Category: News

Deputy Director Responsible for Malawi Rural Electrification Project (MAREP) in the ministry of energy, Francisco Chingoli, says MAREP phase 9 is making good strides as of today over 85% of the project is complete.

Chingoli expressed optimism that with the current progress, the government’s target of achieving 50% electrification by 2030 will be possible.

“The government has put in place so many measures to make sure that we should reach the target of 50% by 2030, you can even see that we have so many mini-grids where they’re feeding to the main-grid but we are also having some off-grid that have been put in place to make sure Malawi is having the access of 50% by 2030,” explained Chingoli.

 

Chingoli mentioned that the ministry is committed to ensure that there’s transparency and accountability in the project, stating the ministry’s various measures which have been implemented to ensure that procurement processes are fair and efficient.

He proposed to the government to reduce the number of approving layers during procurement processes at least two, citing that the current procedure provides a room for corruption.

“We are proposing to the government that the approving layers are just too many, maybe if they can review the act so that the approving layers must be reduced maybe to two, so that maybe once the procurement entity has done the evaluation process maybe the PPDA must be the last institution to see, if not so, then it’s good to bring all the concerned parties at one place and do the evaluation and get done by the end of the day not taking one procurement process up to six months because of too many layers,” added Chingoli.

 

Welani Chilenga, chairperson for parliamentary committee on climate change and natural resources with CISONEC National Coordinator, Julius Ng’oma

During a panel discussion on promoting equitable access to clean energy on Wednesday in Lilongwe, Civil Society Network on Climate Change (CISONEC) national coordinator, Julius Ng’oma, indicated that despite the program making strides, there are some areas that need to be improved.

Ng’oma noted that the program has been faced with challenges such as slowness to reach its targets, issues such as corruption and slow disbursement of funds as well as the identification and prioritization of suitable sites for electrification.

“We’ve already seen how things are going in terms of, for example, the slowness of the program. I think for the last couple of years, where few people, I mean the local communities or areas in the country have been connected,” Ng’oma explained.

 

Despite these challenges, Ng’oma appreciated that the current phase of MAREP has shown some improvement in terms of accelerating the electrification process, adding that more needs to be done to ensure that the program delivers on its promise of providing reliable and affordable electricity to all Malawians.

“Let’s just acknowledge the fact that maybe MAREP, the current phase of MAREP, has actually tried to expedite the process, but then we still have a lot of people that are not having access to electricity through the program,” added Ng’oma.

 

CISONEC believes MAREP can play a crucial role in promoting the use of clean energy if a lot of people have access to electricity.

 

By Lester Mhone

The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has expressed its concern over the Commission of Inquiry’s failure to release the report on the June 10, 2024 plane crash that killed Vice-President Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, former First Lady Patricia Shanil Dzimbiri, and seven others.

This follows the elapsing of three days after the release of the report despite the Commission’s Chairperson, Justice Jabber Alide, confirming to the general public that President Lazarus Chakwera directed the Commission to release the report to Malawians before submitting it to him.

In a statement signed by CDEDI executive director Sylvester Namiwa, the organization has challenged Justice Alide to immediately release the report or admit that he has defied the President’s directive.

The organization has questioned the Commission’s contradictory statements and lack of transparency.

“What is disturbing is the fact that the Commission’s Chairperson Justice Jabber Alide actually went public, in a statement, indicating that President Lazarus Chakwera had directed the Commission to give the report to Malawians first, before presenting it to him.

“So, Malawians were surprised that after reading out the report on Saturday, 14th December 2024, they heard, through the media, that it would take the prerogative of the President to make the report public. The same report the President had instructed to be made public before being submitted to him. Something is really not adding up,” Reads part of the statement.

CDEDI added by warning authorities that any attempt to hold the report will prompt them to take action against the executive arrogance.

“The nation and the bereaved families are yearning to read the report line-by-line and page-by-page in quest for a closure to the many questions they have over that tragic accident,” adds the statement.

