Mchinji District Council has launched various projects worth K1.1 billion under the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD) programme.
The projects were officially launched on Wednesday, with a key project being the construction of a youth centre in Mkanda, which will be developed for K126 million.
Mchinji District Commissioner, Lucia Chidalengwa, stated that the district secured the K1.1 billion performance-based grant (PBG) under GESD and emphasised the council’s commitment to completing the projects.
Council Chairperson, Dorothy Musa, issued a stern warning to the contractors involved, cautioning them against misusing the allocated funds. Musa stressed that the council would closely monitor the projects to ensure transparency and accountability.
Echoing Musa’s sentiments, the Member of Parliament for the area, Racheal Mazombwe Zulu, reiterated the importance of these projects for the community and urged the council to ensure their completion.
Chairperson of Mkanda Youth Network, Joseph Benson, expressed his satisfaction with the youth centre project, noting that the community had been longing for such a facility for a long time.
“We tried to construct a youth centre on our own but failed to finish. It is good to see that we have now benefitted from GESD and will have a youth centre where we can meet as young people,” said Benson.
GESD is a $100 million grant from the World Bank and is implemented by all qualifying local authorities through the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC).
Source: MANA
