Fire guts government offices in Balaka
Fire has gutted what used to be the Balaka Town Council Office Complex which was housing; Community Development, Social Welfare and Social Cash Transfer, council stores as well as the council’s chamber.
According to the District Commissioner (DC) for Balaka, Rodrick Mateauma, the cause of the fire is not yet known.
“The fire started around 1 am and when I got the news, I quickly rushed to the scene and found the complex on fire. Goods worth over K50 million have been destroyed with K30.4 million concerning the social cash transfer program,” said the DC.
According to the DC, lack of a fire fighting vehicle at the council also contributed to the huge damaged by the fire.
“We do not have our own fire fighting vehicle fighting. We use the one from Zomba District Council which came very late around 3 am when the fire had already damaged a lot of property,” he said.
On his part, Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Kiswel Dakamau, who visited the scene in the morning, assured the affected members of staff that government will not leave them alone.
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diphiphi!!!! koma dzikoli nde mwalimaliza alomwe ndikuba!!!
This should be investigated. In Malawi, it is becoming common practice that when public officials misappropriate public resources, they resort to arson to conceal evidence….Nanga mpaka “Goods worth over K50 million have been destroyed with K30.4 million concerning the social cash transfer program” and the fire started 1 am usiku kuti anthu asaleletse. This smells..
Lack of specialised fire investigation team is making Malawi to take fire as the tool for destroying evidence. By mentioning ‘social cash transfer’ my body chills. Lets wait and hear more…