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| National |
| Parliament ignores holiday U-turn |
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by
Zainah Liwanda, 10 July 2006
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07:46:06
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Parliament on Friday proceeded on holiday despite government announcement that the nation should disregard an earlier statement by Local Government Minister George Chaponda in the House on Tuesday that apart from the official July 6 independence holiday, Wednesday and Friday were also declared public holidays.
The impromptu announcement led to panic, with leader of opposition John Tembo saying the legislators should be compensated for the time lost during the holiday.
Economic commentators also projected the holiday would cost the country about $15 million, a development that prompted government to reverse the decision.
Information and Tourism minister Patricia Kaliati apologised to the nation for the inconvenience, saying following discussion with the State House, it was resolved that business should return to normal on Friday.
Speaker of Parliament Louis Chimango said Sunday the House did not deliberate on Friday despite the lifting of the holiday because some members had travelled as far as Chitipa and it would be difficult for them to make it back to Lilongwe.
Chimango said the House would meet from morning instead of afternoon on Monday to continue deliberations on the budget.
Asked whether Parliament would be able to complete business this week as scheduled considering that deliberations on specific allocations have not yet started, Chimango said: “That takes two days.”
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