The Northern Region Water Board (NRWB) has instituted audits into two of its flagship projects that Chinese contractors worked on.

NRWB chief executive officer Titus Mtegha said this in a letter responding to demands by Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiative (Cdedi).

Wrote NRWB: Namiwa

Apart from demanding a performance audit of the projects, Cdedi also included a call to inspect the projects’ documents in line with the Access to Information (ATI) law.

In his February 26 2022 response letter, Mtegha said the board has engaged external auditors to look into the Karonga Water Supply Project and the Nkhata Bay Water Supply Project in line with Malawi’s Public Audit Act.

The contractor for the Karonga project is China State Construction Engineering Coop Limited while the Nkhata Bay deal went to China Civil Construction Company.

NRWB has also committed to share with Cdedi the reports from the audits as it will do with contractual documents pertaining to the two projects.

Cdedi also made similar demands to the Roads Authority so that the public can have information on several road construction projects.

NRWB has since asked Cdedi to communicate a date when it shall be available to inspect documents of the said project contracts.

Reads the letter in part: “As Northern Region Water Board, in compliance with the ATI law, we will make all necessary documents and information, including contracts for the two projects available for your access and inspection at our head office, Kawiluwilu House in Mzuzu. This is subject to any exceptions as provided in ATI law.”

Mtegha said the inspection will be coordinated by the board’s lawyers, Messrs John Tennyson and Associates.

In its letter dated February 23 2022 and signed by Cdedi executive director Sylvester Namiwa the organisation demanded to access the documents and contractual agreements because, he said, the CSO suspected poor value for taxpayers’ money in the execution of public projects in the country; hence, the need to make such information public so that people can have informed positions.

Further reads the Cdedi letter: “Taxpayers have and continue to be defrauded due to dubious contracts that are awarded to very suspicious contractors who literally have no capacity to undertake the work…we write your office demanding all necessary information on the said projects.”

At a press briefing last week, Namiwa said his organisation wants to help people understand why most projects fail to withstand climatic shocks and end up being destroyed within months of completion.

On road projects, Namiwa alleged that the recent heavy rains exposed poor workmanship, negligence and outright disregard of contractual obligations in the implementation of some projects.

He said the Roads Authority needs to release the contract agreements on nine roads in the country within seven days or risk unspecified action.

But in a written response on Thursday, Roads Authority senior public relations officer Portia Kajanga said they will follow ATI provisions that Cdedi has referred to in looking at their request.

In a separate interview last week, Engineering Institute of Malawi president and chairperson, Alfonso Chikuni, said there is a lot of compromise on project design standards.

He cited the first bridge to be washed away in Marka, Nsanje where the institute sent a team of experts to investigate.

He said preliminary findings of the investigations show that even the hydrology manuals used were those developed around 1980, a time he said flood levels were different from the present reality.

National Construction Industry Council acting chief executive officer Gerald Khonje said last week that while he could not recall specific queries on the road projects off the cuff, there are numerous complaints that the council receives.

The road projects, whose contractual agreements Cdedi has demanded, are Jenda-Edingeni, Karonga-Songwe, Mzimba-Mzarangwe, Kapiri-Mkanda, Ntchisi-Malomo, Kenyatta Drive and Sharra Street, Ntcheu Tsangano, Nsanje-Marka and Nsanama-Nayuchi roads.

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