APM commissions One Stop Centre

President Peter Mutharika on Thursday commissioned Mangochi One Stop Public Service Delivery Centre, also known as the Mlambe Centre, and promised more development projects in the district.

The Mlambe Centre brings together services of Malawi Posts Corporation (MPC), Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), the Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services, Department of Immigration and the Registrar General under one roof.

The President said the centre would ease life of Malawians in Mangochi and improve efficiency in public service delivery as people would spend less time accessing the services than before.

“Traditionally, the mlambe [baobab] tree is a symbol of togetherness. It is under the Mlambe tree where people gather to interact and in the same vein, the Mlambe Centre brings multiple services at one place to serve people better,” Mutharika said.

In his remarks, Mangochi Central legislator Clement Chiwaya (United Democratic Front) asked government to consider upgrading Mangochi to the status of a municipality, to which the President said he would consult with Cabinet and give feedback.

Mutharika said a similar structure has also been established in Lilongwe and that Blantyre and Mzimba would be next.

“These reforms will spread to all districts in the country. The Liwonde-Mangochi Road will be through by December and we will be constructing the Mangochi-Chilipa Road in phases until it connects to Balaka and Ntcheu.

“We are also going to construct the Mangochi-Makanjira Road and as I speak now, negotiations are underway with the Chinese Bank for us to get a concessional loan to fund the project,” he said.

The President said his government would have completed constructing a total of 510 kilometres of tarmac roads by 2019.