Development partners have welcomed the hiring of new Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director general Martha Chizuma and have said they are committed to continue engaging the bureau in the fight against serious and organized corruption.
Ambassadors of Ireland, Norway and the United States; the Chargés d’Affaires of the European Union and Germany, and the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom have released a joint statement today.
The ambassadors have congratulated both Martha Chizuma on her appointment as Director General of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, and the Government of Malawi for filling the leadership role at a key accountability institution.
They say the development is a historic achievement for Malawi in appointing its first ever female Director General of the ACB.
“We are committed to continued engagement with the ACB, as well as other law enforcement agencies, in their efforts to address economic crimes and high level corruption.
“We commend the Government of Malawi’s commitment to increase resourcing to law enforcement agencies in recent budgets. Malawi’s first ever non-conviction based asset forfeiture has broken new ground in fighting economic crimes. The Government’s new ‘Law Enforcement Agency Coordination Strategy’ is a reassuring framework for prioritizing asset recovery and prosecuting financial crimes. We support the development of a public beneficial ownership register, which will constitute a major next step in holding criminals to account,” reads part of the statement.
The development partners have since urged government to ensure the timely appointment of dynamic candidates for Director General of the Financial Intelligence Authority, Auditor General and now the Ombudsman.
Chizuma who is the current Onbudsman passed interviews for the ACB role, was then appointed by President Lazarus Chakwera and later confirmed by the Parliament.
