Parliamentary Committee levies on beer, airtime

Parliamentary Committee on Nutrition and HIV/ AIDS is lobbying for the introduction of levies on airtime and beer to address long-term need of funds to help in the fight against the further spread of HIV/AIDS in Malawi.

Mr. Rabson Shaba, Chairperson of the parliamentary committee told the media that the committee has since presented a report on the matter in parliament.

Mr. Shaba disclosed this in Lilongwe on the sidelines of a Joint Review Conference on HIV and AIDS National Response.

“In the wake of the on-going dwindling international resources, as a committee, we made recommendations of introduction of levies on various commodities. Some of the items that we suggested are airtime and beer,” Shaba said.

He said law makers debated and adopted their report in its totality.

“Thereafter, the report was submitted to relevant ministries for further input and possible action,”Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on HIV and AIDS said.

National Aids Commission Board Chairperson, Mara Kumbweza-Banda said NAC,too, is exploring various ways to help fund its activities.

She said the recent HIV and AIDS field visits to some areas in the country have revealed that lack of resources is the biggest challenge in the fight against the pandemic

And speaking during the same function, UNAIDS Country Director, Mr. Patrick Brenny, said Malawi’s extreme dependence on external support to AIDS is a serious risk to the future of the response.