Africa-Press – Malawi. Disregard to ethics that govern different professions is among the main drivers of corruption and maladministration in both government and private sectors. This view came up during the commemoration of Global Ethics Day in Blantyre over the weekend.
Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Director General Martha Chizuma and Ombudsman Grace Malera said in separate interviews that if regard to ethics was paramount among duty bearers and Malawians at large, corruption and maladministration would have reduced in the country.
But Chizuma also said the fact that corruption is being reported every day means that while people are disregarding ethics and engaging in the vice, it is being fought head on by authorities and the citizenry.
“Even though disregard to ethics is fuelling corruption, it seems now we are making headway and we are becoming ethically conscious that what we used to be hypocritical about in the past, we are letting it out now,” she said.
Malera revealed during the commemoration that her office receives an average of 3,000 complaints annually. She said this shows that decision makers have no regard for ethics, hence fuelling maladministration. Malera said the conference on ethics was paramount to her office because its mandate is to curb maladministration.
“Where organizations are indulging in unethical conduct, it leads to a lot of maladministration. It is only when people start adhering to the ethics of their professions that we will see maladministration reducing,” she said.
Key speaker at the event was lecturer at the University of Malawi Lawrence Mpekansambo who preached the philosophy of Ubuntu (humanity) which he touted as key to addressing unethical conducts.
“The manifestation of corruption and maladministration shows that we have lost humanity. If we can have a system that thrives on ubuntu, corruption system will die out,” he said.
Global Ethics Day is commemorated annually during the third week of October. This year’s theme was ‘Ethics Empowered’. Justin Mkweu is a fast growing reporter who currently works with Times Group on the business desk. He is however flexible as he also writes about current affairs and national issues.
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