UNIMA SHARES DEVELOPMENT PLANS WITH ZOMBA CEOS

UNIMA management held its first-ever interface meeting with Zomba CEOs on 30th June, 2021 at Nalipiri Eco Lodge in Mulanje. Present at the meeting were the District Commissioner for Zomba, the Commissioner of Police for the Eastern Region, the Director of Physical Planning for the Eastern Region, members of the Education and Development Committee for Zomba City Assembly and other members in leadership positions in Zomba. In his presentation, the Acting Principal of the University of Malawi, Prof. Samson Sajidu informed the CEOs that UNIMA had delinked and explained what delinking entailed. He also briefed them on the reforms that the university is going through and then shared the vision of the reformed UNIMA. He further highlighted that the university has been intensively undertaking some reforms in the area of infrastructure development and ICT in order to enhance efficiency, save costs, and make use of data for seamless decision making. Investment in ICT has been in both infrastructure development and in human resource capacity building which is necessary for in-house developed systems. The Acting Principal also shared other development plans such as the construction of a new administration block under Public Sector Investment Plan (PSIP) and the building complex for teaching, which is under Skills for Vibrant Economy (SAVE) project. The master plan and the strategic plan for the university were also shared with the attendees of the meeting. During the presentation, the Acting Principal also emphasized on the contribution that UNIMA students make to the economy of Zomba City. He also took the opportunity to inquire from the city officials whether there were plans to modernise the city in order to make it consistent with the view that Zomba is a university city.

In response, the representative from Zomba City Assembly expressed his gratitude to the Acting Principal for posing a question which would be integral in informing the Assembly’s development plans for the city. On his part, the District Commissioner for Zomba, Mr. Smart Gwedemula, praised the university management team for arranging the meeting. He added that it was very informative in many respects and that the information about the history of the university, the process of delinking and the direction that the university was taking, was very useful. On behalf of Zomba CEOs, the 

DC pledged support to the university and called upon all stakeholders to work hand in hand to develop the university and Zomba City. The CEOs guided the university management team on a number of issues for the benefit of UNIMA students and Malawians.

In her closing remarks, the Acting Vice Principal, Dr. Mervis Kamanga thanked all the CEOs for the input they made on the university master plan and the strategic plan. She highlighted that the CEOs are welcome anytime to share, with management, any ideas on how to improve the university. She further asked the CEOs not to hesitate in pointing out anything going wrong at the university.