US congressional delegation impressed with Malawi projects

Lilongwe, Malawi - Visiting US congressman David Price, in Malawi to inspect health projects sponsored by the University of North Carolina (UNC), US, has said he was impressed with the projects. Price, of North Carolina, led the six-member congressional delegation during the two-day visit.

During its visit to Dzama, a rural village outside the capital, Lilongwe, where UNC has assisted with water and education projects, Price said he was impressed w ith the university's interventions.

"I have known some of the people involved in this work for 20 years and I have heard about their work and how they are excited to be in Malawi, doing very rewarding work here," he said.

Congressman Mel Watt, also of North Carolina, said determination of priority areas that needed US assistance should come from Malawians themselves, noting that W ashington had worked with Lilongwe and a number of civil society organisations in health and other sectors.

"We think that the kind of assistance that's most needed is something that people of Malawi and the Government of Malawi need to communicate themselves to us," W att said, adding "we don't want to come here and make that decision ourselves; it's a decision that should be made in cooperation with the leaders of Malawi."

Watt said Malawi was already setting up such priorities through the Millennium challenge Account that the U.S. Congress approved.

"Preliminarily, they have gone through a process of setting of those priorities and they include increasing access to clean water in the country, the availabili t y of electricity and improving education in the country," he said.

On local politics, Price, who is also Chairman of the House Democracy Assistance Commission, whose aim is to strengthen parliaments in emerging democracies, sai d he was aware of a political stalemate between President Bingu wa Mutharika and the opposition-dominated 193-member parliament.

He, however, noted that this was not unusual in a democracy.

"I think it's useful for members of the government leadership here to talk with people from other countries, including us, to see what the experience has been," said Price.

There is a political stalemate in Malawi, which has led to the country being run without a national budget two weeks into the new financial year.

Opposition parties want Speaker Chimango to expel MPs who broke ranks with opposition parties to join President Mutharika's newly-found Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Mutharika founded the DPP after ditching the then ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) on whose ticket he won the 2004 elections.

Mutharika claimed UDF leaders were corrupt and several MPs followed him to the DPP. UDF leader in the parliament, George Mtafu, said the opposition, who forms the majority, would not transact any business unless the MPs were expelled.

"The law is clear; once you quit your party and join another, you have crossed the floor and you must lose your seat," he said, adding "we are only following the law."

But Mutharika has challenged the opposition to wait for the next elections, sche duled for 19 May, 2009, to actualise this.

"They want to expel my MPs so that they bring down my government," he said during a public function Thursday. "I won't allow that."

The bad blood between the opposition and government has also seen several government bills torpedoed in parliament.

The US congressional delegation, that has since left Malawi, also included Lois Capps of California, Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Jim Cooper of Tennessee and Bra d Miller of North Carolina.