Nkhata Bay Central MP Ralph Mhone has accused the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) top leadership of stopping him from attending the official opening of new Nkhata Bay Hospital. Mhone said this on Wednesday in parliament when he was contributing to the K1.1 trillion national budget debate. “This country is a democratic country, we fought […]
Business returned to normal in the afternoon of Tuesday after Leader of Opposition Lazarus Chakwera told the opposition bench to put national interest first before personal interest. The House resumed seating at 2pm but business was derailed as opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and Peoples Party (PP) putting pressure on government to give them a […]
Opposition legislators have asked the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) to furnish the conditions of service for cabinet ministers, accusing them of getting up to K7 million in discreet allowances. Dowa East MP Richard Chimwendo Banda (Malawi Congress Party –MCP) alleged the OPC offers the cabinet ministers a K5 million loan whoever applies […]
Malawi Congress Party (MCP) spokesperson on finance , Alexander Kusamba-Dzonzi, has faulted the K1.13 trillion 2016/17 National Budget which Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Goodall Gondwe tabled in Parliament, saying it was unrealistic and unpromising, and would do nothing to overcome inefficiency and corruption rife in governance of the Peter Mutharika and his […]
Opposition People’s Party (PP) Spokesperson on Finance Ralph Jooma has said Malawi economy will remain in reverse gear, saying domestic borrowing will continue to soar, which will cloud out private sector and interest rates will go up making it impossible for the sector to expand. PP spokesperson on finance said this year’s budget clearly means […]
Malawi Parliament on Tuesday morning grinded to a halt when lawmakers forced first deputy speaker Esther Mcheka Chilenje to suspend the House for 45 minutes to allow the welfare committee to discuss on the General Purpose Fund (GPF). The members demanded clarifications on their conditions of service to have their access to General Purpose Advance. […]
Opposition lawmakers have threatened to shoot down the National Budget unless government give them the General Purpose Fund (GPF) loans of K5 million each which they are supposed to repay between now and 2019. If all the 193 MPs get the GPF the total bill comes to K1.4 billion at the 40 percent rate the […]
Some parliamentarians want the government to hike their salaries and other entitlements in what they call because of sharp in rise of living cost. Sources at parliament said the legislators, mostly from the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and Peoples Party have been meeting Speaker of the National Assembly Richard Msowoya over the issue. “We […]
Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president and leader of opposition in parliament, Lazarus Chakwera has renewed his call to ask President Peter Mutharika to come to parliament for President’s Question Time style-session as part of accountability politics. Chakwera said Mutharika should behave like a coward responding to issues raised in Parliament outside the House. “People should […]
Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) has been accused of being used by politicians in the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to fight their competitors by abusing the tax collecting body with political dog fights. The accusations were made on Monday when MRA officials led by its Commissioner General Thom Malata appeared before Budget and Finance Committee […]
Malawi Parliament on Wednesday continued to give tough time to government officials over the K1.1 trillion national budget with deputy chairman of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Kamlepo Kalua claiming government officials are failing to defend the budget because it was drafted and designed by the IMF. “They seem not to know anything which is in […]
A renowned human rights activist has cautioned legislators against pressing President Peter Mutharika to send killers of people with albinism to the gallows, saying this is not the lasting solution to the problem. Timothy Mtambo, executive director of Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) remarks follow Mulanje South MP Bon Kalindo who emotionally asked […]
Officials from the Ministry of Finance were on Tuesday tossed from one parliamentary committee to another and finally sent back to prepare well in a new system of scrutinising and vetting the national budget which, it seems, both the parliamentarians and government officials do not understand. Budget and Finance Committee chairperson Rhino Chiphiko (MCP) said […]
Director General of Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), Tom Malata, has written Speaker of Parliament, Richard Msowoya, to express concern over abuse of lawmakers in their priviledges like importing vehicles. The tax body said in a letter dated April 20, 2016 that it has observed “with concern” that MPs have been abusing their priviledges by importing […]
United Democratic Front (UDF) Member of Parliament for Mangochi Lutende, Francis William Biliati has asked government to consider constructing an international airport in the lakeshore tourism resort district of Mangochi. Biliati said Mangochi is one of the districts in the country which attracts a lot of tourists. “I have noted in the State-of-the-Nation Address that Kamuzu […]
Former state vice president and now member of parliament for Mzimba South West, Khumbo Kachali was ruled out of order in the House for making insinuations. Kachali congratulated Leader of the House, George Chaponda for being appointed Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development and thanked the President Peter Mutharika “for removing” him from the […]
Mphatso Nkhoma – Nyasa Times The Peoples Party (PP) leader in Parliament Uladi Mussa had been sleeping through Thursday’s parliamentary debate on the State of the Nation address which was presented by President Peter Mutharika last Friday. Mussa caught the attention of most members of the house as he was sleeping and made noise by […]
Thom Chiumia – Nyasa Times Minister of Informatio, communication, technology and civic education Patricia Kaliati on Thursday hit out at opposition lawmaker form Rumphi East (Peoples Party –PP) Kamlepo Kalua for insisting to have President Peter Mutharika to face legislatures and respond to questions in person in the National Assembly. Kalua told parliament that he would like to […]