By Alick Mhango
KARONGA: People surrounding Njakwa-Livingstonia-Chitimba road have complained about the delays in construction of the said road citing that their businesses are highly being affected during rainy season when it comes to the issue of transportation of goods to the market.
The government of Malawi through its August House in March 2015 launched a construction project of Njakwa-Livingstonia-Chitimba road a development which brought smile to many of Rumphi residents particularly in the north constituency of the district.
But since then, the construction project which was given to Mota Engil Company Limited does not show any light of hope to the people of the northern district that the road will soon be constructed.
The delay has therefore made them speculate that the project was meant to be used as a campaign tool for the 2019 general elections by the incumbent ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as the terrain remains rugged and difficult to pass.
Speaking in an interview with Maravipost, Mavuto Gondwe a minibus driver for the said route who had his vehicle stuck at Chivwanyuma with passengers on board from Rumphi town to Phoka complained about the challenge they are facing in their daily transportation activities.
He said, “Rainy season is here again. The time we always dance to its tune. Instead of making profits, the road is helping us incur losses due to high fuel consumption when our vehicles get stuck on mud.”
Although about a year has elapsed without any indication of the construction project, Member of Parliament responsible for the constituency Jappie Mhango said that people in the district should expect more development projects in the near future.
During the interview, Jappie Mhango was quoted saying, “The Company, Mota Engil has already constructed a camp at Livingstonia where they will be operating from. This is a sign that the construction has begun.”
In his eulogy,Mhango said “over 50 years have passed different regimes have failed to construct this long-awaited road. The Whites, Malawi Congress Party (MCP), United Democratic Front (UDF) and the People’s Party (PP) eras all failed to put tar mark on this road. It’s only the DPP government that has managed to do so.”
Public Relations Officer of the Mota Engil and a Media Consultant, Thomas Chafunya confirmed the construction of the camp at Livingstonia ready to start a three year construction work
“Yes, we have constructed our camp at Livingstonia where we will be operating from and we have started deploying construction machines to the site.”
In a quest to seek for concrete information from the Malawi Roads Authority on the reason behind the delay of the project, the spokesperson responsible, Portia Kajanga asked for more time to comment on the matter.
The construction of the long neglected 80km Njakwa-Livingstonia-Chitimba Road which will be pre-financed by Mota-Engil to the tune of $80 million will be constructed in three year according to previous report by the Minister of Transport and Public Works Francis Kasaila.
