{"id":62147,"date":"2024-07-26T11:02:57","date_gmt":"2024-07-26T11:02:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/utm-mps-want-out-of-government-benches"},"modified":"2024-07-26T11:15:51","modified_gmt":"2024-07-26T11:15:51","slug":"utm-mps-want-out-of-government-benches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/utm-mps-want-out-of-government-benches","title":{"rendered":"UTM MPs want out of government benches"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Cathy Maulidi:<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Africa-Press – Malawi. <\/strong><\/span>Five UTM Party members of Parliament (MPs) have announced their decision to relocate to the opposition benches, effective immediately.<\/p>\n

Leader of UTM members in Parliament Chrissie Kanyasho confirmed penning Speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani Hara, notifying her of their decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe letter you have seen is, indeed, going to the Speaker of Parliament. She should get it when she gets into the office tomorrow (Friday),\u201d Kanyasho said.<\/p>\n

In the letter, the lawmakers\u2014including Kanyasho, Steve Mikaya (Blantyre West), Simon Salambula (Ntcheu West), Felix Katwafu Kayira (Karonga North West), and Chrispin Mphande (Nkhata Bay West)\u2014have experienced their wish to relocate to the opposition benches.<\/p>\n

The notification, which Kanyasho has signed, has been directly addressed to the Speaker of Parliament and has not provided reasons for the switch.<\/p>\n

However, Kanyasho told The Daily Times that they are relocating to the opposition bench following the decision by the party to dump the Tonse Alliance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are no longer working with the government and, so, why should we sit on the government bench? Our party left the alliance, automatically leaving the government side, and this is what has necessitated our decision,\u201d Kanyasho added.<\/p>\n

She added that other MPs who won on an independent ticket but later joined UTM have also expressed interest in leaving the government bench.<\/p>\n

There are eight MPs who joined UTM after winning as independent members.<\/p>\n

MILLION\u2014I am not leaving government benches<\/b>The Daily Times can, however, report that some of the MPs have signed to leave the government bench while others have remained stuck with the government.<\/p>\n

One of the MPs who have refused to leave is Zomba Changalume MP Biswick Million.<\/p>\n

He told The Daily Times that he would not leave the government bench because his constituents have not told him to.<\/p>\n

\u201cConstituents have not told me to move out and, so, I am not leaving the government bench because our late President died while in the alliance. He did not leave the alliance until his death,\u201d Million said.<\/p>\n

But Kanyasho has told those who do not want to play ball to return party vehicles they got.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey should return the vehicles. Why should they be keeping party vehicles when they are no longer working with the party? You can\u2019t keep a party vehicle and be working with another party. They should return the vehicles if they wish to remain in the government and the alliance,\u201d Kanyasho said.<\/p>\n

The UTM MPs\u2019 decision to join the opposition benches is coming months after the party announced its departure from the alliance, days after they lost their leader Saulos Chilima in a plane crash.<\/p>\n

Chilima and eight others died in a plane crash in Chikangawa Forest on June 10 this year.<\/p>\n

Already, two UTM ministers Agnes Nyalonje and Vera Kamtukule, plus deputy minister Nancy Mdooko, remain in the government.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Malawi Follow Africa-Press<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Cathy Maulidi:   Africa-Press – Malawi. Five UTM Party members of Parliament (MPs) have announced their decision to relocate to the opposition benches, effective immediately. Leader of UTM members in Parliament Chrissie Kanyasho confirmed penning Speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani Hara, notifying her of their decision. \u201cThe letter you have seen is, indeed, going […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":62146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-62147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-malawi"],"yoast_head":"\nUTM MPs want out of government benches - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Five UTM Party members of Parliament (MPs) have announced their decision to relocate to the opposition benches, effectiv ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/utm-mps-want-out-of-government-benches\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UTM MPs want out of government benches\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Five UTM Party members of Parliament (MPs) have announced their decision to relocate to the opposition benches, effectiv ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/utm-mps-want-out-of-government-benches\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-26T11:02:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-07-26T11:15:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/07\/sm_1721979567.916927.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"769\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"623\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/utm-mps-want-out-of-government-benches#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/utm-mps-want-out-of-government-benches\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"UTM MPs want out of government benches\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-26T11:02:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-26T11:15:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/utm-mps-want-out-of-government-benches\"},\"wordCount\":491,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/utm-mps-want-out-of-government-benches#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/07\/sm_1721979567.916927.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Malawi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/utm-mps-want-out-of-government-benches#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/utm-mps-want-out-of-government-benches\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/utm-mps-want-out-of-government-benches\",\"name\":\"UTM MPs want out of government benches - 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