Girls who are in secondary school should be considered as a rare commodity because the majority of them drop out at primary level.
First Lady Madame Chakwera made the remarks on Monday 31st July 2023 when she officially launched 2023 Girls’ Empowerment Retreat at Mzuzu University (MZUNI) Open Distance Learning Ground.
The five – day retreat, which has drawn 500 girls from various secondary schools across the country, has been co – organised by Shaping Our Future Foundation (SOFF) and Girls’ Empowerment Trust.
Madame Chakwera
In her remarks, the first lady emphasized that secondary school going girls must be supported at all cost.
“Parents should take a leading role in ensuring that girl children are educated,” added the first lady.
“Women should support girls to get educated by providing them with resources and encouragement until they attain tertiary education.”
She then advised girls to concentrate on their studies.
She explained that opportunities can only be unlocked through education.
“International and local development partners should consider supporting girls especially those in community day secondary schools by constructing hostels because a lot of girls cover long distances to and from school fueling school dropout among girls,” said Madame Chakwera.
Speaking earlier, Minister of Education, Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima said the retreat will teach girls how to surmount stumbling blocks in their education.
Infighting has now become the song of the day in the former ruling party Democratic Progressive (DPP).
The party has now fully graduated into a battle field.
DPP spokesperson Shadric Namalomba has since vowed to take all the necessary measures to ensure Mulanje Central Constituency lawmaker, Kondwani Nankhumwa, and his sympathizers leave the party, DPP has summoned the Leader of Opposition to a disciplinary hearing, which may culminate into expulsion.
Nankhumwa, facing disciplinary committee
Apparently, Nankhumwa, Secretary General Greselder Jeffrey and Yusuf Nthenda challenged resolutions the party made at its recent National Governing Council (NGC) meeting at Nkopola Lodge in Mangochi where the cadres endorsed party president Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika to be the torchbearer in the 2025 presidential elections.
Nankhumwa and his legion of followers have openly accused the party leadership of being undemocratic and intolerant.
This did not please Namalomba who vowed that the APM camp would do everything possible to get rid of the anti-Mutharika.
“We will facilitate their leaving. And I wish to underline this: we will facilitate their exit from DPP because they are working in opposition to what the NGC members had agreed,” he told Zodiak Broadcasting Station on Friday.
And true to his word, the party has now summoned Nankhumwa to a disciplinary hearing for alleged insubordination and disrespect to the party leadership.
Secretary to the Disciplinary Committee in DPP, Jean Mathanga, has written the party’s vice president (South) notifying him about the hearing to take place on Wednesday this week.
“The Disciplinary Committee has received a complaint from the Deputy Secretary General regarding your conduct in contravention of the Constitution of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). You are hereby given notice of a disciplinary hearing against you to be conducted by the Disciplinary Committee ofthe Democratic Progressive Party at the Dream Village in Area 43 in Lilongwe, on Wednesday, the 2nd day of August, 2023 at 09:00 hours in the forenoon to answer the following charge against you,” reads the letter in our possession.
According to the particulars of the charges, Nankhumwa, between 15th and 25th July, 2023, conducted whistle stop tours in the Southern Region without seeking approval from the president to conduct such whistle stops.
The party says this indicates that Nankhumwa is undermining the authority of the President of the Party and displayed disrespect to the leadership of the party.
“For the above reasons the Disciplinary Committee would like to hear your side of the story on the above issues under Article 15 (3) of the DPP Constitution before the Committee can make recommendations on the above issues to the Central Committee under Article 15 (4) of the DPP Constitution. Take notice that if you fail to attend the Disciplinary Hearing without any justifiable reasons, the Committee has the power to make recommendations to the Central Committee for necessary sanctions including expulsion, suspension or censure. Take further notice that if you mobilise your supporters to accompany you to the Disciplinary Hearing, the Committee has the power to make recommendations to the Central Committee for necessary sanctions including expulsion, suspension or censure,” she stresses.
She warns that Nankhumwa also risks expulsion, suspension or censure if he or his supporters do anything to disrupt the Disciplinary Hearing.
While Nankhumwa has confirmed receipt of the letter through the interviews he conducted with the daily papers, DPP leadership did not commit itself to own the missive.
The ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP) says it will hold its Elective Convention(EC) in August, 2024.
