Chitipa United clear bus
By Bernard Mhone:
TNM Super League side, Chitipa United, has finally cleared its 32-seater bus which had been parked at Songwe Border in Karonga District since January 15 2020 due to lack of funds for clearance.
Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) had demanded K6. 5 million for the bus’ custom duty.
Chitipa’s Buy-a-Coaster Task Force General Secretary, Pickford Kamanga, said the bus had finally been driven to the club’s base at Chitipa Boma.
“We have waited too long for this bus to be released. The initiative to buy the bus was hatched last year and we have worked very hard to have it at our base. We are happy that our transport problems are now over,” Kamanga said.
He said they were spending over K8 million on transport costs every season, describing the expense as unsustainable.
“We will now be spending over K2 million each season. This bus is a morale booster to the team as we await commencement of the 2020 season. Transportation was a big problem which was affecting our operations. For instance, the team would arrive in Blantyre just a day before a match because of transport challenges.
“Our plan is to arrive on Wednesdays for our away games so that our players have enough rest. We are now relieved that our players will be traveling in comfort. The funds we used for hiring buses will now be channeled to players’ welfare. We expect this to boost their performance,” Kamanga said.
The community-sponsored team has bought the bus through contributions from well-wishers.
Chitipa collected the bus after Health Minister Jappie Mhango, his Tourism, Environment, Parks and Wildlife counterpart Symon Vuwa Kaunda and Mulli Brothers Group contributed K2.6 million to help clear the bus.
The team had earlier raised about K4 million out of the K6.5 needed to clear the bus.
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