A statue for late president Bingu wa Mutharika costing K120 million has been completed in South Africa.
According to the local media, the statue will be erected at the Parliament Building in Lilongwe.
The Malawi Government hired renowned South African sculptor Jean Doyle to create the statue and she has told the local media that the work has been completed.
According to Doyle, she is waiting for government to tell her when to deliver the statue.
“The Malawian Government decided to postpone the erection of the monument. I still have the sculpture in my warehouse and I am awaiting instructions from them as to when I should deliver it. Presumably it will be sometime this or next month,” she explained.
Mutharika’s statue will be like the one constructed for late president Hastings Kamuzu Banda which was also sculpted by Doyle.
Government last year denied hiring anyone to carve a statue of late Mutharika but has now confirmed that it commissioned the creation of the statue though a decision on where the statue will be erected is yet to be made.
“Late Bingu’s statue is still in order…site for its erection is, yet, to be decided,” Minister of Information and Communication Technology who is also government spokesperson Henry Mussa said.
Meanwhile, the Malawi Congress Party has faulted the timing of the statue – which will cost over K120 million including travel expenses for government officials and family members – saying Malawians are suffering.
Nosense bwanji osakagulisa ndata farm ija anamanga ndi ndalama za boma. Millions of innocent soul are straggling in our country and you are busy wasting money on something not even important. Poor leadership is killing our loved and small Malawi ??… For once think of poor, sick, uneducated and hungry people.
K120m could have been used to help poor people. The statue will not contribute to economy of the county
Parliament? Tikachotsa kayikeni ku ndata
Useles! Statue for what? These are thieves! And you honour them the depriving the malawian poor pipo?