UMUSU GAVE 72HOURS ULTIMATUM TO THE MINISTRY
University of Malawi Students Union (Umsu) yesterday gave the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) a 72-hour ultimatum to address the recently announced students’ financial contribution or face undisclosed urgent action. Dressed in red and black, and with heavy police presence, the eight Umsu members representing thousands of University of Malawi (Unima) students carried placards and sang songs condemning Unima Council’s decision to raise fees for mature and generic students. They marched from Total Filling Station near Presidential Road to Lilongwe City Council (LCC) offices where they delivered their petition.The march follows an announcement by Unima Council that mature entry students will now be paying K900 000 at Chancellor College (Chanco), K1.4 million at College of Medicine (CoM), K1 million at Kamuzu College of Nursing (KCN) and K950 000 at the Polytechnic.Umsu president Tiwonge Sikwese said generic students will have to pay K500 000 at CoM, K380 000 at the Polytechnic, K320 000 at Chanco and K340 000 at KCN from the current K275 000 across the board. In the picture, the students hoist placards to stress their case
NFR A PLAN TO PARCHASE 40000 METRIC TONE OF MAIzE
National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) plans to purchase 40 000 metric tonnes (MT) of maize valued at K10 billion to feed millions of Malawians facing hunger this year.
Minister of Agriculture, Irrigationj and Water Development George Chaponda said this when he inspected the maize buying exercise at NFRA maize silos complex in Lilongwe yesterday.
Chaponda: This is impressive
Chaponda: This is impressive
The buying started on Monday and loaded trucks were seen offloading the maize at the silos in Kanengo.
“I have been told that, in a day, they are offloading 45 trucks. This is very impressive. This maize will later be donated to citizens that are in dire need of food,” Chaponda said.
The minister also said they have struck a deal with Zambia and Tanzania to supply the country with maize.
“I travelled to Zambia recently where the Zambian Government has assured us that we can buy 200 000MT from them while Tanzania has committed to sell us 150 000MT. We are optimistic that we will have enough food,” the minister said.
NFRA chief executive officer Nasinuku Saukila has said currently they have 20 000MT in the silos.
About 6.5 million Malawians—nearly one third of the population—face food insecurity, according to recent government estimates.
EGYPT DARES IMMIGRATION
Egyptian Ambassador Maher El-Adawy has urged Immigration Department to become independent and generate its own resources instead of depending on government and donors for its sustainability.
The Ambassador said this on Tuesday when he toured the Immigration Headquarters in Blantyre as part of his tour to cement his government’s relations with both private and public departments.
“I am impressed that with limited resources and overload, the department is efficient and has a faster passport process. However, it is time the department started to think of generating its own resources to efficiently run its activities.
El-Adawy (L) appreciates the passport process
El-Adawy (L) appreciates the passport process
“If we can come up with resource-generation measures and support them with perseverance and hard work, the department can be different,” said El-Adawy.
He advised the department to consider influencing government to allow it to raise the fees for the services it provides and pocket the additional sum to support its activities.
Chief immigration officer Masauko Medi said his office is already discussing with government to be disintegrated and be independent. He said they are optimistic that if they are independent like Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) and Directorate of Road Traffic Safety Services (DRTSS), their operations can improve.
“We will be more efficient if we stop depending on the Treasury. Our dream is to run the department as a business because it does not speak well to be bankrupt when we are able to generate more revenue,” said Medi.
Posts
![[about]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIPDYKcL1fGewwwFaFEpXti6kzppS6nW5Lc_mmW44elv3NzbRIFTipNy5h0MVgfaq0vRD_gE4u9GbydUqj7knhA7ltUpT78rShvvrMJ5r5FBmonbkxKQc1EwpR1tkgFbVPiZ8BWVS3R0/s1600/10586478723316925042.jpg)
