Bishop Mtumbuka sacrificesK16m to buy transformer

Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of Karonga Diocese of the Catholic Church has dedicated his K16 million annual budget for pastoral services to buy an electricity transformer for St. Mauritius Secondary School located in Senior Chief Mwalweni in Rumphi District.

He made the revelation on Saturday at Kasankhwe in the area during the consecration and official opening of the K1.2 billion boys’ secondary school.

Said Mtumbuka: “The facility opened on October 10 2022 and has Forms One and Two

“However, efforts to get an electricity transformer have been fruitless as Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi [Escom] told us to buy the transformer ourselves which was billed at around K15 million before the devaluation of the kwacha.

“Now, I order the [diocesan] administration to utilise my budgetary allocation for the 2024 pastoral services and purchase the transformer directly from South Africa as ordering it through Escom might take ages.”

On his part, St. Mauritius Secondary School head teacher Madalitso Mbalazada said the school does not have adequate staff houses and many teachers stay in rented houses.

A Germany-based university professor Dieter Sitzmann, who represented three donors for the school project, said the initiative was hatched in Germany when bishop Mtumbuka visited in 2011.

“He expressed willingness to support the education sector in the country,” he said.

In an interview, Ministry of Education North Education Division manager Jennings Kayira said the school will complement government’s efforts to ensure that the country has many secondary schools to train the human resource needed to achieve Malawi 2063.

The project was funded by Germany-based Umckaloabo and Rotary Club of Coburg and Manos Unidas of Spain.