Malawi National Council of Sports(MNCS) says it requires about K120 million for it to organize the 2023 Malawi Sport Awards slated for February 6,2024 at Bingu International Convention Centre(BICC) in Lilongwe.
MNCS Board chairperson Sunduzwayo Madise said this during a media briefing in Blantyre on Friday.
MNCS officials
Madise said they expect to raise the money through selling the event in various packages.
“We have four packages through which various stakeholders can partner us. These are platinum, gold, silver and bronze.
“The packages range from K20 million to K5 million in value. This is a big event and a platform that the corporate world should use to market their products. It will be better and bigger than last year,” he said.
Madise said they had already sent an invitation to president Lazarus Chakwera to grace the black-tie event.
“The nomination process for this edition will scrutinize the nominees to ensure that deserved people are nominated and recognized,” added Madise.
On his part, MNCS Chairperson for Marketing Gladson Kuyeri urged the corporate world to establish partnerships with the council.
The sports awards which were introduced in 2017 are aimed at recognizing outstanding athletes, sports administrators and institutions that have contributed to sports development.
This year, the winners at the event will receive a trophy and K700,000 prize money while second and third positions will get K150,000.
In a major breakthrough for the Fiscal Police in Lilongwe, a new wave of arrests has taken place at the Accountant General’s office, further unraveling the intricacies of the government allowances scandal that has sent shockwaves across Malawi.
The scandal, which first came to light two months ago with the initial arrests, has now ensnared 17 more individuals, including high-ranking officials, marking a significant escalation in the investigation.
The arrested individuals include Jane Zimba, Mr. Chilimampunga, Nitta Mtuwa Vashi, Catherine Chigowo, Mrs. Mfuyeni, Richard Shuko, George P. Banda, Mr. Kantchewa, Dumping Kathyole, Mrs. Montero, Willy Chambwinja, Mwayiwawo Chingson binali, Catherine Mapulanga, Mr. Jack Batani, Atuhokele Chitete, Kondwani Thomson Chimwala, and Rose Mwalwimba.
According to a reliable police source, these arrests are just the tip of the iceberg, as senior officers from other Ministries and Departments, including the National Audit Office (NAO), are also expected to face the same fate in the forthcoming days.
The wide scale of the investigation demonstrates the depth of the scandal and the determination of law enforcement to hold all responsible parties accountable.
When approached for comment, National police spokesperson Peter Kalaya requested more time to provide detailed information about the ongoing investigations.
“I currently don’t have enough information on that. Once I have, I will confirm,” he stated.
However, Maravi Post has independently confirmed the arrests and the involvement of these individuals in the allowances scandal.
The gravity of the situation cannot be overstated, as this scandal has the potential to severely damage the public’s trust in the government’s handling of finances.
The misappropriation of funds meant for public servants’ allowances is an egregious violation of the trust placed in these officials to execute their duties diligently and honestly.
As the investigations continue to unfold, it is essential for the authorities to conduct their operations with transparency and impartiality.
The nation eagerly awaits the outcomes of these investigations, as the swift and just resolution of this scandal will be crucial in preserving public confidence and ensuring that those responsible face the appropriate consequences.
These recent arrests serve as a reminder that no one is above the law, no matter how high their position may be.
It is a clear message to all public officials that the era of corruption and financial malfeasance is coming to an end and that they will be held accountable for their actions.
Moving forward, it is imperative for the government to institute robust measures and reforms to strengthen financial oversight and prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
Transparency, accountability, and a commitment to sound governance practices must be the pillars on which the government rebuilds trust with its citizens.
The nation anticipates further updates on the investigations, hoping that swift justice will prevail and those responsible for squandering public funds will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
Ministry of Education announced the 2023 Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examination results in September which showed that 70 286 candidates failed and that community day secondary schools (CDSSs) were the worst performers.
Speaking during the announcement of the results, Deputy Minister of Education Nancy Chaola-Mdooko said the ministry would look into factors that led to the poor performance of CDSSs in that year’s MSCE results which registered an overall decline in pass rate of 54.4 percent, down from 58.4 percent in 2022.
She acknowledged the decline in the pass rate from the previous year 2022, adding that the ministry would make every effort to make sure that education was improved in Malawi.
This article critically focuses on some of the challenges in public schools and offers some solutions with an aim of improving educational standards.
The Challenges
Examinations
Examinations provide numerous benefits, including building confidence, developing self-analysis skills, promoting healthy competition, and stimulating learning.
