Bingu Stadium to be outsourced
Officials for the Ministry of Labour, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development have said plans are at advanced stage to outsource the management of Bingu National Stadium (BNS) in Lilongwe.
The government wants to outsource the facility as, of late, it has been facing challenges, including failing to pay utility bills.
Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi disconnected the facility from its grid due to a K22 million bill whereas Lilongwe Water Board disconnected water at the facility due to a bill estimated at K69 million.
Director of Sports, Jameson Ndalama, Wednesday confirmed that they were just waiting for approval from the authorities on the outsourcing process.
“We started the process long time ago, and now we are making progress. Once we get approval from the authorities, we will go for a tendering process,” Ndalama said.
Ndalama added that the facility, which falls under his ministry, faces several challenges because its monthly budgetary allocation of K3 million is not enough.
“The expenses are too high compared to the funds the facility gets. But, we are optimistic that all the problems will be sorted out in the near future,” he added.
BNS spokesperson, Ireen Mkoko, said she was not communicated about the outsourcing of the stadium.
The 40,500 capacity stadium was built using K29.4 billion concessional loan from the Chinese government, payable in 20 years.
In the just-ended season, BNS only hosted high-profile matches involving the national team, Nyasa Big Bullets and Be Forward Wanderers.
The government also struggles to manage sports facilities such as the BAT Ground, Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre and Kamuzu Institute for Sports in Lilongwe.
Kamuzu Institute for Sports is now under the Malawi National Council of Sports after the ministry failed to manage it.
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