Chimombo Health Post nearly completion in Nsanje

Jubilation should be noticed on the faces of Chimombo residents in Nsanje as they are on the verge of stopping travelling 20 kilometres to either Mbenje or Ndamera Health Centres to access health services.

This is so as the construction of a Health Post in the area draws near completion.

After eye-witnessing the progress of the work being done in the construction of the post on Thursday morning, The Malawi Guardian established that only final touches left before it is officially handed over to the district council.

The 20-day project that was handed to the Lilongwe-based contractor, Lukunka Building contractor was started on March 23, 2022, and was supposed to be completed by April 13, 2022.

Speaking to the managing director of the Lukunka Building contractors, Dan Ndembo attributes the delay to the challenges that they were facing during the construction of the building but assured the Malawi Guardian that by Saturday this week, everything will be completed.

“We are in final stages,” said Ndembo. “We faced several challenges hence the delay in the construction of the building,” added Ndembo.

The Malawi Guardian witnessed that the project which is pegged at K38.1 million has been situated away from a borehole, the distance is estimated at 1.5killimeters.

“We depend on the borehole that is at Nyachipere Community Day Secondary School, which is a bit far from here. We were also competing with the community that also depends on the same water source, so it was a challenge but we are completing the project.

“We are just changing doors, and hopefully, the project will be completed by Saturday,” said Ndembo.

He further said that the devaluation also played a role in the holdup of the construction of the Health Post as the prices of Lime, Cement went elevated than it was during the signing of the contract.

“Before the devaluation, we were buying a 50kg Cement at K6,500 but now it is at over K12,000. This delayed our progress,” added Ndembo.

Electric Wiring has already been done.

Our effort to speak with official from the district council to find out the exact dates when the facility will be opened, turned futile as their phones were not being picked up.

After completion, the Chimombo Health Post is expected to cover residents from Msamba Group Village Headman, Kamphata Group Village Headman, and Meza Group Village Headman, among others.

Some parts of Ndamera area such as Kungaecha are also expected to benefit from the Health Post that is being funded by the Nsanje District Council under Governance to Enable Service Delivery (NED GESD) South West Constituency.

Currently, people in Chimombo Area travel long distances to access the health assistance at either Mbenje or Ndamera Health Centre, a development that affects their health.

In January 2022, Nsanje District Council launched the construction of the project under World Bank’s Governance to Enable Service Delivery (Gesd) funds.

Gesd is a government of Malawi project implemented by the National Local Government Finance Committee in the country’s 28 district councils.