Parliamentary committee decries Nsanje port status

Parliamentary Committee on Transport and Public Infrastructure has decried the current status of the Nsanje World Inland Port.

Committee chairperson Victor Mbewe said unless the port is heavily dredged, it will not be possible to operate it.

He said this after the committee visited the port site to appreciate its status, which is currently silted and dry.

Mbewe said his committee has been receiving reports regarding the port, hence  the visit to appreciate the  situation on the ground.

“We wanted to appreciate the situation on our own. However, what we have been hearing is contrary to what we have seen today,” he said, without elaborating.

He said for the project to be realised, there are procedures that need to be followed by both Malawi and Mozambique.

Nsanje district commissioner (DC) Gift Rapozo said he was happy with the committee’s visit to the port, noting that the government authorities will now get a true picture of the current status of the port.

Nsanje World Inland Port was initiated as part of Shire-Zambezi waterway project to open landlocked Malawi to the Indian Ocean. n