Chakwera fails to walk the talk on anti-corruption, says Lita

The Leadership Institute for Transparency and Accountability (LITA) has accused President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera and his Malawi Congress Party (MCP) administration of failing to fight corruption in the country.

LITA’s Executive Director, Goodwell Logeyamade the accusation through a press statement dated June 14, 2023 under the title: ‘Is This the Malawi We Wanted?’.

The statement says president Chakwera’s administration has failed to uphold transparency and accountability in the way it transacts national business on behalf of Malawians.

“The administration has failed in many significant issues of national importance. It has come to our belief now that this government was formed with ulterior motives instead of providing policy direction toward national prosperity,” said Logeya in a statement

It further reads: “MCP has come to destroy the state institutions. Corruption, greed, money laundering and racketeering are the systematic tactics this administration is better known for; to syphon whooping billions of taxpayers’ money for self-aggrandizement.

“All these are happening under the luxurious watch of the President who was/is a man of God from the charismatic bench,”

According to Logeya, since Chakwera took oath of office, his administration has been making serious and deliberate blunders which none of his predecessors could have done.

Among the blunders, according to the statement, is the purchase of MK 128 billion worth fertilizer from an alleged Romanian East Bridge Estate, a pharmaceutical company which does not manufacture fertilizer at all.

“It seems the daily wake up thought for his government is to loot, destroy and deform public institutions. What is disheartening is that the President is shielding his corrupt minions. Since the series of looting scandals had been exposed, no one of his cohorts has ever faced the rancor of the law,”

Chakwera, well known for his breathtaking speeches and American accent, has been preaching zero tolerance to corruption since he assumed power in 2020.

Despite his public pronouncements, however, several officials in Chakwera’s administration are being investigated on suspected corruption charges.

Speaking in July 2022 during a national anti-corruption conference, president Chakwera said he was satisfied with the route his administration had taken in the fight against corruption in the country.