By Bernard Mhone:
President Lazarus Chakwera, who is also the leader of the governing Malawi Congress Party (MCP), has assured people of Nkhata Bay District that he will, if voted into power on September 16 this year, construct a new jetty.
Chakwera questioned standards of the current jetty, saying there was a need for a new one, like the Likoma jetty—which is under construction.
He said the jetty was key to the improvement of water transport on Lake Malawi.
The Malawi leader made the remarks on yesterday when he conducted whistlestop tours of six sites in Nkhata Bay, where he was accompanied by his running mate Vitumbiko Mumba, who is also Industry and Trade Minister.
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“We need to have a proper and trusted mode of transport on Lake Malawi. You can see how Nkhata Bay jetty was constructed; very substandard, such that it is not durable at all. We want to construct a modern one, like what we are constructing at Likoma, so that people should be operating freely on the lake, a development which will boost business activity,” Chakwera said.
The jetty was commissioned in 2018 with the assurance that it would be in operation for over 20 years.
The President also hinted at projects that would be implemented in Nkhata Bay, citing a factory that would be processing cassava for value addition.
He said, if voted into power, his administration would also enhance rice farming and fishing for people to have enough carbohydrates and proteins.
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On his part, Mumba said the government had delayed to construct Orton Chirwa International Airport and Orton Chirwa Mausoleum due to natural disasters such as cyclones and cholera in the past four years.
“These have been tough years for Chakwera because four years were full of natural disasters and the resources were used for [procuring] food and medicine instead of implementing development projects but we will honour Orton Chirwa because he was the founder of MCP. Construction projects will resume,” Mumba said.
Chakwera held whistle stop tours at Tukombo, Kande, Chintheche, Nkhata Bay Boma, Mpamba and Kawalazi in the district.
