Gazing at cracking Karonga Museum

Good people, I am hearing that the European Union has promised to reconstruct the cracking roof of Karonga Museum.

It is thrilling that the home of the Malawisaurus, a dinosaur which makes Karonga the cradle of human kind, is saying farewell to a leaky roof.

For years, the brains behind the museum have hogged headlines begging for funds to replace the shattered roof.

The country stands to lose the historic treasure if the delays persist, they warned three rainy seasons ago.

But funds have not come in droves, but dribs and drabs amounting to just about K5 million since 2014.

The sum is appreciable to those who value of collections of historic importance, but the managers say it can only replace a quarter of the roof.

The kwacha is no longer floating, but flying. Prices are skyrocketing.

In their desperation, managers of the prime tourism attraction in Karonga have resolved to thatch the museum with metal sheeting like any other.

Safintra Malata reportedly wants K20 million for galvanised iron sheets to grace the roof for some years to come.

This is not good enough.

It is all the strapped brains in control of the museum can afford really.

Desperate situations sometimes demand desperate measures.

Using metal sheeting essentially poses a threat to the architectural nuance of the museum and safety of the prized artifacts it embodies.

Originally, the designers of the museum settled for a synthetic plastic roof in recognition of the high temperatures typical of the shoreline setting.

In their mind, the Germans saw iron sheets roasting the museum’s tourist attractions.

When they bended the special plastic roofing like the backline of the famous Malawisaurus, they wanted to safeguard the relics.

But we have settled for less.

It may be easy to curve iron sheets to maintain the unique shape of the museum, but it will require extra care, cooling and diligence to safeguard the collection from being roasted like maize.

But the zeal to endanger the hidden wealth shows something sick about this country of ours.

Malawi does not value sites and possessions of cultural importance.

This is why nearly all museums, memorial spots and antiquities keep lying derelict not because they are time-honoured, but neglected.

In this nation of cultural misfits, our leaders are only happy to rewrite and cliché sayings that remind us that a nation without history is not worth living.

Karonga Museum might be the crib of ancestors of human kind, but government seems happy to maintain minimal say and presence in its affairs by retaining just two or three employees.

While the Department of Culture lies on the laurels, pretending that the rot of the museum roof is none of its business, Europeans have done the needful that Capital Hill was supposed to do many years ago.

This is good.

But the potbellied fellows at Capital Hill need to rise from their deafening snores to plead with the EU to invest their kitty in the right roofing, with government paying the difference.

The longevity of the artifacts matters.n