An anonymous worker, who spoke to reporters, stated that the hospital’s working environment was not conducive to providing quality care due to the lack of essential equipment.
The employee also alleged that they had not received their locum allowances, which are payments made to temporary employees.
The hospital’s management reportedly attributed the problem to a lack of funding from the District Council. When the workers asked about the issue, they were told that the funds had not been made available due to financial constraints.
Striking workers at Mwanza District Hospital
“When we queried management on the issue, we were informed that the problem is a result of funding under the District Council, “said the source.
The hospital is currently facing several challenges, including a shortage of fuel for ambulances, a lack of food for inpatients, and inadequate equipment in the theatre.
These issues have contributed to the workers’ decision to strike, as they believe that they cannot provide adequate care without the necessary resources.
The Mwanza District Hospital serves a large population, and the strike has had a significant impact on patients who require non-emergency medical attention. Hospital management has not released an official statement on the matter, and it remains to be seen how the situation will be resolved.
In the vast expanse of the cosmos, humanity has always been driven by an insatiable curiosity to unravel the mysteries of the universe. Science, innovation, and space exploration stand as the pillars of our progress, propelling us into a future filled with endless possibilities. In this blog article, we delve into the thrilling world where these three elements converge, shaping the way we perceive the universe and revolutionizing the world we live in.
Innovation, the practical application of creative ideas, bridges the gap between knowledge and tangible solutions. In recent years, innovations such as artificial intelligence, renewable energy sources, and advanced healthcare systems have reshaped societies, offering glimpses into a future where the impossible becomes attainable.
Gadgets: Bridging the Gap Between Science and Society
Gadgets, the everyday marvels that shape our lives, bridge the gap between scientific discoveries and society. From smartphones and wearable devices to smart home appliances and virtual reality headsets, gadgets have become an integral part of modern existence. These devices not only facilitate communication and entertainment but also serve as essential tools for scientific research and space exploration.
Imagine a world where space tourism is as accessible as a plane ticket, where innovative gadgets enable us to explore the farthest reaches of the universe from the comfort of our homes. Picture a future where sustainable technologies mitigate the impact of climate change and preserve our planet for generations to come. This vision of the future is not a distant dream but a tangible reality on the horizon, waiting to be shaped by the brilliant minds and innovative spirit of humanity.
Innovation: Transforming Ideas into Reality
Problem-Solving: Innovation is not just about inventing new gadgets or technologies; it is primarily about creative problem-solving. Innovators identify existing challenges and develop novel solutions to address them.
Interdisciplinary Approach: Innovation flourishes when diverse minds collaborate and share their expertise. It thrives on interdisciplinary approaches that bring together individuals from various fields such as science, engineering, design, and business.
Continuous Improvement: Innovation is a dynamic and ongoing process that demands adaptability and a willingness to embrace change. Successful innovators understand the importance of continuous improvement.
As the world becomes increasingly aware of environmental issues, technology developers are focusing on creating gadgets that are not only advanced but also environmentally conscious. Solar-powered chargers, energy-efficient smart home devices, and biodegradable phone cases are just a few examples of how gadgets are evolving to reduce their ecological footprint.
These innovations represent a significant shift in the tech industry, highlighting the potential for gadgets to not only improve our daily lives but also contribute positively to environmental conservation. By integrating green technologies into everyday devices, we are stepping into an era where gadgets not only bridge the gap between science and society but also play a vital role in fostering a sustainable future.
The event which was held at Myasei ground in Lilongwe was attended by judges from the Musicians Union of Malawi (MUM), as well as famous gospel artists such as Favoured Martha, Carlo Kadzuwa, and Kondwani Chirwa.
The competition, which featured over 35 choirs from the constituency, was organized in honor of Francis’s late father, Lingson Belekanyama, who was a patron of many choirs during his tenure as a legislator of the area.
Belekanyama (C): I am continuing from where my father left
In his speech, Francis emphasized the importance of singing and its positive impact on individuals and communities.
He also noted that the competition would help his constituents discover and promote their talents, and would become a tradition that the Belekanyama family would continue to organize.
