Pothole-riddled and maintenance-starved roads in most parts of the country have forced Minibus Owners Association of Malawi (Moam) to raise fares to compensate for enhanced wear and tear to their vehicles.
In an interview yesterday, Moam general secretary Coaxley Kamange said the conditions of most roads in the country have worsened since the onset of the 2024/25 rainy season, leading to frequent motor vehicle breakdowns.
He said: “The poor road status has not only affected us as operators, but also passengers because we resorted to raise fares to compensate for the vehicle maintenance cost.”
The upward adjustment in minibus fares comes against the background of a Malawi Engineering Institution (MEI) assessment last April calling for action from duty-bearers to ensure roads are safe to users.
MEI further asked the Roads Authority (RA) to implement an emergency road maintenance programme to ensure the safety of all road users.
But spot-checks in some parts of the country found that some of the major roads are still impassable.
The pothole infested roads include the M1 between Blantyre and Lilongwe, especially the section between Ntcheu and Nanjiri in Lilongwe. The Lakeshore Road, also known as the M5, forced this journalist to drive for about 14 hours from Mzuzu to Blantyre on Saturday, a distance of about 590 kilometres. From Blantyre to Mzuzu via M1, a longer route, took about 10 hours.
On the M5, sections between Dwambazi and Ngala as well as Dwangwa and Denga in NKhotakota have deep potholes while the section between Pengapenga and Mwala Oyera in Ntcheu is impassable due to a wash away.
Other roads not passable include Chapananga in Chikwawa after Chapananga Bridge’s back filling was washed away by Cyclone Ana in 2021. The Golomoti-Monkey Bay Road is not spared as the section between Phanga and Chantulo is completely cut-off.
Others are between Balaka to Liwonde, Thabwa-Fatima, Bolero-Nyika- Nthalire and Lirangwe-Chingale-Machinga Roads.
When contacted yesterday, MEI president Ronald Gundamtengo said his organisation was yet to get feedback from the duty-bearers on the statement the institution issued last year.
He said the status of most roads in the country continue to worsen despite reminders to government to prioritise road maintenance.
Said Gundamtengo: “It’s still a concern that most of the roads are in bad shape. There are so many roads up there in the north. There are so many roads in the south, and if we are to list the, I think we can have a long list.
“So we will make sure that everyone doing anything to do with engineering work should belong to the institution so that they should have the mandate to police, investigate or advise how these things are supposed to be done for proper management.”
In a separate interview, RA board chairperson Matilda Matabwa said the authority sympathises with Malawians on the poor state of the country’s roads.
She said RA is trying to fix some of the roads, but lack of funding is a key challenge.
“We have contracts waiting to be awarded, but we have done everything on ground and once we are assured of funding, we will be able to roll out these contracts on most of our roads in need of maintenance,” said Matabwa.
Budget allocations to road projects have in recent years faced challenges with the Ministry of Transport and Public Works indicating that the 2023-24 budget had a K126 billion for the rehabilitation of roads, largely due to economic shocks such as kwacha devaluation and forex scarcity.
Briefing a parliamentary committee last year, Ministry of Transport and Public Works Principal Secretary Madalo Nyambose said the economic challenges affected the availability of funds for road construction projects, with many contractors seeking adjustments to their contracts due to the devaluation.
In response to the challenges, the Parliamentary Committee on Transport and Public Infrastructures vowed to engage the Treasury for additional financing.
