House passes Forestry Bill
The National Assembly in Lilongwe yesterday passed the Forestry (Amendment) Bill, the last of a combo of 10 land-related laws that saw lawyers and legislators in a protracted job stretching over 14 years.
The relief was evident among the parliamentarians when First Deputy Speaker Esther Mcheka Chilenje announced the passing of the Bill, after members of Parliament (MPs), particularly from opposition parties, queried aspects of the Bill and pressed for professionalism after it was passed.
Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Atupele Muluzi was clearly excited by the development, as he and a special team of officials in his ministry had clearly run an effective nationwide sensitisation campaign that defeated opposition and suspicion to aspects of the Bills.
“I can say it succinctly that what we have achieved, in terms of the new land laws, is moving Malawians from the 18th Century way of doing business to the the 20th Century of doing business,” the minister enthused.
He said about 70 percent of Malawians, especially women, can now have title deeds and invest on personal estates, because of the various pieces of legislation that empower ordinary citizens.
But he said the pro-poor economic fruits in the land laws will be obvious at the implementation stage.
“For example, we need now to begin looking at the Rent Act… to make sure that rentals are benefitting Malawians. We also need to look at the land law to the tenant legislation.
“We need to look at other pieces of legislation such as the Banking and Securities Act, to make sure that the land that has been scrutinised for the basis of collateral is protected. It touches upon the national taxation, for example issues like city rates, urban taxation and balanced business rates,” Muluzi stated.
He commended Malawians for working together and proving to the world that the often-divisive and emotive land issues, over which some countries have fought and failed to reach consensus, can be done peacefully in Malawi.
“The fact that we have done it peacefully is something that Malawi needs to praise itself for….I can say that this demonstrates our resilience and maturity. It shows that, as a nation, we are committed to transformational change,” the minister declared.
But Kasungu West MP Alex Major (Malawi Congress Party –MCP) appeared from the House looking downcast.
“If you noted, most members from the opposition side were querying many aspects of the 10th Bill that has just passed. But this is a democracy and the majority have won; we only hope to monitor this over the implementation of the key land laws,” stated the MP, who is also vice-chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Climate Change. n
