Substandard projects exposed in Mangochi
A recent analysis of the Kalondolondo Programme in Mangochi has exposed the substandard construction of schools to the extent that within 12 months the floor of one of the schools was completely scrapped off.
In other instances, Mangochi District Council officers issued a certificate of completion without actually verifying whether the works were done.
Mangochi district commissioner Bester Mandele acknowledged the shortfalls saying at the end of the meeting it was concluded that “we had generally done a bad job.”
He attributed the substandard floor to shortage of cement. He blamed the communities undertaking the project.
“We condemned that act. As a council we made mistakes and we said we should have done better,” said Mandele.
He said the council reprimanded the supervisor for issuing the certificate of completion without visiting the sites.
But he said the Kalondolondo programme failed to respond to the overall rating of the 25 assessed school projects.
In the assessment, Kalondolondo programme manager Jephter Mwanza observed that sometimes the supervisors made recommendations that would compromise quality.
Meanwhile, Mwanza has noted that there is blatant abuse and victimisation of pupils in the implementation of LDF projects.
Mwanza said certain communities are using learners in schools to fill the gap left by irresponsible parents in the provision of community contribution to projects.
“In Mangochi, at Sokole and Misolo schools, learners were used to ferry project materials during learning hours while at Mtinjitinji, they were asked to do so after classes,” said Mwanza.
“While many rural [areas] are without much education on such issues, teachers should really feel ashamed of themselves for being in the forefront of punishing learners for sins they did not commit. This practice is totally unacceptable and we ask all stakeholders to stop this with immediate effect.
“We are afraid that what happened at Lojwa Health Centre in Kasungu where patients were used to ferry bricks to a project site is spreading to other sectors,” said Mwanza.
