LILONGWE—Ahead of the 32nd Plenary Assembly Assembly of the SADC Parliamentary Forum which Malawi will host in October, Speaker Henry Chimunthu Banda says democracy needs a functional parliament.

“Just as democracy cannot exist without people, democracy without a functional Parliament has no meaning. It therefore goes without saying that democracy and governance cannot be advanced without Strengthening Parliamentary Democracy and dedicated leadership,” said Chimunthu Banda in remarks made available to MaraPost.

Chimunthu, who spoke in the Mozambican capital, Maputo at the end of the 31st Plenary urged the country’s president Armando Guebuza to help push for the formation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliament. Guebuza will the next chairmanship for the grouping next month.

The Speaker said since “parliament is and ought to be the embodiment of democracy, Parliament as an institution should itself be democratic.”

He added: “In this regard, Parliaments are therefore expected to internalize and implement the benchmarks for democratic legislatures as well as to ensure adherence, without fear or favour, to our internal rules and procedures.”

Chimunthu’s remarks clearly speak for the ideal. In his own backyard, the Executive is seen having more influence over the Legislature. The Speaker is yet to rule in the matter of lawmakers leaving the former ruling Democratic Progressive Party for the governing People’s Party.

Even though the MPs clearly indicated they had left DPP for PP, the Speaker hasn’t brought the hammer down. The Executive doesn't want Section 65 of the Constitution invoked. For that story, click here
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©2012 The Maravi Post. Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment.