By Cathy Maulidi:
It was a busy afternoon Monday when Parliament commenced deliberations, albeit with a significant number of lawmakers absent.
This was exposed at the time the House went into division voting.
Eighty-three lawmakers did not make it to the august House.
The development has riled Transparency Initiative’s Nicholas Mwisama, who described it as “disheartening”.
“It’s disheartening to see such a lack of seriousness on the very first day of deliberations. What does this portend for the coming days? It’s high time our members of Parliament (MPs) demonstrated some level of maturity and commitment to the tasks at hand.
“The nation is watching, and it’s imperative that they take their responsibilities seriously,” Mwisama said.
Dream cut short
This notwithstanding, it turned out to be a busy afternoon for lawmakers who were present in the chamber.
This became clear when a contentious motion to co-opt opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Member of Parliament (MP) Lonnie Chijere Phiri into the Parliamentary Service Commission was introduced to the House.
Leader of the House Richard Chimwendo Banda presented the motion, which read: “Pursuant to Section 194D(1) (b) of the Constitution and Section 5(2) of the Parliamentary Service Act, this House resolves that Zomba Chingale MP Honourable Lonnie Chijere Phiri be appointed to the Parliamentary Service Commission, filling the vacancy left by Mulanje South West MP Honourable Dr. George Chaponda’s election as Leader of Opposition.”
However, government lawmakers rejected the motion, with 75 voting against and 32 in favour, a move that killed Chijere Phiri’s dream of becoming a commissioner.
Chijere Phiri was not available for a comment but Leader of the Opposition in Parliament George Chaponda expressed surprise at the turn of events.
“I’m surprised that she was rejected because the business committee agreed to accept her. I will discuss this matter with the Leader of the House and see the way forward from there,” Chaponda said.
Changing colours
Another thing that became apparent on the first day of the meeting was that the House transformed from having blue seats to seats wrapped in the Malawi flag.
The Malawi flag features a black stripe that represents the people of Africa. There is also red, which stands for the blood spilt in Malawi’s struggle for independence. The other colour is green, which symbolises vegetative cover, features that are complemented by a rising sun, which represents the dawn of freedom and hope on the African continent.
Speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani Hara also announced that Parliament would be going digital.
True to her words, the chamber had state-of-the-art tablets installed on tables.
Parliament officials said once they are rolled out, they would enable MPs to access the Order Paper and other documents and engage in e-voting.
Reacting to the development of new seat covers, Chaponda said the move was welcome.
“Yes, the blue colours favoured us [DPP] but this is also okay. What matters is what we discuss matters and not necessarily what we sit on,” Chaponda said.
Speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani Hara defended the change, saying it was necessary to give the House a fresh look.
“The cloth covering the seats was old, having been done 10 years ago. It was time for a change,” she said.
Intra-Parliament move
On the same day, UTM MPs made sure that they were part of yesterday’s Parliament script.
They did so when some of them, led by Chrissie Kanyasho, moved to the opposition benches following the party’s decision to dump the Tonse Alliance.
“We are no longer working with government and, so, why should we sit on the government bench?” Kanyasho said.
“Our party left the Alliance, automatically leaving the government side. This is what has necessitated our move.”
Parliament started meeting yesterday and will meet for four weeks.
Some of the UTM MPs that have moved to the opposition bench are Kanyasho, Steve Mikaya (Blantyre West), Simon Salambula (Ntcheu West), Felix Katwafu Kayira (Karonga North West) and Chrispin Mphande (Nkhata Bay West).
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