Authorities have acknowledged that financial challenges have severely limited their ability to maintain the country's deteriorating road network, with many roads now said to have outlived their design life.

This admission is contained in a letter written by Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Engineer David Mzandu, to the Transporters Association of Malawi (TAM). The letter was in response to a petition by TAM expressing concern over the poor state of several roads.

Engineer Mzandu noted that some of the roads cited by TAM are currently undergoing rehabilitation or reconstruction, including the Nsipe–Liwonde and Liwonde–Zomba roads.

"Over the years, the ministry has been striving to keep these old roads in a serviceable state through rigorous maintenance. However, recently the ministry has only been able to execute limited maintenance due to resource constraints," reads part of the letter.

However, TAM spokesperson Frank Banda lamented that poor road conditions are significantly increasing their operational costs.

“Our pain is increasing because our trucks, when they travel on these roads—especially the Chiweta stretch—they only manage four trips in three months. And with inflation, truck tyres have gone up from around K250,000 to K1.4 million,” he said.

Banda added that while the resurfacing of the M1 Road is ongoing, progress is slow and continues to damage transporters' vehicles.

In their petition, the association urged government to prioritize pothole patching and proper maintenance of diversions along roads currently under construction.

Meanwhile, Noel Mhango, Director of Operations at the Road Safety Alert Foundation (ROSAF), backed TAM's concerns and called on the government to sustain road maintenance efforts across the country.

(Written By: Kenphord Mdima)