recent cybersecurity breach has been fully recovered.

It urges passport holders to guard their passports securely ‘because recent cybersecurity breach does not affect the validity, security, and usability of any passports already previously issued by the department.

Traditional leaders from northern districts of Malawi on Monday paid homage to President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, thanking him for initiating various infrastructure developments in the region.

They made the remarks during an interface with President Chakwera in Mzuzu.

Over 70 chiefs attended the interface meeting.

The traditional leaders stated that the  transformative infrastructure projects and development programmes that President Chakwera initiated are benefiting communities in the region.

Among others, the Chakwera-led administration is implementing

 the Inkosi Ya Makosi Mbelwa University construction project, water supply projects in Karonga and Chitipa, mega farms and irrigation schemes projects in Nkhatabay and Karonga, Likoma Port, One Stop Border Post at Songwe in Karonga and houses for security agencies.

Also on the list were road projects, secondary schools and newly-constructed Rumphi Teachers Training College.

Presidential aspirant and leader of the Nzika Coalition, Milward Tobias, has advised Malawians to take the 2025 General Elections as an opportunity for them to rewrite their aspirations by ushering in the type of political leadership the martyrs envisioned.

In his reflection on this year’s Martyrs’ Day commemoration, Tobias observed that Malawi has had political leaders who yoke the nation to corrupt business people who fund their political campaign.

He said this has resulted in a Malawi that is characterized by high poverty and income inequality, food insecurity, poor access to safe drinking water, poor and inefficient transport system, poor quality education, poor access to healthcare, high unemployment, harsh economic environment for doing business especially small and medium scale businesses, demotivated public service, unaccountable political leaders, corrupt political leaders, nepotistic and incompetent political leaders.

Tobias said it is sad that Malawians continue experiencing critical challenges in leadership in which citizens are systematically disempowered while those in power plunder public resources.

“Stories of rampant corruption are common often by the very people entrusted to protect public resources. Politics of regionalism, ethnicity and religion has divided a nation that the martyrs desired to be united. Politics of family ties where the political party is a family estate in which leadership succession is by inheritance, characterize a number of political parties even today. Those in power have systematically implanted in people of their tribe and region that they must not give in power to another region or tribe. Those out of power have systematically implanted in people of their tribe and region that the only way they can access government opportunities is when one of their own is in power. This is not the Malawi that our martyrs fought for and we must, with all energy and commitment fight against this primitive politics,” reads part of his reflection.

He observed that, for the past 31 years since 1994, four political parties and five presidents have taken turns to run the affairs of state, with each party correctly identifying the wrongs done by the other party in power and promised positive change.

Tobias further stated that every succeeding party has either repeated or worsened the same problems it spoke against while outside power.

“We have seen politicians demonstrating competence and hope when out of power yet quickly become the same or worse than those who came before them once they are in power. Some reasons for the stagnation and retrogress are clear and include the building political capital around specific tribe or region; conducting expensive political campaign whose finances are supported by corrupt business people and greedy individuals in return for government contracts at highly inflated prices; using public resources to run political party activities; and using public positions as a reward for political loyalty even when the person is technically unqualified.

“Change cannot start while in office. Change must start with the process of ascending to office. I have said to you, fellow Malawians, that it is not possible to run government with integrity when the process of getting to the presidency was bankrolled by corrupt business people and greedy individuals. None of those in politics now can afford the type of campaign you see. When you receive a chitenje, a t-shirt, a cap, money or whatever materials from politicians, ask yourself where they are getting that money from,” he said.

Tobias concluded by extending his word of gratitude to men, women and the youth who are working very hard every single day to share their message of hope.

He also thanked Malawians who are positively receiving their message and joining the change by taking the message to the next person near them.

President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has called for patriotism among Malawians, stressing that this is key to the realization of the country’s development agenda.

The President has also challenged Malawians to work hard and make use of locally available resources to develop their communities without depending on external support on everything.

Chakwera made the remarks in Nkhata Bay during the commemoration of the Martyr’s Day, which commemorates lives of forefathers who were killed by the whites while fighting for the freedom of this country.

The Malawi leader urged Malawians to draw lessons from the martyred ancestors who used the tools that were available to fight against the whites.

“Our parents also showed us that a good citizen uses the available resources. When the Europeans from Southern Rhodesia heard that our ancestors were in trouble here in Nkhata Bay, they sent tanks and military vehicles to deal with them, and when the people of Chitipa heard this, they started putting trees on the roads to prevent the vehicles from passing. They did not allow the unavailability of guns and other weapons to fight for our freedom to prevent them from using the resources they had. So we also want to fight the poverty that has spread in this country, let’s grow by using the tools and wisdom we have.

“When the whites of Southern Rhodesia heard that our ancestors were in trouble here in Nkhata Bay, they sent tanks and military vehicles to deal with them, and when the people of Chitipa heard this, they started to put trees on the roads to prevent the vehicles from passing. They did not allow the unavailability of guns and other weapons to fight for our freedom to prevent them from using the resources they had. So we also want to fight the poverty that has spread in this country, let’s grow by using the tools and wisdom we have,” said Chakwera.

Chakwera said the martyrs who died for the freedom of this country also showed that a good citizen does not allow foreigners to take advantage of the country’s owners.

They said it was sad that even though they had lived in this country for fifty (50) years, they were still not satisfied with the imprisonment of the Malawians.

“In 1953, the colonialists made a decision to join our country to the Federation of Rhodesia, which had a tyrannical leadership. It was that day when our parents said enough is enough. It was that day when our parents realized that a foreigner should not be allowed to steal your wealth. And at that time it got to the point where any Malawian who was found talking to the colonists was stigmatized as a Capricorn, a person who sold his own country. So while enjoying this example, we also need to realize that other immigrants in this country,” Chakwera said.