Disagreement over agenda forces Malawi parliament to adjourn indefinitely

The Malawi parliament was adjourned on Tuesday in Lilongwe following failure by government and the opposition sides to agree on the way forward in their discussions.

The government wanted to discuss the 2007/08 national budget before any other matters before the House.

But the opposition, who are in the majority, refused this, saying they wanted Section 65 of the constitution which calls for the dismissals of MPs who defected from their parties to government side after the 2004 elections.

After acrimonious discussions, during which the MPs failed to compromise, the House was adjourned indefinitely.

The development has put the 2007/08 national budget in limbo once again, leaving the government to figure out its next move to overcome the impasse.

But to hear President Bingu wa Mutharika comment on this impasse three days ago, he said his government could do without parliament approving the expenditure.

At a rally in the capital Lilongwe on Sunday, Mutharika urged the opposition MPs to pass the budget.

The president has yet to react to Tuesday’s development, which in the past was blamed on former President Bakili Muluzi and opposition Malawi Congress Party leader John Tembo.

Tembo is on record as saying that discussion of the Section 65 comes first, and not the national budget, in parliament.

Muluzi’s opposition MPs in the House have supported Tembo’s stand