The Commission is said to have spent K200 million of taxpayers’ money on the inquiry, and CDEDI is demanding that the report be released in the interest of transparency and accountability.

 

By Lester Mhone

The Catholic Development Commission (CADECOM) in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe has today distributed cash and flour to people affected by hunger in Nkhotakota district.

Speaking during the distribution exercise at Traditional Authority Mwanzama in the district, CADECOM Acting Secretary in the Lilongwe Archdiocese, Madalitso Chilalire, said the exercise is part of responding to the call by the President of Malawi to assist people who have been affected by hunger in the country.

According to Chilalire, CADECOM decided to reach out to the people of Nkhotakota district, as it is one of the districts that has been affected by hunger due to prolonged dry spells and flooding, which have impacted many people in the area.

“Last year, we did not receive much rainfall due to El Niño, which resulted in low harvests across the country. Consequently, the President of Malawi appealed to the donor community for assistance, and the Episcopal Conference of Malawi, through CADECOM, appealed to Caritas International for support, which led to the fundraising of the money we are distributing today,” Chilalire explained.

CADECOM has also urged the beneficiaries to use the support they have received to address the problems their families are facing.

Parish Priest for Benga Parish, Father Steve Ochieng, who represented Archbishop George Tambala of the Lilongwe Archdiocese, said that as the Catholic Church, they will continue to help people facing numerous challenges in their daily lives.

“This is our commitment as the archdiocese. We will not leave them alone because we see their suffering, so we need to address those sufferings that people are experiencing in their areas,” Father Ochieng emphasized.

In his remarks, Traditional Authority Mwanzama applauded CADECOM for their gesture, saying that it has come at the right time, as many people in his area have been affected by hunger.

The beneficiaries from area of Lipenga ,Suluwi and Mwachipapa have received 100,000 Kwacha per household, and others have received a bag of porridge flour for those who have babies

CADECOM is conducting food crisis project with funding support from Caritas International Organization.

By Titus Jata Phiri.

The Global Health Corps hopes the introduction of mental health learners’ clubs in various schools can play a crucial role in addressing mental health problems in the country.

 

The organization’s Country Director Symon Simkoko, says as the country is facing a rise in mental health problems, it is critical for authorities to bang heads and come up with strategies likely to improve the situation.

 

“It is so clear that the numbers of mental health cases are rising, particularly the suicide cases. Yesterday, we had a meeting with the ministry of health, and they indicated that there’s a rise mainly amongst the young people”

 

“So, if there is a rise in cases of suicide, which is quite a big sign of mental health, it means we need to take a step and start targeting schools”

 

Simkoko is hopeful that taking mental health concepts to schools will provide a platform for learners to have interactive sessions where they can share personal challenges, some of the coping resilience and improve their performance in school.

 

During the training of the trainer’s workshop on Saturday at Bwaila Secondary School in Lilongwe, Esther Tauzi, a teacher at Lilongwe Girls Secondary School and also a member of psychosocial group, mentioned some issues that pose to be a trap for students to find themselves in mental health challenges.

 

“Like our school, it’s a boarding school. One of the major challenges sometimes is their needs in terms of groceries, they don’t have pocket money, sometimes other students are coming from one parent family and most of the time they say maybe I’m thinking of what is happening at home, you hear issues of divorces at home, they affect the students”

 

“Even performance itself, they also take it to mental health because when they think maybe like Lilongwe Girls Secondary School, it’s a national secondary school, they expect to have high grades and when they see lower grade, it affects that particular student”

 

In her remarks, Faridah Zalimba, cited that students sometimes fail to share their personal challenges with others due to trust issues.

 

Zalimba hopes that having such trainings can help to address mental health problems among students in the country.

 

“It’s really helpful because through these sessions, people attend or engage with others, chilling, that helps us to clear our minds a lot. Some have, like, some exercises and some other stuff like that” she explained.

 

Representatives from 11 selected secondary schools from Lilongwe central west education division, have been trained to train others on mental health through the clubs that will be formed in their schools