National News

Commercial Court stalls, takes up K4bn

Listen to this article

Despite spending about K4 billion on a purpose-built High Court of Malawi Commercial Division in Blantyre, the project is behind schedule by nearly 12 years.

During a spot-check at the four-storey building located next to the National Registration Bureau along Independence Drive leading to Sanjika Palace yesterday, The Nation only found security guards on site.

The Commercial Court Division building that is lying idle

Judiciary sources yesterday attributed the delays to bureaucratic tendencies.

One source said the contractor was yet to demobilise some of its equipment because the government is yet to pay to enable the contractor finalise electrical installations.

Meanwhile, the Judiciary continues to pay rent in Mpico House, formerly MDC House along Glyn Jones Road for the High Court Commercial Division.

High Court of Malawi and Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal registrar Kondwani Banda could not be drawn to comment as he said he was in a meeting.

Ministry of Justice spokesperson Frank Namangale also said he could not comment because the structure is the property of the Judiciary.

But in an interview yesterday, Human Rights Defenders Coalition chairperson Gift Trapence described the delays to occupy the building as unacceptable.

“HRDC is calling upon the government to speed up the completion of the infrastructure. Delaying the process is the same as delaying Malawians to access justice.  The building is there to improve service delivery from the Judiciary,” he said.

Governance analyst Mavuto Bamusi said the continued renting of office space by the Judiciary for the Commercial Court Division was wastage of public resources and it reflects serious negligence that has deep negative repercussions on access to justice.

He said: “Taxpayers are paying twice by paying rentals for commercial courts operating in rented premises.”

Construction of the Commercial Court Division building started in 2010 and was expected that the project would cost Malawi Government K1.7 billion and be completed in 2012.

However, between 2013 and 2016, the project stalled due to a dispute between the Judiciary and the contractor over arrears.

Construction resumed after the government allocated K1.5 billion for the project in the 2016/17 National Budget.

In the 2023/24 fiscal year, the project was allocated K914 million.

Related Articles

56 Comments

  1. СХТ – компания, которая предлагает купить измерительное высокоточное оборудование. Мы даем гарантию на выгодные цены и отменное качество нашей продукции. Наши специалисты обладают высокой квалификацией и большим опытом работы. Они с удовольствием проконсультируют вас по всем необходимым вопросам. https://cxt.su – сайт, где можете прямо сейчас ознакомиться с более подробной информацией о нас и наших услугах. Здесь вы найдете фотогалерею и видео-презентацию. Оперативно реагируем на все заявки. Обращайтесь именно к нам!

  2. payday advance lancaster ca But when i could not face my Debt any more and my son was on hospital bed for surgery that involve huge money then i have to seeks for Assistance from friends and when there was no hope any more i decide to go online to seek a loan and i find Marian Lawson Loan company (marianlawson@) with 2% interest Rate and applied immediately with my details as directed.

  3. Забудьте о скучных кухнях! Наши дизайнеры помогут воплотить ваши самые дерзкие фантазии в реальность. Выберите стиль, цвет и форму – и ваша кухня станет настоящим произведением искусства https://kupitkuhnyumagazin.ru/!

  4. This design is incredible! You most certainly know how
    to keep a reader amused. Between your wit and your
    videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Excellent job.
    I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it.
    Too cool!

  5. Hello there! This article could not be written much better!
    Reading through this article reminds me of my previous roommate!
    He always kept talking about this. I will forward this information to him.
    Pretty sure he will have a great read. Thank you for sharing!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button