Escom cancels K675m house demolition contract after public outcry

April 27, 2019 Wongani Chiuta - Nyasa Times 27 Comments

Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) Limited  has cancelled plans to award  a K675 million contract to bring down Escom House in Blantyre after a public outcry  that the cost could have been less.

Chiwaya (R) contract cancelled  after public disapproval

Escom chief executive officer Dr Allexon Chiwaya said in a statement seen by Nyasa Times that the power utility body has cancelled he demolition contract “in the public interest.”

The cancellation comes in the wake of Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) demand Escom Limited to halt the demolition of its fire gutted Escom House, saying the K675 million payment just to bring down the building is astronomical.

Vice chairperson of HRDC, Gift Trapence,  says what the rights activists want is the cancellation of the whole contract altogether.

“Why did Escom refuse to award the contract which just wanted K136 million and opted for somebody who is demanding K675 million.

“This is tax payer money. Malawians want value for their money. It is impossible to use all that money just for demolition of a bulding,” said Trapence.

The contract has been awarded to Irrigwater and Mining Equipment which is owned by Zimbabwean Brighton Chirairo, who in turn has subcontracted it to a South African company.

Sources say Chirairo is just being fronted by some “biggie” in the deal for wrongful enrichment.

In cancellation statement, Escom boss said they have “noted the concerns”that have been raised by engineers and ordinary Malawians.

“The concerns raised are being addressed and the general public shall be informed of any developments to that effect,” said Chiwaya, according the statement  dated April 26 2019.

Chiwaya, nonetheless, said Escom followed all the procurement processes, including seeking a “No objection” from the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority granted on April 8 2019.

The PPDA letter of ‘no objection’ signed by Patrick Nkunika reads: “Kindly be advised that according to information made available to the authority, ‘no objection’ has been granted for the award a works contract to Irrigwater and Mining for the demolition of the fire gutted Escom House in the city of Blantyre at the sum of K675 million.”

Chiwaya said notification in the newspapers was meant to ensure “transparency and accountability” in the procurement process prior to any contract award as required by law.

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27 replies on “Escom cancels K675m house demolition contract after public outcry”

  1. A Chiwaya moti inuyo simumawonapo bvuto pamenepa mpaka kudikira kuti anthu atokote kaye? Shame on you

  2. We do not have anti Corruption Bureau In Malawi.

    We have A Corruption Bureau, who ever take a power on 21 please the corruption bureau boss to be investigated and afinyidwe.

    No mercy for these thieves. They belong to jail. Ndipo azagwire ya kalavula gaga developing our country. Proper community Service sizoti azikangokhala phwi ku ndende kumadyanso memo was tax payers money.

  3. Onyoooooo

    Yakukanikani dhilu.

    Zima genset zikuola zija bwa?
    No wonder we got a lawyer after 145 million scando he is still phwii as a presdent
    I know one MP in another country claimed 45 pence fronm the taxpayers money for his kitchen sink stopper. He was sucked . And us , still clapping hands for his packs of lies and imagery castles in the air.
    It sucks. We nid someone to revamp

  4. Big up nyasatimes, atolankhani athu and every single malawian out there who play a big role to criticize this daylight robbery. Lets continue this good fight against all misuse of public money and offices. tisasiile pompa andalewa akutionongela dziko.

  5. Electricity tariffs are already high and you are still not contented, you still want to brutalize Malawians with your dubious ways. ESCOM abeg please repent!! there is no glory in enriching yourself with “stolen money”.

  6. Munazolowera kuba nthawi zonse. This was going to be a chain of people getting a cut from the Mk 675 million including PPDA gurus. How could PPDA approve such an astronomical figure just for demolition. You wonder if a demolition job will cost this much how much more are they going to spend for building a new one

  8. This must not end here we must find out who was behind this. These are the people destroying Malawi and must be brought to account

  13. It becomes daylight robbery if won by a fellow Blackman. Its sad fellow Malawians under the guise of the so called Human Right Activists would not want to see a fellow Blackman win anything. Demolition is an art. Its the opposite of construction. Its not just using picks and hammers to bring down a building. Anyone can destroy anything but its how you do it thats a art. Its not every Engineer who knows how to build or demolish.If the tender had been won by an amwenye it would have sailed through. But this one having been by won by a fellow Blackman worse still from Zimbabwe has brought an nation wide outcry .Emancipate yourself from mental slavery none but ourselves can free ourselves. . Where are the so called Human Right activists when the country is fleeced by people who do not deliver.The tender is won by the lowest evaluated bidder not the one with the cheapest price.

    2. The issue is not about the bid being won by a black man. It is about the exorbitant price and the unconvincing reasons ESCOM gave for awarding the contract to this company. Escom cited the issue of specialised equipment being mobilized for the work, yet this company’s intention was to subcontract the work to a South African Company. In other words, this company has no experience or capacity handling this kind of work. It’s bid should not have even gone beyond the first stage of technical evaluation. Something is really amiss here. If it is about subcontracting the work, any company or individual including myself could easily do it. ESCOM uses public resources and it should exercise caution in using these resources.

      I had hope in the coming in of Dr Thom Mpinganjira as board chair of ESCOM, but alas, how wrong I was. We are still singing the same old story. The other bidders which include Tellastone have the capacity to do this kind of work, more so at a lower price. Why ESCOM opted for Irrigwater and Mining Equipment is a mystery to every Malawian of goodwill.

      I am also surprised that with so many question marks in the deal, PPDA still goes ahead to grant a “No Objection”. Is this institution really doing its work as a watchdog of public procurement or is party to the rot?

      If ESCOM was a company with no known past incidents of abuse of public resources, Malawians could have probably given it the benefit of doubt. But here is a company which is synonymous with abuse of public resources with little to show for it.

    3. You are Zimbabwean by the name and interested party. Isn’t our president implicates in the 145million involving an Indian and he has had some contracts terminated. How about Batawalala and his immigration gimmicks. We question everyone as long as enough information is available. How can. Escom give a contract to a middle man in the first place.

      1. Dummy . If your nom de guerre is President or Minister does it mean you are a President. Just a jealousy lot.you do not know what demolition entails. Remember had a budget for it. Its not like they just woke up to float a tender for that much money.Get your facts right and know what demolition entails before you put pen to paper dummy.

  14. This zimbabwean is based in chirimba near Mkisi. He is in the business of tombstones made from granite stone. He is the one who did that tombstone. I mean that one . Escom building does not need demolishing. It was built in such way that fire cannot affect the walls.
    And Mpinganjira as chairman defended this corrupt activity. Sad . An Adventist condoning corruption. Resign Mr Chairman and the whole Board. Malawians are tired of nyusensi.

    1. Your brains really need to be steam cleaned and not dry cleaned. So you are the only smart arse with information that Escom was built with inflammable walls. So all those who floated the tender for its demolition are stupid and not privy to this information of walls .So this Zimbabwean is your neighbour in Chirimba ecking out a living from Tombstones. Maybe that’s why he won the tender since he is used to dealing with dead people and the Escom building has been long dead. Do tombstones and see if you will win. This guy is a qualified Engineer for all you know..

  17. ACB it is your time to fight this corruption. Go find out who the thieves wanting to steal from Malawians are

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