By Cathy Maulidi:
Political Parties Registrar Kizito Tenthani has said only the governing Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has provided a report detailing financial records on the use of State funds it has been receiving.
MCP and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are the only beneficiaries who qualified for State funding in compliance with provisions of the Political Parties Act of 2018.
Section 21(1) of the Act provides that political parties that secure more than one-tenth of the national vote in parliamentary elections be entitled to State funding.
Section 23(1)(c) of the same Act provides that parties that receive funding from the State should provide final accounts to the registrar for purposes of auditing.
Speaking during a Multi- Stakeholder Dialogue on Political Party Financing that took place in Lilongwe Thursday, Tenthani said only MCP had provided detailed financial records on public financing.
He, however, said the party had not complied with the other part of the law, which also seeks disclosure on private financing.
“This far, we have disclosure of public funding from one of the two political parties that receives money from the government; so, we have received a report from MCP covering the period from 2019/2020 until the previous financial year of 2024.”
“You may recall that I engaged the Clerk of Parliament to provide us with a detailed report on the amount of public funds allocated to political parties. We have since received this report and we are currently comparing it to the disclosures made by the MCP. The MCP has submitted its financial report regarding public funding.
“However, we have not received any disclosures on private funding from any political party,” Tenthani said.
However, Tenthani said his office still sees the need to engage the political parties to ensure that they understand their obligations.
“Our office is still new and we were organising ourselves to determine how best to engage with political parties, explain their obligations and establish appropriate timelines,” Tenthani said.
Commenting on the development, Malawi Law Society (MLS) Vice President McHarven Ngwata said the Political Parties Act needed some adjustments if the law were to be effective.
“We need laws that are workable and effective. We have highlighted several issues that need to be worked on if we are to ensure compliance [with provisions] on State and private financing.
“As is usually the case with laws, there will always be a chance to make certain clauses better. If the question is: ‘Do we have a perfect law?’ I would say ‘No’. Is there room to make it better? I would say ‘yes’,” Ngwata said.
Meanwhile, the Civil Society Elections Integrity Forum (CSEIF), through its chairperson Benedicto Kondowe, has described as “regrettable” the continued practice of political parties concealing their private financing.
CSEIF has called on the registrar’s office to take action.
“To make matters worse, even with parties that receive public funding, these figures are not transparently presented in budget estimates. These amounts are not accessible to the general public, and this level of opacity is concerning,” Kondowe said.
On his part, Youth and Society Executive Director Charles Kajoloweka called on enforcement agencies such as the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties, the Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Financial Intelligence Authority, the Malawi Electoral Commission and the Malawi Police Service to demonstrate unwavering commitment to upholding and enforcing laws governing political financing.
“It is a call to our political parties to adhere to the principles of fairness and transparency, ensuring that they comply with the provisions of the Political Parties Act and operate within the ethical bounds of democracy,” Kajoloweka said.
Responding to the issues, DPP treasurer general Edgar Tembo said: “We, as a party, have been able, so far, to comply with the requirement of the law. We, as a party, know we are supposed to keep records of the accounts and at a given time file those accounts with the Registrar of Political Parties.”
MCP secretary general Richard Chimwendo Banda was yet to comment on the matter as we went to press.
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