Government seems to be in a fix over the Salima–Lilongwe water pipeline project and has now disclosed that it is considering restarting the process of awarding a contract to tap water from Lake Malawi.
The contract, which was awarded to Khato Civils Limited, has come under heavy criticism for committing to roll out before a feasibility study had been undertaken.
Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe Wednesday said due to “controversies” surrounding the project, the government wants to review the whole process.
Gondwe was reacting to demands by the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture which wrote his ministry on Monday this week, requesting him to bring to the House the issue of the project for further scrutiny by members.
“I have received the letter from the committee but they are so wrong, it doesn’t work like that. What I know is that the Cabinet approves the loan and Parliament is only informed of the reasons why the government is taking such an action.
“But anyway , there is even no need to take the matter to Parliament because we may not proceed with the project because of all these things being said about the project, and we may have to start everything all over again,” Gondwe said.
Last week Friday, the committee summoned Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) Chief Executive Officer Alfonso Chikuni together with two other officials and according to Chairperson of the committee Joseph Chidanti-Malunga, there were a number of inconsistencies in the presentation by the board officials.
Chidanti-Malunga disclosed that the committee was baffled to hear from Chikuni that Gondwe is still negotiating with the contractor on the final contract value.
“Our question to the officials was why is the ministry concerned when their role was only of a guarantor. We also wondered why the line ministry of water was sidelined in the deal. Members also queried on the logic behind negotiating a contract which was already entered into and the contractor is already mobilising resources,” Chidanti-Malunga said.
He also questioned the decision by Gondwe to bypass Members of Parliament in the guaranteeing of the loan hence the decision by his committee to have the issue tabled in the House.
Khato Civils Limited was awarded the close to K400 billion ($500 million) contract after a restricted tender process in a project intended to tap water from Salima to Lilongwe, a stretch of about 125 kilometres.
The deal has stirred controversy after it emerged that no feasibility study had been conducted before Khato Limited and LWB entered into the deal.
A week ago, Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale told the media that he wants to review some details of the contract and has already offered his legal opinion.
Gondwe also told this paper earlier that the authorities will have to find a way on how to deal with the issue of feasibility study since the contract was already entered into.
The Finance Minister, nonetheless, backed the initial arrangement of awarding the contract before the study, arguing that in some instances such things do happen.
The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament has also strongly spoken out against the current form of the project and has demanded that an independent cost estimate be undertaken before proceeding with the project.
Earlier, Chikuni said his office had agreed with the contractor that the feasibility study would be done after contract had been signed.
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