This morning, the Honourable Minister of Justice, Titus Mvalo, and his team met with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative, Fenella Frost, and her delegation at Capital Hill in Lilongwe for a series of strategic discussions.
During the meeting, which was in response to a UNDP questionnaire, several key issues were addressed. The discussions focused on the need to support the newly established office of the Registrar of Political Parties, enhance the capacity of the Ministry's Law Revision Unit, and bolster the Legislative and Drafting Section through training of legislative counsel. Additionally, the importance of completing the National Prosecution Policy, which has been delayed due to resource constraints, was highlighted.
The Minister also briefed the UNDP delegation on the digitalization of operations, particularly the implementation of a digitalized civil case management system and an automated deceased estate management system. These systems aim to curb theft and fraud, particularly at the Administrator General’s office.
Other areas mentioned by the Minister for support included enhancing capacity by training judicial officers, training prosecutors in financial crimes, strengthening operations of the Asset Forfeiture Division, conducting public awareness campaigns on the laws of Malawi, and capacitating the Office of the Director of Public Officers' Declarations (ODPOD) to verify assets declared by public officers.
The talks underscored the importance of these initiatives in strengthening the legal and judicial framework of Malawi, ensuring effective governance and the rule of law.
The UNDP Country Representative expressed her gratitude for the meeting and said they would go back and review which areas they may be able to support, and that one area in which the UNDP was already working with Ministry of Justice and other stakeholders was in supporting alternative dispute resolution for election disputes.
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