By Mary Makhiringa

BALAKA, February 14, Mana: Deputy Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture Joyce Chitsulo on Thursday challenged all councils in the country to always strive to give outstanding projects.

Chitsulo said, that giving to the community substandard projects is the same as denying the beneficiaries their right to development.

She said this in Balaka, when she toured Kwitanda and Chiyendausiku Maternity Wings which were constructed through District Development Fund and Hospital Rehabilitation Fund respectively and Rivirivi Extension Planning Area constructed through Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) funds.

Said Chitsulo: “I am very impressed and commend the council for putting up such magnificent structures. For example, the Chiyendausiku Maternity Wing that we saw, was my first time seeing that kind of maternity wing in Malawi, and you would think that it is not in Balaka. It is very beautiful, durable and standing.

“We are in the modern times, and we expect our structures that we come up with to be modern ones so that our people also access modern services.”

However, the Deputy Minister cautioned Balaka District Council to always strive to be the best and avoid losing out on GESD funds like how it happened during the 2023 financial year.

“The council lost almost K600 million which is a huge sum of money that could have helped in building more developmental structures for the people of Balaka,” she said.

District Commissioner for Balaka Tamanya Harawa assured the people of Balaka that measures were already taken to ensure that no funds are lost due to any form of failure.

“No leader would want to fail, and failing to access GESD funds was not deliberate, but it was because of desperation as you know in the very same year our district hospital was gutted down by fire. So, the council utilized some funds not meant for it to purchase hospital pots so that patients at the facility are provided with food during their stay.

“Let me assure the people of Balaka that we are so keen and following the rules of the game especially the requirements and doing all due diligence so that we do well in all aspects, so we are forward moving on,” he said.

The DC therefore revealed that even though the council missed out on GESD funds, they managed to construct tangible infrastructure such as Community Day Secondary School at Nkasi where learners used to walk over 15 Kilometers to school, and through the funds that they will secure in the 2025-2026 financial year, they will construct more classroom blocks and teachers houses at the same school so that it is a complete package.

Member of Parliament for Balaka West Bether Ndebere hailed Government for what she described as true love to the people of Balaka through the various development activities that the district has seen over the years.

Kwitanda Maternity Wing was constructed during the 2022/2023 financial year to the tune of K49 Million, Chiyendausiku Maternity Wing was constructed during 2024/ 2025 financial year to the tune of K797 Million and Rivirivi was constructed in the 2021/ 2022 financial year to the tune of K338Million.