Chairperson of the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC), Chikondi Chijozi has disclosed that the MHRC aims to promote and protect human rights with a more results-oriented approach to investigations.
In an interview on Wednesday in Lilongwe, she revealed that the Commission plans to lobby for K 8 billion to implement their strategic plan.
“Currently, as a Commission, we are underfunded. We are receiving less than 35% of the funding we project as necessary to fulfill our mandate,” Chijozi said.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative, Azhar Malik noted that this launch marks a significant milestone for the country’s key national human rights institution.
“Within this framework, the UNDP has partnered with the MHRC to strengthen its institutional capacity to respond to human rights violations and protect Malawians from impunity,” he said.
Chairperson of Parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee, Peter Dimba emphasized that the strategic plan would provide essential guidance for the MHRC’s work.
President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has assured Zomba residents that the government will ensure the speedy completion of Zomba Stadium and other projects being implemented in the district.
He made these remarks while touring Zomba Stadium today, which is currently at an advanced stage of construction.
Under construction, Zomba Stadium
The President reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to completing all ongoing projects and ensuring their sustainability. He commended Zomba residents for their unity, which he noted as a catalyst propelling the city’s development.
In his remarks, Minister of Local Government, Unity, and Culture, Richard Chimwendo Banda expressed his satisfaction with the construction of the stadium, describing it as an iconic infrastructure that has changed the face of Zomba. He indicated that the construction progress will be completed in phases and emphasized that the stadium is a remarkable vision and brainchild development under President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera.
The Mayor of Zomba City, Christopher Jana, commended President Chakwera for spearheading various development projects in the district. He highlighted that the people of Zomba are highly impressed with the visionary leadership of President Chakwera, appreciating his development-oriented approach.
In a significant stride towards enhancing science education in Malawi Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) has graduated 745 students who in a separate field a number 43 graduands now professional teachers were sponsored by EQUALS with the hope of helping the teaching of science education in remote areas there by promote the performance of education particularly in science in the country.
In a goal to enhance the quality of secondary education, the EQUALS project embarked on an ambitious mission to upgrade the qualifications of in-service teachers through the University Certificate of Education (UCE) program in 2022, aiming to support at least 800 underqualified teachers in mathematics and science by equipping them with essential teaching methodologies.
Government, in addition to the regular pre-service training programs offered at the university level introduced the nine-month UCE program for Bachelor of Science graduates, a program designed to prepare mathematics and science graduates for effective teaching roles in secondary schools.
“The education system is suffering a lot in terms of performance in community day secondary schools in the rural areas in particular and we want to change that.
“The people we trained under UCE are the teachers that have been teaching sciences in community day secondary schools but had other qualifications aside from education,” Dr. Matthews Mkandawire coordinator for EQUALS project at Luanar said.
In her remarks, Minister of Education, Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima said: “This is very good, it was not just about agriculture but also people responsible for human capital development were graduating, for whatever we are talking about is coming from education.”
“We cannot speak of education if we do not have a teacher at the center to educate the masses,” she added.
“I am just very happy that through our projects in the ministry of education we can also contribute in that respect graduands who are teachers and actually sponsored by ministry of education through the EQUALS program,” Wirima said.
She also said that EQUALS project sent teachers to upgrade, focusing on 2063 developmental goals saying where there is a pillar of agriculture there is also that which makes it possible, it being education which is inevitable with the presence of teachers upgrading their skills.
“We can have a school but without teachers school cannot take place,” she emphasized.
One of the graduates Dorothy Tiwonge Luwe, currently teaching at St. Marys Girls Secondary School in karonga expressed her gratitude to EQUALS program.
“EQUALS will change my life especially my profession, I will impact knowledge to my fully best because of the knowledge which I have been impacted here at LUANAR.
“I would like to thank EQUALS for what they have done to us on behalf of my friends, I have been teaching with only bachelor of science in forestry without an education certificate for almost 13 years but with this am very grateful and I really thank EQUALS,” she said.
The first phase of UCE training targeted 172 science and mathematics teachers, with 155 registering, (90% of the target).
MZUNI, LUANAR and UNIMA are the three Teacher Training Institutions (TTIs) offering UCE training. To increase the number of teachers trained in UCE, additional teachers will be enrolled for cohort 2. In addition, those who did not report in the first phase (cohort 1) will be followed up and trained.
The United Transformation Movement (UTM) has postponed its committee meeting that was scheduled to take place today in Lilongwe.
The party’s spokesperson, Patricia Kaliati, confirmed this to Zodiak, stating that the postponement is due to the unavailability of the party’s lawyers, who were essential for the meeting.
According to Kaliati, a new date will be set for the meeting as the party needs to discuss its future in light of the recent passing of its leader, Dr. Saulos Chilima.
President of the People’s Transformation Party (PETRA) Kamuzu Chibambo has urged the Attorney General(AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda and the Malawi Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA) to speedily vacate an injunction which 11 plastic manufacturing companies obtained from the High Court on June 25, 2024 stopping government from enforcing the thin plastics ban.
Chibambo says thin plastics have a huge negative impact on the environment, citing the recent floods and cyclones as some of the effects that have hit the country due to the country’s failure to conserve the environment.
Kamuzu Chibambo
The PETRA President has since called on government and stakeholders to strategize on how to restore the degraded environment.
In response,spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice, Frank Namangale, says the office of the Attorney General and other stakeholders are doing their best to vacate the injunction and start enforcing the thin plastics law.
On June 24,2024 Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change announced that government would resume enforcement of regulations on thin plastics on 8 July.
