The observation by Vice President Saulos Chilima, was made when he officially opened this year’s annual general meeting for the Malawi Institute of Architects in Lilongwe.

It was being held under the theme; Architects: Re-Imagining Malawi’s Future.

Chilima said the theme resonates well with Pillar Three of the Malawi 2063 development blue print which is urbanization. This is where the creation of secondary cities falls.

“ This ambitious program requires that government is supported by competent professionals who can ably respond to the scope and specificities of Malawi 2063.This means that members of your institute will be stand up to the occasion,” said Chilima.

He observed that for the past 20 years or so, Malawi has experienced rapid urbanization as people search for various opportunities.

“In tandem with this growth in population, we have seen the mushrooming of buildings in our cities as well as informal settlements. We have seen, under our watch, the invasion of our environment by substandard infrastructures,” added the Veep.

He therefore challenged the architects to be part of the solution to the challenge.

Speaking earlier, President Khumbo Chirwa said they came up with theme because they believe they have a role to play in the development of the country.

“Architects have a crucial role to play in the realization of the Malawi 2063 because almost everybody needs a building which is part of our job but buildings don’t exist on their own, they exist in a context and we want that context to be thriving for example we want beautiful roads, beautiful bridges and clean environment,” said Chirwa.

He also said they are pushing for transparency and accountability including a corruption-free environment because they build the context of architecture.