They also teach students to manage their time and prepare for future challenges, such as college and professional life. Common reasons for examination failure include poor preparation, time management, and understanding of the concepts. Distractions, anxiety, and health issues can also lead to failure. Failures are part and parcel of life. It should be used constructively to prepare better for the examination.
The general pass rate in public schools has not been impressive over the years despite having trained and qualified teachers with high experience. The impact of having qualified teachers in these schools is not being felt and I think a lot more could be done to improve the situation.
Teachers punctuality
I have personally observed that some teachers in public schools are not punctual for their duties and ready each time I made an arranged visit or even surprise visits to those schools, I couldn’t find the particular teachers I was looking for. I also noticed that classes started later than expected where I saw students getting into class without their teachers showing up for the first lesson of the day.
Lack of punctuality has an impact on all other learners as it disrupts the class, and the teacher is required to give directions to late pupils, often console the late pupil and then recap on missing learning. This reduces learning time for the rest of the class.
The Role of Teachers
It is the duty of the teachers to emphasize attendance from day one.
Greet students and families personally and ask about absences. Engage students in tracking their own attendance. Talk about attendance at back-to-school nights. Contact parents early to discuss weak areas of the learners.
Don’t wait for parent-teacher conferences because it would be too late to address some challenges and issues.
Students’ Attendance
Poor attendance can lead to students who are not engaged in their learning, as well as a loss of respect from their peers. Also, teachers who are absent often feel guilty and as a result, may make changes to their work schedule or personal lives in order to make up for their absences.
Sometimes they panic to confidently begin their lesson because of late arrival for duties. Regular attendance fosters a classroom community between teachers and children. Students who attend school are more likely to succeed academically.
Students gain background knowledge from discussions while learning in school. Attending school also provides time for social interactions with peers.
The correlation between attendance and dropout rates has important ramifications that go beyond the classroom.
The bridgeCompared to their peers who graduate, students who fail to complete their high school education are more likely to live in poverty, suffer poor health, and become involved in the criminal justice system.
Students’ Class Time
As a result of teachers poor punctuality, you will notice that the first period of learning time usually goes to waste. It is also important for students to manage their time.
It ensures that they are well prepared, organized and focused to manage their daily lives and complete academic assignments on time. It can lead to improved success, however, this is a skill that students have to learn and practice.
They must change their habits in order to have good time management skills.
Lesson Delivery
I think that their could be a problem with lesson delivery in our public schools.
The Lesson Delivery component of Sheltered Instruction invites the teacher to consider how every step in the lesson moves the students closer to the lesson’s objectives.
TESOL Trainers provides teacher training on strategies and techniques to make lesson delivery more efficient and effective.
TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
TESOL includes teaching English as a foreign language (such as in the China example) as well as teaching English as a second language (TESL), meaning in a country where the primary language is English.
One of the importance of having effective lesson plan is to ensure that the learning objectives are conveyed clearly by the end of the lesson.
When a lesson is effectively delivered this shows that the students understood the lesson objectives that have been set by their teacher. Superior teaching stimulate student to study and perform at least as expected. Poor teaching demotivates them which catalyse the process of diminishing interest on the topic.
Commitment
Teachers commitment seems to be lacking in our schools unless I’m corrected with convincing examples.
Teacher commitment to learners embraces educators’ inclination to assist learners and take accountability for their education. Commitment to instruction offers educators the obligation to examine novel methods of instruction to build learners’ educational encounters.
Teachers play a vital role in creating an environment that supports students’ learning. They often do this through their support for students’ autonomy.
By supporting students’ choices and interests, teachers help students develop personal interest, involvement, and ownership of their work, which aid in motivation.
It’s also worth noting that teacher absenteeism can have non-academic impacts on students, such as reduced motivation, decreased attendance, and increased behavior problems. Students may be inclined to take substitute teachers less seriously, thus leading them to skip class or tune out others call it banking classes. The role of teachers is very important. The students normally sit doing nothing in the absence of their teacher.
Teacher commitment is an essential component for quality education. Commitment provides teachers the love, desire and energy they need to perform better. Committed teachers are thought to be more satisfied with teaching and always strive for accomplishing a good instruction (Somech & Bogler, 2002)
Committed teachers love teaching and work with students through building good relationships with them and showing them respect. Such teachers also have unquestionable loyalty to the profession, which leads to effective teaching and student learning.
Commitment to teaching is a crucial factor to contribute to the achievement of students. In addition, passion has a motivating factor; therefore, it is a significant need for high quality learning and teaching.
Passion is seeking for the new, and experiencing new ideas. Passion is on the basis of effective teaching.
