Govt backs Law Society graft fight proposal
Minister of Information and Digitisation Moses Kunkuyu says government aligns itself with the Malawi Law Society (MLS) proposal on corruption proofing as opposed to the traditional approach to deal with the vice after it happens.
In an interview on Thursday, the minister, who is also the official government spokesperson, said authorities appreciate that prevention is better than cure.
Kunkuyu was reacting to a proposal from a recent MLS annual general meeting and conference for corruption proofing of legislative enactments as a mechanism to deal with corruption before it happens.
In its communiqué dated March 31 2023, MLS also questioned the appointment of judges into Executive positions, arguing that the arrangement poses a potential conflict with the doctrine of separation of powers, particularly absolute separation of powers.
Kunkuyu, in his reaction to the lawyers body’s position as published in on Thursday’s edition of The Nation, agreed with MLS on corruption proofing. He said dealing with the vice after it has happened does not help much as the damage would have already been done.
He said: “Government is doing a lot to fight corruption. Anti- Corruption Bureau [ACB] was established to fight corruption. For it to be efficient it needs funding. The [Lazarus] Chakwera administration has doubled funding to the ACB.
“There is also institutional independence. High profile officials including sitting Cabinet ministers have been arrested. ACB is also pursuing civil forfeiture cases, which is an alternative to criminal prosecution.”
On appointment of judicial officers into Executive positions, the minister said Section 119(7) of the Constitution allows such appointments, adding that the framers of the Constitution envisaged situations where the skills of the judges would be needed in the Executive branch.
“Forbidding judges to serve in positions that exist in the Execut ive branch would be unconstitutional. The Law Society’s argument ignores Section 119(7) of the Constitution,” Kunkuyu said.
Judicial officers appointed to positions in the Executive arm of government include Lloyd Muhara, who served as Secretary to the President and Cabinet in Peter Mutharika’s administration and Agnes Patemba, serving as Malawi’s Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
The AGM, in its communiqué, argues that the persistence of corruption in Malawi is well documented as are its heinous effects.
