National Assembly to have information centres
Malawi National Assembly is set to construct 193 Parliament Information Centres (PICs) across the country as one way of ensuring access of information at constituency level.
Malawi is emulating Southern African Development Community (Sadc) countries which have centres that assist Members of Parliament (MPs) to deliver on their roles.
Speaking during a briefing with heads of sectors for Lilongwe District Council recently, chairperson for the 10-member PICs task force Joseph Njobvuyalema said the National Assembly in its 2010-2015 Strategic Plan intends to decentralise its information sharing system with citizens at constituency level.
“You may agree with me that MPs do not have formal offices in their constituencies, as such, they have problems when it comes to sharing information with their constituents. PICs will help solve this problem,” he said.
Njobvuyalema, whose task force will visit 28 districts to brief councils about the project, said PICs will be constructed before the 2014 tripartite elections.
MP for Dowa Central Dr. Jean Kalilani, who is also a member of the task force, said the PICs will be apolitical as the focus will be to champion development.
