Malawi Congress Party has released a statement in reaction to the news that their offices in Lilongwe have been sealed by the Council for non payment of ground rent.
In a statement signed by the party’s publicity secretary Rev Maurice Munthali , it reads “The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) is aware that Lilongwe City Council has today, 25th November 2021, sealed our national headquarters at City Centre over what they term ‘unpaid city rates’.We, however, wish to clarify the circumstances surrounding this unfortunate development”
“Malawians may recall that the national headquarters building was bombed in 1993 during Operation Bwezani rendering it not habitable and usable. It was only in 2013 that the party renovated only two rooms to accommodate our then newly-elected leader Dr. Lazarus Chakwera who had expressed his intention to work from office and not home. Upon noticing that there was some activity around the premises, the City Council came and presented an accumulated bill for city rates including for the 20-year period when the building had remained closed.”
MCP offices being sealed
“While the party agreed to the obligation to settle city rates, it had reservations with paying for the bill that was accrued while the building was idle. We, therefore, requested the City Council for an open and constructive roundtable discussion on the matter so that we arrive at an agreeable consensus. Sadly, our request was turned down.The City Council later dragged MCP to court. In its determination the court ruled that the case had been brought to a wrong court in the first place. The Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda ruling deemed it necessary that as a remedy to that particular course of action, the case had to be taken to an appropriate court.Since that time, we have been hoping that the City Council would proceed with the legal advice it got from the court or avail themselves for another roundtable discussion so that we find an amenable solution to this prolonged deadlock.”
“Malawi Congress Party is, therefore, surprised that the Council has decided to seal the headquarters before we could collectively exhaust all existing legal and moral channels. The party believes that the action by City Council is flawed as it overrides and contradicts the earlier court ruling. The Malawi Congress Party is currently utilizing all channels at its disposal to ensure that its concerns on the matter are addressed quickly by all stakeholders involved.We ask our members not to panic and maintain order as necessary measures are being undertaken to have the headquarters opened for business again as soon as possible.”
The Minister of Civic Education and National Unity Timothy Pagonachi Mtambo has made an impassioned appeal to residents of M’baluku in Mangochi and Msundwe in Lilongwe to desist from exchanging provocative statements, stressing that this could be recipe for political and tribal unrest in the country.
The appeal follows circulation on social media of voice notes purportedly from the two residences, threatening each other to a tribal war over political issues.
In one of the audios, a man claiming to be a Chewa warns that they are ready to wage war against Yaos, accusing them of invading other people’s land.
“Ifetu Achewa sitikhala kumadera a anthu ena, koma Achawa muli kulikonse kunoko. Muli paliponse mkufuna nkhondo ya mitundu pamene azibale anu ali kuno. Mkufuna mtanthauze kuti chani? Ife sitikukamba nkhani ya Achawa, koma Winiko asabwera mu Lilongwe,” he warns.
In response, a man claiming to be a Yao from M’baluku counter-warns, saying “we are fully prepared to wage war against Msundwe people.”
“Ifense ndiye kuti tabwera chikwanekwane. Ena tagona kale mu Lilongwe muno takumvani mmene tikuyankhulamu. Tili mu Lilongwe mommuno. Ndi pamene mdziwe kuti wachiYao wangalusya ndi zoonadi. Tabwera! M’baluku yonse yabwera, anyamata a kwa Katema tabwera. Tabwera titakukonzekerani ndithu!” he says in the audio clip.
But Mtambo condemned both parties for propagating tribal war, warning that the Tonse Alliance government will not tolerate anyone who intends to propagate and champion political and tribal unrest in the country.
“This must be condemned in strongest terms. Malawians have been known to be people of peace; let us live in peace. And wherever and whenever there are misunderstandings, let us learn to talk to each other,” said the minister.
Hon Mtambo
Mtambo further appealed to leaders of the cultural groupings in Lilongwe and Mangochi to collaborate in identifying and disciplining authors of the provocative voice notes.
