Retired Supreme Court Judge Justice Dustan Mwaungulu has warned that the standoff between Parliament and the Executive could turn into a constitutional confrontation.
The retired judge was reacting to a statement by Chief Secretary to the Government Justin Saidi, who said the power to establish parliamentary committees does not rest with the Speaker alone.
Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman recently announced plans to institute the committees to probe, among other issues, suspected corruption in government.
However, the government has challenged the Speaker’s authority to establish the committees, saying this is against the constitution of the republic of Malawi.
But, Mwaungulu says the government’s position on Parliament’s planned ad-hoc committees is difficult to reconcile with its acceptance of the legislature’s constitutional oversight mandate.
He said the government’s interpretation of Parliament’s powers, particularly Section 56(6) of the Constitution, is problematic and confusing.
The retired judge questioned how the Chief Secretary could make a unilateral statement on an issue concerning another arm of government without first consulting the relevant parliamentary rules.
“At the end of the day, the statement from the National Assembly is superior to that of an SPC even if we assume that the President delegated him to issue such an order,” Mwaungulu wrote on his official Facebook page.
Mwaungulu said he had not accessed the Standing Orders of Parliament to establish whether they provide for ad-hoc committees. However, he said the circumstances surrounding Saidi’s statement were worrying.
“For us outside the government, it is difficult to accept that the Secretary to the President unilaterally and without consulting the official documents of another branch of government on the subject matter makes a statement which to all fair minded people is culminating into a war between the two branches of government,” he said.
He stressed that the three arms of government must respect their constitutional boundaries and avoid actions that could undermine one another.
Mwaungulu said the dispute could therefore escalate beyond a disagreement over parliamentary procedure and become a wider constitutional battle between the Presidency and the National Assembly.
Renowned lawyer and Nkhotakota Central MP Sylvester Ayuba James has also criticised Saidi’s intervention.
Writing on Facebook, James said the Chief Secretary had compromised his office through the statement.
The Constitution provides for separation of powers among the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, with Parliament responsible for exercising oversight over government policies and actions.
