Chief blames subjects on project failure

Construction of a modern school block under LDF at Namachila Full Primary School in Thyolo has stalled since 2012 because communities are refusing to make a 25 percent contribution to the project, village head Ngoni has confirmed.

Under the Local Development Fund (LDF), a project qualifies for financial support as one way of delivering social services and infrastructure to the poor and needy using community initiatives and other community-based organisations.

The beneficiary communities are, in turn, required to collect sand and provide bricks in case of school blocks or health centres.

But Ngoni told National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust officials who visited Namachila School on Sunday that her subjects have refused to contribute to the project, thereby suffocating government efforts to address the shortage of classrooms at the institution.

Nice’s visit to the school was aimed at assessing the level of community participation in development issues, transparency and accountability as part of core duties of promoting good governance.

“Regrettably, there is no community participation in development issues here. As chiefs, we have tried to reason with them, but they have been adamant. We cannot force them any further lest we be accused of violating their rights,” said Ngoni who is under Inkosi Bvumbwe.

Ironically, the school does not have adequate classrooms, with about 800 pupils learning under trees, according to one of the teachers, Modester Nsulupi.

She said the school suffered another setback earlier 2013 when hailstorms blew off the roof of a block, which housed three classrooms.

“This compounded further the challenges that learners are facing at this school,” Nsulupi explained.

Nice Trust district civic education officer for Thyolo Moses Kaunda wondered how communities—which usually accuse government of being slow to address challenges in public schools—could be in the forefront abdicating their responsibilities.

“This is very strange. But you need to realise that you’re not punishing government. You’re simply denying your children the right to quality education,” said Kaunda.