Activists have highlighted the absence of a whistle-blower protection Act and the continuation of presidential immunity in the country’s Constitution as significant barriers to combating corruption.
Lucky Mbewe, the executive director of the Center for Youth and Development (CYECE), stated that these factors have greatly hindered the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in its efforts to effectively address this issue, even after 25 years of establishment.
Mbewe noted the sluggish progress in anti-corruption efforts, attributing it to insufficient citizen participation in identifying and reporting corrupt activities.
“People are not forthcoming to report corrupt practices because they are not protected by the laws. Those who were supposed to be answering corrupt charges are left scot-free,” he said
He criticized the inadequacies of current laws and regulations, particularly in cases involving high-ranking government officials, which often remain unresolved.
Moreover, Mbewe pointed out the discouragement faced by individuals reporting corruption cases, as delays in the judicial process allow many perpetrators to evade accountability.
Sylvester Namiwa, the executive director of the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI), critiqued the perceived biases within the ACB, indicating a need for renewed political commitment from the highest levels to address these challenges effectively.
“The problem lies not only in the laws and policies themselves but in the individuals implementing them. As the saying goes, the law is only as good as those enforcing it. By appointing predators to safeguard our interests, we forfeit our right to voice grievances or question our legislation.
“The battle against corruption will only be victorious when the nation collectively agrees to eliminate the presidential immunity outlined in section 91, subsections 1 and 2. Otherwise, high-profile cases persist under the president’s tacit approval, with perpetrators relying on presidential immunity for sanctuary. When conscientious citizens voice dissent, they are unfairly branded as subversives, despite their noble intentions,” he remarked.
National Coordinator for the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) Boniface Chibwana described ACB’s silver jubilee journey as a mixed bag.
“If you look at how corrupt acts have escalated in the country, you would question if ACB has had any impact. We are conscious that ACB cannot do its job alone but, for the past years, we have seen a lack of coordination between bodies entrusted to fight corruption in the country.
“For the past 25 years, we have also seen slow progress, in terms of ACB prosecuting those alleged to have been involved in corrupt acts. This is not good for the country as far as fighting graft is concerned,” Chibwana told the local media
Political commentator Victor Chipofya said he would rate ACB’s performance at 40 percent.
“Unfortunately, the ACB has been used as a hunting dog to fight people who are against government officials. And that erodes the confidence that people have in it. That is why President [Lazarus] Chakwera did allude, during the campaign, to the fact that he would reduce his powers of appointing the ACB director because he could objectively see that ACB operations were being compromised when its boss is appointed by the President.
“Unfortunately, the President is yet to fulfill the pledge since being elected into power,” Chipofya was quoted as saying in the media
As it was commemorating 25 of its existence late last year, ACB director Martha Chizuma said the body has registered and processed 36 878 cases during the years.
She said 26 210 of the cases, representing 71 percent, were either closed or referred to other institutions.
Chizuma said 10 615 of the cases, representing 29 percent, were recommended for investigation.
She said the highest number of completed cases was achieved between 2004 and 2014 when 5 314 cases were completed, with 1 308 recommended for prosecution.
She said: “A total of 425 corruption cases were successfully prosecuted and completed in various courts across Malawi between 2004/05 and 2022/23 period.
“Of these cases, 158, which represents 37 percent, were convictions, 94 cases, representing 22 percent were acquittals, 40 cases [nine percent] were discharges/withdraws, 30 cases [seven percent] were civil matters, 96 [23 percent] were closures and seven of them were referrals.”
However, the ACB head admitted that the picture given of ACB’s achievements after 25 years shows that it needs to do more in the fight against corruption.
Said Chizuma: “When you look at law enforcement, which is where most people focus on where anti-corruption is concerned, the statistics are not very good and we are talking of about 1 000 cases prosecuted since 2004 and that is not a good picture to paint.
“So, we have brought out all these statistics so that the country should see and be able to think of how we can come together to shift the paradigm to have a better picture than this 25 years from now.”
Since 1998, the ACB has had two main traditional sources of funding for its programmes and interventions, notably the Malawi Government and development partners, mostly Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, the World Bank, Norway, Irish Aid, European Union (EU) and Chandler Foundation, among others.
During its 25 years of existence, the ACB has received K35.8 billion from government and almost K3.5 billion from development partners.
