By Patience Harawa
Karonga, March 7, Mana: Chiyeka Building Contractors working on the Hara Health Centre project in Karonga district has been given an ultimatum to complete the project by March 31, 2025 or face contract termination.
Karonga District Council Chairperson Bellium Msukwa said this Thursday while touring various projects being implemented under the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) and Hospital Rehabilitation Fund.
Msukwa said the project, which is valued at K173 million, was supposed to be finished by March 12, 2025, but it has been facing delays, while other projects in the district have been completed, prompting the council to take action.
"We cannot continue to tolerate these delays because the people of Karonga deserve better, and we expect the contractors to deliver quality work on time. Failure to meet the revised deadline will result in contract termination," warned Msukwa.
Msukwa emphasized that the council had given the contractors enough time to complete the project and that further delays would not be tolerated.
“We have been patient with the contractors, but it seems they are not taking us seriously. We cannot continue to wait for them to complete the project,” he added.
In his remarks, Site Manager for Chiyeka Building Contractors Elisha Elias acknowledged the councils' concerns and assured that they will work diligently to complete the project within the stipulated time frame.
“We understand the council's concerns and we apologize for the delays. We are doing everything possible to complete the project as soon as possible”, Elias said.
Elias attributed the delays to unforeseen circumstances, including the fuel scarcity and personnel shortages.
He assured the council that they were doing everything possible to address the challenges and complete the project on time.
The Hara health Centre project is one of the several projects being implemented by the Karonga District Council.