Soil erosion due to running water from the upland is one of the leading factors that cause soil infertility and can lead to poor harvesting. Even though nature can be unpredictable, people can take preventative measures against weather shocks.

In Mchinji, beneficiaries of MASAF IV public works programme embarked on Kawerawera Land resource sub project. The project was meant to restore soil fertility in this mountainous district.

Under this project, beneficiaries established agroforestry nurseries; constructed swales and infiltration pits in steep slopes. In addition, beneficiaries also constructed box bridges and realigned ridges across the slope around farms located in mountainous places.

At Kawerawera land resource project, beneficiaries have managed to construct five swales measuring 1,175metres in length, and constructed 14 check dams and planted trees on 37 hectares of land.

The Land that was abandoned for years due to the excessive floods and degradation has now been reclaimed and is showing impressive regeneration and forest cover.

NLGFC's Integrity committee posses  in a photograph

The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) says it is impressed with the commitment of the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) in attaining above typical institutional integrity levels in the fight against corruption.

The remarks were made by the Director of Corruption Prevention at the ACB Mary Phombeya when she officially opened a two day Internal Integrity Committee orientation session for the NLGFC at Salima.

‘May I applaud the NLGFC for establishing the Internal Integrity Committee (IIC) as the action meets government guidelines for ministries, departments and agencies (MDA’S) to institute such committees’, said Phombeya. ‘It is also a requirement in the performance contracts between MDA’s and the Office of the President and Cabinet’, she said.

The Director said it was encouraging that the vision of the NLGFC is aligned to fighting corruption by positioning itself to have transparent local governments delivering quality services.

She then appealed to the staff to make sure that the internal integrity committee not only promotes but is seen to champion good governance, mainstreaming ethics and integrity at the NLGFC and at local councils.

In his remarks Director of Administration and Corporate Services, at the NLGFC, Arthur Liwonga, said the orientation will benefit the NLGFC in managing issues of integrity especially in local councils.

Liwonga said the orientation was expected to lead to the effective execution of the NLGFC’s mandate as provided for in the republican constitution.

In an interview, the convener of the session, Thomson Chopera Longwe, NLGFC’s Audit Manager, said the skill and knowledge transfer session will inculcate institutional integrity, an ethics respecting culture and provide guidance for effective service delivery through local councils, as envisaged in the NLGFC’s vision statement.  

‘We have a toll free number, 847, for anonymously reporting corruption across councils in Malawi’ says Chopera.

‘This training will also provide more platforms and possibilities which will help the NLGFC achieve a level of internal understanding to place it on the same footing to the demands of its constitutional mandate and obligations’, said Chopera.

The two day training tackled issues on the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and mandate of an IIC, identifying corruption risk areas, corruption detection and prevention strategies, ethics and integrity at the work place.

Phalombe District Council says training Catchments Management Committees (CMCs) in catchment management is one way of ensuring sustainability of projects under the Enhanced Public Works Programme (EPWP).

District Forestry Officer for Phalombe Moses Mtambo made the remarks on Friday on the sidelines of a four days’ training for CMC members in integrated catchment management planning.

Mtambo said the committees were at the backbone of implementation of projects under the pilot Programme as such their training has been designed in a manner that facilitates community ownership that would ensure sustainability.

“In part the training involves a situational analysis in which the CMCs will get to evaluate and understand their catchments’ current situations and suggest better ways of managing them. This is rather than solutions coming from the district council as doing so might bring errors that would in turn affect the implementation outcomes,” said Mtambo.

He further noted that this system will bring out tailor made solutions and options of catchment management.

One of the trainees Amos Magombo from Migowi catchment commended the bottom up approach applied in the trainings where community members are at the helm of finding solutions.

In the implementation of the Enhanced Public Works Programme (EPWP) which is being piloted in 10 districts in the country the National Local Government Finance Committee which funds the Programme has emphasized on capacity building of key implementation structures as a way of facilitating success of the pilot project.

