Salima-Lilongwe Water project back in Supreme Court before panel of 9 judges
The Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal will on October 25 hear a case by two civil society organisations (CSOs) want to replace Malawi Law Society (MLS) against Khato Civil, stopping the engineering company to proceed with the $500 million (K400 billion) Salima-Lilongwe water project.
Supreme Court judge Lovemore Chikopa earlier gave Khato Civils a lifeline to continue with its activities when he dismissed the MLS case, effectively permitting Khato Civils to freely rollout the multibillion kwacha project.
But Youth and Society (YAS) and Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRRR), through private practice lawyer Bright Theu will face nine judges at the Supreme Court for a motiton of appeal.
If YAS and CHRR succeed in the matter, the High Court of Malawi will then determine the legality in respect to awarding the contract to Khato.
In determining the matter, justice Chikopa observed that considering that Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) and Khato Civils had agreed that construction works would not start without an EIA (Environment Impact Assessment), Khato had actually gone out and identified an EIA consultant.
“To begin with, a proper reading of the contract and the briefing notes shows that [Khato] had to prove capacity, including possession of requisite equipment. Possession out of Malawi would not make too much sense. There should, therefore, be nothing wrong with [Khato] bringing trenchers into Malawi. It is not evidence that they have started trenching. Or will soon start,” he observed.
Khato Civils is a construction and engineering company headquartered in South Africa and owned by billionaire Simbi Phiri a Malawian by parentage.
Simbi Phiri already unveiled to the media multi-million kwacha machinery for the construction of the pipeline from Lake Malawi in Salima to Lilongwe to ease water problems in Lilongwe, disclosing that $13 million (K9.8 billion) had already been invested.
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Most Malawians have no idea about big Infrastructure projects. Where is the feasibility study that came up with $500 million as the cost of the project? Where are the engineering designs? Where and when was the bidding process conducted? Which companies bid and how was Khato selected? What will be the environmental impact on our lake and on the communities that will be displaced? Is there a resettlement action plan? All these are legitimate questions that need answers in a competent court of law. And in the same Nyasatimes we read that World Bank is funding another water project for… Read more »
Eish this is really bad project in the North under Sawa Group is going smoothly .Lilongwe waterboard is on /off and yet we are blocking the project.This is why ma Demo is the thing of the past .
YAS is total rubbish
I have always said that, these groupings of Mtambo, Kajoloweka and trepance don’t love this country. I feel sorry for my beloved country to have such kind of people as its citizens. To take a case to court it takes a lot of money and that’s taxi payers money being wasted by Mtambo and noone is holding him accountable. Please let this project go ahead, Madzi ndi moyo ndithu, please Mtambo stop being selfish udzafa pa imfa ya ngozi yowawa kwabaasi.
Simbi is no small boy in construction, he is up there with Murray and Roberts of South African giants of construction. He will not fail Malawi
His reputation is too important in business to mess up. Are we simply envious or we have a case?
Why does the government not take drastic actions against these few boys in the name of CSOs? Dziko lizilephera kutukuka chifukwa cha these evil boys?
If truth be told this is the worst decision CSOs and Kajoloweka have ever made? What are you up to? And what do you want from Khato? Apa nde mwaonjeza ndipo mukununkha heavyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!
The CSOs have never held any consultation meetings with the yet to be beneficiaries of this project. So whose interests are they representing, Two people from the North should not block a project in Lilongwe. Stupid are the people from LL who are just watching and hosting the Mtambos
There’s something fundamentally wrong with Africans and specifically Malawians. Its like our minds are enslaved forever to believe that anything foreign is better than usAs Justice puts it below, if this contract was won by Mota, no one would have made any noise. Mota Engil has won so many dubious contracts some of them without following due procurement processes. Now that we have Khato Civils, who have proved to be very credible contractors and what do we do……we question their credibility and entire procurement process. We don’t believe that a civil engineering company run by our own is good enough.… Read more »
These agents of impeliast will stop at nothing to put spanners where their masters dont benefit anything. If this comapny Khatho was American or British, these zombies would not have been doing what they are doing because they will know that once they roll out the contract, they will enjoy benefits as donation that is paid to them through DIFD