BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-CCAP cleric and General Secretary for Blantyre Synod, Reverend Dr. Billy Gama has turned down his appointment as a board director of the Lilongwe Water Board, saying he already has a busy office.
Dr. Gama addded that it will also be difficult for him to serve as a director of the Board which he was once its chairperson.
The man of God says it was just a joke, a statement he made on 3 November, 2022 in Blantyre where President Lazarus Chakwera was opening the HHI School of Excellence that he wished he could serve at the MACRA Board.
“Blantyre Synod has a radio station and it could be a conflict of interest for me to be a board chairperson of MACRA,” he says.
Chakwera has also awarded Brown Mpinganjira and Frank Mwenefumbo as chairpersons for Southern Region Water Board (SRWB) and Northern Region Water Board (NRWB).
The duo are political figures heads taken on board aimed at helping Chakwera’s second term bid in 2025.
BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) has secured additional grant of USS45.00 million from the World Bank for the implementation works of its Lilongwe Water and Sanitation project.
This brings the total financing by the World Bank for the project to USS145.00 million following the initial grant of USS100.00 million received earlier this year.
According to the Parliamentary statement of approval, the grant was made on March 17, 2022 and released on March 19, 2022.
Lilongwe Water Board sanitation project
The Lilongwe Water and Sanitation Project is aimed at increasing access to improved water services and safely managed sanitation services in Lilongwe City.
The Project scope involves rehabilitation and upgrading of the city’s water distribution network to reduce water losses and improve the reliability of water supply.
It also aims at expansion of LWB’s water supply network to other underserved areas in response to the rapid urbanization being experienced by the city.
The project is further designed to support priority sanitation improvements (both sewerage and onsite sanitation), which are expected to have significant impacts on public health and environment in line with the aspirations of the Malawi 2063 Development Agenda.
The project is also designed to strengthen the Lilongwe Water Board’s ( LWB) and Lilongwe City Council’s implementation capacity to provide improved water services and safely managed sanitation.
The project is expected to directly benefit a total of 250,000 people with improved water services and particularly those in the peripheral areas of the city of Lilongwe where intermittent water supply and access to potable water are key challenges.
The LWSP is a five-year project which became effective on March 26, 2018 and shall be concluded on June 30, 2023.
MyBucks Banking Corporation has partnered Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) to simplify payment of water bills.
The bank’s consumers in Lilongwe City and surrounding areas can pay their water bills via MyBucks’ *632# Flex Mobile banking platform.
Mybucks Head of Channels, Felix Chitera claimed the partnership fulfils the bank’s aspiration to becoming the best digital bank.
“We are now providing a smart, safe and convenient way to consumers by simplifying their utility bill payments.
“By doing this, we have not only simplified customers’ lives in terms of convenience, but we have also provided a safe platform for them to purchase their utility needs promptly,” said Chitera.
He further claimed that the payment transactions will be free of charge, saying with prepaid meters will have to be dialing *632# Flex Mobile banking code, and follow the prompts under bill payments on the mobile menu, to which a system generated token will be sent to their phone in real time.
On their part, Lilongwe Water Board Chief Executive Officer, Silli Mbewe said the partnership between LWB and MyBucks gives LWB customers additional platform to transact at their most convenient time.
“The partnership is in line with our vision of becoming a leading customer-focused and financially viable water and sanitation utility in Africa.
“As the Board, we strive to find better and more secure means of servicing our customers. MyBucks is going to offer another simplified water payment dimension for our customers,” Mbewe said.
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)- Rumours have been rife of how the former Malawi first family, especially the former First Lady, Gertrude Mutharika and her son from her previous marriage, Tadikira Mafudza, were fleecing Malawian taxpayers but concrete evidence has been lacking.
However, it appears their chickens may have come home to roost, at least for Peter Mutharika’s step son, Tadikira.
Investigations by the Human Rights Defenders Coalition, HRDC, have established that Tadikira was drawing salaries from Lilongwe Water Board and the Roads Authority.
In a letter addressed to the Anti Corruption Bureau, ACB, Director, signed by HRDC National Chaiperson, Gift Trapence and its National Coordinator, Luke Tembo, the human rights watchdog states,
“HRDC has also received allegations that LWB had on its payroll, President Mutharika’s stepson, Tadikira. His name was reflected in the engineering section. It is alleged that despite being paid by LWB, Tadikira never reported for duties. It is also alleged that his name was also appearing on the payroll of Roads Authority”.
Tadikira is understood to have been employed by the Roads Authority.
