Parliamentary committee lauds Zomba Gesd projects

Parliamentary Committee on Local Authorities and Rural Development chairperson Horace Chipuwa has expressed satisfaction with Zomba District Council for implementing best projects under the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (Gesd) funds.

He said this on Wednesday when the committee visited the council to appreciate how it has used the Gesd funds.

The committee toured several projects, including the newly completed Chimwalire Police Unit at Nasawa in the district.

Said Chipuwa: “We are impressed with what the council has achieved with Gesd funds. For example, Chimwalire Police Unit’s quality is top notch compared with similar projects we have seen in other councils.

“However, let me encourage Zomba District Council to speed up the completion of other projects.”

Chanda Ward councuillor McPherson Sulumba, who is also the council’s development service committee chairperson, said Gesd projects have changed the face of the district.

“Without Gesd funds, we could not have implemented these projects. We are talking about projects we wanted but could not implement due to lack of funds. Our people will be served better with these projects,” he said.

National Local Government Finance Committee Gesd project coordinator Charles Chunga said Zomba has demonstrated that the K200 million funds they received was used for its intended purpose.

A community member around Nasawa, Jephter Erick, said the police unit will address security lapse in the area as people had to go either to Thondwe or Namadzi to access police services.

“These are projects the council should implement to bring services closer to people. I urge my fellow community members not to vandalise the unit,” he said.

Gesd is a five-year Government of Malawi project implemented by the Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Finance and National Local Government Finance Committee with funding from the World Bank.