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| Business |
| Commercial courts miss October deadline |
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by
Taonga Sabola, 07 November 2006
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05:19:12
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Shifting goal posts? The commencement date for the establishment of commercial courts in the country has missed a second deadline and indications are that the courts may not materialise at least before the end of this year as stakeholders are still shuffling the paperwork.
The commercial courts were initially slated to take off in July this year before the commencement date was moved to October because the High Court was reportedly on recess.
But investigations by The Nation have revealed that the court has not yet taken off and that even their structures are yet to be identified.
High Court assistant registrar Dorothy Kamanga confirmed the development in an interview last week saying there are a number of items that need to be sorted out before the courts can start.
“We are still in consultation stage and the task-force that is entrusted with the job will be making recommendations to the Chief Justice in mid-November,” she said.
But Kamanga could not commit herself to give new dates when the exercise is expected to be completed.
“The task-force is to give direction in as far as rules as well as the whole set-up of the courts will be like which included the issue of infrastructure,” she said.
Establishment of commercial courts is one of the economic policies government plans to implement as a way of strengthening the country’s business environment in accordance with the three-year Poverty Reduction Growth Facility (PRGF) arrangement that it signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in August last year.
The urgent need for commercial courts has been a burning issue at various business gatherings and companies are said to be losing a lot of money to have commercial crimes concluded under the current court settings.
A study by the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) has indicated that companies spend more than a 100 percent of the amount involved to have a commercial crime addressed to its logical conclusion.
MCCCI chief executive officer Chancellor Kaferapanjira (in the picture)has been pressing for a quick implementation of commercial courts in recent times arguing that the move would improve the country’s perception as an investment destination.
On the other hand, World Bank Malawi country economist Khwima Nthara and Bankers Association of Malawi executive director Fanuel Kumdana pointed out last week during a Dealers Association of Malawi (Deama) annual conference in Mangochi that the country now stands a very good chance of attracting investors in the aftermath of debt relief.
It however remains uncertain if indeed the investors will be attracted with such delays in the implementation of commercial courts expected to provide speedy hearings to business-related cases.
The European Union (EU) and the Malawian Government signed an 28 million euro (about K5.096 billion ) agreement in January this year through which the EU would support the country’s various activities aimed at promoting the rule of law including the creation of commercial courts.
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