Kasungu Stadium delay displeases minister Vincent Khonje
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Kondwani Nankhumwa on Monday expressed dissatisfaction with the contractor working on the Kasungu Municipal Stadium because of slow progress.
The stadium is one of the various socio-economic projects government embarked on through Local Development Fund (LDF) with funding from the German Government.
Speaking when he toured the stadium site on Monday, Nankhumwa said he was not amused with the progress of the stadium.
He said: “The rate at which the contractor is doing the job, it is doubtful if the construction will be finished within the scheduled timeframe.”
LDF chief executive officer Charles Mandala said they will review the contract and will talk to top managers to understand their work schedule.
“We will talk to the highest managers on a number of issues that have been observed here.
“Firstly, how they got more sites, but I am sure there are good reasons. Secondly, the quality of equipment, number of staff and also the quality of cement blocks are not satisfactory,” he said.
Kasungu Municipal Council director of planning and development Binali Kachilo said apart from other problems of equipment and staff, there is also the challenge of language barriers as the one in charge cannot communicate in Chichewa or English.
The stadium, which falls under the Urban window of LDF, was allocated K372 205 695 (about $534 095) and its duration is 40 weeks.
Construction commenced on November 9 2015 and is expected to be completed by August 15 2016.
