Mutharika will approve Information Law – Minister Ndau
The Minister of Information and Communication, Malison Ndau says there is no point to fear that the Head of State will not accent to the newly passed Access to Information Bill into a law.
Ndau said Malawians should ne fear the President Peter Mutharika wil veto the Information Law.
“I don’t see any problem for him to assent to him. It is him [Presideny Mutharika] who has been encouraging and advising us to pass the bill,” Ndau said.
Parliament passed the Access to Information Bill with some amendments after deliberations went on beyond 8:00pm as there were some amendment’s which the house was considering.
Ndau said the passing of the bill signifies government’s commitment to implement its promises saying previous governments have been failing to table and pass the bill.
“This bill came in the house after the Head of State gave it a go ahead and there is no point speculating that he may not accent to the act. That is a fear of the unknown because this bill is very important to the country not to one party, not to one section of the country but to all the 17 million people in the country,” said the Minister.
During the deliberations government insisted that wider consultations be done before it is passed.
Ndau said this was done in good faith as the Access to Information is an international document that needs to be in line with what other countries are doing.
Leader of government in Parliment, George Chaponda also said there would no problem with Mutharika to assent to the bill.
He said the scrutiny that brought tension in the House before passing the Information Bill was normal, saying government wanted to refine issues and the opposition were determined to have the Bill passes in time.
“In a democracy you have to accept that sometimes you throw stones at one another and so on, but you later joke about it (in unity),” said Chaponda.
The Minister observed that what all members of Parliament did was commendable because they contributed positively to this important law for the country.
Malawi Parliament on Friday adjourned sine die after lawmakers passed the Information Bill .
Giving his reflections, Leader of the House Chaponda said the session had been impressive.
In his assessment, leader of the opposition and Malawi Congress Party president Lazarus Chakwera said the session was beneficial, partly because legislators exhibited high debate standards, saying they “raise the bar a little.”
Chakwera said “what Malawians want is the development.”
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