Kalirani booed: MPs concede flouting procedures on Constituency Development Fund

Members of parliament, including cabinet ministers, concede they do not follow proper procedures on the use of constituency development fund (CDF).

At a  development interface meeting facilitated by Development Communications Trust (DCT) implementing a Public Expenditure Tracking (PET) project in the area alongside Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP)  in Dowa on Saturday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s Jean Kalirani and Malawi Congress Party (MCP)’s Elias Chakwera gave reasons why they by-passed the Area Development Committees and Village Development Committees on the selection of development projects as provided for by law.

Kalirani was booed when she suggested that this was normal to flout the laid down procedures.

She said it was easier to work with her DPP committees in development projects as other parties are always bent to frustrate the development projects.

This view was shared by Chakwera, who sits on opposing sides in the 193 strong House. Kalirani looked unmoved and vowed she would continue sidelining the area development committees and the village development ccommittees.

This barely comes days after people of Phalombe north took their parliamentarian Anna Kachikho to task for sidelining the area development committees and village development committees.

She was defenseless as she conceded to all the accusations against her however she said she was using party structures to speed up development projects in the area.

“People in the constituency did not want to be involved so I had no choice, I can’t deny, I have been using party members sidelining respective ADC [Area Development Committee] members,” she said.

Some of the works that sparked rage from people of T/A Jenala include fumigation works at Chitekesa Police Station where K800, 000 was spent just for removing some bee nests that had been formed inside the building and construction of Saidi community-based child care centre (CBCC) where out of K3 million which was provided only K800,000 was used in construction materials.

An agreement was signed for by the MP, Councillors and constituents in Phalombe  on a way forward which will see party members removed from overseeing project works in place of responsible development committees.

With funding from Tilitonse through OXFAM, DCT and CCJP are empowering local citizens to hold duty bearers accountable for their actions.

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