Malawi Govt Boxed in Ndata land

President Joyce Banda’s administration is facing serious challenges to complete the transfer of the piece of land on which the State-owned Malawi University of Science and Technology (Must) was built because of existing ownership wrangle, sources have revealed.

Must’s imposing infrastructure, constructed with a loan from the Chinese Government, sits on a piece of land on the privately-owned Ndata Farm, which former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika donated to government to realise his dream of having the institution in Thyolo.

Initially, the science and technology university was supposed to belong to Bineth Trust, which was jointly owned by Mutharika and his first wife, the late Ethel.

There was controversy immediately the late Mutharika bought Ndata Farm (1998) Limited because the liquidated Malawi Development Corporation (MDC) commenced court action to recover part of the K25 million bid price.

Court documents accessed in May 2007 show that owners of Ndata Farm obtained a loan of K6 million from MDC, but failed to repay, resulting in the farm being repossessed.

Sources close to the matter said this week, MDC, being a defunct government investment arm, did not pursue the case further after the farm had been bought by Mutharika who became head of State.

A senior government official revealed this week that the process of transferring the land from privately-owned to public had stalled because some people were claiming ownership of the piece of land.

Said the government official: “The land is still in their hands because there is an ownership dispute. It seems the people who owned the farm before the former president bought it are not ready to give it to the public.

“You know the farm has been there for a long time before it was bought by the Mutharikas. Now, government has been trying to formalise change of ownership of the land where the university is, but there is resistance from those people although they are not clear on what they want.”

Government spokesperson Moses Kunkuyu, who is also Minister of Information and Civic Education, yesterday said the process of transferring the land from private to public was almost complete.

“By the time the university would be ready for opening, this process would have been completed. This is what I have been told by the Minister of Lands,” he said.

But in an interview yesterday, Duwa Mutharika-Mubaira, one of the late Mutharika’s daughters, said the family was not aware of any land wrangle involving Ndata Farm or part of it and that to the best of her knowledge, government has not contacted the family that it was facing hussles to tranfer ownership of the land.

In the meantime, government’s plans to open Must this year could remain a pipeline dream because, apart from the land ownership wrangle, there is need to source funds to complete the structure and buy equipment since the $85 million loan (about K29 billion) from the Chinese was inadequate.

A visit to the Must campus this week revealed that the contractors are now moving equipment from the university to Lilongwe where the Chinese Government is also constructing a state-of-the-art national stadium.

So far, the university campus, which government indicated would be opened in September this year, has four lecture blocks, an administration block, hostels, a library block, a cafeteria, a hall and a hospital building which is expected to have equipment for learning.

According to people guarding the premises, the university campus has no staff houses and equipment.

Principal Secretary for Education responsible for higher education Patrick Kabambe  admitted last month that there are a number of things not in place and said the ministry is counting on this year’s budget to fix them and open the university.

“This year we should be able to open. However, there is need for a lot of time and money for day to day running of the university,” said Kabambe, who could not indicate the budget line for the institution.

The university needs not less than K25 billion to make it ready for the first intake according to experts.

Civil Society Education Coalition (Csec) executive director Benedicto Kondowe said government was setting an unrealistic target because September is too close to put in place a complete equipped structure.

Information from the Chinese Embassy shows the university’s construction  is one of the projects that have been completed with preparations for handing over of the structure to Malawi Government  underway.

Ministry of Finance spokesperson Nations Msowoya declined to comment on how much was required to complete the works at the campus to fully open the institution.

He said since the construction of the university was completed in the middle of the financial year in 2012, there was no budget line made for the institution.

But, he said, the next budget has resources for the university.

Said Msowoya: “The 2013/14 budget has a provision of K1.5 billion for the Must; these resources have been put under the sub-vented vote. Just like when it started constructing the Must, government remains committed to open the university once a strategic plan has been finalised.”

In a related development, as Malawi is celebrating finding a new friend in the People’s Republic of China, the much touted assistance is mostly loans which have in the past five years accumulated to over K80 billion, The Nation has learnt.

According to information from the Ministry of Finance, the loans accessed through the Export and Import Bank of China amount to $245 million (over K80 billion) which would be repaid in 20 years with a five-year grace period at two percent interest rate.

The Chinese Government has supported five major projects in the country and two of them—the Karonga-Chitipa Road and the New Parliament building— being grants at $40 million (about K13.6 billion) and $10 million (about K3.4 billion) respectively.

The other three projects are International Conference Centre, Hotel and Presidential Villas funded through a concessional loan of $95 million, the university campus at Ndata at $85 million and the National stadium which is under construction in Lilongwe at $65 million.

On the Chinese Government loans, Msowoya said apart from the five major projects, Beijing also donated 2 000 metric tonnes of fertiliser valued at $3 million (about K1 billion) for the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (Fisp) in 2008, in addition to also constructing a modern primary school in the City of Lilongwe.

He also said China has been supporting various capacity building programmes for the public sector whereby civil servants are sent on short and long-term training in various colleges in China.

“The government borrowing strategy is guided by the Debt Sustainability Analysis which is undertaken every year. Our debt is very sustainable both in present and future terms, especially if you consider that the value of the United States dollar today is worth fewer dollars in five years time.

“We are not burdening the future generation. With these loans, we have created assets that will be enjoyed by the present and future generations. The current generation will also contribute to the costs of repaying these loans since the first principal repayment will be due in the next five years,” said Msowoya.

Chinese Embassy press officer Wang Junchao said apart from the five major projects, his government has implemented several projects in the country, including building a secondary school in Thyolo and the Solar Power Project which is under construction in Lilongwe.

Said Wang: “Since China and Malawi established diplomatic ties five years ago, our bilateral relations have progressed rapidly and smoothly. The Chinese Government has fulfilled all its commitments. The Chinese Government will continue to offer its assistance as our capacity allows.”

Wang said China and Malawi are “good friends, good brothers and good partners” and that the Malawi Government had submitted a list of priority projects including roads, airports and power stations.

“There is also a great potential for our two sides to intensify economic cooperation in trade and investment. Over the past five years, trade between China and Malawi has been expanding rapidly, with the volume jumping from merely $42.8 million in 2007 to over $200 million in 2012,” he said.