Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Patricia Wiskes says her ministry is consulting stakeholders regarding the use, management and ownership of Soche and Zingwangwa stadiums once completed.
Initially, in 2019, President Peter Mutharika directed the construction of the stadiums for domestic football powerhouses Mighty Wanderers and FCB Nyasa Big Bullets in appreciation of their contribution towards football development in the country.
But when the Tonse Alliance was ushered into office, the ministry said the stadiums would not be given to the two teams because government does not construct facilities for private entities.
But just before he was voted back to power last year during a campaign rally in Blantyre, Mutharika reiterated on completing the stadiums for the two teams.
In an interview on Thursday, the minister said: “Let me reiterate government’s commitment to complete the construction of the two stadiums. These facilities are an important investment in sports development and public infrastructure.
She said the President’s intentions regarding the utilisation of the facilities by Mighty Wanderers and FCB Nyasa Big Bullets were expressed in the context of promoting football development and ensuring that the stadiums are effectively utilised for the benefit of the sport and the nation.
“As such, any decisions relating to their use, management, or the disposal of public assets will be guided by applicable laws,” said Wiskes.
“As a ministry, we will undertake consultations with relevant stakeholders to ensure that any arrangements made are lawful, transparent, accountable, and in the best interest of the public.”
Both Wanderers chief executive officer Panganeni Ndovi ans his Bullets counterpart Albert Chigoga were not available for comment yesterday.
In an earlier exclusive interview with Weekend Nation, Mutharika faulted the ministry’s decision not to give the stadiums to Bullets and Wanderers once completed, saying: “Each government has its own policies. I wanted the stadiums to belong to the two teams. That was my policy.
“But they decided to change that, I don’t know for whatever reason. Obviously, they have the right since they are in control, but I think it’s probably wrong.”
Mutharika said he was surprised because governments construct all sorts of structures for all sorts of people, including private organisations.
“So, I don’t know the rationale [and] the philosophy behind it, but that’s their wisdom, so we will see what happens,” he said.
“We’ll see what arrangements we can make with the teams. But the most important thing is to complete the stadiums because if we are to develop sports, there is need to have good infrastructure. That’s the most important thing, not politics.”
A recent visit by Weekend Nation to Soche Stadium, established that there is notable progress and the contractor is erecting terraces.
But there has been no progress at the Zingwangwa Stadium project and the ministry’s spokesperson Macmillan Mwale attributed the delay to the withdrawal of the initial contractor.
“The contractor asked to terminate the contract and the ministry accepted. We are now in the process of procuring another contractor to continue with the works,” he said.
Before the resumption of the works at Soche Stadium, the completion rate was at 60 percent while at Zingwangwa Stadium it remains five percent.
