By: Lloyd M’bwana
The Malawi Law Society (MLS) has emphasized the need for government to effectively use power vested in it by being transparent and accountable to its citizen on critical matters than being arrogant in the New Year in order to enhance good governance and general public trust.
This is an overall call MLS has made to government in its 2015 good governance assessment report on critical matters affecting the country’s citizens including human rights protection; food , health freedom of association, court case persecutions, rule of law, Parliament bills among others.
In a press statement released on January 13, 2016 signed by John Suzi Banda and Khumbo Bonzoe Soko MLS’s President and Honorary Secretary respectively which is available to The Maravi Post, titled: “A CALL TO RENEWED COMMITMENT TO GOOD GOVERNANCE: MALAWI LAW SOCIETY GENERAL STATEMENT ON THE STATE OF GOVERNANCE IN MALAWI IN 2015”, the Society unpacks the role of judiciary, civil society organization, Parliament and opposition parties played in checking government mandate to provide intended needs for the general populace.
MLS has observed with concerns over government of lack of transparency and accountability while showing a bit of confused on making critical decision the public expected from executive arm of government.
“Transparency and accountability by holders of state power is premised on the understanding that those powers are exercised on behalf and in the furtherance of the interests of the citizens of Malawi. It is, therefore, imperative that as much business of the Government as is practically possible be conducted in an open and transparent fashion.
This empowers citizens to assess for themselves the quality of the stewardship of the resources and power that they have entrusted to their governors.
“While the business of the judicial and legislative organs of government has traditionally been conducted in the open, the same cannot exactly be said of the Executive. It was precisely for this reason that the Society consistently called for the enactment of the Access to Information (‘ATI’) Bill in the year 2015. This law will help in opening up the operations of the Government, especially the Executive, to whose care vast public resources have been entrusted, to more public scrutiny.
That this proposed law was not passed in 2015 was a setback to our collective efforts at holding our governors accountable” reads in part the MLS statement.
The Society notes with concern that despite section 5 of the Judicature Administration Act empowering the Judicial Service Commission to develop regulations for the nomination of persons to judicial offices and for the discipline of those so appointed, no such regulations have to date been adopted. The view of the Society is that transparency in the appointment of judges will go a long way in ensuring that the Judiciary retains the confidence and trust of the citizenry in Malawi.
The society however commended the role of civil society and opposition parties in Parliament in making sure that government was delivering to the general public expectation though with little efforts than needed.
“The Society would like to further commend members of the civil society who have continued to provide a platform for critical and fair review of Government policies and actions. Their courageous and gallant fight for a fairer and more prosperous Malawi in the face of attacks by their detractors and societal indifference in such areas as human rights, consumer rights, transparency and abuse of public resources is commendable. Our democracy cannot mature without a vibrant civil society.
“While the opposition parties have in 2015 made efforts to provide checks and balances to executive excesses, we believe that there is more that the opposition parties can and ought to do in providing effective opposition to Government.
A liberal democracy cannot effectively function and deliver on the aspirations of its citizens without an effective opposition. The opposition ought to be government-in-waiting. As such, it is expected to have comprehensive policy positions on all critical areas of governance and provide, whenever needed, alternative views on major policy decisions of the Government. Unfortunately, this has never been the case in our country”, says MLS.
The Society therefore assures the public of its effort calling for accountability of members of the Judiciary for quality decision on justice timeously.
“We are firm in our conviction that there can simply be no justification for court rulings and judgments to remain pending for two or more years. The Society will in the year 2016 continue to work with the Honorable the Chief Justice and the Judicial Service Commission to ensure that systems are put in place for demanding accountability from those members of the Judiciary who default on their constitutional duty to dispense justice to the citizenry in a competent and timely manner.
“We will also continue to call for more transparency in the appointment of Judges to the High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal. The Society notes with concern that despite section 5 of the Judicature Administration Act empowering the Judicial Service Commission to develop regulations for the nomination of persons to judicial offices and for the discipline of those so appointed, no such regulations have to date been adopted. The view of the Society is that transparency in the appointment of judges will go a long way in ensuring that the Judiciary retains the confidence and trust of the citizenry in Malawi.
“The Society looks forward to a year 2016 where all Malawians will continue to demand good governance from their governors. It has been rightly said that ‘there is no such thing as governance by indifference’. The good governance challenges that we face as a country will only be overcome if we all pitch in and claim a stake in their resolution. The Society takes this opportunity to wish all Malawians a happy and prosperous 2016”, concludes the statement.
