By George Mponda

Karonga, May 3, Mana: Farming activities around Karonga Stadium have contributed to water flooding at the facility which was opened in 2018.

Stadium Manager for Karonga Stadium, Wilson Ngwira, was speaking Friday when Minister of Youth and Sports, Uchizi Mkandawire, inspected the facility following media reports of the stadium’s poor state.

"The stadium has water ponds outside which are used to drain water from the facility's drainage system. Unfortunately, the ponds are full of silt because local people cultivate rice around them.

“The stadium was also constructed on a water logged site and Karonga ground water has high iron content which quickly corrodes iron poles around the stadium. Community members have also been vandalising toilets, wire fences and electrical equipment,” said Ngwira.

In his remarks, Mkandawire said Karonga District Council owns the stadium hence the need to engage the community to address such challenges.

“The Council is expected to utilize the facility for revenue generation and invest them in maintaining shape of the stadium.

“If Football Association of Malawi (FAM) bans the stadium from hosting games; teams, community members and the Council will be affected hence the need to ensure that the facility is always in good condition,” Mkandawire said.

The minister commended the Council for its efforts in repairing some of the damages caused by heavy rains.

He pledged to engage Sports Council of Malawi to stop collecting any percentage of gate collections for the Council to have enough money for repairing the facility.