Mutharika tells Malawi MPs: ‘Parliament is not bigger than government’

President Peter Mutharika on Friday ruffled feathers of Parliamentarianswhen he challenged that the august House is not bigger than government.

Mutharika:Parliament is not, and should never consider itself bigger than Government

Mutharika has since challenged Parliamentarians to ask themselves on why they are attending the meeting.

The President was opening the 47th session of the National Assembly in the Capital City of Lilongwe when he made the remarks.

“Parliament is an important part of Government. Parliament is an important part of the people. Parliament is a cornerstone of democracy. But Parliament is not, and should never consider itself bigger than Government,” challenged Mutharika.

He said he was not in the Parliament to deliver a State of the Nation Address as that has “its own time and day”, but was there to quiz the honorable members as to “why are we here?”

“As Parliament, the first reason of existence is, as we say, ‘to make laws.’ But more precisely, we are here to enact legislation for the good of the nation. We enact the laws that have been made in a collective process. Indeed, Parliament cannot, and does not make laws single-handedly. Making laws is our shared responsibility between the Executive and Parliament.

“The second reason of our existence is to represent the people. We are here to act on behalf of our voters and citizens. And how many of us truly represent the will of the people? How many of us consult the people we represent?”

Mutharika said he has seen times when Members of Parliament represent their parties more than the people.

“I have seen times when Members of Parliament frustrate Government business that is meant to serve the very people we claim to represent. And I ask again: why are we here?”

Mutharika said Parliament exists to maintain oversight of the Executive on behalf of the people of Malawi, to critically hold the Executive accountable.

“But who holds us accountable? As I will be underlining later in this speech, in any human society – everyone must be accountable to someone else. It is in performing the above roles that we become part of Government. Yes, Government is incomplete without Parliament. And Parliament cannot exist without the Executive and the Judiciary.”

He has since urged the august House to avoid the political hubris of thinking that Parliamentarians are more important than the rest of Government.

“Such political pride can be birth of the tragedy of democracy. We are here for the people. This Session will only be meaningful if we all remember that we are here to represent the people.

Far too often Mr. Speaker, we meet here to flex our political muscles. This is not a house for political posturing. This is not our house. Parliament is the house of the people. We are here on the principle of representing the people.”

On other note, during his speech titled “Rising above Macroeconomic Stability”, Mutharika tackled issues of economic performance, energy situation, food security, public health, public sector reforms and national security.

He said as a nation, Malawi is making steady and positive progress in most sectors of the economy, in spite of the challenges that the nation is currently facing.

“All we need now is for us to work together to sustain and build on the achievements that have been gained so far if we are to realize the sustainable and inclusive growth that we, as a nation, aspire.”

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Longani pyanu
Longani pyanu
6 years ago

Public sympathy seeking after boma litawavuta kuyendetsa. Mukumbuke zomwe munkalonjeza nthawi ya campaign and see wat you have achieved. Zero pa ten.

santana
santana
6 years ago

All the three arms of govt are equal. This is true because when the President enters into Parliament everyone including leader of opposition stands up to pay special respect to the president. They are equal because after deliberating their bills they will at the end seek the signature of the president who has a right to consent or not to. The arms are indeed equal that’s why it is only the president who opens Parliament and not speaker or leader of opposition. To show that Parliament is equal to executive there is this arrangement that the speech in parliament is… Read more »

This Fool
6 years ago

This old fool sucks.. he really sucks.

Thitherward
Thitherward
6 years ago

Mr Mande, are you sure that you noted down the title of the President’s speech correctly? ‘Rising above Macroeconomic Stability’ makes no sense. ‘Macroeconomic stability’ describes a national economy that has minimized its vulnerability to external threats, thus improving its prospects of sustained growth. It is an essential precondition for economic growth because it protects the national economy from currency fluctuations, large debt burdens, and mismanaged inflation, all of which can cause economic crises and the collapse of the Gross Domestic Product. The foregoing does not describe our national economy. ‘Macroeconomic stability’ is measured by five variables: 1. Low and… Read more »

Thitherward
Thitherward
6 years ago
Reply to  Thitherward

Dear Mr Mande,
Please accept my apology. Since writing the above comment, I have seen and read the President’s complete statement. It does indeed claim that we have achieved macroeconomic stability, and that we about to become better than merely stable. In relation to the variables listed above, I guess this means that in the near future, we can expect to enjoy zero inflation, zero interest rates, zero national debt, zero deficits, and currency appreciation.

Now that’s what I call ‘dreaming in color’!

Honala
Honala
6 years ago

Parliament can impeach you sir, it can send you packing ……… I thought Mutharika is a lawyer

jonson
jonson
6 years ago

The government has three arms, the executive, judiciary and legislature. And each has its own roles which are complementary to each other for purpose of good governance. In countries where there is true democracy, none of the three is supreme or more powerful than the other, and a good example is what recently happened in Kenya whereby the judiciary made a board verdict to reverse the outcome of the presidential election or in other countries a president being impeached etc. This just signifies that none of the three is more powerful than the other. What is important is that each… Read more »

Fake Petros
Fake Petros
6 years ago

Professor Peter Mutharika passionately intellectually believes (like most people from LOMWE Belt) he is the most (only one) who has got the best education and the ability to lead this country (ati ngati ukupsya wauwisi). Remember, just a couple of days ago the president was it again denigrading Chakwera of having little or fake education (unancreditted certificates) to lead the country. As if prestigious academic achievements automatically equates to high work performance. Really?? In this age and era? Guys any honest person who is really truly well-educated and travelled should realise that this is NOT TRUE! In fact it’s a… Read more »

Panganani
6 years ago

Uyu wapenga

Mkwapu
Mkwapu
6 years ago

U didnt go to parliament for that mr man

Dipipi wa Yudiefu
Dipipi wa Yudiefu
6 years ago

The government is not bigger than parliament either. The stupid people representing both institutions were employed on a five year contract by Malawians the same day. Unfortunately as stupid and inhuman as they are, they will come in 18 month’s time to ask for a renewal of contract. They will be telling us how good they have done on their jobs instead of us telling them how sleeping they were on their jobs.

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