By Synd Kalimbuka
Zomba District Council has requested well-wishers to assist the council with a speed boat in order for the council to effectively and efficiently serve people of Chisi Island and other areas across Lake Chilwa of Traditional Authority Nkumbira in the district.
District Commissioner Dr. Smart Gwedemula made the call on Thursday during the handover ceremony of three vehicles to the council by Project Concern International.
Dr. Gwedemula said due to geographic location of the district, the council has some areas such as the whole T/A Nkumbira where accessibility requires speed boats.
He therefore requested well-wishers to assist the council with speed boat to ease mobility challenges and serve effectively and efficiently people of the area.
“We have areas like Chisi Island and other areas across lake chilwa of Sombi, Ngotangota and Lungazi where we need speed boats to reach there,” said Gwedemula.
On donation of three vehicles by Project Concern International, the Commissioner said the donation has come at a right time as the council is geared up to transform the district into the better place to live through the implementation of development initiatives that will change the face of Zomba district.
“The council has been facing mobility challenges in the course of implementing development programmes. We always have situation where every sector would want to go to the field with limited number of vehicles we have,” he said.
He further called upon other partners in the district to emulate what PCI has done saying will this go a long way in addressing the mobility challenges at the council.
“We have had the scenarios where the project is phasing out, and we are asked to sustain the investments without any logistical support vehicles and office equipment,” added Gwedemula.
Acting Country Director for PCI Malawi Jones Chimpokoso said the project has delivered what it intended to deliver to the communities in two districts of Zomba and Machinga.
Chimpokoso was very happy in the sense that they are leaving confidently that through the donation of three vehicles to Zomba district council and one to Machinga and other equipments sustainability of the project interventions will be simple.
PCI Malawi has been implementing Machinga Zomba Idai response MAZI project in the two districts for the period of 17 months aimed at improving water and sanitation systems for the communities.
Through the project, PCI has reached out to 22, 000 households with San plats toilets and also maintained 353 boreholes in Zomba and Machinga districts.
Out of three vehicles Zomba district received, health and water sectors have benefited one each while the third one will be used by council’s administration.
