Constitution meet ends,long wait for review
Despite presenters highlighting shortfalls in the country’s Constitution during the two-day conference in Blantyre, the gathering failed to recommend the specific reviews of the supreme law adopted 30 years ago.
Instead, the conference, which sought to explore the impact of the Constitution on the nation’s political, social and economic development, ended in Blantyre on Tuesday evening with a call to various experts to continue with the debate.

Delegates as well as keynote speaker Clement Ng’ong’ola, a professor of law at Catholic University, noted a number of gaps and made individual recommendations to have some provisions reviewed.
The conference, among others, noted that the President has too much powers and that formulation of the supreme law itself lacked substantive consultations during initial formulation.
Further, the delegates pointed out that the document had been over revisited, a development that has made the country to be in a league of its own and also failure to properly follow right processes during amendments as provided in Section 196 of the Constitution.
Yasin Maoni, a local government law expert and one of the presenters, said: “After this conference we need to sit down and come up with something that will be informed by the experiences we have had over the three decades.”
But Mwiza Nkhata, a professor of law and one of the lead organisers, said while he agreed with the shortfalls in the manner the Constitution was adopted in 1994, the document, though not perfect, could still work.
He said: “Where do we get the will power to get the Constitution to work? I think that lies in all of us sharing a commitment to see to the fulfilment of the vision that the Constitution stands for.”
Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda, SC, said most constitutional changes are justified because they respond to the needs of the environment at specific times.
He said the Constitution is not changed to accommodate certain selfish interests but public interests although challenges have sometimes genuinely risen due to changes being made without adequate consultations.
However, Nyirenda observed the conference deliberated on crucial issues impacting on the Constitution and would enrich the laws of the country and fulfil the aspirations of the general public.
On his part, MLS president Davis Njobvu said implementation of the resolutions from the conference would depend on what majority of Malawians think of the ideas devised.
The conference was aimed at evaluating the impact of the Constitution on the nation’s political, social, and economic development.