‘Road maintenance expensive’

Mangochi Municipality acting director of finance Dougal Mwaungulu says it is costly to rehabilitate damaged roads in the town.

Speaking in an interview, he said they spend millions repairing roads in markets, locations and other areas within the town.

However, Mwaungulu blamed the drainage system for the problems.

“The municipality spends millions on road maintenance during the rainy season due to poor drainage system.

“Instead of implementing projects that can change the face of the town, we are always repairing damaged roads.”

However, he expressed hope that the new municipality’s 2021/22 budget pegged at K330 million, will improve the drainage system and rehabilitate the roads to improved standards.

The municipality’s mayor Edna Yusuf Jose said the council expects improved service delivery from the proposed budget.

“We will come up with a number of projects from the budget that will change the status of Mangochi Town,” she said.