A damning Anti‑Corruption Bureau compliance report has prompted Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee (LAG) to summon controlling officers from dozens of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that emerged as “enablers” of corruption.
The summons follows an Institutional Integrity Committee compliance monitoring exercise that found systemic weaknesses in procurement oversight, fraud‑prevention and internal monitoring, which are gaps the ACB says have effectively enabled corruption and require urgent remedial action.
The monitoring report showed that while several MDAs and local government authorities (LGAs) are tasked to promote institutional integrity by identifying and addressing systemic weaknesses in anti-corruption measures, 37 of the 79 MDAs sampled and four of the LGAs scored below 50 percent on compliance.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which produced the report, recommended that the committee should summon controlling officers of all underperforming institutions into account for their underperformance.
In response, LAG chairperson Gilbert Khonyongwa said they will invite the leadership of underperforming institutions to explain the gaps and present remedial plans.
“In furtherance of its constitutional oversight mandate and in accordance with established Parliamentary procedures under the Parliament of Malawi as well as the objectives of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy II (NACS II), the Legal Affairs Committee will be inviting and summoning the leadership of those MDAs that have not performed satisfactorily.
“The purpose of this exercise is to engage constructively with the concerned institutions in order to identify the underlying challenges, assess compliance gaps, and provide guidance aimed at strengthening institutional integrity systems,” he said.
Khonyongwa framed the hearings as corrective rather than punitive.
“It underscores Parliament’s commitment to ensuring that all public institutions uphold the highest standards of accountability and stewardship in the management of public resources.
“We remain resolute in supporting national efforts to combat corruption and in promoting a culture of compliance, ethical leadership and responsible public service delivery,” he said.
Khonyongwa said it was encouraging that some MDAs are demonstrating a growing commitment to fighting corruption.
The worst performing MDAs include Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs at 1.3 percent, Central Government Stores at eight percent, Malawi Legal Aid Bureau at 17 percent, Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital at 15.8 percent, Ministry of Health and Sanitation at 17.4 percent, Ministry of Defence at 17.7 percent and Ministry of Mining at 18.4 percent.
Among the LGAs, the worst performers are Nkhotakota District Council at 15.3 percent, Blantyre City Council at 31.8, Chitipa District Council at 35.3 percent and Nsanje District Council at 45.9 percent.
Office of President and Cabinet (OPC) Principal Secretary for Good Governance Unit Reinford Mwangonde said while the new government “inherited a completely broken-down system that was designed for abuse, loot and plunder,” it will not downplay the findings.
“The findings are concerning, and we do not intend to downplay them. The IIC mechanism was established to strengthen internal accountability within MDAs and local government authorities. Where ministries and agencies are scoring poorly, particularly in monitoring procurement and enforcing fraud-prevention instruments, this indicates implementation gaps that must be addressed urgently,” said Mwangonde.
He said government is working towards, among others, linking IIC performance to performance appraisals of controlling officers.
Mwangonde said: “It requires remedial action plans for low-performing MDAs and strengthening oversight through the OPC and the Ministry of Finance.
“Further, we will have to escalate persistent non-compliance to appropriate administrative review mechanisms. Non-compliance should not be normalised if institutions are to take integrity committees seriously.”
But legal expert Jai Banda suggested increased transparency in government dealings and contracts, but also enhanced accountability through parliamentary oversight and citizen-led monitoring.
“Implement measures to increase transparency in government dealings, such as publishing information on government contracts, budgets, and expenditures.
“Provide adequate protection and incentives for whistle-blowers to report corruption without fear of retaliation,” he suggested.
The IICs are also required to monitor procurement processes or service delivery within their respective institutions at least once every quarter.
Malawi has stagnated in efforts to fight corruption in the past four years, with Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index showing that since 2022, the country has maintained its score at 34 points, but has only been moving up on ranking.
