As the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) is ready to implement the pilot Enhanced Public Works Programme (EPWP), communities led by their chief in Kasungu’s Mphazi catchment area have committed to be best performers in the programme.

Group Village Head Sinde of Traditional Authority Chidzuma in the district told NLGFC in an interview that his people are ready to implement sub-projects in the EPWP and want to transform the area which is facing problems caused by environmental degradation.

“As a traditional leader I have always been ready because when the programme was introduced I and the people received it. Right now we have committees, by laws and projects and now we are eager to do the work,” said GVH Sinde.

The chief was all pumped up after watching a documentary on Njira Watershed Management which shows how people in Balaka and Machinga came to deal with environment degradation in their areas.

“We have seen how they have done it, but for us we will do much better because we are united and committed to work and improve our area,” he said.

One of the community members Rose Phiri said she cannot wait for the implementation of the programme in the area as she has learnt from the documentary that money they get after working in sub projects can be saved or invested.

“Money that community members who have been selected to work in the sub projects can be put to good use by starting small businesses and joining village savings and loans, in the end acquiring assets for our households,” said Phiri.

EPWP national coordinator Stanley Chuthi said implementation of sub projects in the programme begins this August.

“EPWP provides social protection to poor people as such we will proceed with implementation and will make sure that we follow all the preventive measures of Covid-19 as put by government,” said Chuthi.

The climate smart EPWP focuses on conserving natural resources in order to create quality and sustainable community assets through a holistic catchment management approach.

It is being piloted in Kasungu, Lilongwe, Dowa, Nkhotakota, Karonga, Chitipa, Chiradzulu, Blantyre, Balaka and Phalombe.

Story credit: Vincent Khonje, District Information Officer, Kasungu

Members of Toleza Catchment Committee (CMC) says it will leave no stone unturned and no one behind during the implementation of the Enhanced Public Works Program (EPWP).

The committee told NLGFC  in an interview that it has accommodated both the youth, middle aged as well as old people in the committee that is responsible in looking after activities and resources of EPWP.

“When we were first briefed on the project some months back, and told that there will be need for people both male and female of different ages to be in the Catchment Management Committee, we touch based and agreed that we take on all ages on board.

“We believe in the youth of this area, that is why we incorporated some of them, and there is no way a committee could be complete without the middle aged and the old as well, said Eleson Hideni one of the committee members.

“We believe that we cannot be talking of development, when the young ones are out of it, we need to instill sense of ownership in the youth so that when all of us are gone, they should take care of the initiates being done now, said Ester  Wasimbwa one of the foreman.

On her part, one of the youngest members of the committee Delifa Chisambo, said she always has passion in developmental activities in her area, and it was her wish that she is incorporated in the committee.

“ I am happy to be part of the exciting journey of bringing back the lost glory of this area through the EPWP, we have had projects coming to this area, but this particular on is so special, so many trainings, empowering the rural people themselves with responsibilities.

“This we know is challenging us so that we do not have anyone to blame if things do not materialize as expected,” she said.

According to Delifa, the area faces a lot of problems, be it drought, floods, fall army worm, just to mention a few, but with the various interventions that the project has aligned to bring to the area, she is sure that the area will be a better place tom live for the generation to come.

The Local Government Finance Committee is piloting the Enhanced Public Works EPWP in 10 districts in Malawi as a result of the environmental degradation that has contributed to poverty in many areas.

Through the EPWP various interventions to improve land degradation will be implemented which many people in the rural areas have been struggling to provide for themselves.

Story Credit: Mary Makhiringa, District Information Officer, Balaka.

After being shown a documentary on how people in Balaka and Machinga reclaimed degraded environment, members of one of Kasungu’s Catchment Management Committees (CMCs) in the pilot Enhanced Public Works Programme (EPWP) say they cannot wait to transform their community.

Mpherere CMC was shown a Njira Watershed Management documentary on Friday which showed how communities in Balaka and Machinga managed to deal with problems that came with environmental degradation.

