Cement and Malata subsidy program hits a snag, Malawi govt concedes
Malawi government has admitted the much touted Cement and Malata Subsidy Programme; the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) campaign tool in the run up to the 2014 has hit a snag as there is no money.
Spokesperson in the ministry of Lands and Housing Charles Vintulla said the government would continue with the program next year, conceding that the five houses per constituency dream of President Peter Mutharika will not be realized this year.
He said next year, the K7 billion dream project will take off soon after the passing of the national budget.
The project was meant to benefit the elderly, people with disabilities and child headed households.
However, Vintulla said, the cost sharing housing project continues despite the fact that the government is facing financial problems.
He said the project entails that the government builds a house for por people and cost share the costs after construction.
Opposition parliamentarians have been asking the government to drop the Cement and Malata Subsidy Program saying the government is too broke to pursue it, asking the government to divert the K7 billion to education or health sectors whose services are fast dwindling.
However President Mutharika says the government will never abandon the project, accusing the opposition of not having the welfare of people at heart.
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The idea of the subsidy program is that contractors or home owners get to pay less for cement and malata, but the manufacturers of those products still gets paid the full cost because the government offsets the reduced cost bore by the consumer. The government gets its money from us, the taxpayers, so really we are all paying a little so people who have even less can afford some few amenities (in the case of the dream project it would be elderly and the disabled who would benefit). But it gets complicated when you start to play politics, and since… Read more »