http://princeko.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/476493
I want to plea with my fellow Malawian's to be patrotism, and respect other's rights. But I condon these ladies who left their husbands and sleep with other peoples men, that this system will increase the spread of HIV/AIDS, which already is claiming more people's lives.

Hey you ladies, why don't you keep your diginity and respect and fear other other mens Husbands. I know for sure, we are not yet being allowed here in Malawi to produce such nude pictures. My fear is that, what will be Malawi in 10 years time, with the development of ICT materials, which is now the government is fighting to bring the ICT into villages and rural areas. Should we call this a development? or something else.

Lets join our hands and stop producing these materials on the net and even in our homes.
]]> Fri, 12 Sep 2008 09:18:00 EDT http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/476493 -15.7833333 35.0-15.783333335.0 http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/325531
The civil society has expressed concern that delay by government to process the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) policy, whose draft was submitted two years ago to government for scrutiny, is promoting marginalization among people in the country.
Speaking during an ICT for Development workshop in Lilongwe on Monday, acting board chairperson of Young Advocates for the Advancement of ICT (YAAICT) Grey Nyali said, “Since ICT was creeping into every aspect of work, members of the civil society must be awake so that they does not bring further marginalization into the society, especially women and people in rural areas”. But Minister of Information and Civic Education Mrs. Patricia Kaliati (MP), said the policy was at an advanced s tag.

“Some of these things are supposed to be done with care and thoroughness. We had to consult before coming up with the final draft but the Policy is now at an advanced stage,” said Kaliati.

According to Nyali, it was the civil society’s responsibility to ensure that messages on ICT get through both members of the society both in rural and urban areas.

“As Civil society, we have been there since 1998 when the policy draft was first developed and it’s disappointing to note that up to now, the final draft is not yet out,” said Nyali.

According to him, some of the people involved in formulation of the policy draft are computer vendors and civil society members.

Among other things, the policy contains issues of surtax removal on IT accessories such as Computers and other computer peripherals.

“Even though government has removed duty on computers, when they come and surtax is added they become even more expensive,” said Nyali

In other development the government regulatory body on communication has warned that it would take an unspecified action on all telephone bureaux and Internet cafes operating without a licence. But this has irked some local operators who accuse the regulator of trying to kill their business and being out of tune with the prevailing economic environment on the ground.

The body said, some internet operators are connecting the internet at slow speed modems thereby disadvantaging their customers, but some people in the business argued with the body and said that, this is so because of the poor communication system and expensiveness of the Internet Service Providers ISP in the country. It therefore could have been better for the government to take control measures on the charges of these ISP so that people can afford to pay the internet at a lower price hence improving the speed of the internet by subscribing to the higher band width.

This means that people in the rural areas will have a chance of using the internet facilities because more people will join the business of internet cafes which will make the price for surfing on the net be cheaper because they will be more competitors.
]]> Thu, 24 Jan 2008 04:25:00 EST http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/325531 -15.7833333 35.0-15.783333335.0 http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/307935
KONDWANI

The World Bank has reaffirmed its commitment to support African Countries including Malawi to halt and begin to reverse the effects on not paying particular attention to the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number six.

MDG goal six spells the need to combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Specifically, it talks about halting and beginning to reverse the spread of the pandemic and other diseases.

The bank says it will move from its initial emergency response to the next phase, contributing to a long-term sustainable multi-partner response.

To that, the bank has provided US$1.5 billion (K210 Billion, at Malawi’s official exchange rate) for the diseases’ programme in over 30 countries and five sub-regional projects addressing cross-border issues through the Multi-country HIV and AIDS programme for Africa (MAP).

“ The Bank’s support has contributed to results in prevention, care and treatment, impact mitigation and system strengthening reaching millions through prevention education messages, enrolling women in preventing mother to child transmission, supporting vulnerable children and working to strengthen health, fiduciary, monitoring and evaluation systems and AIDS institutions,” says the bank in a statement.

The commitment from the Bank could not have come at an opportune time like this when the newly released 2007 UNAIDS epidemic update shows that AIDS seams to have reached its peak and death rates are failing – Africa continues to bear the greatest burden.
“We recognize HIV and AIDS is a serious development challenge and dilutes our poverty reduction efforts,” says Obiageli Ezekwesili, the bank’s vice president for Africa region.

“The bank is determined to remain engaged over the long-term, working within our comparative strengths.” More than three quarters (about 76 %) of all AIDS – related deaths in 2007 and 68% of global new infections occurred in Africa and women, about 61%, are living with virus.
The bank’s new agenda for action is the result of an intensive analytical and consultative process that engaged over 1000 people from over 30 African partner countries plus donors and UN agencies.
Countries were consulted at all levels, including community, faith based Organisation and civil society organizations, research institutes, universities and people living with the virus.

