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Parties laud Parliament meeting

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Political parties represented in Parliament have patted themselves on the back for the successes in the just-ended four-week long meeting of the Mid-Year Budget Review during which members of Parliament (MPs) passed five bills.

During the meeting, the MPs also protested the proposed sale of government’s wholly owned commercial bank, Malawi Savings Bank (MSB).

Jooma: It was very exhaustive
Jooma: It was very exhaustive

However, political and social commentators have noted gaps between the legislative process and informing Malawians of the contents of bills which pass through Parliament.

Giving an assessment to The Nation, People’s Party (PP) chief whip in Parliament Ralph Jooma described the Mid-Year Budget Meeting as the best because government largely took into consideration views and suggestions from the opposition side on bills and even budget allocations.

He applauded MPs for managing to sway Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe to increase allocations to institutions such as the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Legal Aid Department.

Said Jooma: “This Mid-Year Budget Review was almost like a budget consultation for the Minister of Finance because he will be able to use input from the MPs in his next budget in June. It was very exhaustive.”

United Democratic Front (UDF), on the other hand, said the MPs managed to cover a lot of work within four weeks.

Leader of UDF in Parliament Lucius Banda said: “Debate on the Mid-Year Budget Review was exhaustive. We agreed on the right things and disagreed on wrong things. We were united in rejecting the Inspector General [IG] of Police [Paul Kanyama who resigned in the course of the debate], forcing government to give us a better candidate [Lexten Kachama].”

He said the 2014 to 2019 Parliament was one that people could be proud of.

On her part, Malawi Congress Party (MCP) spokesperson Jessie Kabwila commended fellow parliamentarians for passing ‘gender’ bills which in the past were ignored for fear of antagonising male MPs who are in majority.

The bills include the Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Bill, which introduced a new marriage age of 18 and harmonised marriage, divorce and maintainance laws, and Human Trafficking Bill.

“MPs also took positions to protect the interests of Malawians by rejecting the sale of MSB and the introduction of the Higher Education Board, this is highly commendable,” Kabwila said.

However, independent commentators such as health policy expert Maziko Matemba were not pleased with the laissez faire attitude which the MPs took on  the over-expenditure in some ministries and government departments such as Malawi Police Service (MPS) and Malawi Defence Force (MDF).

Said Matemba: “In the health sector, I was expecting money allocated to health reforms areas taking place as they have a potential of overhauling inefficiencies in the sector. I expect to see in the coming annual budget funds allocated to areas that have high disease burden with allocations based on impact and performance.”

While commending the passing of crucial bills such as Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations and Human Trafficking, Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) national coordinator Chris Chisoni said in future, MPs should be knowledgeable about bills coming before Parliament and inform their constituents accordingly to avoid the shockwaves experienced with the Marriage Bill.

Said Chisoni: “What we are looking for is a representative democracy and that has not happened lately. There is a gap between citizens and how the legislation process is put out to people.”

Nevertheless, Chisoni described the 2014 to 2019 Parliament as vigilant because of its scrutiny of diplomatic appointments and questioning the sale of MSB.

 

 

 

 

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