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Newly-elected Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman has demanded efficiency from parliamentary committees to ensure efficient oversight function and warned that lazy or incompetent chairpersons risk being fired. The Speaker issued the warning at Sunbird Capital in Lilongwe yesterday during the orientation of the 2025- 2030 cohort of members of Parliament (MPs) on the functions of parliamentary committees. He said he will not hesitate to call for fresh elections in any committee led by an underperforming chairperson. “Yes, I was giving a pre-warning to our chairpersons to be in our committees, that I want them to work. I have seen how lazy other committees become because of lazy chairpersons, but I will not tolerate that,” said Suleman in an interview. He also said his office will expect regular reports and detailed work programmes from every committee. On unimplemented reports of commissions of inquiry by the House, the Speaker said he would ensure that in his tenure all recommendations from such inquiries are implemented. Meanwhile, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has called on MPs to exercise robust oversight on public borrowing and expenditure, saying the country is facing a severe fiscal crisis. UNDP representative Chika Charles Anikwe observed that the nation’s debt has surged to between 80 percent and 90 percent of the gross domestic product. He said: “Interest payments are absorbing a significant share of your revenue. Fiscal deficits are rising. Inflation remains high. External debts and external reserves are almost exhausted. “I urge you to look into this, not only as a prospering market, but as a strategic response to the current fiscal crisis and to serve our public trust.” Anikwe stressed the need for robust oversight of public decision-making, accountability for borrowing, and transparency in resource use. Taking her turn, Clerk of Parliament Fi o na Kalemba said committees are the engine rooms of Parliament where complex issues are solved, policies are examined, insights are organised, and voices of citizens are heard through public hearings and inquiries. ” A selected representatives, your work in committees will define how much Parliament achieves for the Malawian people,” she said. Comment ing on the Speaker’s sentiments, Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency executive director Willy Kambwandira said the call reflects the determination to restore discipline, accountability and effectiveness in the legislative oversight. The Malawi Parliament has four committees e s established by the Constitution, namely Defence and Security, Legal Affairs, Public Appointments and Budget and Finance. There are also standing committees which are established by the Parliamentary Standing Orders. Currently, there are 12 such committees, including the Public Accounts , Business Committee which comprises House leadership as well as Committee of Chairpersons. Further, Parliament has ad hoc committees mandated to look at specific issues at a particular time.
