Malawi Law Society objects South Africa lawyers’ admission: K600m fees ‘exorbitant’
Malawi Law Society (MLS) is fiercely objecting to the hiring of South African lawyers by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) in the presidential election appeals case.
In an executive memorandum to members, honorary secretary Martha Kaukonde says MLS has raised four grounds of objection to the admissions of the South African lawyers; Dumisa Buhle Ntsebeza and Elizabeth Makhanani Baloyi Mere.
“The procuring entity appears not to have complied with the Public Procurement Act when engaging the foreign counsel,” she says.
She says the Electoral Commission did not comply with the Public Finance Management Act, Regulations and Constitutional guidelines when hiring the foreign lawyers.
“The agreement to pay the sum of US$788, 300 appears not to be in line with the prescription of fair and reasonable charges prescribed under the Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act and Rules,” says Kaukonde.
MLS vice-chairperson Patrick Mpaka said the Public Procurement and Disposal Assets Authority failed to justify why MEC was allowed to use single source procurement in the recruitment of the lawyers.
He also said MEC failed to provide proof of funding, as the procurement entity, prior to hiring the foreign lawyers and did not comply with Public Finance Management Act.
“Section 23 of the [Public Finance Management] Act prohibits expenditure where there is no parliamentary appropriation, which us a reiteration of Section 173 of the Constitution, which also prohibits drawing money from the Consolidated Fund without parliamentary appropriation,” reads the MLS submission in part.
The lawyers’ body has asked court that the financial transaction involved in the hiring of the South African lawyers should be declared illegal.
MLS also argues that the K600 million billing for the South African lawyers is “exorbitant and unreasonable.”
The body also says that in the wake of the coronavirus disease, the engagement of the foreign lawyers pose a public health risk to all parties concerned given the lawyers will be coming from one of the hotspots of the disease.
These objections are contained in detailed affidavits and skeleton arguments that have been filed with the court and Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda is examining.
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MLS Job Security at its best.So provide best Lawyers for MEC.If it was not corona virus I would have suggested you allow those RSA lawyers to showcase so that we can learn from outside Lawyers, athuwa tawamva kokwanira.
So for you, sidelining the all the Financial Acts that have been outlined is not an issue? The Procurement Act is not an issue?
Mbava mbava singing it loud.
There are many very competent Malawian lawyers who got their post graduate qualifications abroad. Just because they are from RSA does not make them better than our local lawyers! In fact our lawyers know our laws better. You will see the showdown that will be there if the foreign lawyers will come at all. They (RSA lawyers) will fail miserably. Time will tell.
Brutum ubongo wako wa munthu wa bakha
This is another stalemate. If MLS is rejecting foreign lawyers and Lawyers in Malawi will not represent MEC. Basitu palibe kuvota until a solution is reached. I am started to believe that these court issues will delay everything and the only ones really benefiting are the MPs. Cry my country
Democracy is expensive. MEC needs to be represented by the best lawyers.
Not at taxpayers expense when some hospitals do not have basic drugs
You can have whichever lawyers you can afford or rather the government can afford. Government does not just buy anything the way you and I buy. That is why government has laws to govern the way government shops for anything as little as pens and pencils. Procurement Act guides government to find the best supplier of good and services, lawyers included by comparing who has the best price, best product, etc. Also, and this is huge, the act provides visibility. Example, if you are seeking to buy a good or service, you cannot just talk to a friend and say my Ministry is buying books and computers, please supply them and charge so much. Rather a parallel committee will go through those supplier’s bids and pick out the best priced but without compromising quality. So, it appears MEC did not go through the prescribed procurement standards. Someone went shopping without using the bid process. Now my question is; do you still believe that MEC is being treated unfairly?
Malawi needs 1st Grade lawyers not the half-baked ones that we have in the country
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This hiring has Kaphale all over the place. These dpp guys are mafias. Do not assume that this process is a one band man. Actually even if they do not come, money will be paid. It is issues like these that ACB should be working on. Its fraud at the highest level. Kaphale had his interest in the constitutional court. He was protecting himself. Ticheza pa Malawi after elections. People will not have peace!! A Malawi tikuvutika inu kumaba chonchi. Zachisoni….
