Traditional leaders and other stakeholders in Chikwawa and Nsanje districts have expressed frustration with the slow pace of the multi-billion kwacha Shire Valley Transformation Programme.
Nsanje Shire Valley Transformation Programme Stakeholders chairperson Senior Chief Tengani of Nsanje said on Monday during a tour of the project site in Chikwawa that there is little progress since the project rolled out seven years ago.
He said: “There is no hope if things continue like this. I ask those running the project and government to be serious.
“Frankly speaking, as a country we are not serious. This is one flagship project in the entire Southern Africa Region, but it seems we don’t appreciate it.”
Taking his turn, Senior Chief Chimombo of Nsanje asked the project’s management to construct a water treatment plant at Bangula in Nsanje, similar to the one under construction at Mnthumba in Chikwawa.
He said people around Bangula are consuming salty water, but hope the plant will give them access to clean water.
However, Shire Valley Transformation Programme community development specialist and land tenure officer Felix Tukula acknowledged that there are delays.
He said the project’s phase I in Chikwawa is less than 50 percent complete, but overall work progress stands at about 80 percent completion rate.
Said Tukula: “This delay is due to Cyclone Ana in 2021, which damaged the intake and dam, forcing us to redesign the work.
“We also faced fuel and cement shortages, plus a funding deficit. From November last year the project was on standby, but the African Development Bank bailed us out with $50 million and we resumed work on February 5 this year.”
He said discussions with the main donor, the World Bank, are ongoing as they need $300 million to complete the project.
