President of the Republic of Malawi Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has stressed the need for Malawians to actively get involved in various development project and guard against abuse of government resources at any project implementation stage.
Chakwera made the remarks on Tuesday at Karonga Community Ground when he officially commissioned the construction of ten thousand houses for security institutions.
The President said development benefits the people hence the need for all to participate as participation ensures people know how resources are being utilized.
“The only way communities can prosper in their respective areas with various development projects that come is if they would take ownership of the projects and feel a sense of responsibility to take care of these developmental activities,” he said.
Chakwera then commended the security institutions for maintaining peace and security in the country.
The Malawi Leader, said the Malawi Defence Force, Malawi Police Service, Malawi Prison Service and the Immigration Department play a vital role in the development of the country hence the need for them to be provided with essential facilities such as good houses.
“As the Tonse administration we will not tolerate substandard works on our projects from the contractors, our public security institutions deserve the best as they do fantastic jobs for all of us citizens hence I’m calling upon everyone to take ownership of this particular project from abuse,” warned the first citizen.
In his remarks, Minister of Land and Housing Kezzie Msukwa hailed the coming of the project saying inadequate houses and dilapidated staff houses for the security institutions has been a huge challenge in the country.
Citing the 2008 censor which it indicated that Malawi had only 21% of decent and permanent houses, the Minister said it is clear that the country is facing acute and serious shortages of decent houses in the rural and urban areas thus the Tonse administration is geared towards addressing the challenges.
The five-year Project will see the construction of three-bedroom self-contained houses across the board with one thousand houses being constructed in the first year and fifteen houses being constructed at Ipyana Police Mobile Force Camp in the district.
Out of the ten thousand houses, Malawi Defence Force and Malawi Police Service will get four thousand houses each while the Malawi Prison Service and the Immigration Department will get one thousand each.
