National Anti-Corruption Strategy

The Corruption Prevention Section also coordinates implementation of national importance. Among other initiatives, the section is coordinating the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy in collaboration with all sectors in Malawi. The strategy is a national document that consolidates all efforts to fight and prevent corruption in Malawi as a way of supporting achievement of goals outlined in the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy.

Since the declaration of Zero Tolerance in Malawi, there have been positive developments in the fight against corruption, one of which was the idea of conducting a baseline survey which was done in the year 2005 and results were released in 2006. The survey gave a clear severity and trends in corruption in Malawi and generally revealed that corruption exists and continues to be a big problem in Malawi. It was also realised that there is massive corruption in the other sectors in Malawi. At first, there was a belief that corruption exists only in the public sector. It was from this background that the National Anti-Corruption strategy initiative, whose main focus is the collective action against corruption, came into being .

The Malawi National Anti-Corruption Strategy was launched by His Excellency, the State President of the Republic of Malawi on 5^th February 2009. The National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) is a sector holistic approach to the fight against corruption in Malawi. It has been developed upon the realisation that corruption affects all sectors of society hence the need to involve all stakeholders in developing anti-corruption measures which would assist to fight and eliminate corruption in the country.

Generally, before the launch of the NACS, fighting corruption was seen as the responsibility of the Anti-Corruption Bureau alone since it is a body which is mandated by the Corrupt Practices Act, Cap.7:04 to spearhead the fight against corruption in the country. However, other initiatives against corruption have emerged. The Business Sector formed the Business Action against Corruption (BAAC), a body that deals with corruption issues within the Private Sector. Civil Society Organisations (CSO) established the Civil Society Action against Corruption (CSAAC) to deal with corrupt practices in the civil society. Such efforts show that various sectors recognise corruption as a major problem in Malawi, and clearly indicate a need for coordination of efforts to build a common front against corruption.

The main thrust of the Strategy is the establishment of a National Integrity System (NIS). NIS will institute anti-corruption reforms and promote ethical culture in all the sectors of the economy and in institutions which were perceived as more corrupt during the Governance and Corruption Baseline Survey. The NIS has eight pillars that recognise the public as a launch pad for spearheading a national anti-corruption drive. The pillars are the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary, Private sector, Civil Society, Faith Based Organizations, Traditional leaders and the media. The Strategy is intended to achieve three broad objectives. These are to promote integrity, transparency and improve service delivery in all sectors; to promote public involvement in the fight against corruption; and to intensify prevention of corruption and promotion of integrity in all sectors.

Implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Strategy will be done by a National Integrity Committee (NIC) comprising members drawn from all sectors of Malawi. The NIC will be mandated to get reports from Institutional Integrity Committees for evaluation and informing the public on the progress. The NIC will be reporting to the State President and Cabinet on the implementation of the Strategy. Implementation of anti-corruption reforms, as outlined in the implementation plan of this Strategy, will ensure transparency and accountability in all sectors hence reduction of corrupt practices and improved service delivery.