Back and Next - Back and NextMALAWI: Political bickering takes priority over poverty
Friday, July 6, 2007
LILONGWE
The Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), which regulates the operations of the Catholic Church in the country, has expressed its concern over the ongoing political crisis, calling on members of parliament (MPs) to set aside their differences and consider the plight of the poor.
In a statement signed by Archbishop Tarsizio Ziyaye, chairman of the ECM, the bishops warned that the crisis pitting the ruling party against the opposition over MP dismissals could seriously destabilise the country.
Last month, Malawi's Supreme Court granted powers to the Speaker of Parliament to expel defecting lawmakers, a decision that would affect the strength of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has welcomed 60 defectors into its fold, bringing its tally of members in parliament to 80. The opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) dominates parliament with about 110 seats.
The bishops called on all MPs to handle the issue of Section 65 of the Constitution with sober minds. Section 65 states that the seats of MPs who defect from the party that sponsored them, which is described as "crossing the floor", are to be declared vacant. Rather than joining the DPP, those MPs who crossed the floor would now be excluded from parliament.
The ECM is worried that MPs will concentrate solely on Section 65 instead of discussing the 173 billion kwacha (US$1.2 billion) 2007/08 budget, presented in parliament by finance minister Goodall Gondwe on 29 June 2007, and urged the parliamentarians to consider passing the national financial plan for the good of the country.
"Should we all lose the gains from debt cancellation [by multilateral donors in 2006] by financing the impeachment processes or by-elections [of defecting MPs], at the expense of pro-poor expenditure areas like education, health, food security and mitigation of HIV/AIDS?" the statement asked.
The main fear is that political bickering will eclipse any focus on economic and developmental policies in parliament. "Issues like the calling for by-elections, the resignation of the State president, the impeachment of the Speaker of Parliament, if implemented, will wipe out all the gains that have been realised through our maturing democracy," they warned.
Political confrontation at the height of a food security crisis in Malawi in 2005 even aroused the donor community's concern. Donors wrote to opposition political leaders, voicing their anxiety over the impeachment proceedings while the country was experiencing a "serious and prolonged food crisis”.
Mustafa Hussein, a political analyst at the University of Malawi, told IRIN that the issue of Section 65 should be dealt with first, "then later, MPs can discuss the budget".
Political parties were aware of the importance of passing the budget, and that "Section 65 was put in place to ensure that our MPs are accountable to the people who elected them into office. The delay by government or opposition in dealing with section 65 undermines the rule of law," he said.
Both the MCP and UDF have rejected the calls by the bishops and have asked them not to interfere in the political affairs.
President Bingu wa Mutharika has spent almost three conflict-ridden years in power, at the centre of a tense standoff with the opposition that has stalled the functioning of Malawi's parliament and delayed the approval of bills.
The political crisis began when Mutharika left the UDF to form his own political organisation, the DPP, shortly after it had sponsored him in the 2004 general elections. The UDF hit back with an impeachment charge, accusing Mutharika of using US$300,000 of public money to launch the DPP.
The Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), which regulates the operations of the Catholic Church in the country, has expressed its concern over the ongoing political crisis, calling on members of parliament (MPs) to set aside their differences and consider the plight of the poor.
In a statement signed by Archbishop Tarsizio Ziyaye, chairman of the ECM, the bishops warned that the crisis pitting the ruling party against the opposition over MP dismissals could seriously destabilise the country.
Last month, Malawi's Supreme Court granted powers to the Speaker of Parliament to expel defecting lawmakers, a decision that would affect the strength of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has welcomed 60 defectors into its fold, bringing its tally of members in parliament to 80. The opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) dominates parliament with about 110 seats.
The bishops called on all MPs to handle the issue of Section 65 of the Constitution with sober minds. Section 65 states that the seats of MPs who defect from the party that sponsored them, which is described as "crossing the floor", are to be declared vacant. Rather than joining the DPP, those MPs who crossed the floor would now be excluded from parliament.
The ECM is worried that MPs will concentrate solely on Section 65 instead of discussing the 173 billion kwacha (US$1.2 billion) 2007/08 budget, presented in parliament by finance minister Goodall Gondwe on 29 June 2007, and urged the parliamentarians to consider passing the national financial plan for the good of the country.
"Should we all lose the gains from debt cancellation [by multilateral donors in 2006] by financing the impeachment processes or by-elections [of defecting MPs], at the expense of pro-poor expenditure areas like education, health, food security and mitigation of HIV/AIDS?" the statement asked.
The main fear is that political bickering will eclipse any focus on economic and developmental policies in parliament. "Issues like the calling for by-elections, the resignation of the State president, the impeachment of the Speaker of Parliament, if implemented, will wipe out all the gains that have been realised through our maturing democracy," they warned.
Political confrontation at the height of a food security crisis in Malawi in 2005 even aroused the donor community's concern. Donors wrote to opposition political leaders, voicing their anxiety over the impeachment proceedings while the country was experiencing a "serious and prolonged food crisis”.
Mustafa Hussein, a political analyst at the University of Malawi, told IRIN that the issue of Section 65 should be dealt with first, "then later, MPs can discuss the budget".
Political parties were aware of the importance of passing the budget, and that "Section 65 was put in place to ensure that our MPs are accountable to the people who elected them into office. The delay by government or opposition in dealing with section 65 undermines the rule of law," he said.
Both the MCP and UDF have rejected the calls by the bishops and have asked them not to interfere in the political affairs.
President Bingu wa Mutharika has spent almost three conflict-ridden years in power, at the centre of a tense standoff with the opposition that has stalled the functioning of Malawi's parliament and delayed the approval of bills.
The political crisis began when Mutharika left the UDF to form his own political organisation, the DPP, shortly after it had sponsored him in the 2004 general elections. The UDF hit back with an impeachment charge, accusing Mutharika of using US$300,000 of public money to launch the DPP.
Source: IRIN
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