Miscellaneous

This Constitution shall provisionally come into force on 18th May, 1994, being the appointed day, and shall provisionally apply as the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi for a period of not less and not more than twelve months from that date (in this section referred to as the “period of provisional application”).

During the period of provisional application Parliament may amend or repeal this Constitution in accordance with this section subject only to section 196.

Within fourteen days of the first sitting of Parliament after the appointed day, Parliament shall appoint a Committee to be known as the Constitution Committee which shall consist of the Speaker of the National Assembly as Chairman of the Committee and ten other members of Parliament appointed by the National Assembly.

The function of the Constitution Committee shall be to— (a) organize national education and consultation on this Constitution; (b) organize a national conference fully representative of Malawian society; (c) invite, receive and consider proposals from the citizens of Malawi for the amendment or for the repeal and replacement of this Constitution; (d) allow citizens of Malawi in accordance with its own procedure to make written submissions to, or to be heard in person by, the Committee; (e) compile reports of the proposals received and circulate such reports as widely as possible; (f) lay the reports before Parliament for such period not being less than thirty days before taking action under paragraph (g) as would be reasonably sufficient for responses to be received; and (g) to prepare a Bill or Bills for the amendment of this Constitution or, as provided in subsection (5), a Bill for the repeal and replacement of this Constitution and every such Bill shall be a separate Bill of its own, entitled a Bill to amend the Constitution or, as the case may be, a Bill to repeal and replace the Constitution, and to present such Bill or Bills to Parliament on its own motion.

On the basis of the extensiveness of the proposals for amendments to this Constitution, Parliament may repeal and replace this Constitution during the period of provisional application, but no such repeal shall be made before, or in contradiction to the resolution of, the national conference referred to under section (4) (b).

Within thirty days before the expiry of the period of provisional application, Parliament shall pass an Act by which this Constitution (with the amendments, if any, made to it under this section) or another Constitution replacing this Constitution shall be brought definitively into force on the expiry of the provisional period of application.

A Bill under this section to amend or to repeal and replace this Constitution shall be passed only if supported by not less than a two thirds majority of all the members of the National Assembly.

Unless this Constitution is being repealed and replaced, this section shall not be amended but shall lapse on the expiry of the period of provisional application, save only to the extent necessary to bring this Constitution definitively into force in the circumstances of subsection (9).

If Parliament defaults to act in terms of subsection (6) this Constitution shall be deemed to have definitively come into force on the expiry of the period of provisional application.

In addition to the President and members of the Cabinet as provided by section 88 (3), the holders of the following offices, that is to say— (a) a member of the National Assembly; (b) a public officer of such senior grade or position as shall be specified under subsection (2); (c) an officer of such senior grade or position as shall be specified under subsection (2), of— (i) a corporation, board, commission, council, or similar body established by or under an Act of Parliament; (ii) any other body, corporate or unincorporate which in accordance with any Act of Parliament is subject to the same statutory procedures for financial control and accountability as apply in common to a body referred to in subparagraph (i), shall, within three months from the date of his or her election, nomination or appointment, as the case may be, fully disclose all of his or her assets, liabilities and business interests and those of his or her spouse held by him or her or on his or her behalf as at that date; and, unless Parliament otherwise prescribes by an Act of Parliament, such disclosure shall be made in a written document delivered to the Speaker of the National Assembly who shall immediately upon receipt deposit the document with such public office as may be specified in the Standing Orders of Parliament.

For the purpose of paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1), the National Assembly shall specify the grades and positions of the officers required to disclose assets in accordance with that subsection, and shall do so by resolution passed by the majority of the members present and voting and which shall be published in the Gazette.

Notwithstanding subsection (1), in the case of those persons who, at the commencement of this section, hold the offices to which this section applies, the period within which they shall comply with subsection (1) shall be a period of three months— (a) from the commencement of this section, in the case of members of the National Assembly; (b) from the date of the publication of the resolution under subsection (2), in the case of others.

There shall be a Committee of Parliament appointed by the National Assembly which shall have the function of monitoring the compliance with the requirement on the disclosure of assets under section 88 (3) and under this section and the Committee shall have all the powers necessary to perform its function.

This Constitution of the Republic of Malawi may be cited as the Constitution.

In this Constitution, unless the context otherwise requires— “appointed day” means 18th May, 1994, being the date on which this Constitution shall come into operation; “age prescribed for retirement” is such age as may be prescribed in an Act of Parliament for the retirement of a person holding public office.