Written By Lloyd M’bwana
The former governing People’s Party (PP)’s Spokesperson on Finance in Malawi Parliament Ralph Jooma has taken a swipe at government of selective implementation of travel ban citing Foreign Minister George Chaponda frequent travels amid economic hardships the country was going through.
PP’s observation comes amid reports that the incumbent President Peter Mutharika is said to be glooming Chaponda for the presidency in 2019 tripartite elections.
Inside Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) sources confided in The Maravi Post recently that the Foreign Minister Chaponda is the Mutharika’s right hand man for succession than his deputy Saulos Chilima.
Although recent times Chilima has refuted the claim that his relationship with Mutharika went sour, much is visible the way Chaponda travels representing the president in international conferences, meeting and summit.
On Monday, February 29, Jooma leveled the accusation against Chaponda frequent travels in his response to the Mid-Term Budget Review Statement which Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe presented on Friday, February, 26 as the revised budget is pegged at MK906 billion from MK929 billion.
“He travels on his own. He travels where His Excellency the President is going and he also travels where His Excellency the President has decided not to go. He travels and travels and travels to the extent that he risks being declared a non-resident of Malawi”, alleges Jooma amid applause from members in chamber.
Chaponda however did not take the accusation lightly but referred the remarks to Standing order 99 which prohibits reflection on the President, cabinet ministers, judges and others during debate as wrongly presented which Speaker Richard Msowoya ruled Jooma’s sentiments out order that he be struck off the Hansard.
On the revised budget, PP’s Finance Spokesperson Jooma described Gondwe’s proposed revision of the nation fiscal plan from MK929 billion to MK906 billion as a wrong reflection in real value in the rate at which Malawi Kwacha has depreciated against major foreign currencies including the US dollar upon passing the national budget in July, 2015.
While on his part, Malawi Congress Party (MCP)’s Finance Spokesperson in Parliament Luke Kusamba Dzonzi blamed the country’s worsening economic turmoil on poor management of monetary policy by Reserve Bank
of Malawi (RBM).
Finance Minister Gondwe is expected to respond the all members remarks oh his revised national fiscal plan on Monday, March 7, 2016.
Pressure is daily mounting on President Peter Mutharika to fix the social-economic ills currently Malawians encountering which include maize crisis, insufficient of medical and drugs in public hospitals, high inflation and falling of the Malawi Kwacha which has resulted into skyrocketing prices of goods and services.