In its letter, HRDC has also taken issue with the fact that LWB close to MK 30 million for the construction of the statue at Parliament roundabout in Lilongwe, City Centre, on behalf of Beautify Malawi, BEAM, Trust, apparently as part of LWB’s corporate social responsibility.
Coincidentally, BEAM trust is run by Tadikira’s mother, Gertrude Mutharika, Peter Mutharika’s wife and former First Lady.
HRDC has accused LWB officials of “abuse of office to appease their political masters” and has asked the ACB to investigate the allegations. HRDC has also demanded that the money be paid back.
In a related development, HRDC has also written ACB, asking the the bureau to investigate allegations of abuse of office at Blantyre City Council in the way the way the council got into a 1 year contract to hire BEAM Trust refuse collection trucks at the rate of MK 60, 000.00 per day, totaling to MK 22 million a year.
The deal has been faulted for flouting procurement procedures as the council did not seek approval from the office of Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Director.
Ironically, BEAM Trust, a charity, got the vehicles as a donation from the Republic of China.
Mutharika lost to Lazarus Chakwera of Tonse during the June 23, 2020 presidential elections
BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)–The European Investment Bank (EIB), set to conclude funding for a K13 billion water treatment works project for Lilongwe, has questioned Capital Hill why it has hired Godfrey Itaye, former Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) Director General, as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Lilongwe Water Board.
Itaye is on Police bail after fraud charges were allegedly leveled against him.
The bank, in a letter to Government which has been widely quoted by local print media, said it had hoped to ink the deal with Finance Ministry but it was worried the recruitment of Itaye in June may affect the process.
The bank said charges raised against Itaye will “negatively impact our ability to conclude financing the contract with the Ministry of Finance as we are unable to have persons under criminal charge involved in our project, particularly given the relatively recent incident of irregularity.”
Secretary to the President and Cabinet Zanga Zanga Chikhosi declined to comment on the matter, while Williams Banda, Finance Ministry’s spokesman confirmed of receving the letter from EIB.
Itaye was summoned by Fiscal Police in Blantyre on early September and arrested thereafter over charges of abuse of office and fraud.
After spending a night in the cooler, Itaye was released on police bail.
The charges relate to the procurement of K135 million Macra calendars contract, alleged deployment of an official vehicle Macra bought for its officer but was allocated to former president Peter Mutharika’s personal bodyguard Norman Chisale and procurement of the then governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) cloth by the authority.
Itaye’s arrest followed earlier arrests of Macra director of finance Ben Chitsonga and procurement specialist Joseph Ngalawa.
The Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) is currently upgrading some of its water transport mains within Lilongwe City inorder to eliminate bottlenecks in the water supply system. The exercise under the Lilongwe Water Resources Efficiency Programme (LWREP) is being funded by the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The upgrading exercise will see a replacement of the existing Asbestos Cement pipes with Ductile Iron pipes, targeting a total of 17.5 Kilometres. It is expected that once completed, there will be a reduction in the current deficiencies in LWB’s water transport system as well as reduction in the frequent pipe bursts and leakages due to aging of the present system, among other factors.
Upgrading of transport mains is currently underway in the following areas: LWB water treatment plant (Area 3) to Mwenda (Biwi Triangle), Mwenda to Tsabango (Area 23 tank), Mtunthama tanks to Area 9 Tower and Northern Booster Station (Behind Parliament Building) to Kanengo tanks
Residents in the Capital City Lilongwe are very angry with Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) for their failure to provide residents with water as mandated by the laws of the land.
The residents of area 23, area 44, Chiuzira and Chilinde are drawing water only at night especially from 3 and 5 Am.
“We are tired with Lilongwe water Board may be its time the management should just go and pave way for other people who will bring difference.” Said one area 23 water user Chrispine Banda.
Banda sai the problem is that the area has been without water during day time for long its time saying its time that the residents should speak.
“We pay the bills every months but the question is where is our money going if these people are filing to give us water,” said Banda.
Ireen Phiri from Chilinde said she is fed up with the water board.
“These people (LWB) just concentrate in buying brand new vehicles and they don’t do anything in scaling up means of bringing water to the residents,”
Phiri said time has come for the residents to voice out their concern.
Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) has started rationing distribution of waters to its customers following current water problems affecting several parts of Lilongwe as a goal to ensure that they save lives of people through provision of potable water all the time for all people said on Monday 2016 at Madzi House in Lilongwe. Continue reading Lilongwe Water Board to ration water for sustainability in Malawi→
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Residents in the Capital City Lilongwe are very angry with Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) for their failure to provide residents with water as mandated by the laws of the land.