The National Construction Industry Council awarded two journalists media awards for the stories they did on the construction industry at a media gala which was held at Chintheche Inn, in Nkhatabay on the 7th of May 2022. The two are Bobby Kabango of Nation Publications and Brenda Kawonga of MIJ FM. The two won in the print and electronic media, respectively.
Titled “Time Bomb”, Bobby’s story focused on government inefficiencies in which an unregistered firm constructed substandard drug warehouses. The National Construction Industry Council confirmed that the company was not qualified to carry out construction jobs.
The company that built the TB warehouses for the Central Medical Stores Trust (CMST) in Blantyre and Lilongwe ended up handing over to the government substandard structures that experts say are prone to fires and are unlikely to keep drugs safe.
On her part, Brenda looked at the potential that public infrastructure has towards contributing to the development of the country. For instance, while there has been a lot of investment in tertiary education, there are still questions whether such investment is matched by infrastructural development.
Titled “Inadequate infrastructure in tertiary institutions put girls and women at risk of contracting HIV”, tackled the planning gap in tertiary education infrastructure, especially students’ accommodation. Brenda noted that, individuals have seized the opportunity by providing private accommodation yet what some would call hostels would surely fit to be some kraals where cows are sheltered. Worse still, to find means of paying for their accommodation, girls remain at risk of contracting sexually transmitted disease as they struggle to find means to pay for their accommodation.
NCIC is a strong advocate of media freedom and believes in close collaboration with the 4th estate to ensure that the citizenry access timely and authentic information pertaining to the construction industry in order to facilitate informed decision making by stakeholders.