February marked the peak of hunger, with about six million Malawians requiring urgent food aid until the next harvest in April.
I took a motorcycle ride—and fell six times—to deliver relief food to Gogo Seleshita Diamond and Samuel Luka’s family of Kubalalika Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Chapananga in Chikwawa District.
The consignment included 50 kilogrammes of maize, two bags of soya pieces and table salt worth K250 000 donated by Symon Dyton Kaime and Ivy Kawonga in reaction to The Nation story exposing the suffering of locals surviving on boiled watermelons.
“It’s 1:49pm, we should reach Kubalalika by 4pm,” said Moses Banda, a motorcyclist from Dyeratu Trading Centre, who regularly makes the 95-kilometre rough ride.
The trip is never easy, with just about five kilometres of the Chikwawa-Chapananga-Mwanza Road tarmacked.
No helmet, no complaint and no time to waste, the rumble in the jungles of Majete and vastness of the Shire Valley panned out perilously.
“Hold my waist tight; we’ve to be there in time,” Banda implored me.
But just over half a kilometre off the tarmac, the motorcycle’s tyre fell flat after ramming into a deep pothole. Banda had to swap motorbikes with a passer-by, albeit over an hour later.
The first fall offloaded us into a stagnant pool at Maluwati just minutes after changing the motorcycle.
The road is rutted, muddy and slippery.
We reached our destination around 8pm, hitting bumps and missing diversions in the dark.
The struggles mirror the plight of locals who consider the aborted road a lifeline when it comes to accessing markets and essential services.
They blame politicians for turning the Chikwawa-Chapananga-Mwanza Road into a campaign tool.
“With just six months to the September 16 General Election, they are back with false promises to upgrade this road. Maybe they think we don’t deserve good roads,” Banda laments.
The 180-metre Chapananga Bridge has become impassable since January 2022 when swelling Mwanza River cut off its approach amid Cyclone Ana.
Groping for our way in the dark, we crashed to the ground again as Banda missed a blurry diversion that plunges into the river, a tributary of the Great Shire.
The tragedy replicated itself in Kanyongolo, Phinda and Chikweu villages.
We were only happy that Gogo Diamond and Luka’s family would have some relief from debilitating hunger.
As the delighted granny ignited a fire to cook for her family, the motorcycle hit the road, disappearing into darkness like a firefly.
The back-breaking bumps on the earth road shined a light on the poor roads that serve the country’s rural majority.
Ironically, the Constitution singles out the quality of life in rural settings as the only yardstick of national policies, including spending.
The neglected unpaved roads disrupt access to healthcare, education, markets and banks.
In the past two years, the government has allocated billions for upgrading rural roads.
The Chapananga Road, renamed Sidik Mia Highway, has been allocated K3.8 billion in the 2024/26 Budget being debated in Parliament.
Government has also budgeted K2.2 billion for the abandoned Lirangwe-Namatunu-Machinga in the Eastern Region, K3.8 billion for Thabwa–Chitseko–Seveni (Eastbank) Road in the Shire Valley and K2.5 billion for Chiringa-Muloza Road.
Recently, Roads Authority board chairperson Matilda Matabwa told journalists that the authority sympathises with Malawians affected by poor roads.
She said RA would fix some road despite funding hiccups, with the Roads Fund scarcely raising enough resources for the desired upgrades.
“We have contracts waiting to be awarded, but we have done everything on ground. Once we are assured of funding, we will roll out these contracts on most of our roads in need of maintenance,” said Matabwa.
In the 2024/2025 fiscal year, the government allocated about K439.64 billion for the Transport and ICT Infrastructure sector, representing 7.4 percent of the national budget.
Secretary for Transport and Public Works Madalo Nyambose told the Transport and Public Infrastructure Committee of Parliament that delayed funding for road projects compelled contractors to seek hikes following the devaluation of the local currency.
This slows the national progress to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 11, which requires governments and partners to provide safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all by 2030.
The Global goals envisage modernised transport corridors improving road safety and accelerated sustainable development.
