Blantyre City Council (BCC) on Thursday engaged its partners to discuss the welfare of street kids in the city. The partners including Malawi Human Rights Commission, Office of the Ombudsman, Step Kids Awareness (Steka), Samaritan Trust, Agape House and the business community such as the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), National…
President Peter Mutharika yesterday commissioned the $50 million (about K36 billion) World Bank-funded Kamuzu Barrage and bridge and used the occasion to hit at critics of his administration’s alleged failure to protect persons with albinism. The President accused the critics he did not name of manipulating facts purportedly to gain political mileage. However, it was…
The Judiciary is yet to rehabilitate South Lunzu Magistrate’s Court due to financial constraints three years after it was torched by a protesting mob. High Court of Malawi and Supreme Court of Appeal registrar Agnes Patemba attributed the delay to lack of financial resources. She said the two magistrates who were working at the court…
Several Christian churches have joined hands to organise a prayer breakfast for presidential aspirants aimed at promoting peaceful coexistence in the run-up to May 21 Tripartite Elections The churches include Pentecostal Revival Crusades (PRC) Ministries, Calvary Family Church (CFC) , Agape Life Church, Charismatic Redeemed Ministries International (CRMI), Assemblies of God and Living Waters Church.…
Phase one of the construction of the Lirangwe-Chingale-Machinga Road is progressing at a snail’s pace with 11 percent of the works completed, casting doubt on whether the contractor will meet the September 2019 deadline. During a site tour of the road by Minister of Transport and Public Works Jappie Mhango and Roads Authority (RA) officials…
When President Peter Mutharika formally presents presidential nomination papers to Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) this afternoon for his re-election bid, he will be the third member of his Cabinet to vie for the highest political office. The other Cabinet members aspiring for the office of President are Mutharika’s estranged Vice-President Saulos Chilima, who is standing…
Five years ago, Vice-President Saulos Chilima walked down the aisle of the Chichiri International Conference Centre, widely known as Comesa Hall, to present presidential nomination papers alongside President Peter Mutharika as a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) pair. Fast forward to almost five years later yesterday, Chilima walked into the same hall amid anticipation from his…
Independent presidential aspirant Ras David Chikomeni Chirwa’s supporters were yesterday disappointed after Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) deferred the hopeful’s nomination papers for falling short on requirements. The supporters, who came with pomp to welcome and cheer their candidate, appeared disappointed that Chikomeni’s nomination papers could not be accepted as he had not yet paid the…
Peter Kuwani of Mbakuwaku Movement for Development (MMD) yesterday became the third presidential hopeful to present his nomination papers to the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) in preparation for the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections. In his five-minute speech after presenting the nomination papers to MEC chairperson Jane Ansah at Comesa Hall in Blantyre, Kuwani called…
It is Friday and Joyce Banda gives up her quest to return to State House, citing her 68-year-old age and that she had done enough, including being Malawi’s president. She then effusively endorses Saulos Chilima. “At a time such as this, I have looked around and said this person [Chilima] has more energy than I…
Chakwera, Chisi submit papers Chichiri International Conference Hall in Blantyre was a hive of activities on Monday as presidential candidates for the May 21 Tripartite Elections started submitting their nomination papers to the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC). Malawi Congress Party (MCP) leader Lazarus Chakwera was the first in this week-long exercise, followed by John Chisi,…
The Muslim community has condemned some public school authorities who allegedly prohibit female Muslim faith learners from putting on a hijab—a gear covering the head and the neck worn by Muslim women and girls in public places. The condemnation comes barely two months after the Rastafarian community staged a protest to push government to lift…
A leadership skills boot camp for women media leaders in Africa opened on Saturday in Naivasha, Kenya, with a call for media institutions to deal with bottlenecks that promote gender inequalities in the media. About 115 female journalists from 13 African countries have converged for the five-day boot camp organised by the International Women’s Media…
As the country continues to grapple with fall armyworms, Farmers Organisation Limited (FOL) says six pesticides have now been approved and certified to deal with the strenuous pest. Briefing the media in Blantyre on Wednesday, FOL national sales and marketing manager Ronald Chilumpha said initially the organisation in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation…
The continued misunderstanding between the Ministry of Health (MoH) and Medical Consultants Africa Limited (MCA) a supplier of two CT scanners that government procured for Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in Lilongwe and Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (Qech) in Blantyre has forced the ministry to opt for procurement of new CT scanners. In May 2012, MCA won…
Commentators have hailed Minister of Information and Communications Technology Henry Mussa who on Wednesday challenged Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) to open up to the opposition as the May 21 Tripartite Elections approach. The minister made the call on Wednesday during his familiarisation tour of MBC Television’s Kwacha offices in Blantyre. He said MBC as a…
Archbishop Thomas Msusa of the Blantyre Archdiocese of the Catholic Church has questioned the competence of security agencies in the country for failing to bust albino markets years after attacks on people with albinism were brought to light. Reports of killings and abductions of persons with albinism in the country escalated in 2014, with records…
The National Statistical Office (NSO) will tomorrow release the 2018 Malawi Population and Housing Census (PHC) preliminary results. NSO conducted the nationwide census from September 3 to 26, 2018 to come up with the nation’s current projected population and poverty indicators among others. Confirming the development, NSO spokesperson Kingsley Manda said the results will be released…
About 130 households affected by floods in Mulanje entered the New Year with a smile when the Malawi Red Cross Society (MRCS) distributed cash through its social cash transfer programme to help alleviate their suffering. Heavy rains on December 23 caused flooding in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Mkanda, destroying houses and property and…
The third phase of voter verification exercise ended yesterday with the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) saying it registered no serious challenges during the exercise. The phase, which started on December 26 2018, covered all registration centres in eight districts of Mangochi, Balaka, Machinga, Zomba, Chiradzulu, Phalombe, Mulanje and Thyolo as well as Luchenza Municipality. Speaking…