Nthanda Times

Blessings Tambala

  • President Chakwera appeals for direct budgetary support from donors

    Malawi President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has appealed for the resumption of direct budgetary support from development partners, saying this would invigorate foreign exchange (forex) flows and by extension pave way for greater economic movement.

    Chakwera made the appeal on Tuesday morning during his engagements with Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen of the European Union (EU) on the sidelines of the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Doha, Qatar.

    He also made a plea for substantial support towards Malawi’s cholera epidemic, which has claimed at least 1, 500 lives and affected 50, 000 people at present.

    President Chakwera highlighted that Malawi needs both technical and financial assistance to eradicate the epidemic entirely.

    President Chakwera shakes Jutta after the meeting

    The Malawi leader further sought technical support and enhanced collaboration with the EU to see the realization of Malawi’s mega farms initiative through mechanization.

    On the other hand, President Chakwera commended the EU for its assistance in a number of projects, including the €56.5 million Greening and Growing Malawi Programme (Ulimi ndi Chilengedwe m’Malawi), the €10.5 million Malawi Energy Programme (Wala Malawi); and the €17 million Access to Justice Programme (Chilungamo II), among several others.

    He also reminded the EU delegation of a request for support to establish regional transport corridors (to connect Malawi and her neighbours) under the Global Gateway, which was made during emphasizing Malawi’s challenge as a landlinked (or landlocked) country. His Excellency stressed that the corridors be prioritized and accorded the urgency that they deserve if Malawi is to develop.

    Chakwera disclosed that the global shocks like climate change, war and the Covid-19 pandemic that have impacted various countries have inevitably affected Malawi by virtue of the country being part of a global village resulting in the skyrocketing of food, fuel and fertilizer etc.

    President Chakwera further pointed out that what is needed is exponential growth for the LDCs and the domestication of the Doha Programme of Action adding that the terminology should now be “next to develop countries”, as opposed to Least Developed Countries adding that public debt is another obstacle to the development of LDCs due to the vicious circle that it perpetuates.

    EU expressed the possibility of aligning resuming budgetary support to specific sectors in particular education and pledged its continued support to Malawi.

  • Minister Jean Sendeza represents Malawi at the Commission on the Status of Women in US

    Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, Jean Muonaowauza Sendeza, is in the United States of America (USA) where she is leading a Malawi delegation to the 67th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

    Speaking in an interview from the US, Sendeza said the session seeks to address critical issues affecting women in the world.

    She said the delegates will also identify barriers hindering women from achieving their social and economic aspirations.

    It is a great milestone for Malawi to be part of this auspicious session

    “So, this session seeks to address critical issues like: What does it mean to ‘crack the code’ to gender equality? What will it take to close the digital gender gap? How do we leverage inclusive technologies to combat generational and systemic gender-based discrimination?” said Sendeza.

    The minister disclosed that the session, which will run from 6th-17th of March, 2023, will delve deep into the theme: “Cracking Code: Innovation for a Gender Equal Future” and exploring how, by improving access to innovation and education, as a way of closing the digital gender gap that keeps so many women and girls offline and away from new opportunities.

    “It is a great milestone for Malawi to be part of this auspicious session. I am leading a Malawi delegation to the 67th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York, USA,” she stated.

  • President Chakwera asks European Investment Bank to extend support to science and technology sector

    Malawi President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has asked the European Investment Bank (EIB) to consider extending its support to the science and technology industry, stressing that the sector is key to industrialization.

    Chakwera made the plea when he held talks with EIB Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Ostrom, at the end of Monday’s deliberations during the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Doha, Qatar.

    EIB officials locked in a meeting with President Chakwera in Doha, Qatar

    The Malawi leader recognized and commended the bank for the existing support in the various sectors, including water, sanitation, energy and agriculture.

    He, however, asked EIB to consider its assistance to the ICT sector. He reiterated that Malawi places digital transformation on top of the government agenda, towards achieving the Malawi Vision 2063, as well as the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    While also thanking EIB for the support it is providing towards rehabilitation of the M1 Road, President Chakwera emphasized Malawi’s commitment to realizing the completion of additional projects including, the water supply project for Salima through the Central Region Water Board and rehabilitation of the M1 Road from KIA Junction to Mzimba junction.

    Other projects are rehabilitation of the ESCOM Eastern and Western backbone line and construction of the Malawi-Tanzania inter-connector; and improvement of energy supply in all major water boards, among other initiatives.