Vice Chairperson of Mpherere CMC in Traditional Authority Simlemba Robert Mjojo said similar problems of environmental degradation like in Machinga and Balaka, where trees were cut down and water flowed in people’s farms, are also in Kasungu.

“Here in Simlemba we want to do our best to be well prepared to work and recover the environment which has been lost, we just need cooperation amongst us as communities, chiefs, extension workers and other government officials just like our friends did,” said Mjojo.

Foreman of the catchment area, Stella Banda, said what they saw in the documentary is the root for sustainable livelihood and the people in the area already embraced the idea of working to improve their community.

“It is always impressive to see that people now are always committed to work to transform their lives. Just like in Balaka and Machinga, here in Kasungu it is the same and we cannot wait to start implementing our chosen projects,” said Banda.

At Mpherere catchment the people want to do afforestation of Mpherere hill by planting trees and manage natural regenerations, fish farming, bee keeping and rehabilitate roads.

EPWP which is being piloted by National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) in 10 districts with five catchment areas in each.

EPWP national coordinator Stanley Chuthi is impressed with how the programme has advanced to this far in all districts EPWP is.

He said: “We are beginning implementation this August, it is our hope that all councils and communities will understand by observing preventive measures.”

Kasungu has five catchment committees in Katcherekhwanya, Mpherere, Chatalala, Mphazi and Chankhanga with all catchments focusing mainly land resource conservation and afforestation. Other sub projects include fish farming, bee keeping and road rehabilitation.

EPWP is being piloted in Kasungu, Lilongwe, Dowa, Nkhotakota, Karonga, Chitipa, Chiradzulu, Blantyre, Balaka and Phalombe.

Some Catchment management committees under the Enhanced Public Works Programme (EPWP) in Lilongwe have commended the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC)for the initiative of documentary screening in their areas saying it is a good way of learning and adopting new technologies others are practicing.

NLGFC engaged District Information Officers(DIOs) in from 10 districts to visit the micro-catchment committees in the districts and showcase a Njira documentary filmed in Machinga and Balaka showcasing initiatives people in those areas have undertaken.

For many years Malawi has experienced environmental degradation that has contributed to poverty in many areas.

Though interventions to improve land degradation have been implemented, many people in the rural areas have been struggling to provide for themselves and the environmental degradation has resulted in  people  walking long distances to fetch firewood or water and  harvesting less food.

The Kubwenzeletsa Chilengedwe documentary showcases how fellow Malawians have been able to reverse the trend by working together as community in managing and conserving soil and water.

One of the beneficiaries in the EPWP project,  Mazon Manufuledi from Linthipe catchment committee in Traditional Authority (T/A) Chitekwere said most times when communities fail to implement new technologies, it is not because they are not committed, but they lack practical expriences to motivate and inspire them.

Manufuledi said that the Njira documentary has ignited passion to bring change to their community but also ownership of the projects.

"This is the first documentary am watching and I have been greatly challenged. This has encouraged me to personally commit towards the project."

"What people of Machinga and Balaka have shown us in the documentary has inspired us to follow the footsteps. I am so certain that we can also do what our friends have done," said Manufuledi.

He said the documentary has proved to them that it is possible to conserve the environment within their areas and improve their lives.

Another beneficiary under Kavunde catchment in T/A M'bang'ombe Lilongwe, Nyoki Maupo said most times they wait for organizations and the council staff to take lead in things benefitting the communities hence sustainability is always a challenge.

Maupo said the documentary was an eye opener and that they would want to start implementing what they learnt as soon as possible.

"We fail to own the projects that are brought to us because we have that mentality of wanting someone to push us. This is what has failed us all these years because we feel that those that introduce the projects to us should also push for sustainability forgetting that it is for our own benefit," said Maupo.

He commended NLGFC for the timely motivation adding that their lives will never be the same again and that they will do more than what people in the documentary have done.

"Nkhulambe farmers have been feeding Phalombe and a good part of southern region with sweet potatoes for the past years, but now this is no longer the case" Harrison Chipewa claims.

He makes this sweeping statement against a background that countless Lorries and trucks flock to Phalombe district, particularly to Senior Chief Nkhulambe's area during sweet potato harvest season to buy in bulk from farmers in the area.

