Tag Archives: ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)

Malawi, Top News

Chilima’s UTM ready to sponsor aspiring MPs, councilors; Road to 2019

Lloyd M’bwana
BLANTYRE-(MaravioPost)-The country’s Vice President Dr Saulos Klaus Chilima, who is heading the now fast-growing United Transformation Movement (UTM) on Sunday disclosed that part will field 193 aspiring MPs in all constituencies in the country, all wards in the country for aspiring councilors and a presidential candidate.
Chilima was  addressing the jam-packed rally at Njamba Freedom Park in Blantyre where he strongly put it that a “new Malawi is possible” as he reiterated his stance against corruption.
The UTM leader confidently, amid clapping and ululation from the supporters, told the gathering that UTM was “seriously determined” to turn-tables around for the country, saying he will not shield anyone involved in corruption when UTM takes over government next year.
Before urging people to register in large numbers in the ongoing voter registration exercise to be able to vote in the elections and remove “thieves”, Chilima threw out a proverb as has been his style of being witty and humorous orator .
“To show that we are serious about this, we will pay nomination fees for all these candidates [to the Malawi Electoral Commission] in advance.
“When you see hungry goat running away from green pasture it was feeding on, just know there must be dangerous ants hiding in the grass,”said Chilima.
The vice-president, who quit the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in protest at alleged corruption, maintained that DPP is infested with “rampant corruption and theft.”
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.