6 confirmed dead in Lilongwe floods terror: Malawi VP Chilima visits 202 affected households
Authorities have confirmed that six people have died after being washed away by flood waters along Mchesi Stream ub the capital Lilongwe following rains of terror on Saturday afternoon.
Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) director for response and recovery Paul Kalilombe said there could be others who are missing and feared dead.
About five church buildings among them Area 22 Assemblies of God, Deeper Life Church in Kawale, African Church and Destiny Church have been affected.
Schools have also been damaged.
Vice president Dr Saulos Chilima visisted the disaster area on Sunday and called for transparency and accountability in identifying and registering affected households in Kaliyeka where 1,000 people have been displaced and 202 households have been affected.
Chilima said those entrusted in registeringand assessing the affected households should discharge their duties with impartiality at all cost.
“We have observed that in times of such disasters some people take advantage to abuse their positions and victimize and mistreat affected and innocent individuals for their personal gains.” the Vice president pointed out.
He warned that those people once are found they would be arrested and government would not tolerate such malpractice to be encouraged when distributing emergency relief.
Chilima said affected household need to receivewhat government has set to provide to them and not some take advantage to give them unrequired amounts of relief items.
“ If the affected household are to receive 50 kg of maize no one should give them 30 kg and the remaining Kgs keep for themselves in order to sale it” he noted.
The Vice President who is also responsible for Department of Disaster management Affairs, (DODMA) spelt the need to encourage residentsto be sanitized on the dangers environment degradation.
He said some of the flooding which is being experienced in Lilongwe is as a result of environment degradation and encroachment of the river banks by residences.
“As you can see the water was over flooded due to heavy downpour but the river had to space to breathe as a results it finds its way through the houses which constructed were close to the river banks and there no way one could escape from such calamities,” Chilima observed.
He pointed out that issues of environmental degradation would be hinted in Nsanje on Wednesday when we would be launching 2017/18 National Disaster Respond Plan for the country.
Government has pledged to made of the provision for the six people that have being killed a result of flooding which include four males and two females and affected areas include Kawale, Mchesi, Chipasula, Kaliyeka, Areas 22 and 24.
Flooding hit the areas around 6:30 pm on Saturday and swept all the houses which were built within the river bank where lives were was lost, houses destroyed and various properties damaged in the process.
The preliminary assessment are indicating that 202 household have been affected and the assessment is still being carried out expressing fears that the number might increase.
Malawi Red Cross Society, Lilongwe City Council and DODMA officials are currently underway assessing the situation on the ground and affected households.
Temporary shelters were being erected in order to help the affected household to avert the still heavy down pour which has hit Lilongwe the past week.
Similar floods are said to have occurred in the same area in 2012 but the magnitude of the damage was minimal as compared to this time around.
Officials from various organizations such Malawi Red Cross Society, Lilongwe City Council and DODMA officials are currently assessing the situation and registering affected households.
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Countrymen, this is really sad and my hope is that, the Good Lord will break through to these people so that they can find alternative means of accommodation. My heart goes to those families that have lost their beloved ones in such a tragic manner.
However, let me remind you my reader that this is one of the fruits of the tragic and shambolic manner in which we changed our politics in 1992-1995. The places where the so-called “natural” disasters are taking places are those that were not constructed prior to 1992-1994. It was after Malawi attained multi-party democracy that we began to witness the wanton construction of what came to be called “Multi-party” locations. The stretch between Chidzanja Road and Shareworld is one such area. We call this area “Ku Matipate” because of the free-for-all rash to construct houses without following city rules and regulations soon after Malawi adopted a multiparty system of government. This was provoked by the UDF and the multi-party movement who had been promising people that they would give out free plots to people if they voted for “multi-party” or the “lamp.” This kind of messaging was particularly common between the referendum of 1993 and the general elections of 1994. For a season, UDF became very popular among the people who looked at this as one of the “fruits” of democracy. Trees were cut down and houses short up within a period of three months and the government looked the other way. In their attempt to maintain a grip of power over the people, successive governments of DPP, PP and DPP have avoided to reverse the situation for political reasons. It is only good for those in these parties to accept this naked truth.
I, therefore, find it laughable for government officials, and Chilima inclusive, to be advising people to stop spoiling the environment to avoid flash floods today yet for 24 years “multi-party” governments have used illegal construction and encroachment as a political whip against MCP in these and other areas in the country. Let’s face it, Dr. Banda and his MCP were right by insisting that Lilongwe must be built according to city standards. So, to me the lasting solution to these problems is to clear people from these disaster-prone areas the soonest. We need to plant trees in these river banks and Lilongwe will become safe again with the passing years. Otherwise these are crocodile tears to me. I have no tears to shed for anyone if they deliberately settled in these area knowing fully well that “madzi saiwala khwawa.”
