Parliament Thursday passed the contested Cannabis Regulation (Amendment) Bill which seeks to legalise the production and commercialisation of local chamba.
The bill was passed in the absence of opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members, who walked out of the House in protest against the tabling of the bill.
According to DPP spokesperson on the matter Yusuf Nthenda, DPP lawmakers walked out of the House as they did not agree with plans by the government bench and other members to pass the bill before it was thoroughly scrutinised.
“We walked out of Parliament because we don’t agree with the way things were going. We are not saying ‘no’ to the bill but what we are saying is that the bill should be thoroughly scrutinised before it is passed. We need to consult other stakeholders before the bill is passed but the government side seems not to agree with our position and this is why we walked out,” Nthenda said.
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However, government members of Parliament (MPs) together with some DPP MPs who followed the expelled leader of opposition Kondwani Nankhumwa, other independent MPs and UDF members proceeded to pass the bill.
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Leader of the House Richard Chimwendo Banda said DPP has to understand that things cannot go their way all the time.
He, however, clarified issues surrounding the misunderstanding that marred the debate stage of the bill, where some MPs, including those on the DPP bench, thought the bill is legalising the smoking of chamba.
“The member who brought the motion on the Bill cited Section 24 of the bill, which is very clear that smoking chamba and growing it willy-nilly is still prohibited to date, [which will apply] even after the passing of this bill. [Doing so will continue to be prohibited] even when the bill is assented to because there is nothing of that nature in the bill.
“The bill says the growing, transporting and selling of chamba must be licenced. This is for industrial and medicinal use, not smoking. What Malawians should understand is that, as we speak now, the growing of chamba willy-nilly is still illegal and shall be illegal even after passing this bill. What this bill has done is to provide an opportunity to Malawians to seek licences,” Chimwendo Banda said.
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The private member who brought the motion on the bill, Peter Dimba, who is also legislator for Lilongwe South Constituency, expressed excitement with the passing of the bill and hoped that the President [Lazarus Chakwera] would assent to it soon.
“As a mover of the bill, I’m very excited. This day is hysterical in this country because, for the first time, we want to legalise the controlled and regulated cultivation of our local cannabis sativa.
“In 2020, we passed a law that introduced the cultivation of cannabis varieties, which was discriminatory [because it went] against our own variety [of chamba]. I think that’s a classic example of self-hatred. Our chamba variety is highly sought after in the global market but we brought a law that discriminated it. So, today, we have passed a bill that is going to bring a lot of economic benefits to this country,” Dimba said.
During the 2023-24 mid-year budget review meeting, Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda said the growing of local chamba is one of the government’s strategies for economic recovery and growth.
He stated that chamba could rake in as much as $700 million annually if exported.
“This can create jobs, grow our people’s income and generate the much needed forex for our economy,” he said.
In 2020, Parliament approved cultivation of cannabis of foreign varieties which, Dimba claimed, has not benefitted the country, a problem attributed to lack of markets and other challenges.
