Untarmarc road from Chiringa in Phalombe that connects to Muloza in Mulanje in dreadful state

Sukasanje community members rejoice with Minister Matola after commissioning Muloza Hydro Power Station

* Also leads to newly-commissioned Muloza Hydro Power Station privately managed by Cedar Energy

* A 30-minute drive stretch of the road takes over an hour to negotiate various compromised rocky spots and broken bridges

* A diversion before Sukasanje community that hosts Muloza Hydro Power Station is close to 3km

Analysis by Duncan Mlanjira

At the official commissioning of a 3.4 megawatts (MW) Muloza Hydro Power Station in Mulanje by Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM), Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola impressed on the sorrounding community members that graced the occasion that they should own the facility which is set to change their economic livelihood.

The plant, owned by private investor Cedar Energy, already employs locals who are trained in various skills and that the energy to be generated into ESCOM grid shall benefit them in various economic activities that include household electricity, maize mills, their healthcare centre, amongst others.

The 3.4MW plant is set to cater for over 2,800 rural households in Phalombe, Mulanje and Thyolo — including these districts’ estates, businesses and residential premises to tea growing and manufacturers.

Matola also appealed to the locals, led by their Traditional Authority (TA) Mjema, to also take care of the Mulanje Mountan environment that supplies Muloza River in order to sustain the investment.

The hydro station is using Muloza River from Mulanje Mountain by diverting water by gravity through a pipeline that passes into the generation machines and back into the river — thus needing to be guarded against degradation to sustain the flow of water.

Cedar Energy technical director, William Stein, told the Minister Matola that the company consulted and engaged the local community in the environmental impact assessment — including T/A Mjema right from the onset.

However, the government needs to seriously consider that the dirt road leading to this area up to Muloza in Mulanje, needs to be upgraded to bitumen status — or at least be graded from its dreadful state as it awaits the continuation of rehabilitating it into tarmac.

The stretch from Chiringa in Phalombe where the tarmac ends is about a 30-minute drive but it takes over an hour for a high-rise 4by4 vehicle as many parts are heavily compromised with jugging rocks while many of its bridges are falling apart.

A diversion before Sukasanje community that hosts the Muloza Hydro Power Station goes down into the community for close to a kilometre and goes back up for the main road for another kilometre or so because a bridge on that stretch has completely fallen apart.

The alternative for Muloza Hydro Power Station to reach Blantyre is through Muloza border town but that stretch too is also falling apart, especially its bridges on some rivers from Mulanje Mountain.

The delegation of journalists that covered the Hydro Power Station commissioning were incredulous of such a state of the road asking the million dollar question — how are expectant mothers who are due transported to the health centres for delivery?

Others hinted that with the state of the road, an expectant mother who is due would definitely be forced to deliver in the vehicle before reaching the health centre destination at Chiringa — if there is one that is.

As the Minister promised the communities that developments like the hydro station bring economic benefits, the company of journalists were on the opinion that a decent road has huge economic effects as evidenced by the tarmac road from Chiradzulu to Phalombe.

Along this route, there are many new structures that include appealing shops, filling stations and attractive households that add some tourist attraction all the way to Phalombe and Mulanje with its great and famous mountain looking as majestic as it is renowned of the world over.

In 2020, when the Ministry of Youth & Sports commissioned the  ground breaking for the construction state-of-the-art community vocational training colleges in Neno, its District Council deputy chairperson, Councillor Mark Ngwangwa appealed to the then Minister Ulemu Msungama, that he should relay to the authorities the need to upgrade dirt stretch of the road to the Boma that was in total disrepair in order to match with the beauty of the structure the area will be provided with.

The 42km stretch was then tarred half way from the junction along the road to Mwanza and it took up to close to one and a half hours mostly because of the bad state of the dirt stretch.

This reporter — who had travelled there to cover the event — is yet to confirm if the tarmac has reached the Boma but then transportation was a huge challenge as the few buses that were available, operating according to schedule of twice a day with the alternative mode of travel are bicycle taxis (kabaza), were at a staggering fare cost of K4,000 from the junction along the Mwanza Road.

Councillor Ngwangwa had said the people face deep challenges during rainy seasons to transport their farm produce as the dusty party of the road becomes impassable — thus making the humble appeal if the road could be tarred up to the Boma.

“This technical centre is not only going to offer special entrepreneurship skills to our youths but will also beautify our area as we have seen from the pictures presented by the contractor,” he had said.