When Tropical Cyclone Freddy tore through Blantyre in 2023, record-breaking rains, floods and landslides exposed a national crisis that has been building up for decades: Malawi’s paper-thin protection against disaster.
The tragedy which flattened communities and killed hundreds was a predictable outcome of systemic failure to build safely.
In the wake of the 2009 Karonga earthquakes, government and its partners launched the Guidelines for Safer House Construction as part of disaster risk reduction.
The commendable plan was designed to teach people how to build homes that could withstand not just earthquakes, but also frequent floods and strong winds.
The guidebook promoted affordable, local materials and was meant to be a cornerstone of a new, resilient Malawi.
Yet, over half a million homes destroyed by cyclones Idai and Freddy show that these guidelines have remained largely on paper.
The gap between policy and practice has become a chasm and ordinary Malawians keep falling into it.
So, why has this well-intentioned plan failed so spectacularly that we only remember it when tragedies strike?
First, the crushing weight of poverty makes safety a luxury for many Malawians.
The guidelines recommend using materials like fired bricks and cement, but with the cost of construction materials soaring by over 50 percent in three months, only few can afford them.
A family struggling for its next meal cannot prioritise the long-term benefit of a reinforced foundation. The dream of a decent, safe home is being suffocated by rising costs.
Second, a profound institutional void means there is no one to enforce the rules.
Inaction and lax enforcement of dos and don’ts have reduced the guidelines to “mere suggestions”, not binding laws.
Among others, the National Construction Industry Council (NCIC) appears understaffed and under-resourced to police the construction sector where standards have collapsed and corruption is rampant. This leads to poor workmanship and inflated costs.
Similarly, local councils lack the capacity to stop the mushrooming of informal settlements in disaster zones such as riverbanks and the steep, unstable slopes of Soche Hill that became a graveyard for our loved ones during Cyclone Freddy.
Finally, the country lacks skilled artisans trained and certified in resilient building techniques.
This means that even though the intentions are good, the quality of construction, especially in the housing sector, is often poor.
The tragic case of Mchenga Village, where houses built by an aid agency after Cyclone Freddy began cracking and were deemed unsafe just months after completion, is a stark reminder of this fact.
If even formal aid projects can fail so badly, what hope is there for the informal sector where over 90 percent of Malawians build their homes?
The evidence is undeniable.
Disaster after disaster, it is the same structures—those built with mud bricks and poor foundations—that collapse while houses built with stronger materials such as baked bricks and cement mortar remain standing.
We know how to build safer homes. The failure lies in applying that knowledge.
Breaking this cycle of destruction requires a radical shift.
We must move from simply publishing guidelines to building a system that makes safety the standard.
This means turning the voluntary guidelines into a mandatory national building code with real teeth.
It means empowering the NCIC and councils to inspect construction sites and punish violators.
It requires tackling the economic barriers head-on, perhaps through subsidies for certified materials or by developing affordable micro-mortgages for resilient housing.
And it demands a national effort, led by institutions like Tevet Authority to train and certify a new generation of builders in the techniques that save lives.
The regulatory decisions we make today will determine whether our towns and villages can withstand the storms of tomorrow.
Continuing on our current path is to accept a future of repeated loss, rebuilding and mourning.
It is time to turn our paper guidelines into concrete reality and give Malawians the security they deserve.
