Government cautions on Mzimba water project guidelines
The government has cautioned the Northern Region Water Board (NRWB) to operate within the parameters of its project guidelines when implementing the Mzimba Integrated Urban Water and Sanitation Project expected to start in November.
Speaking at the launch of the project in Mzuzu this week, chief director in the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Bright Kumwembe urged NRWB personnel to familiarise themselves with the development partners’ procurement and disbursement guidelines.
target 44 000 people in Mzimba
“We often face challenges as we implement projects so much so that we skip some guidelines and do things differently and the government has often times been called upon to reimburse some expenditures. Let us learn with time,” he said.
Kumwembe cautioned that the project would be a futile exercise unless there is prudent utilisation of resources and efficient implementation of works.
“We cannot afford to implement substandard projects and be wasteful if we are to improve and deliver quality services to our people. Let us know that as government we are spending colossal sums of money on these projects,” he said.
In an interview, principal water and sanitation specialist for the African Development Bank (AfDB) Benson Nkhoma reiterated the need for the government and the board to implement the project as agreed in the appraisal report and the financing agreement.
“We, therefore, organised this workshop to orient both the government and NRWB to implement the project according to the bank’s rules and procedures so that we implement it timely and also being mindful of efficiency and effectiveness,” he said.
NRWB chief executive officer Titus Mtegha said the project, which targets 44 000 people in Mzimba, would increase the capacity of the treatment works from the current 1 500 cubic metres per day to about 6 000 cubic metres daily.
“The project will start in November and we hope it would be finished by March 2018,” said Mtegha.
The project has been co-financed by AfDB to a tune of $5 million (about K3.6 billion), Opec Fund for International Development for $14.85 million (about K10.6 billion) and Malawi Government, $2.9 million (about K2 billion).
