Malawi Parliament to prioritise funding of committees with oversight functions

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has asked Speaker Richard Msowoya to ensure the National Assembly prioritise funding for committees with oversight functions at Parliament.

PAC said when it summoned the Speaker to appear before the committee following from constitutional committees such as Budget and Finance, Legal Affairs and Public Accounts which have failed to meet recently due to lack of funding.

Alekeni Menyani, the PAC chairman, said the committee was “not satisfied” with the intervention of the Speaker and also that of  National Assembly controlling officer, Clerk of Parliament Fiona Kalemba, who has an earlier appearance .

Menyani said they will continue discussing to ensure that the oversight role of parliament is not suffocated.

He said the summoned the Speaker as head of the Parliamentary Service Committee and Clerk of Parliament to make inquiries on funding relating to the National Assembly.

Menyani said his committee was frustrated that while Treasury funds committee meetings, prioritisation is lacking especially for committees to carry out oversight functions.

He bemoaned that PAC has a backlog of audits of the Auditor General.

Recently, the Executive accused the Legislature of exhausting its budget by allegedly prioritising foreign travel at the expense of committee meetings. However, Parliament dismissed the accusations as false.