MALAWI: Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika has officially moved into his new residence - a 300-room palace which cost $100 million and which used to house the impoverished African country's parliament.
"He has finally moved and is at the New State House," Mr wa Mutharika's chief of staff, Mr Ken Ngoma, said yesterday.
Mr wa Mutharika, a former World Bank economist, was elected in May and pledged to revive the economy and combat widespread poverty and an adult AIDS infection rate of at least 15 per cent.
Soon afterwards he said he would move to the capital Lilongwe to cut down on travel costs from Blantyre, the main commercial centre, where the much smaller presidential residence used by his predecessor is located.
His move has been criticised in Malawi, not least because it has displaced the national parliament, which will have to build a new assembly chamber and offices. The 193 legislators now hold meetings in banquet halls of the palace, while some parliamentary committees have had to hold meetings in motels.
MPs rejected the president's initial suggestion that parliament move to a bombed-out sports stadium requiring major repairs.
His move has also displaced senior military officers and agriculture ministry officials.
The Persian-style brick-built palace, dominating a hill above Lilongwe, is part of a 200-acre estate which includes a school and a supermarket. It was built in 1975 by former President for Life Hastings Kamuzu Banda, known for his luxurious tastes, but he stayed there only briefly.
Mr wa Mutharika's predecessor, Mr Bakili Muluzi, himself criticised for over-spending, refused to occupy New State House, calling it an "obscene extravagance", and lived in Blantyre.
The palace is now undergoing renovation, but Mr Ngoma said the president's move would save money in various ways. "Government will save costs because, among other things, water for maintaining the vast grounds and gardens will be sourced from the Lilongwe river."
Landlocked Malawi is one of the world's poorest nations; most of its 11 million people live on less than $1 a day.