PP Veep Mia’s wife to contest in Nsanje South: Malawi road to 2014 polls
Abida Mia, wife to Malawi’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Muhammad Sidik Mia, has launched her bid to contest for the parliamentary seat in Nsanje South constituency next year.
Mia wants to stand on the ruling Peoples Party (PP) ticket and challenge the incumbent, Gloria Ireen Ntopi of opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
However, her candidature will have to pass another test during the primary elections which the party is yet to conduct across the country.
The aspiring candidate expressed her interest over the weekend during a whistle-stop tour she conducted in the constituency alongside her husband.
Among the places, the whistle-stop tour took the Mias to Nyachilenda Secondary School, Mtowe Primary School Ground, Matundu Primary School Ground and Landinyu Village in the area of TA Chimombo where cheering crowds braved the unusual chilly weather to attend the rallies.
Landinyu Village is earmarked for the President Joyce Banda’s Mudzi Transformation Trust project.
At the village, the aspiring parliamentarian officially commissioned a K7.5 million worth boreholes project.
The parliamentary hopeful drilled three boreholes in the village to bail out the community from the plight of consuming water they had been drawing from unprotected sources time immemorial.
Mia also laid a foundation stone at the construction site of a community day secondary school which she pledged to build with her personal resources.
Speaking to reporters after the tour, Mia said she thought of constructing the school to ease the anguish of youth from walking long distance.
The nearest secondary school for the village is over 15 kilometers away.
Mia added that, in particular, she wanted to bail out girls from failing to continue with their secondary education as most of them drop out after writing their primary examinations.
“I decided to embark on these two projects [borehole and secondary school construction ] to assist the people of the area who have for a long time been trapped in the mire of poverty,” stated Mia.
In his speech, the minister challenged his wife to ensure that she becomes another model Member of Parliament when voted into power in May 2014.
Among others, he advised his wife to ensure that once elected she should introduce a free ambulance service, provide free coffins, drill more boreholes, construct schools and provide food to people whenever hunger strikes.
“You must be another model Member of Parliament by implementing a lot of developmental activities the way I do in my Chikhwawa Mkombezi Constituency,” boasted the Lower Shire crowd-puller.
The PP vice president, who is a political icon among the Sena people, also vowed to fulfill his promise of requesting government to construct a tarmac road from Nsanje Boma to the Mozambican Border of Marka.
He said once constructed the road would significantly boost cross-border trade and also provide easy access to the neighboring Mozambique.
According to Mia, through the Mozambican Port of Beira which is about 370 kms from Marka, Malawi would save a lot of funds it uses when importing and exporting goods once the tarmac road is constructed.
