Complete construction of Zomba Stadium, Chakwera urges council

President Lazarus Chakwera has urged Zomba City Council (ZCC)  and Ministry of Local Government to complete  the construction and upgrading Zomba Community Centre ground into a 20 000-seater stadium.

Chakwera made the call on Tuesday when he engaged ZCC councillors and secretariat staff at Sanjika Palace in Blantyre.

“I want that stadium completed so that one day I can watch a match there,” said Chakwera.

Chakwera noted that  Zomba City, the former capital,  used to be one of the best cities in Malawi and, because of its history, he requested the council to  “find means of economically developing other than relying on funds from the Central Government.”

DEC Construction Limited started the project in 2017 but Zomba Stadium has faced financial problems initially before the Covid-19 pandemic struck and made matters worse which made it  miss its October 2020 deadline  thereby starving Zomba-based football fans of action as the council loses gate revenue  since  TNM Super League outfit Red Lions FC shifted to Balaka Stadium , about 86 kilometres.

At the moment, the community hall and the VIP stand have been completed and the contractor is now working on open stands.

According to the Public Relations Officer for ZCC, Mercy Chaluma, the design had to be changed and later the contractor removed working equipment and workers when the issue of Covid-19 surfaced.

“But later it was resolved that work can continue but with measures put in place to prevent the Coronavirus. This meant that the contractor had to reduce the workforce and so the work is being done very slowly but surely it will come to an end,” said Chaluma.

Government also plans to build a modern stadium in Mzuzu which will be accommodated in the Mzuzu Youth Centre project.

Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) on June 30, 2020 gave the sports  ministry a go ahead to award a contract for the construction of the youth centre in Katoto Township.

The project is pegged at K19.7 billion.

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