Africa-Press – Malawi. Minister of Transport and Public Works Jacob Hara has said heavy rains that the country is receiving are delaying rehabilitation works of roads. But a transparency and accountability analyst has faulted Hara for putting the blame on rains.
Hara said Wednesday during a press briefing in Lilongwe that government is implementing 24 road projects across the country. He was giving an update on the rehabilitation of the M1 Road, among others.
“Government has 24 on-going road and bridge construction and or rehabilitation projects across the country. They are at various levels of implementation but they have stalled due to heavy rains,” the minister said.
The construction works of the M1 Road, according to Hara, are expected to start after the current rainy season and will stretch from Lumbadzi to Mzimba turn-off. He said while construction of some roads has stalled, works on bridges continues as “the strength of the bridges depends on the amount of water”.
Hara further disclosed that there are 21 road construction and rehabilitation projects in the pipeline and that eight of these projects are close to the level of awarding of constructs while 13 are at the feasibility study level.
Reacting to Hara’s update, Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency Executive Director Willy Kambwandira accused the minister of being inconsistent in his sentiments.
“We find the minister’s excuses on delays for commencement of construction works on the M1 not to be true. The minister is on record to have told Malawians that the environmental and social management plan for the project was yet to be approved.
“His blame on heavy downpours does not make sense either. It is clear that the launch of the project was rushed without due consideration of the technical implications including resources to pay contractors,” Kambwandira said.
The Malawi Government and the European Union signed a deal for the rehabilitation of about 315 kilometres of the single-lane carriageway with no changes to the existing alignment.
The 10-Year Implementation Plan of Malawi 2063—a long-term national multi-sectoral vision of Malawi for the period 2020-2063—and the Comprehensive Medium Term Implementation Framework (2020-25) of the National Transport Master Plan guide the Ministry of Transport and Public Works on prioritisation of interventions in the transport and buildings sector.
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