Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Times News
Published on 2024-04-17 08:20:42
The Ministry of Justice in Malawi is currently facing a challenge where most government lawyers have stopped going to court for cases because their employer has failed to pay practising licence fees to the Malawi Law Society (MLS), despite the Treasury already disbursing the funds. This situation is having a significant impact on the progress of cases being handled by these lawyers.
The Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) has expressed disappointment over this development and condemned the Ministry for obstructing justice instead of promoting it. Some State lawyers, who chose to remain anonymous, have taken matters into their own hands and paid the fees themselves so that important cases can continue to proceed in court.
State lawyers argue that it is the government’s responsibility to cover the cost of their licence fees, as mandated by law. They are required to pay K475,000 annually to the MLS, with K375,000 for the licence itself and K100,000 as a contribution towards building offices.
In response to these allegations, Secretary to the Treasury Betchani Tchereni clarified that the Treasury’s role is to disburse funds to ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), and they have already released the funds to the Ministry of Justice. However, it is up to the MDAs to prioritize how they allocate these funds.
Solicitor General Allison M’bang’ombe confirmed that the Ministry does owe fees to the MLS, particularly Continuous Professional Development fees, which are essential for the issuance of licences to lawyers. He admitted that while the funds were disbursed towards the end of the last financial year, processing the payments has been challenging. M’bang’ombe assured that they are working with the Accountant General to resolve the issue promptly.
CHRR Executive Director Michael Kaiyatsa criticized the Ministry for not prioritizing a conducive environment for the delivery of justice, stating that the failure to pay the fees could be contributing to delays in court cases. MLS President Patrick Mpaka indicated that he would need to investigate the situation further to provide accurate information on the number of government lawyers without licences and the amount involved.
The Ministry of Justice recently informed members of the Parliamentary Cluster on Legal Affairs and Government Assurances and Public Sector Reforms that they are struggling to retain experienced lawyers due to inadequate salaries. This situation highlights the challenges faced by the Ministry in ensuring the effective delivery of justice in Malawi.
Read the original article on The Times
