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For people in the communities surrounding the construction site of Inkosia Makosi Mbewa University in Mzimba District, hope soon turned into fantasy.
The former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government initiated the Inkosi Ya Makosi Mbewa University project (then known as Mambela University) to create space for more students to pursue higher education.
Former President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika laid the foundation stone for the project in 2015. To show its seriousness, the government built access roads inside the campus, waiting for the construction of hostels and learning buildings to begin.
However, due to funding issues, the project failed to proceed as planned.
The current head of state, President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, used this defeat to his campaign advantage ahead of the 2019 tripartite elections.
Chakwera reiterated his campaign promise during a recent visit to the area. In January this year, the government sent contractors – Paramount Holdings Limited (PHL) and DEC Construction – to the site to start construction.
In October 2023, the Ministry of Education awarded contracts to Paramount Holdings Limited (PHL) and DEC Construction Company to build the girls and boys dormitories respectively.
In January 2024, Education Minister Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima assured community members that the current government is committed to ensuring the project comes to fruition.
Welima said the principal, Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, was determined to ensure that the project was completed on time so that students from all over the country could attend the school for higher education.
The minister revealed that the university will admit its first batch of students in June 2024.
But contrary to expectations, the project was suspended just one month after it started, which further raised people’s concerns that the current government was just playing tricks.
The Traditional Authority (T/A) Benjamin Chirwa of Chikwa village in M’mbelwa district said the halt in construction works has reignited the sense of disillusionment, betrayal and exploitation among the people of Mzimba.
“We get fooled a lot on this project, which is very unfortunate,” Chiva said.
Ministry of Education spokesperson Mphatso Nkuonera declined to comment but referred us to the Ministry of Transport and Public Works for help.
Minister of Transport and Public Works Jacob Hara confirmed the suspension of the project but failed to provide convincing reasons for the decision.
“It is true that the construction has been suspended because the government has allocated more resources to improve the structure. Currently, the comprehensive design is underway. It will be completed by early next year. Once the design is completed, the construction will resume immediately as the contractor is already on site,” Hara said.
Reacting to the development, Deputy Chairman of the DPP in charge of the Northern Region, Jappie Mhango, said the failure of the Chakwera administration to complete the project confirmed their earlier fears that President Chakwera and his government were not interested in developing the region.
“I have pointed out many times that this government has no commitment to bring meaningful development in the Northern Region and this is an example of this. The construction of Inkosi ya Makosi M’mbelwa University started under the DPP regime and to that end, all the access roads were built. All that remained was to start constructing the buildings. The MCP promised that they would start from where we left off but four years have passed and nothing has been done, which confirms what we have been saying all along, that this government has no interest in bringing development in the Northern Region,” he responded.
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