By Moses Nyirenda
Lilongwe, May 14, Mana: Minister of Youth and Sports, Ulemu Msungama has urged youth in the country to take action in supporting government in fighting corruption.
He made the remarks recently during the launch of National Youth Ant-Corruption Network (NYACN) which was held at Golden Peacock Hotel in Lilongwe.
Msungama said the youth in the country are highly affected by corruption hence it is their time to join hands with the government in fighting the vice.
“Youth in the country are the most vulnerable group when it comes to corruption and they are affected in various ways such as, failing to get jobs in companies because of failing to comply with corruption tips and also failing to access other services including loans.
“So I am urging the youth to join hands with the government in dealing with issues of corruption in the country in order to combat challenges which they are facing due to corrupt practices,” Msungama said.
He applauded the youth for coming up with NYACN saying that the initiative is complementing governments efforts aimed at addressing issues of corruption in the country.
“It is encouraging to see that young people have managed to develop the network to fight against corruption, the initiative which has been formed by these youth is totally in line with government’s efforts aimed at combating issues of corruption in our country,” he said.
The minister therefore said government will support NYACN in order for it to be fully implemented and bear fruits.
In his remarks, Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Deputy Director General, Elia Bodole said the youth in the country are crucial in the fight against corruption.
“Youth are important in the fight against corruption in the sense that they are energetic and they are found in every corner of our nation, so if they carry the message against corruption we are assured that the message will get to all corners of the country.
“In addition to that, if the youth resist corruption practices now, we will have corrupt free generation in future,” Bodole said.
In his comment, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Resident Representative, Shigeki Komatsubara hailed the youth for showing interest in combating corruption saying their curiosity would help minimize issues of corruption in the country.
“Corruption is taking a lot of resources from poor Malawians and we have heard a lot of stories regarding corruption in Malawi for instance in 2019 the Auditor General reported that up to K385 billion (about U$500 million) was lost to corruption.
“Hence the initiative which is being undertaken by the youth to fight against corruption would help minimize the issues of corruption in Malawi,” Komatsubara explained.
He also said the initiative which the youth are doing in fighting against corruption would also assist the government to move ahead in achieving the 2063 agenda.
NYACN newly elected National Coordinator; Chikondi Njaya said it is exciting to see the youth given a chance to support government in fighting against corruption in the country.
“It is exciting that as youth we have been given a task to help government in combating corruption in our country.
“About 70 percent of the country’s population are youth which means we are the majority in population hence we can help curb the corruption which is affecting our country in as far as development is concerned,” Njaya said.
