Category: National

By Eric Chiputula:

President Lazarus Chakwera has emphasized the need for the country’s soldiers to be equipped with knowledge on strategic leadership.

Chakwera made the remarks on Saturday when he presided the first ever senior command and staff graduation ceremony at the newly established Malawi Defence Force Command and Staff College.

Chakwera observed that knowledgeable senior officers are very critical to the function of the MDF.

“The newly established MDF Command and Staff College has given us it’s first graduates, well equipped with knowledge in strategic leadership. We are building a modern military that plays it’s rightful role in national development,” said Chakwera.

Chakwera has since revealed his government’s plans to construct a war college that would train both junior and senior MDF officers on how to carry out their duties after completing basic military training.

Meanwhile, Chakwera has called upon people in the country to challenge themselves and take up responsibility on issues that affect their daily living.

“Our greatest ailment, is that we are a nation of citizens who lack self-discipline, a nation of citizens who demand so much of everyone else and demand so little of ourselves.

“But what I want us all to understand as citizens is that Government is all of us together,” said Chakwera.

The first ever senior officers training has produced 20 graduates.

By Staff Writer:

An influential religious body, the Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) has pledged it’s support towards President Lazarus Chakwera as the country is sailing through economic woes.

EAM Secretary General Reverend Francis Mkandawire made the remarks on Friday afternoon on the sidelines of a leadership conference organised by the Assemblies of God Church in Malawi where Chakwera was in attendance.

Speaking on behalf of the faith community, Mkandawire said the faith community is behind President Chakwera as he tries to fix the economy.

“As citizens of this country let us be concerned. Let us be genuinely concerned so that we get involved and take up responsibility to the challenges affecting the country,” said Mkandawire.

Mkandawire then urged people in the country to support each other by sharing the little resources that they have without necessarily waiting for government to provide everything for them.

“As we journey together in rebuilding the nation your Excellency we stand with you as members of the faith community,” said Mkandawire.

Meanwhile visiting Nigerian Pastor Paul Eneche Founder of the Dunamis International, who was the guest of honour at the leadership conference has urged leaders in the country to take up responsibilities for challenges that are rocking their institutions.

“Leaders must take up responsibility. Leaders must command respect. Real leaders do not beg to be respected rather command respect through impact and character,” said Pastor Eneche.

The leadership conference drew together top officials from all the three arms of government.

Among those present were cabinet ministers, Secretary to President and Cabinet, officers of the Malawi Defence Force as well as the Malawi Police service.

By Staff Writer:

Five more National Bank of Malawi (NBM) plc customers have won standard tickets to the Kizz Daniel concert in the on-going NBM Kizz Daniel Transact and Win promotion.

In the third draw held in Blantyre on Tuesday, the five bring the number of winners to 15 of whom 5 won VIP tickets to the concert which the Bank is sponsoring in partnership with Epic Lifestyle.

The five customers who won the standard tickets are Christopher Mlauzi, Exquisite Cleaners, Lillian Macheso, Mayamiko Mwamadi and Victor Walawala.

NBM plc Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager Akossa Hiwa said five more customers are expected to win VIP tickets during the final draw of the promotion next week.

“We provided a total of 20 tickets to the Kizz Daniel Concert which will be held in Lilongwe on 27 August 2022 and so far we have seen 10 of our customers winning 10 standard tickets and five won VIP tickets. The response to the promotion has been very good, our customers are using our Point of Sale (PoS) devices a lot more,” said Hiwa.

She added that the Bank partnered Epic Lifestyle on the concert to promote the Bank’s digital platforms Mo626 Digital+, which has new features, Mo Wallet, Mo Pay, POS devices and Agent Banking among others.

Hiwa said those purchasing the concert tickets using the digital platforms such as Mo626 ice, Mo Wallet, Mo Pay and POS are enjoying massive discounts of up to K15 000 depending on the type of the ticket.

Ticket sales on Mo626 ice will be discontinued at midnight on the 26^th of August 2022.

The Popular Nigerian musician Kizz Daniel will perform at the Lilongwe Golf Club and will be supported by almost 10 local popular acts.

By Chilungamo Missi:

Malawis Afro-pop songstress, Ritaa says she is set to release a new song titled Mundikumbutse which she has collaborated with one of the countrys celebrated gospel hip-hop artists, Gwamba.

In an interview on Thursday, the artist said the song will be released on Tuesday, August 23 followed by its visuals on a yet to be announced date.

She said that the song was composed by herself and Gwamba in relation to everyday life issues.

“We need God in our everyday endeavors, Mundikumbutse is a gospel tune, a conversation between one and his or her maker, and a reminder that he is always with us,” the Afro-pop star said.

