Parliament curtail point of order: Mutharika says Malawi not spared of Covid-19 crisis

Malawi Parliament on Friday morning adopted a motion to wave some of its standing orders as part of adjusting to the coornvarius (Covid-19)  pandemic.

Leader of the House Kondwani Nankhumwa is the one moved a motion in view of the Covid-19 pandemic to amend standing orders and suspend some standing orders of the House to allow the Speaker to enforce measures to safeguard it from the pandemic.

Some of the newly adopted measure includes limiting the session to two hours per day, curtailing too many point orders and creating two chambers.

Speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani-Hara said the measures are aimed at ensuring that Members of Parliament are free from contracting Covid-19.

She said the threat of Covid-19 cannot be underestimated.

Meanwhile, President Peter Mutharika delivered a pre-recorded State of the Nation Address (Sona) to Parliament through a video link.

“Let us admit we have a crisis. Coronavirus is real and coronavirus is a crisis. It is killing millions of people everywhere. Our turn has come and Malawi is not being spared. Yet, we are taking this problem lightly,” he said.

Mutharika said health experts have advised that the country should brace for the worse .

“We must brace for the worse,” he said.

The meeting will run for seven weeks.