Aspirant Chaanamuna in Dedza East pledges to give half salary to his constituents

Dedza East aspiring member of Parliament Christopher Chikhalidwechabwino Chaanamuna has pledged to give half his salary to the constituents to enable them implement various development projects.

Chaanamuna, who is representing the United Democratic Front (UDF), observed that the area continues to lag behind because government does not provide adequate resources towards the development of the constituency.

“I am deeply touched with the growing levels of poverty and destitution in this area, which is largely due to failure by authorities to provide adequate resources to resolve our challenges.

“Thus, throughout the five years I will represent you in parliament, I will only take half salary and give the other half to you. Use this money to implement various projects to improve your socioeconomic livelihoods,” he said.

Chaanamuna made the remarks at Mankhamba Full Primary School on Tuesday during a public debate the National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Trust conducted to enable aspiring councillors and MPs to sell their manifestos.

The debate, which received funding from the European Union (EU) and the German Embassy, also gave the opportunity to the electorate to interact with their candidates ahead of the May 21, 2019, tripartite elections.

Chaanamuna emphasised that poor leadership has been one of the factors contributing to sluggish development of the constituency.

“The 2019 tripartite elections should be your breakthrough. You have the power to change your destiny if you vote wisely. And I can assure you that I am the best choice to represent you well,” he challenged.

During the debate, the voters quizzed Malawi Congress Party (MCP) candidate Juliana Lunguzi to give an explanation on how she had used the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

The constituents suspected that Lunguzi might have used the fund to quench her personal interests at the expense of the larger good.

But Lunguzi denied the accusation, challenging the constituents to check with the office of the District Commissioner (DC) to see for themselves how the fund was used.

“If you are convinced that I mismanaged your CDF, we have the police right here. Tell them to arrest me now,” she said.

But UTM candidate Samson Chimangeni Khamalatha observed that voting on party lines has also cost the constituents the opportunity to transform their area.

Khamalatha therefore challenged the electorate to give other candidates a chance to develop the area.

“If you continue voting based on party lines, this area will remain poor. This time, give UTM a vote and you will see true transformation,” she said.

Traditional Authority Kachindamoto urged the electorate to attend campaign rallies of all the contestants and critically analyse manifestos of all the candidates to ensure only the aspirants with vision to develop the area get the vote.

Dedza NICE district civic education officer, Patrick Siwinda, thanked supporters of the contesting parties for maintaining peace during the debate.