Mzuni library ready in two years

The rebuilding of a library which was consumed by fire at Mzuzu University last year will be finished in two years, the university says.

Authorities at the institution say the project will take long because of lack of funding.

A visit by our reporter on Friday, found that they have begun the reconstruction project but they said that if funds can be sourced in time, the university will finish rebuilding it earlier than expected.

However, authorities told our reporter that some well-wishers have already begun donating money towards the reconstruction of the library.

“In fact the whole remaining budget for the library to be done amounts to about MK200 million and we are optimistic because some donors have already begun helping us in one way or the other on the project,” said University vice chancellor, Robert Ridley.

He further said that though the institution may never source as much books as they had before the accident, they will make sure that most books are replaced in their library.

“Even though we may not build the same quality of the library but we are very confident that with support from a lot of our partners, another good library will be built at our institution,” he added.

Last year, students and some authorities at the institution were shocked to learn that library was being consumed by an inferno which was believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.
The fire destroyed about 45,000 books and some computers at the institution after efforts by the Mzuzu firefighting team proved futile.

Reacting to the tragedy, minister of education Emmanuel Fabiano promised authorities and students at the facility that government will make sure immediate action is taken in rebuilding the library.

“We will borrow some books from other constituent colleges of the University of Malawi as our immediate response to the accident. Thereafter my ministry will look into it that the reconstruction of the library is done quickly,” he said.

Meanwhile, there is a room at the university that is being used as a temporary library.