The Ugly of the Road Construction in Lilongwe's urban communities

There has been a drive over the past five years to improve roads in Malawi, the Main Highways and Low Density area roads have been targeted. Over the past two years though, this focus has also been towards community roads, not only in the usual Area 10, 43, 9, 11 etc but poorer communities such as Area 25, Kawale, Mchesi. In these areas roads are currently undergoing a long overdue face-lift. This is not just the patching of the pot holes of the past road maintenance schemes but the actual overhaul and resurfacing of the roads. Shoulders for the pedestrians and cyclists have been added and the drainage system (using either bricks or stone facing) is being constructed.

One might ask about where the ugly is coming from, am not referring to the inconveniences road users face when roads are closed or when there are dust storms as they pile mounds of soil for road construction. I am referring to the apparent lack of contact and dialogue between the Roads Authority (through its contractors) and the Lilongwe Water Board. As the graders zip through the old tarmac and try to find a base not only do they pull out dirt but they rip through water pipes. These pipes are usually connecting plots from both sides of the road. For days on end water uses from these communities are inconvenienced as water oozes from pipes with such velocity not only creating a nuisance for the road users but also causing a shortage for the affected households. These households are thus cut off from the water service and have to rely on a 'public water point' that is in the middle of a road. As there is no communication with the Water Board this goes on for days, women and children are left to fight for road space with cars and cars always win.

Very early in the morning as the well to do motorists drive by, poorer residents of these communities have to tend to the mud sprays and also tend to their children whilst trying to secure the water. As this goes on for months on end, the biggest loser is the Lilongwe Water Board as it increases its already unaccounted for water from the estimated 16%. The Secondary losers are the other community members living downstream, faced with very low water pressure (reported over the weekend newspapers) as the water is totally cut off at times. The households that have been cut off are the most affected (facing immediate effects) as they have no water on end and have to spend time on the roads fighting for water. Residents of Lilongwe will have to pay in the long run for these losses.

The beneficiaries (if any): It is not all bad though as some of the households whose plots might not be affected start benefiting from the free water. These are the households near these burst water points that are getting free water. They have an immediate benefit as they dont have to pay for water until this problem is solved, not all those crowding the middle of the roads have been directly affected by the cut off. One wonders where such savings are channeled towards, hopefully home improvement ventures.

All in all, the ugly is not that ugly for some.