Foreign Affairs Minister Eisenhower Mkaka has promised that Malawi will strive in maintaining its relationship with South Africa. He said Malawi bilateral working visits by President Dr Lazarus Chakwera are helping Malawi regain its position of influence within the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region. He was speaking this ahead of President’s two-day working visit to the Republic of South Africa, starting November 12.

Mkaka highlighted that there is need to cement the long-term relationship between the two countries as it stands to benefit the people of the two countries in all spheres of development. “South Africa being the largest partner in Africa, the two leaders will among other things discuss the issues surrounding trade and mining. These are the issues that matter the most to most Malawians living in South Africa and beyond’’, the Minister said.

He said the Malawi leader’s visit to the Rainbow Nation is a key milestone as it will further strengthen trade opportunities and attract potential investors to the two countries.‘’It is very crucial to maintain a healthy relationship and discuss matters that do matter to people in terms of trade between the two countries’’, he said. Mkaka says the visit will also provide an opportunity to the two leaders to learn from each other and maintain the foundation for a healthy strong relationship.

Chakwera has recently visited neighbouring countries such as Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe in order to strengthen Malawi’s bilateral relationships.South Africa remains the largest trade partner to Malawi and richest in Southern Africa and maintains excellent diplomatic relations with Malawi. – Reported by Emmanuel Thuwala in Pretoria

President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera on Monday inaugurated the 2020 Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA) Flag Week with a call to all stakeholders to support programmes aimed at promoting the welfare of people with disabilities.

Speaking in Mzuzu when he presided over the ceremony, the President said his Government was committed to implementing inclusive programmes to benefit all Malawians, including those with disabilities.The Malawi leader said the Tonse Administration realizes the importance of implementing programmes that “progressively promote the rights of persons with disabilities.”

MACOHA’s board member Alex Machila said most of their 1.7 million members across the country face a number of challenges.Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, Patricia Kaliati, said apart from training sign language interpreters, her Ministry has lined up programmes that will enable persons with disabilities to meaningfully participate in national development.This year’s MACOHA Flag Week is being observed under the theme: Inclusive Health Response to Combat COVID-19.MACOHA is targeting to raise K10 million during this year’s Flag Week.