Illovo Sugar Malawi Plc has donated 103 hectares of land to Lilongwe University of Agriculture Natural Resources (LUANAR) to enable the tertiary education institution to grow maize on a large scale.
The initiative is aimed at complementing government efforts to address food insecurity that has hit the country as a result of Tropical Cyclone Freddy.
Team leader for the initiative, who is also a lecturer at LUANAR, Thomas Ruben Nyanda. said the project will help them to reach out to people who were affected by the cyclone and are currently food insecure.
Nyanda: We are complementing government efforts
“It is worthwhile to say that illovo has supported us a lot in this initiative by giving us this land for free together with water which we are using for irrigation. This country has a huge potential in irrigation and if we can optimize the resources that we have like waters in our lakes and rivers obviously our country can be a food basket for Africa and even the world,” Nyanda said.
Nyanda said they expect to yield 618 metric tons at a cost of about K300 million.
This is one of corporate social responsibility activities, which Illovo is implementing through its Dwangwa Estate.
Gospel artists who are organizing this year’s Blessings Gospel Concept have called on Malawians to embrace the spirit of patriotism, stressing that artistry requires people’s contributions to thrive.
The organizers also appealed to Malawians to patronize the forthcoming concept slated for 2nd September 2023 at Bingu international Convention Center (BICC).
Chief Executive Officer at Jacob’s Events, Wendy Harawa, made the remarks during a press briefing in Lilongwe where she emphasized that this will be a privilege for Malawians to worshipg God in the midst of different international gospel artists who will be performing live.
Harawa further stated that the concept will provide a good platform for local gospel musicians to interact with fellow gospel musicians who are of outside this country.
Harawa (2nd from right) addressing journalists in Lilongwe–Photo by Wilfred Golden
“We are very geared as our operations manager is making everything to be in place. As of now there is nothing we can say like that we are not ready, the rehearsals are being done for the artists so we are very ready and geared up to give more to Malawians. We are doing our best to make Malawians to feel good during this concept as we have organized a unique thing, we are giving out an all paid expenses international trip to those people who will be the first ones to buy tickets and most importantly these international artists will also make this concept to be unique and exciting as they will be performing live with there band. We also want people to understand that gospel is not boring as others may think you can also enjoy, dance in the Lord and get relieved to other challenges,”she said.
The headliner is expected to land in the country on Friday, 1st September 2023, and the tickets are going at MK15, 000.
The concept is expected to host international gospel artists in the name of Rebecca Malope and her 13 live member band and Abel Chungu with local supporting artists like Great Angels Choir and Kondwani Chirwa.
Minister of Education Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima has called for enhanced investment in the education infrastructure in order to improve the quality and standard of education in Malawi.
Wirima was speaking at Magwero Primary School Ground in Lilongwe when she led hundreds of people in a big walk to raise awareness on the importance of educating the nation
A big walk which was organized as a preparation for this year’s Joint Sector Review (JCR) scheduled for August 30th to 31st 2023 and was held under the theme: “Transforming Education: Investing in Foundational Learning Skills Development for Wealthy, Self-Reliant, and Resilience Nation.”
The minister said it was worrisome that the majority of the learners in Malawi face challenges to access education, citing long distances they have to walk to their nearest school.
From right to left, Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima minister of education, Else Boonstra deputy head of deligation at European Union to Malawi and Chikondano Mussa Secretary in the ministry of education.
Apparently, learners at Magwero Full Primary School and Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) walk from Msungwi in Area 25, Kuliyani and Mwambakanthu Villages, which are over four kilometres from the school.
Kambauwa implored partners and stakeholders to consider investing in education infrastructure in order to reduce these distances.
“You may agree with me that, although we have walked only three kilometers, it feels as though we have covered a distance of 10 kilometres and yet, the learners are walking twice or three times the distance we have covered every day to reach this school and return to their homes. Today, we have the opportunity to listen to heartfelt testimonies from our dedicated teachers and learners, revealing the distressing impact the long distances have on their performance and attendance of our students.
Some of the Students and people who were in attendance at the big walk.
“Consider for a moment, the girl child who, with every step they take towards home, face the unsettling risk of harassment and assault. Picture the tired boys, struggling to stay alert and attentive during lessons, their minds fatigued from the exhausting journey they undertake to and from school. In light of this, I humbly implore all of us to consider investing in education infrastructure to reduce the distances our learners travel to and from school,” she said.
Deputy Head of Delegation for the European Union to Malawi, Else Boonstra, said they will be working hand in hand with the ministry in improving school infrastructure through construction of schools within short distances.
Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Collen Zamba has called for increased investment and collaborative efforts to improve agribusiness industry in Malawi.
Zamba made the call in Lilongwe when she presided over the launch of the 2023-2027 strategic plan for AGRA Malawi.
She said agribusiness is a core driver of transformation in agri-industrialization because of its potential to increase productivity and exports.
