ATI Tabling Today

Malawi National Assembly is expected to debate the long awaited Access to Information Bill (ATI) today before the House rise Sine Die.

The debate on the ATI will be historical following years of waiting by many Malawians to see the bill going to parliament and debated. 

On Thursday evening before the house was adjourned for today, Francis Kasaila, Leader of House in the National Assembly made promise to the House that the business of today will prioritise the Access to Information bill together with other Land Bills.

Kasaila

“I thought I should just remind my honorable colleagues that tomorrow Government will prioritise the processing of other land bills… and there after bill number 1 of 2016 (Access to Information bill) ” 

Today, Friday, March 18th 2016 is the very last sitting day of the ongoing 2nd Meeting in the 46th Session of National Assembly and the next meeting will possibly be in May or June later this year. 

Similar promise was made on Wednesday by Kasaila in an interview after the House was adjourned early to allow members to prepare for tight business of Thursday. He indicated that since the House failed to meet for two sitting days as legislatures were mourning Mchinji West legislature, late Billy Kanjira, the business of the remaining two sitting days, Thursday and Friday will prioritise bills which among them is ATI bill.

But he did mention that most of the bills including the ATI will be passed during the Meeting of the National Assembly in May or June later this year. He explained that this is so because once the bills are introduced in the House today, will be required to go through relevant committees for thorough scrutiny and further consultations and after those committees reports back their findings to the House, then the process to debate and pass the bill will resume.

Other bills to be prioritized today are; Land Survey, Customary Land, Lands Acquisition and International Fund for Agricultural Development (Programme for Rural Irrigation Development) Loan (Authorisation).