By Kondwani Magombo _ Mana

Lilongwe, August 19, Mana: Namatubi Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) in TA Mwaulambia in Chitipa; and Junju CDSS in TA Kachulu in Rumphi, have got a thing in common. The two institutions are both failing to enroll learners to the full capacity of 200 due one reason: most of the institutions’ feeder primary schools are very far away, hence the selected students end up dropping out along the way.

“We have lost some of our students – especially girls – either due to transfers, or they simply drop out and get married,” explains Namatubi CDSS Head Teacher, Manje Kondowe, adding: “Some girls resorted to self-boarding but, again, that was not safe for them and some of them ended up with pregnancies.”

The situation prompted the surrounding Senior Group Village Heads Chendo, Nyami and Zambwe, to mobilize funds for the construction of a hostel at the school to accommodate girls and ease their studies.

According to the Head Teacher, resources, including bricks, were mobilized and the construction of the hostels commenced up to roofing stage. Then Lady Luck smiled on Namatubi CDSS as Chitipa district council embarked on girls’ hostel project, which is at completion stage and likely to be ready when schools open mid-September.

The council is constructing the hostels with funds from the Governance to Enable Service Delivery (GESD), a US$100million 5-year project that Government of Malawi is implementing in district councils with funds from the World Bank.

GESD is aimed at strengthening Local Authorities (LAs) institutional performance, responsiveness to citizens and management of resources for service delivery in all councils across the country.

“The girls hostel which the council is constructing for us through GESD has 16 rooms and each room has the capacity to accommodate 4 beds,” explains Kondowe, adding: “The hostel has everything in terms of toilets, bathrooms, and laundry. We have even asked government to increase the selection to our school because we can now accommodate the girls.”

Now that the girls will have their own boarding facility, the community-led hostel project is not stalling as the three Senior Group Village Heads and their subjects have agreed to maintain it and turn it into a boys’ hostel.

Chitipa district council also boasts about teachers’ houses at Namteya and Nkhanga schools, Kameme Extension Planning Area (EPA) offices, and 2 markets shades, each with 40 vending spaces at the Boma – all implemented with GESD’s funds, according to the council’s Director of Finance (DoF) Gift Msowoya.

Unlike Namatubi CDSS, Junju CDSS in Rumphi has the least enrolment of 70 students out of the 200 that the institution has the capacity to enroll.

According to the school’s Head Teacher, Jimmy Msiska, some feeder schools are as far as 14km away and this has always kept students, especially girls, dropping out of school.

But, like Namatubi, Junju CDSS is likely to hit the bar in enrolment this coming school year as Rumphi district council is also constructing a 20-room girls’ hostel with a capacity of 80 beds, courtesy of GESD funds.

“We are very grateful that the council heeded our plea for a girls’ hostel,” explains Msiska. “Our enrolment is just at 70; that’s 32 girls and 38 girls, but with the coming in of the hostel, I’m very certain the enrolment will improve and so will the performance of the school.”

Other than the girls’ hostel at Junju, Rumphi district council also touts other GESD projects including market sheds at Phwezi and Katowo, a pharmacy at Rumphi District Hospital, youth resource Centre at Rumphi Stadium, and agricultural Extension Planning Area (EPA) offices at Mlowe, just to mention some.

In Nkhotakota, the district council is also implementing real life-changing projects under GESD. For the first time in the history of decades-old Nkhunga Health Centre at Dwangwa, two admission wards, one for male, and one for female, are near completion.

The construction of the admission wards is the most welcome news among the members of the community as they see themselves no longer paying hefty costs to get to Nkhotakota District Hospital when referred for admission.

“Every time a patient is referred to Nkhotakota District Hospital they pay up to MK14,000 for a return ticket on public transport, which is too high for someone living in the village where resources are meagre,” explains 21-year-old Mary Ndeketeya from Kapendekera Village, TA Kanyenda.

According to the facility In-Charge, Fanny Kabango, Nkhunga Health Centre serves a population of 52 thousand, thus the two 14-bed-each admission wards is of great convenience to the surrounding communities.

Other than the admission wards, Nkhotakota district council is also implementing other projects including a market shed at Benga, and a stadium at the Boma, among others, under GESD.

In Lilongwe, the district council has implemented a number of projects with GESD funds for the past two financial years but some of those directly impacting the lives of people include, Chitsime Health Centre in TA Chiseka, classroom blocks for Phiri La Njuzi, and Mwenda primary schools in TAs Masumbankhunda and Chiseka, respectively.

According to the council’s DoF, Charles Mhone, the projects have changed the people’s lives as they can now access health services, while pupils who were learning outside now have classroom blocks.

“The Phiri La Njuzi, and Mwenda school blocks were both completed on time; desks were provided, and over 1,000 learners who were learning outside now have classrooms,” explains Mhone.

He adds, “On the other hand, Chitsime Health Centre is a flagship project for us as it will provide rural hospital status as it has maternity, OPD, laboratory – all the infrastructure required for a rural health Centre are there.”

A Health Surveillance Assistant (HAS) at the health Centre, Happiness Dalikeni, concurs with Mhone, saying the health facility will serve people from Kalumba, Chadza, Malili and Chiseka who, previously, had to go all the way to Bwaila Hospital in Lilongwe to get health services.

GESD projects have also made a notable impact in Thyolo where the council is implementing 10 projects from the previous funding of 2021/2022.

The 10 projects include two health facilities; one market center with two sheds, 8 kiosks, and VIP pit latrine; five teachers’ houses, and an irrigation scheme, among others.

Some of the projects are completed and in use, while other projects are at completion stage, according to the council’s DoF, Andrew Jafali.

Of the projects that are completed and functional in Thyolo, it is, perhaps, the irrigation scheme that has brought the much needed salvation to the communities in the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy.

“Some completed projects are already changing people’s lives: for instance, the irrigation scheme is a real-life-saving project,” explains Jafali, and he continues: “It reaches out to 175 hectares, and it is benefiting 2,500 households in the community that we are implementing – that is well over 10,000 people.

According to Jafali, the farmers working on the scheme were, at the time of the visit to the council (end July), harvesting their first crop since Cyclone Freddy devastation.

“After Cyclone Freddy the farmers went straight into irrigation farming and they are now harvesting and we are expecting a thousand-plus bags of maize, and a thousand plus bags of beans as we speak,” explains the DoF.

Since its inception in 2020, GESD has dotted the nation with variously service delivery projects through Performance Based Grant (PBG) that is awarded to the district councils to supplement the District Development Fund (DDF).

According to NLGFC, for PBG 1, a total of MK4.9 billion was disbursed to 24 councils for implementation of 152 projects, while for PBG 2, a total of MK13.7 billion was disbursed in two tranches (first MK8.3 billion to 25 councils, and secondly, MK5.4 billion to 24 councils) for implementation of 273 projects.

For PBG 3, approximately MK20 billion has been allocated to 25 councils that have qualified, with over 190 projects expected to be implemented.

Thus since GESD’s inception in 2020, a total of MK38.6 billion has been disbursed to councils to fund a total of 615 projects across the country.