Minister of Justice Titus Mvalo says the Corrupt Practices Act of 2022 will help to deal with delays in the prosecution of cases.
He was speaking during Government Faces the Press which was held at the Central Office of Information in Lilongwe.
The Minister said under the amended act, the Anti-Corruption Bureau will prosecute cases without seeking consent from the Director of Public Prosecution as it was provided for in the previous act hence there will be speeding of prosecution.
“The act removes the seeking of consent from the office of the Director of Public Prosecution by the Anti-Corruption Bureau and it will come into effect once gazetted any day this week. This will deal with delays that were there before as cases will be quickly brought into courts,” said Mvalo.
The amended Corrupt Practices Act also creates an Economic and Financial Crimes court and according to Mvalo this court will start operating soon and will speed up trials of corruption cases.
He then pleaded with the courts to try to speed the cases by refraining from unnecessary adjournments.
Mvalo added that as a sign of government’s commitment in the fight against corruption, prosecution’s capacity of ACB has been strengthened through the recruitment of 17 additional lawyers to join the bureau’s prosecution team and government has also hired 4 experienced private lawyers to help in the prosecution of cases. He also said the bureau has also recruited 19 additional investigators to boost the investigation section.
He said with all the efforts put by the government in the fight against corruption, the battle will be won and victory will be attained.
Speaking during the same briefing, Minister of Information Gospel Kazako, said the current administration under the leadership of President Lazarus Chakwera is vigorously fighting corruption.
“What the president has done by assenting to the bill shows he really prioritizes the fight against corruption. He has done what others failed to do before to fight corruption. We now have a president who does not shield anyone involved in the corrupt act,” Said Kazako.
He added that it is government’s wish to protect state resources from looting so that they should be used to uplift the lives of Malawians. The Minister said the country is in the present state because others looted public resources that was meant to change the lives of common citizens for the better.
The Corruption Practices Act of 2022 was passed during the 6th meeting of the 49th session of Parliament and was assented to by President Dr Lazarus Chakwera on 9th September.
Reported by James Kanyenda
