The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has announced the depreciation of Malawi kwacha by three percent and that the local currency will now be trading at K 1,751 to dollar from K1,700.
This follows a foreign exchange auction conducted by the Central Bank on Monday March 18, 2024.
According to a communication from the central bank to authorised dealer banks dated March 19, 2024 which has been signed by RBM Governor Dr. Wilson T Banda, four banks participated in the foreign exchange auction.
The new maximum selling price of K1,751 to a dollar is effective today Thursday 21st March, 2024.
Ministry of Education is reviewing the School Rules and Regulations policy following the continued acts of violence by students in the country’s secondary schools.
Minister of Education, Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima says they will empower the new policy to be deterrent to further acts of vandalism.
“The policy will be punitive enough and will bar such ill-mannered students from being perpetrators of vandalism in public schools. We have lost teaching and learning materials wealth billions of kwachas in the nine secondary schools which have suffered hugely due to riots,” she explained.
Ministry of Education is reviewing the School Rules and Regulations policy following the continued acts of violence by students in the country’s secondary schools
Wirima was speaking on Tuesday afternoon in Mchinji following the riots that occurred at Kamwanya Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) on Sunday which left thirteen students with minor injuries.
“I came to see the impact of the vandalism for myself. It’s a sorry sight that has proven to be one of the worst riots and very retrogressive.
“Where is dialogue when such violence occured? Where is humanity when such barbaric acts were being orchestrated by them?” She wondered.
“Let me remind students across the country that ‘Human Rights’ go with responsibility, otherwise you impinge on other people’s rights too,” added Wirima.
The Minister also directed that teaching and learning should start at the school as authorities continue assessing the damage caused in order to establish the actual value of the property destroyed.
In conclusion, she called upon parents and guardians, faith community, local leaders and traditional leaders to jointly fight against school property damage through riots that could be best handled through dialoguing.
Ephraim Msanide, a Form 4 monitor who solely faced the squad of gangsters implored on other students at the school not to indulge in such destructive and criminal conducts that would unfairly ruin their future.
“We used to have a library now it’s only ashes remaining, we have no text-books to read and yet exams are just a few months away from now. This situation is a great set back to good performance,” he said.
Meanwhile, Civil Society Education Coalition (CSEC) has also condemned the reprehensible act of vandalism in schools and has advocated for stringent measures to hold perpetrators accountable, including criminal persecution, financial restitution for damages, and expulsion from public institutions.
Malosa, St Don Bosco, Ntcheu, Khola and Robert Blake are some of the many schools that have been vandalised within a short period of time.
Lilongwe Water Board, (LWB) on Tuesday handed over assorted equipment and plumbing installations amounting to K13.8 million at Area 25 health centre in Lilongwe.
Engineer Gustaf Chikasema who is director of production and administration at LWB said the donation is part of their cooperate social responsibility, as they thrive to strengthen relationships with communities in public service delivery and the donation will go along way in eliminating some of the dairy challenges at the facility.
Chikasema making the presentation
“We will still continue helping Area 25 health center, as in this financial year we want to construct a water tower and put a tank and help them with running water for the facility,” Chikasema said.
Some of the materials include surgical gloves, disposable aprons as well as shovels and wheelbarrows for cleaning activities at the hospital.
Chikondi Nkhweliwa Chitsime who is the health centre area in-charge at the facility said this is a timely donation but she was quick to react on the need for more support from the cooperate world as sometimes they run short of some utilities as they have huge catchment population.
Senior Group Malembe of the area commended the gesture and made an appeal to the health care service providers at the hospital and anyone responsible to take good care of the materials.
Area 25 health centre has the catchment population of over 222,000 people.
In the lead-up to the June 2020 fresh presidential elections, two prominent opposition figures, Lazarus Chakwera, president of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), and Saulos Chilima, leader of the United Transformation Movement (UTM), forged an electoral alliance.
The specifics of their agreement remained undisclosed, but it was evident that the main objective was to unseat the incumbent at the time, Arthur Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Following a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling that mandated a presidential candidate to secure more than 50 percent of the total votes cast for victory, the electoral landscape shifted from a First Past the Post system to 50+1. Consequently, even Mutharika replaced his 2019 running mate Everton Chimulirenji with United Democratic Front (UDF) president Atupele Muluzi.