    Earlier in the day, Chakwera held bilateral talks with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Secretary General, Ms Doreen Bogdan-Martin, on the sidelines of the 5th United Nations (UN) Conference on Least Developing Countries (LDCs) in Doha, Qatar.

    EIB Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Ostrom, shakes President Chakwera after their bilateral talks in Doha, Qatar

    ITU provides technical and financial support to the government of Malawi on various ICT-related aspects.

    President Chakwera explained that the whole purpose of establishing a Ministry of Digitalization in his government was to ensure the attainment of digital transformation, through access and affordable internet connectivity especially to young people.

    Chakwera stated that his government realises that it needs to leverage on the opportunity that its demographic dividends offer, as Africa has a large population of youth who, if strategically included, can drive Innovations and development.

    However, the President highlighted the challenges hindering Malawi’s digital development growth including high data and device costs, leading to access and connectivity deprivation.

    Currently, Malawi has one of the lowest internet penetration rates in Africa, estimated at 19 percent, low broadband coverage standing at 35%, low smartphone penetration with only five thousand smartphones out of the 12 million registered simcards, high data costs, with the country rated as the third most expensive for data in Africa.

    Bogdan Martin commended Malawi for making bold strides towards attaining digital transformation but made it clear that the country must focus on bringing down costs going forward.

    She said the world already has network coverage but that usually, connectivity challenges are due to high data and device costs and lack of local content including e- Government services.

    ITU mainly works with the Ministry of Information and Digitalization as well as Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) among others.

    Other than providing a consistent platform for Malawi to engage and participate in ITU general telecommunications and ICT related business, ITU has assisted Malawi in numerous ICT related areas including Cybersecurity, and capacity building.

  • Youth Advocacy Platform equips LL youths with leadership, governance skills

    Youth Advocacy Platform (YAP) on Friday conducted a one-day Leadership and Governance Training Workshop to equip young people with leadership and governance skills.

    YAP is a registered national youth-led not-for-profit organization, which aims to promote citizen, youth and community-led participation in the implementation and monitoring of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through capacity building and advocacy so that the citizenry realizes full potential.

    The organization provides a platform for engagement, opportunities, self-awareness and discovery, capacity building, skills acquisition, networking and career development.

    YAP Programme Coordinator Elias Mambo said his organization had noted that many young people lacked capacity and skills to enable them to lead in various spheres of life.

    Key speakers at the training workshop included Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Bright Msaka.

    “Most of these young people are university students. We are targeting university students because we believe they are almost there close to occupying positions of leadership in the society,” he said.

    In his remarks, Msaka – who is also legislator for Machinga Likwenu and DPP Vice President for Eastern Region – urged the trainees to refrain from immoral behavior that can ruin their future.

    Msaka (in first row, in suit) posing for a photo with the young leaders at the end of the training

    He stressed that good leaders need to be credible and empathetic for them to excel in their undertakings.

    Msaka observed that both in government and private sector, systems are collapsing because of bad leaders, observing that majority of the people nowadays take leadership positions because of opportunities those positions present.

    “People don’t take leadership positions because they want to change anything in an organization. NO! They take leadership positions because they want to benefit from the opportunities those positions offer. So, ask yourselves why you want to be leaders. If you feel like one day you want to be CEO of Admarc because you want to sell the maize pretending its rotten, you want to be a PS for Ministry of Agriculture because you want to buy fertilizer from a butchery, then you are disqualified,” he said.

    He stressed the need for Malawi to build the cadre of leaders that is hardworking and has right skills to inspire others to perform outstandingly.

    Msaka said young people need to critically analyze the reasons motivating them to vie for any leadership position.

    “Go out there and be interested in output. What are we achieving? Don’t be misled by absorption capacity, but what we are achieving out of what you were allocated. Activity isn’t the same thing as accomplishment. Being at work is not the same as working,” he said.

    Speaking in an interview afterwards, Msaka said he expects the students he had interacted with to become selfless leaders who will aspire for top positions in order to serve.

    “I am expecting that after my interface with these students, we are going to have leaders that are selfless, that take on positions of leadership not for themselves, but for the public good or for the good of the institutions that they will lead. Here is the difference: people that aspire for leadership in order for them to acquire the benefits that come with that position, or the people that aspire for leadership in order to improve things either in the country or in the organization that they lead. I am hoping that after today, the team of leaders that we have interfaced with today will be latter kind of leaders who will be there for the benefit of the people,” he said.

    A representative of the students, Dorica Manda, described the leadership and governance training workshop timely, saying the skills they gained will enable them become effective leaders.

