Member of Parliament for Chitipa South Werani Chilenga wants former Members of Parliament to be receiving monthly salary for life.
Chilenga plans to bring a motion in Parliament that if approved will see former MPs receiving half of the salary for serving MPs.
In his wisdom, Chilenga argues that when MPs are kicked out of their positions by voters, their welfare is not taken care of even though they served their communities.
If Chilenga’s proposal were to be implemented, ex-MPs just sitting at home would be receiving not less than K450,000 every month, more than the basic salary of a serving civil servant with a first degree.
In 2020, Malawi MPs were receiving K2.2 million in allowances such as house, constituency, utility, motor vehicle and hospitality allowances on top of a salary of K949,000. Legislators also receive sitting allowances when Parliament is in session and during parliamentary committee meetings and and they are also allowed to borrow over K20 million each from commercial banks at the start of their term.
Meanwhile, commentators have described Chilenga’s proposal as silly and impractical.
“We don’t have such money,” said commentator Joshua Chisa Mbele in a Facebook post.
