A local non-governmental organization, Paradiso has launched an initiative to distribute Buffalo Bicycles to volunteers who travel long distances collecting tuberculosis (TB) samples.
The effort aimed to ease their transportation burden and boost the fight against TB in Malawi.
Paradiso’s Programs Manager, Limbani Mbetewa, stated in an interview that the organization plans to distribute 3,000 bicycles across various districts, including Zomba, Dedza, Dowa, and Lilongwe.
“Looking at the catchment area that these volunteers go around to disseminate information, we thought it wise that we should ease the challenge of mobility by giving them the bicycles,” said Mbetewa.
Limbani Mbetewa, Paradiso’s Programs Manager
He added that the distribution will be carried out in phases, with an initial rollout of 250 bicycles currently underway.
Paradiso believes these bicycles will significantly support volunteers in their vital work, ultimately contributing to better TB control in the country.
In a move aimed at improving financial accessibility for Malawians, Centenary Bank has launched the CenteValue and CenteFees in partnership with Airtel Money.
Speaking at the launch event on Wednesday, 11 June 2025 in Lilongwe, Centenary Bank Managing Director, Godfrey Byekwaso announced that the agreement will allow parents to pay school fees via Airtel Money for schools that hold Centenary Bank accounts and Airtel Money agents will be able to request value whenever needed.
Byekwaso highlighted that the initiative has the potential to reduce long queues at banks and save time for parents, who can now make payments from their homes.
“The product is helpful as it will save time and some inconveniences to our customers,” He said.”
In her remarks, Airtel Money Managing Director, Thokozani Kamkondo Sande, expressed optimism about the collaboration, emphasizing that Airtel Money is Malawi’s largest mobile financial service and remains committed to transforming lives economically.
She noted that education is key to national development, which is why Airtel Money saw value in partnering with Centenary Bank.
“Education is the key to any development in the country hence the partnership agreement,” She said.
Commenting on the development, Sister Valentine Gudyanga, a Bursar at St. John’s Catholic Secondary School, one of the institutions that hold accounts with Centenary Bank welcomed the initiative, noting that it will simplify transactions as payments will be processed instantly.
“This is simple, and it will ease our work as an institution,” she said.
The newly ordained priest in the Society of St. Patrick’s Missionaries, Rev. Fr. Kennedy Julius Mullande, has thanked God for the gift of vocation in his life and asked for prayers to serve the Lord wholeheartedly.
He shared these sentiments on Pentecost Sunday after celebrating his first Mass as a priest at his home parish, St. John Paul II Chitedze, in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe.
Fr. Kennedy Mullande
“I am very grateful to God for the precious gift of life and priesthood given to me. I also thank my parents, friends, and parishioners for their prayers and words of encouragement that helped me reach this far. It has been so amazing,” said the smiling Father Kennedy.
Father Kennedy urged all young people to discern their vocations with the help of the Holy Spirit, assisted by their parents and vocations directors, so they may serve the Lord as priests, brothers, and sisters in the Vineyard of the Lord.
Earlier, the Vocations Director for Central Africa (Malawi, Zambia, and South Africa) in the St. Patrick’s Missionary Society, Fr. Felix Mlauzi, urged the newly ordained priest to observe all priestly virtues as showered upon them by the Holy Spirit.
“You, Father Kennedy, and of course all of us priests, are supposed to be honest in our ministry. You have to be prayerful, available all the time, and not be segregative in your work. You also have to be simple and exemplary, observe chastity and celibate life. In addition, use social media to spread the Gospel of the Lord and not to discredit the priestly ministry,” said Father Mlauzi.
He also pleaded with parents, guardians, and friends to avoid exerting pressure on the newly ordained priest, especially concerning finances, as this could compromise their ministerial work.
The parishioners, priests, and friends of Father Kennedy Mullande gave him various gifts to assist him in his ministry as the first priest from the seven-year-old parish in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe.
parishioners presenting gifts to Fr. Mullande
Rev. Fr. Kennedy Julius Mullande, who comes from Samu village, Traditional Authority M’bwatalika in Lilongwe, has been appointed to serve the church in the West Africa region, specifically in Nigeria, under the Missionaries of St. Patrick’s.
St. Kizito Chigoneka Parish in the Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe has been commended for its tremendous work in uplifting the lives of its parishioners, both spiritually and socially.
Celebrating the parish’s 50th anniversary today, Archbishop George Desmond Tambala of the Archdiocese of Lilongwe mentioned that St. Kizito is among model parishes in the archdiocese, outstanding in both parish life and the spiritual well-being of the faithful, as well as in development aspects.
“It’s a very positive picture, I mentioned during Mass that it is one of those parishes that we are very proud of in all senses. I am talking about the parish life, the relationship between the priests and the faithful. We are talking about the groups that are here; they are very dynamic, and it’s a parish that has reached out to others,” Archbishop Tambala stated.
Archbishop Tambala addressing the gathering during the celebrations
“We have a new parish that came out of here, [and there’s] such a very good bond with other parishes. It’s a parish that is forward-looking; it has ideas for development. The spiritual life is great here. I have witnessed sacraments and all that, so it’s a very good parish.” His grace added.
Among others, Archbishop Tambala commended the St. Patrick’s Missionary Society for their significant role in the evangelization and development of the parish.
“We are talking about a clinic that we have, and also we are talking about schools, infrastructures like churches and all that,” he explained. “St. Patrick’s Missionary has been very, let me use the word, holistic in their approach. So, we are very proud of their presence.”
The Parish Council Chairperson, Clement Stambuli, expressed joy over the significant advancements the parish has witnessed in the past 50 years.
