Chaponda dismissed on plane crash report
Parliament yesterday dismissed a call by Leader of Opposition George Chaponda for President Lazarus Chakwera to release the June 10 2024 plane crash investigation report and institute another inquiry on the matter.
The Mulanje South West legislator’s proposal was informed by the President’s interview with German’s DW television about the report on the plane crash that killed vice-president Saulos Chilima and eight others in Viphya Plantation in Mzimba.
Chaponda used Parliamentary Standing Order 14 which allows members to bring to the attention of the House any “matter of urgent public importance”.
But Leader of the House Richard Chimwendo Banda said Chaponda did not only flout procedure in raising the issue, but also misrepresented the President’ statement in the said interview.
He read the statement from Minister of Information and Digitisation Moses Kunkuyu clarifying on what the President said in the interview.
Chimwendo Banda said while Chaponda did not raise the issue in line with standing orders, he was allowed to make his presentation in the House so that he is not seen to be gagged.
Earlier, First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Madalitso Kazombo asked Chaponda to follow procedure to present the matter in the House.
According to Standing Order 14, a member who wants to bring to the attention of the House a matter of urgency and national importance has to submit to the Speaker a written notification of the matter.
Meanwhile, activist Isaac Cheke Ziba has written separate letters to Deutsche Welle and the German Embassy in Malawi for clarification on the status of the report.
He has highlighted the need to ensure that the findings are made accessible to the Malawian public in the spirit of transparency and accountability.
Speaking earlier, National Advocacy Platform chairperson Benedicto Kondowe said the President’s remarks on the report raise serious concerns about transparency since the report is the property of Malawians.