“Dialogue is the only way forward. We are going through a very difficult time due to the effects of Covid-19 pandemic and this is a global problem. Issues of rising cost of living is an issue we all need to understand and work hard to address them collectively.
“It’s not right that we should start applying emotions and start threatening one another, start fighting each other over the rise in cost of living. So, let us avoid sensationalizing these issues because everyone has the right to exercise their constitutional right to demonstrations, but let us not sensationalize issues of cost of living to the extent of propagating tribal unrest,” he said.
In a related development, the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has expressed disappointment with what it has described as “deafening silence on the part of the Malawi Police Service (MPS)” to arrest perpetrators of violence against peaceful demonstrators in Blantyre on Friday.
CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa said it is disheartening to note that the police, whose constitutional mandate is to ensure the safety of lives and property of all Malawians, chose to bury their heads in the sand at the time their service was desperately needed.
“This, alone, is more revealing as to who actually sanctioned the bloodshed in the city of Blantyre on Thursday, 18th November 2021. Malawians’ memories are still fresh, and they are able to recall what the immediate-past Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) regime was infamously known for—use of thugs to terrorise innocent and unarmed citizens that were perceived to be advancing dissenting views against them. Today, DPP is out of government!” reads the statement Namiwa issued on Monday morning.
Namiwa reminds President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera and his Tonse Alliance administration about their promise to do things differently by, among others, empowering the youths to meaningfully participate in the social and economic development of the country.
He further reminds the Inspector General (IG) of Police, Dr. George Kainja, about his promise to bring back the lost trust in the police by, also, doing things differently.
“However, the ugly scenes in Blantyre have brought back bad memories of criminals who were licensed to beat up and hack others in full view of the police. It is, therefore, very disheartening to note that more than five days after the uncalled-for acts of violence, there has not been any public statement from the police about the events in Blantyre.
Neither has the Ministry of Civic Education and National Unity uttered any word to denounce the violence targeted at those that had planned a peaceful demonstration. This, to us, is clear evidence that such barbaric acts were orchestrated and sponsored by none other than agents of the government of the day, notably the Malawi Congress Party (MCP),” laments Namiwa.
In his reaction, Mtambo appealed for patience from non-state actors, stressing that the Tonse Alliance government remains committed to delivering on all its promises.
The minister further asked CDEDI and other organizations to rally behind President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera for the country to move forward.
“The government of President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera is fully aware of the problems that Malawians are facing and it is working hard to address them within a specified time. However, for Chakwera to succeed in addressing our problems, we need the support of non-state actors as well as all citizens,” said Mtambo.
Community members of Chikutu in Karonga District have underscored the role of Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) in ending violence saying it has contributed positively and helped in bringing young boys and girls back to school.This came to light when EAM in partnership with Karonga Press Club made a media learning visit to Chikutu and Chisi with an aim of appreciating progress of Timazge Nkhaza project in its catchment areas.
In an interview, a member of Chisi Mother Group, Agnes Chitete, said a good number of people in her community did not know the importance of bringing the young people back to school from early marriages and hard labour in Tanzania before the project came. “In our communities, we had young girls who got married and other young boys and girls were being taken to neighbouring Tanzania for piece works that were beyond their ages while others were forced into commercial sex, “On our own, we did not know its negative impacts and what to do, with the help of EAM and the structures put in place we have managed to bring these youths back to school, she said.
She has since pointed out that traditional leaders and other stakeholders have also welcomed the development. On his part, Child Protection Committee (CPC) chairperson of Chikutu, Charles Mtonga, described the faith based organisation as a saviour to the young boys and girls. “Today I can happily say EAM has saved our young boys and girls from different types of violence, young boys and girls who were taken to Tanzania are telling us a hell of experience so we are very thankful to the organization, he said. Mtonga has since highlighted that parents who will be found subjecting their children to further violence will be charged to pay ten thousand kwacha as per their bylaws.
