Must Charity golf raises K103m

The charity golf Malawi University of Science and Technology (Must) organised on Saturday at Lilongwe Golf Club raised a whopping K103 million.

FDH Bank donated K100 million while K3 million was raised through auction.

Must Vice-Chancellor Professor Address Malata said the charity golf was organised to raise money for needy students.

Vice-President Saulos Chilima was guest of honour at the event.

In his remarks, the Veep thanked companies, including FDH Holdings Limited and golfers for supporting the cause.

Said Chilima: “One underlining challenge that these institutions and parastatals are facing is lack of adequate resources to run their operations. This is why public institutions are being challenged to be innovative and think outside the box to reduce dependence on Treasury if we are going to make progress as a country.

“This is why I would like to congratulate Must, the council chair and the Vice-Chancellor in particular, on their leadership and guidance in hatching the establishment of the Must Endowment Fund.”

He said with the initiative,  Must will be assured of a sustainable source of revenue.

“Public universities today have many students who are struggling financially because of lack of fees and upkeep. Universities are bombarded with letters of intent to withdraw due to lack of finances.  I thank all individuals, companies and golfers for coming to support Must,” said Chilima.

Minister of Education Agnes NyaLonje said the Endowment Fund for supporting needy students is one way of ensuring access to higher education because it will support students who would have failed to finish their studies.

She said: “For my ministry, access to higher education is key to building our nation and achieving our national development agenda. Human capital development is very critical for the achievement of all the three pillars of this national development, namely agricultural productivity and commercialisation; industrialisation and urbanisation.

“As such, as a nation we need to ensure our youth have access to higher education where they can get the much needed skills and knowledge for their active and meaningful contribution to the national development agenda.”

In her remarks, Professor Malata said the fund will support needy students, thereby ensuring access to quality education.

“We are grateful to those that have supported the initiative and we are appealing for more support. Thank you Dr. Chilima for your presence today and also for taking part in the tournament,” she said.

On the golf course, Must team emerged champions, Press Trust were second, Nico  third and MDF 2 finished fourth.