7 in 10 Malawians say corruption worse over past year

By Moses Michael-Phiri

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AA) - Some 72 percent of Malawians say that corruption in the country has worsened over the past year, including two-thirds who say it has increased “a lot,” according to a new Afrobarometer survey released Tuesday.

But Nicholas Dausi, Malawi’s information communications and technology minister, who is also government spokesperson, blasted the report.

“I don’t think that is a fair survey, I don’t think it has taken cognizance of our efforts to fight corruption,” he told local daily The Nation on Tuesday.

In a telephone interview with Anadolu Agency on Tuesday, Dausi said the government of the southeastern African nation has put in place initiatives to fight corruption.

“The government is working hard to fight corruption. We have put in place several measures, that’s why I am surprised by this report,” he said.

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on democracy, governance, economic conditions, and related issues in Africa.

Malawi has recently been rocked by corruption scandals. In 2012, top government officials under then-President Joyce Banda looted over $100 million from government coffers in a scam dubbed “Cashgate.”

This February, President Peter Mutharika sacked Agriculture Minister George Chaponda after involvement in a suspicious $35 million maize import deal from Zambia.

2017 Transparency International corruption index findings from January also show corruption worsened over the last five years, resulting in the country falling sharply from number 88 in 2012 to 120 in 2016.

Apart from showing that corruption is worsening, the Afrobarometer report says about half of the 17 million population think that “most” or “all” Malawi police officers, business executives, and officials in the presidency are corrupt.

The Afrobarometer data has been released at a time when the country is hosting an annual meeting of African Commonwealth anti-corruption agency heads.