By Cathy Maulidi:
Parliament has risen sine die amid drama over the leadership of opposition in the House.
The drama started when the speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani Hara recognized opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leader in Parliament Mary Navicha to make her adjournment remarks.
This did not go well with most MPs sitting with Kondwani Nankhumwa on a bench he was moved to and many government MPs who were heard speaking against the arrangement.
One of the MPs objecting the arrangement could be heard saying: “She cannot be speaking as Leader of Opposition in this house. Our standing orders do not allow that.”
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The Speaker however maintained her stand to allow Navicha make her adjournment remarks saying the standing orders do allow that.
“Order honourable members. There is nothing wrong. This is not against the standing orders,” Hara said.
But the government bench could not allow Navicha speak in silence as they made a lot of noise throughout distracting her remarks which couldn’t be heard both in Parliament and in the visitors’ gallery.
Navicha did not stop her remarks because of the noise.
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After she finished, the Speaker called out Nankhumwa to speak but he refused.
“Madam Speaker, due to the irregularity that has just happened in this house, in as far as adjournment formalities are concerned since the inception of this house, I’m not speaking,” Nankhumwa then proceeded to sit down after saying this.
But the speaker wondered what irregularity Nankhumwa spoke about.
“Honourable Leader of Opposition when you talk of irregularity I don’t know if you have read the standing orders. If you read the standing orders, this has been a tradition and practice that only leader of the house is given a space to make adjournment remarks.
“We have been giving a chance to opposition leader too just as a way of tradition. So I do not understand when you say irregularity,” the speaker said.
And in his response to that, Nankhumwa said: “Then give also the floor to the leader of UDF to speak.”
Nankhumwa’s response angered the Speaker who told him: “No it’s not for you to tell me what to do. Thank you.”
The speaker then proceeded into giving Leader of the House Richard Chimwendo Banda the floor to make his adjournment remarks.
Later in an interview, Navicha said the opposition has done the needful to pass the budget and the bills that were brought on the floor.
“As members of Parliament we have done our part and the rest is for the government to implement what we have approved in this house,” She said.
On his part, Chimwendo Banda said he is delighted that Parliament passed all the bills that were brought on the floor and the 2024-2025 national budget which was main reason for the meeting.
“I’m delighted that all the bills we brought to the house have been passed, all the Ministerial statements have been adopted and most importantly the budget itself,” Chimwendo said.
In her concluding remarks, the Speaker bemoaned misconduct by some members of Parliament warning that going forward the punishment will be tougher.
This meeting of Parliament was marred by high levels of absenteeism to extent the office of the Speaker ordered that the absent MPs should return the allowances they pocketed.
The meeting was also marred with misconduct with some MPs nearly fighting after tempers flared in the house.
The chaos that occurred during the meeting saw Blantyre City South East MP Sameer Suleman, Zomba Chisi MP Mark Botomani and Zomba Central MP Bester Awali being given suspension for causing chaos in the house.
Regarding Leader of Opposition, the High Court in Lilongwe is yet to put to rest the Leader of Opposition battle, almost two months after DPP filed a certificate of extreme urgency asking the court to resolve the matter as quick as possible.
DPP went to court on February 13, 2024 to lift an injunction that is stopping the party from appointing a Leader of Opposition who would be recognized by Parliament.
The party fired Nankhumwa but he is still being recognized as Leader of Opposition in Parliament following the injunction that some DPP MPs and himself obtained in 2022.
DPP lawyer Charles Mhango said they haven’t heard anything from the court since February 13.
“We have not heard anything up to now. There has been no movement. We are still with the preliminary issue; the court hasn’t yet gone into the substantive matter which is the application to have the injunction lifted.
“When the court is involved, there is nothing one can do. You become helpless. So there is nothing we can do at the moment until the judge has made a decision,” Mhango said.
