Malawi govt to probe poor road constructions —Mutharika
Malawi’s construction industry continues to grapple with institutionalised corruption and outright fraud as citizens are further pushed to the marginal gutters and continue to receive substandard work below any set standard due to corrupt and incompetent service providers.
Poorly constructed roads continue to litter the country’s residential areas as another form of cash-gate in the country is slowly taking shape.
President Peter Mutharika has warned against corruption, saying government will investigate all irregularities in the construction of roads following complains and
whining that some road which he officially opened recently have become an eyesore as the tarmac has developed potholes, drifts and cracks with motorists now shunning the road.
In Lilongwe and Mzuzu cities, there have also been reports of tarmac on newly-upgraded roads peeling off
Said Mutharika: “There are corrupt councillors who are awarding contracts in the country to some companies based on their own personal interests. These companies are not capable enough to undertake some projects and they end up coming up with substandard road projects. Mind you, this is public money! You will be investigated!”
The President, who spoke at the opening of the Malawi International Trade Fair in Blantyre on Wednesday, accused ward councillors who corruptly award contracts to some local companies that come up with substandard output, especially in road construction projects.
Nyasa Times investigations, however, reveal that that such substandard work is a deliberate ploy by some contractors to reap off government on renovations of the same roads when the cracks develop.
Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) executive director John Kapito has since called on the Roads Authority (RA) to properly scrutinise contractors before awarding them projects to ensure they do quality work.
He placed much emphasis on some roads which were constructed or rehabilitated last year, including the Makata Road, Illovo-Midima roundabout, Chimwankhunda and Nyambadwe which have started developing potholes or have completely been worn out, in turn giving problems to motorists.
Roads Fund Administration spokesperson Masauko Ngwaluko recently said as is the case with every road project in city road construction and reconstruction works, his organisation retains five per cent of respective contract sums so that they can be used to rectify defects on the roads.
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it’s funny how the article appears, there is a sentence in the article which reads ” some corrupt councillors are award contracts to …” common gentlemen, councillors have that mandate? The government and all council here have a system of awarding contracts and not councillors.
what is the role of ODPP?
why we procurement?
Who controls the rendering in all councils?
Teach me the reasons of finance department?
School me where the councillor can penetrate?
Here I have contributed before, malawi suffers from toxic partisan politics. Most businesses are simply fronts but belong to the same people making high level decisions so all they do is recycle the businesses back to themselves and as you can imagine most of them do not have technical expertise therefore we should not be surprised if the roads are failing. Let government and procurement agencies devise a returner on all contracts and that returner is used in case there failures. All major contracts should compel contractors to provide a certain percentage of capital outlay to show commitment. Have proven… Read more »
Zomba jali phalombe road is one of the very substandard roads.. please visit it
A president ife tayamba kutaya chikhulupirilo mwa inuyo chifukwa chosamumanga Chaponda
if you want to b rich without working at all join Malawi politics n u will gaterich fast.sorry for u Malawi mumalesa munthu opemphela kuthandiza chonsecho bungwe likathandiza mumalandaso chuma chaosauka omwewo.monga Ife kuzavotera DPP muyiwale mummange Maya chaponda apobii munya imeneyo timati backing gate mukupangayo iwe bingu ndipo anytime people want to short you if u don’t knw
when you talk of corruption Mr. president remember that “nsomba imaola kuyambira kumutu”.
Did we engage a consultant in all these roads to monitor and certify? Please don’t cheat Malawians. Mwagawana ndalama ndiye nkumaiima pa nsanja and talk as if your hands are clean. This country is in a big standards problem. If you need quality infrastructure stop awarding contracts based on partisan affiliations. It has never worked anywhere in the world.
The problem is Roads Authority and DPP. Road contractors are asked to pay 10% to individuals at RA for every contract and this money is for DPP campaign. Those who do not agree are hardly given any business. So the regular suppliers for RA do not care of the standard as they cannot be brought to book.
Ngati ndikunama, Mutharika ndi Mr Jimu akane poyera.
Lets accept that we have problems with construction companies in Malawi. It seems we have no competent companies like Mota Engil or Chinese companies. Though local companies cry when contracts are awarded to foreign companies, the fact has been exposed now. To me it is not intent to defraud government but lack of competence and knowledge on the task given to them. The best is to give road construction no matter how short the length of the road to foreign companies. Indigenous or local companies on road construction have disappointed us. Area 36 via Phwetekere to Falls was constructed by… Read more »
Njira ina yofuna kubera ndalama imeneyo.Iwo aboma wosayendera miseu yikamakonzedwa kapena yatsopano kulimidwa.Amangotenga zinyalala za ma contructor kuti azidya nawo ndalama basi.Stupid