Corruption worsening in Malawi – Survey funded by Irish Aid
A survey report funded by Irish Aid and presented to the Malawi media at Ryalls Hotel in Blantyre reveals that graft in Malawi is worsening.
In the recent survey conducted by Chancellor College’s Centre for Social Research, the Department of Road Traffic and Safety Services (DRTSS) Malawi Police Service (MPS) and the Accountant General’s office top the list of most corrupt institutions.
The report, prepared by professors at Chancellor College of the University of Malawi; Blessings Chinsinga, Boniface Dulani, Peter Mvula and Joseph Chunga, says while 52 percent of Malawians in 2010 felt the problem had worsened compared to preceding 10 years, 92 percent in the survey hold the view that corruption had worsened in their comparison to 10 years ago.
“Up to 43 percent of businesses in 2013 said it is common to pay some gratification in order to get things done, which is a considerable rise from 27 percent in 2010,” reads the report
The report says businesses that have made sales to the public sector over the past two years were more likely to pay gratification to get things done than those who did not.
According to the report, when citizens were asked as to who was behind the corruption problem, most Malawians pointed at public officials as the main culprit.
“ Choosing among public officials and other actors; namely citizens, businesses and politicians: 62 percent of Malawians believe that public officials are the leading perpetrators of corruption in the country.
“They were also ranked first, with 54 percent in 2010. Politicians and businesses are at 14 percent while ordinary citizens are mentioned by six percent of the citizens.”
Institutions that were rated highly in combating corruption included the media rated at 73.6 percent, churches/religious bodies at 72.6 percent, non-governmental organisations at 61.1 percent, academics and teachers at 60.9 percent and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) at 50.5 percent.
Others are police and the Office of the Ombudsman at 49.6 percent and 48.5 percent respectively.
The report recommends review and strengthening the anti-corruption legislative framework because a robust legal and regulatory framework properly enforced guarantees legitimacy.
It further encourages promotion of a culture of reporting corrupt activities by both citizens and public officials.
More than 70 percent of the about 14 million population lives on less than US$2 a day.
The gap between the rich and the poor, measured by Gini coefficient, is still yawning. Remuneration for civil servants is still pitifully disproportionate to the cost of living..
The Gini coefficient varies between 0 and 1 – the closer to 1, the more unequal a society; the closer to 0, the more equal a society.
Malawi’s is particularly high at 0.62, meaning that the country suffers from one of the world’s worst income disparities.
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Time for scriptures to come to pass,that people will be self-erinriching.Just imagine,someone stole billions of kwachas,ending up no drugs in the hospitals,so help us God
Stop sing wat songs of corruption, without it no building house’s no good life here in Malawi,go to chileka road,go to kwa kameza rounderout go to ludzu u found pipo building nice house is it a salary, if it is how much akulandila pa mwezi?
no one is left out in katangale even mphawi wakumudzi de so called victim of cashgate chofunika dziko lonse lamalawi anthu ake akangodziponya mu nyanja minus underfive but pitala in fore front as our leader
Go to Malawi prisons you will see 99% of the convicts of prisoners are povos from villages who stole a bicycle or goat and is on remand for 20 yrs because he doesn’t hv a lawyer while the queen of cashgate like Treza Namathanga are serving three yrs because some immoral crooked lawyers benefitted from it.The justice system in Malawi is crap and you should be wondering why we are at the base of the UN index as the most poorest country in the world?Get a life Malawians.Change your mindset,control corruption and you will see a generation that will living a better life.
Its somehow funny & discouraging at the same time to note that Malawi is endowed with rucrative natural resources yet it still struggles for position in the lower rungs of UN development index. I dont REALLY blame the individuals who indulge themselves in corruption, neither do i blame NGOs or corruption itselve..but to me its judicial system that bears all the blame for it is TOO weak & porous that anyone can easily difuse in and steal..In such case, it is poor ppo that suffer the brunt of injustice as the rich always stand a better chance of getting justice over the poor. My beloved malawi wont prosper unless we change our system & tighten it up. I rest my case.
Mr Mphwihimpwehe comment no 6 pliz post a foto of the hotel of Dr Phiri of Luanar as proof!
