President Lazarus Chakwera has warned corrupt public officers who sabotage projects when they do not get benefit directly, saying they will be removed from the system.
He issued the warning in Lilongwe on Saturday when he presided over the launch of the construction of 34 secondary schools of excellence at one of the project sites in Traditional Authority Khongoni in Lilongwe.
The President said the launch marks a journey which will see all the 34 schools of excellence being completed, but warned officials who foil public projects when there is nothing going into their pockets.
Said Chakwera: “We have people in the system who deliberately stiffle projects when they don’t see a direct benefit from them. The solution is that we are going to remove such officials and replace them.”
He said he was optimistic that the projects will move as planned. He said when he opened Henry Henderson School of Excellence in Blantyre, which was constructed by the Church of Central African Presbyterian (CCAP), he was briefed that its construction took only a year.
Chakwera first announced the project during his State of the Nation Address (Sona) delivered in December 2021, where he said the schools of excellence would be constructed in each of the 34 education districts nationwide.
In an interview before the launch of the construction yesterday, Minister ofBasic and Secondary Education Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima said the project was affected by lack of resources.
“We were waiting for the resources and now we have received those resources and we have taken off. Construction will be done in phases until all the 34 secondary schools are constructed,” she said.
The minister said the schools will promote specialisation in various fields but the fees will be the same as other national schools despite having additional advantages.
Information from the Ministry of Education indicates that the infrastructure package for the schools of excellence will be of high quality and standards, and that most of the structures will be multi-storey buildings.
Initially, the Ministry of Education had estimated that the project would cost K100 million, and would be fully funded by the government.
