Zomba State House to be hospital: Malawi to reduce state residences

After the Economics Association of Malawi (Ecama) ecommended to government the need to reduce the number of State Residences as part of austerity measures,  the DPP-led administration has said it will reduce the number of State Houses.

Ecama made the recommendations through its newly-elected president Henry Kachaje at a pre-budget consultation meeting in Lilongwe.

Kachaje said government should ensure that there is “one state residence in each region” as compared to to six in total.

Minister of Information, Tourism and Civic Education Kondwani Nankhumwa said the reduction of state residences  was indeed necessary considering economic problems the country is facing as the houses “cost a lot, especially in maintenance.”

According to Nankkhumwa, who is also government spokesman, President Peter Mutharika was eyeing Zomba State House to turn into a referral hospital equipped with advanced technology to treat aliments that would otherwise be referred outside the country.