Greed has an address

When Chimwemwe Chipungu assumed office as Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, he struck the right tone.

He declared war on illegal land dealers and land grabbers and promised that anyone involved in unlawful land transactions would face the full force of the law.

Chipungu spoke of restoring order to a ministry that has for years been dogged by allegations of corruption and announced a 14-day ultimatum for those who had acquired public land irregularly to regularise their ownership before a nationwide land audit.

Malawians had every reason to welcome those remarks.

- Advertisement -

The management of public land has long been one of the country’s most troubling governance failures.

Successive administrations have been accused of presiding over a system in which politically connected individuals acquire public land with remarkable ease while ordinary citizens struggle to access the same resource through lawful means.

Every government has promised reform. Yet every government has eventually found itself confronting allegations that the same abuse has continued under its watch.

That is why Chipungu’s declaration carried significance. It suggested that the cycle of impunity that has characterised land administration might finally be coming to an end.

The 14-day deadline has long passed. Yet the public has heard very little about what followed.

There has been no comprehensive update on the land audit, no detailed account of how many people complied with the directive and no indication that those who ignored the ultimatum have faced legal consequences.

Instead, reports emerging from within the Ministry of Lands paint a worrying picture.

Sources indicate that the irregular allocation of public land continues unabated despite the minister’s warning.

If that is indeed the case, then the problem is far deeper than illegal land dealers. It points to a system that remains vulnerable to abuse even after bold promises of reform.

Even more disturbing are credible reports that several Cabinet ministers have been allocated plots on land belonging to Airport Development Limited in Lilongwe without following the procedures required by law.

These remain allegations and those implicated deserve the presumption of innocence. That principle is fundamental to justice.

However, the allegations are far too serious to be brushed aside. They demand a thorough, transparent and independent investigation. Silence will only fuel public suspicion.

If the claims are proven, they would represent a shocking abuse of public office.

Cabinet ministers are entrusted with protecting national resources, not positioning themselves to benefit from them.

Public office exists to serve the people, not to create opportunities for personal enrichment.

Unfortunately, the allegations sound painfully familiar.

Malawi has witnessed this pattern before. Governments campaign on promises of accountability and transparency.

They condemn corruption, vow to recover public assets and pledge to restore integrity to public institutions.

Yet once they assume office, some of those same leaders find themselves accused of the very conduct they once denounced. Faces change. The abuse often does not.

That is precisely why corruption continues to flourish. It survives because it adapts to changing governments while retaining the same culture of entitlement.

Every administration promises a new beginning but too often ends up writing another chapter in the same story.

The abuse of public land is corruption in its rawest form. Every illegally allocated plot deprives the nation of an asset that could support housing, investment, schools, hospitals or other public needs.

It transfers wealth that belongs to every Malawian into the hands of a privileged few whose greatest qualification is proximity to power.

Even more damaging is the message such conduct sends to the nation. It tells honest public servants that integrity is optional.

It tells citizens that connections matter more than the law. It tells investors that rules can be manipulated.

Above all, it erodes confidence in the institutions entrusted with protecting public resources.

This is why the allegations cannot be ignored simply because they involve powerful people.

Chipungu’s promise that the law would apply without fear or favour must now be put to the test.

If credible evidence points to wrongdoing by Cabinet ministers, politicians or senior public officials, investigations must proceed without hesitation.

Malawi can either confront corruption wherever it exists, including within the highest offices of government, or allow another opportunity for reform to slip away.

The choice should not be difficult. No administration can credibly claim to be fighting corruption while turning a blind eye to allegations involving its own members.

Greed has an address. Too often, it is found in the corridors of power, where public office is mistaken for personal entitlement and national resources are treated as political rewards.

That is the greed Malawi must confront. Those entrusted with managing public land are custodians, not beneficiaries.