ACB engages media on effective anti–corruption reporting
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has commended the media for its positive contribution towards the fight against corruption in the country.
The ACB’s Senior Public Relations Officer, Egrita Ndala said this recently during a media workshop for journalists drawn from the eastern region held at Hippo View Lodge in Liwonde.
Ndala observed that the media play an important role in the fight against corruption on the understanding that they help in informing the citizenry on issues to do with corruption in various institutions.
She added that the media was one of the pillars in fighting against corruption in Malawi whereby it has to investigate corrupt practices and report the same not only through news articles but also directly to the office of ACB.
“The media has always been an important partner in the fight against corruption in Malawi as such there is no way we can leave it (media) out and talk about success stories since people get to know the effects of corruption through media,” said Ndala.
Ndala added that the media also act as a whistle-blower on various corrupt practices, an aspect considered valuable to the bureau because it acts as a starting point for the bureau.
However, Ndala said despite the media making such contributions and receiving support from government and other partners, the bureau still faces some challenges that affect its operations in the process.
“The Bureau is currently understaffed due to resignations of well trained and experienced personnel and this is heavily affecting our investigation department,” Ndala decried.
Ndala disclosed that the Bureau has in the past three years lost at least 20 people who left in search of greener pastures in other government and private institutions.
“That notwithstanding, the bureau just like any other government department is also facing financial challenges,” she pointed out.
One of the participants to the workshop, Cassim Aubi of Zodiak Broadcasting Station hailed ACB for organizing the training workshop, describing it as crucial to the media in particular and the nation in general.
Aubi said the orientation had assisted the media practitioners to know various issues to do with corruption, which would in turn go a long way in ensuring effective reporting on corruption issues.
He assured that the media would continue working in close partnership with ACB in a bid to uproot corruption to enhance development in the country, appealing to journalists to deploy various techniques in investigating corruption.
“We need to apply what we learnt on investigative journalism and combine with skills gained from this training in reporting sensitive aspects of corruption,” Aubi advised.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
The ACB has been reduced to a mere political tool how many cases has ACB convicted so far? If I may ask probably none you hear them just saying this case is still under investigation it doesn’t go beyond than that. If the suspects are pro government nobody is brought to book we just hear speculations in the media that so and so has swindled this amount of money but no real actions is taken to prosecute such kind of people, few days ago we heard in the media that there is corruption at Malawi Police services even the ministry… Read more »