  • Chakwera advises intellectuals to join him in propelling message of hope to Malawians

    Chakwera advises intellectuals to join him in propelling message of hope to Malawians

    President Lazarus Chakwera has asked intellectuals in the country to join him in propelling a message of hope for a better Malawi and not vice versa.

    Chakwera was speaking in Mzuzu Friday when he attended the University of Livingstonia’s (Unilia) 16th Graduation Ceremony at Mzuzu Auction Floors Hall.

    The President said that he accepted the invitation to be part of the ceremony because he knew that he was going to meet a group of intellectuals that will understand the need for patience and hope for a better tomorrow.

    “I accepted to be part of this occasion because I knew I was going to be in the company of intellectuals who know the meaning of patience and holding a hope that tomorrow they shall have the future that they desire.

     I am aware that as a country we do not have enough capacity to generate enough forex which is one of the resources that would help improve welfare of Malawians. However, discouraging people that there is no hope for better change will not help the situation,” said Chakwera.

    He said that he has all the hope in the graduates that will join him to propel messages that will instill and courage amongst Malawians.

    Chakwera: Intellectuals must propel the message of hope

    Chancellor for Unilia, Reverend Reuben Msowoya said it is the university’s hope that the graduates will not be like other graduates who failed to perform in the industry.

    “We equipped you with skills and knowledge to enable you get employed as well as employ yourself and others. We, therefore, expect you to do well out there and continue carrying the University’s flag where ever you go,” said Msowoya.

    General Secretary for CCAP Synod of Livingstonia, Reverend William Tembo added that besides academic studies the graduates underwent strict Christian principles.

    “Among the graduating students, are 185 nursing and 60 clinical medicine students; we, therefore, do not expect to hear a graduate from this group being among those health workers ill-treating patients,” said Tembo.

  • DPP presidential candidate Msaka tips youths on leadership qualities, attributes

    DPP presidential candidate Msaka tips youths on leadership qualities, attributes

    Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Bright Msaka has tipped young people on the skills and attributes they need to have for them to be credible and trustworthy leaders in the society.

    Msaka – who is also legislator for Machinga Likwenu – said good leaders need to be credible and empathetic for them to excel in their undertakings.

    He made the remarks in Lilongwe on Friday when he opened a Leadership and Governance Training Workshop, which was organized by Youth Advocacy Platform.

    Msaka stated that both in government and private sector, systems are collapsing because of bad leaders, observing that majority of the people nowadays take leadership positions because of opportunities those positions present.

    “People don’t take leadership positions because they want to change anything in an organization. NO! They take leadership positions because they want to benefit from the opportunities those positions offer. So, ask yourselves why you want to be leaders. If you feel like one day you want to be CEO of Admarc because you want to sell the maize pretending its rotten, you want to be a PS for Ministry of Agriculture because you want to buy fertilizer from a butchery, then you are disqualified,” he said.

    He stressed the need for Malawi to build the cadre of leaders that is hardworking and has right skills to inspire others to perform outstandingly.

    Msaka posing with students who participated in leadership training

    Msaka said young people need to critically analyze the reasons motivating them to vie for any leadership position.

    “Go out there and be interested in output. What are we achieving? Don’t be misled by absorption capacity, but what we are achieving out of what you were allocated. Activity isn’t the same thing as accomplishment. Being at work is not the same as working,” he said.

    Speaking in an interview afterwards, Msaka said he expects the students he had interacted with to become selfless leaders who will aspire for top positions in order to serve.

    “I am expecting that after my interface with these students, we are going to have leaders that are selfless, that take on positions of leadership not for themselves, but for the public good or for the good of the institutions that they will lead. Here is the difference: people that aspire for leadership in order for them to acquire the benefits that come with that position, or the people that aspire for leadership in order to improve things either in the country or in the organization that they lead. I am hoping that after today, the team of leaders that we have interfaced with today will be latter kind of leaders who will be there for the benefit of the people,” he said.

    YAP Programme Coordinator Elias Mambo said the purpose of the training was to equip young people with leadership skills.

    Mambo disclosed that his organization had noted that many young people lacked capacity and skills to enable them to lead in various spheres of life.

    “Most of these young people are university students. We are targeting university students because we believe they are almost there close to occupying positions of leadership in the society,” he said.

    A representative of the students, Dorica Manda, described the leadership and governance training workshop timely, saying the skills they gained will enable them become effective leaders.

