Chitipa projects under scrutiny

Chitipa District lies at the tip of northern Malawi, connecting it to Zambia and Tanzania.

It is one of the trade routes for Malawi.

It is not surprising that three years ago, Traditional Authority (TA) Mwaulambya of Chitipa District asked President Lazarus Chakwera to construct the 32-kilometre (km) Chitipa-Mbilima Border Road to spur economic growth.

“There is one President; let him rule the country. We are also asking for consideration, in terms of the construction of the Chitipa-Mbilima Border Road; it is our lifeline. We know you are a pragmatic leader and you will do it,” he said when Chakwera held a development rally at Chitipa Airfield on April 27, 2022.

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While the road stagnated, despite being flagged as a priority by previous administrations, Chakwera—speaking in Parliament on February 14, 2025—said his government has, so far, done 18 percent of the road.

“Then there is the Chitipa-Ilomba Road, whose construction is at 18 percent…” said Chakwera in his State of the National Address (Sona) delivered to Parliament.

Despite the slow pace, our visit to the site showed that pavement works have started on the road. The 18km stretch still awaits a tarmac.

“…the 260km Rumphi-Nyika- Chitipa Road, whose construction I found stagnated when I visited, is now back on track,” he went on.

Indeed, construction has resumed, starting with the 20km section from Chikwawa to Bembe in Rumphi District.

Irrigation and agriculture investment

On the agriculture front, Chakwera said his government, through the Programme for Rural Irrigation Development (Pride), has invested about K6.1 billion in food production.

This, according to the President, has been implemented through irrigation schemes constructed in areas under senior chiefs Mwenewenya and Mwaulambya in the Northern Region district.

The projects—namely Mafinga Irrigation Scheme in TA Mwenewenya and Marko Irrigation Scheme in the area of TA Mwaulambya—are, indeed, operational.

The two schemes—Mafinga under Chisenga Extension Planning Area (EPA) and Marko Irrigation Scheme under Lufita EPA—have a combined 237 hectares, benefitting over 1,260 farmers.

Assistant Agriculture Extension Development Officer for Chisenga EPA, Tawonga Mkandawire, said farmers at the scheme have also benefitted from the National Economic Empowerment Fund (Neef)’s agriculture loans after receiving fertiliser and seeds.

This is in line with what Chakwera stated in his Sona, to the effect that the government has provided about K949 million loans to people, reaching out to about 1, 205 Chitipa farmers.

One of the 250 farmers at Mafinga Mattias Kanyika said since 2023, when the scheme was opened, the living standards of many farmers in the area has improved.

“This is May, but when you check in the fields, they are green. This means irrigation is beneficial as we are able to grow maize, Irish potatoes and beans thrice a year,” he said.

The two schemes are under Karonga Agriculture Division (ADD), which has 21,400 hectares of irrigable land for Chitipa and Karonga, out of which only 3,000 hectares have been developed.

The government has also constructed an office for Agriculture Extension Development officers at Kameme Trading Centre in the district with funding from Government to Enable Service Delivery (Gesd) at a cost of K93 million.

Previously, extension workers operated from a small, single window and mud constructed office, a development that was affecting extension services.

Kameme Zone Agriculture Extension Development Officer Maligzani Chiselu said they had no place where they could put agriculture inputs to support farming in the area.

Kameme has a population of about 32,000 people, with about 8,000 active farmers, cultivating maize, rice, sunflower, beans, soya, livestock, among others.

“The government, through Gesd, has constructed for us a modern office which is yet to be handed over for use. It has facilities such as a conference room, stores, big offices, kitchen, among others. This will greatly improve our work in the district,” he said.

However, more funding is required to connect the office to electricity and secure furniture.

Electricity access expands

The Sona also highlighted that the government has brought electricity to 171 centres and connected 2,054 houses through Malawi Rural Electrification Project (Marep) and Malawi Electricity Access Project (Meap) projects.

One notable success is Ibungulira Trading Centre, a remote area near the Zambian border.