The other big problem is that City Councils in Malawi tend to delay to develop plots and yet our population is bulging by the day. The root cause of this problem is that government has been selling houses that were constructed at a high cost between the 1960s to early 1990s by Dr. Banda’s government at give away prices to sitting tenants and usually top government officials. At MK500,000 or MK1,000,000 well connected people were acquiring houses whose market value was MK30,000,000. The policy of buying off cheap asset from government was put in place by the Bakili Muluzi administration and it was maintained during the Bingu wa Mutharika dispensation, the Joice Banda administration and the Peter Mutharika administration. Beautiful houses and vehicles are just being sold to political stooges at give away prices. Dealer-maintained vehicles in excellent running conditions, bought as high as MK50,000,000 in such government institutions as MRA, Reserve Banks, Malawi housing, etc are sold to “sitting tenants” at give away prices (usually at 5% purchase value) after three or five years! Talk of broad-day robbery or thievery, talk about asset stripping being practiced by our highly learned people in our society!
This shameful practice has made government lose money that should have been used to maintain houses, build new houses or develop new and cheap plots for low-income earners to buy and develop. If houses were being sold at market value, the money should have been developing new plots for poor people to buy at a cheap price. Government should have also been building houses for its workers. But, this is not happening. Government houses in Areas 3, 15, 10, 11, 12, 43, 18, etc have been sold out and owners have turned them into schools, lodges, offices, brothels, bars, etc. This is what creates pressure in river banks where poor people construct without permission from the City Councils and following building standards. Councils fail to stop or arrest such encroachers or illegal settlers again for political reasons. Mafumu a m’matauni amangogawa malo kwa anthu mwachisawawa usually under the influence of the “ruling party” of the day. Forests that made Lilongwe beautiful and environmentally safe are all gone and rain way has no path. This is what is causing floods.
Rising urbanization is another devil we need to fight. During the one-party system there was a deliberate plan to develop rural areas through agriculture, rural growth centers, tight security, good road network, availability of social amenities, e.g. schools, hospitals, etc. This initiative has stopped. In those years people were leaving urban areas to go and settle in rural areas where life was more safe, healthy and hospitable. Today, all those estates have closed down and agriculture is gone, hospitals and schools are in a poor state; insecurity is very high, etc. People are now running away from villages to settle in town so that they can do vending just for survival. It is this village-to-town movement of people that is resulting in illegal settlements. Poor people coming from the village are just grabbing any piece of land they can find and settle there. They don’t think about the consequences of settling in disaster-prone areas and government fails to take them away from such places due to political expediency. They don’t want to lose votes during elections.
So, do we want to solve these problems? Let’s swallow the bullet and begin to face the situation head on. Let’s realize that the more we politick the more people are being put in danger. Look at what is taking place in Bangwe, Soche, Michiru, Mpingwe, Ndirande (along the Nasolo River) etc. People are flocking to town and due to lack of space they are dangerously crowding along river banks. My prediction is that things will become worse in January when rains start falling in earnest in the Southern Region and the water levels in Lake Malawi go up. The questions is: what are we doing in Soche Area? What are we doing at Mpingwe? What are we doing in Ndirande? Is Right Honourable Chilima going to wait until those houses built on top of hills collapse and lives lost? Is he going to send graders now to remove them before it becomes too late? Well, your guess is as good as mine. 2019 is approaching and nobody would want to antagonize voters. The DPP government will do nothing about these obvious disasters in-waiting. They would rather show kindness to potential voters in their “victim status” than prevent those same people from facing disasters. It is the vote that counts more than the human life.
Remember, a stitch in time saves nine. Zengerezu adalinda kwawukwawu. Mpaliwo woyang’anila umalowa m’maso. Again, I have no apology for anyone for my views. Ngakhale mundichekecheke.
I rest my case.
Kent Y.G. Mphepo – Blantyre (0888435629)
Too many language and grammar errors in the story; didn’t the author or editor see them? Please Nyasa Times, you are a respected online news source. On the deaths of the six people, the writer could have written at least a little bit about who they are. This show that we value them. Otherwise just talking about the donations and environmental causes gives the impression that the people who have died are not important. Maybe if the tragedy had happened in a location of rich people…?
The problems faced in the affected areas are a result of poor land use and land management by Lilongwe City Council. Where are the land planners? Mavuto owaputa dala awa. Kusomola nkhandwe ali pa mtengo gone uku. Houses constructed in river banks and natural waterways.Driving along Chidzanja road clear shows the non observance of basic natural resources management principles. My prediction is that these problems will continue for un foreseeable future until proper land use and management practices are followed.
Condolence to the victims but those surviving think twice .
I sympathise with the victims. But all these houses were constructed along river banks and this was expected. As a country we’ve been struggling to get people of Nsanje whose houses are in flood prone areas to move upland, with little success.
Now we are watching while people are constructing houses literally in rivers, only to spend so much money giving them relief items. Authorities must nip this practice in the bud. There are laws and by-laws in this country, why are we afraid to enforce them? Someone is sleeping on the job.