“It is encouraged that you have an institution organization coming up with a strategy because once you have a plan it puts you in check. Actually, this has been through stakeholder participation and discussions, including government so the plan is allied to our agenda 2063 and also to the delivery vision of the present, on food security, worthy creation and job creation. Another thing is that they are dealing with food systems part on market access, strengthening productivity and mainly for the smallholder farmers, women and youth, so it really aliens to the vision this country,” Zamba said.
Country Representative for AGRA Malawi, Sophie Chitedze, said their starting point would be to advance agricultural productivity through inclusive markets and trade by strengthening marketing policies and seed systems as well as sustainable farming and they will also look into access to finance and digital technology.
Zamba: Agribusiness is a core driver of transformation in agri-industrialization
“Access to markets and trade come up as a pertinent issue that is bringing a gap, and we thought like our entry point will be sustainable farming but from stakeholder consultations we learnt that inclusive markets and trade should be the entry point that should triggle smallholder farmers to produce because if they know where to sell and particular qualities they need to produce they go into better production,” she said.
She also added that they have been going through different stakeholder consultations with different Malawian business people for them to come up with the strategy and with there experience in implementing businesses they hope to greater heights.
AGRA Malawi mainly aims at catalyzing an inclusive agri-food system transformation of Malawi through a competitive agro-processing industry that drives farmer productivity, resilience and dignified work opportunities particularly for the youth and vulnerable people.
Minister of Information and Digitalization Moses Kunkuyu on Friday led hundreds of Malawians in launching Muuni Fund, which seeks to finance innovative ideas as the country is thriving to achieve digital transformation.
Kunkuyu has since called upon stakeholders to invest resources in the sector to enable Malawi achieve her dream for a technologically advanced country.
He observed that Malawi has many innovative young men and women, who are blessed with brilliant ideas, which are capable of transforming the nation, but lack financial support to actualize their talents and actively contribute to the attainment of Malawi 2063.
“The Malawi 2063 agenda places digitalization as one pillar and the President has been saying it for a number of times and he keep on saying it that we have to go digital if we are to transform this country, because we can not talk of all the areas, like agriculture, tourism, mining without digitalization as an enabler then we are going to have slow registration of success in those areas, so as Malawi government in line with 2063 agenda we place Digitalization as a core enabler as well in the driver,” he said.
Kunkuyu visiting one of the pavillions mounted by MACRA
In her remarks, the Muuni team leader, Wezzi Salima, said the fund is focusing on providing solutions through financial support to those people that are interested in research and innovations that are ICT related and she called upon all people having ideas either in agriculture or health to register with them.
“We have had a number of stakeholder engagement with the ministry of local government unity and culture, so we involved all 35 councils in Malawi and we interacted with them to share with us areas that they would like to be reached out, so we gave them five areas which are agriculture, health, banking, education and ICT so that they should look at these areas and see how the council should be supported through those,” Salima narrated.
The Muuni Research and Innovative Fund, established and being implemented by Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) to the tune of K410 million, is an Information Communication Technology (ICT) that aims at providing seed money to nurture and incubate local innovations across Malawi.
The fund has five key areas of focus, which are agriculture, health, education, banking as well ICT.
Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture, Richard Chimwendo Banda, has assured people that government will undertake necessary measures to ensure that the implementation of this year’s Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) is smooth.
Chimwendo made the sentiments when he was responding to a call from chiefs of Msinja South Constituency where Chimwendo Banda was invited to be the Guest of Honour at the ceremony of celebrating Chewa Heritage by recognizing chiefs who have been custodians of Gule Wamkulu in the constituency.
“Legitimate request! We really need to do that because we know that the moment we gave fertilizer to our people in time they will be able to grow their crops effectively but if we delay that won’t work, so we have taken message and we are going to use that message and make sure that fertilizer is here in time,” he said.
Chimwendo Banda paying homage to the custodians of culture in Lilongwe Msinja Constituency
Commenting on the ceremony, the minister emphasized the need for Malawians to embrace their culture as well as continuously educating future generations about it.
He therefore commended the gesture of lawmaker Francis Belekanyama and encouraged all legislatures to emulate it.
In his remarks, Belekanyama decried negative perceptions people have about Gule Wamkulu.
Senior Chief Lukwa, coordinator of Chewa Heritage Foundation, said it is high time the youth knew the truth about their culture.
This was the final day of the organized cerebrations where Chiefs from Msinja South Constituency were recognized for being custodians of Gule Wamkulu.
Authorities at Ntchisi District Hospital have commended WaterAid Malawi for initiating Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Project, which they say has contributed to the declining cases of cholera cases in the district.
Ntchisi District Environmental Health Officer (DEHO) James Mtonga made the sentiments during an interface with the media last week.
Mtonga disclosed that WaterAid Malawi supported them in different facilities around Ntchisi with WASH services like waste management facilities which include pit latrines, refugee pits, incinerators as well as ash pits and provision of water supply systems.
