Results of the 10th Round of Afrobarometer research have revealed that 77 percent of Malawians want the Office of the Vice President abolished.
The research was conducted by the Centre for Social Research of the University of Malawi (Unima) in August this year.
According to results that were presented by Centre for Social Research Director Joseph Chunga, the majority of Malawians think that the Office of the Vice President is not serving them and would like to see it abolished.
“This view is consistently high across [people of] all demographic groups and irrespective of political party affiliation,” the study says.
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Section 79 of the Republican Constitution provides for the Office of the Vice President.
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“There shall be a First Vice-President and, subject to Section 80 (5), a Second Vice-President, both of whom shall assist the President and who shall exercise the powers and perform the functions conferred on the First Vice- President or the Second Vice-President, as the case may be, by this Constitution or by any Act of Parliament and by the President,” the section reads.
While the Constitution, in Section 89, prescribed powers and duties of a president, the supreme law of the land is silent on the powers and duties of a vice president.
This has resulted in the Vice President relying on the good will of the President to delegate them to perform tasks.
Where the relationship between the President and the vice is strained, the Office of the Vice President has been rendered useless.
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By political affiliation, when supporters of political parties were asked as to whether the Office of the Vice President had proven to be unessential for the country and that it should, therefore, be abolished, 81 percent of Malawi Congress Party supporters agreed.
Interestingly, 80 percent of UTM supporters also agreed while 76 percent of Democratic Progressive Party supporters also agreed.
The survey results further show that 67 percent of Malawians do not agree with the proposal that the President should have the power to appoint and remove a vice president at any point during their tenure.
Currently, the Vice President is elected alongside the President and the President does not have powers to fire the Vice President.
Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency Executive Director Willy Kambwandira has since said perceptions of Malawians regarding the role of the Office of the Vice President should be taken seriously.
He said, as things stand, there seems to be no clearly defined roles for the Office of Vice President.
“And, as a result, much has not been demonstrated, in terms of value for money,” Kambwandira said.
On the conduct of judicial officers, the results show that three in 10 respondents (30 percent) suspect that most judges and magistrates are involved in corrupt practices.
The results further expose that two in five citizens (40 percent) believe some judges and magistrates often decide cases based on the influence of political leaders, government officials or other powerful people, rather than the law.
It further says 63 percent of Malawians trust the courts somewhat or a lot.
Despite this level of trust, the findings show that Malawians are most likely to turn to traditional leaders when they have a dispute with an individual or a business in their community.
It further notes that nearly two-thirds of citizens believe that punishment handed down to political leaders, government officials or other powerful people who have broken the law is “too” lenient while a slim majority feel ordinary people are given unduly harsh penalties.
According to the findings, most Malawians say they are unlikely to afford court cases while half believe the timely resolution of court cases is unlikely.
Despite this, a large majority of respondents are confident that ordinary citizens can get justice in the courts if they are wronged.
Meanwhile, Magistrates and Judges Association of Malawi Secretary General Peter Kandulu has said it was encouraging that a majority of Malawians still had trust in the courts.
Kandulu, however, said it was worrying that about 30 percent of Malawians suspected that judges and magistrates engaged in corrupt practices.
Kandulu rubbished the assertion that 40 percent of respondents believe that judges and magistrates often decide cases based on the influence of political leaders, government officials or other powerful people, rather than the law.
“That’s an outright lie because when a matter comes to court, to one of our members, a judge or magistrate, they will base it on the facts as well as the law,” Kandulu said.
