Tag Archives: Center for Democracy and Economic Initiatives (CDEDI)

Environment, Malawi

Gangata, Mbilizi storm PressCane facility over improper waste disposal

Lloyd M’bwana

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-Natural Resources Minister Alfred Gangata alongside counterpart Agriculture Minister Roza Mbilizi on Monday, January 26, 2026 stormed PressCane Limited facility in Chikwawa in bid to address communities concerns over improper waste disposal.

The visit comes barely days after the country’s civil rights group Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) exposed the company’s environmental mismanagement.

The joint inspection was accompanied by Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS), National Water Resources Authority (NWRA) and Malawi Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA).

After the visit, both Gangata and Mbilizi warned that government will enforce waste management laws against Presscane Limited following revelations of poor raw effluent disposal at the company’s ethanol production facility in Chikwawa District.

“As government, we will use waste management laws. Raw effluent management here is very poor and it is affecting crops, the environment and even people’s health,” said Mbilizi.

Gangata also observed that Presscane Limited failed to address concerns raised by regulators during earlier inspections.

MEPA’s Environment, Information and Education Manager, Aubren Chirwa said the company has committed multiple violations under the Environmental Management Act.

He added that Presscane will be fined for some of the violations, while others will be decided after consultations with the Ministry of Natural Resources and NWRA, noting that it is premature to state whether the company’s licence will be revoked.

Presscane Limited Chief Executive Officer, Bryson Mkhomaanthu said one of their ponds burst following heavy rains on Tuesday last week but the company moved in quickly with their equipment to stop leakage and mitigate the effects.

Obituaries, Politics

CDEDI demands fresh inquiry on Chikangawa MDF plane crash before perpetrators’ arrests

Shaffie A Mtambo

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s civil rights group Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has formally called on President Arthur Peter Mutharika to take decisive action on the June 10, 2024 Malawi Defence Force (MDF) plane crash at Chikangawa in Nkhata Bay, demanding a fresh inquest into the tragic incident.

Addressing the news conference on Tuesday, January 2026 CDEDI executive director Sylvester Namiwa disclosed the grouping has written Mutharika urging him to act on recommendations earlier presented by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Charles Mhango, shortly after assuming office.

Namiwa in the red addressing the news conference

The organisation wants a renewed and independent probe into the circumstances surrounding the crash of the Dornier 228 aircraft (MAF-TO3), which claimed the lives of nine people, including the Vice President, a former First Lady, senior government officials and members of the MDF and Malawi Police Service.

CDEDI argues that Malawians voted President Mutharika into office with the hope that his administration would help the nation find closure by uncovering the truth behind what it describes as the country’s most devastating aircraft accident.

According to the organisation, the commission of inquiry appointed by former president Lazarus Chakwera failed to provide satisfactory answers and was widely rejected by the public, with some viewing it as an attempt to conceal the truth.

The pressure group says families and friends of the victims, both locally and abroad, continue to suffer unresolved pain, which can only be healed by a comprehensive, credible and transparent report that fully accounts for events before, during and after the crash.

CDEDI maintains that only such a process can provide genuine closure and restore public trust.
The organisation further notes growing calls in some quarters for criminal investigations, alleging that the then Malawi Congress Party (MCP) led administration attempted to force acceptance of what critics termed a “sham” report.

Among the concerns raised is the claim that former president Chakwera reportedly learned of the crash from a neighbouring head of state minutes after it occurred, rather than from officials within his own government and that there was a 12-hour delay before an official announcement was made to the nation.

CDEDI says experts have suggested that any fresh probe should begin with examining the final communication between the pilot, the late Flora Selemani and a senior officer at Zomba Airbase.

It also questions several public statements made during the search and rescue phase, including updates from the former army chief and appeals by the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority, describing them as potentially criminal in nature.

The organisation has also raised concern over the suspension of search efforts in the evening, alleged obstruction of access to the crash site and unresolved technical questions from aircraft experts in Germany, including reports that the plane made a 360 degree turn before crashing.

CDEDI says a forensic audit should have followed the expert report to clarify these issues and determine who authorised the use of an aircraft that was later described as a flight risk.

While acknowledging President Mutharika’s earlier assurance that the Justice Minister was reviewing the rejected report, CDEDI says public patience is wearing thin as days have turned into weeks without concrete action.

Human Rights, Malawi

Long queues return at Malawi Immigration Offices: CDEDI demands answers

MaraviPost

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Long queues have resurfaced at immigration offices across Malawi, sparking frustration among passport applicants and raising questions about what is behind the delays.

At key regional offices, particularly in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu, people are spending long hours in some cases arriving before dawn just to secure a spot in line. Some have reported returning for several days without being served.

“It’s very frustrating,” said Mphatso Banda, a university student from Blantyre who has been trying to renew her passport for over a week.

“You come as early as 4 a.m. and still find a line stretching beyond the gate. The officers say there is a system issue or no booklets. We deserve better.”

Meanwhile, Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 penned Homeland Security Minister Ezekiel Ching’oma demanding answers on the matter.

“In exercise of our governance watchdog role, and as a mouthpiece of the voiceless, CDEDI, write you Sir, with reference to the above stated subject matter. Hon. Minister, recently, you were quoted in the local media touting the procurement of a new passport supplier, thereby raising hopes that the unwarranted passport crisis would come to an end.


“However, CDEDI would like to put it you Hon. Minister, that for the past two weeks, the Immigration Department has not been issuing passports to the
citizenry, contrary to their legal mandate”, reads CDEDI letter in part signed by its Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa.

Namiwa adds, “CDEDI would like to benefit from the Access to Information (ATI) Act, which will in turn help passport seekers, in particular, and Malawians in general, to exercise their right to know the developments that are happening at the department.


CDEDI therefore, requests Ching’oma explanation to justify the current crisis in passport issuance, tell the nation when exactly issuance of passports will resume, explain to the nation how the current supplier was identified.

“Needless to remind you sir, that you are serving in a public office that isordinarily expected to be held accountable to the general public”, Namiwa reminds Ching’oma.

In the past two years, the Department had launched an online application portal to ease congestion, but many users complain the platform is unreliable, often crashing mid-process or failing to issue confirmations.

Meanwhile, immigration authorities say they are working round the clock to clear the backlog and restore normalcy.

As the queues persist, citizens are left with no option but to endure the long wait a test of patience for those chasing travel deadlines and economic opportunities beyond the country’s borders.