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Blantyre City Council has a Whatsapp number (0888811000) to enhance communication and interaction between the Council and City residents.

The handover ceremony

The Concerned Youth Organization (CYO) on Tuesday donated a Smartphone, bought with funding from Tilitonse Foundation, to the Council’s Call Centre where agents will be receiving and processing messages from residents.

CYO executive director Harvey Chimaliro appealed to residents to make proper use of the Whatsapp platform and avoid sending insults or unnecessary messages or images.

“We would love to see residents making good use of this Whatsapp number like sending pictures of beautiful sites in the city to motivate Council staff to do more. We would also want the residents to send images or complaints for the Council’s urgent action,” said Chimaliro.

The Director of Administrative Services Lytton Nkata thanked CYO for partnering with the Council in the promotion of good governance and emphasised that the Smartphone will be used for the intended purpose.

Public Relations Manager Anthony Kasunda said with the messaging facility, the Council will be able to timely respond to complaints from residents.

The Council established a Call Centre as part of actualising the Service Charter. The Toll-Free Line 526 is operational from 8 am to 4:30 pm only during working days but the Whatsapp number 0888811000 will be online 24/7.

Timely intervention. The Deputy Minister of Local Government Halima Daud, MP, has weighed in on the importance of developers whose buildings were marked with a red star to demolish and build new ones.

Deputy Minister listens to one of the developers in Limbe

Daud said this as she toured road projects and red star buildings along Churchill Road and Livingstone -Avenue in the commercial city.

The Deputy Minister emphasized that the old and dilapidated structures that were condemned about five years ago make the city unattractive and put the lives of people at risk.

She added that in line with Malawi 2063, the government is prioritizing urbanization hence there is a need to plan ahead of time by developing structures that are modern and beautiful.

“Blantyre as a commercial city should look attractive with most of its infrastructure in place. These shabby structures do not depict a good status of the city, moreover, they are a threat to people who live and work around,” she said.

Daud gestures as if pleading with a developer to demolish his building

She added that her ministry will continue monitoring various development projects so that the plans are fulfilled.

One of the structure owners, Salim Karim, who has several structures including the one that houses Pound Shop said he was ready with the new plans only that he was waiting for the city to approve his ideas.

“I promise to resubmit the plans to the council by next Monday and start the demolition and construction as soon as the city council approves,” he said.

Another businessman, Osman Bhambani pleaded with the Deputy Minister for a three-week grace period saying that he had few things to be sorted out before the project commences.

According to the Deputy Minister, Blantyre City Roads Rehabilitation Programme received funding allocation from the government through the Roads Fund Administration (RFA) amounting to MK2 Billion in the last financial year and about MK10 Billion in this financial year for another set of roads and bypasses improvement.

Deputy Minister speaks to one of the developers

Daud said with the current population boom and increased number of vehicles in the country, the roads will help in lessening traffic congestion in the city.

Some of the roads under improvement include Chilobwe-Stella Maris road, Kapeni-Mahatma Gandhi road and junction slip lanes as well as a bridge on Chilomoni Ring Road. (Story and pictures courtesy of www.malawiexclusive.com)

Construction of slip lanes at a junction where Kapeni Road joins Mahatma Gandhi Road is expected to be completed in two months.

A slip lane is a road at a junction that allows motorists and other road users to change roads without entering an intersection. Blantyre City Council is upgrading several roads to decongest and ease the traffic flow on the busy roads of the City.

Construction site at Kapeni-Mahatma Gandhi junction

Some of the bypass roads under construction are Chilobwe-Stella Maris, North Road-Market Street in Limbe, Kapeni-Mahatma Gandhi. Several junctions will have slip lanes such as Mahatma Gandhi and Kapeni Road, Kamba and Kenyatta Drive and South End Schools.

The Council has also advertised tenders for the construction of the following roads in the City: Namiwawa-Sunnyside (Bank Road and Smythe Road), Lali Lubani Road across Masauko Chipembere Highway via Malawi Polytechnic Village-Kenyatta Drive, Ndirande-Nkolokoti Road (Makhetha), Chipatala Avenue-Kamba, Michiru Road- Likhubula, Newlands-Manje via Chiwembe Road and Old Zomba Road-Mapanga.

The projects are expected to cost the Council over K12 billion.

• Dr Queen Dube, Chief of Health Services in the Ministry of Health;
• Members of the Patel family;
• Members of staff at Atlas Medical Centre;
• Invited guests;
• Members of the media;
• Ladies and Gentlemen

Today, we witness another milestone in our beautiful city. Today, we rewrite the history of medical service delivery in Blantyre City.

I am glad to be part of this auspicious occasion. Thank you for inviting me to this grand opening of Atlas Medical Centre.

Why am I excited about the opening of this medical facility?

I am delighted and confident that this hospital will radically improve the quality of service and infrastructure for patients.

Makwinja delivering his speech

Atlas Medical Centre will be of great benefit to the local community both in terms of the medical services that will be provided here and of course the employment opportunities that it will offer.

I am reliably told that although it has started with day time opening, very soon, it will offer 24 hours services.

Ladies and Gentlemen, to set up a medical facility of this kind is no mean achievement.

We are today witnessing the effort and achievement of the Patel family but which will touch many lives in our city and beyond.

I am told that the centre will provide among other services general practitioner clinic, a specialist clinic in hypertension, diabetes, kidneys, infectious diseases, pediatrics and general surgery.

Another exciting news is that it will provide diagnostic laboratory such as an electrocardiogram (ECG), cardiac tests among other specialized tests.

The centre has physiotherapy and a pharmacy that will store various types of drugs.

Ladies and Gentlemen, some of these services are the ones only a few privileged Malawians were accessing outside the country. Now, these services will be locally available. We are very grateful for that.

Let me appeal to the owners of the hospital to maintain the standards they have set out.

We have seen others raising high expectations at the beginning but few years down the line, they become just like any other health facility.

You have told us that your vision is to provide quality health care services for all members of society, use advanced and innovative health care technology and also provide affordable and equitable health care services.

Your acknowledgement that Malawi health care service has been faced with numerous obstacles over the years gives us hope and it is our prayer that you stick to this promise.

Mwakwinja together with Dr Queen Dube on his right and Dr Parth Patel on his left

Finally, I would like to pay tribute and congratulate the directors of Atlas Medical Centre for investing in serving and saving the lives of Malawians.

We look forward to reaping the fruits in terms of efficiency, client satisfaction and better patient relations.

We are optimistic that Atlas Medical Centre will lead to better health, better care and better lives for the people of Blantyre City.

I would like to conclude by thanking Dr Parth Patel for extending an invitation so that I can be here and speak as we celebrate the opening of this hospital.

I believe this new hospital will a great credit to Malawi’s health services and many thanks should go to everyone who has helped to make it possible.

To the management and staff, I wish you all the best as you embark on a life-saving mission.

With these few remarks, it is now my singular honour and privilege to declare Atlas Medical Centre officially opened.

I thank you all for your kind attention and may God bless you.