Syllabus coverage
There’s a probability that the syllabus is not being fully covered by the time student sit for their examination.
The syllabus lays out your expectations for the quality of work you expect from your students and shows students how they should prepare for class. For example, the syllabus can explain whether students are supposed to do the readings before or after class.
The syllabus provides a map of the curriculum; it identifies a central question or set of questions (often in the course description), as well as central themes and important concepts (often through the titles of the weeks’ topics), and invites students to draw connections among them.
It is worth to note that non coverage of school syllabus will result to poor performance of students in external examinations and thus limit the education sector’s goal of providing quality education for development.
This jeopardizes achievement of set out goals in education sector.
Homework
Government schools rarely give give and sometimes completely do not give any homework to their students at all, so they have less or no engagement with their school work when they get home.
Homework helps teachers determine how well the lessons are being understood by their students. Homework teaches students how to problem solve.
Homework gives student another opportunity to review class material.
Homework gives parents a chance to see what is being learned in school. There are many consequences of not doing homework.
It can further limit students from understanding the new concepts that will be taught in the class.
Learners may either understand just a little or remain completely clueless about what is being taught. It can significantly affect their overall academic performance. They are likely to fall behind other students in the class.
Past Paper Revision
Finally, I don’t usually see any past papers being given to students in government schools to allow them practice at home.
This is clear indication that candidates in government schools have very little exposure to examination past papers which is a very important area that is being ignored.
Schools must have Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB) past papers enough for each and every student to get a copy and practice answering the questions at any given time.
These papers must be in their original form printed by MANEB and given to eachi student for free without having to pay or photocopy.
Photocopying becomes another issue which disadvantages the less privileged students so paying any fees for photocopying must be discouraged and avoided at all costs.
Why is revising a paper important? When we revise our writing, we take the opportunity to step back and re-envision it.
We think about the goals of the paper and whether we have accomplished these goals. We ensure that our ideas are clearly expressed and well supported.
In studying, revision will help students remember the important facts, figures, topics and methodologies that they studied in the past.
In examinations, revision will help learners be better able to answer test questions. They’ll feel prepared.
According to Economic Intelligence Unit, Malawi’s economic outlook remains highly uncertain. In 2024-25 the economy will remain saddled with still high inflation – albeit declining and exchange-rate instability (following a large currency devaluation of 44% in late 2023). The expected impact of the El Nino weather event in early 2024 will weigh on agriculture but growth will accelerate driven by development finances (towards infrastructure) catalysed by the IMF’s extended credit facility (ECF) that was approved in late 2023. The government is pursuing debt restructuring to keep funding taps open. Endemic corruption, a rising rate of poverty and limited economic opportunities will provoke public protests in 2024. We nonetheless expect the president, Lazarus Chakwera, and his nine-party coalition to remain in office until the end of their term in 2025, although the opposition could win the elections in that year. Despite social instability, GDP growth will accelerate from 2024 as output in the mining sector improves. This article is an attempt to help Chakwera and his government address the challenges and issues affecting the economy of Malawi.
Public Expenditure
Public expenditure comprises the expenditures made by the entities of the public sector. These expenses are usually divided into current expenditure and capital expenditure. Public spending, such as taxes, are fiscal policy instruments that allow the State to intervene in the economy. Impacts of expenditure turns out that changes in any category of expenditure (Consumption + Investment + Government Expenditures + Exports-Imports) have a more than proportional impact on GDP. Or to say it differently, the change in GDP is a multiple of (say 3 times) the change in expenditure. Malawi needs to manufacture and export more in order for our economy to tick. Currently, the country imports more than it exports. If a country imports more than it exports, it runs a trade deficit. If it imports less than it exports, that creates a trade surplus. When a country has a trade deficit, it must borrow from other countries to pay for the extra imports. It’s like a household that’s just starting out.
The President should lead the government budgeting process
According to studies, both long- and short-term economic growths are positively and significantly impacted by government spending on education. Long-term economic growth is negatively impacted by government expenditure on agriculture, while short-term effects are negatively impacted and considerable. Wasteful spending represents spending that does not return value and in some cases causes harm. Fruitless and wasteful expenditure in other words, expenditure that is made in vain should be avoided and reasonable care must be taken. Such expenditure includes interest, the payment of inflated prices, and the cost of litigation that can be avoided. The role of an expenditure control system is to ensure that the level and allocation of government expenditure reflect the will of the legislature as voted for in the budget. AIP fertilizer program is one such fruitless and wasteful expenditure that must be stopped and divert the financial resources in another direction which could be more beneficial to the nation.
