APM Donates Minibus To Former School Dedza Sec…Set Aside K15million For Painting, Road Rehabilitation

APM Donates Minibus To Former School Dedza Sec…Set Aside K15million For Painting, Road Rehabilitation

President Professor Peter Mutharika has donated a minibus to his former school Dedza Secondary popularly known as Box 48.

Mutharika’s Special Personal Assistant Ben Phiri handed over the vehicle worth K5million to the school on Monday.

The donation is going to ease transport problems that the students and the staff at the school have been experiencing for so many years since the institution has only single lorry and an old grounded school bus.

President Mutharika donated the bus following the requests by the school management and students when Mutharika paid them unannounced visit few weeks ago.

“The president is an alumni of Dedza Secondary School and he within his own will decided to make a surprise visit to the school because he believes that what he is today is because of what he learnt during those days at Dedza Secondary school.” explained Phiri

“When he came here he discovered that there are quite a lot of challenges and one of which was transportation problem. Again the other problems were to do with the road to the Boma and again the state of the school as it stands right now.  So he had to pull his resources together to purchase the bus just to make sure that the transport problem is sorted out”

Phiri further said by donating the bus to his former school the president felt that as alumni it is important that he leads the way for others to follow the good example of what he is doing.

He said the starting next week the school will be painted and that Mota-Engil will begin to rehabilitate the 6Km dilapidated road from Dedza Boma to the school. He mentioned that the road will be an all season gravel road.

“The president will be rehabilitating the road from the school to Dedza Boma and again the school will be painted and all starts next week. I must mention that this has got nothing to do with the government. It’s not government money! He has used his resources to do it and at some extent his friends have come in to help him.”

Phiri also indicated that the whole road construction project and painting of the school infrastructure will cost MK15 million. Therefore the whole project including minibus donation total’s to MK20 Million.

Receiving the minibus donation, Deputy Head Teacher for the school Edness Banda thanked the president for living up to his promise at a short period of time. She said this help will bring back the lost glory of Dedza Secondary School.

Banda said the school has for a long time been using a lorry to pick sick students to Boma and that it was difficult for the staff to travel to important functions at division offices and in Lilongwe education headquarters offices.

“We are proud of receiving the donation and we are also proud of our president for assuring us that he is going to rehabilitate the school and the road”

The deputy head teacher also promised that the school will take care of the bus and the school property.

Dedza secondary school which was opened in 1951 has produced a lot of leaders including current Finance and Economic Development Minister Hon. Goodall Gondwe, current Chief Secretary and former president late Professor Bingu Wa Mutharika.