Communities from Principal Group Village Headman Kalambo under Traditional Authority Kyungu in Karonga District have threatened to drag government to court over its failure to construct Mpata Health Center.

The Health Center, which got affected due to an earthquake which hit the area in 2009, has been operating under life threatening dilapidated structures.

In a letter addressed to the country`s Attorney General, the communities are demanding an explanation from government to explain why the Health Center has not been constructed despite an allocation of K109 million for the project in 2012.

“The officials from the Ministry of Health assured the community members that the government had allocated K109 million for the project.

“On 7th September 2012 the contractor commenced work on the site and by November, the same year, the contractor abandoned the site,” reads part of the letter.

Addressing a news conference in Lilongwe, Principal Group Village Headman (GVH) Kalambo said a population of 40, 000 people in the area is facing numerous challenges due poor structures at the Health Center.

“We don’t have any health service nearby, and people of Mpata especially women are being forced to travel long distance to Karonga District Hospital just to seek medical attention,” he said.

And on his part, Acting Executive Director Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) Michael Kaiyatsa has pledged to facilitate all required channels in order for the people of Mpata to be assisted accordingly.

“Our role as CHRR is simply to facilitate people to demand justice, we want people to know what happened, I they government provide necessary information, then it will be a clear example that government has violated its people`s rights,” said Kaiyatsa.

The communities have since threatened that if government will not address their concerns at the expiry of three months, they will seek court`s intervention.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Attorney General is yet to comment on the development.