Speaker of parliament Sameer Suleman says his office through the Budget committee and other relevant committees will intensify budget trucking and ring bells when the budget starts going off truck.
The speaker of the national assembly made the remarks on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, during a budget dialogue organized by MISA Malawi chapter and African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP), at Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe, where policymakers, legislators and stakeholders were discussing the implementation of the 2026/27 National Budget.
Suleman noted that the budget is the ultimate weapon hence the parliament would ensure that the budget is implemented for it to be successful.
“A budget is successful because it is implemented, as parliament we must be clear on our roles that; do not end at just the approval of the budget , in actual fact that is where most important work begins which is oversight to ensure that the budget delivers value and most needed service to our people”, said the speaker.
Suleiman added that the parliament would be dedicated to ensure that the budget commitments are turned into actual outcomes.
On the inquiry of the purchase of the Amaryllis hotel by the public pension trust fund conducted by the public accounts committee PAC of parliament, the speaker said Parliament would ensure that the audit findings were acted upon, highlighting that ‘accountability delayed is accountability dined’.
Suleiman stressed that the inquiry was the first in his leadership highlighting that this being their first inquiry, they are committed to ensuring that the committee should present the report without being pressured and promised to make follow-ups on its recommendations.
“I want to tell you people that nothing will change and i also want to speak with the committee directly that the integrity of that committee is in your hands. As a speaker of parliament it is our responsibility to have the truth, nothing but the truth, I know about the cries from different stakeholders about the report, but leave us to do our job”, said Suleiman.
The public accounts committee of Parliament had announced that it would present in parliament it findings on the Amaryllis hotel saga on Wednesday, April 8, 2026.
However, during their deliberations in the august house on Tuesday, the members of Parliament presented different views on whether the report findings should be presented in parliament as others were of the view that the inquiry was not yet done because there were still some people mentioned during the inquiry that were yet to appear before the committee.
In his remarks, AFIDEP Country Director Eliya Zulu emphasized the need for decision-making to be guided by data and evidence at every stage of the budget implementation to ensure maximum return on investment.
MISA Malawi Chairperson Golden Matonga also stressed the need for the media to go beyond reporting figures and actively track how public funds are used.
Matonga said the national budget should be treated as a contract between government and citizens, requiring transparency, accountability and proper implementation.
In his remarks, Chairperson Sosten Gwengwe said the budget must be more transparent to ensure Malawians highlighting that the budget office should be equipped so that members of parliament can conduct oversight and transparency in the implementation of the national budget.
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