Blantyre, Malawi, January 3 (MaraviPost) _ A parliamentary support staff strike, which started Tuesday at the Parliament Building in the capital, Lilongwe, has derailed a crucial session to review the current response to the floods situation that has affected more than half the southern African country.
The session was also aimed at reviewing the 2014/15 so-called ‘zero-aid’ budget that government was forced to finance locally in the wake of donors decision to withdraw the 40 percent they support it with.
Donors are withholding their budget support in the wake of the systematic plunder of government resources dubbed ‘cashgate’ where politicians and businessmen colluded with civil servants to defraud government of millions of dollars in payment for goods and services not rendered to government.
Speaker of Parliament Richard Msowoya told Maravi Post it was impossible for the session, which only started on Monday, to continue.
“The Parliament budget review session has been disrupted,” he said. “It’s impossible to continue meeting, we need stenographers, hansard reporters, clerks, messengers…MPs have to go back home.”
Parliamentary workers’ representative Leonard Tilingamawa said the Parliament Service Commission proposed a 24 per cent salary review for them which government rejected.
“We have gone several years without salary review,” he said. “The cost of living is rising daily.”
The current mid-term budget review was particulary crucial since it was supposed to review the current rescue, recovery and relief response to the unprecedented floods that has seen 176 people dead, 153 more missing and over 200,000 displaced. At least US $81m is required for a comprehensive response to the worst natural disaster to hit the southern African country in recent history.
As weathermen forecast more rains in the coming days, the situation – especially in the flood-prone Lower Shire Valley – is expected to get worse.-maravipost
