Likoma Island: Likoma District will soon have its first-ever mortuary, courtesy of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) that has enabled the construction of the facility.
The development excited many islanders who said they will now accord decent burial to their loved ones.
For many years, the lack of a mortuary in the district, forced families to swiftly process the burial arrangements for fear of the dead bodies to decompose before burial.
Member of Parliament (MP) for the area George Kamwanja, said the mortuary construction was one of the priority projects in the district.
“It was my wish that in my five-year term I should see the mortuary constructed; and that’s why in the previous (CDF), I made the mortuary project a ‘number one’ priority.
“Our dead need decent burial,” Kamwanja said.
Traditional Authority (TA) Mkumpha III, commended Government for introducing the CDF; they said the people are happy when they see tangible development taking place in the district.
“We have cried for a mortuary for a very long time. Our beloved dead were not respected. Due to high temperature, we just rushed to bury the dead.
“Now families can plan burials properly, after the completion of this project. As a custodian of the people on the two islands (Likoma and Chizumulu), I am very happy with the development,” T/A Mkumpha said.
The cold-room for the mortuary was donated by Anadkat Foundation, with help from pathologist Professor George Liomba, who hails from Likoma Island.