Malawi to start registering newly born babies

The Deputy Minister in the office of president and cabinet, Honourable  Nicholas Dausi was the guest of honor in an official launch of birth registration in hospitals and health facilities in Malawi that took place on 27^th march, 2012 at Bwaila Hospital maternity wing in Lilongwe.

This programme encourages every citizen to register in home district and every newly born baby immediately after birth to acquire nationality.

Speaking at the function, Dausi said this programme is very important in the way that it will terminate child labour, child traffic, early marriages, illegal adoption and even prostitution he also said that Malawi is the only national that has no national identity cards which is responsible for nationality, citizenship and public security so having started the programme Malawians nationality will be identified by those national identification cards which is in the office of president.

Dausi further said, “This programme is a mile stone of the development because Malawians were just walking as animals without identification” to wrap up he thanked the state president professor Dr Bingu wa mutharika who is responsible, for sending him as a representative.

To sum up what Dausi said, the principal secretary of national registration bureau, Francis Chinsinga said the  programme will help in the development of the country and it will help to know the birth rate and death rate in the country per day and the whole month.

The director of registration District Commissioner Paul Kalilombe advised all expectant mothers to decide names of unborn babies to make sure they are registered soon after birth he also said that to hold this function in Lilongwe it’s a great privilege, there after he thanked all chiefs, Bwaila Hospital staff and all the people for attending the function, Kalilombe also thanked the United Children fund and Plan for the support to children of Malawi.

Among other guest UNICEF Country representative and representative of United Nation were also there. To spice up the function, healthy Education Unit Band entertained the people after that Chindime and Samalani hit the stage.

It is not far fetched   that foreigners  easily get  away with it because identification becomes a problem. The population of the country will be easily accessed and it also enable the home affairs to depot anyone without the Malawi identification. It is with match regret that we are far behind because developed countries this programme was already put in force long time ago. Launching this programme will also help our beloved Malawians who are living in remote areas to benefit a lot because the identities will help them when doing transactions with banks.            

 

 

Waterborne diseases threatens Malawi’s capital

Waterborne diseases are likely to affect Malawi’s Capital, Lilongwe residents as the waste are left unattended to year in-year out in the market places surrounding the city.

With a blame game taking center stage between the City Council Authorities, business persons and some residents, the threat is fast rising following the recent 60 cholera cases which have been recorded in the southern part of the Sub-Saharan country. “We are afraid that any time we may fall victims of cholera. Just imagine, if the disease has already been reported in Blantyre City, what about here in Lilongwe where almost everywhere is dirt?” asked Victor Phiri, a restaurant owner who plies his business in the city’s major flea market which is along Lilongwe River.

According to Ministry of Health Public Relations Officer, Henry Chimbali, 59 cases of cholera have been confirmed in Chikhwawa district and one in Blantyre City (which is regarded as the cleanliness city in the country), both from the southern region.

Lilongwe district health Officer Mavuto Thomas said that they have been leasing with Lilongwe City Council (LCC) on the delay to remove the refuse.

“But they communicated to us that they are failing to remove the wastes due to fuel shortage crisis which has rocked country,” he said.

According to some media reports, liquid waste management, fresh water quality in Malawi is greatly affected by human activities, like agriculture, effluent discharge and refuses dumping. The contamination of these water resources could also be attributed to the poor sanitation facilities, frequent break down and overloading.

“Waste from factories and market sites which is mostly uncollected find its way in Lilongwe River which is used mostly by the vendors for cooking and some people downstream thereby polluting the river and putting the lives of people at risk,” said Chirambo

He said there is need for companies to have waste water treatment systems unlike dumping them in the rivers.

“The waste has some elements which when disposed in the river they are harmful to the biodiversity and the people who use it,” he said.

Kwanjana said the city faces problems like limited resources, capacity, public attitudes and willingness to spend on waste, fast growing urban population which surpasses provided social facilities, administrative machinery and social-political influence.

“Our initiative is on community involvement through workshops for Members of Assembly, consultative meetings with stakeholders, radio programmes on sanitation, writing to residents.

“We are also planning to review of waste management By-Laws to take into account current democratic freedoms and also to conduct clean up campaigns,” Kwanjana is quoted in the media.