“St. Kizito has advanced in the past 50 years, starting from having Mass under a tree to where we are now, having a good church, hall, and also offices and other properties,” Stambuli explained.
Mr Clement Stambuli, parish council chairperson during the event
Stambuli highlighted that the presence of both aged and youthful faithful provides the parish with an opportunity to find ways of sustaining itself.
“We don’t want a parish which will depend on tithes and offerings but rather make the parish self-sustainable by having business lines and opportunities to ensure we maintain the income of the church and also we ensure
we continue developing,” he emphasized.
St. Kizito Chigoneka Parish was established in 1975 and is currently run by the St. Patrick’s Missionary Society.
The Copyright Fund of Malawi has urged stakeholders in the arts sector to utilize their talent to help the nation source foreign currency.
Announcing the winners of the 5th call for proposals today in Lilongwe, the fund committee’s chairperson, Robert Kapsyepsye, stated that talented individuals should start thinking beyond the country’s borders and market their talents globally.
Robert Kapsyepsye, middle
“As you know, the economic blueprint for Malawi, Malawi 2063, is very clear about exposing Malawian products on the international market as a way of generating foreign currency,” Kapsyepsye explained.
“When we look at SADC platforms like Zambia and South Africa, you’ll see that the GDP contribution from their cultural and arts sector is very encouraging, probably hovering around 10 to 16%, while ours, I think, is around 2 to 3%,” he added.
Kapsyepsye believes that Malawi’s arts and creative industry is now ready to compete in the international market, thereby assisting the government in forex generation.
“The government is also implementing the ATM strategy, so arts can attract or complement efforts in tourism. We believe that if we encourage our artists to go out and compete, their work can successfully compete on the international market and generate forex for their own well-being as well as the sustainability of the Malawian economy. Therefore, we believe supporting those with capacity is a move in the right direction towards achieving Malawi 2063,” he elaborated.
Today, the fund disbursed 161 million Kwacha to 18 projects, bringing the total amount disbursed since the program’s inception to 430 million Kwacha.
One of the recipients, musician Theresa Phondo, who has been granted 19,091,600.00 Malawi kwacha, expressed confidence that the funding will enable her project to collaborate with an international artist from Kenya.
Theresa Phondo
“I am very excited to have been granted this fund. The project we pitched involves my team and me going to Kenya. A Kenyan artist named Guardian Angel reached out and said he wanted to work with me, and he sent a song. I went to the studio, and we recorded the song. So, what we want to do is shoot a music video, not just one, but also another one in Kenya,” Phondo explained.
“We also have plans to do a joint event with Guardian Angel, co-funded by both of us. Additionally, we want to attend workshops they hold in Kenya, where they discuss the music business at a global level and other music-related content,” she added.
Ngale 42b Arts Centre, sustainable cape Maclear, Likoma secondary school and musician Dan Lu, are among the 18 awarded in the 5th cohort.
The 6th call for proposals has since been opened today, where 10 projects will be selected to showcase their talents outside the country.
Media Engagement on Reporting Women issues in Public and Political Spaces, organized by MISA Malawi in partnership with Concern Worldwide under the Malawi Irish Consortium on Gender Based Violence
The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) says it has placed a strong emphasis on fostering women’s empowerment throughout the electoral cycle as Malawi gears up for its general elections on September 16, 2025.
The commission’s comprehensive approach aims to give room for women’s participation as voters, candidates, and electoral staff, signaling a concerted effort to achieve a more equitable democratic landscape.
Media and Public Relations Director at the MEC, Sangwani Mwafulirwa, articulated the commission’s vision, highlighting the critical stages leading up to polling day, including nominations, the campaign period, and the polling and results management.
Mwafulirwa underscored that the MEC’s commitment extends to ensuring a truly inclusive environment where women can fully engage at every level, emphasizing the MEC’s dedication to providing a safe polling process where women are free from intimidation or obstruction when casting their votes.
He stressed that women should be able to “come from home and go back without somebody intimidating them.”
Sangwani Mwafulirwa outlining the MEC’s efforts to empower women in the 2025 elections
Mwafulirwa also highlighted the commission’s internal pledge to achieve a 50-50 gender balance among temporary polling staff.
“If we are employing 10,000 or 15,000 temporary staff, how many of these are women? There is a commitment from the Malawi Electoral Commission that we should employ 50-50 of each gender,” he affirmed, noting that this commitment has already been implemented during voter registration, inspection, and verification processes.
Furthermore, he has pointed to the encouraging statistic that women already comprise over 50% of registered voters, saying MEC’s focus now shifts to encouraging a high turnout among these registered women on polling day.
On working to reduce financial barriers for women aspiring to hold political office, Mwafulirwa revealed that “the commission gazetted that women should pay 50 percent less of the nomination fees.”
Understanding the nomination fees for the 2025 elections. Note the reduced fees for women candidates, as one key step in encouraging broader participation
To ensure these empowerment efforts are transparent and effective, the MEC has enlisted the support of the media, urging them to serve as “the eyes or the vanguards or the watchdogs” of the electoral process and to scrutinize issues pertaining to women’s participation from various angles – as candidates, voters, and polling staff.
MEC has also called on journalists to hold other stakeholders, particularly political parties, accountable for their commitments to women’s empowerment.
“If parties have committed to women empowerment, providing an environment for equal participation of women, what is it that the parties are actually doing beyond their expression or their commitment to supporting women?”
Media Engagement on Reporting Women issues in Public and Political Spaces, organized by MISA Malawi in partnership with Concern Worldwide under the Malawi Irish Consortium on Gender Based Violence
