Parliament tells Malawi govt to pay bills instead of buying votes

Budget and Finance Committee of parliament has angrily told the government to pay up K2 billion in bills it owes Northern Region Water Board instead of using money to buy votes in preparation for the 2019 polls.

Chiphiko: Pay bills

Chairman of the committee Rhino Chiphiko said this on Wednesday when officials from the board met the committee to brief it on projects undertaken by the board and the need to take a loan from OPEC Fund to improve water and sanitation situation in Karonga and Nkhata Bay.

Board executive director Titus Mtegha said operations of the board are crippled by financial problems as government entities owe the board over K2 billion in water bills.

Chiphiko has told the government to pay up the money so that the board can operate efficiently and effectively.

He said top government officials were busy criss-crossing the country, canvassing and buying votes when they cannot pay utility bills.

Chiphiko said the committee could not recommend more loans, saying the country has a staggering K1 trillion loans with international bodies and feared the government would not be able to repay.

“We cannot therefore be comfortable to approve this OPEC loan. The government has a huge debt which it needs to repay first,” said Chiphiko.

However, Mtegha said the loan was for the benefit of ordinary people in Karonga and Nkhata Bay, which he said are now growing towns but faced with acute water and sanitation problems.

Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :

Sharing is caring!

Follow us in Twitter
6 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Luta
Luta
5 years ago

Budget and Finance Committee of Parliament is the most USELESS of all Committees in the House.

Nalingula
Nalingula
5 years ago

There is this 1.2 million dollars annually from Companies that are exploring oil on Lake Malawi that used to go to Joyce Bandas Mudzi Trust now going to Getrude Muntharika’s Beam @ Nations Msowoya.Can’t this money be used for Projects like these other than enriching individuals?

Tenzi Mzungu
Tenzi Mzungu
5 years ago

So votes are being bought? Show us how they look like. Whose faces are on the votes? After all it is the fault of the board to fail to enforce payments. Government is funding all govt sectors monthly but controlling are failing to honor bills. Surprisingly many are northerners who like womanizing and excessive beer drinking. So this is cheap propaganda against APM. APM woyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Donald Chiumia Chirwa
Donald Chiumia Chirwa
5 years ago

I thought Goodall Gondwe said there is an extra MK4 billion realised that it has to be discarded of? Hahahahaha. Amazing Malawi. Full of mediocrity

Wanjiku
Wanjiku
5 years ago

Boma lakuba ili.

#DzukaniAmalawi
#DzukaniAmalawi
5 years ago

Parliamentary Committees have lost their oversight powers against the executive arm of the government. These Parliamentary Committees need to find their teeth to get back respect. Find a way of enforcing your rights as enshrined in the constitution. You seem to be lazy to do your job or are just damn afraid. In fact Malawi has a debt of just over NK1,5 trillion and not MK1 trillion. The expenditure budget is sitting at MK1,1 trillion. Its a sad financial situation for Malawi. We should thinking of buying Toyotas for Ministers.

Read previous post:
Patient dies in ambulance accident

A patient has died in an ambulance accident in Lilongwe on Wednesday when the speeding ambulance taking him to Kamuzu Central...

Close