Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has reaffirmed its commitment to fast-track the construction of housing units for security officers with records showing that 172 of the planned 10 000 are complete.
Delivering a ministerial statement in Parliament on Friday, Mini ster of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Chimwemwe Chipungu said while the initial plan was to construct 10 000 houses, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration has revised the target to 12 500 units to address the housing deficit
among security personnel in the Malawi Defence Force (MDF), Malawi Police Service, Malawi Prison Service and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services.
retendered. | Nation
He said 172 houses have so far been completed with 132 handed over and 40 houses in Dowa District are awaiting a formal handover.
Since the project’s launch, 139 contracts covering 3 972 houses have been awarded nationwide, according to the minister.
“However, nine contracts covering 125 housing units for the Malawi Police Service will be re-tendered after the contractors failed to commence works due to non-compliance with contractual terms and conditions,” said Chipungu.
He further told Parliament that 409 housing units are at or above 80 percent completion and that out of
these, 246 are for MDF, 116 for the police, 45 for prisons and two for Immigration. A further 382 units are between 50 and 80 percent complete, added the minister.
Parliament also learned that construction has stalled on 325 of these units, mainly due to non-payment of outstanding certificates by government while works on 57 units are progressing satisfactorily.
Chipungu said government arrears on the project have risen to over K52 billion, leading to stalled construction at several sites.
Mwanza Central member of Parliament (MP) Felix Njawala (UTM Party) urged the ministry to expedite payments to contractors, warning that delays can breed corruption.
On his par t, Nkhotakota Central MP Sylvester Ayuba James (independent) proposed the construction of double-storey houses for police off icers to maximise land use.
He cited the National Police Headquar ters in Area 30 in Lilongwe where single-storey houses consumed significant land that could have been used for other purposes.
In response, Chipungu assured the House that the planning department would review the Area 30 design and reiterated that contracts would be awarded on merit.
The security housing project was inaugurated by former president Lazarus Chakwera in December 2020 after the previous DPP administration conceptualised it.
