Malawi's opposition ends boycott of budget debate

Malawi's opposition began debating the national annual budget in parliament on Wednesday, ending a boycott that had threatened to cut essential services in the impoverished southern African country.

The opposition said it agreed to take part after receiving government assurances that a court case on alleged poaching of its members by the ruling party would be accelerated.

The debate should have been completed by June 30 but was suspended last month when the opposition refused to discuss it before the poaching issue was resolved.

"We have been intimidated and harassed in the last few months, and our decision today should not be taken as a sign of weakness on our part," said George Ntafu, deputy leader of the opposition United Democratic Front.

Earlier on Wednesday, ruling party deputies had started debating the budget without the opposition deputies, who hold the majority in parliament.

President Bingu wa Mutharika had threatened on Tuesday to close parliament if deputies did not start debating the budget within two days.

Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe warned in an interview with Reuters this week the country of 12 million risked losing crucial donor budget aid if the standoff went on.

Malawi relies heavily on donor support for its public spending. Gondwe said the country was expecting $500 million in foreign aid for its $1.2 billion budget.

The draft budget allocates more resources to poor rural areas, proposes salary increases for civil servants and higher spending on health care and food production.