M’mbelwa District Council has developed a 15-year urban structure plan to expand Mzimba town from the current 1 000 to 10 000 hectares to accelerate development.
Members of the council, including Paramount Chief M’mbelwa V approved the plan at a two-day full council meeting in Mzimba.
Speaking after adopting the plan, to be implemented between 2018 and 2033, Mzimba district commissioner Thomas Chirwa said Mzimba town is witnessing rapid urbanisation and population growth which calls for proper planning and provision of better services.
He said: “As a council, we acknowledge that Mzimba is poorly planned, and people are building structures anyhow. This plan wants to detect that and ensure that people are utilising the land we have.
“Again, as the population is rapidly growing at the Boma, we need good road infrastructure, proper markets and a good bus depot. We need efficient primary and secondary schools, and a health centre, apart from the district hospital, enough water supply and a proper housing plan. All these are covered in the plan.”
The coucil’s chairperson councillor Gilingo Bilima urged stakeholders in the district to support the plan, which he said will help the council generate enough revenue.
Priority areas in the plan include tourism, education, health, housing, industry, road infrastructure, security and waste management, according to the DC.