Lilongwe City Council’s spokesperson Tamara Chafunya said that fuel crisis is one of the major challenge that has lead them to fail to collect refuse in townships around Lilongwe.

“We are much concerned and aware about the abundant waste in many areas. But we are being jeopardized with the fuel crisis the country is facing and in all our tracks we don’t have fuel when fuel problem in over it will be okay” she said.

Chafunya said that they have a lot of refuse tracks and they are able to collect all the refuse in a short period of time as long as fuel is available. The development has come barely days when ministry of health has confirmed cholera out break in chikwawa and Blantyre respectively and about 60 people have been affected.

Waterborne diseases threatens Malawi’s capital

Waterborne diseases are likely to affect Malawi’s Capital, Lilongwe residents as the waste are left unattended to year in-year out in the market places surrounding the city.

With a blame game taking center stage between the City Council Authorities, business persons and some residents, the threat is fast rising following the recent 60 cholera cases which have been recorded in the southern part of the Sub-Saharan country. “We are afraid that any time we may fall victims of cholera. Just imagine, if the disease has already been reported in Blantyre City, what about here in Lilongwe where almost everywhere is dirt?” asked Victor Phiri, a restaurant owner who plies his business in the city’s major flea market which is along Lilongwe River.

According to Ministry of Health Public Relations Officer, Henry Chimbali, 59 cases of cholera have been confirmed in Chikhwawa district and one in Blantyre City (which is regarded as the cleanliness city in the country), both from the southern region.

Lilongwe district health Officer Mavuto Thomas said that they have been leasing with Lilongwe City Council (LCC) on the delay to remove the refuse.

“But they communicated to us that they are failing to remove the wastes due to fuel shortage crisis which has rocked country,” he said.

According to some media reports, liquid waste management, fresh water quality in Malawi is greatly affected by human activities, like agriculture, effluent discharge and refuses dumping. The contamination of these water resources could also be attributed to the poor sanitation facilities, frequent break down and overloading.

“Waste from factories and market sites which is mostly uncollected find its way in Lilongwe River which is used mostly by the vendors for cooking and some people downstream thereby polluting the river and putting the lives of people at risk,” said Chirambo

He said there is need for companies to have waste water treatment systems unlike dumping them in the rivers.

“The waste has some elements which when disposed in the river they are harmful to the biodiversity and the people who use it,” he said.

Kwanjana said the city faces problems like limited resources, capacity, public attitudes and willingness to spend on waste, fast growing urban population which surpasses provided social facilities, administrative machinery and social-political influence.

“Our initiative is on community involvement through workshops for Members of Assembly, consultative meetings with stakeholders, radio programmes on sanitation, writing to residents.

“We are also planning to review of waste management By-Laws to take into account current democratic freedoms and also to conduct clean up campaigns,” Kwanjana is quoted in the media.

Lilongwe City Council’s spokesperson Tamara Chafunya said that fuel crisis is one of the major challenge that has lead them to fail to collect refuse in townships around Lilongwe.

“We are much concerned and aware about the abundant waste in many areas. But we are being jeopardized with the fuel crisis the country is facing and in all our tracks we don’t have fuel when fuel problem in over it will be okay” she said.

Chafunya said that they have a lot of refuse tracks and they are able to collect all the refuse in a short period of time as long as fuel is available. The development has come barely days when ministry of health has confirmed cholera out break in chikwawa and Blantyre respectively and about 60 people have been affected.

Three people die per week at one of Malawi prison due to congestion

Since the junior staff of the Malawi Judicially started their strike three months ago, suspects on remand and prisoners at Maula prison in the capital of Malawi have been living in fear for their lives. But with the end of the industrial action announced on Sunday by the chief secretary Mr Bright Msaka inmates will still wait little been longer to be taken to court as the courts have to put their house in order after the court have resumed .

The industrial action caused a backlog of pending civil and criminal cases which have left the country’s prisons to be flooded with inmates.

An Investigation conducted in one of the country’s main prisons, Maula, has indicated that there has been an increase in number of deaths and sickness amongst the inmates due to congestion.

One of the convicted inmate who opted for anonymity and is serving a ten year sentence for armed robbery said in an interview that currently, numbers of deaths have increased to almost three per week since the strike started.

