Student leaders of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wings in public universities have petitioned the party to revise its laws and grant them voting rights ahead of the party’s convention this month.
In a letter dated August 9, 2024, signed by several leaders, including Micah Nthere of the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), the students demand recognition of their role in the party’s democratic process.
Reads the letter in part:”We are not just spectators or hand clappers; we are active participants in the party’s growth and development.
“Our involvement in the decision-making process is crucial to ensuring that the party’s leadership reflects our aspirations and interests.”
Meanwhile,DPP spokesperson Shadrick Namalomba has acknowledged the students’ request, saying it is merited and will be considered.
The development comes as the DPP prepares to hold its convention from August 17 to 18 in Blantyre.
In an effort to address the lack of development in Senior Chief Chikumbu’s area in Mulanje, the community has launched a fundraising campaign to construct a community hall.
Elton Magombo, Secretary of the Area Development Committee (ADC), explained that the community had been waiting for assistance from the council and politicians who had made pledges, but nothing has materialized to date.
“As a result, the community members have taken matters into their own hands, with each member contributing K1,000 towards the project,” Magombo said.
He noted that contributions will be collected gradually, as many community members are struggling financially and are finding it difficult to meet even basic needs like food.
“We understand that not everyone can afford to contribute money, so some farmers are pledging to donate pigeon peas and other resources,” he added.
Magombo also shared that a committee has been established to manage the finances, ensuring transparency and accountability throughout the process.
“We have opened a special account where the collected funds are being deposited,” he explained.
Magombo emphasized that their efforts are in line with the 2063 goals, which encourage communities to develop their areas using locally available resources as a step toward achieving self-reliance.
“We are appealing to anyone who can contribute in any way toward the construction of this much-needed community hall. With collective effort, we can build a magnificent facility,” he added.
Kenneth Mumma, Executive Director of Children of Hope Organisation (COHO), commended the community’s initiative and called on other organizations in the district to support the project.
“Since we have an ongoing project to construct CBCCs in the area, we will negotiate with donors to assist in this construction, as the hall will serve the community, facilitate various meetings, and act as a tool for fundraising,” Mumma said.
The American Firelight Foundation and Mudzi are supporting Children of Hope Organisation, which has been actively involved in community development in Traditional Authority Chikumbu in Mulanje District since 2007. The organization focuses on Early Childhood Development through the construction of CBCCs, offering soft loans to parents and caregivers, providing livestock to families, and other initiatives.
Solidaridad and Kvuno has proposed open data farmer ecosystem to maximise the benefit and the requirement of a farmer inorder produce more yields through the use of digital inclusion in rural areas that will support smallholder farmers through sharing of data among the organizations.
Solidaridad and Kvuno made this proposal during the Natural Resources Pan Africa Network ( FANPARN) annual regional multi-stakeholders policy dialogue conference which was held in Lilongwe.
Solidaridad digital innovation leads Candice Kroutz said it is a need for the stakeholders within the sector to share data which they are collecting but to make it to be  possible it needs to improve coordination in the sector and also to bring the cost of operation down for everyone within the sector.
Solidaridad’s Candice (R) Kvuno’s Espanaol (L) poses at their pavilion during the dialogue conference
She said: ” when we have the more holistic view on the farmers support, we can make better decision on how to support those farmers.”
Kroutz stated that in the NGO sector there is a lot of competition of funding that reduces the effort of , however the level of duplication effort and consequences are lack of impact for those effort hence that problem can be addressed through data sharing within the sector.
On his part Kvuno country operation leader in Mozambique and Malawi Igor Espanaol said their role is to use technology to deliver mile services to farmers and allow them to have access on different types of services.
He further said he was very excited to be on a conference because they had an opportunity to showcase on how they can share data across various organizations inorder to maximise the effort and working with solidaridad they introduced the farmer’s identity card so that farmers who work with them can be easy to capture the information of a farmer about the crops they cultivate and how much money they make with those crops.
He further mentioned that together with solidaridad they are working with farmers in cotton sector in this country through providing certified seeds because they realise that there are low production of cotton due to lack of access to certified seeds among the farmers.
