President Lazarus Chakwera will next Wednesday return to the national assembly where he will be expected to respond to questions from legislators on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) he presented on May 12.
Such an appearance before parliament will be President Chakwera’s third time since he assumed office in June last year; and it is an initiative he has been hailed for in as far as mutual engagement between the legislature and the executive for the benefit of Malawians is concerned.
Chakwera impresses at Question Time
Chakwera’s immediate predecessors, Joyce Banda, and his brother Bingu never had such special dialogues with Parliament.
The newly confirmed Czar for the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Martha Chizuma has said she only has three years to prove to Malawians that she is right in the fight against corruption in the country.
The former Ombudsman said this yesterday to the media pertaining to her confirmation by the Public Appointments Committee (PAC) of Parliament to head the graft-busting body.
According to Chizuma, she will make priority cases that have evidence and that will bring back money to Malawiâs Account Number one.
âMy area of focus will be cases that have got evidence and for which we can be able to recover Malawian public funds. Thatâs something that I am very passionate about to get back the money through the investigation and prosecution of those cases,â said Chizuma.
The outgoing Ombudsperson Martha Chizuma has said she is hopeful that her successor will focus on achieving justice for all.
Chizuma said this to the media as she is leaving the Ombudsman office to head the Anti-Corruption Bureau after she was confirmed by the Public Appointments Committee (PAC) of Parliament on Monday this week.
During her stay at the Ombudsman office, Chizuma was applauded by a lot of Malawians due to her fierce way of handling and investigating various rights abuses and maladministration.
Some of the reports she released after investigations include a report on alleged medical malpractices resulting into the removal of uteruses from expectant women and most recently a report on illegal recruitment at the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority.
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May 17, 2021 Pius Nyondo -Nyasa Times 4 Comments
The Public Appointments Committee (PAC), meeting on Monday, has eventually confirmed ombudsman Martha Chizuma as director general for graft-busting body the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) after it had earlier rejected her with abysmal scores.
Last week PAC, using a scoring procedure during interview confirmation, scored Chizuma 14.9 which was less than the minimum 17 mark required for her to be confirmed for the ACB job.
Martha Chizuma – New ACB Director General
But her rejection did not amuse Malawians, including the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) which threatened a march to parliament on Tuesday, May 18 and Dowa North West Malawi Congress Party (MCP) legislator and chief whip who gave a notice Sunday that a motion to rescind the decision of not confirming Chizuma be moved in the PAC meeting slated for Monday, May 17.