Former Malawi President Dr.Bakili Muluzi is today celebrating his 81st birthday.
Meanwhile, several people on social media are sending ‘Happy birthday wishes’ to the Malawi’s second president and father of democracy in Malawi.
Leonard Chimbanga writes:”Happy birthday to His Excellency the Former President Dr Bakili Muluzi.Wishing him good health and a long life.”
Frank Dickson writes:”Happy 81st Birthday to former president of the republic of Malawi HE. Dr. Bakili Muluzi ‘Achalume! Kuchitekete!’
Muluzi
“Age with grace, and may ALLAH continue to give you blessings in abundance.”
“Happy Birthday former head of state, Dr. Bakili Muluzi. Inu, Bakiliyo 81 years by today pamene pulofesa APM 85 years by today. Komatu pulofesa akuwoneka wachinyamatabe. It is part of life. Long live atcheya. And long live Adadi,” writes Zeliah Msopa.
Muluzi was born in 1943 in Machinga.
He is a Malawian politician who was President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004.
Muluzi was also chairman of the United Democratic Front (UDF) until 2009.
He succeeded Hastings Kamuzu Banda as Malawi’s president.
He also served in Banda’s cabinet as minister without portfolio, before retiring in 1980.
In what can be described as a rare opportunity for various sectors to take part in decision-making on how best to use the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), teachers from various schools and Primary Education Advisors from within Nkhata-Bay South constituency on Saturday, 16th March 2024, converged at Chatonda Lodge to discuss with their Member of Parliament, Ken Zikhale Ng’oma on what they think should be done in education sector using the CDF.
“Our meeting aims at discussing and indeed mapping the way forward on how best the CDF can help promoting education in this constituency.
Recently, President Lazarus Chakwera doubled the CDF from K100 million to K200 million so that even local Malawians fully benefit from the national cake through various developments in their respective constituencies” Said Zikhale.
Dr Ken Zikhale Ng’oma with Education Practioners from Nkhatabay South
Ng’oma who is also Minister of Homeland Security then urged Head-teachers, Deputy Head-teachers, and PEAs who were drawn from all the three zones in his constituency to continue working hard in order to produce better results while promoting education in the constituency.
Motivated by the gesture, PEA for Bandawe Zone, Tinkhani Mphande thanked Zikhale Ng’oma for giving teachers an opportunity for input on how the CDF can be utilized to develop the education sector in the constituency, saying such opportunities are rarely granted.
During the Saturday meeting, issues of a need for additional teachers houses, schools blocks, and other necessary teaching and learning materials were tabled and discussed at length.
Teachers also took advantage of the meeting to lobby for their promotions, trainings, and education visits, saying they are factors of motivation in their service.
The meeting with teachers comes barely a few months after the Parliamentarian met chiefs to map the way forward on how the CDF chunk should be utilized in the 2024/25 fiscal year.
Irish Rule of Law International (IRLI) has urged the police to give children in conflict with the law a chance to be transformed.
Speaking in Lilongwe on Friday during a two-day orientation workshop, IRLI’s Program Lawyer, Martha Pigott, said it is sad that in most cases young offenders are treated like adults, a trend which is against young offender’s law.
Piggott asked police to always follow the law when discharging their duties more especially when dealing with young offenders.
IRLI orientation workshop with Malawi Police
“It is high time police officers develop the mind-set that gives children who are in conflict with the law a chance to change their behaviour by utilising counselling and other law-based alternatives,” she said.
Piggott expressed optimism that the orientation will assist men and women in uniform to understand their job in order to reduce cases of young offenders that lead to unnecessary congestion in prisons.
Officer-in-Charge for Lingadzi Police Station, Assistant Commissioner Billy Chimbonga, described the workshop as timely and an eye opener saying it will assist police to handle cases concerning children professionally.
“We are happy to have this orientation. It is an eye opener on how to handle child related cases since most of them are recorded in lower police formations,” he said.
Chimbonga appealed to participants to act as community policing coordinators so that the message of child diversion can be disseminated.
His Excellency, Former President of the Republic of Malawi, and President of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika on Saturday 16 March 2024 afternoon provided food packages to about 350 members of the Muslim Community at Mangochi Main Mosque to help them during the month of Ramadan.
Mutharika said his gesture was made to assure the Muslim Community that he was with them during this Holy month.
Mutharika
Mutharika pledged that he will continue visiting different Mosques in the country to support the Community because he appreciates how important this month is to the Islamic faith.
In his remarks, Village Headman Mgunda Phiri thanked Mutharika for the gesture which he said it demonstrated the support Former President Mutharika has for the Muslim community in the country.
In his remarks the coordinator for the Muslim Community in Mangochi Salire Mdala pledged that the Muslim family in the country will continue supporting His Excellency Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika because he is the only political figure who had shown that he could bring unity to all religions in the country.
“We will support you and continue praying for you because you are the only person who has the desire and ability to support us. This country needs you Your Excellency,” said Mdala amid ulutation from the crowd that gathered at the function.
The Fount for Nations, an organization implementing a 30 months Pamodzi Inclusive Education in South-East Africa (PIESEA), says it has trained 80 Information and education community champions in the areas of two traditional authorities Dzoole and Mponela in Dowa district to lobby for resources centres and assistive devises in the district.
The organization says community champions are advocating against discrimination, negative attitudes and cultural barriers towards children with disabilities and lobbying for funds for IE in their schools from NGOs, duty bearers, MPs and councilors as well as inclusive education added in Village Actin Plan (VAP) and School Improvement plan (SIP).
Connex Kafera. The project will create awareness for the rights of learners with disabilities in schools.
Presenting the project progress report to the District Executive committee (Dec) at a meeting held at the Boma, the organization’s Advocacy and Communication Officer Connex Kafera, said PIESEA will be implemented in three countries; Malawi, Kenya and Tanzania by consortium members such as Rays of Hope Ministries, Kesho Kenya, Shule Direct and Fount for Nations.
Kafera said the project was being implemented with a goal to reduce the policy implementation and awareness gaps that exist between inclusive education policies and programming saying the policy makers and education experts will have real-time data on special needs and inclusive education for better policy decision-making.
He said the Education sector will get increased funding for inclusive and Special Needs education and increased community demand in advocacy and lobbying for enabling environment to support inclusive and special needs education.
However, Kafera said the project had challenges during the course of implementation such as inflation and devaluation of the Malawi Kwacha, transfer of personnel in government offices, giving a space to inclusive education and it took time for stakeholders to understand the advocacy.
He said the project had some lessons learnt such as collaboration and partnership are key in advocacy efforts, working with government structures ensure the sustainability of the project, government political will to address the gaps in the inclusive education sector and a strong drive and willingness on the part of donors and partners to support inclusive education in Malawi.
“There is need to intensify awareness and advocacy for the rights of learners with disabilities in schools,” said Kafera.
He said the organization has put exit strategy of the project such as conducting inclusive education learning visits with Ministry of Education, development partners, and education officials at district level and conducting a regional inclusive Education Symposium with IE implementors.
Kafera said the organization will also conduct closeout celebration, monitoring visits for partners to appreciate what has been implemented in the district and exit meetings with District executive committee (Dec), Technical Working Group (TWG) and Area Development Committee (ADC).
Pamodzi Inclusive Education in South-East Africa (PIESEA) project was being implemented in Dowa district from November, 2021 to May, 2024 with funding from OXFAM and IBIS amounting to 1,147,635.34 US Dollars.
