Chakwera set for Malawi MPs grilling on Thursday: President questions style-session
President Lazarus Chakwera is set to write a new history in Malawi politics as he is set to appear before National Assembly in Lilongwe and face His Excellency’s Question Time (HEQs) style-session questions from Members of parliament this coming Thursday.
State House through its Press Secretary Brian Banda has confirmed.
Chakwera promised that he will be giving a chance to MP’s to directly ask him burning issues right in the august House.
The MP’s are likely to draw questions from the State of the Nation (SONA) which President Chakwera presented in the house last Friday.
The SONA has received mixed reactions with the opposition leader Kondwani Nankhumwa saying the speech never tackled issues Malawians were expecting such as cheapest fertilizer and creation of one million jobs.
Chakwera’s predecessor Peter Mutharika had always snubbed the questions to the president session when called and instead delegated a senior cabinet minister to answer on his behalf.
According to Section 89 (3) of the Constitution, the President is required to submit himself before Parliament without necessarily being invited by anyone as he does with the State of the Nation Address.
Former president Bakili Muluzi faced the then Leader of Opposition Gwanda Chakuamba in an exciting and historic question time in the 1990s.
Malawian professor of law based at the University of Cape Town, Danwood Chirwa, clarified thatthe President “is constitutionally obliged to appear before Parliament every year, immediately before the consideration of the budget.”
Derogatory remarks against Chakwera are both cheap and unfounded and, no doubt coming from disgruntled DPP failures, boil down to nothing else but hatred for the man. Let’s face it, the man has guts and is brave enough to face MPs, something APM could not dare in his miserable six years (inclusive of one year as caretaker president) as President.
For me, the mere fact that Chakwera agreed to answer questions in parliament, some of them very ridiculous and designed to embarrass him, is a big plus.
Most comment are coming from wounded Buffaloes! Kikkkkk! A che Daniel Phiri!
Dziko ndi zidole zake.
One of the burning issues is why are we now targeting only 3.5million farmers to benefit from cheap fertiliser. Answer: We in fact targeting 3.5 million farming families and with an average number of 6 people per family that translates to all Malawians. Simple and very simple! Forward with Tonse Government. Forward with progress!
Your assertion that each family has 6 members is from incorrect source. National Statistics Office gives 4 as an average number per family as per 2018 census. On the other hand, only 2.3 million people will benefit based the metric tons presented by Lowe. This is evident from the past number of people identified in many districts in the central region. Many people will not benefit from this.
Chakwera satha kuyankha mafunso and this Thursday kukhala kuyaluka kwa abwana. Search me
1. He talks of creating employment as a pastor can he name how many relatives he has hired at state house.
2. The mandatory retirement age in government is 60 years, and we have students graduating every year , why is he hiring people from retirement. If the argument is on experience where did the people he is hiring get the experience when they just joined the civil service.
3. What has he got to say about duties of the VP and reduction of his powers.
Talk talk wahangayika!
On Friday he have his maiden SONA which even his alliance partners conclude it was close to rubbish. Now he wants to be asked questions, what questions?
Mr president, if you delivered SONA and must go again to explain it then you are out of your depth! . You should consider resigning, that way we will forget your over promises and failures. Otherwise, chilima azakuumbudza pa ballot 2025. Skc may have failed to defeat adad, but running against chakwera he will have fabulous chance of beating this talk talk.
Why can’t he do that next Thursday after presentation of budget this Friday. It will give chance to our MPs like Fyness to crosscheck the SONA against the budget so that the president can be taken to task on missing, grey or contradicting items?
A waste of parliamentary time, just boo his sorry ass. MPs please don’t ask him any questions afterall he doesn’t know many things. Instead ask the minister of finance. This president wants to behave as if he was prime minister, somebody educate him please. He has taken wrong approach to governing.
This is Good progress in our democracy. The president will be able to know and answer current and burning national issues, which his aides or ministers are not telling him. I hope his answers will not be vague or “Itsanana let me consult Chilima first” We need a decision maker full of wisdom, respond and make independent decisions precisely without delays. Tired of bureaucracy. We Hope our MPs have substance in the head to question the head of state, “ umva wina mumanga liti bridge ku constituency kwanga, nanga njingo mukonza liti” We need questions like we need tap water… Read more »