Zomba District Council has urged residents of the city to take good care of newly planted trees as one way of conserving the degraded environment.
Zomba District Council Liaison Officer Wydrin Nsanjo made the sentiments during a launch of a constituency tree planting exercise called Bweza Chilengedwe project which was held at Group Village headman Chawuya, Traditional Authority Mwambo in Zomba District.
Nsanjo hinted that the Bweza Chilengedwe project aims at filling gaps that were identified in Masaf 4 project, and is being implemented in all 28 districts.
“The project was piloted in a few districts, but after registering good progress, we are now working in all 28 districts. The main aim is to restore the environment which was lost through a number of interventions like protecting the liver banks,” Nsanjo said.
Speaking on the same, Forest Assistant for Likangala and Mpokwa EPA under Likangala ward constituency Yassin Ramusi disclosed that they have set forest bylaws as one way to safeguard the newly planted trees.
Zomba Likangala Constituency MP planting a tree during the launch
“We plant trees every year but no progress is seen. So, this time we have set bylaws to protect the trees. Whoever is found messing with these trees will be answerable. Another thing is that we are looking forward to having more sensitization campaigns on the importance of having these kinds of trees of different species,” Ramusi concluded.
Member of Parliament for Zomba Likangala constituency Abgail Bongwe, Members from Zomba district council, Chiefs, and other nongovernmental organizations such as Save the Children, and Emmanuel International among others were present at the launch.
About 300,000 trees are supposed to be planted in Likangala and Mpokwa EPA under the Zomba Likangala ward, while over 2 million trees are planned to be planted in the whole district.
Zomba City Mayor Councilor Davie Maunde has warned people against uprooting newly planted trees in the city, saying a law will take its course on perpetrators.
Maunde was speaking at Chikanda Township in the city Wednesday morning during the launch of the 2022 – 2023 tree planting exercise in the Likangala ward in the city.
Maunde said he is concerned with the news that some people uproot newly planted trees along Likangala river every year, saying this tendency retrogress the efforts of environment conservation and mitigation of the effects of climate change such as floods which have already affected some people in the city.
“I am warning those who have the tendency of uprooting newly planted trees in the areas where trees are planted in different locations of the city. We have bylaws which were set aside to deal with everyone who might be found uprooting or cutting down trees carelessly,” said Maunde.
Councillor Maunde planting a tree
Maunde further encouraged communities in various locations in the city to join hands by planting more trees in this tree planting season and ensuring that the trees are well taken care of so that they grow and increase the tree survival rate in the city this year.
“We want everyone to be on the forefront to participate in tree planting exercise and taking care of them so that together we achieve to replace trees that were destroyed in our city,” Maunde added.
In her remarks, Councilor for Likangala Ward Munirah Bakali Chitseko said her area is one of the areas in the city most affected by floods because of Likangala river, hence planting more trees along the river will help to reduce risks of flooding in the area.
Munirah said it is worrisome to note that some people uproot trees when planted along the Likangala river, a situation which put people’s lives and properties at risk of being destroyed by floods and strong winds.
She further said though the tendency is high in the area, the community structures in Likangala ward have managed to raise more than 50 thousand tree seedlings which are ready to be planted in the ward this tree planting season.
Meanwhile, Councilor Munirah has urged community authorities to enforce the bylaws which were formulated in the ward by giving stiff penalties to people who may be found uprooting or destroying trees that have been planted in the area, especially along the Likangala river.
“We are going to intensify tree planting exercise along the Likangala river because when rains come, this river bursts causing floods which destroy homes and properties. I urge members of the community to join hands in planting and taking care of these trees because will help us to mitigate the effects of climate change,” said Munirah.
Chitseko (left) watering a tree planted by Councillor Maunde (right)
During the launch, a charitable organization, Malawi Relief Fund of UK purchased more than two thousand tree seedlings worth about MK2 million to motivate the communities who raised the seedlings to continue participating in tree seedlings management.
The administrator of the Malawi Relief Fund of UK Aisha Missi said the organization is committed to helping communities across the country in tree planting in order to help in environmental conservation and also dealing with the effects that come due to the lack of trees in the areas.
She said the organization has set different interventions which among others is to supervise all various places across the country where the trees have been planted in order to ensure that the trees have been planted are well taken care of.
The Zomba City council has targets to plant over 250 thousand this year.
Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health in Chikwawa have advised persons with disabilities and their guardians to follow Cholera preventive measures.
MRCS Community Development Facilitator, Magdalena Njola said this during a meeting with District Disability Forum (DDF) members from the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Chapananga adding that the meeting was scheduled to give Cholera awareness information to persons with disabilities.
She said that a Cholera update report from the district shows that Chikwawa has registered 246 Cholera cases with six deaths and this prompted them to raise awareness among persons with disabilities as they can easily be infected by Cholera outbreak which was on the increase in the country.
Health Surveillance Assistant (HSA) from the area, Steven Tembo explained to the members the causes of Cholera which included the drinking of untreated water, improper use of toilets, and other unhygienic practices.
DDF members during the engagement meeting
He continued on the signs and symptoms of Cholera including vomiting, severe diarrhea, and body water loss.
Tembo added that the only way to prevent Cholera was to follow hygienic measures like the use of toilets, washing hands with soap, using treated water with chlorine, and eating clean food.
Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA) District Rehabilitation Technician Officer, Elizabeth Khumbanyuwa said that they welcomed the initiative by MRCS as it would assist persons with disabilities to know how best to protect themselves against the disease.
She said the meeting was important as there was an information gap about the Cholera outbreak for persons with disabilities and having this meeting with DDF members would help them to know how to do some hygienic practices and help them to avoid developing negative attitudes towards the Cholera vaccine.
“We encourage parents and guardians to put more effort to take care of disabled children and adults during this outbreak,” Khumbanyuwa said.
She asked for help from other partners and Non-government Organisations (NGOs) to support people with disabilities from all the 11 Traditional Authorities (TAs) in the district as MRCS has only targeted TA Chapananga.
MRCS is working together with other stakeholders like police, child protection workers, women, Traditional Chiefs, social warfare, health sectors, courts, education sector, councilors, MRCS volunteers, and youth clubs to help in implementing its community resilience projects in TA Chapananga area.
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