Collins Magalasi and Fighting Corruption

COLLINS MAGALASI
YOUNG LEADER, AFRICA-GERMAN PARTNERSHIP

1. Introduction

As a young leader in the Africa – Germany Partnership, I feel honoured to be in the middle of promotion of youth political participation. Recently I was appointed member of the Blue Ribbon Committee to advise and report to the State President H.E. Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika on the fight against corruption and the development of a national anti-corruption strategy in Malawi. This appointment comes at a time I was already entrusted by the executive and the nation to function as Commissioner for the Competition and Fair Trading Commission. I am also President of Catholic University of Malawi Parents and Guardians Association, despite my having only a brother at the university.

1.1 Responsibility 1: Member of Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC), Government of Malawi. Appointed by and accountable to His Excellency the State President

Background
The dawn of the 1990s brought with it winds of change over Malawi and resulted in the change of the system of governance in 1993/94 from one party system to multiparty democracy. In 1995 Malawi adopted a new democratic constitution. Section 13 (o) of the Constitution of Malawi talks about the need for government to deliberately put in place measures to guarantee accountability, transparency, personal integrity and financial probity and which by virtue of their effectiveness and transparency will strengthen confidence in public institutions.
It is against this background that Parliament passed a law on corruption - The Corrupt Practices Act (CPA) number 18 of 1995. The Act established the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which became operational in 1998, with mandate to carry out two main functions namely (a) to prevent corrupt practices in both public and private institutions and (b) to enforce the law on corruption. The ACB is a government but autonomous institution that is mandated by law to spearhead the fight against corruption.

The fight against Corruption in Malawi

Despite having the institution of ACB, corruption went up in the previous regime. Development partners such as Denmark, and the IMF pulled out/suspended their programmes in Malawi. Malawi scored 2.7 from year to year on corruption perception index, compared to Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland that were improving. In 2004 Malawi went to the polls and saw the current State President Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika get to power. As he spelt his vision of post 2004 Malawi, it was clear the President had zero tolerance policy on corruption and was committed to financial prudence, transparency and accountability. The same 2004, the Corrupt Practices Act (CPA) was amended in order to align it with regional and global conventions on corruption i.e. SADC protocol, AU Convention on Prevention of Corruption, UN Convention against corruption, but also to widen the definition of corruption and powers of the ACB.

Since the time the ACB started operations in 1998, no comprehensive assessment of the extent and locus of corruption had been done. In the year 2005/2006, a Governance and Corruption Baseline Survey was therefore conducted and the report was launched on 5th February 2007 – as part of commemoration of the National Anti-Corruption Day - by His Excellency the State President of the Republic of Malawi. The survey revealed the many gaps that existed, including the need to involve everyone in the fight against corruption, and increase civic awareness on corruption and reporting. (As at December 2007, the ACB had received a total of 13,400 complaints, of which 5,200 were authorized for investigations and the remaining 8,200 did not disclose corruption and were referred to other relevant institutions). The country had to come up with a National Anti-Corruption Strategy to deal with the shortfalls.

The Blue Ribbon Committee

It pleased His Excellency the State President of the Republic of Malawi Dr. Bingu Wa Mutharika to appoint an inclusive group of eminent Malawians into a Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC) to oversee the development of a national Anti-Corruption Strategy and advise him on the same from time to time. The BRC has the following as members: the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeal, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Representative of the Private Sector, Head of Traditional Chiefs – Inkosi ya Makosi, the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, and me as Representative of all Civil Society. The BRC constituted a National Implementation Steering Committee (NISC) to do the drafting of the strategy under the guidance of the BRC. The BRC meets the State President and his Cabinet to report and advise on the fight against corruption in Malawi and the development of the anti-corruption strategy in particular.
In support of the President’s Political vision and Will, both the private sector and civil society have come up with own initiatives: the Business Action Against Corruption (BAAC) and the Civil Society Action Against Corruption (CSAAC) respectively. I am the current Chairman of the CSAAC. CSAAC contributes to the prevention, detection and prosecution dimensions of anti-corruption work through input into formulation and implementation of anti-corruption strategies, monitoring corruption (e.g. collecting and in-depth analysis of data and systematic documentation) and also through evidence-based advocacy. Our added advantage is in that we have the potential to depoliticise corruption and we also operate relatively flexibly.


1.2 Responsibility 2: Commissioner for The Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC), Government of Malawi. Appointed by His Excellency the State President, but reporting to the National Assembly

The responsibilities are defined by an Act of Parliament – Competition and Fair Trading Act of 2000. As Commissioner I am responsible for:
· the functioning of the CFTC secretariat, including appointment and management of Directors and staff.
· carrying out investigations, in relation to the conduct of business so as to determine whether any enterprise is carrying on anti-competitive trade practices or unfair trading and the extent of such practices, if any;
· taking such action as we consider necessary or expedient to prevent or redress the creation of a merger or the abuse of a dominant position by an enterprise;
· providing persons engaged in business with information regarding their rights and duties under the Competition and Fair Trading Act;
· providing information for the guidance of consumers regarding their rights under the above Act;
· undertaking studies and make available public reports regarding the operation of the Act
· cooperating with and assisting any association or body of persons to develop and promote the observance of standards of conduct for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the provisions of the Act;
· advising the Minister of Trade and Private Sector Development on such matters relating to the operation of the Act as we think fit or as may be requested by the Minister;
· doing all such acts and things as are necessary, incidental or conducive to the better carrying out of the commission’s functions under the Act.

2.1 President of Catholic University of Malawi Parents and Guardians Association (CUNIMA – PGA); 2007 to-date

The PGA Executive:
· is the link between parents/guardians and the CUNIMA management;
· forms and works through subcommittees (e.g. student life, discipline, finance, development, communications etc) as necessary.
· develops and enforces the association’s by-laws (roles and responsibilities, Code of Conduct, calendar of events, etc).
· organises meetings for the PGA and facilitates setting of the meeting agenda,
· coordinates matters as referred to by the full association, and provides feedback to the association
· facilitates communication between the parents/guardians and the university