No editorial checks on this article yet

This article is not approvedThe content of this article is not verified by the editorial team of Africanews.com. Read our editorial requirements to see the criteria we use to decide if we publish an article on the homepage of Africanews.

The opposition repositioning itself

  1. Posted on Friday 19 February 2010 - 10:13
    Chancy Namadzunda
    Image of Chancy Namadzunda
    By Chancy Namadzunda

    After a long time of squabbles, the opposition is trying to put their house in order to ably discharge their legislative work in parliament.

    The general public has been accusing the divided opposition block in parliament for failing to control the government unnecessary changing of the constitution like the passing of the police bill which will enable the police officers to search without a warrant and the Local government bill which enables the President to call for local election whenever he feels.

    “After the elections, we were a divided block because there were some inner-fighting amongst our parties. My first work was to bring together the opposition parties to make at least a powerful block since we are already in minority of which I have done,” said Leader of the Opposition (Lop) Abel Kayembe.

    Kayembe’s leadership is being disputed by the main opposition the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) whose leader John Tembo was voted out of the position.

    ”As of now, we cannot manage to totally reject some bills presented in the parliament because we don’t have that capacity, but if we are all united, we can discuss crucial issues with the government.

    For example, in the police bill there was a section which could have given the power to the authority to suspend a police officer who has Sexually Transmitted Infections. I negotiated and that section was removed,” said Kayembe

    The local activists have been accusing the opposition’s lack of unity as a contributing factor to their failing of crosschecking the government.

    “If the opposition does not agree, we may go back to dictatorship because government will amass a lot of power,” Billy Banda, a political commentator told the media recently

Latest News

  1. AFCON: 46 hurt in Zambia victory celebrations09/02Over 40 casualty cases were recorded Wednesday night at Zambia's University Teaching Hospital (UTH) after post-match celebrations turned violent …
  2. African Peer Review Mechanism making progress08/02In 2003 the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the continental development plan, initiated the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM…
  3. Combating HIV infections among African women08/02With a lack of knowledge and power, African women continue to bear the brunt of HIV infections.
  4. Legume cultivation booms in Western Kenya07/02Small Holder Farmers (SHFs) who traditionally relied on seed companies for all their seeds are now bulking their own legume seeds for their farms.
  5. Malawi vendors chase out Chinese07/02Vendors in Kalonga, the Northern district of Malawi, on Wednesday petitioned the District Commissioner to flash out all Chinese nationals who are doin…
  6. Zim: Informal sector urged to join HIV battle05/02While the Harare City council is busy engaging in running battles with city vendors, Health Minister has called for authorities to devise ways to form…
  7. Elections: Wole Soyinka warns Mugabe, Wade03/02The Nigerian Nobel Prize winner for literature said heads of states who are trying to cling to power suffer the same fate as the dictators who were sw…
  8. AU elections rescheduled for June in Malawi01/02Following a deadlock during Monday's African Union elections, with a tie between former wife to South African president Jacob Zuma, Home Affairs …
  9. Senegal in turmoil as protest intensifies01/02Hundreds of anti-government protesters Tuesday gathered in the central Dakar, Senegal to show their dissatisfaction over the incumbent president Abdou…
  10. Zimbabwe’s inflation still favourable -…01/02Zimbabwe's annual headline inflation still compared favourably with economies in the region, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono said o…
  11. AFCON 2012: Sudan qualifies after four decades31/01The Sudanese national team has sealed a historic win over the Stallions of Burkina Faso.
  12. Senegalese opposition to intensify protests31/01Opposition and civil society groups in Senegal have vowed to increase their fight against incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade's presidential bid.
  13. Malawi: Rights coalition condemn stripping of…30/01The 39 members of the Solidarity for African Women's Rights Coalition based in 18 African countries have vehemently condemned the stripping of wo…
  14. Kenya to deworm five million children annually30/01Kenya launched the second phase of its national deworming programme at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012, aiming to treat 5 million childre…
  15. Benin’s Yayi Boni is AU’s new…30/01President Yayi Boni of Benin Republic has been elected chairperson of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa
News archive