Malawi new science university is living economic recovery plan – DPP
Opposiiton Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) says the ultra-modern Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) at Ndata Farm in Thyolo is a living economic recovery plan left by former president late Bingu wa Mutharika.
The university is being constructed with a $79 million grant from the Chinese government and wouuld be officially handed over to Malawi government next month.
MUST idea was mooted by late Wa Mutharika, who had planned to see at least six more universities in a decade, starting with this one in Thyolo.
Other institutions of higher learning on the drawing board were University of Bangula in Nsanje, University of Marine Biology in Mangochi, Mombera University in Mzimba, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Nkhotakota University in Nkhotakota district.
“The establishment of the university is a living economic recovery plan,” said DPP spokesperson on education Otria Moyo Jere in Parliament.
She was contributing to Bill Number 31 of 2012: Malawi University of Science and Technology, which was approved to put in place legal instruments to facilitate creation of the university before the hand-over of the infrastructure to Malawi government.
” We need to take part in industrialising of our nation. If well-implemented, the university will save Malawi from huge sums of money from buying consumables, like fuel,” Jere said.
United Democratic Front (UDF) chief whip in the House, Dr Clement Chiwaya also hailed the contrstuction of the new university which will operate under the Malawi Institute of Technology with programs such as Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, Machine Tools and Metals Fabrication; Structural Engineering and Industrial Design.
“The construction of the university showed how visionary Bingu wa Mutharika was. I could not agree on his human rights records, but I could not ignore his developmental projects,” said Chiwaya, Mangochi Central MP.
He added: “Monumental projects such as the five-star hotel, the stadium, the New Parliament Building and Karonga-Chitipa road projects cannot go unnoticed. I only had problems with his stubbornness and lack of good governance. Time has gone when leaders should not listen to what people are saying.”
