Children in Traditional Authority Kuluunda in Salima District will no longer learn under trees following plans to construct K321 million classroom blocks under the World Bank-funded Regional Climate Resilience Programme (RCRP-2) phase two project.
Under the same project, Salima District Council is also constructing houses for agriculture extension officers to the tune of K270 million at Chiluwa Extension Planning Area (EPA) in T/A Mwanza in the district.
Salima District Council chairperson Fazili Adam, speaking on Tuesday during the launch of the two construction projects at Chigolo Primary School, pledged transparency and accountability during implementation of the projects.
“We take it seriously and will ensure prudent use of resources on all projects launched under the project,” he said.
In his remarks, Salima Central East legislator Joel Chigona commended the World Bank’s project, saying it will help to uplift education standards in the district.
“Going forward, we do not have teachers’ houses here, so, we will tap resources from the Constituency Development Fund to build teachers’ houses,” he said.
Chigona, who is also Minister of Labour, Skills and Innovation, encouraged boys and girls to take advantage of the free primary and secondary education to go to school to become productive citizens.
T/A Kuulunda’s representative group village head (GVH) Chigolo said the school will encourage children to go to school instead of fishing in Lake Malawi.
He said: “Due to its proximity to the lake, many children in the area prefer fishing to school. This happens because of shortage of classrooms at Chisogolo Primary School.
“But with modern classrooms and more learning space, the children will be motivated to remain in school.”
GVH Saopampeni, who represented T/A Mwanza, said the EPA houses will motivate extension workers to continue supporting farmers in the area.
The project, among others, is supporting communities in adapting to the impacts of climate change by investing in resilient infrastructure such as classroom blocks, roads, health and sanitation facilities as well as installation of piped water.