Story Credits: Sam Majamanda

Mateauma-DC for Phalombe speaking to participants during the training

National Local Governance Finance Committee (NLGFC) has said capacity building was a catalyst for the success implementation of Enhanced Public Works Programme (EPWP) in the country.

The Organization’s Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialist, Effron Gausi made the remarks on Wednesday on the sidelines of a four days training workshop for Extension Workers from Phalombe district aimed at equipping them with technical knowledge on tree nursery establishment which is the backbone of soil and water conservation.

He said the capacity building which would trickle down to 1,000 beneficiaries of the EPWP projects in Phalombe district would ensure that government money bears long lasting fruits as knowledge imparted on the citizens was expected to remain in the communities and be used in other developmental projects.

“We noted that one of the reasons that the past Public Works Programmes did not bear desirable fruits was that beneficiaries were taking part in the activities without acquiring the needed knowledge hence there was no sustainability of the projects they undertook,”  Gausi said, adding that the current Public Works Programme seeks to bridge that gap.

District Commissioner (DC) for Phalombe Rodrick Mateauma emphasized on the need for beneficiaries of the EPWP to take the projects seriously as they are designed in a manner that they will facilitate their complete shift from poverty to prosperity.

Meanwhile in Phalombe district the actual implementation of the soil and water conservation projects is expected to commence in June this year.

The NLGFC is implementing a pilot EPWP in 10 districts in the country (including Phalombe) with an aim of improving the impact of Social Safety Nets on the lives of ultra-poor households in the country

Story Credits: Sam Majamanda

Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MoLRD) has advised residents in town, district and city councils to be paying fees and charges, among other fees to enhance smooth operation of the councils.

 Minister responsible for the ministry, Dr. Ben Phiri was speaking Wednesday in Mzuzu when he interacted with district commissioners of all district councils in the north.

Phiri said his ministry is aware of the challenges which councils face in delivering services and paying wages for their employees and that the ministry is doing everything possible to develop strategies which can assist in addressing such challenges.

“Since the adoption of decentralization, most of the central government responsibilities were devolved to local councils and this calls for the need of adequate financial resources to march with the responsibilities,” said Phiri.

He said some of the challenges include inadequate capacity in different fields and resource mobilization.

“As a ministry we believe that are responsible for spearheading as well as advising councils of best practices, so we assisting the councils to deal with some the challenges and have registered some improvement in council though there are some challenges here and there,” he said.

He said the meeting which was organised by National Local Government Finance Committee aimed at creating a platform through which they share experiences, challenges and how to deal with them.

Commenting on the meeting, District Commissioner (DC) for Nkhata Bay, Rodney Simwaka said the meeting was very relevant to the DCs because it enhance their managerial skills for them to run the councils effectively.

“As managers and heads of public institutions we must have skills to better serve the councils and provide services as expected by people,” said Simwaka.

He said, people have high expectations from councils as such the local authorities need to jack up to meet the expectations by making good use of resources for the benefit of the people.

Story Credits: George Bulombola

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Hon Ben Malunga Phiri says controlling officers are the difference between a successful council and a struggling one.

The Minister said this during a technical meeting with District and Chief Executive Officers from the Northern region at Mzuzu hotel Wednesday.

Hon Phiri said a controlling officer without positive energy to influence change and development at his post of duty in the Local Government sector is surplus to requirements.

Phiri said DC’s and CEO’s should strive to leave positive legacy of transformation when their tour of duty ends in a particular district, town or city council.

Minister Phiri then appealed to the officers to use all council resources with all due prudence and master art of being efficient and effective as managers and leaders.

District Commissioner for Dowa, Alex Mdooko has asked extension workers in the district to observe standards and norms on EPWP projects saying the efforts should yield a great performance of the program in the district.

Mdooko said this in Mponela as he was opening a 4 day training workshop for the nursery establishment and soil and water conservation for extension staff in the district.

