The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has said it has completed the development of the Lifestyle Audit Manual which has been submitted to the Ministry of Justice for scrutiny before it is approved by Cabinet.
Following calls to the bureau to extend the lifestyle audits beyond the public service, ACB says the manual has included both private and public individuals but subject to Cabinet’s approval.
Development of the lifestyle audit manual is considered to be one of the key achievements ACB has undertaken in recent years in the fight against corruption in Malawi.
In an emailed response, the bureau’s spokesperson Egrita Ndala said the audits will be conducted proactively as well as when complaints are received.
“The manual has stipulated implementation mechanisms one of which is the establishment of the National Task Force on Lifestyle Audits.
“The ODPOD [Office of the Director of Public Officers’ Declarations] is one of the members of the task force. And there will be no duplication because the two offices have different mandates; therefore, they will be working in a complementary manner,” Ndala said.
The Lifestyle Audit Manual was developed through consultations by a task force which included ACB, ODPOD, Financial Intelligence Authority, Malawi Revenue Authority, Malawi Police Service and National Intelligence Authority.
“Therefore, issues to deal with the mandates of all these institutions and how they will complement each other were taken care of when drafting the manual,” Ndala said.
Commenting on the development, chairperson for the National Anti- Corruption Alliance Moses Mkandawire said the delay to have the manual is a cause for worry in the fight against corruption in the country.
Mkandawire noted that it would be tricky now to monitor some officers “as the 2025 elections mood has been activated”.
“Normally, we deal with the public sector because they are the ones that manage and administer public resources. And these are the resources that are coming from Malawians. That is why we are demanding that any public officer should be accountable.
“And so, the private sector should be included because there is close networking between them and the public servants, such that the private sector might capture the public sector, so you would discover that the resources might be channelled through the private sector,” Mkandawire said.
Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency Executive Director Willy Kambwandira pointed out that the delay to have the manual ready confirms assertions that some people are not comfortable with it.
Kambwandira has still welcomed the idea to incorporate the private sector in the lifestyle audits.
“We have people in the government who are not comfortable with lifestyle audits and this casts doubts on our commitment to fighting corruption as a country. We seem to be finding excuses on technicalities. Let them implement the lifestyle audit.
“We agree with the calls to expand the scope of the audit to include everyone who benefits from public money,” he said.
Transparency International (TI) says lifestyle audits – also known as lifestyle checks or lifestyle monitoring – are an accountability tool that can be used to detect and prevent corruption.
TI, a global coalition against corruption, further states that such audits are typically conducted when the visible lifestyle or standard of living of an individual appears to exceed their known income level.
“The detection of such discrepancies can raise red flags warranting closer inspection,” it says.
