Chitipa people demand road rehab, network
People in Traditional Authority Nthengatenga in Chitipa have asked authorities in the district to rehabilitate the 47-kilometre Mpata-Kopakopa-Mahowe Road to help groundnut farmers access markets.
They said this on Tuesday during a learning visit Karonga Diocese of the Catholic Church organised for Chitipa, Karonga and Rumphi district commissioners.
Group village head Kopakopa said they produce a lot of groundnuts, but their setback is poor road network to better markets.
He said: “As such, unscrupulous vendors take advantage of the situation to buy the groundnuts at low prices.
“Again, there is no mobile network in the area which compromises communication.”
One of the farmers, Geoffrey Kayira said besides groundnuts, people also produce maize and beans.
In response, Chitipa District Council director of planning and development Jossen Tembo said at the moment, their focus is on Chitipa-Nthalire-Rumphi Road.
He said: “While we appreciate the traditional leader’s plea, our focus is to lobby for the rehabilitation of the Chitipa-Nthalire-Rumphi Road to ease mobility challenges for referrals from Nthalire, Wenya and Mahowe health centres while unlocking markets for farm produce.
“On the mobile network concerns, let me assure the community that we are in talks with TNM plc who are willing to erect a tower at Mahowe to enhance communication.”
On his part, Karonga Diocese Caritus director Mwabi Shaba described the meeting as fruitful, saying it provided a platform for the three councils to see the church’s project successes and gaps and provide guidance on how to make it more effective.
With funds from the United States-based Cross Catholic Outreach, the Diocese is implementing a Community Transformation Programme in its three catchment districts of Rumphi, Karonga and Chitipa.
