STATEMENT BY LEADER OF OPPOSITION IN PARLIAMENT HONOURABLE KONDWANI NANKHUMWA, MP AT THE END OF THE 2021/2022 BUDGET SESSION PARLIAMENT BUILDING, LILONGWE
FRIDAY, 9TH JULY, 2021
PREAMBLE
Madam Speaker and Honourable Members,
On behalf of the Members of opposition political parties represented in this august House, and on my own behalf, I stand before you to present closing remarks at the end of the 2021/2022 Budget Session. I wish to express my humble gratitude to you, Madam Speaker, for the opportunity to address this august gathering once again.
First and foremost, let me commend you, Madam Speaker and your two deputies, Clerk of Parliament and all parliamentary staff for presiding over business in this august House, during this sitting, with fairness and admirable decorum.
Allow me to also extend my warmest congratulations to all Honourable Members of this august House for yet again discharging their noble parliamentary responsibilities with above-board competence and diligence.
This parliamentary sitting resulted in the passing of the 2021/2022 MK1.995 trillion National Budget in a record three and half hours on Wednesday, 23rd June, 2021.
I wish to congratulate the Honourable Minister of Finance for ably presenting the National Budget Statement on Friday, 28th May, 2021, and also for listening to the voice of the people of Malawi, through their representatives here, to make necessary adjustments to suit their aspirations.
Indeed, I would be failing in my duty if I do not acknowledge the tremendous energy and dedication with which all Honourable Members examined the National Budget Statement, right from the Parliamentary Budget Cluster Committee Meetings to the Committee of Supply.
I wish to commend the Honourable Members for their spirit of patriotism and valuable contribution to debate on various motions and bills.
In the same vein, let me express my profound gratitude to all Honourable Members for conducting business in this august House with an outstanding sense of purpose and maturity, as well as deep respect for each other, regardless of our political differences.
This is what Malawians fought for in 1993 and 1994. Indeed, Malawians were longing for a multiparty democratic dispensation where leaders and members of different political parties reach a consensus, on a wide-range of national issues, by way of mutual dialogue and understanding.
I wish to encourage all of us — the opposition parties, the ruling parties, Executive, Legislature, the Judiciary, civil society organisations, the faith community, the academia, and all Malawians, to continue working together in order to transform Malawi into a well-developed middle to high-income economy as captured in the ‘Malawi Vision 2063’ development agenda.
Madam Speaker,
Before I proceed, allow me to use this opportunity to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Honourable Symon Vuwa Kaunda, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) parliamentary candidate in the recently held court-sanctioned election re-run in Nkhata Bay Central constituency, for reclaiming his seat.
I am excited that Honourable Symon Vuwa Kaunda managed to defeat his closest opponent who was supported by nine (9) political parties and that at the end of the day, it is quality, and not quantity, that mattered most to the people of Nkhata Bay Central.
I wish to congratulate the people of Nkhata Bay Central for courageously exercising their democratic right to elect their preferred representative in defiance of intimidation and coercion, and for being a microcosm of the general thinking of Malawians today.
2021/2022 NATIONAL BUDGET
Madam Speaker.
The Honourable DPP Spokesperson on matters of Finance in Parliament ably responded to the National Budget Statement on 14th June, 2021. I wish to agree with our Honourable Spokesperson that the 2021/2022 National Budget is (and I quote) “consumptive; debt-ridden; unfriendly to the private sector; and not aligned to the Malawi 2063 Vision”.
The Honourable Minister of Finance only allocated 30 percent to the developmental expenditure as opposed to the 70 percent for non-developmental and recurrent expenditure in the 2021/2022 National Budget.
Developmental expenditure spurs direct economic development and growth, and ensures efficient social and community services. Developmental expenditure, Madam Speaker, attracts business investment of various scale, which stimulates private sector growth.
Private sector is the engine for social and economic growth. The private sector plays a major role in creating wealth and as a country, we cannot be talking about creating wealth when we cannot allocate resources to the development budget.
Madam Speaker,
The government can achieve higher economic growth by allocating resources towards priority sectors such as roads and rail infrastructure, science and technology, tourism, health, education and agriculture, among others.
ECONOMY VERSUS LIVELIHOOD
Madam Speaker,
Malawians are suffering and suffering in silence. I will not remain silent but I stand here today to demand that the President and his Tonse Alliance administration must urgently find genuine solutions to skyrocketing prices of basic commodities in order to arrest the poverty cycle.
It is an insult to the intelligence of Malawians, especially those that live in extreme poverty, to always blame Covid-19 for this government’s failure to fix the economy and improve people’s livelihood.
I am fully aware that Covid-19 has indeed negatively affected the Malawi economy but it is during hard times like these that leaders must be innovative and come up with solutions for the people.
This is the second Tonse Alliance National Budget since this government was ushered into power. For the past one year, fuel prices have gone up almost twice with negative ripple effects on the rest of the economy and pushing many Malawians further into poverty.
Unemployment continues to increase at an alarming rate. The huge turnout for police recruitment interviews a few days ago should be a wake-up call for this Tonse Alliance government.