“As a family, we decided to come up with the 8choir competition as one way of honoring and respecting our late Lingson Belekanyama. It will be our tradition as we will be continuing organizing choir competitions from different choirs despite their denomination,” said Belekanyama.
As a way of promoting love and unity, which were pillars of his father’s values, Francis vowed to continue supporting local Christian choirs in their activities.
Paulendo Women Choir representative (Right) receiving money and a trophy from Belekanyama
The judges from the Musicians Union of Malawi praised the competition for its role in improving the performance and confidence of the participating choirs.
They also noted that it was encouraging more people to consider singing as a career, rather than just a hobby.
Paulendo Womens Choir emerged as a winner and was awarded a trophy and MK250,000 in prize money.
The total sponsorship for the event amounted to MK4.5 million, with MK1.5 million allocated specifically for Catholic choirs in the constituency.
Overall, the choir competition was a success, with the local choirs showcasing their talent and passion for singing.
Former DPP Steven Kayuni refused to allow Msisha to prosecute the cases before he was removed from the position last month.
Chakaka-Nyirenda has written a letter to the new DPP expressing his expectations and asking the office of the DPP to rescind its decision to withhold consent on the matter.
“After careful consideration of your decision, I am of the view that you should revisit your decision rejecting the appointment of Mr. Modecai Msisha, SC as a public prosecutor in the specific cases that the Anti-Corruption Bureau [ACB] provided or is about to provide.
“As a condition of the appointment, and as is the case with any other lawyer appointed, as a public prosecutor you should require Mr. Modecai Msisha to submit to your office and the ACB progress reports regarding the matter(s) where consent has been granted for him to prosecute,” reads the letter.
Msisha – engaged to prosecute Vice President Saulos Chilima
Chamkakala has not commented on the issue, but the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director general, Martha Chizuma, has stated that they will commit the Chilima case to the High Court following the earlier rejection of Msisha.
The ACB engaged Msisha to prosecute the case in which Chilima is alleged to have received $280,000 and other items from United Kingdom-based businessperson Zuneth Sattar as a reward for government contracts to companies belonging to him.
Chilima, who was arrested on November 25, 2022, and granted court bail the same day, is facing six counts, including three for corrupt practices by a public officer, two for receiving advantage for using influence in regard to contracts, and one count of failing to make a full report to a police officer or an officer of the ACB that an advantage had been corruptly given to him.
Chilima, answering six charges on corruption
The Malawi Law Society’s honorary secretary, Chrispin Ngunde, has explained that the law allows the ACB director general to appoint any legal practitioner in civil matters, while the Corrupt Practices Act is silent on legal representation in criminal matters.
However, the ACB has on previous occasions been assisted in criminal matters by private legal practitioners appointed by the DPP in the exercise of his powers of a delegation under Section 100(1) (b) of the Constitution and power to appoint public prosecutors under Section 79 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code.
The court, through State Prosecutor Sub Inspector Agness Msoma, heard that on July 24, 2022, the wife of the accused left home for piece work, leaving the children in the company of the father.
Upon her return, she caught Evesiyo red-handed defiling the eight-year-old daughter.
She then immediately reported to Kambilonjo Police Unit where the victim was issued a medical referral form and the results showed she was indeed defiled, leading to the arrest of Evesiyo.
Appearing before the court, Evesiyo pleaded not guilty to the charge, prompting the state to parade witnesses who proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
In mitigation, Evesiyo asked for the court’s leniency, citing that he has family obligations.
However, in her submission, State Prosecutor Msoma called for stiffer punishment for the accused so that it serves as a deterrent to other would-be offenders.
Passing the sentence, Senior Resident Magistrate Joshua Nkhono concurred with the state and sentenced Evesiyo to 21 years imprisonment with hard labor.
Evesiyo hails from Chiseme Village in Traditional Authority Mpando in Ntcheu District.
Banda made the revelation on Friday at Champhira at the launch of Mzimba District Tree Planting season which was organized by the M’mbelwa District Council with support from Ripple Africa.
He said wanton cutting down of trees for fuel wood and charcoal production is the major cause of massive forest loss in the district.
“We are losing almost 700 hectares of forest in protected areas and another 300 hectares in the customary land every year. In total, we are losing 1, 000 hectares of forest cover every year,” said Banda.
