Budget scrutiny faces huddles, Malawi parliament sends back officials: 8 new vehicles for Presidential motorcade
Officials from the Ministry of Finance were on Tuesday tossed from one parliamentary committee to another and finally sent back to prepare well in a new system of scrutinising and vetting the national budget which, it seems, both the parliamentarians and government officials do not understand.
Budget and Finance Committee chairperson Rhino Chiphiko (MCP) said his committee sent back the officials from the ministry of finance after they appeared before it in a cluster system, a new system of scrutinising and vetting the national budget copied from Uganda.
In the new system, heads of government ministries and departments will be meeting parliamentary committees separately where the legislators will be asking the officials, among others, how they came up with the budget figure for the department, how they used money for the previous budget.
“They came unprepared. They just came with figures which they failed to explain and we have sent them back. We told them to prepare well and come back on Thursday next week,” said Chiphiko of the treasury officials.
Officials from the Legal Affairs Committee also said they had sent back the ministry of Finance officials because they seemed not to know what to do.
“They are failing to make a proper analysis of last year’s figures, they are not serious,” said Alexander Kusamba Mwale (MCP) one of the parliamentary cluster leaders.
He said there was need to drill both parliamentarians and the government officials on how the new system of scrutinising the budget works.
Mwale said it seems the government officials are failing to defend the budget because it was drafted by the IMF.
On Monday, the parliamentarians failed to start scrutinising the K1.1 trillion national budget which Finance minister Goodall Gondwe presented the 193 strong House on Friday because the government failed to print and distribute relevant documents.
President Peter Mutharika warned the opposition members of parliament against sabotaging the budget describing it as the best ever.
Meanwhile, government wants to buy eight new vehicles on the President Peter Mutharika’s motorcade in the budget vote for State House.
Lawford Palani, deputy director general of State House told cluster committee that out of the K5.3 billion budget vote for the State Residences, they will buy new eight vehicles on presidential convoy.
He said some of the vehicles on presidential motorcade have worn out since they were procured in 2005.
Palani said the new vehicles will be “replacement” of the fleet that has aged.
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8 vehicles for Presidential motorcades.When Bingu attended the last AU sitting in Addis Ababa,Ethiopia,he was allocated to occupy an executive suite costing US$3000 per night,to the horrors of fellow counterparts,he chose to occupy a suite costing US$8000 per night.The AU Administrative Authority categorically refused to pay the tax-payers’s funds for the unruly President and the Malawi government was duly coerced to re-pay the amount (US$8000).When people tell us that we are a bunch of dead moving souls,we complain,but that is dead truth.Bingu and Peter knew exactly what type of human beings Malawians are.With Banda the same thing,he knew that after… Read more »
I tell you. Momwe anyangata amenewa agwirira ntchito: Due to funding problems, if there is partial funding for a project, say maintenance of the offices, the total funding will be spent on allowances: kunyanja,, akuti planning. Pochoka uko not even 1 tambala remains kuti angagulireko thumba la cement, ai… However, come next funding, 70% goes back to allowances leaving 30% for floating tenders. Next funding is for allowances during bid evaluation. Ndalama zonsezi kuonjezera pa ndalama zomwe amkhalaakutotelela from contractors for favours. Zikatero, funding for the project yatha, akudikira next financial year budget kuti atemenso. We will never develop, but… Read more »
How do you expect them to knw th budget in side out, and kwenikweni accounting for expenditure? All what these pple do is to enrich themselves with allowances. If anything, they are afraid to tell u cz they Knw over 80% of whatever allocation is meant for their allowances! They know u wdn’t take that. Ask them how they used the previous budget, u’ll fynd that an activity budgeted for previous years expenditure reappears now. why? However, u’ll fynd that all the money allocated to it had been spent. How? Allowances… even if no field work was done, or the… Read more »
Let them sell the “aged” vehicles and use those proceeds to buy the new cars. Besides, how many cars does his motorcade need to have? 100 new cars? And yet the song is the gvt does not have many to do this AND THAT!!!!
This gvt,eishhhh.
Who do you think is knowledgeable between the brute parliamentarians and government officials?
As an MP i was very impressed by the Ministry of Sports and Culture. The PS was knowledgeable, very eloquent and gave us an insight into his sector. His Directors of Culture and Sports also knew their budget. Honestly i wish all Controlling officers were like him. Humble but very solid.
Goodal Gondwe is old now ndi agogo even his fisrt born can be agogo now i dont think he can come up with a budget , leave the stage oldtimers, born b4 computers ( BBC). JB hired energetic minister of finance why can to ask him to come back ? Ndale sizitithandiza.
Zoonadi gulani ngati Zuma wagulira azikazi ake convoy alityense pa akazi 4 ndiye kuno zili bwino apa gulani, tikhuta ma galimoto omwewo, osagula ma tradle pump ndi feterlizer ndikuwaptsa alimi alime mtilira bwanji? mbuzi, agalu a ntchira.
That is good guys. Put them under control because they thought they will be stealing our tax money just like that no no no no. Squeeze their balls so that they must tell us where the previous money (last budget) went.
As a nation we are not serious! really what are our priority as a nation what are our goals for the next ten years… and we are being budgeted for by IMF while it is us the ordinary Malawians who we are suffering.. Shame on our Leaders Shame indeed…
What do you expect from matchona who think their retirement is eating and guzzling Malawians tax-payers money. Voted only by a certain foolish tribe
amenewo nde mau Nkula. What shud we expect?
kikkkkk tiyenazoni!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!