Most families are suffering from mental health and stress issues due to the dwindling disposable incomes.
Parents can hardly afford to pay children’s school fees. People are struggling to pay rentals, while workers walk on foot to and from work because they cannot afford bus fare. Prostitution is on the rise as poor girls and women strive to make ends meet, risking their lives in the midst of HIV/Aids and Covid-19 pandemics.
Madam Speaker,
The economy is sinking, with no hope of genuine recovery anytime soon. At 8.9 percent, the inflation is very high. In the Sub-Saharan region, Malawi’s inflation has only performed better if compared to just three countries namely Zambia, Nigeria and Angola, but has underperformed when compared to Mozambique, Botswana, Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa, among others.
The Malawi Kwacha has continued to depreciate against most of the major currencies.
Madam Speaker,
For this country to be competitive as an investment destination in this region, we need to improve our macro-economic indicators and improve on so many other parameters, including our tax administration regime. We cannot hope to be an investment destination if our taxes are punitive both for local as well as international investors.
Again on the issue of taxes, I hold that the measure for citizens to pay taxes in advance when importing goods is punitive and a disincentive to investment. Most Malawians, especially small-scale businesspeople, import goods whilst they are raising money to pay for duty as they are waiting for the cargo to arrive.
Madam Speaker,
As representatives of the people, we should have thought more about these people than introducing sweeping tax measures that would penalise them under the guise of broadening the tax base.
Today, we are witnessing tax policies that are anti-business; policies that are meant to take away from the poor the little they have toiled for. Today, what used to be a police service has reverted to being a police force, harassing vendors and Kabaza operators. Malawians would have expected a compassionate government in these hard times of Covid-19, but this Government has lost any consideration for the poor.
LEADERSHIP INDECISIVENESS
Madam Speaker,
If we hark back to the pre-election period, the messages from the Tonse Alliance were much clear and defined. For once, we entertained the belief that we are dealing with some quick thinking and rapid-fire minds that are good at decision-making. Malawians were mistaken because the indecisiveness of this President is, to say the least, astonishing.
For example, the President has failed to curb wastefulness in government and parastatals. The nation is faced with the deadly Covid-19 pandemic but the President, his ministers and senior public officials continue to travel within and outside the country for unnecessary business.
Desperate times calls for desperate measures. Malawians expected that in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the President should have demanded of his ministers and public officer to reduce official travel and introduce other cost-cutting measures to demonstrate commitment to fiscal discipline and lessen the impact of Covid-19 on poor Malawians.
Madam Speaker,
One morning, Malawians woke up to revelations that members of MACRA, MERA, Egenco, Lilongwe Water Board, NOCMA and Escom boards and some managers recently flew to Dubai and other foreign countries to attend orientation workshops, instead of doing that locally to save money.
These board members blew millions of Kwacha in the process when pupils across the country are learning under trees; when public hospitals are asking patients to pay for Panadol; when pregnant women are walking long distances to access maternity services; when most Malawians are drinking water from unsafe sources; and when public university students cannot afford to pay tuition and boarding fees, among others.
Despite these serious abuse of public resources by the concerned parastatal board members and managers, the President has done nothing about it except for issuing empty threats on a political podium that heads would roll. The issue has died a natural death.
Madam Speaker,
The President appointed a fourteen-member task force to look into the public sector reforms. Malawians are fully aware that the taskforce presented a report to the President and are still waiting as to when, the public sector reform report will be made public.
It is sad that when Malawians try to follow up on these promises or call upon the President to be true to his own words, we are told that these are presidential prerogatives. We are told the President will make a decision when and if he sees it fit to do so. The question that follows is, to whom is the President accountable? Where is the servant leadership that we heard so much about during the campaign period?
Madam Speaker,
That is not all; the President raised the hopes and expectations of Malawians when he pledged to reduce presidential powers. One year down the line, there has been no effort taken towards that promise. In fact, the President has accumulated more power as evidenced by the appointments of cronies and friends to key positions of power and influence.
Many public officers have been dismissed and their employment contracts nullified for being suspected to be DPP sympathizers or supporters. Others have been arrested on trumped-up and politically-motivated charges.
Madam Speaker,
On his inauguration, the President also promised Malawians that his government would empower and free up governance and oversight institutions. However, what we have seen so far is increased political interference and pressure on these institutions to tow the government line.
Toxic political interference is also evident in the manner that CEOs and Directors General of some of these institutions are hired. It is obvious that these people are put in those positions to serve the interests of the President and his Malawi Congress Party and not the people of Malawi.
At the time of his swearing in as President, President Chakwera told the whole world that he would deal with corruption and abuse of public resources decisively. He said he would “clear the rubble of corruption and abuse of public resources”. Today, under President Chakwera’s watch, corruption and abuse of public resources is more rampant than during the previous governments.
According to the Transparency International, during the previous DPP government, out of 180 countries, Malawi, according to its Corruption, Malawi was at the position 123. Their latest report indicates that Malawi has significantly dropped to positon 129 on the Corruption Index. This is a clear sign that corruption has worsened contrary to the much-touted Hi-5 agenda that we heard so much about in the run-up to the elections and after his inauguration.
