Malawi’s corruption ranking worsens  

 The Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index released on Monday shows that Malawi has dropped down on the corruption ladder to position 109 in the world, meaning that the country’s corruption levels have worsened.
Malawi’s rating in 1994 was at position 90 and in 2005 at 97, clearly showing that the country has progressively become more corrupt over the years.
This rating is in contrast to President Bingu wa Mutharika’s “zero-tolerance” to corruption stance.
“Firms and professional associations for lawyers, accountants and bankers have a special responsibility to take stronger action against corruption.
“Led by prosecuting attorneys, forensic auditors and compliance officers, they can be the stalwarts of a successful fight against corruption.” said TI chief executive David Nussbaum commenting on the CPI report this year.
Malawi Economic Justice Network (Mejn) executive director Andrew Kumbatira said on Tuesday the revelation of such corruption trend should be a rude awakening to government so that it starts to “walk the talk” in the fight against corruption.
“Obviously, this is a startling revelation. It’s very a surprising trend, especially that the fight against corruption has been intensified in the country,” he said.
Kumbatira said although Mejn acknowledge government efforts in combating corruption, extra emphasis in the fight against corruption should not only be in the public sector but in the private sector too.
“However, Malawi’s overall performance should not be unfairly judged on these figures because there are measures that government has put in place after 2004. These measures are stronger than in 2004 so observers should also understand that in the past the fight against corruption was not seriously being effected,” he said.
Kumbatira said Mejn believes investors will not be scared with the figures.
“There are a lot of factors that investors should look at and serious investors will not just look at corruption figures alone because the situation on the ground is much better,” he said.
Chancellor Kaferapanjira, Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) chief executive, said the figures need to be looked at critically before people start making conclusions.
“There are several factors that are involved in compiling these figures. They might not be a true reflection of the activities taking place on the ground,” he said.
Asked to comment if such figures can scare away potential investors, Kaferapanjira said he had to look at the figures before giving a professional comment.
However, the African Union estimates that Africa loses US$148 billion to corruption annually or 25 percent of the continent’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Scholars confirm that corruption is endemic in southern Africa and has led to the loss of huge sums of money.
Under founding president Kamuzu Banda’s 30-year autocratic rule between 1964 and 1994, corruption prevailed unchecked and reference to it was almost taboo. In sharp contrast, since the advent of a multiparty system, a number of cases of corruption have been reported.
For example, hundreds of cases accumulated at the ACB within six months of its establishment in March 1997, and so far it has received more than 3,100 written reports.
In the 2002 country studies conducted by TI in more than 30 countries in Africa, Malawi was ranked 11th on the corruption ladder. Furthermore, in worldwide studies in the same year involving 102 countries, Malawi was ranked 35th on the corruption ladder.
In 2004 when Malawi was still under the leadership of Bakili Muluzi the country was among the most corrupt countries in the world and was ranked 87th, scoring 2.8, compared with 83rd in 2003.
It is estimated that Malawi loses one third of its annual revenue through waste, fraud, bribery and corruption and in the past ten years the country has lost more than MK10 billion.
In Africa, only two countries—Botswana and Mauritius—score above five, which is commonly seen as the threshold for least corruption.
Corruption and lack of transparency clearly remain a major problem across the continent, with Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Guinea at the bottom of this year’s global ranking said TI during the launch of this year’s report in Berlin on Monday.