Multi-million Kwacha Sawa Group bridge crumbles : Floods hit Lilongwe
A multi-million Kwacha bridge over a stream running from Area 23 to Chilinde in Lilongwe melted away in rains while taxpayers watched helplessly.
A short video, which has been trending on social media, shows the embarkments of the bridge losing strength to running water along the Chidzanja road in Lilongwe.
“Oh my God, the new bridge…” a woman voice is heard in vernacular Chichewa as the parts of the bridge gets washed away.
As the bridge was washing away dangerously, some people stood at the top of it to watch.
Sawa Group, a Kenyan construction company are the contractors who were seen working on the site few months ago.
Residents have called for government and it’s agencies to evaluate the capacity of some contractors versus the load of works assigned or contracted to them.
Elsewher, in the same capital city, another contractor was battling to contain the flow of water from Kawale streaming down to Mchesi at Shareworld Primary Schools.
Some people have lost food and property following heavy down pour on Thursday in the capital city.
The rains fell for nearly three hours and the most flooded areas were Biwi, Kawale, Mchesi, Chipasula, Area 22 and Area 36.
A visit to the areas in the evening showed that some houses were submerged in the flooded waters up to window levels.
Most of vehicles were also submerged in water as Lilongwe river burst and flooded.
Motorists could not use the direct city centre to Kawale road but instead had to go round the long road via Chidzanja road, causing congestion and traffic jam on the road which was as well partially submerged.
Minister of Homeland Security Nicholas Dausi on Thursday evening rushed to the areas to visit the victims whose houses were damaged by the floods.
Most of the people complained that they had lost food, property and houses in the high density areas of the capital city.
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I pass through the Kawale bridge almost everyday when going to work. Even a lay person like myself was able to see that whatever work was being carried out in maintaining the bridge was substandard the thing Posha Kajanga and her friends at Roads Authority were not able to see. Why putting our lives in danger deliberately?
Sawa Group and Roads Authority have failed us.Those bridges are a danger to our lives. If i were the contractor for these two bridges i would have felt sorry for myself after all the years in class and but ending up a total failure on the ground.
With corruption at its pick, how do you expect to see quality construction works in Malawi?. With sick and half baked engineers of today whose life depends on stealing government money through bribes and corruption, Malawi will never see and meaningful infrastructure works.
Jappie Mhango has never impressed anyone when it comes to roads and bridges constructed during his term as the minister of transport. Jappie must be relieved of this ministry. He doesnt know what is good for MW and what is not.
I cant blame APM for Poor roads and poor bridges. The minister and his boys must bear the blame.
Mind you, I am DPP. But Jappie is simply a good politician but not good enough for the ministry of roads.
APM, booooma!
The structure has not crumbled as stated by Nyasa Times! The related areas around it and some protective parts have been scoured by storm water. This basically stems from wrong design given to the contractor. Therefore, the problem is not Sawa Group the contractor but the design as approved by Roads Authority. Blame Roads Authority!
In your eyes zonse zilI bwino?
Both the bridge designer and the contractor are useless. How does a contractor worth his salt accept to care out works which he know will not withstand rains?
Honestly I was one of those who watched this bridge being constructed. Weather it was luck of, or funding inadequacy it was so eminent that this bridge wold not hold.
This is where we need out government to be more serious when dealing with issues of our infrastructures which borders on safety and government spending.
Doe it men that our government has no money or it has perfected the art of choosing unqualified companies to do their work?
Please this is really not being good stewards of our money. Okk we will talk
The President boasts of the infrastructure his government has built and predicts the DPP will continue in power after May elections. Malawians predict that just like his crumbling roads and bridges the DPP will also crumble and APM will be out of office come May.
Wawo che anussa, muzilemba zoona. What is the eqiuvalent translation of “melted” away my brother. The bridge is usable and all lanes functioning. Please report as per occurance and not be emotional. Bad reporting
What will happen with more rains?
The biggest financier of BEAM is SAWA Group and that is why they have too many projects.
Rotten nation.
I was wondering why they were putting those concrete carvats instead of building a genuine bridge. Useless engineering by SAWA Group