Malawi’s diplomatic houses in SA now 'squatter camps'

Residential properties owned by the Government of Malawi for its diplomatic mission in SA have fallen into shocking disrepair – many now occupied by homeless people and drug users, reports the Nyasa Times. The houses, bought years ago to cut rental costs for diplomats, have been left to rot. An internal memo paints a disturbing picture of assets abandoned for so long that they have effectively become squatter camps. ‘The properties have been unlawfully occupied by nyaope users, homeless individuals, and other unauthorised persons,’ the memo notes. It adds that nearly all the houses that once hosted Malawian diplomats ‘have now been invaded and are being used in ways that pose serious risks to public safety, health and the dignity of the surrounding community’. According to the memo, the state of the properties reflects poorly on Malawi’s standards for maintaining government assets – and even worse on the country’s image before foreign partners. Instead of being secure, functional residences for officials, the houses have become hotspots for crime, vandalism and social decay.