Author: dytonmashall

Work at Midima roundabout which was adopted by Chambo Fisheries has started under the Blantyre City beautification initiative. Some of the Blantyre City management team on Tuesday morning inspected the work and were satisfied with the designs.

“We look forward to the completion of the work otherwise the designs are beautiful. We appreciate the support we are receiving from Chambo Fisheries and other corporate partners,” said Director of Parks Sylvester Mitini-Nkhoma.

The long anticipated implementation of red star campaign will soon be a reality as the exercise is just waiting final report ratification by the Full Council of the Blantyre City.

“By October 30, 2015, all buildings earmarked for demolition to be red star painted,” says Chief Architect and campaign coordinator Mathews Mwadzangati.

“The commencement of formal demolition exercise will take place on 1^st March 2016 and the actual construction is expected to start on 1^st June 2016,” he adds.

He further says; “Currently the main committee is waiting for the ratification of the recommendations by the full council and notifying all developers on the recommendations.”

The red star campaign started during the era of the first President Hastings Kamuzu Banda but stalled due to some problems.

President Arthur Peter Mutharika revived in February this year when he toured Blantyre and Limbe CBDs to appreciate the state of the buildings in the commercial capital.

The red star campaign involves the relocation of businesses, demolition of structures for city initiated development projects.

It also provides opportunities for replacing dilapidated buildings with modern ones that meet the present living and business infrastructure standards to improve the urban environment and cityscape.

Among the main red star campaign committee members include Blantyre City Council, Commissioner of Lands (south), Commissioner for Physical Planning (south), Surveyor Generals office (south), Ministry of Trade and Industry, Malawi Confederations of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Malawi Institute of Engineers (MIE), Malawi Institute of Architects (MIA), Malawi Institute of Physical Planners (MIPP), Surveyors Institute of Malawi (SIM).

It also includes University Of Malawi – Faculty of Built Environment, National Construction Industry Council (NCIC), the Commissioner of Police (south), Blantyre Water Board (BWB), ESCOM, Representatives of the Asian Business Community in both Blantyre and Limbe.

There are about 160 buildings earmarked for demolition, 85 structures for maintenance and 79 buildings need a new coat while 55 buildings were certified to be in good condition in both Blantyre and Limbe.

The campaign is chaired by the Deputy Mayor Councillor Wild Ndipo.

Government has given Blantyre City Council K1.8 Billion for improvement of road infrastructure in the City.

The money, whose target roads were already approved by the Council, was provided under the Special Infrastructure Fund project.

With full recognition that there are a number of roads that need rehabilitation, under the project, the Council only considered the roads that would make an impact to the whole City.

The project would benefit the Angelo Goveya to Manje road, the road off Mugabe Highway from Mthandizi to Mpingwe/Limbe via City Clinic, Youth Centre, Mpingwe Medium Housing Area.

It will also finance Chilomoni Ring Road to Sigerege via Fargo, Off Kapeni road to Zion via Living Waters Church road and Chinseu to Magalasi and Chilimba Landover to Railways road.

“These roads were chosen because of the great impact they have to the people of Blantyre City,” said Deputy Director of Engineering Stone Nkhondodwe.

“The roads will also help in decongesting the city traffic like the off Mugabe Highway to Mpingwe. The Landover to Railways road in Chilimba will help in by passing the two main roads of M1,” he said.

The street lighting also falls under this project and it will cover; CI to Green Corner, Kandodo Corner shop via Mbayani to Kameza roundabout, Kwacha roundabout to Kudya via MBC Television Station and Sunnyside to Manyowe.

This will involve the maintenance of existing street lights and new installation according to Nkhondodwe.

Said Nkhondodwe: “People should take care of the streets lights. They should not vandalise the poles, in so doing we are going to create a beautiful Blantyre.”

Currently, the Council is preparing the tender documents to be followed by advertisement of tender notices in the media.

After receiving the bids, there will be an evaluation which will lead to the selection of successful bidders, a process expected to be completed in about three months.

“This project has come at the right time because there is a general outcry due to conditions of our roads and infrastructure,” said Chimwemwe Ndelemani, Assistant Director of Engineering.

Chambo Fisheries has officially adopted Midima roundabout in Limbe following the signing of City beautification agreement between Blantyre City Council and the company on Tuesday.

Chambo Fisheries says it is pleased to be given a chance to participate in the beautification of the City. Among other features, the company intends to erect a fountain and make the roundabout attractive for family visits.

The Council’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Dr Alfred Chanza said it was pleasing that the corporate world was coming forward to partner with the Council.

