Islanders to build Likoma jetty
A group of people from Likoma Island have launched an ambitious project to construct a K50 million jetty in the island district.
The people, through the Likoma Islanders Trust, have in the past weeks engaged an extra gear to woo potential financiers and partners in the project which member of Parliament (MP) George Kamwanja says will transform the lives of at least 16 000 inhabitants on the twin islands of Likoma and Chizumulu.
He said: “From experience, islanders have been struggling a lot due to the absence of the jetty, unlike the case with Nkhata Bay and Monkey Bay [on the mainland].
“Besides the challenge cited, there is always a threat to environmental safety as most of the times toxic materials such as cement, fertilisers and drums of oil fall into the lake.”
Speaking during a fund raising dinner and dance in Blantyre on Saturday, FDH Financial Holdings Limited chief executive officer Thomson Mpinganjira said the project was relevant and could turn the tables of investment in the tourism sector once completed.
Mpinganjira, whose spouse comes from Likoma Island, set the ball rolling with a K2 million donation.
Other islanders and stakeholders raised close to K5 million out of the K15 million target. n