“The inputs of the stakeholders are reflected in the main messages of the agenda for action,” adds the statement.
“The agenda’s strategic objectives are explicitly linked to results and include: assisting national development agenda, accelerating implementation and closing the implementation gap between available funding, strengthening nation and health systems and improving donor coordination and knowledge generation and sharing knowledge generation and sharing.

To accelerate the implementation purposes, the Africa region’s agenda for action is organized around four pillars, reflecting the critical human institution and financial challenges for the next generation of support.

The global pandemic is not a conventional disease and Africa is not a conventional region, says Elizabeth Lule, the Manager of the bank’s African region AIDS programme.
She adds: “If you add to that the everyday reality that the national health systems are overwhelmed and that most government lack the fiscal space to cope with the often volatile and unpredictable funding of the programmes…. There is need for the bank’s continued active engagement in the region.”

Since the bank launched its emergency response, funding for the mitigation of the disease has grown dramatically from US$1.6 billion in 2001 to US$8.9 billion in 2007 mainly from the Global Fund to find AIDS, tuberculosis and Malaria and the US President’s Emergency Plan for the AIDS relief (PEPFAR).

“Nonetheless, financing gaps exits and estimates US$18 billion is required in 2007 alone mostly needed for sub-Sahara Africa,” says the statement.

By October 2007, the bank has provided US$1.5 billion for HIV and AIDS programmes in over 30 countries (Malawi inclusive) plus 29 multi-country programme for Africa (MAP) countries and 5 sub-regional projects to address cross-border issues. (The Guardian News Paper of December 08.07)
]]> Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:16:00 EST http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/307935 -15.7833333 35.0-15.783333335.0 http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/301859 The NEPAD school initiative was publicly launched in Durban at the Africa Summit of the World Economic. Forum on June 12, 2003 with the aim of imparting ICT skills to young Africans in primary and secondary schools as well as harness ICT technology to improve, enrich and expand education in African countries.
The NEPAD e-Schools initiative will over a 10 –years period develop all African primary and secondary schools so that they become NEPAD e-schools.
Deputy minister of Education , Science and Technology Olive Masanza said the ministry is not part of the NEPAD programme because of various problems but was quick to add that it was her ministry’s wish to catch up with NEPAD.
What the ministry has done, said Masanza, is to launch internet learning in 17 selected secondary schools.
The ministry has provided computers to such schools.
Minister of Information Patricia Kaliati said “Malawi cannot benefit from the ICT bodies because of the ICT policy.”
The country developed a National ICT for Development policy in 2006 but it is not yet implement.
“We are going to take it to the Cabinet. In fact, we are fighting against time. We cannot have ICT infrastructure without the policy in place,” Kaliati said,.
The countries invited to participate in the first phase of the NEPAD e-schools initiative are those which have acceded to the Memorandum of understanding of the NEPAD Africa Pear Review Mechanism (APRM).
These countries include Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameron, Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda.
According to NEPAD e-Schools initiative details, 600,000 schools will be involved.
The initiative seeks to provide ICT skills and knowledge to primary and secondary school students that will enable them to function in the emerging information society and knowledge economy.
It is also aims to provide teachers with ICT skills to enable them to use ICT tools to enhance teaching and learning. It also wants to provide schools managers with ICT skills so as to facilitate the efficient management and administration of the schools.
Before rolling out the initiative, NEPAD e-Africa Commission is conducting a demonstration in six Schools in each of the following participating countries: Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.
Each school in the demonstration project is equipped with a computer laboratory containing at least 20 PCs as well as server and net working Infrastructure and peripherals such as scanners, whiteboards and printers,
“The Implementation of the Demo in the rest of participating countries will be completed by December 2007,” details say.
According to NEPAD documents Implementation of all activities are expected to converge into large –scale roll out in 2007/2008.
]]> Tue, 04 Dec 2007 02:37:00 EST http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/301859 -15.7833333 35.0-15.783333335.0 http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/261415
We have seen that these people luck the most useful things for the human being to live. Though we don't have to give but with what we can manage to share we share it. We are planing to go further with our visits to various prisons across Malawi. Speaking on the prisoner who patronised during that day, "he said the time has gone where by the prionsers were being taken as slaves for the prisons" he said " We should see them as people who have changed their lives and we should include them as any people who can contribute to any development of the country". The greatest challenge which these are facing in these prisons is luck of proper care and medical support, he said people are dying in the prisons due to Tuberclosis and HIV/AIDS, since they don't that chance of aquiring proper medical attention when the fall sick. They aged people out there to support them in various ways they can afford. The director for New Hope youth Foundation "Kondwani Prince Thindwa who is the founder said, His organisation will continue assisting them with little thy have and aged the prisoners to refrain from bad behaviours when they got out from the prions. They need to work hard to earn their living and also they need to do little business when they got from the prison. Kondwani said he will tray to look for funds to help some of them especially the young one and women who have no help and those who are widows. He said he is going to establish a special revolving fund for the prisoners when they got out from the prisons so that they can do little business. I therefore asks you friends all over the world to help us with your kind heart so that we can help these people. Please contact u through nhyfondation@yahoo.ca for your support.

