Tukula pledges professionalism
Private practice lawyer Christopher Tukula, who has been appointed Malawi’s director for the newly established Office of Public Officers Declarations with immediate effect, has pledged to live up to the public’s expectation once he assumes office.
Tukula was on Wednesday officially appointed to the office which will be responsible for receiving and verifying declarations of assets of public officers, including the President and members of Parliament (MPs).
The appointment is in partial fulfilment of Section 7 of Public Officers (Declaration of Assets, Liabilities and Business Interests) Act which states that public officers must submit details of their assets within three months of being appointed or elected.
Speaking shortly after receiving his appointment letter, Tukula said he was humbled by his appointment given its importance and the competition he faced.
“I have just received a letter of Appointment from the Acting Clerk of Parliament. I am waiting for further administrative arrangements since it is a newly created post,” he said, adding: “It is a very humbling experience to be appointed to the much awaited position, a position of such high responsibility ahead of many deserving candidates.”
While acknowledging that he needed to be properly briefed by the Acting Clerk of Parliament Roosevelt Gondwe before making further comment, Tukula said he was aware of the levels of expectation from the public.
“The country in general and the Public Appointments Committee in particular expect the highest level of professionalism from the holder of this position given the background to the creation of this office by Parliament and I promise to live up to that expectation,” he said.
On Tuesday, deputy clerk of Parliament responsible for parliamentary services Henry Njolomole told The Nationthat Tukula was the successful candidate following interviews which the Public Appointments Committee conducted last Thursday.
“Mr. Christopher Tukula has been offered the job. He will be deputised by Mr. Michael Chiusiwa. The offer letters were signed after 5pm today [Wednesday] and they will be dispatched tomorrow,” Njolomole said.
Among his duties, Tukula would be tasked with annually gazetting names of officers who have declared their assets.
Tukula has 13-year practising experience, starting off with the Legal Aid Department in the Ministry of Justice, then going into private practice–including the corporate world–before establishing his own law firm.
He is currently studying for an LLM in Commercial Law at Chancellor College.
His deputy, Chiusiwa, was until his appointment head of clerks at the National Assembly.
