AG tackles graft in public lecture
Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka – Nyirenda last evening tackled the country’s widespread corruption and marred procurement processes in his public lecture at University of Malawi (Unima) in Zomba.
The AG said a 2010 survey by Unima’s Centre for Social Research revealed that corruption was the second major contributing factor to impaired business development in Malawi.
In addition, he said, a 2011 World Bank survey on Malawi and Namibia revealed that an estimated 35 percent of Malawi’s revenue, representing approximately 10 percent of the GDP, was lost through procurement corruption.
In the lecture themed ‘The interface between law, governance and development in Malawi’, Chakaka-Nyirenda said the procurement corruption is associated with no work at all, unnecessary projects, substandard work or unnecessarily expensive work and the diversion of resources.
He said: “This corruption involves unjustified or unexpected price increases. [We expect] procurement to be done only in the public interest.
“The term public interest is defined by Section 2 of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets (PPDA) Act, 2017 as something that is to the advantage, direct or indirect, of the people of Malawi.
“In the determination of whether something is advantageous to the people of Malawi, several factors would be considered, including economic efficiency, preserving the public purse, and maintaining the integrity of the procurement process.”
The government’s top legal adviser said a conviction on corruption or money laundering offence is a ground for exclusion from public procurement in Malawi.
The maximum debarment period, he said, is two years. The AG, however, said a prior hearing is required for a corporation to be debarred from public procurement, adding a debarred supplier has the ex-post right to seek judicial review.
“Debarment from public procurement is premised on the theory of the protection of State finances and government legitimacy. It has longer lasting benefits than dealing with dishonest contractors and is the best form of deterring corporate bribery with the greatest impact on corporations involved in bribery.
“Debarment promotes the formation of contractual agreements with only honest corporations and guards against the allocation of state income for criminal goals,” Chakaka- Nyirenda told the attendees who included students, lecturers and members of the public.
The AG said just as is the case with imprisonment of natural persons; debarment incapacitates corrupt corporations from engaging in corruption during the period of debarment.
He said it also serves as a lesson to would-be corporate offenders who would invariably be deterred from engaging in corruption. He said debarment ensures that contracts are won only on the merits of its products and safeguards value for taxpayers’ money.
The talk is a Matembo Nzunda Public Lecture Series, in honour of one of the great scholars and practitioners in law.
Before the AG took to the podium, Unima deputy vice-chancellor Sunduzwayo Madise said Nzunda was a giant in law.
He said Nzunda ventured into politics later, but he had his brand of politics.
Madise said: “It was humbling for the AG to be at the university for the lecture, and it is the desire of any lawyer to become head of the bar for a country.”
Professor Garton Kamchedzera asked participants to think about what research could be done in private and public law, emanating from these series.
The lecture was organised by the Unima’s Department of Foundation Law and Practical Legal Studies.
