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 $102 million in Lilongwe? So why should the country spend another $500 million? This money is enough to build 500 km of road networks which can make every constituency in Malawi to have a tarred Road.
I have no doubt this deal is a big cashgate scam
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. It should be clear to Malawians that these foreign companies have paid certain people in some quarters to fight their fight. Unfortunately these gullible so called concerned companies aren’t doing Malawi any favours. This is a project that is critical to the development of Malawi and even better if it is executed by a competent Malawi company. If due process wasn’t followed then let an independent audit be conducted and move on. As Malawians, we should rally behind Khato Civils. I think as Malawians we need to emancipate ourselves and never think that anything foreign is good. Secondly, we need to support each other to ensure that the money lent to us stays in the country and not be repatriated. Is that too difficult to comprehend gentlemen and ladies. Let’s be patriotic for once as Mutharika is asking all of us.
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
I think lets not drag this project backwards. Kulibeko deal ingatheke pa Malawi osabapo inu ndi mboni….
This Kajoloweka and a bunch of self-acclaimed activists are now becoming suckers and dragging our development.
You need to understand geopolitics and the desire to perpetuate economic dependence on our donors.
If truth be told, the real reason why everybody, including donors , who never want us to be economically independent are putting spanners In this project is that they would have preferred a western company and not one owned by a black Malawian to do the project.
They cannot tell you that reason so they hide behind transparency and accountability not because there was none but because they were sidelined and could not influence the outcome of who gets awarded. If It were Mota Engil or some european company, believe you me , they would never have made noise.
Malawi needs to remain firm to manage its own affairs without undue external inteference . And you stupid CSOs must also stop accepting funding from Western governnents and companies to thwart development efforts under stupid pretexes.
To Hell with this. Allow Khato to Proceed because We badly need the project.
Apumbwa Inu !!!
In all fairness, I think we are now dragging our own development. Adalakwanji azungu kutiphunzitsa za ufulu? Lero tikugwiritsa ntchito ufuluwu kubwenzera ku nkobwe zitukuko zoti zitithandiza ife eniake. Madziwo ngathu, company yo weniwake ngakwathu konkuno, kodi ichi sichingatipatse mphamvu kuti chinthuchi nchathu chomwe? Kodi akanakhala a Mota sibwenzi maphokoso onsewa kulibe???
On another note, the parliament-bns dual carriageway was first legally awarded to a Chinese company. Something ‘dark’ happened and the contract was given to Mota-Engil behind doors and this involved an unfair stripping of position and powers of some high integrity engineer at Roads Authority. Unfortunately YAS and the CSOs were and are still nowhere to be seen disputing this high level of irregularities considering that the road is fully financed within and the works are going towards completion. Are we truly doing this country justice as CSOs or we are there to propel our selfish motives is a million dollar question??
Another case is the rehab and raising of Kamuzu dam 1 by the LWB. Mota-Engil won the contract and is now mobilizing on site, a contract worthy millions of dollars, have the CSOs done their scrutiny to see if procurement laws were followed or not? The way CSOs are handling this Khato Civils in the Salima-Lilongwe project leaves everything about them to be desired. What message are we relaying to Khato??? I’m not working for Khato but I find these issues biased and unfair. In the end it is us Malawians on the losing side not the CSOs. May God help Malawi!