National News

Blantyre MPs ‘fight’ over secondary schools

There was a heated debate among members of Parliament (MPs) from Blantyre District on Friday on where to construct seven community day secondary schools.

Blantyre District Council secretariat, through the office of the district education manager, identified areas where to construct the schools.

However, tempers rose during a full council meeting when some MPs questioned why some constituencies were allocated two or three schools while others had none.

A cross-section of the MPs during meeting

Blantyre City West MP Steven Mikaya said it was unfair to allocate more than one school to one constituency.

“We need to rework  this; otherwise, we will not accept that one MP should have more schools when some of us have none,” he said.

Blantyre Rural East MP Fidson Chisesele and Blantyre South West legislator Keneddy Kachingwe agreed with Mikaya.

“This is a national cake and let everyone benefit from it. We need to share projects because we all represent people of the same district,” said Chisesele.

But this did not please Blantyre North legislator Francis Phiso, a cabinet minister, who said the schools were not meant for MPs to show that they were implementing development projects in their respective areas.

“Let us run away from politics here. I have been allocated two secondary schools but if it pleases members to take away the schools, so much the better because we all belong to Blantyre,” he said.

Meanwhile, the MPs have agreed to propose areas where the schools will be constructed. Blantyre Rural has eight constituencies.

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