Member of Parliament for Mulanje South, Bon Kalindo, recently apologized to his constituents in Chitakale Ward for technically abandoning them in the past one-and-a-half year of his reign.

Speaking on the sidelines of a community meeting in which Nande Citizens’ Action Group summoned the legislator in order for them to raise their concerns with him, Kalindo admitted having not been in touch with the area, although he was quick to add that in terms of development he has always had the area in mind.

According to Chairperson of the Action Group, Davis Jaile, people of the area were concerned that ever since the MP took his seat he was not delivering his promises, let alone visiting the people in the area to just brief them on what was happening; raising worries among constituents that he might have decided to discriminate people of that side in development for reasons known to himself.

“We have seen the MP delivering his promises in other areas such as Likhubula Ward and in other areas of Chitakale Ward but our area has remained untouched by the MP, as such we wanted him to clarify to us what was happening and if there was anything wrong he had heard about us. We wanted to give him an opportunity to let out his concerns too,” said Jaile.

Responding to a 10-bullet questionnaire served to him by the Action Group, Kalindo expressed remorse, saying he too felt bad that he had not been coming to communicate with his people on the progress of his plans for development.

However, Kalindo added that one of the reasons he was not delivering well in the area was due to differences between him and councillor for Chitakale Ward Davie Laini who belongs to a different party.

“This boy has been giving me problems when it comes to development because he plays hide-and-seek with me. It is as if I am forcing our relationship to work, that is why sometimes I fail to reach out to you people,” said Kalindo literally pointing at councillor Laini who ignored the accusation.

Meanwhile, the National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) in Mulanje has hailed the Action Group for summoning the MP, saying frequent communication between leaders and voters is one of the most powerful tools for development.