Health facility delay irks Karonga people

Community leaders around Mpata Health Centre in Traditional Authority Kyungu in Karonga District have expressed concern over the delay to complete construction works of an outpatient department at the health facility.

The facility’s management committee chairperson Topkins Mwenitete raised the concern on Saturday during a meeting the Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) initiated on public expenditure.

He said the project, which started in February this year, was supposed to end in June, but it stalled and the contractor left the construction site.

The building for the outpatient services yet to be completed.

| Jordan Simeon-Phiri

“However, our major worry is that the building has started developing cracks before completion and official handover,” said Mwenitete.

Group village head Mwalupondo said the delay to open the facility was compromising privacy and service delivery due to limited space at the health centre.

Karonga District Council spokesperson George Mponda said the council was aware of the concerns, but assured that the project was not abandoned.

“The council is engaging the contractor to address the issues surrounding the project. A meeting with relevant parties is scheduled for Tuesday [today], where the matter will be discussed and appropriate steps agreed upon to ensure that the remaining works are completed,” he said.

However, Selemunthu Building Contractors managing director Gospel Selemunthu said they abandoned the project due to non-payment.

“I have used more than K100 million to produce that quality structure yet the council is failing to pay me. I only got paid K83 million for the foundation,” he said.

EAM project officer Eden Mbale, whose institution with funding from Norwegian Church Aid and DanChurchAid is implementing Fighting Inequalities project in the area, said they supported the activity to ensure that the community’s voice is heard for action.

The council is implementing the project with K297 million under the performance-based Governance to Enable Service Delivery World Bank grant.

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