Malawi Legal Aid Bureau Seeks Increased Funding for Effective Service
The Legal Aid Bureau, established under the Legal Aid Act of 2011, is mandated to provide legal aid services to indigent and vulnerable individuals in Malawi.
LILONGWE, Malawi— The Malawi Legal Aid Bureau is seeking additional funding to effectively carry out its mandate of providing legal services to vulnerable citizens, writes Esther Banda.
Appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts on Thursday, Legal Aid Bureau Director Trouble Kalua highlighted resource shortages affecting the agency's operations.
"We continue to lament that the bureau is under-resourced to carry out its mandate effectively," Kalua said.
"We continue to lack motor vehicles, which is key to ensure that our lawyers are mobile and are able to attend courts."
Kalua emphasized the need for more lawyers to handle the bureau's caseload.
"We have 25,000 cases registered on our books and these are live active matters from across the country," he said.
"The number of lawyers that we have at the bureau is 48 across the country to attend to this workload. It is too much."
Mark Botoman, chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee, expressed concern over the bureau's funding challenges.
"We have been informed that since April, the beginning of this financial year, they have literally not been funding their Regional Offices except for about 30 percent which has gone to their Headquarters," Botoman said.
"This is a very serious matter considering the duties that the bureau have."
Botoman pledged to meet with the Secretary to the Treasury to address the funding issues.
The Legal Aid Bureau, established under the Legal Aid Act of 2011, is mandated to provide legal aid services to indigent and vulnerable individuals in Malawi.