Khumbo opts for VP’s perks

Former Malawi vice-president Khumbo Kachali has opted for the retirement package as a vice-president rather than the salary of a member of Parliament (MP).

Kachali, who the won Mzimba South West parliamentary seat in the May 20 polls, said in an interview yesterday money was not a priority to him but service to the people of Mzimba.

Kachali said he would follow what his predecessors, Cassim Chilumpha and Justin Malewezi, did, opting for the vice-presidential retirement package.

Malewezi, who was vice president under the Bakili Muluzi administration and Chilumpha, a vice-president under the late Bingu Wa Mutharika government, won parliamentary seats after their tenures, but opted to be drawing retirement packages of a vice-president.

No person is allowed to draw two salaries from government.

Kachali said: “My priority is to serve the people of Mzimba South West. I contested as a parliamentarian because I am still energetic.

“It is not about money. How much does an MP get? So, if you ask me what I will opt for, I will tell you that I will follow what my predecessors did.”

The former vice-president, who was appointed by former president Joyce Banda after she ascended to power following the death of Mutharika in April 2012, will only be entitled to allowances when attending Parliament businesses.

This was also the case with Chilumpha and Malewezi.