CSOs vow to keep government on toes
Over 60 civil society organisations (CSOs) under National Advocacy Platform (Nap) have resolved to take a decisive position on the maize sale saga and have also vowed to press government to give response to their 2016 grand coalition issues which among others include a demand for the government to take action on corruption cases.
At its annual general meeting on Friday in Lilongwe, the CSOs admitted that the country is going through difficult times ranging from governance, poor economy to corruption, among others, and resolved to demand answers from government.
Nap National Coordinator, Edward Chileka Banda, challenged the new leadership that was ushered into office on Friday to fight for people’s rights and not to be cowed by government.
“You are coming into office at a difficult time when the country is sailing through troubled-waters. Corruption fight is dwindling, and we have the maize saga. What is immediate is corruption, the maize sale saga. You should also make a follow up to the 2016 grand coalition petition. Government has not yet responded to the petition. We need to decisively take a position,” said Banda.
Executive Director for Civil Society Education Coalition, Benedicto Kondowe, was voted into office as Nap Chairperson taking over from Robert Mkwezalamba of Human Rights Consultative Committee. Louisa Tsonga of Youth Consultative Forum was voted Kondowe’s vice replacing Linda Harawa.
Nap is an inclusive platform comprising civil society organisations and citizen groups established in 2013 to track the effective formulation, ratification, domestication and implementation of policy and legal instruments that contain human rights and freedoms for all citizens.
In his acceptance speech, Kondowe called for collective leadership and unity of purpose. He called on the membership to live up to the expectation of Malawians.
“Let us demonstrate that we are a different civil society. Let us not disappoint the poor people. Lets stand for them,” he said.
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