President Lazarus Chakwera says his administration will embark on a project to construct official residences for Members of Parliament (MPs).
Speaking when delivering the State of the Nation Address on Friday, Chakwera said the houses will be built in all 193 constituencies.
“It has long been my view that we ought to have official residences for MPs within their constituencies to ensure they are part of the communities they represent. My Administration is therefore actively engaging investors to develop plans for this project and to expedite its commencement,” he said.
He also revealed that his administration will construct 193 Constituency Offices to serve as permanent points of access for Malawians to reach their MPs.
The Malawi leader also promised construction of new office blocks at Parliament Building to increase Committee Rooms and offices for Members of Parliament and Staff.
Meanwhile, some Malawians on social media have condemned the move to construct houses for MPs saying the Chakwera administration should prioritise other issues.
“Same old problem. Putting priorities in order. This idea is rubbish. MPs can’t occupy houses. Just build houses for teachers in schools instead, or police houses,” said Don Chisamba in a comment on Facebook.
Another commenter Jaffar Kambalame said: We cannot start talking about MPs when our men in uniform are sleeping in plywood extended houses.”
On claims that official residences will convince MPs to stay in the constituencies and interact with voters, many commenters said MPs usually have own houses in cities and they cannot be forced to live in the constituencies.
Dont be campaining while you are ruling. Who do you want to please? MPs hail from those areas and its their choice not be there. Sometimes its because the constituents demand too much from the legislators so they bolt to the cories as a result