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By Robert Kumwenda
Malawi is currently facing hunger and drought that affected most districts in 2015 and 2016 growing season.
According to experts this is so because of issues of climate change and climate variability.
Rampant cutting down of trees due to charcoal burning is one of the factors. Though government is trying to put some mechanisms to contain the situation little is happening on the ground as the malpractice of cutting down of trees is still going on and has worsened than before.
Neno District has not been spared from this trend and the citizens of Neno are worried with this malpractice which has left the district completely with no trees.
A Senior Official from Neno District council who did not want to be named said Senior Forestry Officers, Police Officers and other Top government officials are involved in the malpractice.
One of the concerned citizen’s Group Village Chidakwani whose real name is John Kasese said people are worried because they want to present their concerns to the District Commissioner (DC) Memory Kaleso Monteiro but the problem is that she is not available in his office because she always work at home.
“We wonder if the Principal Secretary for Local Government and Rural Development Stewart Ligomeka if he is aware of this development,” he lamented.
So does group Village Ngozi whose real name is Paul Kasoze who also said that the problem is that if people overstays in District Council’s they bring confusion in villages.
He asked government to extend the Public Service Reforms program in the District Council’s to end the problems which they are facing.
“The tree planting program which government implemented is not yielding any fruitful results because the number of trees that are being cut is high as compared to those that are being planted and the trees that are being planted are not taken cared off,” he said.
Attempts to speak to the concerned people proved futile as they could not be reached on their mobile phones.
