Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre has emerged as a health threat as the facility is operating without running water after Blantyre Water Board (BWB) cut supply due to a K39 million bill, Times Sport can reveal.
The stadium, whose estimated capacity is around 20,000, hosted a grade A TNM Super League match between Mighty Wanderers and Blue Eagles on Sunday, posing a health concern to stakeholders, including players and fans.
Our investigations showed that spectators could not use running water and, instead, the stadium provided water through buckets and water drums.
Kamuzu Stadium Manager Ireen Mkoko declined to comment on the matter and referred us to Ministry of Youth and Sports spokesperson Macmillan Mwale, who confirmed the development.
“We owe the service provider millions and we are only waiting for funding, which is yet to materialise,” Mwale said.
When asked why the bill accumulated to K39 million, Mwale blamed the matter on low funding against the high cost of expenditure.
“We have challenges that are beyond our control. For instance, Bingu National Stadium [in Lilongwe] was allocated K100 million and if we look at how much is needed to maintain that stadium, the funding is on the lower side.
“So, when issues like these arise, we are stuck in a situation where we pay our bills against the available funding, thereby accumulating bills at other facilities,” he said.
One of Kamuzu Stadium employees, who did not want to be mentioned, said they were drawing water from a nearby statutory body.
“We have to ferry water from Sports Council [Malawi National Council of Sports] and place the buckets outside the toilets. It is time-consuming, tedious and challenging. It is more painful that others do not want to use the improvised process,” the source said.
However, one of the fans, Thomas Kaliza, failed to use the toilets during the Wanderers and Eagles match because they were filthy.
He questioned the seriousness of the authorities on water and sanitation issues.
He said he could not use the toilets after noticing that other spectators were repeatedly using the toilet without flashing.
“How on earth do you have people converging with no running water? There are over 10,000 people here. You mean, we can use toilets without flashing? This is uncalled for,” Kaliza said.
Meanwhile, BWB Public Relations Officer Evelyn Khonje referred us to Zone Manager Orama Ambali, who did not pick up our calls.
During the league match, Wanderers beat Eagles 3-1.
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