CSOs plan mass demo April 27, PAC in support
Civil society organisations (CSOs) have unveiled plans to hold nationwide protests on April 27 2018 to express displeasure with government’s handling of the K4 billion allocation to members of Parliament (MPs) and other issues.
In a statement issued yesterday, the CSOs said their decision follows inconsistencies, illegality and a cloud of suspicion that characterised the K4 billion ‘miracle money’ pay-out that raises governance and accountability questions.
Through the demonstrations, which the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) and others are supporting, the CSOs want to force cancellation of disbursement of the K4 billion fund, and push for the resignation or dismissal of Cabinet ministers Goodall Gondwe (Finance, Economic Planning and Development) and Kondwani Nankhumwa (Local Government and Rural Development) over their roles in the scam.
The statement is signed by Human Rights Defenders Forum (HRDF) chairperson Timothy Mtambo, his deputy Gift Trapence, Robert Phiri of PAC and Charles Kajoloweka of Youth and Society (YAS).
The statement has been endorsed by the quasi-religious group PAC, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), Centre for the Development of People (Cedep) and YAS.
The demonstrations are set to be held under the theme For How Long Shall Malawians Continue To Be Taken for Granted? Loss of Public Trust in the Current Administration: Time to Reclaim Our Destiny.
The CSOs argue that the K4 billion allocation is illegal and not in the best interest of Malawians, hence the need to immediately cancel it.
The CSOs have also asked the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to investigate allegations that government bribed some MPs from the opposition parties to frustrate the Electoral Reforms Bills through rejection, abstaining or absenteeism during last November sitting of Parliament.
Besides, the protests will also be held over continued blackouts and
government’s K45.2 billion bailout to State produce trader Agricultural Development and
Marketing Corporation (Admarc) without seeking parliamentary approval in 2017.
On continued blackouts, the CSOs feel Electricity Supply Corporation
of Malawi (Escom) and Electricity Generation Company of Malawi (Egenco) have failed to effectively supply electricity amid purchasing and hiring of generators.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) led government has also been challenged to free taxpayer-funded Malawi Broadcasting Corporation and act on all proposed reforms by PAC and the Law Commission’s report on the review of electoral laws (2017).
In a separate interview, Mtambo said time to worship impunity is over and it is high time Malawian reclaimed their destiny.
He said: “The time for impunity worshipping is over! We have massaged evil for so long. The honeymoon is over!”
PAC executive director Robert Phiri, who also signed the statement, confirmed that PAC had endorsed the demonstrations.
Minister of Information and Communications Technology Nicholas Dausi could not be reached for comment, but presidential adviser on Non-Governmental Organisations Mavuto Bamusi said he was not surprised with the move.
He said despite explanations from Gondwe on the reasonability of the K4 billion, the CSOs have chosen a different path.
On Friday, Gondwe met the CSOs leaders—Trapence, Mtambo and Kajoloweka—where they reiterated their position on his resignation. Gondwe refused to step down.
Bamusi said it was surprising that the CSOs have decided to bring in other issues that are not related to the K4 billion.
“All I can say is that this is a politically motivated march. Nonetheless, they have got the right to demonstrate just about anything. One begins to see some kind of connection between what PAC intended to do after the failure of the 50 +1 issue in Parliament,” he said.
Both President Peter Mutharika and leader of opposition Lazarus Chakwera recently defied a seven-day ultimatum from the CSOs over the K4 billion allocation. In an earlier interview, Chancellor College based political analyst Ernest Thindwa urged the CSOs to start engaging the masses more on issues of national importance.
The K4 billion issue—that initially saw 86 legislators mostly affiliated to the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its working partners getting about K40 million each—came to the fore during the Mid-Year Budget Review Meeting in Parliament in February.
But Nankhumwa clarified that both sides of the House decided to distribute the money equally, meaning that each of the 193 legislators would now receive K20.7 million.
However, the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) later made a U-turn, saying it does not want to be party to the fund.
Capital Hill has long argued that the money, described as Quick Grant Project, is meant for rural development, but the CSOs feel Gondwe’s conduct on the matter is beneath his resume and a betrayal of citizens’ trust as the country’s purse keeper.
The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, under Vote 120, had an approved K11.4 billion in the approved recurrent budget for which Gondwe sought an increment of K2.2 billion. However, the K4 billion is not part of the increment.
