BackHonorable Ombudsman for the Republic of Malawi, Grace Tikambenji Malera, has called for a structured relationship with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the country over their mutual responsibilities of enforcing the law.
Malera said this when her office hosted a delegation of leaders of the National Alliance Against Corruption and the Citizen Alliance.
She hailed the cordial relationship that exists between her office and the CSOs but cited that it has been more reactive to issues and adhoc, adding it is time the two parties found intersection points of their mandates and figure out ways of supporting each other.
“Our mandates should be mutually reinforcing. What we are doing in the office of the Ombudsman is to strengthen our relationships with all relevant stakeholders including Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies so that they are able to understand our mandate and cooperate with us when we do our work,” Malera explained.
The Honorable Ombudsman decried the shrinking civic space in Malawi, further raising concern that some CSOs have slowly become agents of anti-accountability.
She hinted that lately impunity has been fights back at mandate holders who are continually pressing for accountability
“In that kind of situation one can only hope that we still have some CSOs that maintain levels of integrity. That are independent and apolitical which are basically pillars of good governance. It is important that we all stand and be counted given the turbulent situation we are operating in,” Malera added.
The Ombudsman reiterated that the Office will continue to stand for justice.
She then told the meeting that the Office has extended its footprints to research institutions and district councils, in which the latter are encouraged to work on issues of Maladministration in a pre-emptive manner.
Executive Director for Youth and Society (YAS) which hosts the AAC secretariat Charles Kajoloweka corroborated the Ombudsman’s sentiments saying state governance institutions in Malawi remain under threat and intense attack.
Meanwhile, the CSOs and the Office of the Ombudsman have agreed to work on developing a binding Memorandum of Understanding.
Source: The Office of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Malawi