This has been good business since time immemorial and a lot of farmers managed to improve their lives through sweet potato farming as Chipewa further claimed.

"This is why a sweet potatoes market naturally formed itself at Nawale where the exchange used to happen most and now it continues to be a potatoes sale point even now after potato production has drastically dwindled in the area," he continues.

The area of Group Village Headman Mchenga under Sub Traditional Authority Phweremwe is practically distributed in halves between residential area and sweet potato fields where the people proudly say their gold lies.

According to Chipewa over the past years people of the village and surrounding villages enjoyed good production which translated into lucrative business for them.

He refers to brick houses and iron sheeted houses as some of the milestones of sweet potato production which undoubtedly forms a great part of the people’s history of the past three decades that can clearly be recalled.

“Since the time I started realizing things, about 20 years ago, I can recall that my grandparents and my parents were all potato farmers and we have grown up surviving on money from the potatoes. That is a likely common life story of every young person that you can talk to around here, that is why sweet potato farming matters to everyone here,” explains Chipewa who has never been employed before as he has no education.

It is common knowledge among the locals that irrigated production of the Sukasanje gold is the one that earns them honorable proceeds, hence the unbreakable relationship between the potato fields and Sukasanje River which feeds all the fields with surface water for irrigation.

However amid being the people’s great companion in household economic development, one thing that has been breaking their hearts over the past five to six years is that sweet potatoes’ production is currently facing challenges due to the slow drying up of the mother source of water to the fields; Sukasanje River.

As another farmer Thomas Maudzu equally echoes the worry, it is common knowledge that the complete drying up of the river equals the death of potato irrigation farming in the area and the obvious closure of their surface mine.

“This River was not the way you are seeing it today. It used to have a lot of water and every farmer downstream benefited the way they wanted because the water was plentiful, but currently all that has changed because soon after each rainy season the river gets reduced to a width of not more than two meters and a depth of less than a meter,” said Maudzu.

He added that this has put most farmers in an uncertain position concerning the future of farming and their ability to sustain their economy.

“Rain fed potato farming is not profitable because during harvest of such potatoes there is usually too much produce, so the high supply affects our prices that we almost make no profit when you calculate literally everything,” he said, adding that the irrigated produce is the one they use to compensate the rain fed produce losses.

Similarly, Group Village Headman Mchenga worries for his people whose good population he said knows no other money making way than farming.

He said most of the youth in the area are equally engaged in the farming because they know that in the end they used to earn a smart living, but now with the gradual death of production he is of the view that soon most of the will abandon the trade and begin to engage in immoral ways of getting money.

Realizing these and many other challenges that awaits the people of Nkhulambe a the death of potato farming, people of Sukasanje during MASAF 3 implementation attempted reforestation along the River aimed at reclaiming their once cherished water, however according to Robert Namame, a member of Nkhulambe Catchment Management Committee (CMC), the trees never survived.

“From that time to present the problem has worsened. Currently people physically fight for water at the farm fields to an extent that recently it resulted into a sad event where two men hacked each other with a panga knife in a fight for water,” he explained.

Nkhulambe Police Unit officer In-charge Elton Magombo confirmed having handled a case involving the two fighters.

“So people have decided to utilize an opportunity that has risen from the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) facilitated Enhanced Public Works Programme (EPWP) to replant trees along Sukasanje River in hopes that the intervention will retain water in the River and solve all their problems,” Namame added.

He said in the community’s understanding if there were many trees along the River the extent of drying up would not have been worrisome and everyone would have been able to access water for irrigation in the fields.

Agribusiness Officer at Phalombe District Agriculture Office Aaron M’mwala says the problem is genuine and his office has been aware of it.

M’mwala said although his office does not have statistical information on how sweet potato production has been affected over the years due to the Sukasanje River problem, one thing that is clearly notable is that the water problem has arrested people’s livelihood in the area by crippling irrigated potato production.

“When it comes to summer produce the Sukasanje area relies on surface water which comes from Sukasanje River whose current low water supply directly means low production,” he said.

