Vice-President Michael Usi has expressed anger at the ‘snail’ pace of the Blantyre Cultural Centre’s (BCC) renovation works, saying the delay is contributing to immoral behaviour among youth in the city.
In an interview yesterday after touring the once mighty entertainment venue in Blantyre, Usi said it was worrisome that the construction works keep on delaying; a development he said is affecting artists and entertainment enthusiasts.
He condemned the lazy attitude in most government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) which he described as ‘we will do it tomorrow attitude,’ saying it is affecting the progress of some of the country’s developmental projects.
Said Usi: “It is disappointing that this facility has taken this long for completion. This attitude must stop. These projects are for Malawians, look at the youth in Blantyre, where do they go on weekends for entertainment? This forces some people to be in alcohol abuse.
“When they have challenges, they [contractors] can reach out to my office because we are a team.”
He then asked Opco Limited managing director Akhtar Qureshi to give a timeframe to complete the rehabilitation work.
In his response, Qureshi assured Usi to complete the work within four months.
“So today is 23rd July and I want to see Blantyre Cultural Centre opened in November. So we would like to see this thing move fast,” said Usi.
He then signed an agreement with Ministry of Transport and Public Works director of buildings Sam Ngoma to ensure that the facility be opened by November.
In 2022, government awarded a K150 million contract to Opco Limited to rehabilitate the facility
