MLS faulted on campaign accountability approach
Two of the country ’s prominent legal minds have faulted the Malawi Law Society (MLS) for proposing criminalising unfulfilled election campaign promises, saying the move is akin to seeking legal solutions to a political problem.
In its communiqué dated March 24 issued at the end of the 2024 annual conference, MLS said criminalising politicians’ campaign promises would enhance accountability and check impunity.
MLS president Patrick Mpaka said the law requiring political parties to align their manifestos to the Malawi 2063 development strategy could be a weapon towards holding politicians accountable.
But in an interview last week, legal commentator and consultant Justin Dzonzi said in politics, just like in all spheres of life, there are people who can competently discharge their duty and those who cannot.
He said the failure by politicians to achieve their campaign promises rests on a number of factors, including incompetence, legal requirements, financial inadequacies and illiteracy.
Said Dzonzi: “Of these challenges, I would give incompetence a score of 20 out of 100. And then you have the legal and financial realities of running government.
“If you consider the protocol, government maximises on accountability but lacks in efficiency. For example, the procurement process is not designed for efficiency but transparency.”
He also tore into the country’s ability to fund its own development, saying most projects are way beyond the government’s financial muscle.
In a written response, University of Cape Town professor of law Danwood Chirwa shared Dzonzi’s sentiments, saying matters of party manifestos fall entirely into the realm of politics, not the law.
“To the extent that government policies and performance are subject to some level of oversight by Parliament, I see no possibility outside electoral accountability for policing the implementation of party manifestos,” he said.
In a separate interview, Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament chairperson Peter Dimba said politicians are the most accountable office-bearers in Malawi by law, practice and tradition.
He said: “That is why every five years they account to the people and seek a fresh mandate. I wish this same level of accountability and scrutiny that politicians are subjected to was also applied to all public officers across the board, including some members of MLS who go scot free despite consistent display of unprofessional conduct and impropriety.”
But the National Planning Commission (NPC), which is mandated to ensure that manifestos are aligned to the MW2063, however, supported the MLS proposal.
NPC communications manager Thom Khanje said further accountability mechanisms are needed to make sure that governments del i v er on people’ s aspirations.
“Performance assessment and holding every public officer accountable is one mechanism that we believe can go a long way in improving delivery by the public service,” he said.
In recent years, politicians have come under scrutiny over unfulfilled campaign promises.