    YAP is a registered national youth-led not-for-profit organization, which aims to promote citizen, youth and community-led participation in the implementation and monitoring of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through capacity building and advocacy so that the citizenry realizes full potential.

    The organization provides a platform for engagement, opportunities, self-awareness and discovery, capacity building, skills acquisition, networking and career development.

  • NICE challenges Kasungu learners to defend, safeguard their rights

    National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Public Trust has challenged learners in both primary and secondary schools in Kasungu to be vigilant in defending and safeguarding their rights against any form of violation.

    Kasungu NICE District Civic Education Officer Pilirani Chaguza has also urged parents, community, religious and traditional leaders to ensure that every child grows in a safe environment that is free from harm.

    Chaguza made the remarks after conducting a child rights sensitization campaign in selected schools in the district. With financial support from UNICEF, NICE, and Malawi Law Commission are jointly implementing a Legal Literacy Programme, which aims to increase awareness of gender-related violence.

    Representatives of the Kasungu learners who attended NICE sensitization meetings

    During the sensitization meetings, officials from the District Education Management Office in Kasungu and District Gender Office collaborated with NICE officials in educating parents and other stakeholders on their roles and responsibilities in the protection and promotion of children’s rights.

    Chaguza reminded parents and children of the five fundamental rights that children have, which include the right to health, education, family life, play and recreation, an adequate standard of living and to be protected from abuse and harm.

    It is at this point that he emphasized the need to be vigilant in defending and safeguarding their rights.

    “You must take the lead in reporting cases of abuse and violation of your rights to relevant authorities. We have put suggestion boxes in all to facilitate reporting of any cases of abuse without fear of reprisals,” he said.

    Child Protection Worker for Nkhamenya Zone, Frank Banda, warned that the law will not spare anyone who violates the rights of children.

    Some of the children who attended the sensitization campaign – Lusungu Chirwa, Felister Lungu and Foster Phiri – commended NICE for facilitating the awareness-raising initiative.

    The learners said the initiative will go a long way in promoting and safeguarding their rights.

  • Kasungu parents urged to bear children they can raise

    Child Protection Worker for Nkhamenya Zone, Frank Banda, has advised couples in Kasungu to bear children they can manage to raise on their own.

    Banda said gone are the days when relatives or government would come in to support children whose parents failed to meet their responsibilities and obligations on their offspring.

    The Child Protection Worker made the remarks at Lwangwa Full Primary School on Wednesday during a sensitization meeting National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Public Trust organized in collaboration with the Malawi Law Commission.

    With financial support from UNICEF, NICE, and Malawi Law Commission are jointly implementing a Legal Literacy Programme, which aims to increase awareness of gender-related violence.

    For the past few days, NICE has been conducting an awareness campaign on child rights in Kasungu, Dedza, Mangochi and Salima districts.

    During one of the sessions, parents wondered the government – through the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare – is failing to provide support to children from poor families.

    One of the parents, who said he has seven children, said he is struggling to educate his children because he does not have a reliable source of income.

    NICE official engages parents in a discussion on the rights of children

    “Isn’t it the responsibility of the government to look after and educate children who are from poor families?” he asked.

    But in his response, Banda emphasized that parents bear the primary responsibility of caring and educating their children.

    He said it is high time under-resourced parents adopted family planning methods so that they have a number of children they can raise without depending on external support.

    “Let us face the fact! Seven is a huge number of children for underprivileged families. Let us start considering reducing the number of children to four and below,” said Banda.

    Primary Education Advisor (PEA) for Kawiya Zone, Mathias Mthunzi, said his office is overwhelmed with financial requests from poor learners.

    In his remarks, NICE District Civic Education Officer (DCEO), Pilirani Chaguza, said he was impressed with the progress the programme has made in entrenching the spirit of respect for the rights of children in the districts.

    However, Chaguza urged community, traditional leaders, learners and teachers to report any cases of violation of children’s rights to relevant authorities.

    “We need to completely root out abuse and violence against children in this districts. Let us utilize suggestion boxes placed in all the schools to report any case of violation of rights for children,” he said.

  • UNESCO bemoans inadequate funding for adult literacy education

    United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has bemoaned the government and donors’ failure to channel adequate resources towards adult literacy education in the country.

    {loadmoduleid 117}

    UNESCO Acting Executive Secretary David Mlera said this in an interview on the sidelines of the drafting of the adult literacy mathematics instruction materials in Liwonde.

    He said Malawi is lagging behind in as far as providing adequate resources for adult literacy education is concerned.

