Salima Gesd projects impress minister

 Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture Richard Chimwendo Banda has expressed satisfaction with how Salima District Council is implementing projects under Governance to Enable Service Delivery (Gesd) funds.

With the 2021/22 Gesd funds, the council has constructed a maternity wing in Traditional Authority (T/A) Makanjira and with the 2023/23 Gesd funds, the council has upgraded Salima Community Ground and built Kwambiri Police Unit with two staff houses.

Speaking on Tuesday after touring Mnema Maternity Wing in T/A Makanjira, the minister said so far the district is doing well on the projects it is implementing.

“It is my hope that the projects will be completed soon so that they can start implementing new projects as Gesd is performance-based and what the council is doing now will help them when being assessed,” he said.

Chimwendo Banda also said the district’s progress in implementation of the projects has given government hope that Gesd funds, which are intended to support service delivery, are being channelled towards the intended purpose.

Salima district director of public works Harris Kumwenda said implementation of the projects was progressing well, but mentioned instability of foreign currency as a main challenge.

He said: “The maternity wing will serve women who used to travel long distances to get antenatal services from other health centres.

“On the other hand, the community ground will boost the council’s revenue.”

Senior Chief Makanjira requested the minister to help fast-track the installation of electricity at the maternity wing so that people can start accessing the services.

“We are failing to start using the facility because it is yet to be connected to power,” he said.

Gesd is a performance-based grant funded by the World Bank and it enables district councils to implement various projects