President of Malawi, Lazarus Chakwera, has promised to make a full declaration of his assets each year and to go to Parliament to be questioned by the People about his handling of state affairs.
The Malawi leader made the promises during his inauguration ceremony at Kamuzu Barracks in Lilongwe.
Chakwera said he will give Malawi his best and set a good example of submitting himself to the constitutional processes, provisions, and institutions that are designed to ensure that the President and Vice President are always at their best.
“I will propose legislation to reduce the powers of the presidency and empower institutions to operate independently, including Parliament and the Anti-Corruption Bureau; I will meet with the Leader of Opposition personally every three months to listen to alternative ways of running government affairs; and I will operationalize the Access to Information Act in order to end the era of government secrecy and usher in the dawn of government accountability,” said Chakwera.
He then challenged the leadership of the Judiciary to do more to root out the culture of corruption and selective justice in the courts.
He also challenged Parliament to act professionally, put away childish ways, and repeal and replace bad laws.
“I will challenge civil society organization to maintain a culture of robust protest, not just against governance institutions, but against any entity that is on the wrong side of justice.
“I will challenge our development partners to respect our vision and plans for our own country and to partner with us in ways that respect our dignity and sovereignty, not ways that undermine it,” said Chakwera.
The new Malawi leader was elected in the June 23 Fresh Presidential Elections in which he defeated former President Peter Mutharika.
