Politics

Malawi lawmakers force salary increase for members into national budget

Members of Parliament (MPS) in Malawi have passed a MK1.454 trillion National Budget for the 2018/19 fiscal year—after dramatically forcing the government to increase their salaries and allowances and increase development funding

Published

6 years ago

June 25, 2018

Africa News Watch

With the parliamentary Order Paper showing there were only 15 votes to screen before the passing of the budget in the Chamber in Lilongwe yesterday, the
lawmakers paralysed the key Committee of Supply budgetary process, saying they could not proceed unless their needs, especially perks, were taken care of by government.

Earlier in the week, the legislators had asked for a 10 percent increase to their salaries and allowances.

They also pressed government to top up on constituency and local development funds (CDF and LDF), now that development projects have stalled and as they need to complete the projects in a few months—before the Tripartite Elections next year.

Business was duly suspended in the House, to make way for discussions over the issues raised by the MPs.

After about an hour of the discussions, the legislators seemed cheerful as Leader of the House Kondwani Nankhumwa and Leader of the Opposition Lazarus Chakwera announced that the issues had been resolved.

The MPs then went into a fast-forward mode in approving the votes, with First Deputy Speaker Esther Mcheka-Chilenje, as chair of the Committee of Supply, proving her experience in handling the often-dicey session well.

When Mcheka-Chilenje announced the passing of the budget, many MPs erupted into hand-clapping, with others giving a standing ovation, probably in saluting themselves and their Speakers.

Both Nankhumwa and Chakwera expressed joy that the budget had been passed after substantive debates by members on both sides of the House.

“The queries the MPs had tabled were resolved, including the outcry for salary and allowance increases,” said Nankhumwa. He did not give further details.
He said the key Appropriation Bill will be tabled on Monday, adding that the House will also tackle several other issues of national interest.

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Politics

Mali: 7 Russian mercenaries killed

Published

7 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

An al Qaeda offshoot in North Africa has claimed responsibility for the attack in central Mali, killing at least seven mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner private military contractor company.

Wagner earlier lost a battle in July with mostly Tuareg rebels and Islamists close to Mali’s Algerian border, exposing the perils faced by mercenaries used by military juntas in the Sahel area of West Africa.

The separatists and strong branches of Al Qaeda and Islamic State, which have taken over large areas of the Sahel over the past 12 years, are difficult for Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger to control.

The al Qaeda offshoot JNIM claimed responsibility for the Thursday attack, according to a statement from SITE Intelligence Group, which keeps an eye on extremist activity in the area. According to SITE, JNIM captured several weapons and killed seven Russian Wagner mercenaries.

Following an attack, the bodies of at least five white males wearing army fatigues were seen laying near a military truck in a video obtained by Reuters. The validity of the footage could not be confirmed by Reuters.

SITE Intelligence posted images allegedly from JNIM that showed many crates of weapons and ammo together with the dead and bloodied bodies of troops.

Although two local officials acknowledged the incident, a Malian army source claimed to have seen seven dead bodies, including Russian fighters. Five Wagner warriors were slain, according to one of them.

At least six Russians have been murdered in the attack, which was carried out by Katiba Macina, a division of JNIM, according to a consultant working on security in the area.

The expert referred to the Russians as Africa Corps warriors, a paramilitary group under Kremlin leadership that has taken Wagner’s position in Africa throughout the previous 12 months.

Mali has previously said that Russian servicemen trainers are assisting local troops with Russian-purchased weaponry rather than mercenaries.

Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

2 days ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.