Tag Archives: leader of the House Kondwani Nankhumwa

Law and order, Malawi, Top News

Malawi Govt drags feet on IG Jose confirmation in Parliament

Maravi Post Reporter

The Malawi government is said to be dragging its feet in moving a motion in Parliament for the confirmation of the Inspector General of Police (IG) Rodney Jose, who was appointed three months ago by President Peter Mutharika.

Jose replaced Lexten Kachama at the helm of police.

According to the constitution, the Inspector General of Police is appointed by the President and confirmed by the National Assembly by a majority of the members present and voting, but the Public Appointments Committee of Parliament may at anytime inquire the competence of the person appointed to carry out the duties of that office.

Pursuant to this provision, the leader of government business in the National Assembly is supposed to move a motion for the confirmation of the inspector general’s appointment and debate whether to confirm or reject his appointment.

However, with only 16 days remaining before Parliament rises, government is yet to table the motion.
But leader of the House Kondwani Nankhumwa said there is still time for the government to take the motion to Parliament.

Nankhumwa has however played down common discourse that the government is afraid that Jose would not be confirmed in Parliament because of his past record hence the government employing delaying tactics.
“The government is not deliberately delaying to bring the Inspector General’s appointment in the house…there is no fear, we still have time to bring the motion,” Nankhumwa said as quoted by Malawi News. .

According to Chairman of the Parliamentary Public Appointments Committee Lingson Belekanyama, the name of the proposed Inspector General is supposed to come to Parliament now as the retirement for the former IG is due end June 2018 and Parliament meeting is also ending this month.

“If the government does not bring the name of the new Inspector General, it means the country will have no IG up to November,” Belekanyama said.

Since Jose’s appointment, the civil society has been against the move, saying he will not act objectively on Polytechnic student Robert Chasowa murder case, in which he was implicated by a commission of inquiry.

Business, Malawi, Top News

Malawi Parliament nods to MK1.3 trillion revised budget

Lloyd M’bwana

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The Malawi Parliament on Thursday approved to trim K10 billion from the MK1.323 trillion 2017-18 National Budget to MK1.313 trillion with some departments and agencies having reductions some members said were not supposed to happen.

Surprisingly, there is an addition to vote 278 Unforeseen Expenditure which has received a MK10 billion boost.

But the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), which is currently in funding hardships, had its allocation of K12.2 billion reduced by MK1 billion, a development that Chairperson of the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament said is worrisome given that MEC is preparing for next year’s elections.

“MEC wanted more money for preparations in the 2019 elections. They are going through funding hardships as we are going towards the general elections, so deducting about K1 billion is a major blow to the commission,” said Thyolera.

The commission needs about MK42 billion to run the next general election in 2019, of which government has already released MK9billion.

Said Ansah, “Out of MK42 billion budgeted for the entire tripartite elections, a total of K9 billion has already been provided by government in the current national budget. This leaves a sum of K32 billion to be provided in the 2018-2019 national budget.”

Finance, Economic Planning and Development Minister Goodall Gondwe said what they have given the commission is enough for the year even though they know that the body is in need of a lot of money.

“MEC wanted more money we started to give them more money two years ago, we are hoping donors to come in, we will see how far we will go next year but for this year it is okay,” he said.
The minister also said the budget will continue to face some problems.

“We have about two problems—that MRA [Malawi Revenue Authority] makes up for the reduction of revenues, for the first half; and the dry spell could have devastating effect on the maize,” Gondwe said.

The revised national budget is MK9.3 billion less that the one was passed in June last year. Lawmakers approved 19 votes with very little scrutiny with some passing without a single query.

Leader of the House Kondwani Nankhumwa therefore observed that proceedings that led to the passing of the revised national budget had been fruitful with an assurance of effective implementation.

Law and order, Malawi, Politics, Top News

PAC betrayed on electoral reforms bills; plans to reignite demonstration

Lloyd M’bwana

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s powerful religious grouping, the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) on Friday felt betrayed by the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after it shot down some of electoral reforms bills that were table in Parliament since Wednesday this week.

The three Bills which government shot down are the Assumption of Office President (Transitional Arrangement) Bill, Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Bill and the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill.

They were all shot down on Thursday and on Friday before the Second Reading.

PAC therefore regrets on what has happened described it as government’s conspiracy to frustrate its own Bills on electoral reforms and hinted that it will reignite mass demonstrations that were earlier called off.

The religious body’s Executive Director Robert Phiri said that having seen the outcome of the deliberations in the House, the board will soon meet and direct the secretariat on when exactly the demonstrations can be held.

Phiri further indicated that there were wide consultations on the Bills, using the civil society task force and that the shooting down of the Bills is regrettable and retrogressive to the advancement of democracy for the country.

“As a secretariat everything is ready. We have a minimum of 120 placards and reflectors for all the marchers countrywide. We have the banners, which are ready with the messages. So for us, it’s just a matter of the board’s resolution,” assures Phiri.

But leader of the House Kondwani Nankhumwa argued that MPs were only expressing their democratic right and voted according to their conscience and understanding of the Bills.

However, opposition political parties led by leader of opposition in the House, Lazarus Chakwera, grilled government front benches for taking Malawians for a ride and wasting hard earned taxpayers’ money by preparing the Bills only to turn around and shoot them down themselves.

Chakwera, who is also Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president described as “political circus” the conduct of the ruling DPP MPs who were also supported by some legislators of the former ruling People’s Party (PP) and United Democratic Front (UDF) and some independent lawmakers.

On Tuesday, this week PAC postponed the much awaited December 13, 2017 protest on condition that government will table and pass into laws on electoral reforms bills.