STORY THREE (CM Corridor): Andrew Semu, a Malawian trader near lives the site of the projected Chantulo – Mkutumula bituminised road, which is being built with funding from Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) of the United States.

One of the road users is Andrew, a local vendor who sells farm produce using an old pushbike. And we met as he was about to join a tattered M10 tarmac road. “Today, I am selling onions,” he said.

Most of his customers live on the Chantulo-Mkutumula soil route and the M10 tarmac road. He added that this path attracts many traders due to the abundance of markets and agricultural products grown in the surrounding fields.

Andrew lamented the poor condition of the Chantulo-Mkutumula earth road.

“This is the only dependable road, despite being dusty during the dry season and slippery, muddy when it rains, making cycling more difficult and slowing down our businesses,” he said.

However, support is on the way for road users like Andrew, as preparations to upgrade the road to a bitumen surface are underway.

“We, the traders, will be able to carry more goods because the route would be smoother and stronger enough to resist all weather situations,” he added.

It was in 2018 that Robert began selling farm produce on a modest scale to support his family and relatives. He and other traders continue to ply this road despite its obvious risks.

When news reached him that Malawian government under the Millennium Challenges Account-Malawi II secured the US funding to upgrade this 79-kilometer road from earth to bituminous quality, people like Andrew had raised hopes for increased income due increased access to better markets. Traditional Authority Nankumba confirmed revealed that the construction news has been widely received and further confirmed that majority of his subjects are small-scale farmers because the area has rich fertile soils.