By Aliko Munde:
President Lazarus Chakwera has acknowledged that government is partly to blame for delays in upgrading the Chitipa-Ilomba Road, which connects Malawi and Tanzania.
Chakwera said this in Chitipa District Tuesday when he inspected the 31-kilometre road’s construction site.
“Some people were claiming that there is no progress on the road; however, such is not the case. Yes, the project has delayed and we acknowledge that government has partly contributed to that [but there is progress being made],” Chakwera said.
He asked contractors to follow international standards, promising to inspect the K34 billion project again in the near future.
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Roads Authority Chief Executive Officer, engineer Ammiel Champiti, said the Chitipa-Ilomba Road has been designed according to international standards to withstand heavy goods.
Champiti said contractors have committed to start working on the road, such that they are hopeful that works would be completed soon.
“Physical progress is currently at 8.82 percent against 82 percent of time elapsed. Progress has been delayed by a number of challenges including abnormal rainfall, shortage and erratic fuel supply,” he said.
Member of Parliament for Chitipa East Kezzie Msukwa, who spoke on behalf of lawmakers in the district, said the government needed to put more pressure on the contractors.
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Msukwa said the road is not progressing as contractors are idle.
“We need this road to be completed according to plan. This is one of the important roads in Chitipa in particular and the country as a whole,” he said.
One of the contractors, Patrick Chibvundiko Gondwe, assured the President that they would work hard to speed up upgrading of the road.
The project is divided into three lots; with the first one being given to Victory Vision, Sitbec and Goka joint venture, the second one to Hema and Deca Construction Companies while the third lot is in the hands of Tahit and Chibvundiko Construction companies.
Chitipa-Ilomba Road, which passes through Chitipa North, takes cross-border traders to Tunduma, a town in Tanzania.
On the same day, Chakwera inspected Meru Garrison security houses in Chitipa District.—Mana