She added that she decided to work with Gwamba after realizing that he is a very talented artist, and when the song was done, he proved to be the right person for the song since he delivered to her expectation.

Ritaa said that once released, the song would be available on all the leading platforms for downloading.

She said: “Malawians should expect more good music, great collaborations, and Ive got an album cooking, which I will talk more once everything is set”.

Mundikumbutse, which was produced by Sispence is a second song to be released by the artist this year after she released a song titled Vuto on April 22, 2022 which is still enjoying airplay.

One of her fans, James Bombeya said it would be great to watch the launch where Gwamba would be in play.

He said this would be a no miss launch to most Blantyre residence

The Senior Resident Magistrate Court in Zomba has convicted former Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Commissioner Linda Kunje and her driver Jones Tewesa for the offence of obstructing President Lazarus Chakwera’s convoy in 2020.

Kunje and Tewesa were answering the charge of obstructing the presidential convoy after the car which Tewesa was driving in which Kunje was passenger failed to give way for the presidential motorcade to pass despite several warnings.

Delivering the rulling on Friday, the court convicted both Kunje and her driver.

The court has since revoked bail for Kunje and the driver and they will be remanded to prison awaiting sentencing.

Meanwhile both the state and defense are set to make sentencing submissions on August 23 before the court sets a date for sentencing.

Kunje was appointed as MEC Commissioner by the former rulling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

She is one of the commissioners that presided over the nullified 2019 Presidential Polls.

By Eric Chiputula:

In a move that is aimed at improving the quality of roads being constructed in the country, the Ministry of Transport and Public Works has set aside MK300 million for the procurement of state of the art equipment to be used by the Roads Test Centre Lab to meet international standards.

The procurement of the equipment comes at a time when there has been growing concerns over the poor standard of roads being constructed in the country.

In an interview, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport and Public Works Maganizo Liwewe said for a long time the test centre lab has been failing to carry out its operations due to lack of equipment.

“The test centre has been there but what was lacking was capacity and what we are doing now is the process of capacitating it so that it becomes fully operational,” said Liwewe.

He further revealed that after capacitating the test centre, the Ministry will have to engage a consultant to develop a turnaround strategy for the Lab.

Road Safety Alert Foundation Executive Director Joel Jere has expressed excitement with the impending procurement of the equipment but has since cautioned those working in the lab to maintain highest standards of professionalism.

“We don’t want to continue losing money. Today we construct a road and tomorrow we see potholes all over, it becomes a death trap. The people working in the lab should do exactly what the machine is indicating because sometimes people manipulate the machines,” said Jere.

Recently, President Lazarus Chakwera commissioned the rehabilitation works of the M1 Road which has been in a dilapidated state for a long time.

By Eric Chiputula:

President Lazarus Chakwera has stressed on the need for strong legislations that would safeguard the country’s natural resources from exploitation.

Chakwera was speaking at Kamuzu International Airport on arrival from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where he was attending the 42nd summit of the SADC Heads of State and Government.

Addressing members of the Press, Chakwera said following the summit, where among other things delegates discussed possible ways on how to end exploitation of mineral resources within the SADC region, there is need now for Malawi to domesticate resolutions made at the summit.

“We need to start asking what is it that Malawi will do because each country really needs to put its house in order so that as a region we could say these are the measures we want to take by putting proper legislation and proper policies in place to ensure that we do proper trade,” said Chakwera.

Chakwera observed that the extractives industry has huge potential of helping the country to be where it is supposed to be with good road infrastructure network, proper schools and hospitals so that the country is not always looked at as beggars.

However for this to be achieved, Chakwera has suggested the need for proper coordination among countries within the SADC region so that no country is used to defraud another country.

Meanwhile Chakwera’s return has been fast tracked with at least 24 hours as initially the President was scheduled to arrive back in the country on Friday.

At the summit Chakwera handed over the SDAC Chairmanship to DRC President Felix Tshisekedi.

He also held bilateral talks with his Zambian counterpart Hekainde Hichilema.

This year’s SADC Summit was held under the theme; “Promoting industrialisation through Agro- processing, mineral Beneficiation, and Regional value chains for inclusive and Resilient Economic Growth”.

By Prince Banda:

Active Life Physiotherapy Clinic is expected to host a fundraising event on Friday at its clinic in Area 49 (New Gulliver) in Lilongwe to support physiotherapy services and special classes for children living with disabilities across the country.

The event will be held under the theme ‘You Haven’t Done Enough if You Haven’t Supported a Child with Disability’.

The activity is a deliberate campaign to create and enhance a society with free and effective therapy services for all children living with disabilities across the country.

Active Life Physiotherapy Clinic is one of the physiotherapy and rehabilitation centres in Lilongwe.

