SPEAKER HARA ‘LASHES OUT’ AT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS, orders sanity

Speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani Hara has lashed out at the Chairpersons of Parliamentary Committee for flouting some laid down procedures when summoning stakeholders’ meeting.

At a meeting that was held yesterday at Kwambiri Resort in Salima, Hara cracked whip at the chairpersons of the committees saying several stakeholders have complained of getting ill treatment from them.

The meeting was called to consider the Schedule of Committee Meetings for the Second Quarter in the 2023/24 Financial Year as well as to review the work of the Committees in the last quarter, which was the First in the 2023/24 Financial Year.

According to the statement that Malawi Voice has seen, Hara explained to the gathering that her office has received several complaints from Controlling Officers of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Statutory Corporations particularly on the lack of coordination when sending invitation letters to stakeholders.

The Speaker reminded the committees that resolutions were passed that chairpersons must follow parliamentary Standing Order 17(4)(d) and that parliamentary Secretariat will be involved in order to have sanity in the system.

She said that it has been observed that chairpersons of the committee have flouted this and are sending invitations to stakeholders disregarding the ‘parliamentary testament’ we agreed on.

Hara gave the example that PPDA was invited by the Natural Resources Committee and the Education Committee to appear before these Committee Committees on the same day and the same time. This also applied to the Roads Authority which was summoned to appear to both Budget Committee and Commissions Committee on the same day and time.

She said looking at the examples given above, it is clear that a House of laws and order and decorum has become a ‘Den of pandemonium’ which has not to be the case in the modern era where adherence to law of law is the fulcrum of democracy.

What has made the Speaker to utter such words is because last month, Secretary to President and Cabinet Collen Zamba through the Controller of Statutory Corporations Peter Simbani penned all heads of state corporations and enterprises directing that all requests from parliamentary committees for meetings and visits with state corporations outside parliament and especially where the corporations’ resources will be spent have to be approved by her office. The memo was also copied to the treasury.

She also penned the Speaker complaining about the behavior of her committees when inviting stakeholders.

Malawi Voice tried to speak to the Chairperson Public Appointments Committee Joyce Chitsulo who is also chairperson for all chairpersons of parliament feigned ignorance on the matter.