Kasungu Stadium contract: Minister offers clarity in Parliament
Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development Kondwani Nankhumwa has said never at any point did government award a contract for the construction of Kasungu sports stadium amounting MK1.8 billion as purported by member of parliament for Kasungu central Amon Nkhata.
Nkhata raised the issue in parliament on Tuesday when he asked the local government minister to consider informing the people of the constituency and the whole of Kasungu as to what happened to the money in the contract awarded for the construction of the stadium in 2013.
Nkhata said a no objection letter was issued and the stadium was supposed to be through by 2014 after a fifteen month long contract was agreed and signed.
However, Nankhumwa said according to official records available in his office, there is nothing which points to having such a contract in place and suggested that if that was the case then that money may have been stolen as part of the cashgate syndicate.
“Malawi government did not at any time award a contract for the construction of the Kasungu sports stadium to the amount being quoted here. What I am aware is that Kasungu municipal council’s initial intentions to construct a stadium with funding from government was in 2012 but due to lack of funding the proposal was not implemented,” Nankhumwa said.
Currently the municipal is constructing a 20, 000 seater stadium at Nchalachala with funds from the Germany Development Bank (KFW) channeled through the local development fund and will be built in phases.
Under the initial agreement, the facilities to be constructed include a perimeter fence, football ground, netball pitch, VIP stand, change rooms, spectator terraces, running track and ablution facilities.
The minister informed the house that under the current agreement, a contract amounting to MK375.3 million was awarded on October 14, 2015to implement the construction of the first phase of the project.
“The design of the stadium is comprehensive and fully fledged and what was awarded was not the full scope of all works. The contractor is currently on site and construction is scheduled to be completed by December this year,” he said.
The Local Government Minister advised Nkhata to bring forward any evidence he has on the purported contract so that proper investigations are done to follow up the issue.
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