Thyolo Councilors accuse MPs of diverting projects

Councilors in Thyolo have accused their Members of Parliament (MP) for diverting development projects to suit their personal goals.

One of the Thyolo MPS Mary Navicha

The councilors made the remarks Thursday at the boma where Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) presented to the councilors and selected District Executive Committee members a master plan for the Malawi Rural Electrification Program (MAREP) phase 9 in the district.

“Together with MPs, we agree at Village and Area Development Committee level on areas where projects should be implemented. But when funds for the same come, parliamentarians change the goal posts.

“They [MPs] influence the council secretariat to shift the projects to areas of their personal choice,” lamented George Jailos, councilor for Mangunda ward.

The councilor said it was imperative that both councilors and MPs work together since they were serving the same purpose of uplifting the living standards of people at the grass roots.

“If MAREP is to benefit the rural people, we need not to bypass VDCs and ADCs. We need to make collective decision if we are to achieve quick progress,” said Jailos.

Reacting to the allegations, MP for Thyolo South, Mac Sajeni, described the claims as baseless, saying parliamentarians follow all the set procedures when it comes to development projects.

He said, “We are part of ADC and decisions are made collectively at that level. So there was no way MPs could make unilateral decision on where development projects could be implemented.”

He said as for MAREP, the ADFCs would decide the areas to benefit from the projects and not MPs alone.

MERA’s presentation focused on the procedures to be followed in identifying centres for electrification in MAREP 9, which requires full involvement of Village and Area Development Committees.

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