M’mbelwa University construction to resume
Ministry of Education Principal Secretary Chikondano Mussa has said construction of the first phase of the Inkosi M’mbelwa University in Mzimba District is set to start in October at a cost of about K30 billion.
In an interview on Wednesday, she said procurement of the contractor are at an advanced stage and government will soon announce the successful bidder.
Mussa said: “Construction is expected to start in October and the first phase is estimated to cost over K30 billion.
“This phase will include the construction of learning and office spaces, staff houses, students’ accommodation and a shopping complex.”
She said government has divided construction of the university in lots with the first phase to run from October 2023 to June 2025.
“We are going to start with the school of basic sciences, students’ accommodation, teachers’ housing and a shopping complex so that those people who will be living at M’mbelwa University can easily access items.”
The government has since allocated K5 billion for the project in the 2023/24 National Budget.
If the completion of the first phase meets the June 2025 deadline, the ministry hopes to enrol the first cohort of students in September 2025.
However, Mussa could not state how many phases the project will have and its estimated total cost, saying government has not worked that out.
In the 2019/20 National Budget, government estimated that the university would cost K54 billion and committed to allocating funds for construction. However, the projected costs may have risen with the kwacha devaluation and the rise in cost of materials.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has since said M’mbelwa University should be one of government’s top priorities allocated enough funding.
PAC chairperson Mark Botomani said investing in the university would increase access to tertiary education.
“M’mbelwa University has been a controversial issue for many years. We need to see it being implemented and finished as early as yesterday,” he said.
In an interview yesterday, Civil Society Education Coalition executive director Benedicto Kondowe said M’mbelwa University will contribute to human capital development, which is key to achieving aspirations laid out in the Malawi 2063, the country’s long-term development blueprint.
He said: “It will increase access to higher learning. Currently, so many deserving students are left out of the selection to institutions of higher learning.
“The university will also promote specialisation as it has a special focus. It will promote professionalism.”
Inkosi M’mbelwa University project, previously named Mombera University, was a brainchild of former president Bingu wa Mutharika. He wanted to increase access to public universities as well as address the controversial quota system of selecting students to universities that his administration was implementing.
Former president Peter Mutharika presided over the groundbreaking ceremony in 2015 and promised to construct it during his reign. However, only access roads were constructed and the site was later abandoned.
