Parliament summons Lilongwe Water Board

The Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture has summoned the Lilongwe Water Board (LWB) on Friday to explain the Salima- Lilongwe Water Pipeline Project because the water body has never briefed Parliament about it.

In an interview with The Daily Times yesterday, the committee’s Chairperson Joseph Chidanti Malunga said Parliament is unaware of what the project involves, hence the summons for roundtable discussions.

“We have asked Lilongwe Water Board to explain to us everything regarding the project because the board did not inform us about the project, so we want to meet them and discuss it,” he said.

However, the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) has described the proposed roundtable discussions as a needless, self-enrichment exercise by members of the parliamentary committee as the money it has requested from LWB for meeting the expenses of the discussions is unreasonably high.

The budget for the meeting, which The Daily Times has seen, indicates that the committee, through the parliamentary secretariat, has demanded K9 million from LWB.

Each member of the committee, according to the budget, is expected to receive between K260,000 and K680,000 for two days.

However, while confirming the proposed budget, Malunga argued that the money is supposed to carter for fuel and other expenses.

“Indeed, those are Parliament rates. It becomes expensive when Parliament is not in session because it means calling the Members of Parliament from their constituencies. But when Parliament is in session, it becomes different because people would be already in Lilongwe,” he said.

However, HRCC Chairperson Robert Mkwezalamba has said the committee only wants to siphon the allowance as opposed to solving the matter.

The Public Accounts Committee (Pac) of Parliament has also raised concerns about the project, insisting that an independent cost estimate should be undertaken before it proceeds.

Pac Chairperson Alekeni Menyani warned that the project cannot proceed without an environmental and social impact assessment—which has not been done—and an independent cost estimate.

The project, which seeks to tap water from Lake Malawi in Salima to Lilongwe, belongs to LWB and was awarded to Khato Civils Limited after a restricted tender process in which six companies participated.