Council relocates school project over land dispute
Land disputes have forced Nsanje District Council to relocate Mpatsa Primary School project from Traditional Authority (T/A) Tengani to T/A Mlolo in the district.
Muona Primary School will now benefit instead of Mpatsa Primary School which was completely destroyed by Cyclone Freddy in 2023.

in Nsanje. | Robert Nayeja, Mana
Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) commissioner Charles Kalemba said the project has been shifted to Muona because communities in T/A Tengani were demanding K120 million in compensation for land meant for the construction of the school at Mpatsa.
He said: “The Presidential Charity Initiative was not meant for compensation. So, there was no money for compensation.
“The commission is not violating any right for children at Mpatsa, it is their parents who are refusing to provide land for the school project.”
Nsanje district commissioner Dominic Mwandira justified the council’s request to move the project to Muona in T/A Mlolo, saying initially, they were assured that the land was available at Mpatsa, but when the project was launched, demands for compensation surfaced.
“The council indicated that it had no money. So, because land was not cleared at Mpatsa, the council made a decision to move the project to Muona because this school was also equally affected by Cyclone Freddy,” he said.
Senior Chief Mlolo thanked government for relocating the school project to her area.
“Muona Primary School was also heavily affected by floods. Our children are learning in tents as the school is in bad state,” she said.
President Lazarus Chakwera committed K225 million under the Presidential Charity Initiative for the construction of Mpatsa Primary School.
In October 2024, the President held a ground breaking ceremony for the construction of the school in T/A Tengani in the district.