Feasibility study not done for Lake Malawi water project   – Lilongwe Water Board confirms

There has been no feasibility study yet  for the  construction of water pipeline from Salima to Lilongwe to tap water from Lake Malawi, Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) who owns the contract has confirmed.

Chikuni: No harm

LWB chief executive officer (CEO) Alfonso Chikuni said they agreed with the contractor Khato Holdings that the feasibility study should be undertaken after the contractof the  high-profile $500 million (K400 billion) project has already been entered into.

“No environmental impact assessment (EIA) wad done because that would mean a lot of time could be spent on the study,” said Chikuni.

He said they need the project “very badly” hence focusing on the contract.

Chikuni said they will hire experts to conduct a first feasibility study.

He, nonetheless, said a preliminary assessment found that there will be no harm in tapping water from Lake Malawi from Salima to Lilongwe.

The development comes after the Malawi Law Society (MLS) has asked the Department of Environmental Affairs to furnish it with a report of the EIA on the project in line with the laws.

Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) is implementing the project to pump water from Lake Malawi to Lilongwe City through a pipe line stretching over 130 kilometres from the lakeshore district of Salima.

Accoridng to Law Society president Khumbo Soko: “If the provisions of the Act have so far not been complied with, it will be illegal to proceed to the implementation stage of this Project.”

The society has further asked that the requirement of an EIA are satisfied before the project’s implementation begins.

MLS further says under Section 25 (3) of the Act, the report is supposed to be open

The project is under fire from several fronts and questions have been raised at how Khato Civils Ltd and Zambezi Pty Ltd was contracted to carry it out.

The government guaranteed a $500 million loan to LWB  for the project.

 

Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :

Sharing is caring!

Follow us in Twitter
21 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Mpele Wa Poly Alumni
Mpele Wa Poly Alumni
6 years ago

Just a small background. Alfonso stole a 270lr deep freezer from Polytechnic tuckshop early 90’s when he was a Civil Engineering student.

Imraan Sadick
6 years ago

ine zisandikhudze

Chi
Chi
6 years ago

We ll do environmental Audit. Chinsapo Secondary School was constructed without EIA, EA was done later. Sipaja ana akuphunzirapo. Issue of environmental impact assessment I see that its not big deal. Let the project proceed. We r tired of water shortages. It sucks big time. Lets take the big risk. Zikadzalephera basi. But am very optimisitc zidzayenda

Mayo Ine
Mayo Ine
6 years ago

I need answers to the following basic questions We know the contractor but 1. Who is the borrower? 2.Who is the lender? 3. Did Malawi Government guarantee the lender or the borrower? 4. And LWB what is your role in all this? 5. And the Attorney general’s office, was it also bypassed this time ? 6. Who signed on behalf of Government- Minister of Finance or Secretary to theTreasury 7. And the Diamphwe dam- what are the true reasons why World Bank/AFdB pulled out? 8. If that dam was to costing 25 million dollars or Euros, was it diffciult, for… Read more »

Yahya Jammeh
6 years ago

Bambo Alfonso Chikuni mukufuna kuchitawu ndi umbawa onga wa bambo Chaponda who rushed to make arrangements for the purchase of maize in Zambia by ignoring procurement procedures. They say “first thing first.” As someone said on this forum, you cannot build a house without a foundation and make foundation later. Do you expect that house to be build anyway, what if it falls? Chaponda did, rush to make a deal to purchase maize by disguising that there was great need because there was no maize in Malawi when in actual fact there was enough maize in the country. He only… Read more »

Bingu Chimodzimodzi Peter
Bingu Chimodzimodzi Peter
6 years ago

Ma politician amu Malawi amayambira dala ma project ndicholinga chokuba.The need to do an Environmental Impact Assessment in this country is a straight forward issue.Malamulo alipo ndithu. Zonse zofunikira ndizolembalemba. Is it not one of the reasons why the Nsanje Inland Port failed. Kodi a Malawi tizasintha liti kuganiza ndikuchita zinthu mwauchitsilu.

Peter phiri
Peter phiri
6 years ago

where is John Kapito?

John Banda
John Banda
6 years ago

This is why democracy is at times a problem. We stay weeks without water, now a solution is found you want to debate it over and over until you analyse and paralyse. Come on let’s allow this project to kick off. Everything else later. Water is life. Let’s have life now!!

Peter phiri
Peter phiri
6 years ago

what the CEO of Lilongwe Water Board is saying is not making sense. How can he enter into a Contract before conducting a feasibility study? Heavenly Father, have Mercy on us.

ChangingFaces
ChangingFaces
6 years ago

Inu, anzathu!!! A feasibility was already done by some Israelis during JBs reign. This project is entirely SAFE and will not lead to any environmental damage. The biggest hurdle, though, is the sheer amount of power required to push the 50m litres/day up those Mvera/Chezi Hills, up to LL. You’d need a power plant dedicated to this exercise (running 24/7). If sources of power can be guaranteed, well, why not? Go ahead!! Simbi himself is READY to unleash his MAGIC!! He is excited about it too. Also, note that Kasungu, Mponela and Salima are growing very rapidly as well; so… Read more »

Peter phiri
Peter phiri
6 years ago
Reply to  ChangingFaces

How come the CEO of Lilongwe Water Board does not know about this Feasibility study done by the Israelis? How come the Department of Environmental Affairs is also in the dark? Who engaged the Israeli’s? Too many an unanswered questions.

We should petition the State President to put a stop to this sinking nonsense.

Enough is enough.

Read previous post:
Thumbs up APM, Lake Malawi oil key to economic boom: Nonsense of Tanzania owning part of the lake must stop!

Malawi, a small southern Africa nation, remains one of the most impoverished countries in the world. Malawi has depended on...

Close