Large crowd at this year’s Ijtima taking place at Kamuzu stadium in Blantyre has led the responsible committee failing to provide adequate food.
In a random interview, this website conducted on Saturday some participants said they were dismayed to be told that supper meal was unavailable for them despite having paid 3 hundred kwacha for the food coupon.
Others had to be served supper meal at around 11 pm.
“I am hungry. I have been trying to get food but I have failed although I had a coupon. The organisers have failed to meet their promise. And I am asking myself why I gave away my K300,” lamented one participant.
Vice Chairman for this year’s organising committee sheikh Aman Matiya confirmed the development in an interview.
“I must admit that indeed some people did not manage to get their supper yesterday because we had no enough food to accommodate them all. We had only five pots because we were cheated with the small number of people which came in the afternoon. But I must promise that today things will be normal as we planned,” said Matiya.
However, when this website visited the venue on Saturday afternoon, it discovered that the situation remained unsolved – there was no any progress. The indigenous Muslims as well the delegates from other countries were fighting for food items such as chips, buns and juices which are sold by vendors outside the stadium.
In a related development, participants have expressed dissatisfaction over lack of lecturers at the event and blamed the facilitators forthe Friday’s night program for lack of seriousness.
On Friday night director of ceremony had to desert including some sheikhs who were at the list of preaching, a situation which prompted Muslim youth artists to turn the program into a youth get together by ditching live nasheeds poems and drama.
“Sheikh Ali Abdul was forced to preach for over 2 hours. Seeing that the director of the ceremony was nowhere to be seen, the sheikh just gave the microphone to one of the youth to be the director of the function. The lad had no option but to give a chance to his fellow youth to showcase their talents since several of them came to sell their CDs,” said one of the concerned participants.
The three day event will end on Sunday with the Malawi’s Vice President Khumbo Kachali expected to officially preside over the closing ceremony.
