In what could be described as a blow to the fight against corruption in the country, Anti-Corruption Bureau Director General Martha Chizuma has disclosed that corruption-related data collected between 1998 and 2004 is unreliable to use.
The admission has prompted good governance advocates to express fear that those that indulged in corruption within the years in question could get off the hook.
Chizuma disclosed this during a press briefing that was organised as part of activities marking ACB’s silver jubilee.
“A total of 5,314 cases were completed between 2004 and 2005. Note that the data between 1998 and 2004 is unreliable to use as it was incomplete,” she said.
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According to Chizuma, their data shows that the highest number of completed investigated cases was achieved between 2004 and 2014, attributing the development to the availability of steady financing streams from both government and development partners.
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She pointed out that just after the discovery of Cashgate in 2013, most donors pulled out, which resulted in the office falling behind on some of its mandates.
The ACB chief, however, said development partners have started helping the bureau again, such that, in 2017, the bureau handled the highest number of corruption-related issues.
Chizuma further disclosed that, since 1998, the fight against corruption has never realised a score of 50 on indices, the highest ever attained being 41 points— achieved during the early years of ACB’s establishment— whereas the lowest ever score attained was 27 points in 2007.
She indicated that for the past 25 years, ACB has registered and processed 36,878 cases, out of which 10,316 were recommended for investigations and over 26,000 were closed and referred to other institutions.
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Chizuma disclosed that the ACB has confiscated 12 properties with a total value of K650 million and that they are in possession of vehicles valued at K34 million that are being kept at the bureau’s offices, as well as a plastic-making machine that is being managed by the bureau in Blantyre.
Proceeds of the properties are being deposited in the Confiscated Funds Account.
On case management, Chizuma said there are a number of properties linked to businessperson Zuneth Sattar and his alleged associates, adding that the bureau has preservation orders for 28 of them.
She, however, said ACB still has a preservation order on Sattar and associates, such that they cannot use their bank accounts until the issues under investigation are exhausted.
Commenting on the development, Transparency Initiative Malawi chief Nicholas Mwansima said this means anyone who was involved in the vice during the period can never be prosecuted as the evidence is not reliable.
“It’s sad that the data was lost. This means people we trusted to keep the records did not do a good job.
“It’s a wake-up call for all the institutions in the country; it’s high time organisations embraced the digital age,” Mwansima said.
On his part, People’s Federation for National Peace Development Executive Director Edward Chaka said the country cannot develop if people indulge in corruption.
Chaka said there is a need for the ACB to be using latest technologies when storing data so that it should not be losing value due to factors such as poor record keeping and lack of investigation and interviewing skills among interrogators.
“The fight against corruption requires seriousness. Where corruption flourishes, a country cannot develop. We hope that ACB will keep on improving so that Malawi can become a corruption-free zone,” Chaka said.
The Corrupt Practices Act, the law that established the bureau, was passed in Parliament in 1995 and amended in 2004, 2019 and 2022, respectively.
