By Suleman Chitera
Deliberations on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) entered a decisive stage in the National Assembly on Monday, with Members of Parliament (MPs) broadly commending President Arthur Peter Mutharika for what they described as a bold and transformative development agenda.
The debate, which resumed after a brief procedural delay, is expected to gather momentum throughout the week as legislators scrutinise the President’s policy direction and set the tone for the forthcoming National Budget.
Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Shadric Namalomba, said Parliament has now moved into a critical phase of engagement on the SONA delivered two weeks ago.
“We started a little late as we were attending to matters of national importance, but members have continued debating the State of the Nation Address. As the week progresses, the debate will reach its peak,” Namalomba said.
Busy Parliamentary Agenda
Namalomba outlined an intensive legislative schedule for the week, including question-and-answer sessions with ministers, ministerial statements, private members’ motions, and maiden speeches by first-time legislators.
The maiden speeches, he said, provide new MPs with a formal platform to articulate development priorities for their constituencies and align them with the broader national agenda outlined in the SONA.
The deliberations are expected to culminate in the presentation of the National Budget by the Minister of Finance — a key policy instrument that will operationalise the President’s development blueprint.
“Every Malawian is waiting to see how the budget will respond to the vision that His Excellency shared with the nation through the SONA,” Namalomba said, emphasising the budget’s role in translating policy commitments into funded programmes.
Education Reform Takes Centre Stage
Contributions on the floor of the House have focused significantly on the education sector, particularly the introduction of free primary and secondary education.
MP for Machinga South, Richard Kalitendere, described the policy as a landmark reform aimed at expanding access to learning and reducing inequality.
“While we commend APM for championing free primary and secondary education, we must also improve teachers’ welfare if we are to roll out this programme smoothly,” Kalitendere said.
He argued that without addressing teachers’ remuneration and working conditions, the policy risks implementation bottlenecks that could compromise quality.
“Raising their salaries to reasonable levels will allow them to focus on delivering quality education instead of struggling to survive,” he added.
Kalitendere stressed that policy expansion must be matched with adequate infrastructure, learning materials, and human resources to avoid overcrowding and strain on existing facilities.
Social Protection and Vulnerable Groups
The debate also brought attention to social protection concerns, particularly the plight of street-connected children.
Kalitendere urged lawmakers and stakeholders to view the issue through a humanitarian lens, noting that such children are often victims of structural socio-economic challenges rather than perpetrators of crime.
“These children are not criminals. They are victims beyond their control. As leaders, we must ensure that resources meant for them reach the intended beneficiaries,” he said.
He further called on donor-funded organisations and implementing partners to uphold transparency and accountability in the management of resources designated for vulnerable groups.
Broad Support for Development Agenda
Several MPs across party lines characterised President Mutharika’s SONA as forward-looking and practical, arguing that it outlines a coherent framework for economic growth, infrastructure expansion, education reform, and social development.
Legislators indicated that while debate will inevitably highlight implementation gaps and fiscal constraints, the overarching objective remains aligning national policy with measurable development outcomes.
As deliberations intensify, attention now shifts to the forthcoming National Budget, which will test the fiscal realism of the commitments made in the SONA. Lawmakers and the public alike will be watching closely to assess whether resource allocation patterns reflect the priorities articulated by the President.
The coming days are therefore expected to be pivotal, not only in shaping parliamentary consensus but also in defining the trajectory of Malawi’s development policy in the current fiscal cycle.