Blantyre City Mayor Noel Chalamanda on Tuesday received a donation of 56 desks from Claude Bandawe, a Malawian resident in the United Kingdom on behalf of Chilomoni LEA School.

Chalamanda, who is also the Council for the ward, said he will work with the Member of Parliament for the Constituency; Tarsizius Gowelo to ensure the school has necessary facilities.

For example, the school which was established in the 1960s, has no electricity and security fence.

School authorities said lack of electricity and security fence is impacting negatively as the institution has several times been attacked by robberies.

The Mayor thanked the donor, Mr Bandawe for remembering where he is coming from despite living very far away from Malawi.

“We do not have to be rich to give but the heart of giving is very important. The only way we can show appreciation to Mr Bandawe is by taking care of the desks,” he said.

PTA chairperson Mr Kayiya said in this modern world, there was need for the school to have computers.

George Bandawe, brother to the donor, said the issue of computers in this era cannot be ignored and pledged to speak to his brother for consideration.

Mr Bandawe and his associates have donated the desks for the third time to the school. In 2013, they presented 55 desks and in 2014, a total of 70 desks were also donated.

The Blantyre City Council has introduced a Magazine to provide a platform to members of the public especially Blantyre City residents to interact with the Council.

Due to the nature of services which the Council offers both to the local and international clients, it has become necessary to come up with a magazine which will be distributed beyond the boundaries of the City.

This magazine will not only offer an interaction opportunity but also introduce some of the services the Council provides which may be of interest to the public.

Through the Council’s mission statement, it is envisaged becoming the best managed and accountable Council, responsive to the needs of the residents through the provision of efficient and effective services through participatory approaches and sustainable use of resources.

It is in line with the magazine objectives that the Council strives to increase communication to the public in order to enhance effective dissemination of messages about the Council operations.

Blantyre City Council has lined up fire fighting training courses for companies and other services providers to run from November 9 to December 4 this year at Civic offices.

In press statement, the Council’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Dr Alfred Chanza says the courses target several sectors and will run for three days.

Says Chanza: “Blantyre City Council Fire and Rescue Service will be conducting first aid fire fighting training courses from 9^th November 2015 to 4^th December 2015.”

“These extremely popular three-day long courses provide participants with a greater awareness and understanding of the threat posed by fire, their personal responsibility in preventing an outbreak and the action to be taken should a fire occur,” he says.

He adds: “The course is presented by experienced City Council Fire Brigade professionals and all participants receive practical hands-on training in basic firefighting techniques as well as interactive training in risks assessment and mitigation.”

Chanza says institutions are advised to choose a relevant course or courses and send the number and names of their nominated participants for each course and that each participant is expected to pay in advance K95 000 per course for three days.

“The courses target all staff, particularly those designated as fire wardens or marshals or any safety officer working in industries, commerce or the public sector institutions,” he says.

Participants are expected to develop confidence in carrying out fire safety responsibilities, have greater awareness of the hazards of fire, acquire knowledge of the combustion process and how fire is spread, have an understanding of what actions to take in the event of fire.

They are also expected to get knowledge of the different types of extinguishers, their uses and the hazards associated with them and have the ability to carry out routine fire safety maintenance checks to comply with relevant legislation apart from tackling small fires with confidence.

The course content will be as follows:

• Combustion principles
• Portable fire extinguishers
• Classes and common cause of fire
• Good housekeeping
• Fire risk assessment
• The roles of Fire Safety Manager and Fire Wardens
• How to spot and mitigate hazards.
• Liquefied Petroleum Gases and Acetylene cylinder incidents
• Motor vehicle fires
• Fire extinguishment practical
• Arson preventive measures
• Highly Flammable Liquids (HFL) liquefied Petroleum Gases regulations
• Fire drill procedures in offices, shops, warehouses, colleges/schools, hotels, hospitals, factories and boarding places and others.

The courses are scheduled as follows:

Course One       :                First Aid Firefighting Training for Shops, Offices, Media, Banks, Colleges, Schools and Security services from 9th November to 11th November 2015.

Course Two       :                First Aid Firefighting Training for Oil installation, Filling Stations and Garages/Workshops from 16th November to 18th November 2015

Course Three     :                 First Aid Firefighting Training for Factories and Warehouses from 23^rd November to 25^th November 2015.

Course Four       :                 First Aid Firefighting Training for Hotels/Motels/Lodges, Hospitals and Restaurants from 2^nd December to 4th December 2015.

For more information, contact Numbers: 0994 441 964/0881 789 366/0884 432 503