Tag Archives: Member of Parliament for Dedza East Juliana Lunguzi

Politics, Top News

Road to 2019; MCP sets aside MK150 million for voter registration exercise

Malawi News Agency (MANA)

The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has set aside MK150 million for different activities and logistical issues in preparation for the voters’ registration with the first phase running from 26 June to 9 July.

Speaking in Dedza during a training of party monitors, the deputy treasurer General for MCP, Rhino Chiphiko, said the money would help facilitate all the activities that the party has planned to ensure a smooth process throughout the registration period.

“As a party, we have made deliberate efforts towards voter civic education to inform Malawians so that we have a good number of eligible candidates to vote in the upcoming 2019 elections,” said Chiphiko.

He added that one of the activities is to train monitors in all the centers so that they ably monitor the process of registration in their areas.

In her remarks Member of Parliament for Dedza East, Juliana Lunguzi, encouraged the monitors to spread the messages in their various churches and homes to have a good turnout of registered voters.

Lunguzi however, made a call to all aspiring candidates to respect one another more especially women in order to ensure a good environment where everyone can compete without any challenges.

“We all need to level the ground for every candidate regardless of gender to have a free and fair election that will enable everyone have a chance, because politics is a competition only one can win,” said Lunguzi.

Dedza is one of the districts to be covered in the first phase of voter registration which also covers Mchinji, Salima and Kasungu, according to Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) calendar. M

Health, Malawi, Top News

Malawi Govt prefers national health insurance against users fees in public health facilities

Lloyd M’bwana

SALIMA-(MaraviPost)-Malawi’s health ministry says will go full throttle with national health insurance in all public health facilities for quality services.

This will throw away the much talked user fees whereby citizens are required to pay any services acquired in public health facilities.

The advocate of users fees see the strategy as the way of financing the public health services which has limited resources from the central government.

Dr. Andrew Likaka, Director for Quality Management in the Ministry of Health (MoH) told The Maravi Post over the weekend after two day media orientation in Salima on Decentralization, Maternal, Newborn Health and HIV/AIDS that government will role out national health insurance.

The training attracted journalists from electronic, print and online publication media houses.

Dr. Likkaka prefers the insurance against users fees saying the later is more feasible and friendly to the public than user fees.

With health insurance, he added that the public will get their value for their money by getting quality services in all public health facilities.

He therefore observed that despite public referral hospitals practicing user fees argued that the services offered are on personal demand that those cases that are referred from primary health facilities.

But Member of Parliament (MP) for Dedza East, Juliana Lunguzi insists on user fees in health facilities arguing that free health care is not a reality.

Lunguzi observed that a lot of hospitals people are already paying for the services.

Organisations advocating for the removal of hospital user fees say the proposal contradicts the Universal Health Coverage Policy which recommends that countries should reduce the burden on households when accessing health care.

As part of the ongoing reforms in the Ministry of Health, government in 2015 announced proposals to introduce user fees in district hospitals for those who want to receive special treatment.

The proposal was an option for those who can afford to pay.

There are great disparities in the provision of health services in the country a situation which is badly affecting the poor and most vulnerable in the communities.