Asked whether the solution sorted by community members was tangible, District Forestry Officer for Phalombe Moses Mtambo said it was the best long lasting solution they could ever hope o find.

Mtambo said planting trees along the river line helps reduce evaporation because when they grow, the trees provide shade to the water in the river so the water is not exposed to direct sun heat which facilitates evaporation.

He added that trees also help in reducing surface runoff which leads to increased infiltration of the water into the soil.

“So in the end there is a lot of water underground and the water table rises thereby allowing the surface land to have more water. When that happens then you can be assured that the land will have water throughout the year,” he emphasized.

While the people of Sukasanje are at the verge of losing their source of livelihood to nature related problems, the solution they have sorted lies in nature itself, and now there is hope that through replenishing and conserving nature the people will once again get their lives back.

Story Credit: Sam Majamanda, District Information Officer, Phalombe

Members of Tovi Catchment Management Committee (CMC) established under the Enhanced Public Works Programme (EPWP) in Dowa district, have challenged to work extra hard saying their micro-catchment area needs such an approach to overcome the devastating impact of land degradation the area is facing.

Tovi CMC described the impact of land degradation in the area as worse saying soil loss is extreme. This was said after watching Njira Integrated Watershed Management documentary showcasing best practices, successes and lessons of Njira project that was implemented in Machinga and Balaka districts.

Speaking in an interview with NLGFC, chairperson for Tovi CMC, Jabesi Kambidzeni said his committee is geared to coordinate the implementation of the programme on the ground saying the Njira documentary has just supplemented existing knowledge on catchment management approach.

“As a committee we know our situation here and we have been equipped with appropriate knowledge that will enable us coordinate the practical part at community level. The documentary has enlightened us on best practices we can apply as we will be implementing different activities of the programme. This is a plus to us because we now have a picture of our future catchment area, we believe we will do the best so that others can also learn from us in the near future,” said Kambidzeni.

Patrick Taulo, extension worker under Chibvala Extension Planning Area (EPA), said the approach National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) is taking in equipping the committees with necessary skills and knowledge prior to the actual implementation of the programme is good for the success of the project.

“So far, the committee has undergone several trainings on catchment management. They have done trainings on physical soil and water conservation practices, nursery establishment, agroforestry and others. This time NLGFC has come with a video documentary on best practices, successes and lessons from Njira project. This will further enhance the knowledge and understanding on how best the people can implement the activities for better results,” said Taulo.

Tovi CMC is among five CMCs in Dowa district to have watched the Njira project documentary for smooth implementation of EPWP. NLGFC established CMCs in all the EPWP micro-catchment areas to supervise and monitor watershed activities and guide the work conducted by the public works participants when the project rolls out.  

NLGFC with funding from World Bank is implementing EPWP pilot project in 10 districts of Malawi. This project aims at conserving natural resources through a holistic catchment management approach. EPWP targets 1000 participants per district and a maximum of 5 micro-catchment in each of the districts, not larger than 250 hectors each.

Story Credit: Tiyanjane Nandie Mambucha, District Information Officer, Dowa

As a way of conserving the environment, Catchment Management Committees (CMCs) with chiefs promise to enforce by-laws that were establishment by the communities after successful implementation of the climate smart Enhanced Public Works Programme.

Speaking after watching Njira documentary the committee agreed that without enforcing by-laws the environment cannot be conserved.

“If by-laws were enforced in our communities we could not have reached where we are today. This documentary has really shown us that by-laws are important in conserving the environment,” they said.

Upper Thumbwe Catchment area Chairperson Bornface Chilambe said the committee will work together with the chief to enforce by-laws which the committee will form.

Group Village Headman Pemba said few trees that are seen within the catchment area was because of the by-law which he formed and anyone found cutting trees was supposed to pay two goats.

“This made the community around to stop encroaching the area, but some still find their way to destroy. Now seen what the chiefs and communities in Balaka and Machinga have done the by-laws will be reviewed by the committee and find better ways of enforcing them, he said.

Upper Muluma CMC member Juneki Mbatata said they will engage chiefs in their area to form and enforce by-laws.

