Why not Neno District?

Some institutions doing business in Malawi and benefiting from the communities they are running their businesses in give back to the communities in one way or another. When organisations give back to the communities, the local people benefit as their lives improve somehow. This is good for the business as well because it ensures that both sides coexist and no one complains. But when the benefits of the business are only enjoyed by one side, something is wrong.

It is true that Malawians are known for their easy-going lifestyle, generally not questioning things where necessary, but organisations must not take advantage of this to not exercise their corporate social responsibility in the communities they operate.

This comes to mind as Malawi is in the process of having a railway line stretching from Mozambique through Malawi to Tanzania.

One of the districts this project is passing through is Neno which has not benefited from the project. We have seen and heard many organisations giving back to communities they work in, but Neno is yet to gain from this project.

Between August 17 and 18 this year, people from Thambala Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Kanduku’s area in Mwanza ganged up and blocked the road passing through the village that Mota Engil, the company that is constructing the Nacala Railway line, uses daily as it goes about its construction work. This was in protest against unfulfilled promises by the company to the local community.

For example, the road to Senior Chief Symon’s headquarters in the district, which is in a sorry state and needs some maintenance.  Mota-Engil, which is within that very same community with their camp in that same area.

This road leads to the main hospital in this part of Neno, serving a lot of people, yet needing much to be done to it. During the launch of this project by the former head of State Joyce Banda, people of Neno were promised that this road was going to be taken care of, can do the community more good by rehabilitating it.

In this very same area, there is a school named Dzundu Primary School with dilapidated classroom blocks that need a lot of attention to be done.

The school committee tries its best, but lacks assistance from well-wishers and companies of goodwill. However, only one Portuguese national who used to work with Mota-Engil has tried to rehabilitate the school’s football pitch.

There is also the road stretching from Neno Turn-off to Chikonde up to Tsangano which is the only road connecting the people of Neno to the outside world. Politicians have failed to do something about this road for many years and Neno people continue to suffer in silence when there are companies benefiting from the district who could have done something to improve the situation.

The Clinton Hunter Foundation came to Neno and within a short period of its stay in this district, a lot of positive things happened to people. Why is it so hard for other companies to just think about the benefits they are getting from Neno and give back to improve the communities lives?

Do the people of Neno need to do what their counterparts in Thambala Village did for them to be appreciated? How long will the people suffer?

Recently, Mota-Engil donated personal vehicles to Senior Chief Symon and T/A Mlauli just because the project is passing through their area of jurisdiction, yet Neno has a lot of people not just the traditional leaders, who would benefit from better donations such as constructing the road, other than personal donations that  benefit a few. Neno relies on agriculture and a lot of nice Irish potatoes and tangerines are produced there, yet people fail to sell their products and benefit from their labour because of poor road networks.

Governments have come and gone without improving the situation of Neno. This is unfair because people of Neno have the same rights as every other Malawian, and they certainly deserve better!

The author likes to comment on social issues.