Five years after the government gazetted sustainable construction materials regulations in 2018, it appears that contents of the document are yet to sink in. This has come to the fore as some government departments and agencies have been caught in the act of using public resources to construct illegal structures. PATIENCE LUNDA writes:
Mageza Primary School, a public institution in Sonda Township, Mzuzu City, has three classroom blocks that have been constructed with burnt bricks in the past five years. The latest block was constructed last year using the Community Development Fund window.
The other two blocks were constructed using Covid funds while another one was put up under a community-led project, according to the school management care committee.
However, regulations related to the use of sustainable construction materials prohibit the use of burnt bricks in every public or commercial project.
The laws further mandate city, town and district councils to approve projects that utilise construction materials that are sustainable, environment-friendly and energy efficient.
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Otherwise, the structures risk being demolished.
If, for example, the blocks at Mageza Primary School were demolished, the government could end up seeing its funds going down the drain.
In an interview, Mzuzu City Council Public Relations Officer, MacDonald Gondwe, said the council is aware of the regulations.
He added that community-led initiatives often utilise low-cost materials, mainly because community members look at what they can afford.
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He further said the shortage of classroom blocks in most schools is what is fuelling the practice of constructing blocks using burnt bricks.
“The community did its part and we, as a council, had to provide resources for finalisation [of the works] and this is common in CDF [Constituency Development Fund] projects and we, as councils, are there to finalise [the works] much as we know that there are these guidelines. That said, community-led initiatives mostly use low-cost equipment because they are cheaper and easy to purchase,” he said.
The Daily Times has established that costs of constructing the classroom block at Mageza Primary School were pegged at K20 million, with K12,674,372 being spent on the initiative.
Mageza Primary School Management Care Committee Chairperson Bright Mbotwa admitted that all the three classroom blocks were constructed recently— using burnt bricks.
Mbotwa said the regulations are difficult to comply with because of the high cost of cement blocks.
He added that they rely on the government to finalise the construction works due to resource constraints.
“We generate funds from the K1,000 that students contribute to the School Fund per term and this money is used for buying bricks while some of the money is used for other school activities. We are aware of the regulations but we cannot afford alternatives, notably cement blocks, and the government has to understand this,” he said.
Head teacher for the school, Bonster Lungu, said they face a shortage of classrooms, such that the construction of the two classroom blocks is a source of relief.
National Construction Industry Council (NCIC) Corporate Affairs Officer, Lyford Gideon, said the council is reviewing penalties to ensure that they are stiffer than now to deter those that do not comply with laws.
“The council monitors development projects through its regulatory and enforcement arm and issues stop or compliance orders to any non-complying projects. Such projects can only proceed when they fully comply; otherwise, a waiver under given circumstances is granted,” he said.
On his part, Ministry of Transport and Public Works Public Relations Officer, Watson Maingo, said they are ensuring that contractors are not using burnt bricks in all construction works.
He, however, admitted that there is a possibility that some project implementers are still not abiding by the laws.
“Our position, as Ministry of Transport and Public Works, is that all projects that hinge on construction are putting burnt bricks out of the picture,” he said.
As this is happening, construction works on another block are set to start at the school through the Malawi Education Reform Programme, which is under the Ministry of Education.
The case of Mageza Primary School, which was established in 2015 and has an enrolment of 800 learners, could be a tip of the iceberg.
