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Parliament has passed four bills aimed at shaping the country’s financial and economic landscape.

They include Bill No. 13 of 2025: Appropriation which allows government to use a budget of K8.08 trillion to fund essential goods and services for the upcoming financial year, spanning from 1^st April 2025 to 31^st March 2026.

Another Supplementary Appropriation Bill No. 14 of 2025 allows government to spend an additional K500.66 Billion to fund goods and services for the current financial year ending March 31, 2025.

The Value Added Tax (Amendment): Bill No. 12 of 2025, was also passed, which seeks to amend the Value Added Tax Act to exempt bread from value-added tax.

This amendment aims to provide relief to consumers and make basic necessities more affordable.

Lastly, Bill No. 11 of 2025: Taxation (Amendment) was also passed, which aims to amend the Taxation Act to standardize the tax rate for all corporations

The passage of the four bills follows parliament’s approval of the 2025/2026 National Budget on Wednesday

Police has arrested Grant Mpasu for allegedly cutting and stealing oxygen gas supplying pipes and electricity wires at Bwaila District Hospital’s labour ward worth 2.8 million kwacha

The suspect’s actions on 21^st March are said to have cut oxygen supply for patients and caused machine malfunctioning in the operating theater at labour ward

In the nursery as well also known as kangaroo section oxygen concentrators and other equipment stopped functioning which resulted into deaths of seven premature babies before the system could be restored using other alternatives

Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) has embarked on a series of public inquiries to gather testimonies for assessing challenges people face in accessing justice and establish inefficiencies in the country’s judicial system.

Speaking in Mzimba during an inquiry, MHRC Commissioner, Tereza Ndanga, said the investigation was prompted by mounting public concerns on justice-related issues.

Ndanga said in October 2024, they noticed an influx of complaints on social media regarding access to justice, corruption in the judiciary and delays in delivering justice.

According to Ndanga they also received a letter from Parliament requesting an investigation into those concerns.

She cited key challenges including long distances to courts, high legal fees and prolonged adjournments.

The MHRC Commissioner said those factors, disproportionately affect rural communities and those who cannot afford legal representation.

She stated that the commission will consolidate findings from all inquiry sessions and submit recommendations to judiciary for appropriate actions.

Speaking on behalf of Paramount Chief M’mbelwa, Traditional Authority Kampingo Sibande, echoed the concerns adding that geographic and systemic inefficiencies contribute to delayed justice.

He said many cases remain unresolved because courts are located far from communities, transport costs are high, waiting time, overwhelming workload for magistrates leads to case backlogs discourage people from pursuing justice.

Earthquake has killed over 1000 people in Myanmar and Thailand

Nearly 2,376 injured in Myanmar– the country’s military government has said in a statement on Saturday.

In the Thai capital Bangkok about 10 more deaths have been confirmed.

Myanmar’s military said infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and buildings were affected, leading to casualties and injuries among civilians.

The quake struck Myanmar in afternoon on Friday and rescuers in Bangkok have laboured through the night searching for workers trapped when a 30-storey skyscraper under construction collapsed

Ministry of Higher Education has mandated National Council for Higher Education NCHE to audit all universities and colleges in order to flash out fake degrees and certificates

The Ministry says those include certificates obtained through deception claiming to be legitimate academic qualifications, issued by institutions that are not recognized, accredited or verifiable by NCHE and honorary doctorate degrees or professorships

Minister responsible Dr Jessie Kabwira says those counterfeit credentials are a threat to integrity of education as they undermine value of legitimate qualifications, deceive employers and put individuals or society at risk

United Nations says resumption of Israeli war in Gaza has displaced 142,000 people in a mere seven days, warning of dwindling stocks of humanitarian aid.

Spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pointed out that about 90 percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced at least once between the start of war on October 7 and January this year.

Stephane Dujarric
said the space available for families is “shrinking,” adding that displacement orders currently cover some 17 percent of Gaza.

He said with each wave of displacement, thousands of people “lose shelter, access to essentials such as food, drinking water and health care,”

Dujarric says “relentless bombardments and daily displacement orders” coupled with blocks on aid “are having a devastating impact on the entire population of more than two million people.

Muslim Association of Malawi MAM has conveyed sincere condolence following the passing of one of the country’s renowned sheikh, Muhammad Kamwendo

Sheikh Kamwendo has died in the wee hours of Thursday at Limbe Muslim Jamaat hospital after battling with diabetes

Until his death Sheikh Kamwendo was serving at Bilal Darul- Uloom madras in Blantyre and was also a valued contributor to Radio Islam programs.

In an interview with Radio Islam MAM spokesperson Sheikh Chabulika said the Muslim community has lost a very important figure who was very humble and dedicated to the religion

His body has been laid to rest in the afternoon at Kanjedza cemetery in Limbe.

Islamic Information Bureau IIB has conducted iftar for 250 reverts across all its 5 bureaus in the country.

According to IIB national coordinator Abdul Hameed Chibwe the aim of the program was to offer support to those seeking knowledge about Islam while fostering a sense of belonging.

Chibwe stressed importance of the initiative in facilitating co-existence between Muslims and people of other religions.

He said IIB is committed to sharing authentic knowledge of Islam in a bid to clear misconceptions about the religion.

National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) has issued a strong warning to Malawians, clarifying that receiving an honorary degree does not automatically qualify an individual for the title of “Professor” or “Doctor.”

In a statement NCHE has emphasized that honorary degrees are purely symbolic recognitions and do not hold the same academic weight as a PhD or a Professorship.

The council noted an increasing trend where individuals who have been conferred honorary degrees begin to use academic titles without completing the rigorous scholarly processes required for those qualifications.

NCHE cautioned institutions against misleading the public by allowing honorary degree recipients to assume academic titles.

The council has urged all stakeholders to hold hands in upholding integrity and dignity of higher education in the country.

Concerned Citizens of Malawi has demanded attorney general, Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda to cancel government’s decision to award a $29.9 million (K52 billion) passport printing to Madras Security Printers Private Limited of India.

According to a statement signed by their leaders Edward Kambanje and Oliver Nakoma the contract lacks accountability as Public Procurement and Disposal Authority PPDA, Attorney General’s office and Anti-corruption Bureau are failing to confirm proper oversight.

Kambanje and Nakoma say that if not urgently reconsidered, Malawi risks wasting billions of kwacha, compromising national security and further eroding public trust in government institutions.

They say by awarding the contract to Madras Security Printers, Malawi risks repeating the same mistakes this time with a company that has an even worse track record of failures and scandals.

In February 2024, the $60.8 million passport printing contract with Techno Brain system mysteriously crashed but President Lazarus Chakwera attributing it to an alleged cyber attack by “digital mercenaries” demanding ransom.