Dedza District Council has commended the full disbursement of funds under the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (Gesd 4.0) programme, saying it has improved the pace of project implementation. The council’s director of public works Harry Mara expressed optimism that all projects that started under the current phase will be completed by the end of this month. A classroom block at Kachere Primary School in Dedza.| Steve Chirombo “In Dedza, we have eight projects in this phase that are currently under construction; some are nearing completion, while others are done,” he said.

The projects include Kachere Primary School classroom block, Hinda Community-Based Childcare Centre and Paiwe Dispensary in Traditional Authority (T/A) Kaphuka, a teacher’s house at Msunduzi Primary School in T/A Kachere and a classroom block at Chilikumwendo Primary School in T/A Chilikumwendo. “Projects are at these stages because funding was provided in full and on time. This has made a huge difference in terms of planning and execution,” said Mara.

A community development assistant and project management committee chairperson Blessings Kathumba from T/A Chilikumwendo has urged community members to embrace ownership of the project. “We are, therefore, asking everyone to look out for one another and report any suspected theft of construction materials,” he said. In T/A Kaphuka, group village head Paiwe said women, children and expectant mothers have been among the most affected due to long distance they travel to access medical services.

“Now they will have access to medical care within a shorter distance because of the dispensary,” he said. Gesd is a Government of Malawi project implemented by the National Local Government Finance Committee with funding from the World Bank