Opposition to quiz govt on food, medicine shortages: Malawi Parliament meets Feb 22

Malawi opposition parties have said they will take government to task in the forthcoming mid-year budget review of parliament, accusing the Peter Mutharika administration to have failed to address the problem.

The opposition lamented food and medicine shortages and skyrocketing food prices as the nation grapples with a severe drought.

Parliament meets from February 22 to review the national budget that was passed in June last year.

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government that it has failed to handle the hunger situation in terms of relief food and distribution and the fertilizer subsidy programme.

.”They should show us how the procurement of maize happened and why things have gone wrong,” MCP spokeswoman, Jessie Kabwila, said.

Kabwila said government has to explain why it’s allowing its citizens to spend nights on queue at Admarc depots in empty stomachs when billions of kwacha was allocated by parliament in the budget for maize.

She said the DPP government “needs to provide clear answers.”

MCP said they will also raise the issue on electricity problems and the collapsing health system, saying government should ensure that the right to food and essential health services is grantee to Malawian citizens by making sure that maize is available in Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) deports and that adequate drug supply is also available in all public hospitals.

Peoples Party (PP) Leader in Parliament, Uladi Mussa, also said they will raise the issues if hunger and medicine shortages.

Mussa said: “Poor Malawians are suffering. They are failing to buy maize because either the maize is not there or they don’t have money to buy it. Why is government failing to control the food crisis?”

The PP acting president pointed out that Malawians pare dying [from] diseases that can easily be cured.

He said poor people are also “feeling the pinch “as they don’t have the financial muscle to buy the medicine from Pharmacies.

On food shortage situation, Mussa calls upon government to take necessary measures to make sure that maize is readily available in all Admarc deports.

Mussa also said they will demand answers from Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe on how the budget is being implemented and the skyrocketing inflation.