Neno people to petition Malawi President over poor road network
People of Neno in the Southern Region district of Malawi have decided to petition President Joyce Banda to express their concern over poor road network in the district.
The resolution was made on Friday after a meeting held in the district, the Catholic Commision for Justice and Peace (CCJP), facilitated for Neno Multi-Stakeholders Society with funding from Tilotonse.
Jimmy Gadama, Secretary for Neno Multi-Stakeholders Society, said the people of Neno have decided to petition the President as a last resort to voice out their concern to have a tarmac road.
He said the people had been adversely affected by the poor road infrastructure especially during the rainy season.
“We don’t know what wrong the people of Neno did to the Malawi government because other areas have had the luxury of having their tarmac roads reworked,” Gadama said.
“We are wondering why the government rushed to declare Neno as a district when it is not ready to offer such services.”
He also said Neno is bigger than its ‘off-shot’ Mwanza.
“Neno was initially the heaquaters of Mwanza before it was transfered to Mwanza,” he said.
“This is the reason why the former president late Hastings Kamuzu Banda used to call it Mwanza-Neno.”
Chairperson for the group Agnes Rafael said the poor condition of the road has been a challenge for them to access health facilities, transportation of farm inputs andf farm produce among others.
Neno, District Commissioner Gasten Macheka said it was their Constitutional right for the people to present a petition to the President.
Macheka cautioned the highly charged people against opting for violent ways to have their concerns addressed.
“I am told you wanted to block the road so that all the civil servants should not e able to use the road,” Macheka said.
“This is not the right way of going about this problem because we al also concerned with the pathetic condition of the road as I don’t have enough officers. They are not willing to come with their families to work here.”
He said Neno had the potential to contribute to the development of the country because of its rich soil for Irish potato and wheat farming among other crops.
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