Minister of Agriculture Sam Dalitso Kawale has disclosed that 81.6 percent of the farming households targeted in the 2023 Affordable Input Programme (AIP) had redeemed their inputs as of December 29, 2023.
This means around 18 percent of the beneficiaries remain unreached with the fertilizers.
But Kawale assured that the ministry is working hard to ensure that all the beneficiaries have accessed the inputs.
The minister also disclosed that his has resolved all the issues that caused internet glitches during redemption of the inputs.
He thanked companies, which were contracted to supply the inputs to the farmers for living up to their promise.
Kawale highlighted Paramount Holdings Limited as one of the companies, which delivered its quota in time.
Senior officials from Paramount Holdings Limited said they are committed to complementing government efforts to end hunger through provision of high quality fertilizers to farmers in Malawi.
Last year, Paramount Holdings Limited was the only company that satisfactorily supplied UREA fertilizers to the AIP beneficiaries.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) National Governing Council member, Ken Msonda, has revealed that some DPP gurus are funding Executive Director of the Forum for National Development (FND), Fryson Chodzi, to finish party leader Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika.
Msonda claimed that the same ‘gurus’ are the ones who were funding him and Fredrick Billy Malata and Joe Nyirongo (Big Joe) to persecute Mutharika through a court case they trio commenced to challenge his eligibility for the 2025 elections.
He made the sentiments in a statement shared with the media on Sunday.
Msonda: Chodzi will finish APM
“Chodzi is being used by some DPP gurus closest to HE APM – NOT NANKHUMWA (I have their names). These are DPP gurus who funded our case, they are bitter that we withdrew the case, they want to finish APM. Ndikadzawatopera adzayaluka and APM adzakhumudwa kwambiri,” he said.
Opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has summoned the party’s embattled vice president for the Southern Region, Kondwani Nankhumwa, Secretary General Grezelder Jeffrey and fired Director of Women, Cecilia Chazama, to a disciplinary hearing.
The party has also summoned senior officials who attended National Governing Council (NGC) meeting, which took place on 6th December 2023 at Golden Peacock Hotel in Lilongwe.
The party charges that the NGC meeting Jeffrey called for in her capacity as Secretary General was not endorsed by their leader – Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika.
According to the summons we have seen, DPP Disciplinary Committee chairperson Dr. Jean Kalilani will chair the disciplinary hearing.
The charge sheet indicates that the summoned officials will answer charges bordering on undermining the authority of party president and disrespecting leadership of the party which is contrary to section 6(V) and (ix) of the DPP constitution.
Hundreds of children and elderly people from Mgona and Area 25 Townships in Lilongwe partook in a sumptuous Christmas Lunch the Community of Sant’ Egidio had prepared on Christmas Day.
The feast took place at St. Francis Parish Hall at Kanengo.
Christmas Lunch is an annual event the community organizes to share the love of Jesus Christ by sharing a meal with the poor, children from underprivileged families and the elderly.
Father Pouya leads in the eating of the Christmas Lunch at St. Francis Parish Hall in Lilongwe–Photo by Watipaso Mzungu
The responsible of the Community of Sant’ Egidio in Area 25, Eddah Mtalika, said Christmas Lunch, which has been celebrated for over 25 years now, extends the warmth of Christmas to individuals on the margins of society – the homeless, elderly, refugees, and the disabled.
Mtalika disclosed that the community recognizes that not everyone has a family to celebrate with during Christmas festivities.
Excited children hoisting their gifts after the meal–Photo by Watiapso Mzungu
She said a team of volunteers contributed to the lunch, with roles ranging from kitchen duties to fostering a familial atmosphere at tables.
“We are grateful to all the people, including our sponsors across the borders, who committed their financial support to this lunch. We are particularly thankful to our guests for making it to this event,” she said.
The officiating priest, Father Thomas Pouya, commended members of the Community of Sant’ Egidio for their unwavering dedication and commitment to the service of the poor and underprivileged people.
Father Thomas Pouya (right) makes a symbolic presentation of bags of maize to the elderly–Photo by Watipaso Mzungu
Pouya invoked the spirit of God to always guide the activities and programmes of the community so that more people can benefit in years to come.
This year’s Christmas lunch featured a menu of rice with chicken, cabbages and cold drinks.
Each guest also received a Christmas present to foster a sense of joy and inclusion.
Chibuku Products Limited (CPL) has coughed MK10 million towards activities and programmes aimed at celebrating and thanking its customers across Malawi.
CPL Marketing Manager Henry Mbweza told Nthanda Times on Wednesday that the company appreciates the support its customers always give it; hence, its decision to celebrate with them during this festive season.
The bonanza poster flying in all the taverns across the country
Apparently, CPL is a regular organizer of niceties and parties, including music shows and gigs, just to make its customers happy as they feast on the opaque beer.
