Part of the K5.3 billion Nsanama-Nayuchi Road in Machinga District, upgraded to bitumen standards two years ago has developed potholes and cracks, to the disappointment of motorists and community members.
When The Nation visited the 10-kilometre (km) section that was upgraded to tarmac out of the 45km road last week, a grader was seen dumping loose gravel into potholes to make it passable.
Under the scorching sun, community members stood in silence, watching as the grader patched the same potholes attended to months ago.
the road. | Haneeph Maulana
For Mike Phiri, a business operator at Nsanama Trading Centre, the road is a mockery of public investment.
“This was supposed to be a proper tarmac road to help us
access markets and Nayuchi Border with ease. But look at it now, it is already falling apart,” he said.
Rice farmer Jaim Bwanaisa from Likhonyowa Village in Traditional Authority Mchinguza said transporters have stopped going to the areas collect farm produce because of the poor road condition.
“What is reliable now is a train which operates twice a week. Sometimes we use bicycles or ox-carts to transport rice to Nsanama,” he said.
Nsanama-Nayuchi Road Task Force secretary Imran Bwana said the community feels betrayed after waiting over 60 years for a project that has failed to deliver.
“Government should investigate what went wrong. We want the contractor to be held accountable,” he said.
Reacting to the development, Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willy Kambwandira said the situation exposes deep-rooted weaknesses in the management of public funds and lack of accountability in infrastructure projects.
However, Roads Authority (RA) has dismissed claims that the project was abandoned, saying the next phase will soon go into procurement.
RA spokesperson Alice Chinthochi said construction is being implemented in phases and that the contractor, CR20, was engaged to build the first 10km.
“Plans are underway to resume construction of the remaining 35km up to Nayuchi Border,” she said.
