Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Parliament Kondwani Nankhumwa has said Malawians should not get excited with the firing of Lobin Lowe as Minister of Agriculture, as history shows that President Lazarus Chakwera does so as a face saver.
On October 25, Chakwera fired Lowe and his deputy Madalitso Kambawuwa Wirima amidst talks that government was duped K30 billion that was allegedly paid to a British firm to supply fertiliser for this year’s Affordable Input Program (AIP).
Addressing the media in Lilongwe on Wednesday, Nankhumwa said removing the Minister of Agriculture from his position was only just a small part of the whole story.
“Previously, we have seen the President firing and suspending public officers on corruption allegations with little or no follow up action to bring the issues to their logical conclusion. I am afraid this one does not look different, and I urge Malawians to put their excitement on hold,” said Nankhumwa
He further decried Chakwera’s action to attack a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture for allegedly misleading the nation that the amount that government has been swindled was K30 billion when it was actually K750 million.
“It was very wrong for President Chakwera to attack a whistle-blower in this saga. We all know that were it not for that member of the Agriculture Committee of Parliament, Malawians would not have known that this government has been sloppy, and that it has been duped out of a huge amount of tax payers money. President Chakwera and his officers would have swept this matter under the carpet. In fact if there is a person Malawians have to thank, it is that MP for exposing this fraud.
“As Leader of Opposition in Parliament, I will not sit idle and let President Chakwera belittle parliamentarians for simply doing their oversight duties in exposing the dirt of his Ministers. Parliament shall not be intimidated by utterances from the Head of State on matters such as the mismanagement of AIP or any other affecting the welfare of the nation. Our duty is to bring oversight to the Office of the President, and other agents of the Executive,” reads part of his statement.
