The government has changed tune on the recruitment of personal assistants (PAs) for members of Parliament (MPs).
Initially, the government indicated that PAs for MPs would help in the management of Constituency Development Fund (CDF), a decision that was made after Parliament approved the increment of the CDF package from K40 million to K100 million per constituency.
Last year, the Ministry of Local Government announced the new CDF guidelines, which culminated in the introduction of PAs.
It further indicated that 5 percent of the CDF allocation would go to PAs, in the form of payment.
However, this did not please some quarters, who felt that the country was wasting resources that could have been invested in community projects.
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For instance, the Malawi Local Government Association (Malga) challenged the introduction of the new guidelines, saying their introduction was anathema to the Decentralisation Policy.
And, Tuesday, Local Government Minister Richard Chimwendo Banda disclosed to The Daily Times that they have removed the PAs’ component because they were getting a bigger chunk of the CDF.
“The reason they have been moved out is not that they are not doing their work properly but because their payment was taking away more money for development. So, we would like to give more money to the community for development,” Chimwendo Banda said.
He further said the ministry has not broken any law by removing the PAs because it was just a guideline that called for their inclusion.
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Meanwhile, Malga Executive Director Hadrod Mkandawire has expressed delight with the government’s decision.
“This is what we have been against all along. Now that the government has decided to remove them, we are pleased,” Mkandawire said.
