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Malawi Holds Consultation on Draft Trusts Bill for Registration Regime
The Malawi government convened a stakeholder consultation in Lilongwe on July 2 on a Draft Trusts Bill. Officials said the measure would establish a registration system for settlement trusts and meet international standards on beneficial ownership.
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AllAfrica reported that the Malawi government held a stakeholder consultation in Lilongwe on July 2 on the Draft Trusts Bill. The meeting gathered input from private-sector, civil-society, legal and regulatory representatives before the measure advances to parliament.
Solicitor General and Secretary for Justice and Constitutional Affairs Gertrude Lynn Hiwa SC told participants that Malawi currently lacks any registration regime for settlement trusts.
She said the Trustees Incorporation Act covers only qualifying charities and associations. Hiwa added that the gap conflicts with Malawi’s international obligations to combat money laundering and terrorist financing and to provide beneficial-ownership transparency for legal arrangements.
Malawi has already introduced beneficial-ownership reforms for companies, but trusts remain outside those rules, AllAfrica reported.
Hiwa stated that the Draft Trusts Bill is intended to create a modern legal framework supporting trust structures, legal certainty, transparency and regulatory oversight. Consultant Reyneck Matemba, working with the Companies Registrations and Intellectual Property Centre, presented the bill’s contents. Registrar General Chikumbutso Namelo urged stakeholders to submit comments to refine the text.
Hiwa thanked the Chandler Institute of Justice for technical assistance in drafting the measure. The consultation included representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Malawi Law Society and the Reserve Bank of Malawi.
