Goodall faces pressure to resign

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Goodall Gondwe

Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) Tuesday morning continued to put pressure on Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe after he allocated K4 billion to selected constituencies.

The opposition legislators forced proceedings in Parliament to stop for an hour saying Gondwe should explain why government gave money to 86 constituencies whose MPs voted against the against the Electoral Reforms Bills last year.

Goodall Gondwe
Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe

On Monday, the MPs called for Gondwe’s resignation over the same issue saying the minister failed his duties by authorising the expenditure which saw each of the 86 MPs getting K40 million.

Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson, who is also Malawi Congress Party (MCP) for Dedza North West MP, Alekeni Menyani suggested that the expenditure is tantamount to corruption hence the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) should step in.

He questioned why Gondwe went through the Ministry of Local Government in allocating the funds saying he should have also sought Parliament’s approval before authorising the expenditure.

“It is an illegal expenditure, no money can be spent from the Consolidated Fund without the approval of the House. We don’t know what kind of power he has presented himself with,” he said.

Menyani then asked President Peter Mutharika to deal with the issue saying Gondwe’s conduct shows that the minister has too much freedom which does not reflect well on the president.
He was supported by Nkhata Bay North West MP Comodius Nyirenda who said the matter is bordering on corruption.

Nyirenda suggested that public funds have been used as a ‘thank you’ to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and some opposition MPs who voted against Electoral Reforms Bills and independence of ACB Bill.

But Gondwe claimed that he was advised by Mutharika to give money to selected constituencies, especially those in rural areas.

“I discussed with the Minister of Local Government, and he said he was going to discuss with MPs one by one. When the money reached K4 billion, we decided to close the list,” he said.
Gondwe added that other MPs will be allocated similar amounts in May.