Mzuzu City, MAM tussle over land

Mzuzu City Council has accused the Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) of trying to gain undue sympathy from President Joyce Banda over land the city allocated to the association.

The land is on plot number A4/1/11, 12, 13 where the Muslim Educational Movement of Northern Malawi (Memon) wants to build an educational centre.

When Banda attended the women Ijitima in Mzuzu on October 13 2012, MAM chairperson Sheik Idrissa Muhammad complained that the council was frustrating its plans to construct an educational institution.

But Mzuzu City Council chief executive officer Richard Hara said MAM should have raised their problems with the council.

“Instead of coming to the city if they [MAM] have problems, they chose to raise it in front of the President. One wonders the motive behind it,” said Hara, who was at the gathering when Sheik Muhammad raised the issue.

Hara said MAM was given the land in 2001 despite not paying full amount of scrutiny fees.

“But they built a substandard structure which was contrary to the plans they gave us,” said the CEO.

The planning and estates services department in its letter dated April 12 2011, asked for the scrutiny fee of K564 569.98, but documents show that Memon paid K282 285 on GR number 007416 on July 8 2011.

In another letter, Memon executive director Zubair Ahmed asked for the scrutiny fee waiver.

In an interview last Tuesday, Ahmed said they were getting waivers in all projects they carried out in the Centre and South.

He denied that his organisation has a balance with the planning committee.