Espanaol emphesised that they are in a process of buying cotton from those farmers and they have introduced electronic payment for cotton farmers to make sure that farmers in a cotton sector are getting paid for their production through mobile payment to avoid theft in this country.
FANRPAN annual regional multi-stakeholders policy dialogue brought together several civil society organisations in agriculture sector.
Solidaridad and Kvuno are the organizations which they promote and innovate agriculture through supporting farmers in Southern Africa.
In a shocking turn of events, former President Dr. Joyce Banda announced the People’s Party’s (PP) withdrawal from the Tonse Alliance, a political coalition formed in 2020.
This move comes hot on the heels of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) convention, which seems to have triggered the collapse of the alliance.
Addressing a packed political rally in Naisi, Zomba, Dr. Banda declared that the PP is no longer part of the Tonse Alliance, citing irreconcilable differences with the MCP.
This development follows the earlier exit of the United Transformation Movement (UTM) and the Alliance for Democracy (Aford) from the alliance, leaving the MCP standing alone.
The Tonse Alliance was formed in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential elections, bringing together the MCP, PP, UTM, and Aford in a bid to unseat the then-ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
The alliance proved successful, with MCP’s Lazarus Chakwera winning the presidency.
However, cracks began to appear in the alliance soon after the elections, with UTM and Aford being the first to exit.
The PP’s withdrawal now leaves the MCP without any major coalition partners, making its position increasingly precarious ahead of the 2025 elections.
Dr. Banda’s announcement was met with thunderous applause from the crowd, who seemed to endorse the PP’s decision to distance itself from the MCP.
The former president took a swipe at the MCP, accusing it of failing to uphold the principles of the alliance and instead pursuing a solo agenda.
The collapse of the Tonse Alliance can be seen as a significant blow to the MCP, which now faces a tough road ahead in the 2025 elections.
Without the support of its former coalition partners, the MCP will have to rely solely on its own strength to retain power.
Political analysts have weighed in on the development, with some suggesting that the MCP’s inability to manage the alliance and address the concerns of its partners led to the collapse.
Others believe that the PP’s exit is a strategic move to position itself for the 2025 elections.
As the political landscape in Malawi continues to shift, one thing is clear: the 2025 elections will be fiercely contested, and the MCP will have to work hard to maintain its grip on power.
The PP, UTM, and Aford, on the other hand, will be looking to capitalize on the MCP’s vulnerabilities and make significant gains in the polls.
In the meantime, Dr. Banda and the PP will be focusing on reconsolidating their support base and preparing for the elections ahead.
With the Tonse Alliance now a thing of the past, Malawian politics has entered a new era of uncertainty and excitement.
FCB Nyasa Big Bullets’ Zimbabwean midfielder Ronald Chitiyo scored his first goal for the People’s team as the team drew 1-all against Moyale Barracks in an exciting TNM Super League match played at Kamuzu Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Chitiyo scored in the 35th minute with a header from a Maxwell Phodo’s cross but Peter Ng’ambi leveled the scores for the visitors in the dying minute of the first half with a brilliant header from a Khumbo Mhone’s free-kick.
Chitiyo had a chance to score his second in the 56th minute but Moyale goalkeeper Olyce Nkhwazi intervened to deny the Zimbabwean the second goal and from a rebound Moyale defence cleared the ball for a corner.
Moyale had chances as well but failed to find the back of the next with Emmanuel Allan, Luke Chima and Khumbo Mhone among the culprits.
Lloyd Aaron and Ronald Chitiyo almost got a late winner for the home side but it still ended in a 1-all stalemate which was the ninth and eighth draw this season for Bullets and Moyale respectively.
Bullets are perched on fifth position on the log table with 24 points, 16 points behind league leaders Silver Strikers.
Moyale on the other hand are on position 9 with 23 points level with eighth placed Civil Service United but the civil servants have a better goal difference.
Elsewhere, Mulanje-based FOMO FC lost at home against Mafco FC with a lone goal from Stain Malata who scored in the 22nd minute.
In Lilongwe, the match between Kamuzu Barracks (KB) and Mighty Tigers ended goalless to leave KB on sixth position and Tigers on position 12 on the log table.
