Parliament to discuss Cancer Treatment Bill
The waiting has been long, sometimes even tedious. In the process some lives have been lost needlessly. But, finally, treatment of cancer will be among pieces of legislation the House will consider during the meeting that resumes tomorrow.
Leader of the House Francis Kasaila confirmed in an interview yesterday that a financial bill on a national cancer treatment project makes the list of legislative proposals that government has prioritised for the meeting whose main thrust is consideration of the 2014/15 budget estimates.
This bill is aimed at seeking the approval of the House to enable government access to financial facilities for the implementation of the cancer treatment project.
The House will also discuss and look at the country’s preparedness for containing the outbreak of the killer Ebola disease, which has ravaged lives in West Africa and reports seem to indicate that it is gradually spreading across the borders of that region.
This discussion will result from a ministerial statement that, Kasaila said, the Minister of Health Jean Kalilani will present to the House.
Kasaila also indicated that Minister of Finance, Goodall Gondwe, is expected to make a statement on the budget estimates for the 2014/15 tomorrow at 2pm.
The statement is expected to disclose the balancing act that Treasury has prepared during a clearly lean period in terms of the availability of resources to manage large volumes of debt, meet existing commitments and initiate new programmes.
At the end of the 2013/14 financial year on June 30, Gondwe successfully sought the approval of the National Assembly to continue spending for three months pending the preparation of the budget.
Having come into government only after the May 20 Tripartite Elections, the new administration that was only officially inaugurated on May 31 said it needed some time to organise itself in terms of coming up with a financial blueprint.
According to Kasaila, government will also unveil to the House activities that it will prioritise during the 2014/15 financial year in the sectors of trade and agriculture, according to the leader of the House.
The House, he said, will also consider a Pensions Act Amendment Bill that seeks to address grey areas in the existing piece of legislation.
“Time allowing, there are also a couple of financial bills that government wishes to be considered,” he said, without elaborating.
A petition of public security and the Malawi Human Rights Commission statutory report have also made the list on the agenda. n
