As President Lazarus Chakwera delivered his State of the Nation Address (Sona) yesterday several opposition members of Parliament (MPs) loitered outside the august House in apparent protest to the address.
At the start of the presentation of the Sona we counted more than 30 empty seats, especially on the opposition side.
We also spotted a number of MPs either in corridors, outside the chamber or at the cafeteria at the time the President delivered his address.
In an interview with Rumphi East legislator Kamlepo Kalua, who we found in the cafeteria during the Sona presentation, defended his decision to skip the session, calling the three-hour address “a missed opportunity”.
He claimed the speech regurgitated ministerial-level issues while side-stepping urgent crises such as inflation, blackouts and unemployment.
Said Kalua: “Why should we listen to solutions that district commissioners could deliver?”
But Leader of the House Richard Chimwendo Banda lashed out at the MPs who stayed away from the Sona, saying: “They must be ashamed of their conduct which is against what is expected of members of Parliament.
“Each time we have good news, they do not like to attend the meeting. They did not want to see the President show Malawians how much he has delivered in a difficult time. The President wanted to prove them wrong that he is a leader committed to delivering development in all areas. He also wanted to show them how prudent he has used public funds and, more importantly, to assure them that they are safe with him as a leader,” said Chimwendo Banda.
In a telephone interview, political analyst George Chaima also criticised some opposition MPs for their conspicuous absence during Chakwera’s Sona describing their behaviour as “a disservice to democracy”.
He said: “If the President chooses to lie in his address, how would MPs verify that if they’re not paying attention? This disrespect undermines their constituents’ trust.”
In a written response Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willie Kambwandira said the opposition MPs’ conduct was regrettable and called on the leadership of the House to take decisive steps to deal with it.
“They represent Malawians and they needed to be in the House to listen to the Sona since they will be debating the same Sona. Unless they justify their absence, we expect the Speaker to take some decisive steps, including recovery of sitting allowances for today. The MPs must prioritise national interests and not petty politics. The challenges the country is facing require collective efforts.”
Both Speaker of the House Catherine Gotani-Hara and Leader of Opposition George Chaponda did not pick our calls to hear what they make of the opposition MPs’ conduct.
