Parliamentarians question Ombudsman’s relevance

BY WATIPASO MZUNGU, A CONTRIBUTOR:

Members of Parliament (MPs) under the Legal Affairs Committee have questioned the relevance of the Office of the Ombudsman following revelations that some government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) do not comply with determinations.

The lawmakers made the remarks on Wednesday at the end of a three-day interface meeting with Ombudsman Martha Chizuma-Mwangonde.

The European Union financed the meeting through its Chilungamo (Justice) Programme.

Democratic Progressive Party MP for Thyolo South West, Allan Chiyembekeza, wondered whether the National Assembly had, at the time of inception, given the Ombudsman enough powers to allow the office to enforce law as is the case with other governance institutions and law enforcement agencies.

“Why are compliance levels low among MDAs? Why are MDAs defying your determinations? Is it because your office is not known or doesn’t have teeth [to bite]?” Chiyembekeza asked.

“Do we need this office at all?” he added.

University of Malawi governance and development consultant, Henry Chingaipe, said although there is “serious lack of respect for governance institutions among MDAs’ controlling officers”, the Office of the Ombudsman is critical when it comes to entrenching the rule of law and good governance in the country.

“What we have observed is that, minus various variations, democratic culture, some controlling officers don’t like the face of the person holding the office. So they tend to disregard any directive coming from that office,” he said.

Chingaipe, who was consulting for the Ombudsman, said the sustainable way to deal with cases of non-compliance is to deal with the system.

He further proposed the introduction of a law that will hold controlling officers personally accountable in the event of impunity and non-compliance to the Ombudsman’s determinations.

On Monday, Legal Affairs Committee Chairperson, Maxwell Thyolera, said non-compliance by MDAs with the Ombudsman determinations entrenches a culture of impunity in the public sector.