Well done Chanco and Irish aid! This warning about worsening corruption is valuable even though the message in this article about the Malawi Police Service is confusing. A word of warning however — Malawian academics (and I include the excellent Danwood Chirwa in South Africa) tend to believe that Western democracy works well and that European electorates care earnestly about their aid-budgets. It does NOT work well and western voters are too lazy or too alienated from the political scene to care. These electorates are as ignorant about what their government-departments are doing in their names and with their money as are the Malawian ones!
(My guess, for what it is worth, is that corruption is directly related to disparity of incomes. Western bureaucrats and politicians are paid well and appear to be spotlessly clean. Malawian ones appear dirty because they have to look for alternative incomes) (Might your own report, by the way, be coloured a little by its Irish funding?)
John, no. 1 I think you are one of the corrupt guys just reading between the lines. What are you trying to defend here my dear friend?
Chinsinga and his Chancellor college gurus are out once more to tarnish the image of the DPP gaffment. Total war against the gaffment. Why can’t you leave our president alone to enjoy his hard won sinecure. DPP 2024 woyeeeeee-eeee-eeee.
THIS RESEARCH IS WASTE OF MONEY EVEN A KID FROM PRIMARY XOOL CAN KNOW THAT THERE IS RAMPANT CORRUPTION IN MALAWI AS WHOLE NO NEED DR’S OF THE SO CALLED FAMOUS UNIMA TO DO A DONOR FUNDED RESEARCH…AZUNGU BOLA MUNAKAGULA MA OFFALS MWINA MUNAKAUSUUMANA APA THE FAKE DOCTOR CHISINGA HAS POCKETED YOUR MONEY TO FINISH HIS TWO BEDROOMED HOUSE WHICH WAS WASHED AWAY DUE TO FLOODS IN TCHENACHENA I REST MA CASE.!!!!!
Basi Malawi adapita ndakamuzubanda. Tizingodikira kubweranso kwa Yesu basi akadzalikonzanso dzikoli.
EVEN IN PRIVATE SECTOR. PAYMENTS ARE NOT PROCESSED UNLESS YOI OFFER SOMETHING.MUMADYA NOKHA SYNDROME.
…corruption is everywhere in this poor country…immigration, police, army, churches, universities (public & private), mosques, villages, political parties, presidency, foreign embassies, international multilateral organisations like Irish Aid itself, USAID, DfiD, NAC, MEC, The Courts – at all levels, ACB, Ombudsman, Banks, name it all.. …it is stinking!!!!!
The root cause are these pitiful donations the government makes to us which we commonly call salaries.
Kkkkkkkkk MULLI mwini ma bank.
Road Traffic, Malawi Police, Passport and Immigration, Malawi Revenue Authority, All Statutory Corps, led by Escom, Water Boards in that order. Hospitals and Schools publicly owned followed by private companies owned by Press Corporation. That’s where you met the most corruption.
What about MEC ?
was cashgate corruption?
The million dollar question is ” who will put the bell around the proverbial cat’s neck?” We know the corrupt guys what will we do about it???
University is also very corrupt. One Dr Phiri of Luanar has built a 4 star hotel hiden in a village at Maldeco and it is built with granite and marble all over. Salary yake yomweyi ya u lectureryi?
APM wanted research and can you act on the recommendations of this piece forthwith? Za chambaaaaaaaaa!
ZONSEZI NDI PITALA
ZOWONA KUMUTSA MULLI
MK6 Billion Munthu mmodzi
NANGA ENAWA SIWANTHU ??
John on comment ‘1’ learn to appreciate research findings. This is the only way we can, together ofcourse, be on guard map our way forward .
This survey’ results are absolutely correct! I just wonder where you place the Judiciary in combating/promoting Corruption.
MY TAKE IS THAT THOSE ARE JUST PERCEPTIONS OF PEOPLE WHO THINK THAT SINCE THE ECONOMYIS NOT IN GOOD SHAPE, IT MUST BE AS A RESULT OF CORRUPTION. BUT ITS NOT TRUE. YES THE COULD BE OTHER PEOPLE DOING IT BUT NOT TO THE SAME SCALE AS WAS THE CASHGATE.
What about mra?