The rehabilitation of the M5 was one of the hottest topics that various speakers touched during President Lazarus Chakwera’s campaign trail of Nkhotakota District on Wednesday.
Traditional leaders and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) parliamentary aspirants spoke about the importance of rehabilitating the lakeshore road, which is in bad shape.
At Dwambazi Trading Centre, where Chakwera started his whistle-stop tour of the lakeshore district, Nkhotakota Dwambazi Constituency aspiring parliamentarian Dorothy Chikonje said people of Dwambazi were grateful for government’s plan to rehabilitate the M5.
Speaking at Liwaladzi Trading Centre, Nkhotakota Liwaladzi Constituency shadow member of Parliament Overstone Kondowe said the M5 was a death trap and thanked the President for acting on the promises he made regarding the road.
In his remarks, Senior Chief Kanyenda, who spoke at Dwangwa Trading Centre, said the ongoing works on the M5 showed that the Chakwera administration has the welfare of people of Nkhotakota at heart.
“This is an important road for the Malawian economy despite having been neglected in the past. Therefore, this road is a new dawn of hope for improved trade in the district,” he said.
Minister of Information and Digitalisation Moses Kunkuyu said government was constructing crucial infrastructure, including rehabilitation of the M5.
In response, the President said his government embarked on the rehabilitation of the lakeshore road to ease mobility along the lakeshore corridor.
He stressed the need to revive rail and water transport along the lakeshore corridor, which connects many trade routes to neighbouring Mozambique and Tanzania to the Indian Ocean.
“I have seen how bad the road is and I can assure you that my government is rehabilitating one of the most vital roads that were neglected for many years, despite being an important part of the country’s road network.”
