It seems overdue that I spend time trying to articulate what it is I’m doing here. However, the reality is a desk, in a small office, in a converted house, at the far corner of the synod campus and a short dusty walk from Mzuzu’s various hardware shops and street vendors. A desk which, if the rain comes hard enough, is just below the drip from our leaking roof.
I’ll spare you the proposals, budgets, baseline surveys and theories of change. Instead, over the next few weeks, I thought I’d try and introduce you to some of the issues the projects exist to tackle.
Let’s start with accountable democracies. If any nation is to prosper then it requires effective democracy that listens to and represents the people. Governments must be accountable to their citizens, and not just on the days they visit the ballot boxes.
Malawi is in the run-up to a general election just now. The papers are filled each day with the latest political alliances and disputes as candidates and parties prepare for the polls. As I type (you know at the desk, in the office, in the house…under the drip), I can hear the car horns as aspiring MPs make their laps of town drumming up support as they leave from filing their nomination papers.
I’m sure there will be more to say on that, not least because these elections seem more tense than usual. There have already been reports of political violence and tensions are high even three months ahead. People are disenfranchised, they look around and see their country’s great needs, their own great needs, but all too often see a government that doesn’t understand that. That fails on its promises for development.
One of the biggest issues is corruption. Not the casual bribes that are part of daily life here, but serious, organised corruption that pervades government, public services and the private sector alike. One estimate shared with me claimed over one third of Malawi’s government funds have been siphoned off over the last decade.
Malawi’s score on Transparency International’s corruption index has remained stagnant, gaining one paltry point in the most recent statistics (32 out of 100). This is despite numerous legislative changes, declaration of a zero tolerance approach from government and countless political promises. Leaving the country at 120 of 180 countries in terms of transparency.
There is no shortage of public corruption scandals, each with the ubiquitous -gate suffix. ‘Cashgate’, ‘
With such staggering sums of money being stolen from the public purse, it’s the poorest and most vulnerable who pay the price. The money is not there for the 25% of children who do not finish a primary education, for the households affected by drought and flood; for the 81% of rural households who don’t have enough food to eat; not to mention to address the shortage of doctors, nurses, and jobs in general. [Source: IMF Country Report]
We’re engaged in projects that look to change this. We’re helping bring these cases to court and, once they’re there, ensuring they are seen through to completion with the help of media scrutiny. We’re working with other civil society and human rights organisations to say enough is enough and Malawians want their money back. We’re also working at grass roots, to help communities demand their rights and hold their officials to account.
Serious, organised corruption needs a serious, organised response. In an election year, while political promises are plentiful once more, there is also the opportunity to stem the tide of corruption and protect Malawi’s resources for those who need them most.