Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has raised the standard by consistently attending Parliament to fulfill the constitutional obligation of addressing questions from members of Parliament. While Bakili Muluzi, the inaugural president under multi-party democracy, initiated this practice, his appearances were infrequent, occurring only once. Subsequent presidents, apprehensive of parliamentary scrutiny, shied away from such engagements during past administrations.
Concluding his remarks after responding to the peoples questions in Parliament on Wednesday, the President said “the act of appearing before this House for questioning is a sacred and solemn duty that he will always take seriously, not only because it is a constitutional requirement, but also because it is a constitutional right for Malawians to hold their President accountable through their representatives.”
“I am therefore most grateful for the solidarity of all Members of this House for according me the time to spend this afternoon with them and deliberate on the State of Nation Address I delivered here twelve days ago,” said the President.
