By Sylvester Kumwenda
Dowa, February 19, Mana: Dowa district council has constructed a modern house worth K180 million for the District Commissioner (DC) to improve council operations and service delivery.
In an interview, Council Chairperson Gift Nkhono Songeya said the council decided to construct the house to alleviate accommodation challenges workers including DCs used to face due to a shortage of residential houses at Dowa boma.
“At Dowa boma, we have a challenge of accommodation whereby modern or standard houses are in a shortfall.
“As you know, the DC is a prominent individual who at least deserves a good and safe house. So, this hugely affected us because previously, some DCs would not prefer to work here nor stay in Dowa for a long time,” he said.
Songeya said some opted to have temporary accommodation in the district or daily commute from nearby Lilongwe.
This, he said affected council operations.
“Sometimes the DCs office handles emergency issues even during the night, and for someone in Lilongwe, it would be difficult to respond in person,” he said.
However, he said the challenges will now be a thing of the past following the construction of the modern house.
Amongst other things, he said the house will improve DCs security, which would enable them to fully focus on their work.
“Our DCs now will have a conducive environment to reside in. We also believe future DCs will no longer have reservations coming to Dowa. So, this is a huge motivation.
“However, as a council we are not stopping there. We also have plans in the future to construct houses for our directors because they all work as a team,” he said.
The house amongst other features has four bedrooms including a guest wing, an office, a lockable garage, an open concept kitchen which includes a kitchen, dining and sitting room and a storage area.
Director of public works for the council Oscar Kumwenda in an interview said the house has been constructed with funds from the District Development Fund for a period of two years and in two phases.
“In 2023 – 2024 financial year, we reserved some funds amounting around K30 million for phase one and we implemented the project up to slab level. Come 2024 – 2025, we earmarked around K147 million, plus other expenses totaling to around K180 million.
“In phase two, we continued the project from slab phase up to completion, and the house is now ready for occupation. What remains now is just to construct a fence and some other additional works like a boys quarters which will be considered later,” said Kumwenda.
65 year old Elfrida Mataplayi of Pondani village, Traditional Authority Nsakambewa in her remarks said she was happy that the DCs office now has a beautiful house.
“It is a show of respect for our DCs. Apart from that, by staying with us in our localities, it will also be easy for the DCs to appreciate our day to day lives and challenges and come up with appropriate interventions, she said.