Bravo MLS! This is what we have been waiting for. Malawi should not allow Jane Ansah to waste our resources in an effort to save her face and her master.
Both the concourt and parliament found MEC incompetent, what more evidence does Malawians need to agreed with the concourt and parliament verdict on MEC.
The lady Jezebel Ansah only rose to be a judge at the Supreme Court through sexually transmitted promotions…..how on earth can a learned judge be so incompetent.
She is very arrogant and childish like someone who has never been to school…..how can she authorise MEC to hire lawyers from abroad without following government procurement procedures?
Her partisan mindset has ruined and soiled her career for good……she will go down in Malawi’s history as the most incompetent judge to ever run MEC.
And I think Malawians need to revisit this belief that the MEC should be led by someone who has a background in law…..
You are right, we have people who can do better than lawyers in this Country, people who have natural Justice not these idiots.
Bravo Madam Kaukonde, we applaud you my lady, zitsiru za mec siziganiza olo ndi pang’ono pomwe especially to poor Malawians
Mls you are wrong. Asiyeni a Malawi aoneko zina osati law yophunzila pa chanco iyi. 99%of our legal expertise passed through chanco now mec is giving Malawians a chance to see how chanco compares with elite schools across Africa.
Mls is just trying to protect its internal market but at expense of quality. Asiyeni ma judge aone nyekhwe kuchoka pa teba. My bet is the foreign lawyers will win the appeal and shame the small mentality concourt.
Thinking like coronavirus. There are many Malawian lawyers who have postgraduate certificates from universities abroad. Don’t come here to display your idiocy. Tungwa!!!!!
Ndiwe opusa. Kuganiza mwa u cadet, paja amaganiza mwa ubakha
mMukuoneka kuti mutu wanu sukuyenda bwino hearing your comment
You are an idiot. Kuganiza mopusa.
Law ya pa Chanco don’t underestimate it mbale wanga. Lawyer wa Chanco wokanika ntchito kumakhala vuto lake. Zitsanzo tili nazo Tawona ma lawyer akunja oti akhoza kuposedwa ndi wa Diploma wa pa Chanco.
kalekeni kaphale laughed at the concourt judgment because it went outside its mandate and petition. Our partisan concourt responded by suspending kaphale from further participation in the appeal. Clearly we need foreign lawyers athuwa kwachuluka ndi kukulilana mitima ndi nsanje.
MLS zitayeni izi after mbwerela zinali ku concourt please we need real professionals from RSA. Kapena mukuopa ma guy aku RSA have read and understand our constitution better than our local lawyers. Mlandu uwu ufunikaso ma judge akunja chifukwa athuwa lachululuka ndi hatred against the ruling party.
Very professional assessment and analysis by MLS7. From a layman’s point of view some of us have been wondering how this madness can be allowed to continue. K600 million can go a long way in providing some essential services in this country. In addition, there is no shirtage of lawyers in this country. There are many many credible lawyers within the country. There is no justification to cross borders looking for services that can be sourced locally. Amangwetu!
Why are we allowing this country to go down the drain like this? The country is slowly going to the dogs! There are jaw-dropping incidents hapenning in our country almost on daily basis. Very sad indeed
Ken Phiri I support you. Thumbs up MLS this time around than done previously.This is the way to go If Malawi is to develop
Thank you MLS. Aonetseni Nyekhwe
We expected this right when the news broke. The foreign lawyers’ temporary licence / admission to operate in the country should have been put on hold already before being granted pending investigations. Beats me to have read that the same MLS had granted the lawyers a temporary licence (signed by one Burton Mhango) and now to read the same MLS objecting to it? Are there two centres of power at MLS or one of the articles is fake news?
Several commentators on different media platforms vehemently opposed the MEC’s move considering the fact that we were already battling hunger issues with a lot of people not being able to afford the MK20,000 price tag per 50kg of maize. The money should now be channeled towards fighting the COVID-19 virus and food security.
K600 million for an appeal where no new evidence will be entertained? That’s way too much
At last MLS trying to be reasonable.. Please wake up from your slumber
Very strange. Why did you guys give a nod to this on the first place? Were promised some buns by the government. And now you see that it is not coming… And now you are hitting back? Very unprofessional MLS