The District Commissioner asked the participants to take the training sessions seriously for the lessons to have impact on the ground.

“The approach we need to take this time around should be different. Learning from the previous PWP program it was more less of a cash transfer program not assets creation. So we need to be vigilant in terms of observation of norms and standards of projects bearing in mind that this is a pilot phase which depends much on performance. We also need to ensure coordination, taking on board all necessary stakeholders for successful implementation,” said Mdooko.

The District Commissioner further asked the extension workers to be taking precautionary measures to prevent Corona virus (COVID-19) as they do their field work.

“The extension workers interact with members of the community therefore they should make sure they observe measures such as social distance, making sure hand washing facilities are available whenever they are meeting people,” said Mdooko.   

According to the EPWP project implementation manual the focus of the program is on integrated watershed management, covering sub-projects such as land resource conservation, afforestation, environment, sanitation and road infrastructure as well as sustainable livelihoods.

Speaking in an interview with one of the facilitators at the training, Dowa District Forestry Officer, Deborah Mushari said the present training emphasized much on nursery establishment and management to address the issue of a decrease in survival rate of trees.

“We are stressing more on hardening off the seedlings. This means steadily decreasing the amount and frequency of watering and shedding before transplanting, so that they are able to survive under natural conditions in the field. Another thing is on Root Pruning which means to produce short, compact, fibrous roots consisting of mainly lateral roots and to discourage the growth of a long tap root. We believe this will help increase the survival rate of trees” said Mushari.

Speaking earlier the Chief Draughtsman Officer for the department of Land Resources, Dickson Chonongera, said the EPWP program is crucial considering that it is a pilot project in preparation for the implementation of the future PWP.

“The pilot program is for 8 months, depending totally on results and lessons which we expect to inform the design of the future PWP. Extension workers are crucial in the implementation of the program thereby they are going through trainings on different subprojects management. We are also providing training manuals so that they can apply as they are discharging duties,” said Chonongera.

EPWP is being implemented in 10 district councils targeting 1000 participants per district and a maximum of 5micro-catchment in each of the districts, not larger than 250 hectors each.

Story Credits: Tiyanjane Nandie Mambucha

District commissioner (DC) for Kasungu James Kanyangalazi says interventions in the Enhanced Public Works Programme (EPWP) are very crucial in dealing with effects of climate change.

Speaking during a four day Kasungu district Council training for frontline staff on soil and water conservation and nursery establishment and management currently underway, Kanyangalazi said the country mostly relies on rain fed agriculture which is becoming problematic due to degraded and climate change.

The DC said with the sub projects that have been identified it is possible to reclaim the land and harvest more.

“Most of the land is now degraded and cannot produce like before. But with interventions like soil and water conservation and afforestation it is possible reclaim the degraded land and harvest more,” said Kanyangalazi.

He said after the training the frontline staff should go back to their catchment areas and impart the knowledge to fellow staff and also the community.

The DC also reminded the officers that EPWP being a pilot project, the success of the project will benefit other districts where it can be scaled up.

According to the district EPWP coordinator Chikumbutso Liwonde the sub projects that have been identified in the district’s five catchment areas include soil and water conservation, dams rehabilitation, counter marker ridge construction, afforestation, natural regeneration management, roads maintenance, fish pond construction and gully reclamation among others.

One of the participants to the training Thoko Supayo said the training has come at a right time as the extension workers are gaining new skills and knowledge.

“In EPWP some of the approaches are new so it means when we go back we will tell the communities the real issues that they have to know,” said Supayo.

With problems like not fully meeting the needs of the participants like having no significant support on enhanced income and food security among others in the previous PWP programmes there was need to have a new approach for the program which is now being piloted as EPWP in the 10 districts through the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC).

Nkhotakota District Council has called on the district`s Extension Workers to show seriousness in the implementation of the Enhanced Public Works Program (EPWP) about to roll out in the district.