Kondwani prince Thindwa]]> Sat, 29 Sep 2007 12:56:00 EDT http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/261415 -15.7833333 35.0-15.783333335.0 http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/238217
But donors and other stakeholders saild while the five-year blue print has the capacity ro the Malawi out of poverty to prosperity, implemention remains the major challenge for the achievement of the achievemnet of the strategie’s objectives.

The MGDS- touted as a home grown stragy having been developed locally without donor influnce - suceeds paper the poverty Reduction strategy Paper which the Muthalika administration scrapped off lacking a business plan that recognises the private sector as the engine of ecomomic growth.

Speaking during the launch, Muthalika noited that the main objective of the MGDS is to attain an annual growth rate of at least six percent that experts say is ideal for a country like Malawi to meangfully reduce poverty.

“MGDS seeks to maintain a balance between economic and social sectors of the economy, by taking into consideration broad thematic areas such as sustainable economic growth; social development; social protection; infranstructure development and good governance.

“Its fundamental principle is to achieve poverty reduction through sustainable economic growth and development. Through this policy we are able to empower th epoor inour country to begin to benit from economic and social transformation,” said Muthalika.

The world Bank, Malawi’s key ally in the poverty fight, which represent the county’s development partners at the function, said now that government, it should concentrate on document, it should concetrate on implementation.

Speaking for the world Bank the Bretton Wood institution’s country economicst for Malawi, Khwima Nthera, also aurged the government to fare annual national budgets in line with the priorities the document has set.

“Malawians are aware of the progress made in the achievement of microeconomic stability and the potential gains that debt relief offers. The challenge noe is ensure that these translate into jobs, availability of clean water, effiecient and uninterrupted water supply, well- maintaijned roads, improved education and health services,” said Nthara.

Speaking on behalf of traditional leaders in the county, senior Chief Kaomba of Kasungu said traditonal leaders have hope in the MGDS because it strives to achieve the balsnce between investment in economic growth and the social sector.

“On our part, we shall lobby government to recallocate resources from non - priority areas such as general administration and economic services in our various communities.” said Kaomba.

He added: “Until such a time that the poorest of the poor in our villages can see a positive change in their lives, reducing poverty in our communities ramains an ending war. Our involvement in the fight, however, can made the difference,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the private sector, Press Corporation Limited group Matthews Chikaonda hailed the stragy as an important tool for transforming the country and hoped that it would be implemented. He also urged government to cost all the programmes fully so that projects have enough funds to drive this economic agenda.

Kondwani Thindwa.
]]> Tue, 31 Jul 2007 10:27:00 EDT http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/238217 -15.7833333 35.0-15.783333335.0 http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/163667
Kondwani Thindwa (Malawi)]]> Tue, 27 Feb 2007 05:03:00 EST http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/163667 -15.7833333 35.0-15.783333335.0 http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/163661
Posted by Kondwani Thindwa Malawi]]> Tue, 27 Feb 2007 03:32:00 EST http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/163661 -15.7833333 35.0-15.783333335.0 http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/35684 Thank you very Mr Kondwani Munthali, We are really proud of you for the effort of bringing Malawi to the back memories, Infact this is a very welcomed idea. Malawi National youth week will help us the youth to know each other and findout what other youth organisations are doing. This campaign will help us to share what we have and learn more from other groups. Its here where we'are going to bring and make atremandous change of our nation Malawi. We the youth for a very long time we have been looked as a source of problems and destroy the our nation in terms of bad behaviour, and the like. But I want to say the those are the things of the past. Today the youth wants to work with Governments institutions and NGO and private sectors. We want to make very much contribution in changing of our nation. We want to make things happend not by saying only but also doing the things. We want our governments to recognise the youth organisations and equip us with all the necessary materials to run business and youth led develoment. We want youth to creat job opportunities among the youth. All this can be possible if our leaders give us a chance to change things. We can make it we can change things. Be the Change is one of the programmes which is asking us to change things in our various areas and organisations. I see Malawi by 2015 as we approaching to the deadline of the Mellennium development goals being changed only if the Youth are given a chance to lead in various organisations including all governments institutions etc. My appeal to our leaders of today is please, please try us now and you will see how much we can deliver than, remember we're many which means nothing can be possible with us, Try try, try us you will see.

