Malawi Law Society (MLS) has demanded greater accountability and transparency from public office bearers regarding declarations of their assets.
The remarks come in the wake of the action by the Office of the Director of Public Officers Declaration which has for the first time since the law came into effect in 2013, named and shamed about 1788 public officers for non-compliance during the 2022/23 financial year.
The office also said that before the September 16 2025 General Election it will also publish in the Malawi Government Gazette Supplement names and status of declarations by public officers in the 2023/24 financial year.
In a written response, MLS president Davis Njobvu said they view the publication of names as a step towards transparency and accountability, aligning with the Public Officers Declarations of Assets and Liabilities Act.
He said this is also in line with Section 12 of the Constitution, which again espouses the principles of openness, transparency, and accountability, further urging the assets office to make declarations public in their entirety for people to appreciate.
Said Njobvu: “It is almost as if at the moment, we are just ticking the boxes. It is, therefore, up to us as Malawians to follow up on these issues and demand greater accountability and transparency from our public office bearers.
“That office needs to provide the information periodically on a timely basis for the public to be able to make decisions and take possible enforcement measures.”
Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation executive director Michael Kaiyatsa said genuine transparency requires disclosures that allow for public scrutiny.
“The lack of specific details on what was declared is a glaring weakness in the current framework. The secrecy surrounding the actual content of these declarations undermines the very purpose of the process.
“Without public access to what was declared, there is no way citizens can verify whether the declarations are truthful or even realistic. Real transparency requires disclosures that allow for public scrutiny,” he said.
Earlier, director of public officers declaration office Michael Chiusiwa said the publication will go a long way in fostering accountability and transparency in the public service.
Public Appointments Committee (PAC) of Parliament chairperson Grant Ndecha said they have already invited five institutions, including the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) to explain why their officers did not declare their assets last year.
Under the law, a listed public officer who, without reasonable cause, fails to submit the required declaration within the time determined shall, subject to the Constitution and any other written law, be liable to be dismissed from the public office.
