Govt ‘abandons’ police apartments
Three two-storey apartments whose construction was almost finished near Area 4 Turn-off in Mzuzu have been abandoned for years as the contractor, Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC), remains evasive on the details of the contract.
The apartments, which are gradually turning into ruins, were expected to be handed over to the Malawi Police Service once completed.
In separate interviews, both Northern Region Police Commissioner Richard Luhanga and National Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya indicated that police were waiting for the apartments to be handed over.
But he referred The Nation to MHC for more information.
Luhanga, however, said there are issues between the Ministry of Lands and MHC on quality of the structures.
“But if you really want to know the details, speak to the ministry or MHC,” he said.
MHC spokesperson Ernestina Lunguzi asked for more time to consult on the matter.
But Ministry of Lands Principal Secretary Davie Chilonga in a written response confirmed that MHC was the flats’ contractor with the Department of Buildings as the project manager.
He conceded that the apartments in Mzuzu were near completion, but said there are some remaining finishing works yet to be done.
Chilonga said the Ministry of Homeland Security had indicated that it was sourcing funds to complete the remaining works on its own, but indicated that the process has taken a long.
He said the Ministry of Lands and the Police have met twice on the site to strategise on finishing the houses, adding that they will be ready for occupation once resources to complete them have been mobilised.
“The flats remain important towards reducing accommodation challenges facing police officers and they will be completed by the Ministry of Homeland Security,” he said.
Ministry of Homeland Security officials could not be reached for comment on the matter.
Last year, the Ministry of Lands awarded contracts to 75 contractors for the construction of 2 300 houses in the second phase of the security officers’ housing project.
Chilonga said in a previous interview that the award of the contracts followed the completion of works on some houses out of 1 028 earmarked for the project’s first phase nationwide.
He said some of the houses have already been handed over to MPS while others are at between 80 and 90 percent completion rate.
Government launched construction of 10 000 houses for security agencies across the country in December 2020 to be funded by government, Opec Fund for International Development and Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa.
