President Chakwera warns contractors against incompetence and laziness

By Kondanani Chilimnthaka

President Lazarus Chakwera on Tuesday, July 12,2022 issued a stun warning to all contractors rehabilitating the M1 Road against incompetence and laziness as they take up the project that he described as an historic milestone in the development of Malawi for the good of all Malawians whose significance can not be overrated.

President Chakwera was speaking during a developmental rally at Mtiti LEA School in the area of Traditional Authority Chakhaza in Dowa after the ground breaking ceremony of the M1 Road rehabilitation project that will see four contractors rehabilitating about 300kms of the road from Kamuzu International Airport junction in Lilongwe to Chiweta in Rumphi.

In his speech marking the inauguration of the first ever rehabilitation project of the road, President Chakwera told the contractors and all the stakeholders never to compromise the standards in any form, saying his administration will not at any time tolerate such individuals or contractors.

“I must warn about poor standards, either in the form of compromises in the quality of the road or slowness in the completion of it. Both forms are the result of incompetence and laziness, and if you know that you are lazy and incompetent do not come anywhere near a government project like this one.

So I urge project managers and Roads Authority to not tolerate excuses that seek to justify lazy and incompetent individuals or contractors”. Lamented President Chakwera.

Further, President Chakwera warned against corruption and misuse of funds allocated for the M1 road project, saying the country has put in place systems to catch anyone trying to steal or abuse the funds.

Additionally, Malawi leader told the huge crowd that gathered to witness the launch of the long awaited project at Mtiti, that with the M1 rehabilitation project, the country will see a lot of positive changes in trade, transportation of various goods and commodities, job creation, and reduction in road accidents among others.

“The project is part of a larger agenda by my Administration to create a robust road network across the country. With M1 Rehabilitation Project, we will see faster progress towards Malawi 2063 vision of an inclusively wealth and self-reliant nation as Malawian businesses move goods and commodities faster and safer between trading centers and beyond our borders”. Said the President while revealing a number of roads his administration has already put on the list for construction and rehabilitation across the country.

President Chakwera has since commended the relationship existing between the European Union and the government of Malawi, describing the support of over 100 million Euros from the European Investment Bank (EIB) which is to be used for M1 road rehabilitation project as a real lifeline for Malawi.