… Kampondeni says taxpayers’ money will not be used
A social commentator has blasted President Lazarus Chakwera’s plan to build houses for Members of Parliament (MPs).
The commentator Onjezani Kenani said in a series of Facebook posts that Malawi has more pressing problems than a Member of Parliament’s house or office.
“Building houses for MPs is not a priority right now, and there is no other way to put it. We have many, many priorities as a country, far more critical than houses for MPs. The mess in our education and health system alone would take years to resolve. Then there is the transport infrastructure that awaits funding – anybody who has read the National Transport Master Plan will know this. Ports on Lake Malawi long decayed, railways are as good as dead – save for the track by Vale. With tobacco on its deathbed, the rural economy is dead, and we urgently need a solution to help our farmers. Amidst all that, our President thinks that what is more pressing is the need for MPs to have their own houses or offices or whatever you call them. Right in his very first ever budget,” wrote Kenani.
He added that Malawians should not think that whatever whatever the President does or says is right and sacrosanct.
He then urged people close to the president to advise him to ditch the plan saying it is not a good idea at a time Malawians are suffering.
“The rural economy is dead. They have nothing. The population is increasing at the speed of light, and the hospitals are the same few ones built by Hastings Banda’s regime. Public schools are in shambles. The people are suffering out there. And an MP’s house will not make them eat three times a day,” said Kenani.
In the State of the Nation Address on Friday, Chakwera said the houses for MPs 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.
At a press briefing today, Presidential spokesperson Sean Kampondeni said the money for the project will be sourced from investors, not taxpayers, and the president has not set a timeline for the project.