With the next presidential elections looming, discussions on alliances are once again at the forefront, particularly regarding the terms of the agreement between Chakwera and Chilima. Last year, Chilima informed the nation that, according to their pact, Chakwera was to serve a single term as President, as Chilima was designated to be the Tonse Alliance candidate.
However, this assertion overlooked a crucial clause in the purported agreement stipulating that the selection of the presidential candidate hinged on the endorsement of either party’s national executive or convention. Thus, it was not guaranteed that Chilima would automatically assume the role of the Tonse Alliance’s presidential candidate. Ignoring this clause, UTM’s anticipation of leading an alliance dominated by MCP, a party with over 60 Members of Parliament, while UTM holds fewer than five seats, seems unrealistic.
As highlighted by University of Malawi lecturer Professor Happy Kayuni, MCP, as the larger party, has historically fielded presidential candidates during its time in opposition; it should not falter now that it is in Government. Kayuni further clarified that the agreement between the two leaders lacks legal binding as it is not supported by any provision in the country’s Constitution.
In July 2022, PPM president Mark Katsonga and MAFUNDE leader George Nnensa also schooled UTM leadership that the countrys laws do not legally support electoral alliances and that it was MCP, which was registered for the presidential elections. Moreover, there is no entity known as the Tonse Alliance Government in Malawi, as evidenced by Chakwera and Chilima standing on the black cock (tambala wakuda) symbol during the 2020 ballot. Essentially, Malawi is under an MCP-led government.
UTM’s belief that their leader will represent an alliance in which MCP is a significant component is misguided. This is merely wishful thinking and it is imperative that they are disabused of this notion before it is too late. Politically speaking, the Tonse Alliance was established based on the prevailing political circumstances at the time and is not a formally registered political entity. Consequently, once presidential candidates for the 2025 elections submit their nomination papers, the Tonse Alliance will dissolve as other alliances emerge. Hence, it comes as no surprise that the recent MCP national executive committee meeting convened at the party’s headquarters has officially endorsed President Chakwera as its candidate.
At this juncture, UTM’s best course of action would be to start the search for their presidential candidate; otherwise, they risk entering the electoral fray without a contender for the presidency.
Greenbelt Authority (GBA) board chairperson Wester Peter Kosamu has appealed to the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture to lobby for more funding towards the Authority so that it can do more with mega farms to reverse the trajectory of food insecurity in the country.
Kosamu made the appeal on Saturday when the committee visited Mlambe Irrigation Scheme in Mangochi to appreciate the activities GBA is doing and how it can be supported so that it becomes a sustainable large-scale commercial irrigation farming and agro-processing champion.
Wester Peter Kosamu
“We are happy with your visit because you are the committee in the National Assembly that has influence to bring about change in terms of issues of agriculture.
“Now, let me implore you to use the influence you have to lobby for more funding towards GBA so that we [can] be able to implement more on mega farms to change the food situation in the country,” said Kosamu.
He lamented that the current funding the Authority is receiving is not satisfactory and cannot make them register meaningful results.
“For example, this year’s budget (2024/25), Mlambe Irrigation Scheme has only been given K4 billion. But to be honest, this is not enough if we are to make enviable results,” he added .
In his remarks, the committee’s chairperson, Sameer Suleman admitted that the funding to GBA is not enough, hence, pledged to do all the necessary to ensure that more funding goes to the Authority.
“As a committee we acknowledge the importance of mega farms and the support they are supposed to get. This is the reason we came here to appreciate the scheme and see how best to support the cause,” said Suleman.
GBA is a government corporation established under the Greenbelt Authority Act No. 23 of 2017 from the Greenbelt Initiative.
The aim of the organization is to champion large scale commercial irrigation through efficient use of land and water resources in order to accelerate socio-economic transformation of the country.
Its vision is to transform Malawi into a wealthy nation with assured livelihoods and sustainable utilization of land and water resources
