Stop paying salaries to MHRC Commissioners: Parliament wants electoral body relocates to Lilongwe
Members of parliament have asked the government to review conditions of service for tax funded Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC), saying they should not be drawing a monthly salary as they are not full time employees of the state rights body.
Legislators from both the government and opposition sides temporary spoke with one voice on this matter on Thursday in the House where deliberations sometimes turned hostile and violent.
“As government you can help parliament, the commissioners are not supposed to draw salary because they are not officers for the commission,” said Mzimba south west MP Khumbo Kachali.
Some MPs who spoke said the commissioners live more than a luxurious life driving very expensive cars that cabinet ministers cannot afford because the commissioners have their own jobs where they draw salaries and also draw another hefty salary and allowances at the cash strapped MHRC.
Justice minister Samuel Tembenu said conditions of service for MHRC commissioners are done by parliament.
He therefore promised to raise up the issue with Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale to pursue it.
The parliamentarians also wanted the government to move Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) headquarters to Lilongwe where all MEC commissioners are supposed to relocate.
They noted a huge sum of money is spent on MEC commissioners allowances as they shuttle from other parts of the country to Blantyre, claiming fuel, lodging and subsistence allowances, among others.
Finance minister Goodall Gondwe assured the House that MEC would move to Lilongwe.
Remove salaries of all MP’s, cabinet ministers, civil servants and judges who are not performing. Heed what the Catholic Bishops have said about service delivery. What we need is performance measuring and those who do not perform needs to kicked out and stop leaching on the poor taxpayers.
GOOD IDEAS BUT STUBBORN GOVT WILL TAKE NO ACTION
Remove salaries for MPs as well!
ikapanga relocate to Lilongwe ndiye aDPP sadzaberansotu
Right move for MEC to relocate to the capital city, thats how its supposed to be. On salaries, even the MPs shouldnt be on salaries.
MOVEMENT OF MEC TO LILONGWE IS NOT A DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUE BUT RATHER OPERATIONAL! THIS IS WHY WE HAVE LILONGWE AS CAPITAL CITY BECAUSE IT IS CENTRALLY LOCATED. BLANTYRE IS NOT THE CAPITAL CITY.
OTHERWISE IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE TO HAVE THE COMMISSION (MEC) ON ONE END OF THE COUNTRY TO MANAGE NATIONAL PROGRAMMES. DISTANCE IS OF ESSENCE.
THERE ARE ALSO WARE HOUSES IN LILONGWE. ACTUALLY NAMASASU GUTTED ONE OF THEM TO CONCEAL HIS VOTE RIGGING. MAINTAIN THEM AND MOVE QUICKLY!
I THOUGHT PETER JUST ANNOUNCED ABOUT THE NEW STADIUM AND AIRPORT IN BT. WHATELSE DO YOU WANT?
Thanks Khumbo for raising this issue. Board members or commissioners are NOT staff members or full time. They are only entitled to a sitting allowance when they meet. By the way, usually, they only quarterly .I.e every three months.
They work full time elsewhere. For example, Justin Dzondzi is Executive Director of Justice Link. This is where he renders his services on daily basis. And so he has to be paid a salary by his organisation.
MEC should remain in Blantyre. Meetings of MEC can take place anywhere not only in Lilongwe. MEC has own offices in Bt, own warehouses. Unless purposeful offices are built in Lilongwe, this should not be rushed. And why should everything go to Lilongwe? DPP know that no amount of development in Lilongwe will move chewas to DPP. To them it is credit to chakwela . Give us development in Blantyre. Don’t rob us what we already have
Commissioners of the electoral commission have very good terms of conditions. In addition to hefty salaries and allowances, they will get the three year old prados at 10% of cost price. This doesn’t happen anywhere in the world. It is only the poorest nation that does this. Now that their term of office ends next month, government must buy 10 new prados for new commissioners!! Not even cabinet ministers enjoy these privileges!!
These are the most intelligent dynamic and wise decision from ourr parliament indeed commissioners at MHRC need not get salaries but only sitting allowances and quarterly honorariums and indeed MEC should move to Lilongwe the sit of govt