Bridge project excites Dowa farmers, learners

Farmers and learners in Traditional Authority Dzoole in Dowa District have commended the district council for constructing a bridge across Nkhanthwe River.

In an interview on Wednesday, a farmer Chifundo Mwale of Ngalawi Village, said it was difficult to cross the river to access markets, schools and hospitals in Mponela.

He said: “It was a tricky situation because you would want to go somewhere and sell your goods, access banks, schools and hospitals, but you could not because crossing the river during the rainy season was dangerous.”

Mwale said people were forced to use long routes which was expensive and time-consuming.

He, however, said the K27 million bridge constructed under the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (Gesd) has eased these challenges.

“The bridge has also improved business opportunities as farmers can easily sell their produce at Mponela at a higher price,” said Mwale.

Madalitso Charles from Binda Village, who sat for her 2024 Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education examination at Malambo Primary School, said the bridge has eased mobility challenges among children.

“The nearest school is Malambo, but we used to go to Tchawale which is far because of lack of a safe bridge. This affected performance as we used to reach school late and tired,” she said.

Dowa district director of public works Oscar Kumwenda said Gesd project is helping to improve service delivery in the district.

He said: “We are building schools, police units, market shelters, health facilities and bridges, among other infrastructure.

“We want to ensure that every project we deliver should be durable and of high quality,” he said.

Gesd is a performance-based grant funded by the World Bank.

The grant enables district councils to implement projects.