Women in the country have been urged to develop a culture of saving money during the year 2020 for them to be economically independent in their families.

The call has been made on Thursday by a Village Savings and Loans (VSL) group known as Tiyanjane from Phulusa village in the area of Traditional Authority Mlumbe in Zomba district, when the group members shared money amounting to K2, 510, 800 which they have been saving in the year 2019.

The group’s chairperson, Patricia Gomani, said the idea to form the group  came in 2016 after women from the area realized that the tendency of depending on men as the only bread winners, was not helping to cutter all the daily needs of their families.

Gomani said: “As women we have been facing many challenges to the extent that we could not even get simple things because every time were relying on our husbands to provide us and this challenge led us to borrow a leaf from our fellow women from different areas hence establishing this village bank.”

She further encouraged more women to join the village banks in their respective areas in order to promote their lives and that of their families economically.

Community Development Assistant in the office of Zomba District Commissioner, who oversees the area of sub Traditional Authority Nkapita, Mphatso Kanyenyewu, who was also the guest of honor during the event, said when the families are empowered economically, this also contributes to the entire country’s development.

However, he bemoaned the tendency of men who are shunning away from such groupings and he referred to Tiyanjane group which out of 37 members only one is a male.

During the sharing, the highest earner received K140, 000.