Malawian youth hail Chinese company for job opportunities, skills transfer

NKHOTAKOTA, Malawi, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Malawian youth employed by China Railway 20th Bureau Group Corporation Limited (CR20) in the 60-km Kaphatenga-Benga Road project in Malawi have recently hailed the company for creating job opportunities and transferring skills to them.

The Chinese company has promoted qualified Malawians to senior management positions, a very motivating development for them, several young Malawians said in an interview with Xinhua at Benga in the lakeshore district of Nkhotakota, where more than 350 professional, skilled and non-skilled Malawians are carrying out various roles to implement the road project.

One local employee entrusted with a senior position is Juma Matiki, who is the human resources manager, responsible for recruitment and administration.

"I'm very happy to work with CR20 and I find the job exciting," Matiki told Xinhua. "I come from this district and have traveled on this road many times. It has always been in a bad condition. I'm happy it is being reconstructed and even more excited to be part of the project."

According to Matiki, there are more than 400 Chinese and local employees working on the project, with local workers making up 85 percent of the workforce.

"Most of the local employees came with no skills, but with mentorship from the Chinese experts, they have acquired various skills such as still-fixing, carpentry, and bricklaying," said Matiki.

Ackson Potiphar is one of them. With the training program provided by CR20, Potiphar has become a skilled welder.

Emanuel Gwazantini, health safety and environment manager responsible for ensuring on-site safety, values the opportunity to expand his knowledge.

According to Gwazantini, he has learned new safety measures through CR20's plants and equipment, including the sophisticated plant for asphalt production that the company has on-site.

The Kaphatenga-Benga Road project is crucial for Malawi as it connects two lakeshore districts of Salima and Nkhotakota in the central region. It also connects to the northern region through Mzuzu City, where the road feeds into M1, Malawi's backbone road stretching to the country's northern border with Tanzania.

Since 2018, CR20 has implemented several projects in Malawi, including the Kaphatenga-Benga Road, the 20-km Neno-Ligowe Road in the Neno district, and the 72-km Marka-Bangula Railway in the southern border district of Nsanje, with more than 5,000 local Malawians employed and more than 1,000 equipped with various knowledge and skills through its training programs.