Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development has instituted a forensic audit on expenditure relating to K20 billion invested in Nthola-Ilola Irrigation Scheme in Karonga District.
Line minister Roza Fatch Mbilizi, speaking after a tour of the project yesterday, alleged that just like other projects under Greenbelt Authority (GBA), the Nthola-Ilola scheme was used as a conduit for siphoning government money.
Mbilizi (R) engages China Civil managers accompanied
by Kyungu (C). | Joseph Mwale
She said: “A lot of money has been invested in this project, but there is not much progress. The wall was already paid for, but there is not even half of it. A solar system was already paid for, but there is no solar system here.
“This project is under very big scrutiny by government. We have a forensic audit going on, and once that is completed, we will clean the books, clean whatever dirt is going on here, and then we will hit the road running.”
Mbilizi said the project requires K17 billion more to be completed, but that money will only be released after the forensic audit is done.
She said: “What will be completed in 2028 is the reservoir and the irrigation system because that takes a while. It’s unfortunate that the previous government never worked on the reservoir, but the factory will start operating from June this year.”
GBA chief executive officer Amon Mluwira said the delays came about because they have been dealing with various contractual issues and others at the authority.
“We had those issues where there is a mismatch between the physical progress of the projects and the financial projects. And in some cases, a contractor was paid 80 percent and the physical progress on the ground is around 20 percent,” he said.
Paramount Chief Kyungu said time has come for contractors, the consultants and GBA to work harder.
Resident Engineer Jamil Mchakama said the project has two contractors, Sico Civils who was paid K1.9 billion in advance but has yet to deliver fully while China Civil Engineering Limited has faced funding delays.
The project is funded by Malawi Government and seeks to develop at least 1000 hectares of irrigable land for rice production, establish an agro-processing facility, with capacity to process 50 metric tonnes of rice per day.