KONDWANI PRINCE THINDWA (NATIONAL DIRECTOR BE THE CHANGE Programme) Malawi representative to the world youth congress.

BE THE CHANGE PROGRAMME]]> Sun, 19 Feb 2006 05:13:00 EST http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/35684 -15.7833333 35.0-15.783333335.0 http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/30955
Most of Mothers who are breast feeding their children has theire milk dried up due to lack of food capable for milk production in human,There they stand with their little babies some of 3 months and some with little ones of about 2 weeks old there they stand, stand there on bare sun light with their children,their babies strapped to their backs with an old and torn cotton cloth in the traditional African way.

Occasionally a scuffle breaks out as some hungry person, accused of pushing in, is plucked from the queue by police officers.

These are Malawi's poorest people - unable to buy maize on the open market where prices have doubled in recent months. Stocks in the main government markets are diminishing fast, so they're starting to impose rations.

What is making matters worse is HIV/Aids. One in seven people in Malawi is affected and it is fuelling the problem of extreme hunger.

Money that households would normally spend on buying seed and fertiliser, is being spent on transporting the sick to hospital and buying basic medicine instead.

Malawians, particularly in the parched south of the country, are well used to hardship, but their ability to cope is being severely eroded.

Sixty thousand tonnes of maize is being brought in by the Malawian government. The aim is to distribute it in the coming months.

But it is only a stop-gap measure for the most vulnerable, and Malawi's ministers are reluctantly having to turn to the richer world for help.

The real challenge facing Malawi is how to replenish home-grown stocks.

Aid agencies are trying to distribute seed and fertiliser ahead of the planting season, which is approaching rapidly, but contributions to the UN's emergency relief fund have been miserably low.

Only $27m (£15m) out of the $88m (£50m) appealed for has been committed by the international community so far.

The frightening reality is that if no seeds are planted now, the squeeze on food supplies now could rapidly escalate into a major humanitarian crisis.

And hunger is already causing heartbreak. Admissions to specialist therapeutic feeding units, which nurse malnourished children back to health, are up a third on last year - and desperate people are being forced to take desperate measures.

In a small village in Mulanje district on a certain family of Berita Chimtengo. She is a mother mourning her son. That is in two weeks ago, her son Benito went out foraging for food. He brought home wild yams for the family to eat
What Benito didn't realise were that they were poisonous. The young man fell unconscious and very quickly died and 11 other members of his family, the majority of them young children, were violently sick.

Berita said that she is now terrified every time her children went out hunting for food, but what can you do she told me, when you simply don't have anything to eat.

In other surrounding villages there are families with similar stories to tell. And aid agencies fear that without massively increased help in the coming weeks, the tragedies these families have faced could be just the tip of the iceberg.









]]> Fri, 21 Oct 2005 09:16:00 EDT http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/30955 -15.7833333 35.0-15.783333335.0 http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/29566
To make things warse,everyday things are just going up in shops as well as in defferent areas.Yesterday Fuel prices has been adjusted,the bus faires has been aslo adjusted, People especially mothers with their babies at their back spend more than 7hours queing at the Admark only to get 25kg of maize to feed her family and in most cases at the end they went back home emptey handed without geting anything.This has resulted in most of the children being manolished due to luck of proper body building foods.

Malawi is one of the countries in list of debt relif if they filfil some of the measures put side inorder to get a debt relif, but we're saying the donors agents please help Malawi before things come to warse, We hope at UN summit of the world leaders in NYC soon they are going to include the issue of debt relif to all poor countries like Malawi.

Recently the state President Dr Bingu Wa Muthalika has just launched a campaign of feed the nation and 60million kwacha has reliased from the campaign, But up to now nothing being done and people in the villages are still waiting when the government is going to start distributing food to the people.Please the government do it fast before we start recording the number of death because of hunger and related deaths.

]]> Fri, 09 Sep 2005 15:39:00 EDT http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/29566 -15.7833333 35.0-15.783333335.0 http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/26901 This is Prince from malawi, the warm haert of Africa, Iam in scotland attending the world youth congress which started on the 30/7/05 and will end on the 8/08/05.

Well, I would to tell you what I ahave brought from my country Malawi. In my country we, the youth we're doing number of activities and one of them is mobilising the youth on the compaign against HIV/AIDs and importance primary education, we would like to establish a primary school for orphans which will be totaly managed by the youth with the help from the government and the donors.We have chosen education as one of the MDGs,We hope that if the youth is well equiped we can make the change and be the change not tomorrow but today.

I hope Iwill find funds for my project,with is this project I do hope that by 2015 more orphans will have completed the primary school educatiuon and know how to write. ]]> Mon, 01 Aug 2005 05:33:00 EDT http://princeko.tigblog.org/post/26901 -15.7833333 35.0-15.783333335.0