Lilongwe deputy mayor embarks on mass ridge repairing campaign
The Deputy Mayor for the Lilongwe City Council (LCC) and Kaliyeka Ward councillor Richard Banda has embarked on a mass road and bridge maintenance drive to fix roads and bridges in Kaliyeka Ward.
Kaliyeka Ward suffered the adverse impacts of the 2019 floods, which swept away valuable property, bridges and roads.
Banda, who belongs to the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), said roads and bridges play a crucial role in opening up areas and stimulate economic and social development.
“Accessible road infrastructure is the most important of all public assets. And for this reason, I decided to take a personal initiative first because tapping from the Local Development Fund or Constituency Development Fund to maintain the roads and bridges,” he said.
Banda disclosed that at least K10, 000 will be needed to maintain the roads and fix bridges that were damaged by the raging waters early this year.
“For example, the bridge at Chipasula Secondary School alone will need K3.5 million to fix. So, I am working closely with our member of Parliament Ulemu Msungama to see how best we can tap from the Constituency Development Fund to fix these problems,” he said.
One of the Kaliyeka residents, Tamandani Mchere, commended the councillor for the initiative he has taken, saying broken roads and bridges have been a major concern to the people of this area.
Mchere said, for instance, that their children have been facing challenges to go to school because most bridges are impassable during rainy season.
“We encourage him to continue this work. As constituents, we pledge him our support where our hand is needed,” she said.
