The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has promised piped water for the people of Nsanje saying plans are in the pipeline to make sure that water problems are history in the district.
DPP’s Vice President for the South, Kondwani Nankhumwa, made the promise on Saturday at Nsanje Prison ground on his whistle stop tour of the Lower Shire districts.
“We are currently doing research together with Water Board to see how we can provide piped water to all because it doesn’t make sense that you live in the area where there is plenty of water yet you can’t access it,” said Nankhumwa.
Nankhumwa also promised people who were displaced by floods that government will continue helping with relief items to ease their suffering.
The DPP Vice President (South) who is also minister of local government announced at the rally that government will clear all arears it is owing chiefs in terms of honoraria amounting to K861 million starting from this Monday.
He said some chiefs have arears of seven months which according to him was as a result of lack of proper follow up.
“The President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika has sent me to do two things, first to say sorry to the people affected by the floods in the Lower Shire districts, but also to confirm that his Excellency, has accepted the name of Helen Buluma, as your Member of Parliament, come 21 May,” said DPP Vice Chair for the South.
Nankhumwa warned the people of Nsanje not to believe individuals who come to the district posing as envoys from the party’s headquarters in a move to sway DPP supporters to support other candidates who failed by elections, saying such people want to tarnish the party’s image.
When asked to address the gathering, Buluma who is DPP candidate for South West constituency thanked her VP for clearing the mist surrounding her candidacy, saying for a long time, the people in constituency have had problems to know the truth on who the DPP candidate was.
She asked government to provide the people in the district farmibg inputs for them to do winter cropping.
“The floods came, our crops were washed away and other people’s crops were damaged by the heavy winds, we accept it happened, however the people of Nsanje are hardworking and, are ready to go back to fields and work since the waters have started subsidizing, so we ask your government to consider us,” said the DPP candidate.
Nsanje South West Constituency primary elections were heavily contested by Buluma and Eurita Ntiza, at Chekerere and Dinde Wards. Buluma carried the day at Chekerere, while in Dinde ward the elections did not happen due to misunderstandings.
The DPP declared Buluma their candidate which forced Ntiza to stand as an independent candidate and has since been campaigning for herself and DPP’s president Professor Peter Mutharika.
Apart from Ntiza, Buluma will contest for the Nsanje South West parliamentary seat against Dr Chidanti Malunga of UTM, McLean Ndafakale of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and Kester Thete of United Democratic Front (UDF).
