BLANTYRE--Khulubvi Highway, that's the K9 billion Nsanje-Bangula road opened Saturday by Malawian Pres Bingu wa Mutharika.

The 46 kilometre road, built by Portuguese conglomerate Mota-Engil, is vital in transport networks because it will link the Lower Shire with the rest of the country, Mutharika said.

With this road, it now takes 30 minutes to travel between Nsanje and Bangula, while in the past it took three hours.

Khulubvi was a sacred site for rain making and fertility rites administered by ancestral spirit Mbona.

Mutharika also commented on the controversial Nsanje World Inland Port, saying his government was still discussing with Mozambian authourities on the Shire-Zambezi waterway, promising that very soon Malawians will see the first barge docking at Nsanje.

He repeated that when opened the waterway will lessen the cost of transporting imports and exports, thereby benefitting locals.

He urged rich Malawians to invest in Nsanje by building hotels and shops.

Mutharika, under fire for his economic policies that have led to an economic meltdown, bragged that he had delivered on his promises.

He said although critics bash him, they will never deliver the type of development the country has seen under his leadership.
---
©2012 The Maravi Post. Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment