PAC endorses April 27 peaceful demos: Affiliates will not mobilise people to participate

The board of the quasi-religious group Public Affairs Committee (PAC) met in Lilongwe on Monday  and endorsed the April 27 2018 nationwide demonstrations some civil society organisations (CSOs) are organising but its affiliates have not committed to mobilise people to participate in the protests.

The CSOs are organising the demonstrations to express displeasure over government’s handling of the K4 billion pay-out to members of Parliament (MPs), among other concerns.

During the meeting held at Golden Peacock Hotel, the board discussed how best to support the CSOs to successfully stage the demonstrations peacefully.

However, affiliates said they should only endorse the demonstration because  it  is a democratic right of every individual but not take part in mobilizing people to participate.

Meanwhile, Young Pastors Coalition of Malawi (YPCM) president Reverend Patrick Banda has maintained his stand, discouraged Malawians from taking part in the demonstrations, arguing that the protests would deny Malawians development.

But Youth and Society (YAS) executive director Charles Kajoloweka, whose organisation is one of those in the forefront pushing for good governance and accountability, said his organisation and others will go ahead with the demonstrations as planned.

“As organisers of these demonstrations, we want to assure that we will make sure they are successfully executed. They will take place no matter what happens. There is no possibility of postponement or cancellation or even reversal,” he said.

The CSOs want to force Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe and Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Kondwani Nankhumwa to resign from Cabinet for the “inconsistencies, illegality and a cloud of suspicions” that have characterised the infamous K4 billion pay-out that raises governance and accountability questions.

The demonstrations are set to be held under the theme-For How Long Shall Malawians Continue To Be Taken for Granted? Loss of Public Trust in the Current Administration: Time to Reclaim Our Destiny.

 

 

 

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