Malawi enters global scrutiny on corruption
Impoverished Malawi will for the first time face global scrutiny on how it is tackling corruption following its inclusion in the Global Corruption Barometer 2011, according to Transparency International (TI).
Malawi joins nine other Africa countries such as Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe among others.
TI’s Senior Programme Coordinator for Africa and Middle East Annitte Jaitner said this during a media briefing to journalists from Africa and Asia (includingthis reporter from Nyasa Times) s at Transparency International’s secretariat in Berlin, Germany on Wednesday.
Jaitner said the report would be officially launched on November 22, 2011 in South Africa.
In a thinly veiled disclosure of the 2011 major findings, Jaitner said property rights, land deals, Police and the education sector feature very high.
“Land deals are not properly transparent. People are displaced and are not properly compensated,” she said.
The Global Corruption Barometer, which started publishing its results in 2003 initially with 44 countries and will have 96 in 2011, explores the general public’s views about corruption levels in their country and their government’s efforts.
The Barometer complements, Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which Malawi has for long been featured and (CPI) gathers the general public’s perceptions about how key institutions are affected by corruption.
Samantha Grant, TI’s Programme Coordinator for Asia and the Pacific thinks her organization’s increased funding despite the global crunch reflects recognition in the world that corruption is a big problem.
“With governments committing huge sums to tackle the world’s most pressing problems, from the instability of financial markets to climate change and corruption – corruption remains an obstacle to achieving progress,’ according to TI.
In its latest Corruption Perception Index, Transparency International ranks Malawi at 85 out of 178 countries.
But in Malawi many government and quasi-government institutions do not complying with Corrupt Practices Act.
The Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Alexious Nampota, says corruption poses a very serious challenge on the economy and development of the country.
“Corruption if left loose can completely drain government resources that would otherwise benefit the rural poor,” he said.
Nampota therefore called upon all Malawians to fight against corruption for a corruption free Malawi.
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