Constituents ridicule defence minister Sangala
Some angry constituents from Blantyre Ndirande Malabada have questioned the reasoning of their Member of Parliament Aaron Sangala following his recent weird actions.
Sangala, who is also National Defense and Internal Affairs Minister, was first involved in an ugly scuffle with lady Parliamentarian Anita Kalinde right inside the National Assembly where he reportedly had his shirt torn.
But the issue at hand is the manner in which the minister conducted himself during his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP0 rally held at Malabada School ground in the city.
The constituents who thronged the venue were shocked to hear their legislator pleading with DPP Secretary General Wakuda Kamanga to take the constituents’ requests to the Transport and Infrastructural minister.
Sangala is reported to have pleaded with the DPP secretary general to talk to the said minister (Sidik Mia) to consider renovating the roads in the area.
“The Ndirande-Malabada road will not survive unless there is proper drainage system… Chonde bwana [please boss] secretary general take this plea to the minister. We also need the Ndirande-Magalasi road to be tarred,” Sangala is said to have pleaded with Kamanga.
However, scores of constituents speaking to Nyasa Times this week described their MP as a great embarrassment not only to the party but to the constituency saying his remarks showed his “narrow-minded thinking.”
“Surely, he is a super shame. As a parliamentarian he knows the procedure of advancing requests or concerns of his constituents to respective ministries or councils. How can he make such important request to a mere party official who does not take part in the National Assembly deliberations?” wondered Wonderful Gondwe, a Ndirande-based freelance journalist who attended the rally.
According to Gondwe, as Sangala was busy “kneeling” to Kamanga, people could be heard murmuring expressing their total disapproval of the MP’s approach.
Another Ndirande Chinseu resident who attended the meeting said she was surprised seeing the whole minister and MP sinking so low in the name of “party loyalty to glorify a party believer.”
“No wonder this area has no tangible development project taking place. Why should an MP convey our development needs through a party official? He [MP] is part of law makers where development projects are discussed and approved and not his party secretary general. In addition, he is a senior minister who can easily take up the matter with his colleague. Surely, am now doubting his worthiness to the area,” explained Siberia Maluwa, an administrator with a local NGO.
The gathering was also disappointed with the late arrival of the party gurus to the meeting, which was slated for 1.00pm but only showed up at the venue around 4.00pm. The meeting ended after 6.00pm.
Other than Sangala and the secretary general, the meeting, which was well patronized with about 3000 people in attendance, also had a number of senior DPP officials like Anna Kachikho, Noel Masangwi and James Chimera.
During the rally some 10 unfamiliar people from different parties also announced their defections to the ruling DPP citing bad governance in their former parties.
Recently , there was also drama at Zingwangwa ADMARC ground when a constituency governor requested the regional governor (Masangwi) to take over Blantyre City South constituency (belonging to DPP out-of-favour Moses Kunkuyu) so that he conveys people’s concerns to respective ministries like that of Transport (for roads concerns) and Health (for ambulance).
Legislators are the ones responsible for taking concerns to line ministries in the National Assembly and to local councils. However, parliamentarians who also double as ministers present their request through an ordinary MP but in anyway development projects do not go through party machinery.
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