Members of Parliament on Wednesday passed a customary land bill that will force poor Malawians to pay tax from the land that they inherited from their ancestors.Presenting the bill to the Parliament, Minister of Land Atupele Muluzi said all land holders will be demanded to register their land and then start paying tax.
However, this brought divisions in the house as the opposition members were against the bill claiming some Malawians cannot afford.
“How can poor Malawians who are already in the economic crisis manage to pay tax. They are failing to meet their basic needs so this bill is a threat to their lives,” argued members of opposition side.
The development led to the speaker to rule the house to vote and the government side voted for the bill while opposition did not.
“Out of 124 members present during the time, members said yes the bill was 65 and no 59, and therefore the bill number 9 in the customary land bill is passed,” said the deputy speaker.
After the results, Leader for Peoples’ Party (PP) Uladi Mussa accused the government Chief Whip who is also the Minister of Labor Henry Mussa for rigging the votes.
“Why did the government Chief Whip came to opposition side during the voting time? This means he wanted to bribe members to say yes to the vote and therefore we ask you chair to make the results null and void,” said Mussa.
However, the deputy speaker ruled leader of PP in the house out of order saying no one knows what transpired among the members who wereconsulted by the government Chief Whip.