Bonds Using Debt To Pay Debt
First, Governments issue bonds to borrow money to avoid raising taxes. This helps pay expenditures and stimulate the economy through public spending. The government must pay interest to its creditors with debt issues. Theoretically, spending can generate additional tax income from businesses and taxpayers, which can be used to pay down debt. Issuing debt may provide a boost to economic growth but may not be effective in reducing long-term government debt directly.
Secondly, maintaining interest rates at low levels can help stimulate the economy, generate tax revenue, and, ultimately, reduce the national debt. Lower interest rates make it easier for individuals and businesses to borrow money for goods and services, which creates jobs and increases tax revenues. Low interest rates have been used as a strategy of the United States, the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom, and other nations during times of economic stress. Unfortunately interest rates in Malawi are exorbitantly very high thereby making the cheapest items ordered from outside expensive on the market.
Spending Cuts
Thirdly, the President should lead the government budgeting process. He should sign the Budget and Impoundment Control Act so that Parliament could have power over spending. Each year, Parliament Budget Office (PBO) must publish the long-term projections of the national budget and the future economy based on a current snapshot. Citizens should share their opinions about the need to balance the budget or cut government spending. These cuts must culminate in reductions in benefits to low-income families, veterans programs, and environmental protection programs.
Fourthly, governments can raise taxes to pay for expenditures and to pay down their debt. Taxes can include national, state, and in some cases, local income and business tax. Other tax examples include the alternative minimum tax, taxes on alcohol and tobacco products, corporate tax, estate tax, Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), and property taxes such as ground rates. Although tax hikes are common practice, most nations face sizable and growing debts. When cash flows increase but spending continues to rise, increased revenues have little impact on a nation’s overall debt level.
Bailout or Default
Finally, many nations in Africa have been the beneficiaries of debt forgiveness. In the late 1980s, Ghana’s debt burden was significantly reduced by debt forgiveness. To avoid default in 2010, Greece was given the equivalent of $146 billion in bailout funds by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. Default can include bankruptcy and/or restructuring payments to creditors, which is a common and often successful strategy for debt reduction. Malawi Government must use various strategies to reduce its national debt. From issuing debt in the form of bonds to lowering interest rates, such actions may have short-lived success but always encounter debate.
In conclusion, austerity measures should be taken on board seriously and implemented to reduce government spending and shrink the budget deficit. They must include tax increases and government program cuts. Austerity should result in a decline in available social services and a reduced individual disposable income.
Finally, austerity measures are important and quick solutions to economic crises of countries. They help in managing the national budget effectively especially during a time of weak economic growth which Malawi is currently going through. The reforms, if well implemented in the public service, ensure unnecessary expenses are diagnosed and dropped at once.
Members of staff at Engenco have benefitted from a team bonding exercise that was aimed to improve understanding of the organisation’s vision in order to help staff deliver quality service. The team bonding exercise was done In Lilongwe
Sycamore consult, an organisation which provides training in international best practices, conducted the team building exercises. The Consultants said they are expecting performance improvement from Egenco members of staff after the firm.
Sycamore Executive director Audrey Mwala told the media that they expected improvement in staff performance when they are doing their day to day business, output of their organisation, respect for each other, as well as tolerance and accommodating each other.
Mwala went further to say ” what we are expecting from them now is to begin to work as a team, having the mentality to understand that it is actually good for the organisation but also for themselves. We are expecting that the staff will be highly productive interms of their commitment to their roles.
Mwala: the participants have really benefitted
Mwala lamented that team building training has been great and the participants have really benefitted from the training content and structure. In the two days they went through a very intense period where they looked at what team building, looked at their own organisation to get them to understand what their vision looks like and how they are going to get where they are supposed to go and how they are supposed to contribute to the organisation’s vision.
On his part Egenco Director of planning and development Engineer Dr Gregory Gamula described the team building training as very important hence it brought together all members of staff in Egenco right from a top to bottom which will enable them to interact well as one organisation despite being in different ranks.
Gamula said:” through this training you found that we also talked about the vision, mission, core values of Egenco Just to remind each other that we need to work together as a team and also even the aspirations of Egenco are shared amongst all the members of staffs. Such that by doing that it means that we are building that element of having one objective, one focus such that all of us from top to bottom we are all moving towards that objective.”
He added that in this 2024 year they are going to continue delivering services to the nation of Malawi especially by making sure that their plans are in top form.
The team building training with Egenco started on Thursday and was wrapped up on Friday.
