The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Malawi (Icam) has unveiled its $2 million (K1.4 billion) office complext construction project comprising business centre and offices for rent.
The three-storey building in Mandala along the Masauko Chipembere Highway in Blantyre to be built by City Building Contractors, is estimated to be completed in one year and 10 months.
Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Anna Kachikho, who presided over the groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, commended Icam for demonstrating a spirit of self-reliance.
She said if Malawians embraced such a spirit, the country would do away with the dependency syndrome.
“Icam is the only professional body in the country that has taken the initiative to come up with a modern office complex. This demonstrates the character of its leadership. We can only appeal to other professional bodies to borrow a leaf from Icam,” she said.
Kachikho also stressed the importance of building multi-storey building as opposed to single floor structures amid land scarcity.
In his remarks, Icam president Henry Chowawa said the groundbreaking ceremony and the subsequent construction project represents a major milestone in the development of the accounting profession.
“It means we are having our own symbolic representation because all along we have been in Malawi just as a name. This profession is now developing in Malawi.
“Currently, qualified accountants represent only one percent of the profession. Our major desire and objective is to train and develop more accountants so that almost all areas that matter in the economy are covered by people who can trade officially and practice as accountants,” he said.
Chowawa said accountants help government to improve internal controls by supplying the right people to serve in the right industries.
The project will be covered in three phases, according to Chowawa. The first phase will involve the construction of offices for the secretariat estimated at $1.13 million (K803 million).
The second phase at a cost of $284 257 (K207.5 million) will see the construction of offices to let and the final phase will consist a business centre, conference room and offices at a cost of $611 305 (K446 million). n
