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The Ministry of Economic Planning and Development (EP&D;) earlier in the week organised a workshop to hone MPs’ skills on economic issues after noting serious capacity problems among members of Parliament, notably those in the commerce, industry and tourism committee.
Apart from experts from EP&D;, the workshop that ended in Lilongwe yesterday also attracted experts from the Privatisation Commission and ministries of Finance, Commerce, Justice and Tourism who took MPs through major issues that encompasses the economy.
Second deputy speaker Betson Majoni said at the opening of the workshop on Wednesday, issues of commerce and tourism are complex and there is need for MPs particularly those in the commerce committee to appreciate the interplay of various forces in the economy.
He said under the new Parliamentary standing orders, the commerce committee has immense work that includes studying the programme and policy objectives of various ministries and their effectiveness at implementation so that they can report to the House.
“One studies better if one has some knowledge of the subject,” said Majoni.
Committee chair Felix Chome, who is also MP for Thyolo East, said there is a serious lack of expertise among members of Parliament on matters of economy mainly because they (MPs) are people from different fields.
“There are times when members of the committee have failed to interpret bills that are referred to them by the House after failing to understand them, because of lack of expertise. The committee most of the time relies on consultants to understand the issues,” he said.
Deputy EP&D; minister Khwauli Msiska said his ministry, as one of the largest players in the economy, saw the need to hone the skills for the legislature on economic issues because parliament is an important stakeholder in managing the economy.
“This is the conviction that Parliament, through its committees, can meaningfully contribute to the economy only if the MPs are knowledgeable of the issues that determine economic growth and development,” Msiska said.
Some of the issues highlighted during the workshop included Malawi economic growth strategy, the budget process — including how the budget allocations are determined— public finance, globalisation and liberalisation, privatisation process and investment promotion.
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