By Cathy Maulidi:
A storm is cooking at Parliament as some members of the House have expressed displeasure with the Speaker Catherine Gotani Hara’s “frequent international trips”.
The Members of Parliament who Malawi News has spoken with said the Speaker has travelled to 10 countries over the past four months doing campaign for a position of president for Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
“She has travelled to about 10 countries within a period of four months campaigning for a position of IPU President.
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“We wonder how that position will help poor Malawians who are grappling with forex scarcity,” said one of the MPs who spoke to us.
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The MPs further claimed that Gotani Hara’s trips have depleted the budget meant for MPs external travels.
“She has used all that money on her trips. She has travelled to Cameroon, Spain, Uruguay, India, Uganda, Ghana, Morocco, United Kingdom, Vietnam and as we are talking she is in Angola.
“She has been travelling with some MPs and members of secretariat to all these trips using tax payers’ money and forex,” said another MP.
An inside source at Parliament secretariat also confirmed about the trips, saying the elections were held yesterday in Angola and she was in attendance.
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“Yes she is in Angola now, the elections were held today and Malawi has lost to Tanzania,” said the source.
Asked on the disunity at Parliament, the secretariat source said: “It’s true some MPs are not happy with the Speaker and she knows this.”
But, speaking from Angola Friday, Hara dismissed the claims that she has been traveling for campaign for IPU presidency.
“It’s not that I was travelling for campaigns [for IPU presidency]; that’s not true. I was also attending the IPU meetings,” she said.
According to her, there are some Members of Parliament who are trying to sabotage her and they have been fighting to destroy her name.
“I know where all this is coming from. I know the people doing this. They just want to destroy me. They have been trying to tarnish my image. I know the members doing this,” she said.
We sought the comment of Executive Director for Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), Michael Kaiyatsa, on the developments at Parliament.
Kaiyatsa called for immediate stop to unnecessary foreign trips. He also called for unity at Parliament for the interest of 20 million Malawians which it represents.
“Firstly, it is sad that considering the forex shortage that the country is going through right now, such unnecessary trips are being taken. Unfettered expenditure on globetrotting flies in the face of austerity measures announced by the government to revive the economy.
“But while we commend those MPs who have exposed the alleged malfeasance for speaking out, we are concerned about the impact that the fights between the Speaker and those MPs might have on Parliament and effectively on the people they represent. These fights may result in a situation where those MPs are sidelined in parliamentary business. The ultimate loser will be the electorate who elected these MPs to represent them,” Kaiyatsa said.
According to Kaiyatsa, such a situation will be unfortunate, particularly coming at a time the country is facing so many crises on the social, political and economic fronts.
In the election in Angola, Speaker of the Parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania, Tulia Ackson, has been elected the 31st president of the IPU.
Ackson won the election with 172 votes out of the 303 votes that were cast. Gotani Hara received 61 votes.
Some 700 parliamentarians from 130 countries were in Luanda for the IPU meeting held from October 23 to 27.
Hara submitted her candidature files to the IPU Secretary General on June 15, 2023.
“I am committed, Sir, once elected to the position, to serve the citizens represented in all the countries at the IPU and contribute to the growth of the Organization and prosperity and peaceful coexistence among the countries of all Member Parliaments,” she wrote in her letter supporting the submission.
Established in 1889 as a small group of parliamentarians dedicated to promoting peace through parliamentary diplomacy and dialogue, IPU has grown into a global organization of more than 180 members.
The IPU facilitates parliamentary diplomacy and empowers parliaments and parliamentarians to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development around the world.