Project officer for Timazge Nkhaza at EAM, Wandiya Chigawa, has urged all people to work towards ending violence of different kinds and child marriages.
As one way of empowering women and youths economically and make them be self-reliant, Chigwirizano-based youth-led organization in Lilongwe Sprout Foundation has embarked on project to offer tailoring skills to less privileged women and youths in the areas of areas of village headmen Chigwirizano and Mwanamanga, Traditional Authority( TA) Malili in Lilongwe.
Speaking in a separate interview, the organization’s project coordinator Richard Chazika said village headmen Chigwirizano and Mwanamanga Traditional Authority ( TA) Malili in Lilongwe are some of areas where girls lack motivation to attend school due to the presence of lodges and rest houses which make them to indulge in illicit behaviors such as prostitution and early marriages.
Richard Chazika , Sprout Coordinator
Chazika said these behaviors result in high levels of school drop outs and contribute to an increase in number of poor children who have no parental support. He said upon looking this, the Sprout Foundation took up the responsibility to identify women and girls who are in this category and those that are survivors of Gender-Based Violences ( GBV) through Nthambi Orphanage so as to empower them economically through tailoring skills. He said through this project, the women and girls in the mentioned areas are being trained in sewing different kind of materials such us masks and sanitary pads as a way of them reduce period poverty that negatively affects girls in communities. ” With the financial support from our American-based partner Dr. Mary Kaye Holmes, we have embarked on these tailoring trainings so as to economically empower our women and girls who reside in village heads Mwanamanga and Chigwilizano, T/A Malili so as they become self-reliant in whatever they are doing. This is so because, these are one of the areas where there is high school drop outs that has resulted in immoral behaviors and early marriages among school going girls. We want to completely end this by empowering them”, He said.
He added” As a youth network, we are so excited with the launch of this Shirley Rose Tailoring Academy which will train young women and youths in tailoring skills in Chigwirizano and Mwanamanga villages. We urge women to seize this opportunity with a sense of responsibility. He said as an organization, their main goal is to expand some of the organization’s projects including the one of offering tailoring skills so as they reach to more communities and be part of those who are putting effort in implementing the achievement of the vision 2063 as well as creating job opportunities in the sectors of business and food security. ” As an organization, we want to be part of those who are putting effort in the achievement of the vision 2063. On this we are focusing on the the following aspects; providing access to business opportunities among girls and women, ensure food security in underprivileged communities through climate smart agricultural interventions and ensuring that every child has access to quality education so as to enable them reach their full potential” He said.
Chazika said Sprout Foundation is a small organization that has just kicked off a year a go but it has done a lot of positive impacts in the communities but still meeting challenges that need quick solution. He cited lack of interest by the government and other responsible stakeholders to support youth-led organizations as one of the biggest challenge they are facing and called on government departments to handle youth related matters of concern and start supporting youths in the country. ” We are a small organization that has just kicked off a year ago but the impact cannot be denied. We have done a lot. The only challenge is that we are a small organization that lacks support and exlisut. As for this, we urge government departments to provide enough exposure and platforms for youths to express their views”, he said.
In her remarks, the organization’s founder and Executive Director Lindsay Katchika-Jere said as the organization leader, she felt very excited to see her dreams of establishing an organization that will help her community now coming true as witnessed by Sprout Foundation. She said this has been her passion from long way back. ” Am very happy to be here today, witnessing our sanitary pads tailoring trainings which I believe will empower our young girls and women. This has been my passion and dream since my childhood that one day I will an organization which will empower women and youths in in a number of ways. The passion grew bigger which gave birth to Lindlifix Youth Network ( now Sprout Foundation) with an aim of serving more communities through volunteering platforms and webinars. My heart is filled with joy to see the first cohort of young women whose lives will never be the same after these three months tailoring trainings. They will be selling clothes and other materials and be self-reliant”, said Jere.
