Mass resignation at Malawi graft-busting body ACB as Njauju murder still haunts

The murder of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Director of Corporate Affairs, Issa Njauju  still gaunt the graft-busting body as there has been mass resignation of staff from investigations, prosecution, corruption prevention and public education sections.

Workers in accounts, audit and human resource departments  have also been tendering their resignations which highlights something is terribly wrong at ACB.

Njauju was brutally killed in Lilongwe. His body was found behind Presidential Villas in the administrative capital.

He was shot twice while his official vehicle was burnt to ashes as well in what has been widely believed as work of regime thugs.

The murder  has to a large extent affected the anti-corruption efforts to address the corroding malaise of financial looting that has impacted on the country’s limited resources, and which is currently affecting the delivery of timely and quality public services to all citizens.

But ACB Deputy Director General, Reyneck Matemba, confirmed the mass resignations cited poor working conditions as one of the reasons that if forcing people out of ACB.

“It is a very big problem. In fact now, almost every month, somebody is resigning from the Bureau from all the sections. The problem we have now is that in those days the Bureau used to be attractive. The Conditions of Service of the Bureau were more attractive than of most government agencies.

“But now it is the opposite. People are now trekking to institutions that are offering better salaries and other opportunities including promotions,” Matemba said as quoted in Malawi News of June 11, 2016.

He added: “As of last year, the Bureau had 150 officers, now there are 132. You can see how the figure is going down. The total establishment of the Bureau is about 248. But we know we can’t fill all those vacancies at once. That’s not possible in terms of finances, as well as other considerations.”

Secretary in the Department of Human Resource and Development, Blessings Chilabade said replacing staff cannot be a challenge for ACB.