UN representative tips Malawi on strategy to end corruption

United Nations (UN) Malawi Resident Coordinator, Rabecca Adda-Dontoh has said Malawi stands a better chance to successfully win the fight against corruption if opportunities were available and given to all to take corruption head on.

She made the remarks on Saturday in Balaka, during the International Ant-Corruption Day commemorations where the Anti-Corruption Bureau also commemorated their silver jubilee                                                                                                                    

Dontoh said a culture of accountability must be instilled in the youthful generation by incorporating corruption modules in the education system from primary school to ensure future generation is corrupt free.

She said: “Corruption affects the society; I always describe it in my own way as a scenario of a house in which the occupants start stealing the iron sheets. If the majority of the good ones do not come together to arrest the thieves, all of them will live without a roof.

“Let me commend government for a step forward taken in trying to instill a corrupt free generation by launching a book in the primary schools that will see pupils learning about corruption so that a generation free of corruption is guaranteed come 2063.”

She observed that corruption undermines the trust in institutions and legal frameworks to hold perpetrators accountable.

The UN Resident Coordinator said a culture of accountability, encouraging whistle blowers and rewarding integrity is paramount as far as the fight against corruption is concerned.

On his part, Chair of the National Integrity Committee, Jeff Kabondo said National Anti-Corruption Strategy II which was launched in 2019 stipulates that everyone must take part in ending corruption, which is the reason ACB instituted integrity committees to help combat corruption at institutional level.

The strategy launch saw the establishment of the Institutional Integrity Committee to spearhead the fight against corruption at institutional level as well as the establishment of a financial crimes court and a book launch for primary schools for learners to learn about evils of corruption.

Kabondo asked for a law safeguarding whistle blowers to be instituted to enhance reporting of corrupt activities by different people.