The Chingale road, a crucial 39-mile stretch connecting Lirangwe, Chingale, and Machinga, has been a topic of discussion for years. Despite its importance, the road’s construction has faced numerous delays.
Completion was initially 2018, but no funding has come through until this year.
In an interview on Monday, a concerned citizen and business person from Chingale, John Thondolo said while they hail government for allocating resources and kicking off the construction works of the road, progress has been slow.
He said: “That is why as concerned citizens of Chingale we ask government to speed up the construction works because the road is impassable. Bridges are all broken, the road is in terrible state and unusable making the Chingale area cut out from economic activities.”
In 2014, former President Joyce Banda launched the construction project, allocating $19.6 million for the work.
However, the project stalled, and in 2018, President Peter Mutharika relaunched the initiative.
The Malawi Economic Justice Network questioned the relaunch, calling it a “waste of public money”.
Fast-forward to 2023, Finance Minister Sosten Gwengwe announced that construction works were at 53 percent completion but on the ground, very little was being done.
This year, Transport and Public Works Minister Jacob Hara assured the community that things were shaping up, but community members, including Thondolo remained skeptical.
“The community’s hope for a timely completion had dwindled due to the prolonged delays on the project,” said Thondolo.
Despite these challenges, community leaders like Deputy Minister of Agriculture Benedicto Chambo have been urging residents to take ownership of development projects to ensure sustainability.
As the community awaits tangible progress, the completion of the Lirangwe-Chingale-Machinga road is expected to open up the transport corridor to tourist destinations along Lake Malawi’s western shores thereby boosting economic activity in the region
