Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera on Thursday commissioned the Mangochi water supply extension project at Nkhudzi-Bay and praised the project as a role model of money well Spent.’
“Today, I am delighted to be here to mark the fulfillment of that promise to improve and increase the provision of potable, safe, clean, and quality drinking water to the people of Mangochi,” said President Chakwera.
According to the President, it made no sense that the people of Mangochi were being denied access to the water they see around them every day due to the lack of investment in systems for the treatment and distribution of water.
“I am happy that we have finally given the people of Mangochi the water they deserve. A moment ago, I interacted with some of the beneficiaries of this project from Mwanyama Village, and it was clear to me that this was a worthy investment,” the President said.
The President reminded the people that the benefits of having access to clean water go beyond the obvious uses of drinking, cleaning, cooking, and bathing further arguing that access to clean water prevents the spread of diseases in our communities, improves the delivery of health services in our hospitals, and maintains an environment in which people can thrive mentally and emotionally.
Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera deserves credit on the ground breaking investments in the water sector as just last month, he was in Nkhata Bay in the North for the official launch of another Water Project under the auspices of the Northern Region Water Board. Not long before that, the President also commissioned the new Kamuzu Dam in the Central Region.
In reflection, the President said it gave him an enormous joy to commission the Nkhuzi-Bay water project under the Southern Region Water Board, which is projected to benefit over 92,000 people in Mangochi, including families and commercial entities such as hotels and lodges that are critical to Mangochi’s tourist sector.
Mia, T/A Nankumba Praised for Sound Leadership
President Chakwera told the people to always remember that that projects like this require collaboration to be carried out. Without working together, the President observed that challenges arise in the course of any project to derail and delay progress. The president therefore said collaboration and coordination between various stakeholders was key to successful execution of such a project like it happened with this project.
“It requires the kind of traditional leadership we have seen from Senior Chief Nankumba, who stood firm in order to ensure the success of this project. It requires the kind of political leadership we have seen from the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Honourable Abida Mia, who ensured that Government was meeting its obligations in the project.
“And it also required the kind of international leadership we have seen from the Kuwait Fund for Economic Development, which ensured that the resources earmarked for this project were made available in a timely fashion. Thank you all for doing your part to bring this historic day to reality,” Said Chakwera.
The President said “Nkhudzi-Bay project is a role model of money well spent,” and added that going forward “public programs that are accustomed to spending public money year after year without any productive end in sight will need to find other sources funding to continue, because we need to accept the painful fact that we only have enough resources to spend on the things that will boost productivity and increase our people’s capacity for revenue generation.”
