Speaker stops debate on deputies

Speaker of Parliament Richard Msowoya has told the House that he will not entertain discussions on allegations that his two deputies fleeced Parliament by claiming house rentals for houses they apparently owned.

But the Speaker’s declaration did not go down well with Nkhata Bay Central member of Parliament (MP) Ralph Mhone (People’s Party-PP) who said Parliament’s Business Committee had no powers to stop MPs from bringing the issue for discussion.

Before Parliament reconvened for the 46th session, it was clear that the House rentals debacle involving First Deputy Speaker Esther Mcheka-Chilenje and Second Deputy Speaker Clement Chiwaya which our sister newspaper, Weekend Nation, investigations exposed, would be a hot topic for debate.

However, in his communication on Monday, the Speaker said the matter was being handled by relevant agencies of government. He did not elaborate.

But the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has confirmed that the matter is under investigation.

Said Msowoya: “The commission [Parliamentary Service Commission-PSC] has provided a detailed write-up of the matter and until then, this matter remains closed and shall not be discussed by the House.”

But standing on a point of order, Mhone said the PSC could not gag the House on a matter which concerned the whole House.

“The commission should know the limit of its powers. It is unconstitutional to gag us. You are gagging us and I want a ruling on that,” Mhone said after the Speaker repeatedly told him to sit down.

To Mhone’s plea, the Speaker responded: “The Business Committee does not gag the House. It was advising the House based on the pieces of information that I provided.”

But when Mhone insisted on a ruling on his point order, Msowoya returned after tea break and told the House that it was not the Business Committee’s intention to stop debate in the House.

“If we want to bring matters for discussion, we cannot just stand up on a point of order then start debate on a topic. It is unprocedural. That should not be allowed by myself, it should not be allowed by any presiding officer,” Msowoya said.

In the communication of the PSC on the issue, the commission, which is chaired by the Speaker, explained that the issue came to light through a Weekend Nation story which reported that the two deputy speakers were living in their own houses and claiming rentals of K550 000 ($982) per month instead of K150 000 ($268) between May and September revised to K250 000 ($446) from October 2014.

The commission said the media report was confirmed by Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development and the matter was reported to ACB and Malawi Police Service (MPS) as a way forward while Parliament dealt with the matter administratively.

In an earlier interview on the issue, the Speaker told The Nation on October 15 23015 that he was in a dilemma on the way forward regarding the fate of his two deputies. He said powers to discipline the speaker and deputy speakers rested with the National Assembly as the law was silent.

However, Edge Kanyongolo, an associate professor of law at Chancellor College, a constituent college of the University of Malawi, said in an interview at the time that the questions the public continue to raise about the integrity of the two deputy speakers were enough yardstick to guide PSC on action to be taken.

He said Parliament should endeavour to recover what the two deputy speakers “unjustly got from taxpayers”.

Said Kanyongolo: “Anything short of that [recovery] will be setting a bad precedent for future occupants of the offices.”

Ironically, a letter dated October 9 2015 from acting Clerk of Parliament Renard Mapemba to the two deputy speakers said the commission had resolved that effective September 2015 they will be paid a monthly housing allowance of K250 000 each. n