MEC against institutional corruption

The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) on November 21, 2022, joined an anti-corruption awareness campaign organized by Institutional Integrity Committees from 16 public service organizations in Blantyre under the theme, “Resetting the Moral Tone”.
The awareness campaign started with a parade from Ginnery Corner to Limbe and back to the Kamuzu Upper Stadium ground where the main event was held.
Addressing the participants who gathered at the stadium, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Director General, Martha Chizuma emphasized the bureau’s commitment to see to it that corruption in government institutions is completely eradicated.
She, therefore, applauded the Blantyre IIICsIcs for organizing such an event to show their commitment to ending corruption, not only in Blantyre but in the country at large.
“This is the first time that the Blantyre IICs have gathered together with one voice of ending corruption. it is, therefore, our core obligation that we don’t just show it here but make it known to our clients that we are against corrupt practices,” she said.
Concurring with her was the Deputy Secretary to the Office of the President and Cabinet, Dr Janet Banda, who hailed the Blantyre IICs for the remarkable event.
“We are working with the ACB to ensure that government departments have operationize their IICs. The major challenge is that corruption has become part of our life, whether its government, civil societies or private sector so that is what we are grappling with at the moment,” she said.
Internal Integrity Committees are set up at institutional level in all public service institutions to champion anti-corruption awareness among staff and all stakeholders that do business with that particular organization.
Speaking during the meeting, Chairperson of the MEC IIC, Mr Muhabi Chisi, who is the Director of ICT, said the electoral body was committed to stamping out corruption among its staff and all stakeholders.
“We have a very robust voter registration system that you cannot expect anyone can think of bribing a registration clerk to register them. But we know that we deal with stakeholders in various dimensions apart from registering as voters.
“We have some many people and organization that supply materials and items to MEC which we need to reach out to with the anti-corruption messages. If left unchecked, they could be a fertile ground for bribery behaviors,” he said.

Up to 16 parastatals took part in the campaign led by the Anti-Corruption Bureau under the theme “Resetting the Moral Tone”.