Residents of the area served by Mpata Health Centre under Paramount Chief Kyungu in Karonga District have raised concerns over the stalled construction of the facility’s Outpatient Department (OPD).
The concerns were raised during a meeting involving members of the Health Advisory Committee (HAC), traditional leaders, health workers and the Public Expenditure Tracking (PET) team, facilitated by the Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM).
Speaking during the meeting, HAC Chairperson Topkings Ngilania Mwenitete said the community wants the construction work completed to improve access to health services.
Mwenitete said they engaged health workers and the PET team to understand the challenges affecting the project and find ways of ensuring that construction resumes and is completed.
The OPD was expected to be completed in June 2026.
He also expressed concern over the absence of a functional committee to oversee the management of the health centre, saying health committee members and traditional leaders need to be involved.
Meanwhile, the contractor, Gospel Seleman of Selemunthu Construction, said the company stopped work because Karonga District Council owes it a substantial amount of money.
Seleman said the company would resume construction once the outstanding payment is made.
However, Karonga District Council spokesperson George Mponda said the council was aware of the outstanding debt and assured the community that construction work would continue.
Mponda said the council, contractor and other stakeholders were engaging to resolve the issue and ensure that the project proceeds.
EAM Project Officer for Karonga District, Eden Mbale, said the organisation facilitated the engagement to identify challenges affecting the project and find solutions to ensure that the OPD is completed.
EAM is implementing the “Fighting Inequalities through Improved Local and Mining Governance” project with funding from Norwegian Church Aid and Dan Church Aid.
Reported by Austin Sute Kayisi