Phalombe community hail Mkango Resources for clean water
Communities under village headman Maloya in Phalombe North East constituency, have hailed Mkango Resources Limited for the provision of safe and clean water in the area.
As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy and vision, Mkango Resources, explorers of rare earth elements at Songwe Hill through its subsidiary Lancaster Exploration, on Thursday, donated a K3.5 million borehole and water pump to the community.
Speaking on behalf of the community, Sub Traditional Authority Maoni, was all praises for the good work Mkango is doing to the communities surrounding Songwe Hill.
Maoni said the borehole has addressed some of the many challenges faced in the area.
“We are thankful for all of the work you are doing here. As an exploration company, we know that you are not mandated to provide us with corporate social responsibility development projects.
“But as a responsible company, you have provided us with many CSR developmental projects that include good roads, school feeding programs, rehabilitation of 24 classrooms and the building of 4 new school blocks, Secondary School Scholarship program for 31 of our girls and boys, construction and rehabilitation of many bridges, 10 water boreholes rehabilitated and maintained, as well as 7 new boreholes and water pumps donated to our communities, just to mention a few of the CSR projects,” he said.
He further added, “Once the exploration is complete and a mine is set up here, we know that our community will benefit further in terms of development and job opportunities.”
Action Group chairperson, Jolster Namonde, said access to clean water has been a very big challenge in the area and the coming in of this new borehole and water pump in Maloya village will help in addressing this challenge.
“Water is life, this borehole will go a long way in saving people’s lives. We had boreholes in the past provided by different CSO’s, but the water was salty and could not be used for domestic purposes. It is our plea that as a company, you drill more boreholes like this one for us in the future,” said Namonde.
Mary Justin, a community member, said women have been faced with many challenges as they had to walk long distances in search of clean and safe water.
She said the long search for water was costly not only in monetary terms but also to their marriages.
“Marital problems were the order of the day in our homes as women had to leave homes as early as 2 am in search of water, only to return at midday. This meant most women could not do their daily household chores on time.
“We could wash our clothes once in a while because it was almost impossible to fetch enough water for cooking and washing clothes,” she said.
Justin said this borehole and water pump has brought a sigh of relief to their families and will also help them to participate fully in village activities.
Member of Parliament for the area Dennis Namachekecha asked the communities to continue working together with Mkango Resources in order to develop the area.
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