“Maula prison is a hell on earth, its has become death trap u can imagine 3 of our inmates which I can even name them have been dying per week and with the purse of death I don’t have any hope that I will survive said a prisoner.

Recently, Maula prison spokesperson Andrew Nyondo was quoted in the local media as saying that instead of keeping 800 inmates the cells are keeping 2.5 thousand people.

One of the country’s human rights activists, Reverend Macdonald Sembereka said every person is entitled to life- life is so scares and that people must be protected and provided with the much needed treatment in such situations.

Sembereka described the situation is barbaric and unacceptable as Even a worst criminal deserves respect.

“This condition is however contravening the nation that a suspect is assumed innocent until proven guilty by the competent court of law as some remanded are dying before they are brought to justice.”
But prison spokesperson Andrew Nyondo denied that the number of inmates dying in the prisons has risen over the past two months.

“if it is indeed true, then it meant that they die at the hospital not at the prison.”
Reminded that a prisoner is still regarded as such even if he or she is in the hospital, Nyondo said it is the prisons wish to see into it that every inmate lives a health life.

On their capacity to control the spreading of diseases, Nyondo said they have put in place measures and that those who are sick are quickly referred to the hospital for treatment.

During the 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 fiscal year budgets, government allocated money for the construction of a new prison in the Lilongwe but up to now, nothing has taken place.

Mw Courts to open Monday; Judicial stand-off is over

Following the industrial action by judiciary officers and non-judicial staff, representatives of government and judiciary have been meeting in order to find an amicable solution to the issue that led to the industrial action. The two parties have, after appropriate consultations, reached an agreement on all issues of concern and a settlement has been signed today.

As per the memorandum signed, it means that the industrial action has now ended and the courts will finally start functioning on Monday, March 26 2012.
The agreement has been signed by Chief Secretary Bright Msaka, on behalf of the executive while Hon Justice Tembo, Chairperson of the Special Working Committee on Conditions of Services signed on behalf of the judiciary.

According to Msaka, the agreement that has been signed means no body has won; instead it is the government that has won. He said government could not work with two arms of government without the other arm; the judiciary, in a democracy. Msaka further said the two parties have however, agreed that the misunderstandings will never happen again where one arm of government is not functioning.

The non-judicial staff went on strike on January 9 this year and were joined by the honourable judicial staff, judges and magistrates alike; some weeks ago.

Meanwhile, government has announced the increase of salary for all civil servants by July 1; according to Chief Secretary Msaka and that preparations have started taking place.

‘CSOs indispensable in a democracy’

Civil Society Organizations in the country say President Bingu wa Mutharika and his government need to know that the role of CSOs is indispensable in a democracy and attempting to muzzle its legitimacy to operate is tantamount to breach of the very fundamentals of democracy.

CSOs’ representatives said this in Lilongwe during a press conference on the state house’s statement which accused them and the media of causing anarchy. In its statement, the State house, further warned the CSOs and media of arrests if they continue what they called demeaning the office of the president.

The CSO’s are among other things demanding unconditional and immediate retraction of the President Bingu wa Mutharika’s order to DPP party cadets to attack innocent citizenry, guaranteeing all fundamental freedoms including opinion and expression and stopping of attacks on private media.

Rev Sembereka: constructive criticism is not insult

Speaking to the press, Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) National Coordinator Reverend McDonald Sembereka said the CSOs have no agenda of insulting the president neither propagating for regime change. However, Reverend Sembereka, said constructive criticism should not be equated to insult; adding that regime change, if done within the country’s laws is not a problem as the constitution of the land guarantees that.

The statement has come barely hours after Mount Soche Hotel, under instruction from government, canceled the booking of the meetings organized by the Public Affairs Committee (PAC). PAC is scheduled to hold a conference to reflect the state affairs as one way of collectively exploring solutions to the country’s economic and political governance crises.

However, Minister of Information Patricia Kaliyati, has today, said as government is not aware of any invitation to the PAC meeting. Despite Kaliyati’s claim, the invitation list by organizers of the PAC meeting shows that invitation was extended to the party.

Other CSO leaders present during the briefing were Dorothy Ng’oma, Voice Mhone, Billy Mayaya, and Benedicto Kondowe.