Malawi Law Society put govt in check on good governance

Malawi Law Society (MLS) has taken a swipe at Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)  government failure to operationalize the Access To Information Law.

In its statement which Nyasa Times has accessed, MLS also took government to task over the way it is handling some new laws and bills such as the blocking of the electoral reform despite knowing the many weaknesses and shortfalls that the current framework possesses.

The Access to Information Act was duly passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Peter Mutharika.

“We are informed that the full operationalization of the law is yet to be achieved largely because the Malawi Human Rights Commission is yet to be capacitated to carry out its oversight roles.

“We do not believe this law was adopted as a token gesture and for this reason we urge the government to allocate adequate resources to the MHRC to enable it fully conduct its oversight functions and allow the law to enter into full operation,” reads the statement in part.

MLS said was disheartened with government’s explanation on the allocation of MK4 billion to legislators continues to beg more questions than provide answers.

It has since demanded government to explain how the allocation was processed and investigate any misdealing, and has since urged Parliament to always attend Parliamentary proceedings in order to scrutinize legislative proposals before they are enacted into law.

On the other hand, the law body has advised the Judiciary to address the problem of delayed judgments by holding accountable the judicial officers that are responsible for some of the delays.

It has also urged Malawians to participate in governance by among other things commending the government when it achieves milestones in the development of the country and criticizing it whenever it goes astray.

MLS has since pledged to continue prodding the consciences of all Malawians so that they remain engaged in the governance of this country and shall take any appropriate and necessary action within its statutory mandate.