The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says there is a need for the government to ensure confiscation of criminal assets as one way of curbing corruption.

Speaking during the public lecture on Webinar, ACB Director General, Reyneck Matemba said perpetrators calculate the risk of being arrested then enjoy their assets upon release.

Matemba said the notion needs to be operationalized failing which the song of fighting corruption will forever be sung.

He admitted that ACB has challenges in preventing corruption through various civic education campaigns but he was quick to point out that the body usually combats corruption through law enforcement which includes investigations and prosecution.

Mtemba said it is from this background that ACB has noted that many people prefer to indulge in corruption knowing fully well that if convicted, their assets will not be seized, a development which he described as a joke to Malawians.

He therefore suggested the need to ensure that assets of perpetrators are taken away from them, saying this has potential to deter would be offenders knowing that they will play a lost game.

Ombudsman Martha Chizuma also highlighted the need for government to ensure that it is allocating enough resources to the office of ombudsman and anti-corruption bureau so as to smoothen their monitoring work in fighting corruption.

There was also a suggestion of introducing ethics as a subject from primary school saying this will help nurture citizens of integrity as the current perpetrators are also the products of the country’s education system.