The Executive, through the Minister of
Local Government and Rural Development, Honourable Kondwani Nankhumwa,
announced in Parliament that each of the 193 constituencies in Malawi will
receive MWK20.7 million for chitukuko. The
total disbursement is MWK4 billion. The announcement followed calls –
previously – made by mostly Members of Parliament of the opposition that the
Minister of Finance, Honourable Goodall Gondwe, must explain to the august
House the criteria that was used in selecting (purportedly) 86 constituencies
(out of 193) as the beneficiaries of the MWK4 billion designated for the chitukuko.
The
script has had to change so fast between 27 and 28 February, 2018 it is hard to
believe anything or stay focused and interested. If I may remind us about what
the Constitution says about governing: The people of
Malawi are the root of legal and political authority of the State. The other
point I must make is that a public officer exercises the legal and political
authority of the State for protection of the interests of the people of Malawi.
And finally, the maintenance of the trust for the exercise of the
powers of the State depends on an open, accountable and transparent Government,
and informed democratic choice. When a person is
appointed or elected into a public office, our constitutional set up does not
expect that person to evolve into a tukumu-tukumu
know–it–all who tells us – the people of Malawi – tikagwere.
The Constitution has an elaborate Chapter on public finance. A
withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund can be made in the following instances: charged
expenditure on the authority of the Constitution or an Act of Parliament; authorized
expenditure under an Appropriation Act; authorized
expenditure under a Supplementary Appropriation Act; authorized expenditure under an Act of
Parliament made under section 173(5) of the Constitution (on repayable payments
for allowances for persons or authorities other than Government); authorized
payment under sections 178 of the Constitution (on expenditure pending an
Appropriation Act); authorized expenditure made under section 179 of the
Constitution (on the Contingency Fund); authorized expenditure made under
section 180 of the Constitution (on Government borrowing through loans); authorized
expenditure made under section 181 of the Constitution (on special funds and
trusts) or section 182 of the Constitution (on the Development Fund); and authorized
payments under a resolution of the National Assembly made under section 177 of
the Constitution (on supplementary appropriation). The Minister of Finance is
the public officer authorizing the withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund. In
short, ladies and gentlemen, if anyone is to spend public money, the spending
must be constitutional, it must be legal. It is important therefore that there
must be an Appropriation Act, a Supplementary Appropriation Act or a specially
prepared Act of Parliament authorizing a particular spending of public finance.
For as long as the MWK20.7 million that is to be made available to each
of the 193 constituencies will come from public coffers, it must be
constitutional, it must legal. It matters less that the cause is noble.
Procedure is procedure. It must be followed to the last full stop. It is in
fact vexing that our public officers – especially the political public officers
– act as if they owe the people of Malawi no explanation at all when queries
relating to governing generally, and more specifically, public finance
management arise. We cannot have official statements changing in 24 hours. It
smacks of something fishy!
Similarly, the infrastructure projects that Government undertakes
proceed on the back of either a loan authorization law (where the loan is repayable
by the people of Malawi) or a grant made at State to State level. The tendency
to announce infrastructure projects as some pet personal projects of a benevolent
‘leader’ must stop. The praise-singing is unfounded. And those dancing perhaps
have too much time on their hands.
And let me also say this: We cannot have a whole finance minister
telling the nation that some financier of a government project does not want to
be named. Really? The Constitution prescribes an open,
accountable and transparent Government. We cannot be handling public money in
some Kutapa Kutaya mode. Let us leave
Kutapa Kutaya mentality to some
drunken fool swigging away his salary (it’s usually a ‘He’) at Ndamwera Zandiwo Booze Den.
Zikomo.
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