Phalombe petitions Parliament over hospital construction delay

Some concerned people from Phalombe on Thursday stormed Parliament in Lilongwe to present a petition over delays by government to construct a district hospital.

However, the concerned citizens had a rude awakening when officials told them to to leave Parliament premises and present their petition to their own Member of Parliament at the gate.

Receiving the petition on behalf of the citizens, Phalombe Central MP Felton Mulli said he will forward it to relevant authorities for action.

“I know my constituents are restless to have the project started, but government has assured me that everything is in order and once contractors are identified, the propject will start. The bill for the hospital was approved this year and funding has also been identified,” said Mulli.

Group village head Bokosi, who was one of the people to present the petition, said they decided to take this aproach because people are dying because referral hospitals are far from Phalombe Boma.

“The nearest hospital is Holy Family which is a distance of about four kilometres and to make matters worse, it is a paying hospital.

“Recently, Traditional Authority [T/A] Kaduya died after he was involved in a motorcycle accident. He could not have died if there was a proper hospital nearby to take him to for treatment,” said Bokosi.

He said they are worried with information coming from the distict commissioner’s office and the District Health Office (DHO) that there are plans to build an operating theatre adjoining the existing Phalombe Health Centre.

“We feel the money that was allocated for construction of the district hospital was diverted to unknown places,” added Bokosi.

But Mulli assured the individuals that the money is available and that government wants the project to start soon.