Some of the facilities WaterAid Malawi has installed in public health facilities in Ntchisi
“In a way, we can say that these efforts has helped us to register less cases of cholera because much as WaterAid supported us with these services as well as hygiene and education messages it always give more chance to the communities to learn how they can take care for them to have good hygiene,” he said.
The hospital’s Operation and Management Chairperson, Stephano Zimba, concurred with Mtonga, but stressed that there is still more to be done to overcome the challenges.
Zimba challenged other organizations to emulate the example set by WaterAid Malawi.
Wembledon Foundation from the United Kingdom funded the work and it is being facilitated by WaterAid Malawi.
Water, Sanitation and Health services (WASH) Project, which WaterAid Malawi is implementing with financial resources from Wimbledon in the United Kingdom, has been touted to be contributing to the improvement of healthcare service delivery at Khuwi Health Centre in Ntchisi.
Authorities at the facility made the sentiments in an interaction with journalists on a tour to appreciate the difference the project is making in the provision of healthcare services to remote communities.
Sekani–WASH Project has improved quality of care we provide to our clients–Photo by Wilfred Golden
During a visit at Khuwi Health Centre, journalists found that the project had enabled the facility to provide quality care in a safe and clean environment, something which was lacking before the coming in of the initiative.
Water Aid Malawi has been implementing various programs aimed at improving WASH services in public health facilities in the district.
Among them are elevation of solar water pump with a carrying capacity of over 10, 000 liters, improving sanitation by providing materials such as water buckets, which are around the facility and inserting of an ash pit as well as incinerator.
The organization has also improved a placenta pit into a modern one.
Khuwi Health Centre in-charge, Joy Nguluwe, commended WaterAid Malawi for its intervention, stressing it has helped them to work in a safe environment.
“We always have a program where by we as health works we work on shifts in facilitating different initiative lined up in this project concerning WASH, this is because we want people to have a behavior change in handling these issues as we always have health talks with people who came here in search of our services so that as they go they should be able to understand what is all about sanitation, in so doing we are changing the behavior slowly by slowly as we also protect ourselves as service deliveries,” she said.
Chairman for Health Centre Management Committee (HCMC), Difati Sekani, said lack of WASH facilities was one of the major concerns from both patients and communities surrounding the facility.
Senior Group Village Headman Khuwi said the interventions by WaterAid Malawi will promote health-seeking behaviours among his subjects.
The one week media tour is being funded by Wimbledon facilitated by Water Aid and it will proceed up to Friday 7th July, 2023.
Communities surrounding Kangolwa Health Centre in the area of Senior Chief Kasakula in Ntchisi District can now afford access to clean and potable drinking water, thanks to the intervention of WaterAid Malawi.
Through its Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Project, the organization has constructed as well as renovated various infrastructures in an effort to improve healthcare service deliver at the facility.
Sifukwe (centre) and her friends basking in the sun at Kangolwa Health Centre in Ntchisi
During a media tour organized to enable appreciate the impact of the project on the intended beneficiary communities, the facility’s health promoter, Frank Gwaluka, applauded WaterAid Malawi for the timely support.
Gwaluka said access to good hygiene and potable drinking water were some of the major challenges the facility has been facing for years.
Additionally, the facility did not have a bathroom for expectant women and their guardians.
“The coming in of WaterAid Malawi has helped in promoting good sanitation and hygiene practices as they have built another placenta pit, bathrooms as well as well bringing in safe and reliable water at the facility. They came in with different ways on how we can train people to use these facilities properly. They train us as Health Promoters how to teach people on good hygiene behaviour practices and with this we can say that we have a sigh of relief,” he narrated.
The renovated ablution facilities at Kangolwa Health Centre in Ntchisi
Adesi Sifukwe of Nthunduzi Village said the project is helping them a lot unlike in past the facility used to have only two toilets catering for dozens of women, which created discomfort among the women.
WaterAid Malawi implemented a project called 150 Challenge in health centre facilities of Ntchisi in order to promote WASH related services.
This was day two of a one week media tour in the district, which is facilitated by WaterAid and funded by Wimbledon Foundation of United Kingdom.
In a bid to ensure that the Malawi Schools Certificate of Education examination currently in progress are without major problems, Deputy Minister of Education, Nancy Chaola Mdooko inspected Kavuzi, Mpamba, Mtetete CDSSs and Nkhatabay Secondary School.
The Deputy Minister expressed satisfaction in the manner the administrators and invigilators since they started last week.
“The only few issues that I noted were to do with sitting arrangements and number of candidates in a room at some centres which I directed the Division Education Manager who had accompanied us to sort out before the end of the day.
Mdooko interacting with some officials after inspecting the progress of the exams in Nkhata Bay
“But at this point I can say we are progressing well in Nkhata Bay and countrywide on the overall. We are hopeful that we will manage to provide a safe and secure environment for our candidates in the centres that are administering the exams,” she said.
Malawi National Examination Board, MANEB is managing the examinations which started on 27 June and ends on 21 July 2023.
So far, there has not been any major cases of cheating, leakages or maladministration.
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