Germany has pledged further assistance to the Malawi-Zambia Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA) Project after completion of the $4.4 million (about K10 billion) Thazima Gravity-Fed Piped Water Supply Scheme in Rumphi District.
Speaking during the commissioning in Rumphi yesterday, German Ambassador Ute Konig said her government will continue to support biodiversity in the region.
She said the Malawi-Zambia TFCA Project is expected to receive further financial cooperation through the Legacy Landscape Fund, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) TFCA financing facility and in future through the regional training programme for rangers and wildlife managers.
Said Konig: “Germany is a close development partner to Malawi. We were proud to host you [President Lazarus Chakwera] in Germany last year where you visited our President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin.”
In an interview on the sidelines of the launch, Konig could not disclose how much more funding Malawi is expected to get from the Malawi-Zambia TFCA but said currently, there are no plans to extend the project to other areas.
President Chakwera, who officially launched the project, said he was grateful to Germany and all partners involved while urging the beneficiary communities to take care of the facility and use the water responsibly.
Speaking in an interview, Minister of Tourism Vera Kamtukule said with Nyika/ Vwaza being a touri st destination, access to potable water will attract more investors.
Ny i k a -Vwa z a Co – management Trust board chairperson Edward Twea, a retired Justice of Appeal, urged capacity building for the surrounding community to ensure proper maintenance of the facility.
The scheme is designed to provide 2.5 million litres of water per day as water flow from Runyina River in Nyika, along a 74-kilometre line, will be aided by gravity in order to reduce energy requirements and maintenance costs.
The facility has been funded by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development through the German Development Bank Kf W to provide potable water to 33 000 people by 2044 within the 5 kilometres of the Nyika/ Vwaza conservation area.
