Once upon a time, goods would get into Malawi from either Mozambique or Tanzania through Lake Malawi at Chipoka inland port in Salima and by road or rail into Blantyre, Lilongwe or Mzuzu cities.

Today that is history. The road network, the rail network and the lake services are no longer as vibrant while the socio-economic status of the people and their nation is also plummeting.

In this feature, Eamon Piringu follows how policies and administrative decisions have cost Malawi in millions, leaving key infrastructure along the lake Malawi underutilized, and rumbling down while opportunities for trade, transport and economic growth untapped.

Eamon takes us to Chipoka where an in-land port that eased haulage of international goods and service now lies in pathetic ruins.

Land disputes and family-related conflicts are the most common forms of conflict in Nkhotakota District, largely due to limited knowledge of legal frameworks and peaceful dispute resolution mechanisms, a magistrate has said.

Pupils at Mwalawathonga Primary School in Traditional Authority Mazengera, Lilongwe, today joined community leaders and development partners in a reforestation drive aimed at restoring degraded land and shielding vulnerable communities from worsening climate shocks.

Lilongwe City Council has blamed poor and unplanned drainage systems for worsening flooding in the capital after heavy overnight rains triggered flash floods that destroyed homes and property in Chinsapo, under Traditional Authorities Malili and M’bwatalika.