Mtayamwana CMC Chair Adam Kamwendo said in their area they agreed that people should go to the mountain once a week to fetch dry woods which the communities around have adopted and they guard each other.

Njira documentary was shown to CMCs to learn good practices of conserving land and soil with funds from National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC).

Story Credit: Linda Likomwa, District Information Officer, Chiradzulu

For close to twenty five years that Christina Kamwendo has been a lead farmer in the Area of Traditional Authority Phimbi in Balaka District, she has been a victim of catastrophes, in times of drought, floods, fall army worm, and this happened one after the other.

Translating the time, energy and resources that she pumps year in and out to her farm has proven that it was the same as waiting for those willing farmers to do the work and she buy from them when they harvest.

“I do farming, but honesty, I harvest little, this job is so tiresome but not paying up as my farm is close to Mulunguzi River and many times flooding water wash away my crops,” she said.

It is because of this background that Kamwendo after been told by her friend that Government through the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC) wants to pilot Enhanced Public Works Program (EPWP)  and that her area will benefit from the same, checked with the extension workers of the area to hear more for she wished that her farmland be used.

“I was told one of the components of the project will be afforestation and also smart climate agriculture where deep trenches as well as swales will be constructed in fields to keep water and prevent unnecessary water to go into the field.

“I volunteered that my field be used as a demo plot so that apart from making other learn from her field, she should also reap the fruits of climate smart agriculture as she already heard from others that it is so effective,” she added.

It is because of this background that Kamwendo 43 is eagerly waiting for the commencement of EPWP so that she is equipped with the much needed skills.

A chat with Members of Zalimu Catchement Management Committee (CMC) has also revealed that the community has embraced the project and owned it.

“We are the victims and we accept that some of the challenges that we experience are as a result of our day to day way of living, we have been cutting down trees, cultivating along the river banks.

“Thanks to this project which has come at the right time, we know it will alleviate us from the numerous problems we face due to climate change,” said Leman Banda the Vice Chair for Zalimu Catchment.

He added: “We have had project coming and going, but this particular one is so unique, the level of community involvement cannot be taken for granted, the various trainings that we have gone through, we know all this is to equip us more and built sense of ownership to the project.”

“ We would like also to commend government for the introduction of the Unified Beneficiary Registry ( UBR) system of beneficiary identification, this has helped our area a lot as may times chiefs were responsible in drawing the list and errors were so immense,” said Felister Kachere a committee member.

It is believed that once EPWP is rolled out in the area, most of the gullies, the unproductive land etc. will be revamped for the use of the community.

Story Credit: Mary Makhiringa, District Information Officer, Balaka

The Community Driven Development Specialist at the National Local Government Finance Committee, Stanley Tchuti on Thursday disclosed that National Local Government Finance Committee will pilot the electronic mode of payment to beneficiaries of the Enhanced Public Works Program (EPWP).

Tchuti said, that the introduction of e-payment of cash tranfers to EPWP benefiaries will address issues of fraud and ghost workers that the previous public works program encountered.

He said this in Liwonde,when he officially opened a one day Financial Literacy Training of Trainers (ToT) to enlight District Environmental Committee members on the modalities of E-payment.

He said:" We have partnered with the First Capital Bank to help us in the e- payment process  as we noted under the previous public works program that there were more ghost workers and corruption took stage as chiefs could slot in beneficiaries for their benefit.

" We believe that e-payment will root out these challenges including the errors that came about in the process, and the lessons learnt from Balaka will help us during the actual project implementation in all the remaining districts."

According to Tchuti, e-payment will also reduce the burden that the district officials had in carrying huge somes of money going round the communities to do payments to beneficiaries.

"Since EPWP is just a pilot, we will only pilot the electronic payment in Balaka only as we are aware that the district is already implementing the same in the  Social Cash Transfer Program," he added.

He further highlighted that Government will harmonise the e-payment mode in all its safety nets programs in due course.

On her part, Social Cash Transfer Program Manager at the First Capital Bank, Tivota Gondwe said they are ready as they have already opened account numbers for all beneficiaries in Balaka.

