As the saga regarding the $500 million (approximately K360 billion) Salima- Lilongwe Water Pipeline Project rages on, the Public Accounts Committee (Pac) of Parliament has strongly spoken against the current form of the project, demanding that an independent cost estimate should be undertaken before it proceeds.
The project, which seeks to tap water from Lake Malawi in Salima to Lilongwe, belongs to Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) and was awarded to Khato Civils Limited after a restricted tender process in which six companies participated.
Revelations that an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) has not yet been done and concerns that financing modalities may be unfavourable on the part of government have prompted some stakeholders to question the whole project arrangement.
In a strong-worded response to a questionnaire by The Daily Times, Pac Chairperson, Alekeni Menyani, has warned that without the ESIA and an independent cost estimate, the project cannot proceed.
However, in an earlier interview, LWB Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Alfonso Chikuni, had indicated that the project could not fail because the agreement with the contractor was that the feasibility study should be undertaken after the contract has been signed.
He attributed the arrangement to an “imminent water crisis” that Lilongwe would face if nothing was done to address the problem.
But Menyani has argued that while Lilongwe indeed needs to have better and uninterrupted water supply, “that should not be justification for doing things in an incorrect and rushed manner”.
“As a committee of Parliament elected by the people to speak on their behalf, we cannot let this go on… We, too, join in to demand for transparency and accountability to protect the future of our nation. Under normal circumstances, the ESIA was supposed to be done first, and the project to be awarded later,” Menyani said.
He also claimed that both the leaderships of the government and the opposition are compromised to speak on the matter.
“They have abrogated their duty after accepting enormous financial or material “gifts”, rendering them incapable of saving the nation at the hour of need,” Menyani charged.
Khato Holdings Limited Chairperson, Simbi Phiri, confirmed to our sister paper, Malawi News of March 25 to 31 that he has funded opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) before.
“I have helped [MCP] and the DPP when they came to ask. I don’t take money on my shoulders. I always help [out] when I am asked to,” Phiri is quoted as having said.
Menyani has also hit at some quarters that are fighting that the project should proceed without anyone standing in its way.
“Now it is truly worrisome that even professionals such as the Attorney General [AG] are coming under ad hominem attacks for merely doing their job. Rather than addressing the valid concerns they raise, they are being humiliated in public,” he said, apparently referring to CSOs which spoke against AG Kalekeni Kaphale’s legal opinion that some details of the contract should be reviewed.
Menyani added: “And personal attacks or “gifts” of any sort to key voices of our society will change nothing with regard to doing what is right. As a committee of Parliament, we will always demand what is right.”
Meanwhile, Menyani has said the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) needs to investigate some quarters which are apparently undertaking a Public Relations (PR) operation for the project, on suspicion that they might have been palm-oiled.
In an interview yesterday, ACB Senior Public Relations Officer, Egrita Ndala, said if Pac feels there is enough ground for its claim, then they should officially lodge a complaint with the bureau.
“We do receive complaints and we review whether it is necessary that an investigation should be undertaken. In this case, if they inform us about their issue, we will see the way forward,” Ndala said.
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