    {loadmoduleid 117}

    Mlera noted that despite adult literacy education involving most of the citizenry, less funding is provided by the national budget and also the donor community.

    Mlera making a point during the workshop. Pic by Martin Chiwanda-Mana

    He said the development is putting literacy education at a disadvantage to a larger population as compared to basic education.

    “According to the country’s 2020 Education Management Information Systems (EMIS), primary enrolment is at 4.9 million, 31 percent complete primary education and 19 percent transit to secondary school. This means that most of the people enrolled in primary schools drop out before they complete their education.

    {loadmoduleid 117}

    “It means that those that need adult literacy education out there are huge as compared to those that are attending formal education. So, this area needs a lot of resources, surprisingly only less than one percent of the education budget from both government and donors is allocated to adult literacy education,” explained Mlera.

    Mlera further said it will be a far-fetched dream for the country to realize an ‘inclusively wealthy and self-reliant nation’ as enshrined in the Malawi 2063 if adult literacy education remains unattended to.

    {loadmoduleid 117}

    “For your information, the potential and current adult literacy learners are the ones who can economically contribute to the nation and achieve the much-awaited Malawi 2063. Therefore, if they are left behind due to inadequate funding, then it will not be easy to attain inclusive wealth and self-reliance come 2063.

    “Therefore, we need to do more by channeling more resources towards adult literacy and skills development so that more Malawians who did not go through formal education, should realize their potential in order to achieve Malawi 2063. Let me ask the donors and Malawi government to pump in more resources towards adult literacy education,” said Mlera.

    Chief Community Development Officer responsible for adult literacy and adult education in the ministry of gender, Samuel Ziba concurred with Mlera that the adult literacy sector gets meager resources despite the country signing a protocol committing itself to provide about three percent of the education budget to adult literacy education.

    “Building on the Hamburg Declaration on Adult Learning and the Agenda for the Future of 1997, the Belém Framework for Action records the commitments of Member States and presents a strategic guide for the global development of adult literacy and adult education within the perspective of lifelong learning.

    {loadmoduleid 117}

    With this framework, Malawi and other member states committed to allocating three percent of the total budget to adult literacy education and learning. However, things are not that positive when it comes to funding as only less than one percent is being channeled to adult literacy and learning,” he revealed.

  • Paramount Chief Kawinga commends NICE trust for spearheading mindset change

    Paramount Chief Kawinga has commended the role being played by the National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) towards the achievement of the mindset change among the citizens.

    Kawinga made the remarks on  Monday after NICE Machinga district officials made a presentation on the Six-year Project Report Dissemination and 2021-2026 Strategic Plan to District Advisory Forum (DAF) members and other stakeholders.

    {loadmoduleid 117}

    The chief said things have changed for the better in Machinga district as citizens have realized their potential in taking the duty bearers to the task.

    He said in the past, citizens were failing to make follow-ups on issues that concern them as they were fearing those who were leading them.

    “NICE has played a crucial role in changing the people’s mindset in the district. In the past, people felt that what they were doing was right despite its negative impact on them.

    {loadmoduleid 117}

    With NICE engaging people through different platforms such as awareness, most of the people’s mindsets have changed for the better. They are able to hold us accountable which was not the case in the past,” said Paramount Chief Kawinga.

    Paramount Chief Kawinga however asked NICE public trust to do more in implementing programs that will help the people to understand the importance of conserving natural resources.

    He said it is worrisome that people are still destroying natural resources such as trees which in turn contribute negatively to the effects of climate change.

    {loadmoduleid 117}

    “Let me take this opportunity to ask NICE public trust to consider coming up with initiatives that will help the people understand the importance of taking care of the natural resources. They have to understand that the current situation such as droughts, and water flooding just to mention a few are being experienced due to their bad behaviors of not taking care of such natural resources.

    “I am very optimistic that NICE is capable of making sure that people change their mindset as far as taking care of natural resources is concerned,” said Paramount Chief Kawinga.

    Paramount Chief Kawinga with fellow DAF members posing a photo after meeting. Pic by Martin Chiwanda

    Machinga NICE public trust district education and civic officer Clemence Sendeza said he is optimistic that the 2021/2026 NICE Strategic plan will help to transform the civic education and governance sector thereby addressing issues raised by the Paramount Chief.

    “The Strategic Plan for 2021-2026 seeks to build on the successes of the previous one, address challenges encountered and address new and emerging issues in the environment that NICE operates as well as internal issues as the Trust undertakes its transformation process,” said Sendeza