A larger stretch of the M1 Road, which at all cost is supposed to be in good condition, is a death trap.
How we reached this point, where we ignored this important road for decades, is difficult to comprehend.
It is not like the numerous potholes you see on this road just sprouted out of nowhere yesterday; they have been developing gradually.
And authorities have been watching the problem grow.
I doubt if there is any other country with its main highway being in a condition like our M1. But then, it is not very strange for Malawi to have an important public structure in that dilapidated condition.
Right now, there is no tangible progress on rehabilitating the road a year after President Lazarus Chakwera officially inaugurated the works.
The inauguration came after years of cries by motorists that the overused road was posing risks to them. In fact, there are accidents that have occurred on the M1 which have been attributed to the poor condition of the road.
When the President described the road as a backbone of the country’s road infrastructure and that it was long overdue, the feeling among Malawians was that within a year, long stretches would be dressed with fresh tarmac.
“It connects us to our shared development, it connects us to the beauty of our shared environment and it connects us to the power of our shared culture and to the prosperity of our shared markets,” Chakwera said.
He then wondered why previous governments had not prioritised the road despite development partners willing to fund the project.
“For far too long, governments in this country have been preoccupied with things that divide us rather than unite us.
“It is evidence that for far too long, governments in this country have been preoccupied with things that enable a few to prosper than things that enable Malawians to prosper together,” he lamented.
It is not clear whether the President has recently used the road to appreciate that the potholes that were there when he inaugurated the project have grown bigger and that in some stretches, motorists are completely avoiding the road.
If government was really serious about rehabilitating this important road, we would by now be seeing some sections wearing tarmac.
Reports indicate that some of the most important developments, which are supposed to be done before a project of this nature kicks off, such as compensating people who will be affected, were not done in time.
One wonders whether authorities are not aware of such requirements.
Of course, there are also conspiracy theories that politicians want to use the road project as a campaign asset ahead of the 2025 elections.
But whatever is happening, there is no single inch of tarmac a year after President Chakwera inaugurated the 301-kilometre works.
It appears even the small rehabilitations that usually happen on the road, such as filling up the potholes, have been suspended because there is a bigger project which would ultimately address the problem.
It is depressing that the M1, the country’s most important road, remains in a condition that is so embarrassing.
Our leaders must for once be serious about the development and outlook of this country.
Some visitors who have travelled on our M1 Road have gone back home with very bad reviews of its condition.
Well, we cannot blame them for wondering how poor we are, because we have never been to any war which we could say with the courage of our convictions derailed our development progress.
In fact, there are many public structures which visitors have access to which should not be standing in this day and age.
Just look at what we call our international airports. There is nothing international about them and we were supposed to be very embarrassed that those are the major points that visitors go through when entering or leaving the country.
The main problem in Malawi is that we postpone development too often.
For instance, what exactly is this country’s development agenda? What does the Tonse Alliance want its legacy to be?
Malawians were looking forward to a transformed country after years of wretchedness. It seems not much is going to happen from this government.
But at least if rehabilitation of the M1 happened in time, perhaps we would forget most of this government’s failings.
That road is a highway to this country’s future and should have been prioritised from way back.
