The august House today degenerated into chaos as legislators from the government and opposition benches differed on the assessment of President Lazarus Chakwera’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) delivered on Friday.
The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Aisha Mambo Adams, who was presiding the session failed to control the situation, prompting her to temporarily suspended the proceedings.
The commotion escalated when Leader of the House Richard Chimwendo Banda warned that it would be tantamount to crossing the “red line” if Blantyre City South East MP Sameer Suleman (Democratic Progressive Party-DPP) did not retract his remarks that the President’s Sona should be removed from the Hansard, the official record of parliamentary proceedings, for containing inaccuracies.
He said: “If you want to cross the red line, we will cross it too. Try it and you will see what happens. If you want to play that game, we will play it as well. Muuzane komwe mukumakambiranako [tell each other in your caucuses that we won’t take it lying down].”
At this point, a visibly agitated Thyolo Central MP Ben Phiri (DPP) took to the floor and said Chimwendo Banda, who is also Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture, had no right to threaten fellow legislators.
In the ensuing pandemonium, several MPs from both sides of the House rushed to the centre of the chamber, challenging one another to “cross the red line”.
In an interview after adjournment, Chimwendo Banda dismissed claims that he had threatened opposition MPs.
Chimwendo Banda also claimed that the opposition was out to discredit Chakwera’s achievements because this is an election year and they want to gain votes in the September 16 General Election.
But Leader of the Opposition in Parliament George Chaponda countered that Chimwendo Banda had no right to boast about development projects in councils as they were funded by taxpayers’ money [ridiculous isn’t it?].
“The developments in the councils are approved by Parliament and implemented using public funds. The government should not use them to silence or threaten the opposition when we raise legitimate concerns,” he said.
Commentators have since questioned Chaponda’s remarks, describing them outright as laughable and reminiscent of a confused politician who wants to make people believe that the government should not use public money for development projects.
