Long-awaited construction of the Inkosi ya Makosi M’mbelwa University has commenced in Mzimba, with the Minister of Education announcing that the whole project will cost MK450 billion.
The commencement of the project has raised hopes among community members of education activists that the government will this time complete the project.
The former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration initiated the project whose foundation stone former President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika laid in 2015 before abandoning it for undisclosed reasons.
It was reported that the DPP government diverted the resources meant to finance the Inkosi ya Makosi M’mbelwa University project, something that prompted the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to launch investigations into alleged financial misappropriation in December 2020.
A National Audit Office (NAO) report for the year ending 2020 showed that the Ministry of Education failed to account for MWK1.2 billion (roughly US$1 million) Mombera University funds. The funds went missing during the APM tenure.
However, at the height of the campaign ahead of the 2019 tripartite elections, President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera promised that his administration would complete the project, a promise he repeated after his election to office over three years ago.
To demonstrate this commitment, the Minister of Education, Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima, toured the construction on Monday, January 8, 2024, where she also engaged contractors – Paramount Holdings Limited (PHL) and DEC Construction.
Speaking to journalists after the tour, Wirima reiterated Chakwera’s commitment to ensuring that construction of the varsity is completed in time.
The minister disclosed that the varsity will enroll its first intake in June 2024.
“The whole project will cost MK450 billion while the first phase will cost us MK150 billion,” said Wirima, adding that the institution will accommodate 10, 000.
In a separate interview, PHL Managing Director Prakash Ghedia, whose company was awarded a contract to construct a girls’ hostel, assured Malawians that his company will work within the agreed upon timeframe.
Ghedia disclosed that the company has already started importing materials for the construction work.
