By Duncan Mlanjira
Concerned grouping, Citizens of Progressive Action, have prepared a petition that is demanding the government to rescind its decision to built stadia for Mighty Be Forward Wanderers and Nyasa Big Bullets using public funds.
At a press briefing on Friday at Alendo Hotel in Blantyre, the grouping’s Chief Operations Strategist, Pemphero Mphande said the petition has been posted online for people to sign and he says so far close to 10,000 people have responded to it.
Mphande (left) and his colleagues Mpambira
Kambewa at the presser
“We are appalled that even the opposition Members of Parliament approved the stadia construction vote in the 2019-20 National Budget yet there was a public outcry against this decision using public funds long before it was tabled in Parliament,” Mphande said.
“During the campaign for the May 21 election, President Arthur Peter Mutharika indeed pledged to construct the stadia for these two privately owned football clubs but we thought the money will come from his pocket or from his Democratic Progressive Party.
“We added a voice of civil rights organizations and many members of the public who were against this decision before it even was tabled in Parliament by the Minister of Finance, Honorable Joseph Mwanamveka.
“We thought the opposition MPs was to take our side and oppose the vote but to our dismay, the budget was passed.
“Our take is that the government should not use public money to fund private institutions. We are saying that money can be put to proper use for the taxpayers like in the health, education and other deserving sectors.”
Though the budget was already passed, Mphande said they will still engage the government and the MPs and that’s why they have prepared the petition.
“It could have made sense for government to fund football in particular and sports in general using public funds through sponsoring national events that can benefit everyone across the board, not for two privately owned football clubs.
“How about the other teams that these two clubs compete with at national level? Don’t such teams also deserve their own infrastructure?”
The decision to construct the two stadia was also met with strong condemnation by Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) as well as the general public through social media before it was tabled in Parliament.
But the budgetary vote went through at K1.6 billion.