Speaking during media briefing on Monday in Lilongwe, the party’s Secretary General(SG) Eisenhower Mkaka said this was agreed during the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) on November 21, 2022.
He indicated that this still maintains the MCP’s tradition and history and align with the new electoral calendar as legislated by the members of Parliament.
Party secretary general Mkaka
“Today the 31st July, 2023, I have called for this press briefing to inform the Nation in general, and Party members in particular, about the Party’s elective Convention.
“As you may be aware the Constitution of the Party gives a 5 year mandate to the National Executive Committee (and all Party’s elected Officers) to manage the affairs of the Party on behalf of the members who are the owners of the Party.
The National Executive Committee as a Committee of the National Party Convention is charged with the responsibility of the party’s management on a 5 year mandate.,” said Mkaka.
He added :”You may also recall that traditionally and historically, The Malawi Congress Party holds its elective Convention a year before General Elections.
“As you may also recall, the electoral calendar in Malawi was changed as a result of the Fresh Presidential Elections that were held in June, 2020.”
The SG said he will announce the actual dates of the Convention at an appropriate time as resolved by the National Executive Committee of the Party.
Recently,the Malawi Parliament legislated relevant laws to the effect that General Elections in Malawi will be held in September and every 5 years from the year 2025 to keep the constitutional five year mandate for State President, members of Parliament and Ward Councilors.
National Bank of Malawi (NBM) Plc has given K5 million to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Malawi (ICAM) and K3 million to Institute of Internal Auditors Malawi (IIA) for their annual conferences in September this year.
Speaking during the symbolic cheque presentation to ICAM on Friday, NBM’s Financial Accountant Mavuto Goodson Jimu said the Bank realizes the benefits that come from such conferences as they will also have a chance to present products to the delegates.
“We are expecting that the gathering will discuss economic challenges the country is facing and come up with practical solutions to resolve the same,” said Jimu.
ICAM Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Noel Zigowa, commended NBM for the donation which he described as timely to help the Institute achieve a successful conference.
“Among other activities delegates are going to discuss this year’s theme which is looking at creating value , building a sustainable economy towards Malawi 2063 goals, as one of the enablers of having effective institutions and professions,” said Zigowa.
Presenting a symbolic cheque to IIA on the same day, NBM Head of Internal Audit, Daniel Jere said the Bank benefits a lot from the IIA events as the institute fosters training and development of practicing internal auditors, some of which work with the Bank.
“As you are aware National Bank is one of the best performing companies on the stock exchange, in fact that comes from the strong governance culture that we have, assisted by internal auditors amongst other functional divisions at the Bank,” said Jere.
Institute of Internal Auditors Malawi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Albert Dambula also hailed NBM plc for the support which he said will help cushion their huge budget.
“The delegates that are coming are internal auditors that are practicing in various organizations such as risk management practitioners, IT auditors as well as the public so that people can fully understand what we normally do, under this year’s theme ‘Internal audit believe, adapt and thrive’” explained Dambula.
Institute of Internal Auditors Malawi plans to hold its annual conference from September 7 to 10, while ICAM will follow suit from September 14 to 16 in Mangochi.
Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has expressed concern over low adaptation in technology and digitalization among women in the country.
MACRA Director General, Daud Suleman made the remarks Thursday at Bingu International Conventional Centre (BICC) during a Press briefing on the forthcoming Conference on Women in Cyber whose theme is “bridging the gender gap and breaking the glass ceiling”.
He said Malawi as a country needs to remove the stereotype mentality that technology and digitalization is a men’s dominated field.
“We need more women to be involved in the area of technology and digitalization by providing courses to which they will be able to take part.” We need to encourage the girl child to develop interest in science subjects in school,” Suleman pointed out
He said the gender gap in the technology and cyber security fields has been a significant issue for many years.
Suleman added that despite the increasing number of women and girls interested in pursuing careers in these fields, they face numerous challenges that hinder their growth and advancement.
“Studies show that women are underrepresented in the tech and cyber security industries, and even when present, they face discrimination, bias, and harassment,” he viewed.
The Director said it is crucial to bridge this gender gap and break the glass ceiling to ensure women and girls participate fully in the technology sector.
He disclosed that Malawi will host a Conference on Women in Cyber from August 1 to 4, 2023 at BICC in Lilongwe and the First Lady is expected to open the conference.
