Calls for political parties’ funding regulation grow
Controversial pledges that some city councils made towards the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Blue Night event have created a strong desire for the Political Parties Bill enactment among stakeholders including opposition parties both in and outside Parliament.
The leaders of opposition parties who gathered for a press briefing in Lilongwe Thursday called on Malawians to fight for the proper use of public funds by fighting against abuse of power.
Commenting on the recent twist to the Blue Night fundraising event, Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Lazarus Chakwera, said the anger in civil society organisations (CSO) leaders, who went to court on the matter, should have been replicated by all Malawians.
He expressed his desire to see the National Assembly passing the much-awaited Political Parties Bill during the forthcoming November meeting.
“We are not happy that some people are using their ruling party status to twist the arms of government agencies in the process of mobilising financial resources for their party activities. That is why we are concentrating on ensuring that the Political Parties Bill passes in Parliament and, come November, we will ensure that the bill is passed for the sake of transparency and accountability,” Chakwera said.
Leaders of the opposition parties who gathered applauded the CSOs for standing for what is right amidst all the antagonism from the ruling party cadres.
Meanwhile, British High Commissioner, Holly Tett, has said the mission in Malawi is encouraged that, following an extensive period of consultation with political parties, CSOs and traditional leaders, both government and opposition are in support of the Political Parties Bill.
In a response to our inquiry, Tett said the bill sets out a conducive legal framework which is rooted in the Constitution in terms of regulating the establishment and operation of political parties.
“It should go some way in promoting transparency and good governance in the use of resources for political parties and ,in this way, limit opportunities for corruption. We look forward to a deep and broad debate on the bill in Parliament in November,” Tett said.
Recently, the European Union (EU) election follow-up mission to Malawi faulted draft Political Parties (Registration and Regulation) Bill for falling short of party funding disclosure requirements.
Mission leader, Birgitte Markussen, said State resources are not adequately safeguarded in the bill.
The court has forced Mzuzu City Council to reverse its decision to give the DPP K3.5 million as a contribution towards the party’s resource mobilisation drive.
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