By Vincent Gunde
The Constitutional Court has ordered the removal of the roles of Members of Parliament (MPs)in the implementation and monitoring of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and declared as unconstitutional the provision that allows MPs a voting right in local councils.
The judgement was greeted with a loud of applause by millions of Malawians that have not seen the impact of CDF in their constituencies beside the MCP led government raising the fund from k30 million to K100 million and there is a proposal to raise it further to K200 million.
Members of Parliament (MPs) have been using this fund as a personal entity, there was no accountability and transparency in the management of CDF funds and most of the MPs were using parallel Area Development Committees (ADC) in money transactions.
It has also been established that figures recorded to have been used in the construction of projects are high raising many arguments that millions of taxpayers’ money played no impact in the changing of constituencies using CDF funds.
Monitoring of CDF Projects have always been a challenge, the Anti-Corruption Bureau(ACB) have from time to time been awakened from sleeping to investigate some dubious projects in the constituencies but has continued to be sleeping.
Anti-Corruption Bureau’s (ACB) slogan of report, reject and resist corruption is only sung by the hand clapper, those arrested are small fishes while big fishes are allowed to swim making the country’s fighting against corruption to be on paper only just to deceive donors and the international community.
A day after the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of the people that Members of Parliament (MPs) are not part and parcel of the CDF fund and have no right to vote in the local councils, Attorney General Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda SC has been quoted in the media that he will appeal the Constitutional Court ruling on the CDF.
The development has raised millions of questions than answers that the MCP led government is happy to condone corruption in the country not to end the vice observing that had it been that the MCP is leading in the fight against corruption, the ruling on CDF was valid.
Social media user, Allan Kusapali of Machinga has written a food for thought on his face book page that Government wants to appeal a judgement made by the same government meaning that a panel of three Judges sitting as a Constitutional Court their joint judgement was useless.
Kusapali said this is the time for government to clap hands for itself to map the way forward to redirect the CDF to local councils for the project implementations and monitoring to be in the interest of all saying councilors this time will be fully involved in the management of CDF.
He has appealed to the Attorney General of Malawi to stand with the people in the villages that for years have not seen any tangible development through CDF funds and instead, help the councils in the prudence implementation of funds for constituencies to develop than yesterday.
“If I were the Attorney General, no need to appeal the Constitutional Court ruling but to join the constituencies to see change from the other side, that is f I were Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda but this Chakaka Nyirenda will join thieves in the constituencies,” reads Kusapali’s writings on the wall.