Banda (left) helping a woman plant a tree
He said that with the help of various stakeholders, the district intends to plant about 10 million trees during the 2022/23 Tree Planting Season to restore some of the degraded and deforested areas in the district.
The DFO however bemoaned that the survival rate of newly planted trees is not satisfactory and attributed the challenge to forestry fires and poor livestock management.
. “This is why we are sensitizing communities to tame their livestock away from the newly planted trees besides intensifying firefighting messages and techniques in and around forests,” he said.
Country Director for Ripple Africa, Force Ngwira said besides supporting the council in organizing the ceremony, his organization targets to plant two million trees in the district of which 85 percent have already been planted.
Ngwira said that afforestation initiatives will go a long way to minimizing the impact of climate change and providing income to local Malawians through the sustainable harvesting of forest products.
The remarks were made by the Technical Director of NAM Samuel Kanyenda on Sunday 12 February in Lilongwe at the Mpico netball court after the completion of the trials.
Samuel Kanyenda told Malawi News Agency that the scouting went well and believes once the players go through developmental programs they will be ready to play for the Queens.
“We picked players of different age categories for the national team, of course, we have not picked the exact players to beef up the Queens squad those will be selected from our developmental under-23 squad.
“For a player to be able to play for the Queens, they need to learn the culture, and philosophy and master their skills hence the need for them to go into the development squad,” Kanyenda said.
NAM World Cup trials in session
Coach of the Queens national team Peace Chawinga who was also a facilitator said the essence of the exercise was to ensure players are available to ensure the proper transition into the national team and stressed the importance of collaborative efforts with NAM and the technical team moving forward.
“We corrected the error that was there, that we didn’t have a thorough pathway for transitions but now we have under 19, 21, and 23 teams. The under-23 team will be our developmental side which will promote players to the national team.
“We believe NAM will put our plans in place to make sure that these pathways are being followed so that upon selection these players should perform,” she said.
Chawinga further said she had a meeting with the regional technical team to ensure that they are aware of the criteria of players she wants as well as to set up similar training.
Wing defender for Mafco Queens, Hope Ndala who was selected for the developmental team said the trials were eye-opening.
Centre for Blue Eagles, Chimwemwe Chigunde selected for under 21 hailed the trials because girls from across Malawi had the chance to showcase their skills and she encouraged those not selected to keep working hard.
Chigunde: I love watching Joyce Mvula Towera Vinkhumbo and Takondwa Lwazi Pic by Twime
10 players from the developmental team will be selected to beef up the Queens for the World cup in July. The under-19 and 21 have a selection of 21 players each while the developmental side (under-23) has 45 players.
More than 90 players participated in the trials from Friday with 30 players from each district.
Speaking Monday, during the opening of a day-long training for 58 teachers from 29 schools in Traditional Authority Kachindamoto in Dezda, SWET Project Officer, Innocent Kasache, said the aim of orientating teachers was for them to learn how to capture the attention of learners, especially girls, who are already in school.
He said the training would help instill skills and techniques on how to deliver lessons using edutainment (Education Entertainment) as a way of enticing learners to stay in school.
“We conducted a survey that revealed that most learners don’t feel inspired to stay in school. So, we came up with the ‘Kankha, Maphunziro Tsogolo Labwino multimedia campaign’,” said Kasache.
According to Kasache, ‘Kankha, Maphunziro Tsogolo Labwino multimedia campaign’ is a tool where special interventions and activities are developed to equip learners with interpersonal and critical thinking skills and self-awareness to unlock their hidden talents and open their eyes to see the value of education.
A facilitator demonstrating how the HOPE toolkit works
Apart from training teachers, Kasache said SWET is also working with youth clubs in Dedza to reach out to school dropouts and link them to alternative learning pathways where they are taught various businesses and encouraged to return to school.
“We know educating a girl child is the work of the entire community, so, we are also working with communities surrounding the schools to eradicate challenges the adolescent girl face that lead to unwanted pregnancies and early marriages,” he added.
In his remarks, Chokololere Education Zone Primary Education Advisor (PEA), Isaac Kulongwe, hailed SWET for organizing the training, saying it would change the landscape of education in the district by reducing school dropout and improving the pass rate of learners.
