By George Mponda

Karonga, March 26, Mana: Minister of Transport and Public Works, Jacob Hara, has officially handed over the Chiweta-Karonga stretch of the M1 Road to SOS Construction for maintenance works, with the contractor set to commence work next week.

Speaking when he inspected the Chiweta-Karonga M1 Road on Tuesday, Hara said the stretch is in a poor state due to lack of periodic maintenance.

Hara said: "This is an important road for our country but it hasn’t been maintained for the past 25 years. The good news is that government has brought in contractors who will start working on this road to make sure it is in a good state."

"We're going to have multiple contractors to ensure that the work is done in the shortest period of time possible. So, we have SOS Construction who will be working from Chiweta to Uliwa. We are also going to have another set of contractors who will start from Uliwa to Karonga patching the potholes that are developing now before they get worse," he added.

According to the Minister, prompt and timely maintenance of roads is a cost effective approach that not only saves money but also conserves resources in the long run, rather than waiting for roads to deteriorate further.

Roads Authority Regional Manager for the North, Fletcher Mkandawire, said the Chiweta-Karonga M1 Road has developed so many potholes posing nightmares for road users.

"We have received assurance that the initial funding to start the works has been put in place, and that's the reason why we have brought SOS Construction to start working on the road.

“Government has considered the need for maintenance, and they have put aside resources which will be used to work on this road for a period of almost six months," said Mkandawire.