The State House’s claim that proposed houses for legislators will be financed by investors has led to concerns about what the financiers will want in return.
Social commentator, Danwoood Chirwa who is also Dean Law of at University of Cape Town, questioned plans to build houses for MPs and to involve investors in the project.
President Lazarus Chakwera in his State of the Nation (SONA) address on Friday said his administration will engage investors to build houses for Members of Parliament in all 193 constituencies of the country.
State Houses spokesperson Sean Kampondeni said on Monday that the project has no timeline.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Chirwa wondered who the investors are and what they will get in exchange for financing the gigantic project.
“A president says before parliament that he’s asking investors to do something for government they’re not supposed to do. That’s a quid. So-called investors will in return do business with government. That’s a quo. This is what corruption is. Now imagine that such corruption compromises the entire legislature. That is serious,” said Chirwa.
He also questioned Kampondeni’s claim that the project has no timeline and wondered if Chakwera or Kampondeni recognize that the SONA is an important constitutional accountability mechanism.
Chakwera’s plan to construct houses for MPs has been criticized by many people who argue that there are other issues which the Tonse administration should prioritise.
Danwood Chirwa is absolutely correct in describing the president’s request for foreign investors to build houses for MP as “quid pro quo”. This is unacceptable and unfair to the voters who expected a government free of corruption.