The relocation exercise of residents from disaster prone areas in Mzuzu is facing resistance from some residents, thereby slowing down the process.

Mzuzu City Council Spokesperson, Karen Msiska, said some residents are refusing to relocate to new plots claiming it is far from where they are based.

“A group of people from Masasa said they will not move because they are from the Nkhata Bay side of the city and the area that we identified, was only the Mzimba side of the city,” he said.

Msiska said this is the case because the council does not have a suitable land on the Nkhatabay side of the city for the relocation exercise.

“We do not have land where we can allocate people on the Nkhata Bay side because the area is predominantly hilly,” he said.

Msiska said the process has also slowed down because the council wanted to ensure that the new plots have the required social services.