The Council`s Director of Planning and Development (DPD) Ben Tohno made the call, Tuesday when he opened a four-day workshop for the Extension Workers on Nursery Establishment and Soil and Water Conservation taking place in the district.

Tohno observed that the Extension Worker`s dedication and seriousness is key to the success of the program in the district.

“You need to exploit your potential, work hard and be creative in the implementation phase of the program. As a district we are relying on you and have confidence in your capabilities” said Tohno.

Chief Agriculture Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CAENRO) for Nkhotakota, Precious Chautsi advised the training participants to strive to stand out among the group in the program implementation.

“Always try to do your best because you will be putting yourself on the spotlight and help your area. This is a pilot phase and the outcome from here will determine the next course of the program.

“We don’t want to see that your catchment area and our district failed to perform to the expected standard, and you are the ones entrusted with the task of representing the district” he said.

Speaking in an interview, Nkhotakota Land Resource Conservation Officer, Arthur Mazengela Chiwayula who is also EPWP Desk Officer for Nkhotakota, said five catchment areas had been selected for the EPWP pilot phase in the district.

He said the micro catchment areas are Thanga and Kasangadzi in the area of traditional authority (T/A) Mwansambo, Dema and Msenjere in T/A Kanyenda and Lupachi in T/A Kafuzira, adding these have been divided into sub-projects.

Chiwayula said the current training was important because it will impart knowledge and skills to the extension workers on various topics, covering both theory and practical sessions.

“We are sure that once the project rolls out in the next two weeks or so, our colleagues will be able to train their communities in these technologies without any problems” he said.

The Desk Officer said the communities in the EPWP pilot areas have among others identified, gully reclamation, soil and water conservation, fish pond, a forestation and irrigation projects.

EPWP is an 8 months community driven pilot project being implemented in 10 districts of Chitipa, Karonga, Nkhotakota, Kasungu, Dowa, Lilongwe, Balaka, Chiladzulu, Phalombe and Blantyre aimed at addressing the challenges faced during the implementation of the Malawi Social  Action Fund (MASAF IV) Productive Public Works Program.

It is designed to achieve the dual objective of strengthening household resilience to shocks and creating durable community assets.

The National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) is supporting the project by setting and regularly reviewing standards operating procedures for payment processes and providing funds for administration, operations and wages among others.

Karonga District Council Forestry Department has described extension workers as instrumental in bringing mindset change among the rural masses on the importance of conserving the environment in their catchment area.

KDC Forestry Officer Christopher Chirwa made the remarks Tuesday in Karonga district during the opening of a four-day training of frontline staff on tree nursery establishment, soil and water management.

He said with the new approach that the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) has taken through the Enhanced Public Works Programme (EPWP) that the community should take ownership in managing the environment, extension workers are therefore supposed to be in the forefront in the project.

“These people have now been empowered to manage their catchment areas. They will have their own bank account, they will procure everything that they will require for this programe and we are optimistic that this will be achievable,” he said

However, Chirwa warned the extension workers and the community at large to use the resources that will be given to them for the intended purpose saying any corrupt practices involved will not be entertained.

He said through this project the council is expecting that the people from the chosen five pilot micro catchment areas of Thawilo, Wiliro, Lufilya Chikutu and Iponga in the district will plant more trees hence reduce runoff and disasters.

In his remarks, one of the participants Daniel Soko a Community Development Assistant for Chikutu catchment area said the training will go a long way on improving the failures that have been there before on catchment management.

“In the past everything was done at council level. Evening having a capacity building like this one was a challenge, but with this new approach by NLGFC through the EPWP I hope many areas will be covered with trees thereby reducing cases of disasters,” he said

Soko then assured the council and NLGFC that they will use the knowledge gained and the resources that will be channeled to them for the intended purpose.

EPWP is being implemented in 10 district councils on pilot phase namely Chitipa and Karonga in the North, Nkhota-kota, Kasungu, Dowa and Lilongwe in the center while in the South the programme is in Balaka, Chiradzulu, Phalombe and Blantyre.