Chiefs want to meet APM over ‘Chingale Road’
Chiefs who have for a long time complained about the delay in construction of the Lirangwe-Chingale-Machinga Road have resolved to meet President Peter Mutharika on the issue.
The chiefs made the decision to meet the President during an interface meeting organised by the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) at Chingale in Zomba on Wednesday.
The meeting sought to map the way forward on the construction of the long awaited road.
Senior Chief Mlumbe of Zomba said the chiefs, who come from Blantyre, Zomba and Machinga districts as well as their subjects, feel cheated and betrayed by the many unfulfilled promises government has been making.
On April 28 2015, Minister of Transport and Public Works Francis Kasaila promised that road construction would begin within 90 days.
Mlumbe said the residents of the three districts are surprised at government’s silence on the materialisation of the “90 days” pledge and the whereabouts of a concessional loan government signed with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Development in November 2013.
He said: “We have had plenty assurances from ministers, but now time is ripe for us to meet with the President to address our grievances as the previous promises are unfulfilled.”
CCJP diocesan director under the Zomba Research and Development Department (Zardd), Raphael Yusuf, described the situation as pathetic and called on government to walk its talks on the construction of the road.
Former president Joyce Banda launched the construction of the 62-kilometre road in April 2014. The project was expected to be completed within four years.
