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Government says it has launched an investigation into the fire that gutted Tikwere House in Lilongwe completely destroying some government offices.

The fire, which started at 9pm on Saturday, destroyed the 6th and 7th floors of Tikwere House in Lilongwe, raising questions as to why the Lilongwe city council fire brigade, located just a few metres away, failed to come on time to put it off.

A statement from Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu, who is also official government spokesperson, says the said floors house government offices for Ministry of Lands (Lands Registry and Deeds Registry); Office of the President and Cabinet (Government Contracting Unit); and the Judiciary (Community Services Department).

“Government would also like to reassure the nation that all Ministry of Lands information is intact as it is backed up digitally in the Ministry’s Land Information Management System (LIMS) and the nation should therefore not worry about any alleged loss of information for nefarious reasons.

“The nation is further being assured that government will see to it that the investigations are conducted and concluded speedily and that the outcome will be made available to the public,” reads the statement in part.

Tikwere House in City Centre Lilongwe also houses the Judiciary (Community Service) has been partially damaged by fire.

According to officials we found on the scene, the fire started on Saturday, 20 May, around 9 pm.

In an interview Minister of Lands, Deus Gumba, who was also at the scene, said the damage will not jeopardise the availability of key information.

“We embarked on a process of storing information digitally through Land Information Systems (LIMS) so that in times like these we have a backup.

“Currently, investigators are on the ground to establish the cause of the fire.

“We will keep updating Malawians on new developments regarding the accident,” said Gumba.

Firefighters have managed to contain the fire.

Tikwere House is owned by Malawi Property Investments Corporation (MPICO).