Long wait for Mzimba stadium

National Construction Industry Council (NCIC)has ordered Manobec Construction Company to demolish and reconstruct two stands at Mzimba Stadium.

This means that people of Mzimba will have to wait a little longer before watching soccer matches at the facility, whose completion dates have been shifted twice since construction started in 2018.

NCIC officials visited the site on Wednesday after Ruo Consultants noticed some cracks on the stands.

In an interview after the visit, NCIC acting regulatory and enforcement director Dorothy Nyong’onya said the inspection was a routine check on compliance to quality.

She said: “The base on these stands was settling and this resulted into cracks.

“The consultant has advised the contractor to make good of works.

“The contractor will remove all the concrete that was already on the stands and after that, he will have to redo the compaction so that it is done according to the standards.

Nyong’onya said they will also investigate the issue to ascertain who will pay for the costs.

“Redoing the work will require more money, but a detailed investigation will be done and report will be produced which will ascertain as to where the cost will go.” she said.

On his part, Gerald Luhanga, a consulting engineer from Ruo Consultants, technical advisers to the Department of Buildings, blamed the contractor for the works.

He said: “When poor workmanship has happened, it means the contractor didn’t follow all the specifications given. 

“There is no resident engineer from DoB, and the contractor himself did not engage engineers full time on site.

“So basically, the personnel on site were lacking engineering experience and expertise.”

But Manobec project manager Victor Msowoya said such things were normal in construction projects.

He also hinted that they may not complete the works in December as expected.

According to Msowoya, the project cost now stands at K7.5 billion from an initial K5.3 billion. 

M’mbelwa District Council spokesperson Joel Chiheni Phiri said they have arranged a meeting today to discuss the issue.

Meanwhile, Northern Region-based soccer pundit Julius Mithi has descried the situation as unfortunate.

He said: “We have always called government to engage competent contractors.

“Imagine if such defects were not noticed, it would have ended up injuring or killing spectators.”

Moyale Barracks team manager Flao Mwale said the delays are worrisome.

He said: “We are concerned that Mzimba Stadium project has stalled. We already planned to designate it as our home,”