By Chisomo Phiri
President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has commended the Anti-Corruption Symposium 2023 saying the event has challenged Malawians to be unyielding in contributing towards a corrupt-free Malawi going forward.
Speaking at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe today, the President said the Symposium is encouraging all Malawians to be tasked to assess the strategies Malawi has been using in fighting corruption in the past 25 years of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) existence.
Said Chakwera :”We are also dared to map the way forward on a firm agenda of ending the vice towards 2063.
“A self-reliant and industrialised nation is possible only when corruption does not form part of our governance infrastructure.”
The Malawi leader promised that his administration will, continue displaying adequate political will through implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) to end corruption in the country.
On her part, ACB Director General Martha Chizuma said there has been demonstrable political will from the high office regarding the fight against corruption.
She indicated that some of the strides that have been made recently include, removal of the need for consent from the director of public prosecutions before the bureau takes cases to court for prosecution; the lifestyle audit guide and others.
Chizuma also mentioned that the fight against corruption has seen cartels who are continuously working to frustrate the work of the ACB to protect their interests and to benefit from the money others obtained through corrupt means.
The symposium which kick started yesterday, is part oft the ACB’s 25th anniversary celebration.
The event has drawn together ACB Chiefs from various countries in the SADC region and local and international Civil Society Organisations CSO’s dealing in accountability issues.
