Madame Mutharika Says New Roundabouts To Beautify LL City, Appeal For Care Of Environment

The First Lady of the Republic of Malawi, Madame Gertrude Mutharika says the capital city, Lilongwe, will soon wear a new beautiful look with two roundabouts under construction near Parliament building and Capital Hotel.

Beautify Malawi (BEAM) Trust has embarked on the project of constructing two state of art roundabouts in the city and more other such roundabouts will be constructed in all cities across the country.

LL City Mayor Commends DAPP TTC For Cross-border Education Tour Programme

Mayor Chaponders posing with DAPP students 

Students will travel by buses 

Lilongwe City Mayor, has commended DAPP Malawi Teacher Training College (DAPP TTC) for being the first teacher school in the country embarking cross-border education tour programme for its students.

His Worship, Willie Chapondera made the remarks in Lilongwe on Friday at a send off ceremony of Mzimba DAPP TTC students who are among a total of 354 first year students from four DAPP TTC’s who are on their three months education tour to some African Countries.

The first year students from all four DAPP TTC compasses are now spread across the country visiting various districts for three weeks beginning 1st March this year, and will leave the country in two weeks time for Zambia, Botswana and return through Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Chapondera

Speaking to Mzimba students who are visiting Lilongwe and other districts, His Worship Chapondera said he was pleased to note that DAPP TTC has included international field trips for the students.

"Education tours like this one are very important and must be encouraged because they assist learners come into direct contact with a different environment or even a new culture or language.” He said

He mentioned that educational trips stimulate learning beyond what textbooks can provide to the learning environment and has also encouraged the traveling students to make the most of the trip as well as carry Malawi flag wherever they go.

“It is very encouraging that DAPP is taking these students to various countries. We know that these students will gain a lot of knowledge within this three months period because they will be sharing experiences with other students as well as observing and learning about other things also" Said Chapondera later in an interview

Nozipho

Partnership Officer for DAPP Malawi, Nozipho Mguquka, said DAPP introduced this tour programe in 2013 as part of the first year students training called Crossing the Rubicon. She emphasized that these tours are very important because students are offered opportunity not only just to travel to Southern African countries but as well learn different things including on economic development, traditions, education, political systems and the basic facts about the countries.

“At DAPP Teachers Training College we appreciate the importance of educational tours and this is why we always make sure that we organize tours to other countries in order to give our students exposure.” said Mguquka

Some of the students meeting with Mayor 

Mguquka said these tours are helping in academic performance of students and that through experiences and knowledge learn from such trips some who completed their studies at DAPP have introduced various initiatives including adult literacy education to rural communities they are working as primary schools teachers.

Among others, she also indicated that the 354 students will travel by buses and will visit historical sites, learn about countries they are visiting and share experiences with other schools.

DAPP Malawi has four primary school Teacher Training Colleges; Amalika, Chilangoma, Dowa and Mzimba.

President Mutharika Transforms State House Streets: Plants Royal Palm Trees As BEAM, LL City Council Joins Him In Planting Palm Trees Along Presidential Road

• President Peter Mutharika lead state house residents and staff in planting royal palm trees along all streets in the compound
• He then went outside the compound to launch BEAM Trust and Lilongwe City Council project of planting palm trees along presidential road 
• Lilongwe City Mayor, Willie Chapondera welcomes the palm tree project with excitement 

One of the Palm Tree planted by
President Mutharika
along Presidential road

The Malawi State House will have a new face, full of Royal Palm trees along all sides of streets located in the compound as President Peter Mutharika and the First Lady, Madam Gertrude Mutharika leadtate House staff and residents in plan''''ting the trees on Saturday afternoon.

Then after, the first citizen together with first lady, went outside the main gate of state House to commission planting of palm trees along Presidential way, starting from the gate to parliament building, a project jointly being done by Beautify Malawi Trust (BEAM Trust) and the Lilongwe City Council.

Madame Mutharika in summer hat

President Mutharika told the media after commissioning the BEAM Trust and Lilongwe City Council project that him as first citizen was in this exercise walking the talk that everyone should take initiative in planting as many trees as possible during this rainy season.

“My house is right here at the State House, so I felt the need to plant these palm trees from State House and pass the gate all the way to the Parliament so that there will be beautiful trees along the whole road to parliament. This is also part of beautifying Malawi.” Said President Mutharika

He then encouraged all Malawians to plant trees of any type this season and as many as they can.

“If you have a little space, plant a tree there. This will beautify our country as well the planted trees will help to attract rains. So, where ever you are, whether you have a little space, plant any type of tree.”

The Malawi leader, officially launched this years’ National Forestry Season at Masasa Primary School ground in Ntcheu on January 18th, 2016.

This Satuarday, Mutharika expressed his desire for the country to reach to a record of 60 percent and above of the survival of the trees being planted this season against previous records of 50 percent and below. He said he wants to see over one million trees surviving from this tree planting season and he therefore encouraged Malawians that when they plant trees this season they must take good care of them including watering them throughout the year to maximize survival of the tree seedlings. 

Mayamiko Mwinjiro

BEAM Trust Chairperson, Mayamiko Mwinjiro, said in an interview that the joint project with Lilongwe City Council of planting palm trees along Presidential road was one of many projects that BEAM is going to undertake throughout the year in beautifying the Capital City.

 “We are planting palm trees from State House gate all the way to Parliament building and this is just a first phase because we want to do this in several areas within the city of Lilongwe.”

Mwinjiro hinted that the next phase will see BEAM Trust planting palm trees along Kamuzu International Airport road from the junction of M1 road and then transform some of the roundabouts to a completely new face.

“We are going to plant palm trees from M1 Junction all the way to the airport. This is just begging of things, I think in the next three to four weeks we are also going to see roundabout at Capital Hotel being transformed into a complete new roundabout. It will have a certain Malawian theme to it, but it will be very different

When we are done with that one, we are going to move on to Parliament roundabout as well to have it a completely new face so that at least Lilongwe should look different. We plan that, when we reach December 2016 the capital city should be seen as capital city of Malawi” he explains

Mwinjiro also assured that “something” will be done to beautify other three cities of Mzuzu, Blantyre and Zomba. He also added that this year BEAM Trust will be “ambitious beyond the way” it were, last year because it plans to plant beyond 20 thousand trees surpassing last year’s target of planting about 6 thousand trees.

Mayor Willie Chapondera 

Lilongwe City Mayor, Willie Chapondera said he was delighted that the President and BEAM Trust decided to plant palm trees not only from the State House compound but along the presidential way. 

“It is very important because in one way or the other the road will look smart. In some other places that I visited I have seen highways with palm trees, looks good and smart. And what the president has done is a history” said Chapondera

He said the city council has been involved in digging holes and that the project will involve a total of 1500 palm trees.