MPs query Malawi govt over purchase of 18 vehicles for Veep: Legislators says APM giving Chilima ‘donkey work’
Legislators on Tuesday put Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe on his feet explaining why the government is buying 18 vehicles for office of vice president and a K3 billion allocated to the office.
Rumphi east MP Kamlepo Kalua asked why the government decided to give vice president Saulos Chilima an 18 vehicle convoy.
MP for Kasungu South East Constituency, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, wondered why the government was buying new vehicles for the veep when the economy was in shambles.
“These are hard times and everyone including the President and the vice president must be the first ones to show that we are in the hard times,” said the MP.
The Office of the vice president has been allocated K4 billion and the MPs settled on the vote for close to one hour scrutinising it.
However, Finance minister Gondwe said the vice president uses six vehicles only on his convoy.
“The 18 vehicles are pool vehicles and others for officials. We are not only buying new vehicles for the office but for all government departments whose vehicles are now ageing and can’t move,” he said.
Gondwe had also to convince the inquisitive MPs why the government has allocated K2 billion for Unforseen Expenditures.
During the debate, legislators claimed President Peter Mutharika and his administration is sidelining vice president Chilima and Lilongwe Mpenu MP, Makala Ngozo (Malawi Congress Party) said the Head of State is only giving Chilima “donkey work.”
But Mwanza Central MP, Davis Katsonga, dismissed the assertion, saying: “ The work that VP is doing is not donkey work.”
He said the President is criticised when he is not delegating the VP but when he assigns him to perform some functions, “you call it donkey work, that’s so wrong.”
Unlike in the morning when only one vote was passed, close to a dozen were being passed as at 5 pm, prompting Dedza east MP Juliana Lunguzi to claim second deputy speaker Clement Chiwaya was bulldozing the legislators into passing the votes during the committee of supply.
‘Undemocratic and tribalistic DPP’
Business was however almost derailed when Lilongwe Msozi South MP Vitus Dzoole Mwale described the Democratic Progressive Party government as “undemocratic” and that it practises nepotism.
This was the second time within a day that the MPs described the DPP led government as tribalistic.
Dzoole Mwale was commenting on the ministry of Education vote where it was indicated that the government had constructed and finished 13 primary and secondary schools, one in the north, another one in the centre and the rest in the south.
He also wondered why progress of three teachers training colleges in Phalombe, Chiradzulu and Liwonde were progressing when there was non in the north and centre.
Information minister said this was done by Kamuzu who favoured the central region.
Chiwaya advised the legislators to always think outside tribal lines.
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Six vehicles ndizokwana for a convoy. Countries which are well to do financially are not having large convoys. How come we, a country with a struggling economy always want prestigious things for ministers ,vise Presidents etc, while hospitals are lacking basic infrastructure like separate wards for men and women .Osanenanso ngakhale mankhwala
You want to buy 18 cars and yet you are saying economy is bad and you can not give Parastatals salary increase what a pity. And you are increasing fees to our students everywhere and yet the parents who pay for that no consideration for them. its a pity
let u know that Malawian politics is full of abasement of the funds. These a MPs especially those in high a position they are greedy liers!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they just consider to their own side not thinking about someone who is living in the rural that is why even the budget that they make it feeds their pockets not the poor like us. In this repect we should not expect development taking place. Beside that they take us ignorant and unworth for them. Recently they have raised schools fees in Universities and colleges yet some of them have learnt free universities and… Read more »
O………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..O AM YET TO BE CONVINCED I always wonder why, when people accuse APM and his govt of wastefulness; people hold Chilima as a saint and tout him as a man of integrity; yet he is part and parcel of this rot. . . . Yes . . . Anybody would have to be dumber than dumb, to believe that the 18-vehicle proposal is Good-All Gondwe’s old-age error and that Chilima was not privy to it. . . . Good people, this proposal may even have come from Chilima himself. Alternatively, he was told, way in advance (even before the… Read more »
Children are still learning under trees in Malawi. School building are pathetic. Not to mention hospitals and drugs. Hunger etc and yet allocating billions for cars for a ministry yet millions of Malawians are in dire situation. One day you guys will be answerable before God. God trusted you with those positions to be a voice for the poor. Yes you just sit say nothing, abusing the positions. God who sees help Malawi.
Hahahaha this photo above looks so funny. This is the photo of monkeys and hyenas. These MPs “wondered why the government was buying new vehicles for the veep when the economy was in shambles”. When did these monkeys (MPs) realize that the economy is in shambles and that the leaders (e.g. MPs) are supposed to sacrifice their personal for national interests? Yesterday these hyenas were at Goodall Gondwe’s throat forcing him to prioritize their personal loans and allowances over maize for the poor villagers. These monkeys are envious, jealous and greedy. The photo above tells it all.
Naweso Jean Kalirani you don’t love your fellow chewas. Mxiiiiiuuu. F………ken
Tribalistic and regionalistic DPP. Time for achewa to think critically and stop voting for DPP.
Kaliati f…..k. can’t you recognise that DPP is more tribalistic and regionalistic than Kamuzu. You are a Zombie
CHIWAYA must be very Stupid to advise the MPs to think outside Tribal Lines when MUTHALIKA and his DPP GOVERNMENT are using our TAX MONEY along TRIBAL LINES.If truth is to be told PETER MUTHALIKA tribal approach has reached the worst levels.We all pay taxes for Government to have money so CHEWAs,NGONIs,TUMBUKAs let all unit and fight the MUTHALIKA Lomwelisation approach of management.The response from Kaliati was as usual pompous, arrogant and stupid,thus must never be tolerated as long as we all pay taxes.
Kamuzu didnt favour any region if he did then its southern region, there are more developments is the south done by kamuzu than in the centre talk of , COM, POLY, QUEENS, STADIUM, UNIMA, MPEMBA,DOMASI you name them he could have chosen to build them in the centre, so minister of information has to be schooled on this may be she was not taking history in her school days.
Bingu did more developments in the centre than south this is a fact – regionalsim wont take us anywhere.
That’s true, regionalism wont take us anyway. Malawi is for us all regardless where u come from.
If Malawians keep on thinking like this, then we should forget about positive progress in Malawi. We can not be comparing Kamuzu days to days of Democracy in Malawi. Kamuzu ruled under one party system of government. Panalibe womutsutsa. Now we are in a democratic Malawi. Ndiye a Malawi akamalangiza motsutsa boma lolamula, tiziwauza za Kamuzu zoona???? We can’t progress like that. We need to change our mindset aMalawi.
What could you do if you were in government? The MPs have to be schooled here- how do they understand the meaning of government? I thought government has three arms that include the Legislature (MPs). What are they referring to when they say DPP government when they themselves are part of it?. This is why they are given the opportunity to scrutinize the budget and pass it. Who endorses the National budget? – i thought its the MPs. So what are they talking about?. M Malawians – do not be cheated by the so called “Honourables”. Keep yourself busy with… Read more »
You are right to say regionalism won’t take us anywhere. But you are wrong to criticize Minister of Information and leaving out the tribalistic Dzoole Mwale and Makala Ngozo for their remarks that started all this debate. Kaliati was only being defensive by hitting where it matters most to the MCP legislators.