Malawi’s off-and-on again parliament reconvenes Wednesday

Malawi’s Speaker of the National Assembly, Louis Chimango, has announced that parliament will resume sitting on Wednesday to finalise the adoption and passing of the crucial national 2008/09 budget, nearly two months past the deadline.

An angry President Bingu wa Mutharika shut the house down last Friday following accusations that the opposition members were acting irresponsibly by delaying the budget’s approval.

"We are requesting all members of parliament, ministers and deputy ministers to attend the Committee of Supply of the budget," he said, in apparent reference to session which will limit its discussions to only fiscal matters.

The Committee of Supply therefore is a stage where members scrutinise the budget lines one item at a time before the members give their final approval.