Lilongwe journalists drilled in land issues

Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development on Friday sensitised Lilongwe-based journalists to land issues, including the four Land Bills Parliament recently passed. The Bills are Land Bill, Customary Land Bill, Land Survey Bill, and Physical Planning Bill.

Speaking during the workshop that took place in Salima, Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Atupele Muluzi said journalists are crucial because they help in interpretation of various government policies.

He said his ministry organised the workshop to help the media understand land governance issues so that they can easily and effectively report on the same.

Muluzi said: “The public relies on the media as a source of information. Therefore, if the media is not conversant with some issues such as land-related bills, it means the public will be given wrong information.

“Therefore, the ministry organised this workshop so that journalists should understand the four Land Bills which Parliament passed recently.”

He said he is hopeful that the journalists, who attended the workshop, will use the knowledge to write stories that will help the public understand what the land-related Bills are all about.

Bwaila Media Club (BMC) chairperson Peter Makawa, who works for Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) in Lilongwe, said lack of understanding of the land-related Bills was a challenge among some journalists.

He thanked the ministry for the workshop, describing it as timely.

“The workshop has come at a right time as people are looking forward to how the Bills will change land governance so that the Malawian citizen becomes a winner. This training workshop has opened our eyes as journalists on issues about land, hence we promise to write better stories about land Bills,” said Makawa.

Principal Secretary in the ministry, Ivy Luhanga, said the ministry will continue working closely with journalists to ensure that there is continuous flow of information about land issues.

“This is just the beginning. We realise the importance of such meetings, hence we will continue working closely with the journalists,” she said.