Ex-Malawi VP Kachali says PAC credibility damaged: Hold demo against MBC otherwise people have lost trust
Mzimba South West legislator Khumbo Kachali, who is also a former State vice-president, has said people have lost trust with the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) after the cancelled streets protests for electoral reforms laws which raised suspicions that the organisation was silenced with money.
He said this when Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament met representatives of the quasi-religious governance watchdog at Parliament Building in Lilongwe as part of its consultations on the Electoral Commission Act (Amendment) Bill which Parliament referred to the committee last December.
Kachali said the cancellation of the demonstrations at the eleventh hour on December 13 2017 which was organised to push for the tabling of Electoral Reforms Bills, including one proposing 50-plus-one majority in electing the country’s President, damaged the credibility of the organisation.
“Any decision taken at midnight is not a good decision, We thought that you were given money at the last minute and that money was not in Kwacha, but in Dollars in order for you to be silent,” said Kachali.
PAC has said it will meet to strategise when to hold the protests this year.
But Kachali urged such a move, saying it will be “waste of time.”
He said: “People have lost trust. Rather concentrate on how best we can help Malawians for peaceful tripartite elections.”
Kachali also asked PAC to fight for the independence of taxpayer funded Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) to offer objective and balanced reporting.
MBC, according to Kachali, has turned to be a party broadcasting house for the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) which he said is “worrisome as it brings conflict.”
Kachali said PAC can hold street protests on MBC bias and assured the organisation that he would personally join.
PAC vice-chairperson Osman Karim denied that the grouping was corrupted, saying if they received the money they could have declared it and given the same to charity.
Legal Affairs Committee has been meeting stakeholders at Parliament Building in Lilongwe as part of its consultations on the Electoral Commission Act (Amendment) Bill.
The House debated Bill number 23 of 2017, the Electoral Commission Act (Amendment) Bill, before referring it to the Legal Affairs Committee for scrutiny.
Among other things, Clause 3 of the Bill presented in Parliament dealt away with the consultation of political parties represented in the National Assembly in the appointments of the commissioners.
The Electoral Commission Act (Amendment) Bill was the only survivor from a set of Electoral Reforms Bills Parliament rejected in December amid tension between government and the Public Affairs Committee (PAC).
The others were Amendment of Section 80 (2) of the Constitution and Section 96(5) of the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections Act (PPEA) proposing 50-plus-one majority in presidential election; Consolidation of PPE Act and Local Government Elections Act; Amendment of Section 81 (3) of the Constitution for swearing-in of President and Vice-President to be done after 30 days.
There was also the Assumption of Office of President Bill to provide for the establishment of a transition team before a President assumes office and; Amendment to Section 62 of the Constitution where each district would provide a single constituency in which only women would contest as candidates for member of Parliament.
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There are somany fools at MBC. What will they do when government changes? Mass exodus to the villages.
Khumbo still talks shit. A very useless Ngoni . I do not even listen to shithole MBC. I stopped in 1994.
I have never joined demos but if there can be one against MBC i can definately join ……………this house is boring, no wonder Geofrey Kapusa had to voice out ……………….Zodiak is slowly but surely joining MBC .
PAC has lost its credibility. No sane person can ever follow what the organisation says. For MBC, well, Kachali should start by apologising for PP dominance when the party was in power.
MBC was much better under PP not this trash of DPP, manyi enieni
MBC itha kuyambitsa nkhondo m’dziko lathu la mtendere very unprofessional reporting, unbalanced stories, a totally party radio, pathetic DPP
Colleagues, don`t expect any good from the PAC of today. They seem to often forgot why it is there in the first place. If you do an indepth analysis of how PAC is performing nowadays it leaves a lot to be desired….. instead of representing people… they are busy promoting personal interests…. ena ndi aja amalankhula maso ali budiiiii…. kuli kuzimva…… PAC yomwe ndimawona kuti imayesesa ndi ija ya Boniface Tamani osati izi zalerozi!!!!
I agree with Kachali. PAC and other CSOs should organize demos against this biased MBC. I can’t miss that demo. I will also make sure that I join it in person. As the elections are just around the corner, MBC has put in place rubish as programes aimed at tarnishing the image of oppostion parties mainly MCP which is likely to rule Malawi from 2019.
I totally agree with the former veep to march against MBC as it is run on tax payers money. It is disheartening on how MBC as a public broadcaster is conducting itself and surely it should be renamed to DPP Broadcasting Corporation
True,MBC is slowly fueling conflict if not put to check I can see violence in the making,and I know even the broadcaster or presenters are at pains to present programs like sapita kawiri,knowing that most people who run MCP in the eighties are either dead or migrated to DPP and UDF Chakwera was not active Dausi was, MBC presenters are just doing a job given a choice most of them would have resigned,I know I as they present the program words being presented are bitter in their own mouths and do not flow,what an awkward position to be in.
Ife komatu sitikudandaula tikufuna kudziwa ndipo ana athu adziwe kuti zomwe akuchita Chakwera zinayambika kalekale.
I agree with Kachali, PAC lost it all, it will be wisdom if they all resigned and new office bearers come in, and plan to organise how next years election will be done, through civic education, and also please do something on MBC, this thing has become a total waste of money, why do we have MBC if I may ask? Malawi can do elk without it now that we zodiak Times, and others. MBC must be closed
Kachalis remarks would not have come at no better time than this.I am also in agreement to what former veep says and sury should PAC match to the street against the state broadcaster,can not hesitate to join too
I also share the same observation. The momentum that we had in readiness for 13 December demos can not be brought back. W e have indeed lost trust in PAC and if they are organising fresh demos, they will do it themselves. As Kachali has said, PAC should just concentrate on how best to guide the next elections. Period!
Kuonera TV ndi ulere. Just switch on to your Zodiak TVs