Chakwera hails Freddy survivors for relocating
President Lazarus Chakwera has applauded survivors of natural disasters in Nsanje District for showing determination and resilience by relocating from disaster-prone areas.
Speaking when he toured construction sites for Makhanga Primary and Makhanga Community Day Secondary schools in Senior Chief Mlolo in Nsanje yesterday, he also commended traditional leaders and the district council for facilitating the relocation.
“For Malawi to develop, we need to emulate the resilience and determination of people of this area who were affected by disasters but accepted to move out of the high-risk area and rebuild their lives,” said Chakwera.
Nsanje is one of the areas affected by flooding caused by Cyclone Freddy which killed 679 of nearly 2.2 million affected people across the Southern Region.
In an interview yesterday, Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) spokesperson Chipiliro Khamula said about 20 000 households have been relocated from disaster-prone areas since 2019. He said they include 8 000 households affected by Cyclone Freddy in March 2023.
He said most of the households are in Nsanje where people were relocated from Makhanga to Osiyana under Senior Chief Mlolo while in Chikwawa, people moved from Kanseche Village to New Kanseche Village.
“People have now realised the advantage of relocating because some of the relocations that have been implemented, for example in Chikwawa, were initiated by the households themselves,” said Khamula.
Phalombe district commissioner Douglas Moffat in a separate interview said more than 300 households moved from disaster areas in the district and the council has constructed 55 houses for the survivors.
“Others are living with their relatives in safe areas at Mauzi, Phwelemwe and Nkhulambe so there is still a need for more resources for construction of houses,” he said.
However, there have been cases of reluctance to relocate, notably in Blantyre where Soche Hill residents are yet to relocate to Mapanga Township.
Blantyre City Council chief executive officer Dennis Chinseu said last month that the council might use force and declare disaster-prone sites no-go zones if households refuse to relocate.
During the President’s tour yesterday, Commissioner for Dodma Charles Kalemba said the relocation of the communities will help the government save resources used in managing post-disaster response.
Yesterday, President Chakwera also inaugurated Osiyana Health Centre in Nsanje which was completed in 2020 and toured Makhwira Health Centre in Chikwawa.