Mbweza said to celebrate and thank its customers this festive season, the company launched Chibuku Shake Shake Bonanza on 15th December 2023, which will run through 31st January 2024.
He said the bonanza has already seen winners from all corners of Malawi, Northern region through Mzuzu brewery, Southern Region through Blantyre Brewery, Central Region through Lilongwe brewery and Eastern region through Mangochi brewery.
Some of the prizes to be won in the Shake Shake Bonanza
“Chibuku is committed to support and create an enjoyable environment for its customers,” he said.
Mbweza also CPL management, through Managing Director Gerald Bowler, for approving the promotion even when the market and economic environment is tough.
“This is a good gesture to show love and appreciation to customers. And as a business, we will continue with more promotions,” he promised.
Government of Malawi – through the Ministry of Education – has dismissed assertions that it bypassed some processes in the awarding of the contract for the construction of the long-awaited Inkosi ya Makosi M’mbelwa University in Mzimba.
Recently, the ministry announced that it had awarded Paramount Holdings Limited (PHL) and another company contracts to start the construction work early 2024, a development that riled some unscrupulous people, including those who failed in the bidding process, who started spreading lies that the government did not apply due diligence in awarding the contracts.
But the ministry’s spokesperson Mphatso Nkuonera told this publication on Monday that the government followed all the procedures when awarding PHL an MK8.7 billion contract.
Nkuonera stated that PHL emerged as a successful bidder for the project and fulfilled all the requirements, challenging the aggrieved parties to engage the ministry if they have any other issues regarding the project.
“The Ministry of Education followed the due process in procurement and procedures to award Paramount Holdings Limited MK8.7 billion for the construction of Inkosi Ya Makhosi M’mbelwa University.
“Approvals for contract signing to Paramount Holdings Limited were sought from the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), and Government Contract Unit (GCU). These institutions have the mandate to cross-check the eligibility of service providers and suppliers in the system,” defends Nkuonera.
Ministry of Education PRO, Mphatso Nkuonera. Pic curtsey of Nkuonera
The Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA), responsible for overseeing and regulating public procurement processes, defended its decision to grant a “no objection” to Paramount Holdings.
PPDA’s public relations and communication manager Kate Tapiwa Kujaliwa, explained that the authority relied on information provided by the Ministry of Education in making its decision.
PHL directors said they submitted all bidding documents the ministry requested; hence, it was not surprising to have emerged as a successful bidder.
“All that you are hearing particularly negative stories about us is the work of our competitor in business. We are saving the people of Malawi with quality services. There is nothing sinister in awarding us the contract to construct Inkosi Ya Makhosi M’mbelwa University. We fear God when doing business with anyone. So, currently, we are also in a fertilizer importation contract with the Malawi government. Let’s help the current leadership with good works while the local media also must carry positive stories, not always negative ones that try to tarnish someone’s image,” he urged.
President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera on Monday presided over the swearing in ceremony for the first cohort of the commissioners for the Malawi Peace and Unity Commission with a call to the commissioners to advocate for sustainable peace for the country to achieve its socio-economic aspirations.
Chakwera described the establishment of the Malawi Peace and Unity Commission as the apex of his administration’s efforts to establish the National Peace Architecture.
He said since 2012, various efforts to get this done were frustrated by lack of political will; hence, he was happy to have his desire for the establishment of the institution fulfilled during his regime.
“Mind you, I do not believe that the lack of political will to do this in the past was occasioned by malicious intent. Instead, I believe that it is just a reflection of the general lack of awareness in our midst of the importance of active engagement in peace-building processes,” he said.
“In fact, to some extent, I believe that it is a reflection of the fact that we are a nation that has always been at peace and never known armed conflict, which has induced us to take our nation’s state of peace for granted, and to also grow complacent in our consideration of what our role is in being God’s answer to the prayer we make to him whenever we recite our National Anthem, petitioning him to bless this land of Malawi and keep it a land of peace.”
President Chakwera stated that the establishment of the Commission is key in providing a strong institutional framework within which peace-building initiatives will be coordinated with consistency.
He said this will nip any threats to the nation’s peace and unity in the bud in collaboration with all stakeholders.
Captured Paramount Chief Kyungu smilling as he takes an oath as a Commissioner – Pic by Carolyn Mkandawire
Chakwera further emphasized that events in the recent memory and at various points of Malawi’s history should give citizens sufficient cause and pause to see the importance of having ‘this safety net’.
“We may not have had any armed conflict here, but as we all know, there have been many occasions on which our people’s religious, regional, tribal, political, and moral sensibilities have either been intentionally or inadvertently stoked and provoked to destabilize the country,” said the President.
