Phoya, Kalinde named new House bosses
President Joyce Banda’s government has named new leaders in the National Assembly with Minister of Lands Henry Duncan Phoya named leader of government business.
The position was previously held by Dr George Chaponda, one of Malawi’s greatest judicial experts who was accused of being obsessed with ‘farting’ for his recent legislative motion for a nationwide ban on public-farting in Malawi.
Chaponda was not included in the Cabinet of President Banda after the death of former president Bingu Wa Mutharika.
Chaponda’s name became the talk of the whole world last year when he called for a statutory ban on farting. He was the country’s Justice Minister at the time and later admitted his error of interpretation of the proposed law.
In the new line-up, the Deputy Leader of the House has been given to Minister of Gender Anita Kalinde who was suspended in Parliament when she manhandled the former minister of defence Aaron Sangala after the later had shouted slurs at her.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ephraim Mganda Chiume, has been named as Government Chief Whip. The deputy government whip is Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Grace Zinenani Maseko.
Meanwhile, President Joyce Banda approved the convening of Parliament on May 18 2012 to, among other things; table her administration’s first national budget.
According to Speaker of Parliament Henry Chimunthu Banda, the President will officially open the budget meeting which will run for six weeks.
