President Joyce Banda yesterday defied the expenditure control measure suspending local and foreign travel by travelling to Ntchisi to elevate chiefs and welcome into her ruling People’s Party (PP) defectors.
Minister of Finance Maxwell Mkwezalamba had on Wednesday unveiled the measures at a press briefing in Lilongwe, stating the suspension was one of the expenditure controls and accounting measures for the 2013/14 financial year by government in line with the current economic conditions and need to improve on management of public funds.
But Banda, the most senior government official, defied the system by undertaking an earlier planned trip.
And during the Ntchisi function, Banda said she cannot stop travelling because her bosses, the voters, are not at State House but out in the countryside and towns.
“People keep on telling me to stop travelling, but I want to tell you that I will never stop coming to visit you. I know my employers and you are my bosses. I cannot stay at State House when my bosses are out here,” she said to the usual ululation of her cheerleaders.
In his statement, Mkwezalamba said government, through the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), would assess critical travel to be undertaken by officials or whether partners have fully funded the trip.
OPC spokesperson Arthur Chipenda yesterday refused to comment on the justification for the President’s Ntchisi trip.
Meanwhile, opposition parties Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and United Democratic Front (UDF) have said Banda and her administration are insulting the intelligence of Malawians and donors by introducing measures the President cannot comply with.
MCP spokesperson Jessie Kabwila said the travel suspension is meant to hoodwink Malawians and donors that Banda’s administration is trying to solve problems in the country.
She said government should have introduced the measures long time ago when Malawians started petitioning the President on the evils of unnecessary travels, and not after freezing of aid.
UDF spokesperson Ken Ndanga said the President should walk the talk. He said already, the President has defied the measure by travelling to Ntchisi.
He said: “The President has to stop doing the district commissioner’s work. She is so obsessed with activities that can be handled by a DC. We are tired of hearing that the President is going to lay a foundation stone for this and that. I don’t see the control measures working.
“And the question we should be asking is that did it have to take donors to freeze aid for government to realise that it was embarking on unnecessary activities?”
