Mutharika points to road rebuilding as flagship of first year back in power

President Peter Mutharika has pointed to a national road reconstruction drive as one of the signature achievements of his first year back in office, telling state broadcaster MBC on Sunday that long-neglected infrastructure was finally being restored after years of disrepair.

“The roads which have not been maintained since around 2022, we are now rebuilding the roads,” Mutharika said in a wide-ranging interview marking a year since his return to the presidency.

He cited ongoing work on the M1 highway and the Khwekwere road, and said the Liwonde to Matawale road was already complete.

The Malawi leader said further projects were nearing completion, including roads linking Monkey Bay to Mangochi and to Makanjira, as well as a donor-funded route in the Lower Shire descending from Thyolo down to Bangula.

In urban areas, he pointed to road projects in Luchenza and ongoing works in Lilongwe, alongside new market infrastructure being built in Lilongwe and Mzuzu.

“We are doing roads in Lilongwe. The new markets, these are modern markets in places like Lilongwe and Mzuzu. There are lots of things we are doing,” he said.

Mutharika set a target of completing the national road network by 2028, after which, he said, construction of entirely new routes would begin.

“We hope to finish the road network in 2028, all things being equal. We are rebuilding the country and then we will start new roads,” he said.

He also highlighted a road connecting Chiweta to Karonga, which he said was financed through engagement with commercial banks — part of what he described as a broader shift toward private-sector involvement in national infrastructure.

“We are now able to engage the private sector and the banks,” he said. “Private sector is now fully committed to develop this country with the government. We will rebuild it together.”

Mutharika framed the infrastructure push as central to a wider pitch for national cooperation, calling on private organisations, civil society, NGOs, faith communities, youth and women to work collectively toward reconstruction. “We must unite,” he said.