In November last year, government devalued the local currency by 44 percent. That was on top of the 25 percent devaluation that had been effected six months previously. The devaluation is hitting the construction sector hard, as FESTON MALEKEZO explores.
The devaluation of the Kwacha has led to spikes in prices of food and other basic commodities, eroding the purchasing power of poor households in both rural and urban locations.
But people of Likoma might be wailing the loudest.
Here, the government is constructing a jetty—a project that commenced in 2018.
Ideally, the jetty was expected to be completed in November 2021, but has faced several challenges, the recent being the devaluation of the Kwacha.
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Faith Mhango is a trader from Chizumulu Island. She sells fish in mainland districts such as Mzimba, Kasungu and Lilongwe.
“We had high hopes that the jetty would be completed in time. We struggle to board and disembark from the ship. It is tough for us women,” Mhango says.
Once the jetty is completed, it is expected to reduce ship-boarding time and ease challenges people face when leaving the giant vessels, mainly the MV Illala.
Among others, the jetty will have a passengers’ waiting bay, a restaurant and an ablution block.
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Sub-Traditional Authority Mwase of Likoma also says delays to complete the project is contributing to the island’s retarded development.
Similarly, Member of Parliament for the area Ashems Songwe bemoans the delays.
“In 2019, there was no activity apart from a few machines which were put on site. Major activities started in July 2020. Our expectation was that by May or June this year, we would have started using it.
“So, I am equally concerned about the delays as shared by people here in the district… But we hope that by the end of this year, we will start using it,” the lawmaker said.
Ministry of Transport and Public Works acknowledged that the project could take a little longer as it has faced various challenges including the devaluation of Kwacha.
Madalo Nyambose, Principal Secretary (PS) for Administration in the ministry, said the construction progress is currently at 83 percent, estimating it might take up to the end of the year to be finalised.
Nyambose made the remarks on Tuesday when members of the Parliamentary Committee on Transport and Public Works inspected progress on the project.
She could, however, not be drawn to comment on how much the project has been revised to from the initial K10 billion, saying price escalations were inevitable.
The PS said, for example, the cost of fuel at the start of the project was at around K600 per litre but has now risen to K2,700 per litre.
“One of the things that we should have been communicating are the challenges the project has been facing. First and foremost, there were issues on the availability of resources and then later on, there were issue to do with designing.
“There were also additional facilities that had to be done, so we had to go back to the drawing table,” she said.
Nyambose added that the methodology by which the contractor was to construct the jetty was changed.
“At first, they were supposed to make a cofferdam, but then having looked at the cost and its durability, the engineers felt the approach should be different.
“So, they had to go back to the drawing board again. Then, when the methodology was changed, they had to use a piling machine.
“At some point, the contractor Mota Engil had to get the machine from South Africa, but the container which carried the machine was carried away by Cyclone Freddy. So, all these issues worked against the project but we are happy that we are now progressing well,” she said.
The Likoma Jetty project is just one of many other public projects whose works have delayed or completely stopped. Factors such as devaluation of the Kwacha always come into the picture.
For instance, the construction of Mzuzu University Library Complex and Auditorium also ballooned to about K15 billion from the initial K7.5 billion owing to various factors such as high cost of construction materials.
The project, which was supposed to be completed in February 2023, slowed down sometime in November 2023.
It is at 57.4 percent, according to officials. The works are wholly financed by the Malawi Government.
Again, rehabilitation of the 301-kilometre M1 section from Kamuzu International Airport junction in Lilongwe to Chiweta in Rumphi, which was initially projected to cost K118 billion, is expected to significantly shoot up.
Construction works stalled for some months after the 44 percent Kwacha devaluation last November.