Established in 2020, Sprout Foundation is a non-profit making organization they aims at improving the lives of women and children in underprivileged communities through sustainable programs in the fields of Agriculture, Education, Climate Change and Entrepreneurship.
As one way of ensuring that teachers have good houses most especially during this rainy season, a Balaka-based non-governmental organization under the banner Child Focus organization has moved on to renovate teachers’ houses at Sosola Primary School in the district.
Speaking during the launch of the renovation project on Saturday, the organization’s Founder and Executive Director Thomas Sendeza said his organization has been conducting inspection of the situation at the school where it observed that there is a lack of proper houses for some teachers.
He said in the process of inspection, the school head teacher together with the school management committee asked the organization to help the school with the renovation of the teachers’ houses and construction of one change-room which can help the girls at the school to change their sanitary pads while at school. ” we have been inspecting the situation for so long and we found that some teachers lack good houses. It is for this reason why we are here to launch this project where we are are going to renovate teachers’ houses, construct 5 toilets for boys and one change-room, a room which will allow girls to change their sanitary pads while here at school thereby minimizing absenteeism which comes among girls the time they are on their period”, he said.
Sendeza said at Sosola Primary School, there are 36 teachers of which only 3 reside at the school due to lack of enough teachers’ houses. ” Here at Sosola Primary School, we have 36 teachers in total but only three reside at the school since the houses are not enough for all to reside here. The other teachers communite to work from far places which is not good. So us as an organization have committed ourselves to start renovating two houses which are in a very dilapidated state” said Sendeza.
He added that teachers play a very important role in the development of our nation Malawi, and as such they need to have proper housing so that they continue their duties well. He said this why they partnered with the school and the school management so as to assist the school with the renovation of the two teachers’ houses and add up numbers of teachers residing on campus. ” We are renovating these two teachers’ houses so as to add numbers of teachers residing here on campus. We are also constricting a one change-room where girls will be changing their sanitary pads . This is after knowing that lack of sanitary facilities at the school is contributing to the high absenteeism rate and poor performance among girls in classes, he added.
He said at the school , there are still four more teachers’ houses that need to be renovated, calling on other well-wishers to join the move as their organization is currently passing through economic hardships such as financial challenges. ” We are a small and growing organization, we lack finances and office space so that we can make more impacts to our communities. We therefore, ask well wishers to support us with resources so that we can reach out to more unprivileged children. Both government and and other stakeholders need to work together in the provision of teacher’s houses, said Sendeza.
In her remarks, the Head Teacher at Sosola Primary School Jean Mapwesera commended Child Focus organization for the renovation works at the school. ” On behalf of the school, I want to thank Mr. Thomas Sendeza for the great job that his organization Child Focus has done here at Sosola Primary School for renovating teachers’ houses. We hope that the renovation of these two houses will help teachers because at first we only had few teachers that were staying on school campus. The teachers would like to see the houses to be completed as soon as possible so as to relieve them from the great need of the houses”, said Mpwesera.
In his words, one of the school learners Wilson Taonga who is in standard 7 also thanked Child Focus organization for the great development at the school. ” We the students from Sosola Primary School are very happy with the development that you at Child Focus are doing by constructing the toilets and the teachers’ houses which will help our school have more teachers thereby improving the teacher-learner ratio. We will also be able to ask our teachers school-related questions during off school hours”, Thanked Taonga.
Sosola Primary School has over 916 learners with very limited number of toilets which are not in good conditions. The toilets are damaged and dangerous to be used by learners. The renovation project of the teachers’ houses and the toilets is being financed by the World Connect Malawi. Founded in 2018, Child Focus is a registered youth-led non-governmental that aims at providing better learning environment for underprivileged children in marginalized areas in Mawi. Its main focus areas are in education, Sexual Reproductive Health Rights ( SRHR) and environment.
