PAC members reject DPP nominations

Chaos arose on Monday in the Public Appointments Committee (PAC) of Parliament after it transpired that the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) submitted to the committee more names which the members rejected.

DPP submitted names of independent members of Parliament (MPs) to be members of the committee on the basis that they were aligned to the party.

PAC is meeting this week and held interviews for the Geneva, Switzerland Ambassador designate, Robert Salama, which were delayed due to the chaos and confusion that arose in the committee.

When a roll call of the new membership was done, it transpired that there were 29 members, representing eight more than is mandated per committee.

A source within the committee told The Nation that the meeting was scheduled to start in the morning, but heated arguments derailed proceedings until the afternoon.

Re-elected committee chairperson Lingson Belekanyama (Malawi Congress Party-MCP), who retained the position unopposed, confirmed the events in an interview, but said the matter has since been sorted out.

He said: “It is true that the presence of additional members to the committee from DPP caused chaos in the meeting because, according to my understanding, a member is known by the party or status in which he entered Parliament.

“Independent MPs cannot come to committees as representing a political party.”

Belekanyama added that independent MPs should have first written the Speaker of Parliament to express interest on the committee they would like to be placed not through a political party.

However, in an interview yesterday, DPP chief whip Henry Mussa brushed aside the confusion, explaining that it arose because the party, by virtue of having more MPs in the House, 51, deserved more seats on the parliamentary committees.

Reacting to allegations that the DPP bypassed the business committee to appoint more members to committees, Mussa said there was a technical aspect of the composition of the committees which was being worked on.

“There was a mix-up in that some independent MPs were thrown into committees as members of a political party,” he said.

According to Standing Orders, every party must be represented in proportion to their strength in the House.

This means MCP, with its 48 MPs, is designated five seats in the committees while DPP also has five seats with its 51 MPs.

Chairperson of the Legal Affairs Committee, Peter Chakwantha, said a meeting would take place on July 20 to elect new leadership after the one year has elapsed.

Constitutionally established oversight committees—Legal Affairs, Public Appointment, Public Accounts, Defence and Budget and Finance—of Parliament are supposed to hold fresh elections for leadership every year of the five-year lifespan of the National Assembly.