Noel Simkonda, who owns a shop at Ibungulira Trading Centre, said he will now be able to procure a fridge, enabling him to sell cold drinks.

He added that the electricity would transform the centre into a town.

“It was also a challenge for women to mill maize. They were using old methods of milling maize because we had no electricity. Now we have seen that people have already started constructing and installing maize, mills which is good for us,” he said.

At Chitipa Boma, its main street now wears solar powered lights.

Health sector progress

In the Sona, Chakwera said his administration has constructed four health posts, namely Muzimero, Sokola, Titi and Kavomero.

“But there is also a health promotion side to human capital development, which is why we have given the people of Chitipa four new health posts, namely Muzimero, Sokola, Titi and Kavomero, while at the same time rehabilitating two old ones, namely Ifumbo, Kameme and Chitipa District Hospital,” he said

However, the fact of the matter is that the government just handed over the sites to contractors and works are yet to commence.

We visited some of the sites and found that work was in progress at Kameme Health Centre in Chitipa North.

Kameme Health Centre is now one of the big facilities in Chitipa District following two key buildings that have been erected at the facility.

The facility, which has a catchment population of 30, 020 and delivers about five babies per day, now has a dedicated children’s building, where all children’s health-related cases are taken care of.

There is also an expanded Out-patients Department (OPD) building.

The facility’s in-charge Abraham Mwaya said they used to test malaria only but that they can now do blood count, HIV, tuberculosis testing.

They also have a fridge for storing samples, with everything pertaining to immunisation being done at the hospital.

“We did not have a room for short stay. When we had a patient who required hospitalisation, they went to the district hospital, which is far. Now, following the expansion that has happened here, we have two rooms,” he said.

Now that the hospital, which was rehabilitated under the Hospital Rehabilitation Fund, has expanded, it would require more furniture, ambulance and more health workers as, currently, it has one doctor and three nurses, officials said.

Margaret Simkonda, who had visited the facility with her two-year-old baby, commended the government for expanding the hospital, saying services had improved.

Infrastructure and sports

The Boma also has a 15,000-capacity stadium, ready for use, built at a cost of K720 million using Gesd resources.

Chitipa District Council Director of Public Works, Misheck Gondwe, said the stadium includes terraces, a VIP area, offices and ablution blocks.

“People here never expected that we would complete the stadium in time. Soon, the stadium will start hosting Super League games, which would be an income-generation source for our council. Teams like Chitipa United will also save money when playing here,” he said.

Gondwe said the government is also constructing a bus depot, replete with shops, using District Development Fund allocations to ensure that sanity prevails at the Boma.

Education sector boost

On the education front, Chakwera stated in his Sona that his administration had, in four years, constructed five CDSSs in the district.

The CDSSs are found at Chuba, Namapasa, Namasasa, Karopa and Ngoya.

“These schools are in addition to the seven primary school blocks and 26 secondary school blocks we have built to improve enrolment figures in the district,” Chakwera said.

At Namasasa CDSS, which was opened in December 2023 through a Malawi-United States partnership, 14-year-old Ester Simkoko hailed its proximity but requested that electricity and girls’ hostels be provided to them, too.

At Namatuwi CDSS, the government has constructed a 52- bed capacity hostel, which has eased the struggle girls were facing to access education services at the facility.

Deputy head teacher for the school, Ezekiah Mbotwa, said attendance and performance of students were poised to change for the better.

“The students are now able to wake up at night and study,” he said.

However, the students, while commending the government, asked for access to water in the hostel as they rely on a borehole.

They also requested for another hostel considering that the population at the school is growing, now at 250 (students).

Security

“Beyond this, Madam Speaker, we have given the people of

Chitipa other infrastructure development [projects], including the Meru

Garison, where we have constructed 100 housing units,” said Chakwera in his February address.

The houses are still under construction, according to Gondwe, the district’s senior buildings engineer and what we saw.

Projects in the pipeline include Thelere Teacher Development Centre, a fence for the council, market shade at Kapirinkhonde and Chatu Primary School classroom block, among others.

Chitipa residents continue to count promises against progress.