Wolrec empowers Zomba communities

Women’s Legal Resource Centre (Wolrec) says fear among communities to probe service providers on various projects in their communities is one of the factors derailing development.

Worlec programmes manager Margaret Chilongozi made the observation on Tuesday in Group Village Head (GVH) Mtogolo in Zomba during the launch of Empowering Rural Women Groups to Demand Implementation of Social Policies at Local and National Levels in Malawi project that the organisation is implementing.

The project is being implemented in Sub-Traditional Authority (ST/A) N’kagula, traditional authorities (T/As) Kuntumanje and Malemia in the district. The project seeks to equip people with skills for demanding and executing social services from service providers.

Chilongozi attributed the fear to ignorance of the Constitution which guarantees human rights.

“Most citizens are not familiar with the laws of the land. We, therefore, urge government to find ways of ensuring that people understand the law so they can make informed decisions on issues that matter to their lives,” she said.

Speaking on behalf of the district commissioner, an official from the district council Francis Futu called on the communities to champion the project as it is important to the development of their communities and the society.

“Let us remember that evil prevails when good people fail to act; hence, be observant in the developments taking place in your communities if the country is to develop,” he said. n