The recent news about Madonna's failed adoption of Mercy Chifundo James is a wake up call to all the people who are responsible for making our laws. Why is it that we are still using a law which was passed or reviewed in 1958?
It is really embarrassing to note the we fail to change the laws that govern our country. Our very constitution has a lot of loopholes that needs to be reviewed and changed. Since 1964 we have had several Constitutional reviews but i wonder why these archaic laws were not changed. Our National Parliament meets several times every year and draws alot of allowances in the name of making laws.
As the world is changing we really need to move with the times and the Constitution and the various laws need to be changed inline with the changing times. No wonder some greedy politicians have taken advantage of the loopholes in our constitution to advance their personal agendas.
The past five years our supreme law has passed through various tests that proved its inefficiency in dealing with other areas. Something must be done pretty fast to review and change our laws. Whatever happened to the recommendations that we submitted to the Constitutional Review we had a few years back needs to be explained.
Time has come that we should live like we are in the 21st Century and our laws should reflect real issues that we are facing. Because of these archaic laws, Malawi has been criticized worldwide for denying Mercy Chifundo James a chance to be adopted by the world's most successful female recording artist, Madonna.
While she was trying to follow the law, Judge Esmie Chombo has ended up being criticized by people around the world including her fellow countrymen. The learned judge could not twist the law just to favour one person. Regardless of the public outcry, the media coverage, the status of the child to be adopted, the law requies a person who has stayed in the country for over a year.
Whilst Madonna might be thinking of relocating to Chinsapo, Chilinde or Chilobwe to be eligible to adopt another child, let us think of reviewing the law to suit with the changed world. A lot of orphans will be denied good opportunities because of these colonial laws we are still using. Wake up Malawians.
It is really embarrassing to note the we fail to change the laws that govern our country. Our very constitution has a lot of loopholes that needs to be reviewed and changed. Since 1964 we have had several Constitutional reviews but i wonder why these archaic laws were not changed. Our National Parliament meets several times every year and draws alot of allowances in the name of making laws.
As the world is changing we really need to move with the times and the Constitution and the various laws need to be changed inline with the changing times. No wonder some greedy politicians have taken advantage of the loopholes in our constitution to advance their personal agendas.
The past five years our supreme law has passed through various tests that proved its inefficiency in dealing with other areas. Something must be done pretty fast to review and change our laws. Whatever happened to the recommendations that we submitted to the Constitutional Review we had a few years back needs to be explained.
Time has come that we should live like we are in the 21st Century and our laws should reflect real issues that we are facing. Because of these archaic laws, Malawi has been criticized worldwide for denying Mercy Chifundo James a chance to be adopted by the world's most successful female recording artist, Madonna.
While she was trying to follow the law, Judge Esmie Chombo has ended up being criticized by people around the world including her fellow countrymen. The learned judge could not twist the law just to favour one person. Regardless of the public outcry, the media coverage, the status of the child to be adopted, the law requies a person who has stayed in the country for over a year.
Whilst Madonna might be thinking of relocating to Chinsapo, Chilinde or Chilobwe to be eligible to adopt another child, let us think of reviewing the law to suit with the changed world. A lot of orphans will be denied good opportunities because of these colonial laws we are still using. Wake up Malawians.
