2020 – ACB Newsletter

With Pleasure, I welcome you readers to this last issue of the ACB Newsletter with me as the Director General of the ACB. I have been at the ACB for seven years now, having joined the ACB as the Deputy Director General (DDG) in 2013. I believe I have done what I could within my power and the available resources in serving the people of Malawi. I am therefore leaving the ACB a happy person. Working for the ACB is not easy, and as I always say, it is in fact a thankless job, but nevertheless, someone has to do the job. Looking at the nature of our work, it is not possible to please everyone when discharging our duties. The people of Malawi and various other stakeholders had diverse expectations on me and the ACB. Some of the expectations were realistic and others were not. But I am convinced that if we can all join hands, we can successfully fight against corruption in Malawi. This is what the National AntiCorruption Strategy calls upon each one of us to do. I wish to thank all members of staff of the ACB for the unwavering support they rendered to me during my tenure of office, both as DDG and then as DG. Together we worked as a family, we worked as a team. I enjoyed working with each one of you and will leave the ACB with fond memories of this institution and its members of staff. Dear readers, let me also take this opportunity to thank members of the general public for their support in the work of the ACB. As we all know, without public support the work of the ACB and fighting corruption would be a tall order. I therefore urge members of the public to continue supporting the ACB and further urge them to equally render their full support to my successor. Let me also convey my sincere thanks to His Excellency the State President, Dr. Lazarous McCarthy Chakwera and the State Vice President Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima for their support and trust in me after they assumed office. I was given all the necessary support and encouragement to do my work independently and professionally. The additional budgetary allocation by Government and the adequate and timely monthly funding have helped the ACB to effectively discharge its mandate. We have made good progress in the investigation and prosecution of a number of cases. The ACB also launched the AntiCorruption Awareness Month and successfully implemented various activities during the awareness month. Our officers were actively involved in the monitoring of the AIP across the country, and conducted monitoring visits to several public institutions, including hospitals, Immigration offices, the Department of Road Traffic and Safety Services, the Malawi Police Service and District Councils. This work greatly contributed to preventing corruption in these institutions and needs to be commended. I wish to equally, and most sincerely, thank members of my family for their patience, support, sacrifices and understanding during my tenure at the ACB. With the nature of the work at the ACB, I was, most of the times, pre-occupied with work at their expense, for that I say thank you! Finally, I wish the ACB and the entire readership of this Newsletter the best as we continue with the fight against corruption. Read on!