The Higher Education Students’ Loans and Grants Board( HESLGB) has provisionally approved 26,000 needy students as beneficiaries of loans in accredited public and private institutions of higher learning in the 2023 to 2024 academic year.
Making the announcement during a press briefing in Mangochi, HESLGB Board of Directors spokesperson Henry Chingaipe said the selected students were part of 27, 079 students who applied for the loans from 37 public and private institutions.
Henry Chingaipe
He indicated that the figure is over 2,500 more students than those supported during the last academic calendar.
He said the board has set aside about K22 billion to cater for the students.
Chingaipe also announced the approval of about K651 million provisional budget to cater for Open Distance Learning (ODL) students, who are under a project called Skills for a Vibrant Economy (Save).
He said the successful applicants will be subjected to vetting and bonding process which is jointly carried out by the board and administrators of respective universities and colleges.
The loan fund primarily seeks to empower needy and derseving students from the disadvantaged background but also reduce enequalities in the long term.
Two more people have been arrested in the Tadikila case where the son of former First Lady Gertrude Mutharika,Tadikila Mafubza, together with six others are being charged with manslaughter and aggravated human trafficking.
This follows the discovery of a mass grave in Mtangatanga Forest in Mzimba District.
Added on the charge sheet are Aubrey Dukes, 38, from Traditional Authority (T/A) Mbwatalika in Lilongwe and Arnold Mwakiyero Chikwekwete, 26, from Traditional Authority (T/A) Kilipula in Karonga District.
Accused ,Mutharika Stepson Tadikila
Lead prosecutor in the case, Dzikondianthu Malunda, told the court on Wednesday that the arrest of the two which happened over the weekend has necessitated a change in the arrangement of names on the charge sheet resulting in Dukes being the first accused while Chikwekwete coming second.
According to the court document, the accused will take a fresh plea following changes to the earlier charge sheet.
President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera led administration has finally reached a staff – level agreement with International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a new Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Programme which was suspended years ago, due to economic mismanagement by the former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) regime.
The new four – year programme worth $174 million subject to IMF board approval in mid – November, 2023, follows the Second (and last) review of the Staff Monitored Program with Executive Board Involvement (PMB).
President Chakwera is leaving no stone unturned in his efforts to build the country’s ailing economy which was mercilessly plundered by DPP.
In a statement on Wednesday, IMF says building on the track record under the PMB, the proposed ECF-arrangement will support the Chakwera government’s ongoing efforts to restore a stable and sustainable macroeconomic position consistent with strong and durable poverty reduction and growth envisaged under Malawi 2063.
The statement explains that securing debt restructuring with bilateral official and external commercial creditors will be key to restore medium – term debt sustainability.
“The IMF team has reached a staff-level agreement on the Second (and last) Review of Malawis Staff Monitored Program with Executive Board Involvement (PMB) and macroeconomic and financial policies and reforms to be supported by an ECF arrangement. Access under the arrangement could be up to SDR 131.86 million (about $174.00 million, representing 95 percent of Malawis IMF quota) over a period of four years. The arrangement is expected to catalyze grant financing. The staff-level agreement is subject to IMF Management and Executive Board approval and receipt of the necessary financing assurances by Malawi’s partners and creditors,” says the statement.
“Malawi is recovering from a series of shocks, including an outbreak of cholera and cyclone Freddy. Real GDP growth is projected to increase to 1.6 percent in 2023, with shortages of foreign exchange still weighing on economic activity. Inflation is expected to average 30.3 percent in 2023 and to decline to around 7 percent in the medium – term.
“The authorities stepped up efforts to meet fiscal targets under the PMB, adjusting expenditure to offset a shortfall in revenue, and containing government borrowing to slow money growth. The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) tightened the monetary policy to contain inflationary pressures and resumed foreign exchange auctions. Rebuilding foreign reserves of the RBM has been slow as access to trade credit remains limited since the beginning of the year.
“The authorities continue to pursue good faith negotiations with commercial and official bilateral creditors and are in arrears on commercial debt while these discussions continue.
The prospective ECF – supported program will aim at restoring macroeconomic stability, building a foundation for inclusive and sustainable growth, addressing weaknesses in governance and institutions, and strengthening resilience to climate-related shocks. Fiscal policy will aim at achieving a debt-stabilizing primary balance in the medium-term through a package of expenditure adjustment and revenue mobilization measures. The authorities are committed to applying fiscal discipline, containing domestic borrowing, and improving public financial management.
“Monetary policy will remain anchored on containing money growth. It will aim to tame inflation by ensuring positive real interest rates. The banking system remains stable though exposure to government securities needs to be closely monitored. External sector policies will focus on rebuilding official international reserves and facilitating a market-determined exchange rate. The authorities are committed to ramp up their efforts to improve data quality and timely submission of the data to the IMF staff.
Three suspects are in police custody at Soche Police in Blantyre in connection to the brutal murder of a fourth year Malawi College of Accountancy (MCA) student, Shaibu Ali Dulani, 27, two months ago.
The suspects are Gift James, 19, Thoko Saikonde, 18 and Twaibu Shaibu, 18.
A crime situation report shows the three led police officers to a crime scene where they demonstrated how they hit the deceased with a stone in the head from behind.
It is reported that late Dulani was robbed of his laptop which the law enforcers have since recovered from the suspects.
Meanwhile, Deputy Police Spokesperson in the South West Region Beatrice Mikuwa has applauded the relationship the law enforcers have with communities in fighting crime.
“People should be commended for tipping the police whenever they suspect others have committed a crime. This should be commended,” said Mikuwa
She added Police have further arrested murder suspects in Mdeka and Lirangwe within Blantyre, and one other in Chiradzulu who is alleged to have recently murdered a man before stealing his bicycle at Speedy’s in the district.
Dulani was pursuing a course in Business Management and Entrepreneurship at the college and met his fate in Nkolokosa Township on his way from a Mosque.
He hailed from Traditional Authority(T/A) Makanjira in Mangochi district.
Senior Resident Magistrate Wanangwa Nyirenda has on Tuesday afternoon set free outspoken political activist-cum-comedian Bon Kalindo after suspending his warrant.
Nyirenda faulted the manner in which the state executed the arrest; describing it as unprocedural to criminal procedure and evidence code.
He further observed that the state simply adopted its application for warrant of arrest for Kalindo without bringing him before the sitting court.
Kalindo
It also emerged in the court that the state did not show Kalindo’s lawyer, Stanley Chirwa either the contents or the warrant itself.
Kalindo spent four nights in police cell following his controversial arrest last Friday for allegedly failing to honour his bail conditions in a case he is accused of publishing false news likely to cause alarm and public panic.
In his interview with the now closed Rainbow Television in 2021, Kalindo claimed that he has knowledge of people who kill persons with albinism in Malawi but did not mention their names.
