By Our Reporter
Political analyst Mustapha Hussein says good roads are so crucial in the social economic and political development of any country.
Commenting on the 4km six-lane Kenyatta Drive project, in an exclusive interview, Hussein said it will increase productivity and stabilise the country’s economy.
He said there is always a saying that time is money and the more time lost in travelling the more money lost.
“Roads contribute crucially to economic development and growth on top of bringing important social benefits. Poorly maintained roads are not friendly to development so in this case, the expansion of these roads in all major cities will have huge economic benefits,” he said.
Currently, the first ever six lane capacity improvement project is progressing well after it stalled for some months due to logistical and environmental setbacks.
A visit to the project found a fleet of heavy machinery rolling to ensure the project is completed within next 18 months.
President Chakwera will go into the Malawi history as a leader who worked tirelessly to decongest the country’s major cities through construction of good strategic roads.
Economists have similarly hailed Chakwera as a transformative leader with zeal of transforming the country through infrastructure development.
Random interviews around town indicate that Malawians are also resonating with assertions that President Chakwera is a leader with strategic imperative to get things done in the right manner in all sectors of the economy.
“Imagine the trip which was taking close to an hour at peak hours from Lilongwe Shoprite to Malawi Parliament and City Centre will now be taking only 20 Minutes. This will give us a chance to run other errands quicker than now hence making more money,” said motorist Clifford Phiri.
President Chakwera commissioned the six lane project late last year saying as a Capital City, Lilongwe deserves better attention as it is the face of the country.
Chakwera said his administration’s commitment to upgrading the Kenyatta Drive- connects Lilongwe Old town and the City Centre – into triple carriage way is a sign of good commitment towards transformative leadership.
The project which commenced on Wednesday, September 1 2021 will take 18 months meaning it will be ready for use by February 23, 2023. It will cost K19 billion.