Ageing Kamuzu Stadium to be demolished soon

Malawi President Peter Mutharika and Youth and Sports Minister Grace Chiumia have said the Kamuzu Stadium will be demolished to pave the way for the construction of a new sports arena.

Initially, government had planned to renovate the facility.

The development follows Mutharika’s pre-election pledge to construct a new stadium in the commercial city due to Kamuzu Stadium’s poor state.

Mutharika made the confirmation through an e-mail from his press secretary Frederick Ndala.

“The initial plan was to build a completely new stadium altogether in Blantyre, but now that some information on the current state of Kamuzu Stadium has emerged, government may consider the option of demolishing the current stadium to put up a totally new structure in that place although this will depend on some technical opinions and recommendations,” reads part of the e-mail.

Ironically, the Sports Minister on Wednesday confirmed that discussions pertaining to the demolition of the old facility and construction of a new one have already started.

“Consultations have already started and as soon as we have concrete information, we will divulge it to the public,” she said.

But the minister said the plan is to have the new stadium in Blantyre constructed as soon as possible bearing in mind that the state-of-the-art stadium under construction in Lilongwe will not be ready until towards the end of next year (2015).

“We are aware that Kamuzu Stadium is the only venue that can host international matches and we will wait for the Flames’ 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers to be completed later this year to embark on the project,” she said.

Chiumia also said the estimated cost of the project is still under discussion, “but we are optimistic that funding for the project will be identified so that construction can start the soonest possible.”

In an earlier response on the stadium pledge, Mutharika through his press secretary stated that he remains committed to fulfilling his campaign promises and his vision as outlined in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)manifesto and construction of a new stadium is among some of his priorities on development.

“Although this year’s budget does not have an allocation for a new stadium, construction of the new stadium will be done within the next five years.

“There are a number of projects which government is looking for financiers and the new stadium is one of them,” read part of the response from State House.

It added: “Also bear in mind that this government has only been in office for three months; once consultations/discussions are finalised and a financier is identified, the public will be informed accordingly.”

Government structural engineers condemned Kamuzu Stadium about two years ago when serious cracks were discovered in most of the stands, a development that led to the closure of the facility by former Sports minister Enoch Chihana on the grounds that it was a hazard to society.

Chihana then announced that government would renovate the stadium under the PPP arrangement, but up to now nothing has come up.

Concerned football fans and clubs then forced government to reopen the stadium ‘temporarily’ due to lack of proper venues in Blantyre.

Following the closure of the stadium, teams were forced to play outside Blantyre and they complained about extra expenses incurred through travel. Supporters also complained that they were digging deep into their pockets to follow their teams elsewhere.