“So if we are going to safeguard our nation’s peace long-term, not only to facilitate the enjoyment of our freedoms, but also to create the conditions necessary for sustaining development and attracting investments in pursuit of achieving the Malawi 2063 Vision, then we must become methodical and intentional in our active construction of the pillars of peace. As such, since the objective of building peace is to safeguard the enjoyment of civil liberties and economic rights of all Malawians, it is imperative that we have this Peace and Unity Commission to identify the structural factors in the socioeconomic fabric of our nation that need to be confronted to neutralize their capacity to perpetuate inequalities that often form the basis of violence, injustice, and a breakdown in the public’s observance and respect of the rule of law,” he added.
Chakwera expressed confidence that the selected cohort is a more formidable and respected group of Malawians to serve as the nation’s first ever Peace and Unity Commissioners.
National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Public Trust has warned that laws, budgets, and policies could produce discriminatory outcomes if Malawi does not address gender disparities in key positions.
NICE District Civic Education Officer (DCEO) for Dowa, Alinafe Chikakuda, wondered why there is still low representation of women in leadership and decision-making positions despite making up over 50 percent of the population.
Chikakuda made the sentiments during her presentation at the launch of the ‘nclusive participation of women/young women in Malawi politics’ (Nthawi Yawo Project).
The project, which United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is financing to the tune of US$100, 000, is aimed at mobilizing more women and young women to contest in the 2025 general elections.
NICE and Centre for Civil Society Strengthening (CCSS) are implementing this project in the districts of Karonga, Salima and Neno.
Currently, women represent only 21 percent of members of Parliament in Malawi, with Neno, Salima and Karonga districts showing zero percent of women representation in parliament.
NICE feels this is a recipe for disaster.
Chikakuda making her presentation at the launch of Nthawi Yawo Project in Lilongwe
“Without equality in representation, the voices and perspective of women cannot be fully reflected in the work of the parliament, arguing that laws that are passed that are biased against women and the focus of any government scrutiny is less likely to focus on issues important to women,” said Chikakuda.
She added, “The presence of both male and female parliamentarians is vital in a democratic and inclusive polity. Women political participation promotes gender equality by challenging the social and political existing structures that perpetuate a culture of women’s subordination in both the private and public sphere.”
She said it was disappointing that the progression of women representation in the political arena over the past two decades of the country’s multiparty democracy has been far too slow, considering the 50-50 target campaign that Malawi has waged over the past years.
In his presentation titled ‘Mindset Change as a Catalyst for Women Participation in Elections and Politics in Malawi’, NICE Programmes Officer Chris Naphiyo highlighted culture/tradition, economic factors and political structures as some of the factors slowing women representation in positions of leadership and decision-making.
Naphiyo said it is high time Malawi broke barriers that have held women at one stage.
National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Public Trust has decried the declining numbers of women in positions of leadership and decision-making in many key institutions, including political parties, parliament and local councils.
NICE Board Chairperson Lingalireni Mihowa has also bemoaned the existence of social norms that hinder women and young women from participating in political life despite the many commitments Malawi has signed to empower and promote women.
Mihowa made the sentiments last Wednesday when she presided over the launch of a USD100, 000 Inclusive participation of women/young women in Malawi politics’ (Nthawi Yawo Project), which the organization has initiated to increase and improve women participation in the 2025 general elections.
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is financing the project, which will be implemented in Karonga, Salima and Neno districts.
Mihowa said it is sad that women continue despite that Malawi signed and ratified several international and regional instruments that promote and protect the rights of women and young women, the terrain remains bumpy for their active participation in politics.
She cited the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development.
“These instruments recognise that women and young women’s participation in politics and governance is not only a matter of justice and equality, but also a prerequisite for sustainable development, peace, and democracy. [However], women and young women remain under-represented and marginalised in political leadership and decision-making at all levels, from the national to the local and community level,” she said.
Mihowa granting journalists an interview after the launch of the ‘Nthawi Yawo Project’ last Wednesday
Apparently, Malawi has failed to achieve 30 percent of women representation in the National Assembly as in 1999, it was about nine percent, 15 percent in 2004, 21 percent in the 2009 election, but suddenly dropped to 16 percent in the 2014 elections.
For local government councils, in 2000, women constituted only eight percent of all the councillors in Malawi. In 2014, it was only at 11 percent. There was a marginal increase to 13 percent in 2019.
Mihowa therefore thanked UNDP for providing financial support to enable NICE mobilize more women to contest in the 2025 general elections.
The project will also mobilize registered voters to support female politicians.
“NICE remains ever-grateful for giving us a chance to show what we are capable of doing through the first-ever national ID registration when all awareness and mobilisation tasks were entrusted to NICE by UNDP in 2017. Considering that this is a one-year project, that ends almost nine months before the 2025 General Elections, I humbly request UNDP to consider extending it with additional resources so that the implementation takes us to the actual polling and end with a post-elections reflection on the performance of women candidates after the results are announced,” she appealed.