" We have managed to open account numbers to all 1000 beneficiaries,what is remaining now is to do the Know Your Customer (KYC) and also to distribute Auto teller Machine (ATM) Cards to the beneficiaries.

" When time for the beneficiaries to receive their dues comes, we will be going in the communities at strategic points where beneficiaries will be coming to do their transactions for free on our point of sale machines," she said.

According to Gondwe, if one decides to withdraw their money on the ATM, bank withdraw fee of 300 Kwacha will be met.

Research has shown that the previous public works program could not come up with quality assets and also that poverty levels could not change even though the project has been on the ground for years,thus the introduction of the EPWP.

In the pilot project, beneficiaries will have to work for 12 days and be getting nine hundred kwacha per day.

Story Credit: Mary Makhiringa, District Information Officers, Balaka

Fellow Malawians,

I have noted with delight that there is much interest in my plans to trim the powers of the president. Because of that interest, I am confident that when this project is well underway, it will have your full support. Reducing presidential powers is something that is often promised but never delivered, but I think you know by now that I do not say something unless I mean to do it. But to get this done, I need your support.

The reduction of presidential powers is a collective effort. As such, it is important that we all understand what these powers are. In summary, the presidency has four kinds of powers. The first category of powers a president has is positional. In our jurisdiction, there are certain positions and offices that are reserved for the president alone, such as the positions of Head of State, Head of Government, and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. However, I believe it is time we reviewed the merits of having the president also occupy an office like the Chancellor of the public University. This is a relic from a bygone era that we need to part with, for I know of no free country in which the State President is put at the helm of an educational institution that exists to produce free thinkers. That is one example of positional powers that need to be revisited.

The second category of powers a president has is executive. This has to do with certain decisions that are reserved for a president to make. It is my view that there are too many decisions made by a president, so I mean to reduce that. Having a presidency that makes too many decisions has created problems for our country for a long time. Chief among them is that it has stifled a culture of responsibility and innovation among public institutions and private citizens. Even as parents in our homes, we know that rigidly concentrating too much decision-making power in the parents hinders a child’s ability to develop critical life skills. This is a mistake we must stop making at a national level. There must be decisions that when made by Parliament are final, and even where the President has the power to veto such decisions, he should no longer be allowed to sabotage the governance framework by sitting on the decision. That does not mean there aren’t matters on which the presidency is the right office to make a decision, but we need to remove from that list the decisions that do not belong there, and those decisions that do belong there need to be safeguarded by minimum requirements of transparency to and checks and balances from other institutions.

The third category of powers a president has is that of appointments. From the Judiciary, to the Legislature, to the Executive, all the way to constitutionally mandated institutions designed to operate independently, the boards of statutory corporations, foreign embassies, and Traditional leaders, we have the anomaly of having all of them look to the president as the appointing authority. This is unwise. No person is good or humble enough to be entrusted with that much appointing power, for it is not possible for a president to be the appointing authority of that many offices without at some point coming face to face with a conflict of interest.

The issue of conflicts of interest brings me to the fourth category of presidential powers, which is cultural. We as a country need to review our behaviors towards a president, because how we behave around a president is what creates a national perception of how much power he or she has. This includes how we address a president, how many times a president is mentioned in salutations at a single event, how many cars and firepower a president’s convoy has, and so forth. Within this category is also something that is sensitive, but which we must think about as a nation. During the campaign for the 2020 fresh presidential elections, I noted that many political campaigns conducted by state officials were using state resources like state vehicles and state security. We need to think about the limits and parameters of this culture because it is now regularly abused. Even if it may not be possible to fully separate state resources from the activities of political parties, we need rules that clearly spell out when the overlap between party and state is acceptable and when it is abusive.

When I propose legislation to address these inconsistencies, I ask you to support me by demanding that your Member of Parliament vote for these changes. Malawi needs a more empowered citizenry, and the only way to achieve that is to see to it that the powers of governance institutions that serve the people directly increase and the powers of the president decrease.

I thank you for listening. God bless you and God bless Malawi.