Malawi has slowed down in efforts to fight corruption in the past three years, a latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI) published by the Transparency International (TI) has shown.
The report shows that since 2022, the country has maintained its score at 34 points, but has only been moving up on ranking.
While it ranked 110 in 2022, the country slipped to 115 in 2023, and then moved up to 107 in 2024 which is the latest ranking on the 180 list of countries.
Concerns have been the impunity of corrupt officials, restricted civic space and limited access to justice as well as decades of severe underfunding in public sectors.
In addition, the 2024 report shows that in Malawi and other countries, bribery, fraud and kickbacks play a crucial role in enabling the illegal exploitation of forests, wildlife, and fisheries.
Reads the report in part: “Malawi has a score of 34 this year, with a change of 0 since last year, meaning it ranks 107 out of 180 countries.
“About 72 percent of people thought corruption increased in the previous 12 months. 28 percent of public service users paid a bribe in the previous 12 months.”
TI has since said transparency and accountability are essential to ensuring that resources are protected, policies deliver on their objectives and projects reach the communities.
Reacting to the report, anti-money laundering and anti-corruption law expert Jai Banda said lack of transparency and insufficient disclosure of government activities and finances conceal corrupt practices.
He said: “Officials suspected of corruption have not been relieved of their duties, they have continued to work. Despite the specialised court being there, if cases are not brought before it, there is nothing the court can do.
“Without a head of Anti-Corruption Bureau [ACB], you cannot expect the ACB to deliver to its full potential. The ACB director general is the one who is answerable to Parliament. Without having one, it stalls the fight against corruption.”
On his part, private practice lawyer Justin Dzonzi said the challenge with Malawi was that it was not focusing on dealing with corruption where it starts, upstream, like in procurement.
He said: “We have a Constitution that grants the Director of Public Prosecutions so much power to discount or revive cases, and this makes that person a target of corruption. That power can be used wrongly and maybe we have seen that. We need to remove that.”
Youth and Society executive director Charles Kajoloweka said reforms such as establishment of Financial Crimes Court, law reforms for ACB on consent to prosecute, and increased funding to ACB has changed nothing.
Minister of Information and Digitisation Moses Kunkuyu did not respond to our queries yesterday. But after the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) raised similar concerns on corruption recently, he said while government has made progress in improving people’s lives, it will put more effort in further addressing critical challenges, including corruption.