In her remarks, the Principal Secretary (PS) for National Unity, Dr. Elizabeth Gomani-Chindebvu lamented that despite having many laws and policies in place to protect women’s rights; the same tend to be poorly implemented due to the fact that society and social institutions are slow in supporting these efforts.
Gomani-Chindebvu therefore called for concerted efforts to deal with the vice and notion that women cannot be leaders and particularly in politics, fearing that the persistence of the nation would affect the realization of the aspiration of inclusive wealth creation and attainment of self-reliance.
Until you visit and interact with a 12-member group of young men and women from Traditional Authority (T/A) Masula in the outskirts of Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, you will not know the true definition and meaning of the word ‘patriotism’.
The 12 are utilizing the vocational skills they acquired through Youth Skills Challenge Support Program, which COMSIP Cooperative Union Limited is implementing under the Livelihoods Support Program of the Social Support for Resilient Livelihoods Project (SSRLP), to transform their community.
SSRLP is a Government of Malawi project implemented with funding from the World Bank and Social Protection Multi Donor Trust Fund. The program targets 590, 000 beneficiaries of Social Cash Transfer (SCT) and 471,000 beneficiaries of Climate Smart Enhanced Public Works Program (CS-EPWP).
Twenty-year-old Frank Phiri, who comes from Njaluzi Village, is one of the beneficiaries of the Youth Skills Challenge Support Program that COMSIP is implementing in conjunction with the Ministry of Youth and Technical Entrepreneurial, Education and Training Authority (TEVETA) with the aim of helping them start businesses or get employment that will help them get out of extreme poverty.
When a team of journalists toured the area on Thursday, Phiri, who dropped out of school whilst in Form Three due to lack of fees, was leading his peers in repairing dysfunctional beds, broken chairs and sewing new curtains for Dickson Health Centre.
“We graduated in July this year and we felt that repairing dysfunctional beds, chairs and windows should be our first priority because of the pressing need for the materials at this clinic. Patients have been sleeping and sitting on the floor when they come to access healthcare services, and we thought this is dehumanizing to the patients,” he opened the interview.
Frank Phiri repairing a broken chair at Dickson Health Centre
Malawi, just like any other country across the globe, cannot underestimate the role of the youth in identifying solutions to challenges that hinder social and economic growth of their societies.
Youth can easily connect with diverse groups of people in their communities through volunteering and outreach. And this gives them a better understanding of how a community is made up of people with different beliefs and needs.
Additionally, youth participation strengthens young people’s ability to meet their own subsistence needs and promotes ownership and sustainability of interventions.
It also helps them to become empathetic citizens who could potentially continue similar work when they become adults. Furthermore, youth who give back to their communities develop leadership skills, learn the importance of helping, and gain work experience.
COMSIP Public Relations Officer Mercy Chaluma-Kayuni said with a MK192 million financial support from the World Bank, the institution has trained 721 youths from Chiradzulu, Blantyre, Phalombe, Balaka, Dedza, Lilongwe, Dowa, Ntchisi, Kasungu, Nkhotakota, Nkhatabay, Karonga, Rumphi and Chitipa in the first cohort.
Chaluma-Kayuni disclosed that the trainings are conducted by TEVETA certified craftsmen from the communities the youths come from.
“Among other things, the young people are learning about cosmetology, tailoring, tin-smiting, building, plumbing, carpentry and welding among others and by the end of the SSRLP in 2027, COMSIP would have trained 4300 youths under this initiative. Upon finishing the skills training, the youths are supported with start-up tools and financial linkages where they get support for loans to kick-start their businesses,” she said.
She added that those getting start up tools can access up to MK300, 000 from COMSIV Limited, a finance subsidiary of COMSIP Cooperative Union Limited, to establish themselves in business and are signing community bonds to be operating their businesses within their communities.
Chaluma-Kayuni stated that COMSIP Cooperative Union Limited believes that through active participation, young people are empowered to play a vital role in their own development as well as in that of their communities, helping them to learn vital life-skills, develop knowledge on human rights and citizenship and to promote positive civic action.
Phiri testified that this approach has helped them understand the importance of youth involvement and participation in identifying and providing solutions to challenges that affect their society.
He disclosed that group members contribute money to buy materials, which they used to repair dysfunctional beds, chairs and curtains at the clinic.
“We are doing this because we have learned that this is the only way each one of us can appreciate that this facility is ours, not a government property. So, this helps in promoting community ownership of the clinic,” said Phiri.
The clinic’s in-charge, medical assistant Lameck Simkoko, commended the initiative the youth have taken, stressing that it complements efforts by Lilongwe District Health Office (DHO) to improve the quality of care in public health facilities in the district.
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