Goshen City stalls as it fails to launch, owners blame it on forex

The launch of the first phase of Prophet Shepherd Bushiri’s Goshen City, being constructed in Malawi’s lakeshore district of Mangochi, has delayed due to shortage of foreign exchange in the country, Bushiri’s Spokesperson, Aubrey Kusakala, told Nyasa Times.

The first phase, among other things, is supposed to include residential housing units, a five-star hotel and a 5,000-seat international convention centre.

At the launch of the construction works in mid 2022, Prophet Bushiri—the founder and leader of the Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG)-The Jesus Nation church—had said the first phase, costing $50 million, could get completed and become ready for use by 1st December that year. This did not happen.

Over one year now, there is still silence and no launch of Goshen City’s first phase, which is raising questions and suspicions about the future of the ambitious project.

But Kusakala, in a brief interview, said the launch was shifted to December, 2023, which did not materialize again because of the problem of unavailability of forex, which has affected the country since 2022.

“We are, therefore, hoping to hold the launch mid this year, subject to availability of foreign currency.

“For example, you cannot launch a house which has not been built. For us to finalize the launch of phase one, we need enough forex to finalize the buildings and other things we are erecting,” he said.

Goshen City is a commercial and tourist smart city whose residents will be primarily working on agricultural and non-agricultural tasks, according to Bushiri.

The project “needs government support in construction of roads and expansion of the national grid as well as tax incentives”.

The city project site is located about four kilometres from the Mangochi-Monkey Bay-Golomoti junction on the right hand side of the road to Monkey Bay before the turn to Cape Maclear. It extends from the Mangochi-Monkey Bay Road to the beaches of Lake Malawi.

There are also plans to build specialized hospitals, international school, housing, development of information and communications technology accessories, an international airport and modern sports stadium.

Sharing is caring!