By Kalikene Msukwa
RUMPHI-(MaraviPost)-People who travel between Rumphi to Chitipa through Nthalire have demanded an apology from President Lazarus Chakwera’s Tonse government for lying to the nation that the Nyika Chitipa road is at 20% completion.
The demand comes following Finance Minister Sosten Gwengwe in his maiden budget statement in parliament in which he claimed that the 2021/2022 budget achieved several infrastructure projects that includes Nyika-Chitipa road which has a 20% completion.
One of the Nthalire residents, Chimwemwe Nephous Mtambo wondered as to why the minister could lie without meticulous verification that the road far much any level of completion as construction has not started.
“It is really sad that in Minister preparation of the speech thought of including the Nthalire road as having benefited from the previous budget when it did not.The road construction of the road has not yet started.
Nthalire residents are currently organizing themselves to go on the street to demand for the commencement of the construction of the road as the Chakwera administration promised to construct the road.we therefore demand an apology for lying to us that the road is at 20% completion ,” sounded anger Mtambo.
The Chakwera Tonse government in its 2020-2021 fiscal budget had put about MK5 billion to start construction of the road from Bolero to Nyika turn off but nothing started.
When asked, Roads Authority (RA) spokesperson Portia Kajanga said the road construction of Nyika Chitipa road has not yet started.
The authority says is currently outsourcing the services of the engineer to come up with a design to the road.
President Chakwera is caught lying to the nation when falsely claimed that Tonse alliance has created close to a million jobs in 2021 through his State of National Address (SONA) .
