Nation Publications Limited (NPL) has challenged community journalists to read and research to write critical and well thought through stories.
NPL head of sales and marketing MacDonald Kadewa said this on Wednesday when he opened a three-day training for community journalists from Kauma and surrounding areas in Lilongwe.
NPL is running a six-month waste management project at Kauma with financial support from Tilitonse Foundation.
“NPL is equipping you with community journalism skills to write stories about waste management challenges at Kauma. Therefore, you need to read and research a lot on waste disposal and management,” he said.
Kadewa said Kauma residents have expectations on waste management service from Lilongwe City Council (LCC), but the council says Kauma is outside their service provision areas.
“You, therefore, need to provide space for engagement between Kauma communities and the city council for them to find solutions to waste disposal challenges in the area,” he said.
LCC designated Kauma as a sewage area, but with rapid urbanisation in Lilongwe, it is one of the highly populated areas in the capital city.
The stench from the sewage and lack of public waste management services put Kauma residents at risk of diseases such as cholera and typhoid, among others.
One of the journalists Henderson Kaliati, said the training will equip him with skills to ably write stories about waste management challenges in the area.
Two weeks ago, LCC urban executive committee chairperson Hilary Kamera admitted that Kauma is one of the neglected areas in the city. He said the project is in tune with the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDSIII), Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
