Authorities investigate Tikwere Building fire
Investigations have been launched to establish the cause of the fire that gutted two top floors of Tikwere building, in Lilongwe.
According to minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu, the two floors which house government offices went ablaze around 11 pm on Saturday night.
“The fire whose cause remains unknown as of now, was reported around 11:00 pm and was subsequently put out with the help of the Fire Brigade from the Kamuzu International Airport (KIA),” says Kunkuyu in a statement.
The affected floors house offices for the Ministry of Lands (Lands Registry and Deeds Registry); Office of the President and Cabinet (Government Contracting Unit); and the Judiciary (Community Services Department).
Malawi Police Service (MPS), with support from other security agencies are on the ground to establish the cause of the fire.
Kunkuyu has since given assurances that the lands ministry’s Data is safe.
“Government would also like to reassure the nation that all Ministry of Lands information is intact as it is backed up digitally in the Ministry’s Land Information Management System (LIMS) and that the nation should therefore not worry about any alleged loss of information for nefarious reasons,” Kunkuyu explained.
He has however not given details on the status of the data under the OPC’s Contracting Unit which would be an area of great concern.
The development is raising eyebrows as it comes at a time some high profile contracts are under the microscope.
Some members of the public have through social media described the government’s investigation as a mere public appeasement ploy, drawing lessons from previous fires incidences that destroyed other big public offices.
In 2013 the headquarters of the country’s power Supplier ESCOM went down in flames in Blantyre, an incident that has no clear explanation to date.
The Minister of Agriculture’s office at Capitol Hill was also gutted by fire, in 2017 -another incident without a proper report on the cause of the inferno.
Against such a background, there have been concerns from some sections of the society that the current investigation may likely end up being just another white wash by the authorities.
But the Kunkuyu has given the nation assurance that as government, they will ensure that the investigations are treated with the urgency they deserve and that the outcome will be made available to the public.
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