By Durell Namasani
Malawi’s Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Dr. Ben Malunga Phiri, has lit a fire under the nation’s engineers, issuing an urgent wake-up call for them to step up and solve the country’s infrastructural and technological crises without delay.
Delivering a hard-hitting speech at the World Engineering Day celebrations held at the Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe on Friday, Phiri didn’t mince words. He pointed out that despite a massive injection of MK5 billion from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF)—with a whopping 75 percent specifically set aside for infrastructure projects—the engineering community has shown a troubling lack of readiness.
In a stunning revelation, the minister disclosed that the government has been forced to hand back funds to donors simply because the allocated money wasn’t used. “This isn’t because we lack the capacity,” Phiri clarified. “This is because we lack proactivity. We are returning money while our infrastructure crumbles.”
Ronald Gundamtengo, President of the Malawi Engineering Institution (MIE), was on hand to receive the criticism. He conceded that the minister’s concerns were valid but remained optimistic, insisting that the sector holds the key to transforming the nation’s future through cutting-edge innovation and technology.
During the event, which carried the theme “Smart engineering for a sustainable future through innovation and digitalization,” the minister also launched a new MEI member management system. The platform allows engineers to register online and empowers the public to instantly verify the credentials of anyone claiming to be a professional engineer—a move aimed at boosting accountability and rooting out incompetence.
