Parliament set to pass budget after public pressure

Malawi's parliamentarians have responded to rising anger at the delay in passing the national budget and, according to Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe, the fiscal plan should be approved next week. Parliament resumed on Thursday and began debating the budget on Friday, after an adjournment toward the end of June when the speaker of parliament collapsed during a debate on the possible impeachment of President Bingu wa Mutharika. The speaker later died in a South African hospital. The delay in passing a budget sparked widespread concern: the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Malawi said it was imperative and far outweighed the political problems facing the country. "Failure to pass a budget will be damaging to the economy and could have very negative consequences, particularly for the least advantaged and most vulnerable. The poor should not have to pay the price for difficulties in resolving political differences, no matter how legitimate these differences might be," the office commented. The resident coordinator noted that unless a budget was passed, a meeting with International Monetary Fund (IMF) to discuss a request for a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement could be jeopardised, further retarding Malawi's prospects of securing international debt relief. Up to 80 percent of Malawi's development budget is provided by donors, and the country faces enormous challenges related to poverty, food insecurity, HIV/AIDS and the capacity to deliver services. Aid agencies estimate that, at current inflation levels, 4.2 million Malawians will be vulnerable to drought-linked food insecurity. Local analysts have warned of rising inflation, a depreciation in the national currency and resultant negative impacts on the poor as a result of the budget stalemate. When parliament resumed on Thursday, students protested outside in a bid to exert pressure on parliamentarians. "They wanted to demonstrate to make the point that the budget had to be passed; it was quite a peaceful demonstration - the whole country is united behind that [the need to pass the budget with speed]," Gondwe noted. Political analyst Boniface Dulani told IRIN ordinary Malawians were acutely aware that "the budget must be passed, so that it can release resources". "The hunger situation is already biting for most people, the MPs themselves ... know there's a lot at stake here. They are aware of the implications of not passing this particular budget," he added. "Parliament has been under a lot of pressure as well from the general public." Dulani noted that prior to the speaker's collapse in parliament it had looked as though partisan bickering would scupper hopes for a quick budget vote. "The indications were that the opposition were going to reject the budget - the budget requires a simple majority to pass in parliament - however, the government does not have a simple majority, and the opposition have the numbers to reject the budget if they want to," he explained. The untimely passing of the speaker had lowered the political temperature. "It has calmed the situation in parliament: government is listening to the views of the different party caucuses. For example, [the opposition] United Democratic Front is now talking about supporting the government. I think it's a different tone from the one we were hearing earlier," Dulani said. One of the main issues of contention regarding the budget was the extent of fertiliser subsidies, Gondwe observed. "There were issues which arose, like with any other budget - some people want to have a larger fertiliser subsidy. But we start really horse-trading next Tuesday, when we discuss it ministry by ministry. Now people are just making statements about what they would like to see and what they don't like. The nitty-gritty of it will be when we come to the committee stage ... but I think it will be passed," he said. Gondwe added that government and the opposition would "have to make some compromises ... I think everybody understands that if we don't pass the budget, we don't have the IMF with us and everybody else [donors] - that's something that has hit home, I think MPs have that in mind."