Leader of Opposition Lazarus Chakwera has appealed to all Malawians who are paid from tax payers’ purse to always give contact and dialogue a chance so that the country does not suffer the effects of strikes.
He was speaking during the closing of the eight weeks’ meeting of Parliament in Lilongwe yesterday.
Said Chakwera: “I appeal for understanding, sacrifice and patriotism from all Malawians who love this country to refrain from delaying the already fragile economy from the road to recovery.”
Of late there have been numerous strikes by civil servants in ministries, agencies and departments (MDAs) which have led to the slowing down and in some cases stopping productivity in their respective work stations.
Chakwera said that the 6th Meeting of the 46th Session of Parliament witnessed incidences of properties being destroyed due to frustrations, citing cases of pupils’ strike for their right to education and unresolved security especially of people living with albinism.
He has since appealed to President Peter Mutharika to ensure that the country’s school calendar is run without disruption to avoid the costly consequences.
He then congratulated the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) for the successful 5 +1 All Inclusive Conference which coincided with the just-ended sitting of Parliament. According to him, the conference was generally a success.
The Leader of Opposition also commended Minster of Finance Goodall Gondwe and Leader of the House Kondwani Nankhumwa for what he described as their “untiring strength and dedication to their duty”.
Apart from the tw!, Chakwera also commended leaders of all political parties in Parliament and all parliamentarians for standing firm on Constituency Development Fund (CDF) issues saying this is the only direct funding for grass-roots development activities.
However, he discouraged members of Parliament against being complacent and forgetting their constituencies. He also deplored the tendency of absenteeism from the House.
Chakwera also advised government to consider enhancing supervision of road traffic regulations in all public transport irrespective of time and travel.
He said as Malawians are expected to commemorate independence celebrations they should strive to think of how to regain the lost integrity on issues of finance and loss of love for each other.
“Let us not destroy the unity that made us an independent nation for the sake of politics.” n