Madam Speaker,
I wish to join all well-meaning Malawians in faulting President Chakwera over the appointment of Judges to serve in foreign missions. I find the appointment of judicial officers into the Executive arm of government as a direct attack on democracy and rule of law. I wish to commend the Malawi Law Society for raising the red flag about the threat that such appointments pose to the independence of the Judiciary.
Appointing Judges to serve in foreign missions will negatively impact on operations of the Judiciary. Already, there are not enough Judges compared with the workload. The backlog of cases within our court system has reached a crisis level and appointing Judges as Ambassadors and High Commissioners denies Malawians the right to fair trial.
Justice delayed is justice denied and the President should have been the first person to respect the right to fair trial as of one of the most important tenets of a democratic society.
While still on the appointments of diplomats, I have also noted that the President has appointed his own relatives, friends and cronies to serve in foreign missions without regard to merit and qualifications. This is against his own pledge to clear the rubble of nepotism and favouritism when he came into office.
On 9th May, 2018, when he was Leader of the Opposition, President Chakwera said in this same august House and I quote: “Mr Speaker Sir, I could go on and on naming DPP promises that were nothing but promises…If there is a foreign trip for the President, the DPP will flood his entourage with dozens of cash-hungry hand-clappers, because it is a chance for someone to steal from Malawians. If there is a vacancy at a foreign embassy that requires a professional and career diplomat, the DPP will send someone unqualified whose only credential is being related to someone at State House by tribe or blood, because it is a chance for someone to steal from Malawians”.
Madam Speaker,
When one looks at the list of diplomats that have been appointed by President Chakwera to serve in the various Malawi Government foreign missions, it is clear that almost everyone on the list is connected either through family ties or political ties to the appointing authority. This only confirms that the President and his Tonse Alliance government are practising nepotism.
I wish to ask the President to walk his talk on clearing the rubble. I wish to remind him that he said he would ensure that this country belongs to all Malawians without regard to political affiliation, tribe, region, religion or race; Malawi wokomela tonse!
LABOUR RELATIONS AMENDMENT BILL
Madam Speaker,
I am concerned that the Tonse Alliance government is bringing into this august House Bills that have capacity to reverse the democratic gains made over the past 20 years. Most of these Bills are an attack against the governance architecture of our Constitution and the freedoms that symbolise modern day democratic Malawi.
The Labour Relations Amendment Bill is one such example that is mobilising Malawians with great fear as to what the Tonse Alliance government is up to. It is clearly evident that through this Bill, the Tonse Alliance government wants to deny workers the freedoms and rights that Malawians fearlessly fought for in the early 1990s. It is regrettable to witness the Tonse Alliance government deliberately diluting the democratic gains achieved over past two decades with reckless abandon.
Madam Speaker,
The manner in which the Labour Relations Amendment Bill has been acrimoniously pushed through by the government in this august House is very disappointing, especially considering that the government did not make proper consultations with relevant stakeholders and the labour movement in this country to reach a consensus on how workers can seek redress over employment related grievances.
Madam Speaker,
One of the fundamental principles and rights at work is “freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining”. This government, therefore, has no business denying workers the right to strike. It is a right, which workers and trade unions are entitled to enjoy without any intimidation.
I, therefore, wish to warn President Lazarus Chakwera against assenting to this oppressive and draconian Labour Relations law in the making because doing so would be taking this country back to the dark days of one-party dictatorship.
CONCLUSION
Madam Speaker,
In one year, the Tonse Alliance government has not developed a short to medium term economic policy outlining how it would recover and grow the economy. Yes, we are all bound to the 2063 Vision, but this government has miserably failed to articulate its short to medium term economic plan to move the country towards that Vision.
Indeed, Malawians have realised that they got a raw deal on 23rd June, 2020, and they are now yearning for a progressive political movement that is decisive, aggressive and understands that the youths of Malawi, the rural people of Malawi, and small and medium enterprises in this country need an economy that works for them. Malawians are yearning for a decisive leadership that can inspire hope and confidence in the management of public affairs.
Madam Speaker,
On Tuesday, 6th July, 2021, we celebrated our 57th independence anniversary. Our forebears fought for our self-rule and independence in the 1960s. They fought for our political emancipation from the colonial government.
Malawians gained political independence and now they are yearning for social and economic emancipation. To borrow from our founding President, late Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, Malawians should live in houses that do not leak when it is raining; they must have decent clothes to wear; and enough food to eat, among others.
57 years after independence, most Malawians still cannot afford even one meal; they still sleep in grass-thatched huts; they still walk around half naked. We need to change this status quo as a matter of urgency.
The former President of United States, late John F. Kennedy once said, and I quote: “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other”. President Chakwera must be willing to learn and listen, even from the people he considers as his political enemies.
If President Chakwera chooses to remain egoistic, proud and arrogant, he risks being remembered in the future as the worst leader Malawi ever had. This is my free advice.
Madam Speaker and Honourable Members,
I thank you for listening and may the good Lord bless our beautiful country
