BT health centre project abandoned

Communities around Nancholi Township in Blantyre will wait longer before accessing healthcare services nearby following the abandoned construction of Nancholi Health Centre early last year.

Yonahe Mkwini, a resident of the township, said the delay has not affected the area only.

“The project would assist other townships such as Manyowe, Manase and Baluti. But we are upset with its delay because the health centre we rely on is Zingwanngwa, which is about 10 kilometres from here,” he said.  

Blantyre district health officer (DHO) Dr. Medson Matchaya said he is aware that the contractor stopped working at the site some time back, but refused to shed more light.

“I am aware that the project stopped last year, but I cannot shed more light on the cause of the abandonment. We are just the recipient after the project is completed. The Ministry of Health is better-placed to comment because it is a government-funded project”.

In an interview, Ministry of Health spokesperson Adrian Chikumbe said most infrastructure developments were put on hold because of lack of money.

“Infrastructure projects funded by government were [affected] and I hope this project was one of them. What we had was priority over priority. We had to make sure that with the funding that was available, we strategise according to first thing first,” he said.

However, Chikumbe said some of the projects will be completed soon as government has secured funds from its partners. n