Residents threaten demos over Njakwa-Livingstonia Road
People living along the Njakwa-Livingstonia Road in Rumphi have threatened to hold protests on Monday due to government’s alleged failure to compensate families affected by the road construction project which started four years ago.
Speaking at Livingstonia on Wednesday during a meeting organised by Tilitonse Foundation, secretary for the concerned families, Harris Msiska, said they put on hold the demonstrations after government promised to compensate them by July 14 this year.
“We had a discussion prior to the elections on May 14 with all stakeholders and they assured us that we would get our compensation by July 14,” he said.
One of the affected, Maggie Nyirenda, a widow, said she has lost two fish ponds and a dam she was using for irrigation farming.
“They buried my dams without any compensation. Now my family is struggling economically because I depended on the three dams for food and income,” she said.
Tilitonse Foundation organised the meeting to assess the impact of a transparency and accountability project it is bankrolling through Find Your Feet (FYF) and Church and Society Programme of CCAP Livingstonia Synod.
FYF executive director Chimwemwe Soko faulted government for proceeding with the road project without compensating the concerned families.
Roads Authority spokesperson Portia Kajanga asked for a questionnaire and was yet to respond as we went to press.
