Foreign missions rehab needs K3.4bn

Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it needs K3.47 billion to rehabilitate buildings in Malawi’s foreign missions.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Bernard Sande said this on Thursday when he led the ministry’s team to a meeting with the Parliamentary Committee on International Relations to explain a number of issues, including the status of property in Malawi foreign missions.

He said most of the buildings have not undergone maintenance in years.

Said Sande: “Most of the buildings are in dilapidated condition because they have not been maintained for a long time. Some have gone for over 25 years without maintenance.

“But now we have embarked on a programme where we plan to rehabilitate most of the buildings, slowly. We need about K3.47 billion, buy we do not actually have the money.”

He said some of the buildings are not habitable such that the ministry was forced to rent other buildings to accommodate officials.

Committee chairperson Patrick Bandawe said they received reports that the houses are in bad shape.

He said: “Of course we have not checked, but we have been receiving private reports. For instance, I have received reports for embassies in South Africa.

“With the message that I got and when we compare it with the money they are requesting, we are satisfied as a committee that it is justified.”

Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs spokesperson Taurai Banda asked for more time when he asked if Treasury was in a position to release funding for the rehabilitation works.

Malawi has 56 structures in foreign missions. They were built long ago but they have hardly had any maintenance.

In 2018, an assessment report from government’s Building Department recommended demolition of the K6 billion Malawi Embassy building in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia because the cracks that developed on the building could re-appear after maintenance.

In the 2018 budget, Treasury allocated K180 million for repairing the cracks on the building that was opened in 2010. The allocation attracted questions from the committee.