Ntchisi Children’s Parliament alleges abuse of bursary fund at the Council
The Ntchisi Children’s Parliament has accused the District Social Welfare Office of practicing favouritism and engaging in corruption practices in the identification of beneficiaries of the Constituency Developent Fund (CDF) Bursary Scheme.
Speaker of the children’s parley, Holiness Kalimbira, has since appealed to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and governance institutions to institute investigations into the matter.
Kalimbira made the sentiments in an interview during their August session, which took place at Ntchisi Boma from August 22-23, 2024.
During the session, the child parliamentarians raised serious concerns on how the District Social Welfare Office is executing its duties, lamenting their resources meant for the needy and underprivileged children are not trickling down to the intended beneficiaries.
“Bursary resources are not given support. Instead, they take students who come from the rich families. So, many needy children are dropping out of school because the office is not assisting them,” she said.
Holiness asked organizations to intervene.
Speaking on behalf of the Parliamentary Committee on Community Development and Social Welfare, Member of Parliament (MP) for Nkhotakota North East, Overstone Kondowe, expressed the government’s commitment to addressing challenges that children face in Malawi.
Kondowe disclosed that children account for over half the population in Malawi and continue to face various challenges to develop into responsible..
“Although children do not cast a vote in elections, it is right to have them foremost in our considerations on nation-building. This is no less because children are themselves the future of our nation. Even so, it must never be imagined that children do not have ideas of the kind of future they envision for themselves and their country. In fact, if anyone was in any doubt about their clarity on this, my discussion with them today should serve as a cure for that doubt. I have not merely participated in today’s discussion but will also learn a great deal from it,” he said.
“So, to all the children in this room and around the country, I welcome your ideas, and I look forward to more of them. In honor of the contributions you make to the welfare of Malawi, I would like to tell you some of the things your legislators and government are doing to serve you:
1. First, we have finished harmonizing all laws related to children.
2.Second, we are implementing the National Children’s Policy, which is helping to ensure that all services and resources for children in Malawi are coordinated.
3. Third, we have passed the National Children’s Commission law to oversee all issues relating to children and ensure accountability on the same at all levels.
4. Fourth, we are giving a lion’s share of our resources to sectors that deal with issues of children, such as Education, seeHealth, Nutrition, and Early Childhood Development, with support from Development Partners and the World Bank.
5. Fifth, as you can see from this event, we are increasing children’s engagement with decision making processes and offices at various levels, including the children’s parliament, for which we have set aside resources to roll out at district level.
6.Sixth, we are lobbying for increased number of the Child Protection workers across the country.
7.Seventh, we are preparing for the mass birth/child registration exercise, so that we close the gap in registration of children below age 16, which stands at 8.4 million. This registration database will ensure that children are protected from child labour, child trafficking, child marriage and other forms of child rights violations,” said Kondowe.
However, Kondowe asked NGOs and other stakeholders to continue collaborating with the government in promoting the rights of children.
“We cannot do this alone. All parents, teachers, guardians, and communities have to do their part to ensure that our children grow up in an environment that allows and supports them to become great citizens,” he said, further challenging the children to do their best at all times.
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