* Construction to start in April
* First phrase a distance of 10kms
* People were about to demonstrate over its delay
By Patrick Ndawala, MANA
Construction of the long awaited tarmac road from Nsanama to the border town of Nayuchi is expected to start in April this year after government has set aside K5.3 billion in the current national budget for the first phrase.
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Deputy Minister of Transport and Public Works, Nancy Ndooko, said on Saturday in Nayuchi in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Mchinguza in Machinga that the first phrase of the 45km stretch will cover a distance of 10km to be completed in nine months.
She assured people of the constituency that government will ensure that money for the other phases will be available.
She advised the people to be patient after reports that the communities had planned to demonstrate over government’s delay to construct this road, saying the process involved in the construction of roads takes time.
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“I know that you have waited for so long but give us time to do good work,” she said. “We don’t want to construct a substandard road.
“We already have the money but we are just waiting for the rains to ease because we want to construct a road that can last.”
Both Paramount Chief Kawinga and T/A Mchinguza commended government for showing interest to start constructing the road, with T/A Mchinguza saying they have put on hold the planned demonstrations since the process has commenced.
“We had been promised by the previous governments to construct a tarmac road and people were not happy with the unfulfilled promises,” T/A Mchinguza said.
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On his part Paramount Chief Kawinga said once the road is constructed, it will enhance revenue collection for government and allow people of Nayuchi to access multiple markets.
She further asked government to complete constructing houses for chiefs as many of them are staying in dilapidated homes.
Member of Parliament for Machinga East, Esther Jolobala said she has been asking government through Parliament to allocate money for the construction of the road and having done her part, it is time for the government to fulfil its obligation.
She said she had wished the Nacala road corridor should have followed the Nacala railway corridor to pass through Nayuchi Village for easy access by the larger communities along the railway line.
