Blantyre, February 15, 2016: Concerned Malawi Housing Corporation (MHC) tenants have asked MHC to speed up the maintenance works of its existing houses which are in dilapidated state as one way of fulfilling its mandate of providing decent houses to Malawians.
The MHC tenants expressed their concern on Thursday in Blantyre during an interface meeting with the Ministry of Lands, Housing and urban developing and the Malawi Housing Corporation.
Chairperson for the Association of MHC Tenants, Melvin Kaumphawi said it is disheartening to note that most tenants are being accommodated in substandard homes with leaky roofs, broken sewers and walls that put their families at high risk of all kinds of insects and diseases.
“It is not unusual to say that we are living in dilapidated houses yet the Malawi Housing Corporation demands us to pay house rentals every month,” he said adding; “When we fail to pay rentals we are forced to get out of the house which is too bad.”
Kaumphawi said: “For a number of times, this association has been writing the corporation to undertake maintenance works but it has yielded nothing.”
He said it is high time the corporation embarked on massive maintenance project so as to ensure that Malawians live in good houses.
Kaumphawi also lobbied for home ownership scheme which if put into effect would ensure that the long lived tenants are offered an opportunity to buy the MHC house at an affordable price.
In her response, MHC Chief Executive Officer, Wezi Mkandawire admitted that most houses are in dilapidated state citing some examples in Nkolokosa and Naperi.
She however was quick to point out that the corporation is doing everything possible to address the problem saying currently, it is carrying out responsive and rehabilitative works to some dilapidated houses.
“Let me assure you that the corporation is currently doing maintenance works in various parts of the country such as Machinga, Nsanje, Thyolo , Chitipa and Rumphi and plans are underway to roll out a similar exercise in other districts that will include Blantyre as we cannot embark on massive maintenance works at once because of financial constraints,” she said.
On the house ownership scheme, Mkandawire said it remains the responsibility of government to act on its policy to offer free houses to its citizens or give them at subsidized price.
