No funds for Manja roads project—City

Six months after Vice-President Saulos Chilima visited Manja Township in Blantyre to inspect the upgrading of two roads in the township, it has transpired that there are no funds for the project.

Blantyre City Council public relations officer Debora Luka confirmed the lack of funds for the project in an interview on Thursday. 

However, she said they will communicate to the Office of the Vice-President to have the project included in the next financial year.

“Blantyre City Council has already developed designs for the roads. We also advertised, inviting construction companies. We are sure that government is going to fund these roads in the next financial year,” said Luka.

In a separate interview, Rise Up Manja Initiative vice-chairperson Patrick Kalamula said they hoped the project would start soon after Chilima’s two visits to the township when he was minister of Economic Planning and Development.

He said: “The roads were temporarily graded. However, we were later disappointed when the council said the project was not funded in the 2020/21 National Budget. The project was also not funded in the 2021/22 National Budget.”

A Manja resident, Ivy Chikumbutso said the roads remain in bad state, making mobility difficult.

“We urge Blantyre City Council to ensure the project is funded in the next financial year,” she said.

During his second visit to Manja in April last year, Chilima expressed displeasure with Blantyre City Council officials for the delay in upgrading the roads.

“Let’s see what happens in the next three days. We will probably have to be taking different decisions because we can’t be coming back to Manja Township every now and then,” he said.