Commemorating International Anti-Corruption Day

Corruption remains a huge social and economic burden to Malawians and in recent times, we have had to endure dire consequences of corruption which have not only affected government operations, but have serious effects on the general quality of life, especially among the poor and disadvantaged. If left unchecked, corruption will continue frustrating current development aspirations and the future of Malawi as expressed in Malawi’s development vision and plans.

On December 9 every year, the world commemorates the war on corruption with various activities aimed at raising awareness on corruption and what people can do to fight it. The day was designated by the United Nations’ General Assembly along the aspirations of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (Uncac). The day provides an opportunity for countries to reflect on corruption, its effects and the efficacy of existing measures of addressing corruption.

This year, on December 9, Malawi will once again join the rest of the world to commemorate the International Anti-Corruption Day with awareness raising activities and also stocktaking on how the country has been fighting corruption. The day is therefore a very important day to spare some thoughts on corruption and whether at all there is hope to end this evil.

In this and the next entry I would like to state several reasons why Malawians must be hopeful that the country has most of what it needs to fight corruption.

When we consider recent stories about mismanagement of public resources and the numerous corruption scandals it is quite easy to lose hope about the war on graft. However, as the country commemorates the International Anti-Corruption Day it will not be helpful to drop our war gear and wear long faces of defeat. Personally, I believe that Malawi is still on the right course. We may be slow and that may obviously frustrate many that are justifiably impatient with the pace of the country’s anti-corruption steps, but it is important to remain on the course that the country has taken so far.

First, it matters to reflect on Malawi’s corruption image as seen by the external world because this has a bearing on development and investment opportunities for the country. No one will want to invest their resources in a country with high corruption risks. However, going by the recent global Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by Transparency International, Malawi’s score and ranking improved reasonably hence suggesting reduced corruption risks in comparison with over five previous years. This factor should not be taken for granted. The CPI is based on a combination of surveys covering diverse areas of governance which include assessment of public sector levels of transparency, accountability, risk management, respect for people’s freedoms and the rule of law. As such, an improvement on the CPI score and ranking is a good indicator that Malawi can win the war, after all.

Therefore, I submit that we must take some time to reflect on some of the good things that have been done and can be attributed to the positive perception by the external world. We must remain on course by working tirelessly against bribery, diversion of public funds, use of public office for private gain and speak against nepotism. We must continue to invest in effective prosecution of corruption suspects and recovery of assets. We must strive to attain legal protection of whistle-blowers, journalists and investigators. Law enforcement on assets disclosure, conflict of interest prevention and access to information must be strengthened. Government institutions must establish and maintain strong integrity mechanisms and strive to reduce red tape and excessive bureaucratic burden. Above all, we must adopt and enforce laws that will prevent and insulate our country from effects of state capture. n

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