The physiotherapy clinic’s Director, Kennedy Kadewere, told Malawi News Agency (MANA) the organisation’s vision is to see a better Malawi for all underprivileged children living with disabilities through provision of free physiotherapy treatments and other services.

“We target children from two months to 15 years of age who suffer from a number of disorders such as physical disabilities, speech disabilities as well as cognitive or intellectual disabilities.

“We believe through free rehabilitation targeting areas of special learning therapies like physiotherapy, speech, cognitive and occupational therapies, these children can achieve full independence in most of their daily activities,” Kadewere said.

According to Kadewere, Active Life Physiotherapy has so far treated at least 56 children with disabilities since its establishment in 2020.

However, the clinic has recently registered over 40 new children with different disabilities which need instant therapies, hence the call for fundraising.

In a separate interview, Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA) Public Relations Officer, Harriet Kachimanga, commended the fundraising arrangement, saying it is a good initiative for promoting the Disability Sector through empowerment of children with disabilities.

“It’s a good thing that Active Life Physiotherapy is incorporating mental or cognitive therapy in addition to physiotherapy because most stakeholders within the arena of disabilities forget that there is relationship between physical disabilities and mental disorder,” Kachimanga said.

According to Kachimanga, the negative impacts of poor mental health and mental illnesses are severe among people with physical disabilities.

She said children with physical disabilities are likely to have mental distress and trauma, hence the need to always consider mental therapy.

Kachimanga, therefore, urged the public to patronize and support the forthcoming fundraising event either financially or morally, saying empowering children with disabilities has potential to create a better Malawi.

Meanwhile, mothers have been advised to register their children with Active Life Physiotherapy Clinic regardless of form of disabilities they are living with.

By Sellah Singini:

Government has reactivated its membership in Open Government Partnership (OGP) after it was ceased in 2018.

Director in the Office of President and Cabinet (OPC), Ireen Chikapa disclosed this to Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Wednesday after a two days workshop which aimed at constituting a new national steering committee on Open Government Partnership.

She said government it’s reactivating its status of becoming a member of OGP by bringing together Government, Civil Society and Private Sector to constitute a new National Steering Committee with clear Terms of Reference (TORs) which should fast-tract development and oversee implementation of a new National Action Plan for OGP.

“Malawi has operated without a National Action Plan on open governance since the expiry of the old National Action Plan in 2018. As a consequence at the international level, OGP steering committee meeting on March 24, 2022 determined to designate Malawi as inactive member of the OGP grouping,” Chikapa said.

She added that government failed to submit its National Action Plan in 2018 because it was busy with elections and court issues in 2019.

One of the participants in the workshop, Executive Director for Council of NGO’s in Malawi Ronald Mtonga said it was very important that government has reactivated its status of becoming a member of OGP after its expiry in 2018.

He said the workshop has helped all the stakeholders to resolve all issues that made Malawi not do well in 2018 and that the new steering committee that has been constituted would work in regaining the country’s active status.

In 2013, Malawi joined the OGP an international grouping of countries that aim at fostering good governance and improving relations between citizens and the state.

Currently, the OGP comprises about 80 countries working to implement open government commitments to promote greater transparency, accountability and citizen engagement in policy-making.

By Staff Writer:

At the ongoing 42nd SADC Heads of State summit in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the organisation took time to honour its founding members.

Delegates to the summit took advantage of the afternoon session to honour the first heads of State that formed the region bloc.

Among those honoured was Malawi’s founding president late Hastings Kamuzu Banda who ruled the country from 1963 to 1994.

Receiving the award on behalf of Kamuzu Banda’s family, Ken Kandodo nephew to the former president described the award as a real recognition of the foundation work that Kamuzu and other heads of State laid for the Southern Africa bloc.

Outgoing SADC Chairperson Lazarus Chakwera presided over the ceremony.

Earlier in the morning the regional bloc also awarded outstanding media practitioners with Malawi Broadcasting Corporation’s journalist Henry Haukeya emerging victorious in the Television category.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has been in existence since 1980, when it was formed as a loose alliance of nine majority-ruled States in Southern Africa known as the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC), with the main aim of coordinating development projects in order to lessen economic dependence on the then apartheid South Africa.

The founding Member States are: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

SADCC was formed in Lusaka, Zambia on April 1, 1980, following the adoption of the Lusaka Declaration – Southern Africa: Towards Economic Liberation.

The transformation of the organization from a Coordinating Conference into a Development Community (SADC) took place on August 17, 1992 in Windhoek, Namibia when the Declaration and Treaty was signed at the Summit of Heads of State and Government thereby giving the organization a legal character.

The Member States are Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe SADC headquarters are located in Gaborone, Botswana.