Journalists in the country have been urged to utilise the trust the public have in them towards fighting against corrupt practices in the country.
The plea has been made in Lilongwe during the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS II) dissemination workshop organised by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
Speaking during the workshop, ACB Principal Public Relations Officer Egrita Ndala said much as the fight against corruption requires collaborative efforts, the media has a significant role to play in investigating and uncovering corrupt practices in the country.
“There are things we don’t know as ACB but when you [journalists] uncover them through your various mediums and the Bureau gets hold of them we use them as a starting point.
“A complaint will be registered using that particular information and where there is merit to warrant our investigation then we can investigate but he starting point will have been that the media practitioner had uncovered it,” said Ndala.
He added that the trust that people have in the media is a stepping stone for journalists to advocate for the participation of the public in the fight.
“Media is very crucial that you can investigate issues of alleged corruption through investigative journalism, which is a very important task for the media.
“Media is trusted by members of the public out there and that is also a very advantageous position for the media to advocate for the involvement members of the public in the fight against corruption because they already come to you with information which you publicize and you can also go to them the role they have to play in fighting against corruption in Malawi,” said Ndala.
NACS is a Malawi Government Policy document which aims for a holistic approach to the fight against corruption.
It was launched by the then State President, late Professor Bingu wa Mutharika during the National Anti-Corruption Day commemorations on February 5, 2009.
The Strategy among other things was designed to coordinate a holistic approach in fighting corruption in Malawi and its development was a result of the then State President’s Zero Tolerance stance on corruption, and an effort to translate theme five of the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS) into action.
NACS, which was launched in December 2019, is a 5-year roadmap up to 2024 designed to promote good governance and improved service delivery in Malawi through a coherent and effective approach to fighting corruption.
