Transparency International eyes Malawi
Transparency International, the global civil society corruption busting organization, says it has set its eyes on Malawi for one of its nascent national chapters.
Apart from Malawi, the Transparency International is looking on another impoverished country in Africa called Benin.
This development means TI will now have 20 national chapters from the initial 18 in Africa alone. Globally it has more than 90.
TI’s Senior Programme Coordinator for Africa and Middle East Annitte Jaitner said this during a media briefing to Journalists from Africa and Asia at Transparency International’s secretariat in Berlin, Germany on Wednesday.
“Obviously we would want to have chapters in every country in the world. But we usually jump to where we see a window and try to use that opportunity,” Jaitner said.
She said TI was already in contact with some organizations and groups in these countries for the preparatory work.
In its latest Corruption Perception Index, Transparency International ranks Malawi at 85 out of 178 countries.
“Africa is a difficult place to operate… but corruption is a global phenomenon and there is no single solution to it,” said Sophie Brown of TI’s Communication Department.
Malawians had lost trust in the country’s anti-corruption strategy despite assurances from the country’s President Bingu wa Mutharika that it will work, according to the country’s 2010 Governance and Corruption Survey final report.
The survey said Malawians failed to report corruption because they did not know where to report or were concerned about potential harassment while most public officials felt cases could not be proved or the process was long and too complex.
“Corruption is a natural occurrence and part of our daily lives, so denouncing it is unnecessary,” the report quotes Malawians as saying.
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