Panellists to an Open Government Week webinar on Friday advocated for increased transparency in public procurement to save billions lost through corruption and inefficiencies in the chain.
Calls for improved transparency and accountability in public procurement come against a background that up to 70 percent of resources in Malawi’s national budget covers contracts buying goods and services.
In their contributions, government agencies and civil society organisations (CSOs) agreed that open contracting and beneficial ownership transparency are no longer optional but essential for safeguarding public resources.
Representing CSOs, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation executive director Michael Kaiyatsa said public procurement remains one of the sectors most vulnerable to corruption, conflict of interest and fraud.
He highlighted that more than half of all foreign bribery cases involve procurement contracts and that between 10 and 25 percent of contract value is lost to corruption.
“These statistics remind us that transparency and accountability in procurement systems are not merely technical governance issues,” said Kaiyatsa. “They are fundamentally about development, public trust, social justice and the responsible stewardship of public resources.”
He said Cashgate and repeated procurement controversies in Malawi have diverted resources away from health, education and agriculture.
Malawi lost an estimated K236 billion through Cashgate, the plunder of resources at Capital Hill through dubious payments, inflated invoices and goods or services never rendered.
In May 2015, a financial analysis report by audit and business advisory firm PricewaterhouseCoopers also established that about K577 billion in public funds could not be reconciliated between 2009 and December 31 2014. However, the figure was later revised downwards to K236 billion by another British forensic auditor.
Contributing to the webinar, Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) acting director general Timothy Kalembo said many public entities still show low preparedness to embrace open systems after the launch of Malawi National Electronic Procurement System (MANePS), an electronic procurement platform replacing the old paper-based system that were prone to serious weaknesses.
He disclosed that some entities have applied for waivers to conduct procurement manually while others do not want to disclose what they call sensitive information, citing confidentiality or national security. But PPDA has rejected those requests.
“Even sensitive information needs to be disclosed. Even national security has to be disclosed. The government issued a circular that there should be no exemptions,” said Kalembo.
Giving an update on MANePS rolled out on April 1 this year, he said over 100 annual procurement plans are uploaded on the platform.
In his contribution, Registrar General Chikumbutso Namelo said his office has updated the beneficial ownership module.
Previously, companies bidding for government contracts needed to disclose only their directors, leaving beneficial owners, those who ultimately own or control the companies, hidden.
Reform advocates contend that this loophole allowed some individuals to register multiple companies that would compete against each other for public tenders.
“It is ahead of the regulation. We will be reviewing the regulation. But publishing beneficial ownership information is not yet standard practice,” said Namelo.
He said the Companies Act is under review and that a new Trust Administration Act will cover legal arrangements.
A representative of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Chrispin Khunga, said opaque systems encourage corruption.
“When systems are opaque, they encourage human interaction. That is why we are pushing for open contracting and beneficial ownership transparency,” he said.
Khunga said the ACB made a submission on whistle-blower protection three years ago, adding that the Special Law Commission is now drafting a bill that also extends to witness protection.
MANePS, which became mandatory on April 1, is an online platform that manages the entire procurement cycle, from planning and tendering to contract award and payment. The government first announced the system in 2024 as part of the Malawi 2063 digital transformation agenda to replace paper-based system that had been in use since independence.
