‘Mombera University not a white elephant’
Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe yesterday told Parliament that Mombera University is not a white elephant, adding there is progress towards its construction.
In his statement to wind up debate on the 2017-18 Mid-Year Budget Review statement, Gondwe noted that most legislators, especially in the opposition, described the project as white elephant, thinking there is nothing happening at the site.
“On Mombera University, I would like to let you know that a lot of work is being done there, it is not correct that there is nothing being done. For instance, Capital Hill was not built in a day so is Mombera. It is just that you cannot see the buildings yet but there is progress,” he said.
Gondwe said for each project that the President laid a foundation stone, things will materialise and people should not be quick to judge but wait.
He said projects such as the Lilongwe-Kasiya Road will be completed by January next year and that all projects are making progress, including Phalombe Hospital.
Gondwe, however, said the only project which will take long to complete is the Njakwa-Livingstonia Road.
Last week, Minister of Education, Science and Technology Bright Msaka also told Parliament that a contractor has been identified and is on site working on roadson the K72 billion Mombera University project.
Mombera University in Mzimba will focus on animal sciences and was one of five universities that former president Bingu wa Mutharika had planned that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would embark on.
However, there has been scepticism that the Mombera University project would ever materialise when several years passed after the ground-breaking ceremony.
