Bingu-wa-Mutharika-statue-site
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The government is going ahead with plans to construct a statue of former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika at Parliament Building in Lilongwe, Presidential Press Secretary, Mgeme Kalilani, said Wednesday.
Kalilani said the Ministry of Works is in charge of the project in the same way it did with the construction of Kamuzu Statue and Kamuzu Mausoleum phase one.
“The Bingu statue project started sometime back and His Excellency the President was fully appraised about it and he is aware of its progress,” Kalilani said.
The Daily Times has also established that contractors are on the site of the project.
Bingu, elder brother to incumbent President Peter Mutharika, died in 2012 while serving as the country’s president.
Information and Communications Technology Minister, Henry Mussa, declined to state how much the project would cost, saying Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe is well placed to provide such details.
“It is justifiable to mount it [the statute] around Parliament precincts, as this is a symbol of honour to the late Bingu wa Mutharika for the unprecedented infrastructure development which the country gained because of his bold decision to shift Malawi’s diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing, China, in 2007,” Mussa said.
The government has hired renowned South African sculptor, Jean Doyle, to design the statue.
