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Parliament passes two road project bills
By
Joseph Langa - 20-06-2002 |
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Parliament Monday passed two bills authorising the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to borrow money worth US$10.2 million from Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (Badea) for the completion of Naminga-Mangochi road.
The first bill sought ratification of the members of Parliament to allow government to borrow US$5.2 million from the Kuwait fund while the other bill wanted parliamentarians to allow government borrow US$5 million from Badea.
Almost all members of Parliament supported the bill saying it was important because it involves completion of a road project, which is an important infrastructure for economic development.
However, Aford leader of the House and Member of Parliament for Nkhata Bay North Wallace Chiume refused to support the bill because he said the members were not given enough information on how the initial funds for the project were utilised.
Chiume asked for the intervention of the second deputy speaker Betson Majoni so that the bill be referred back to the Budget and Finance Committee for a full briefing on the project and how the funds were used.
“A bill like this one should come with a full project proposal so that we should know and understand where this money is going. I cannot support the bill because I do not have enough information. I, therefore, seek your guidance (Mr. Speaker) that this bill go back to the committee (Budget and Finance Committee),” he said.
Chiume was supported by Lilongwe South East MP Hetherwick Ntaba (MCP) who also questioned the idea of bringing a bill to Parliament when the two parties involved already signed the loan agreement.
Ntaba said MPs are supposed to be involved in authorising the loans and not just ratifying them so that they should be able to question the shortfalls.
Ntaba also asked the minister of finance to give full detailed information including the impact that such debts would have on the country’s total debt burden. However, he supported the bill.
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