“This is a great intervention that will benefit both the teachers and learners in the area and promote quality education,” said Kulongwe.
He, therefore, urged the teachers to use the knowledge and skills they had acquired to promote education among learners in their respective schools by improving the learning outcomes of students.
Head Teacher for Chokololere Primary School, Bridget Mseteka, said she observed that many learners find it difficult to grasp lessons when presented with facts only.
“However, using these games and tricks that we have learned here, we will be able to impart them with knowledge in a way that they will understand,” she said.
Among others, the teachers were oriented on the Sara Communication Initiative (SCI) which is a UNICEF-established intervention that uses comic books to educate and entertain adolescents.
Another tool is the HOPE toolkit which is a set of resources that help learners to understand life skills better.
The Kankha Campaign is part of the United Nations Joint Programme on Girls Education (UNJPE) and is being implemented in 118 schools across four districts of Mangochi, Salima, Kasungu, and Dedza with funding from UNICEF.
Speaking Monday when he toured Area 25 health facility, during the official launch of the Cholera campaign, President Chakwera said he understands the fear that has gripped health workers in the country because of the recent attacks by community members in Balaka and Lilongwe respectively.
“I commend health workers for their resilience to serve communities despite numerous challenges. No one would be comfortable working in a threatened workplace environment but because they took an oath they still work to serve communities. I am apologizing, on behalf of Malawians, for the attacks and I seriously condemn the acts,” he said.
Chakwera: I am not happy with the behavior of destroying health facilities
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Launching the Tithetse Cholera Campaign at Mgona Community Ground, just after a few days when Mgona community residents attacked health workers and vandalized the Area 25 health facility, the President said the campaign will see many activities being implemented aimed at eradicating the outbreak.
He said government has, since the onset of the outbreak, been doing a lot and stakeholders have stepped in to contain the spread of the disease but still, cases are rising.
“It is because people’s behavior is not changing making the situation dire. This campaign, wants to make sure that everyone across the country gets the message on how to prevent and contain this killer disease,” said Chakwera.
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United Nations representative, Rabecca Adah Donto commended efforts being done so far by different stakeholders through their generous contributions towards ending Cholera.
Lilongwe DHO showing the President places which M’gona community damaged
However, she said, despite all the efforts the situation remains a great concern hence the need for rapid response to help reduce the cases.
“This campaign is more critical and we should aim to reach far communities and encourage people to seek health care on time. There is a huge corrective task ahead of us, therefore, we should not do business as usual,” said Donto.
Paramount Chief Kawinga, heavily condemned the act of attacking health workers and vandalizing health facilities over petty allegations and lies saying such communities surely do not deserve development projects.
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According to statistics provided by the Ministry of Health, all districts in the country have been affected since cholera was declared a public health emergency in Malawi.
The cumulative cases since the onset of the outbreak is 42, 427 and 1, 384 have been reported dead with Mangochi, Lilongwe, Blantyre, Salima, and Balaka heavily affected.
Speaking Monday, during the launching ceremony of the district’s 2022/23 Tree Planting Season at Lwambo Primary School in the area of Senior Chief Mwaulambya, District Forest Officer for Chitipa, Sitwell Banda cited the activities as wanton cutting down of trees for charcoal and shifting cultivation.
He, therefore, called for stakeholder efforts in addressing the situation, saying if left unchecked, the district will continue experiencing more hazardous disasters such as flush floods and strong winds.
“Some people continue relying on charcoal production as their source of livelihood despite the that the business is illegal,” said Banda.
Banda, demonstrating how to plant a tree
In his remarks, Chairperson for Chitipa District Council, Thomson Kapesa urged communities in the district to be environmentally friendly by desisting from any form of activities that can lead to environmental degradation.
Senior chief Mwaulambya vowed to punish subjects, including his own subordinates, who would be found to be fueling the malpractice of deforestation.
Other delegates to the event included Member of Parliament for Chitipa Central Constituency Alinubila Mwenisongole, District Commissioner for Chitipa McMillan Magomero, the Officers In Charge of the Malawi Police and Prison, and Village Heads, amongst others.
FDH Bank contributed over five hundred trees seedlings to the council for the tree-planting exercise
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