Africa-Press – Malawi. Communities in the Eastern Region have expressed concerns over the state of the Chingeni-Balaka-Liwonde-Zomba Road which apparently was neglected by the previous Peter Arthur Mutharika administration.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) under the Mutharika administration left out the road when it was constructing the Liwonde- Mangochi Road that leads to PAGE House, which belongs to Mutharika.
The administration also instead constructed a tarmac road to another obscure area Khwisa where Mutharika’s wife, Gertrude, comes from while the important M5 road remained in bad shape.
The communities have since appealed to the Ministry of Transport and Public Works to consider prioritizing the rehabilitation of the road. Operating under the banner of Advocacy For Eastern Region Development Forum (AFERD), the communities say they are worried about the condition of the road.
“Our concern has been raised, in response to the recent announcement by the National Roads Authority, that it will soon commence the rehabilitation of the M1 road in particular Balaka – Zalewa.
“We, the citizens of eastern region, feel sidelined in regard to the state of the Chingeni – Balaka – Liwonde Zomba Road. The situation has been fueled by the missing out of this M5 road, from the 2021 – 2022 financial year budget,” reads part of a letter the leader of the organization Madalitso Banda has written to the Principal Secretary for Transport and Public Works.
Banda claims his organization is a community led initiative, that operates as a bridge between the duty bearers and citizenry by ensuring that equal proportion of annual financial budget is divided equally per region, in a transparency, accountable, and responsive manner in accordance with community developmental needs.
Banda says the road in question poses a serious threat to human life as it is full of potholes. Banda and his group claim they wrote the Minister of Transport and Public Works Jacob Hara, pleading with the incumbent government to rehabilitate the road.
However, spokesperson for the ministry Kelvin Sato disclosed that the minister is yet to receive the letter. President Lazarus Chakwera has always assured that his administration will ensure equal distribution of resources and development projects, including roads.
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