There are growing calls for the Ministry of Lands and the Lilongwe city council to take swift action over a land issue at Biwi triangle which is said to have been allegedly encroached by Petroda Malawi Limited.
Biwi Triangle Light Industries Association claims that the land is part of the industrial site but was encroached on by Petroda Malawi Limited.
The Association’s Chairperson, Malani Gondwe explained that the land in question, situated at Biwi Triangle was initially reserved for the expansion of the industrial site, only to be surprised that it had been encroached.
“As you can see, youths are plying their trade such as repairing cars under the trees and the industrial site does not have essential public services facilities such as fire brigade, police, first aid clinic and public sanitation facilities. This is all because the industrial site is incapacitated in terms of space,” Gondwe said.
He pointed out that, as an association, they have engaged line authorities such as the Ministry of Lands, the Lilongwe City Council, the Anti-Corruption Bureau as well as the Office of the Ombudsman to intervene on the matter, but, their effort has yielded nothing.
He further disclosed that they engaged Petroda Malawi Officials at their head office in Blantyre but nothing tangible materialized.
According to Gondwe, they have been pursuing the matter since 2021 but now, they are asking authorities to take the matter with all the seriousness it deserves.
He said, that once given back the land, the association intends to erect various developmental structures, including a vocational centre to enable the youths to attain various skills.
Efforts to talk to Petroda Malawi operations Manager, Zeid Fayyad proved futile as he declined to comment on the matter.
On her part, Lilongwe City Council public relations officer, Tamara Chafunya said the Ministry of Lands is better placed to provide a concrete response on the matter.
“The Ministry of Lands are the landlords for Biwi Triangle and Petroda Malawi. As such they decided the matter as to whether there was an act of land encroachment or not,” said Chafunya.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Lands, Enoch Chingoni requested more time before commenting on the matter.
